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CNN Live Sunday

Body of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage Found; Pope John Paul II Blesses Crowd Silently At St. Peter's; Disabled Protesters Lie At Entrance Of Terri Schiavo's Hospice

Aired March 27, 2005 - 16:00   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.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: ...violate a court order. I don't have...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here's something you're going to see only on CNN. Governor Jeb Bush reacting to calls for him to use his executive power into the Terri Schiavo case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHINDLER ATTORNEY: They've begun to give her morphine drip for the pain, and at this point, we would say Terri has passed the point of no return.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: But no matter what happens now, is Terri Schiavo's fate already sealed? We're live in Florida for all the latest developments.

SANCHEZ: Also, it's holiest day for Christians around the world. You are going to find out how the pope tried to overcome his ailing health to try and honor the faithful at the Vatican.

Hello again, everybody, on CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I am Rick Sanchez.

WILLIS: And I am Gerri Willis. We will go live to Florida in just a moment, but first a look at what is happening else in the news.

The body of an Iowa girl abducted from her home has been found. Officials in Johnson County confirmed that a body discovered near an abandoned mobile home was that of 10-year-old Jetseta Marrie Gage. The man accused of killing her is being held on $1 million bond.

President Bush attended an Easter service with troops at Fort Hood, Texas. The president prayed for peace and for soldiers and their families. It's the third straight year President Bush has spent Easter with troops at Fort Hood. Afterward, he returned to his ranch in Crawford.

Syria withdrew more troops from Lebanon today. The nation has already pulled out more than a third of its 13,000 troops stationed in Lebanon. This latest pullback comes after an explosion yesterday in a Christian suburb of Beirut.

SANCHEZ: We're going to begin this hour, though, by taking you to Florida, where we're hearing some conflicting reports right now on the fate of Terri Schiavo. An attorney for her parents is saying essentially that Schiavo's now past the point of no return. However, a spokesman for the family is saying that's simply not true. Let's go to CNN's Bob Franken. He's live outside the hospice center in Pinellas Park following the story throughout the course of the day, and he is joining us now. Good afternoon, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Rick. Family members say that they have visited her in the hospice, that she is still vital. She's fighting, they say, they're going to continue their fight. But they're also trying to tamp down a little bit the intensity of their supporters. There have been a number of demonstrations. Probably the most notable of the day is when a group of disabled people laid down in an act of civil disobedience. They were helped to be removed from their wheelchairs and laid down at the entrance of one of the hospices. The police, although they were violating a variety of laws, as one can understand, did not move against them. They're trying to make the point that Terri Schiavo is really just disabled, not in the vegetative state that doctors say she is, and that she could be rehabilitated.

As the demonstrators grew more intense through the day, family members who had asked that the vigil be closed down today, that people spend Easter with their families, sent Bobby Schindler up. Bobby Schindler is the brother of Terri Schiavo, who really met some resistance when he talked to the protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY SCHINDLER'S, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: We're not going to solve this problem today by getting arrested. We can change the laws, OK? But it's not going to change today. Getting arrested doesn't help...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't disagree. I don't disagree.

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: Oh, that's wrong. It's wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may or may not be, but here's the point. I am going to submit...

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: You're not speaking for our family...

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: You're not speaking for our family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: We're speaking for Terri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: But in spite of the angry rhetoric, things did calm down after a while. Rick, I should point out, that the police have increased security here -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Bob Franken, following that story for us out of Pinellas Park. We certainly thank you. Gerri, over to you.

WILLIS: Terri Schiavo's parents have urged Florida Governor Jeb Bush to do more to get their daughter's feeding tube reconnected. Just hours ago, CNN's Ed Henry spoke exclusively to the governor about that request -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Gerri. In fact, the governor told me that despite those pleas, he cannot and will not step in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Governor Bush emerges from Easter Sunday mass with a heavy heart.

(on camera): On this Easter, what are your thoughts about Terri Schiavo?

J. BUSH: I'm sad that she's in the situation that she's in. I feel bad for her family. My heart goes out to the Schindlers, and for that matter to Michael. This has not been an easy thing for any member of the family. But most particularly for Terri Schiavo. Without all of the (INAUDIBLE) enough uncertainty for people to have doubt, and I do.

HENRY: If she dies, are you at peace with the fact that you feel you've done all you can?

J. BUSH: Absolutely.

HENRY (voice-over): As a Catholic, the governor has faced intense pressure during the holiest week in the Christian calendar to intervene and save the brain-damaged woman's life.

At the governor's mansion on Good Friday, protesters held signs comparing Mr. Bush to Pontius Pilate.

REV. PATRICK MAHONEY, CHRISTIAN DEFENSE FUND: God, forgive us as a nation. Forgive us as a people. Can we truly say that we're the land of the free and the home of the brave when on Good Friday a woman is being starved to death?

HENRY: Schiavo's parents believe the governor has the executive power to override the courts and take custody of their daughter to restore her feeding tube. ROBERT SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: Governor Bush has the authority to stop all this. He's -- with a stroke of his pen, he could stop it. He can stop it immediately. He's put Terri through a week of hell and my family through a week of hell by not acting. And I implore him. It's going to take courage. But a man of integrity has courage. And I believe he has integrity. And again, I implore him to put a stop to this.

HENRY (on camera): But what do you say to the parents who say they feel you can do more and should do more?

J. BUSH: I can't. I'd love to, but I can't.

HENRY: And why is that? Because your interpretation of the state law is...

J. BUSH: It's not a question of interpretation. I mean, I cannot violate a court order. I don't have powers from the United States Constitution, or, for that matter, from the Florida Constitution that would allow me to intervene after a decision has been made.

HENRY (voice-over): But that's not good enough for some conservative activists who want Mr. Bush to step down.

LARRY KLAYMAN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, JUDICIAL WATCH: If that's his position, he ought to resign, quit, and go home right now, because we'll need a new governor to protect us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: While there is divided legal opinion on whether or not the governor can take custody, all sides agree that such a move would lead to another nasty legal showdown. And the governor is making it clear once again to CNN, he's not going down that road -- Gerri.

WILLIS: Ed Henry, when you talked to governor before, it seems to me that he expressed a lot of emotion about this topic. Did you see that in his conversation?

HENRY: I absolutely did see that. And in talking to people close to him, they say that in recent days this has really been weighing heavily on him. But they insist, it's not the political pressure, it's not the protests that are weighing on him. It's the fact that he has such deep concern for Terri Schiavo and her parents, and today he also mentioned to us, for Michael Schiavo as well. He made it clear, he has deep concern for all sides, but he's not worrying about the political pressure. He's just really concerned about the emotional impact on this family -- Gerri.

WILLIS: Ed Henry, thank you for that report.

SANCHEZ: Christians around the world gathered today to celebrate Easter Sunday. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the U.S. military sponsored a non-denominational Easter sunrise service. And now in Jerusalem, the holy day was marked with prayers and hymns. Pilgrims celebrated mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcur. It is the site where Roman Catholics believe that Jesus Christ was buried. Many Protestants, though, say that he was buried in a nearby garden tomb.

And now let's take you to Baghdad. There, U.S. forces also observed a religious holiday. These pictures exclusive to CNN, from a military service there. U.S. troops were able to lay down their weapons, at least temporarily, to market the resurrection of Jesus.

WILLIS: An emotional scene at the Vatican today. Pope John Paul II tried to give his traditional Easter blessing, but his voice was so weak from his recent surgery that he couldn't. His evident frustration brought tears to the eyes of many at St. Peter's Square, but the ailing pope found another way to reward them. Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Not even the morning rain could keep pilgrims away from St. Peter's Square. The feeling of anticipation to see the pope at the window of his apostolic palace was palpable.

Elise is from Los Angeles, but studies in London.

ELISE VETZEL, PILGRIM: Oh, my gosh, that would be just glorious. I would love to see the pope. That would be amazing.

VINCI: Katie is an American student, in Rome for a semester.

KATIE HAMMOND, PILGRIM: I would hope that we would see him, just because it would mean that he's well enough to come greet us.

VINCI: As expected, the pope didn't preside over the long Easter mass, which he followed on television from his study. But at the end of it, as a top cardinal was preparing to read the pope's traditional Easter Sunday blessing, the frail figure of the 84-year-old pontiff emerged.

The crowd below broke into a long applause. Some were overwhelmed. The pope sat for almost 15 minutes while the cardinal read his message, calling for peace in Africa and the Middle East, and for all those suffering from hunger and poverty.

At one point, he tried to utter a few words, but simply couldn't. Unable to bless the crowd with words, he used his hand.

Pilgrims and tourists, including those who hours earlier had only hoped to see him, felt rewarded.

VETZEL: I just felt completely unified with like all the people there, and all the people, you know, watching on television and such. So it was a very glorious moment, I thought.

HAMMOND: The whole thing was beautiful. What I thought was best was just the crowd's reaction to him. You could tell that everyone was so pleased that he was well enough to come and greet everyone.

VINCI (on camera): Because the pope is first and foremost a priest, his inability to give mass on Easter Sunday must have been a terrible burden for him.

At the same time, he can take comfort from the fact that his silent message of suffering continues to have an impact on pilgrims here in Rome and around the globe.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here is an appropriate story for this day: Faith under fire. How Iraqi Christians refused to let insurgent attacks ruin their most holy day. That story still coming your way.

WILLIS: Plus, could America's farmers hold the key to energy independence for the U.S.? We'll explain why country legend Willie Nelson thinks so and what he's doing to change how you drive your car.

SANCHEZ: Also, up next, Michael Jackson goes on the air, to talk about his criminal case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT LOUIS NARR: I'm Sergeant Louis Narr (ph) with (INAUDIBLE) from Camp Fallujah, Iraq. I just want to say happy Easter to all my family in the Bronx, Yonkers, Staten Island and Long Island, and also happy Easter to everybody working at the Bronx Board of Elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY. The judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial is going to take up a crucial issue tomorrow. Judge Rodney Melville is going to hear arguments on whether prosecutors can introduce past claims against the pop star, to show jurors a pattern of abuse. Accusations in 1990, for example, and 1993 were settled out of court, so there were no criminal charges.

As for Jackson himself, he appeared on the radio with the Reverend Jesse Jackson. The show is called "Keep Hope Alive."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: I gained strength from God. I believe in Jehovah God very much, and I gained strength from the fact that I know I'm innocent. None of these stories are true. It's totally fabricated, and very sad, very, very painful. And I pray a lot. And that's how I deal with it. And I'm a strong person, I'm a warrior, and I know what's inside of me. I'm a fighter. It's very painful. At the end of the day, I am still human. You know, I'm still a human being. So it does hurt very, very, very much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was part of the message from Michael Jackson. He goes on to say that he's gaining strength from his faith and his God and from knowing, he says, that he is innocent -- Gerri.

WILLIS: They're watching for super cells in several Gulf Coast states today, where sever thunderstorms could spun dangerous tornadoes, and there is more widespread pain -- rain, that is -- pelting the nation's midsection. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is live with all the latest on the wicked weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WILLIS: Brad, thanks for that report.

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Certainly.

SANCHEZ: As we continue, we're going to look at into what a feeding tube really is, as the one being used in the Terri Schiavo case. For example, is it a form of life support? How invasive is it? How is it developed? We're going to hear, in fact, from one of its creators.

Also up next, how this military training exercise reveals an important function of your everyday memory. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: The mystery of memory, what is it, and what happens to our memory under extreme stress? CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the mystery in tonight's prime-time special, "Memory." Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not going to listen to anymore lies from you. You've been lying to me, off an on, ever since we've started this interview.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You'd think it would be unforgettable. Imagine, nearly an hour, face to face, an interrogator leans in, cajoling, then threatening, demanding the code word.

This is the military's elite survival school at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The final exam? Three days of hell. Hiding in starvation in the woods, inevitable capture, an interrogation by an instructor playing the role a brutal warden in a POW camp. If you want to study the effect of stress on memory, this is the place.

Dr. Andy Morgan of Yale University tested trainees during the mock interrogation. Not surprisingly, he found that stress, measured by hormone levels, is extremely high.

DR. ANDY MORGAN, YALE: It's extraordinarily high. I mean, specifically that it's higher in levels than we've seen in people who are landing on the aircraft carrier at night for the first time. It's higher than in people who are skydiving for the first time.

So the physical pressure can be up. People can actually physically touch them. And their heart rate goes way up, to about 165, 175 beats a minute.

GUPTA: A day later, Morgan showed trainees a lineup, like the ones used by police. Could they identify the guard who was grilling them? Remarkably, the answer for most was no.

Details of the training are classified. The military did not let us film the mock interrogation. But we can say the interrogator's face is uncovered and comes within inches of the squirming prisoner.

And yet, when shown a set of photos, only 34 percent could identify the man or woman who had confronted them. In the experiment, the eyes were not covered as they are here.

MORGAN: People picked a male when it was a female who had interrogated them. We had people who were interrogated by white men, who picked black men in the lineup, and other minorities. We had people who were picking folks as their interrogator who have hair on their head, when in fact their interrogator was bald.

GUPTA: When photos were shown one by one, instead of all at once, accuracy was a little better, but still just 49 percent.

Memory may have suffered from lack of food and sleep. But Morgan says stress was the key, and that the more stress the trainee registered, the less accurate he was.

MORGAN: So for the high-stress event, whether you give live lineups, photo spreads, or the sequential photo lineup, you would have done better flipping a coin.

GUPTA: When it comes to memory, we often can't trust our own eyes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reveals the surprising secrets about memory in this prime-time special. That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific only on CNN.

SANCHEZ: One week ago today, Congress was racing trying to pass legislation to help Terri Schiavo's parents get their daughter's feeding tube removed. So why is Capitol Hill suddenly so quiet this weekend? We will have a live report.

WILLIS: Plus, how country legend Willie Nelson is trying to change the way America pumps up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Willie Nelson, a name that conjures up "Stardust Memories," "Outlaw Country," Farm Aid, and now he hopes, biodiesel. With gas prices sky high, alternative energy sources of all kinds are getting a lot of attention these days. Biodiesel has actually been around for decades, though. Nelson now wants to use his star power to try to bring it to truck stops all over the country.

Here is CNN's Kathleen Hays.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Willie Nelson is on the road again, but these days it's not about a music tour like the one those famous lyrics celebrate. It's a new venture that's always on his mind these days: Biodiesel fuel. Willie's in the business of marketing this clean-burning fuel called Biowillie.

WILLIE NELSON, MUSICIAN: When I first heard about it, my wife told me -- this was a couple of years ago -- she said, you know, I want to buy this car that runs on vegetable oil. And I said, OK. So I bought a Mercedes. And it's never had anything in it except vegetable oil.

HAYS: Yes, biodiesel is made from vegetables, soybeans, even animal fats. Biowillie is a blend of pure biodiesel and petroleum diesel known as B-20, but even biodiesel blends reduce emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

Cleaner air is one big reason government agencies are using it. The U.S. Navy recently ordered that all Navy and Marine non-tactical diesel vehicles operate on B-20 blend biodiesel by June 1st of this year.

It's in all of Willie's tour buses. In fact, any diesel-burning car or truck can run on it, even school buses, without making any special changes to the engine.

Right now, biodiesel is sold at over 300 service stations across the country. Willie and his partners hope that by getting Biowillie distributed at more truck stops, more people will start using it.

It's still a niche product, though. The Energy Information Agency estimates that 44 million barrels of pure biodiesel will be sold this year. That compares with 44 billion barrels of petroleum diesel, and 142 billion barrels of gasoline.

FRED MAYES, ENERGY INFORMATION AGENCY: It has a lot of promise for reducing pollution. But it's still far too early to determine whether it will become viable in the marketplace.

HAYS: The government is doing its part to promote bio-diesel. It provides generous subsidies to bio-diesel producers. And President Bush signed a bill in October setting up tax breaks that producers and pass on to people who buy bio-diesel. Willie says he's not in it for the money. He's hoping bio-diesel can help America's family farmers get back on their feet. WILLIE NELSON, SINGER, SONGWRITER: I want to see millions of acres and millions of farmers, new farmers, old farmers out there growing fuel for America.

HAYS: It's a cause that gives the words of Willie's famous song a whole new meaning.

NELSON: On the road again.

HAYS: Kathleen Hays, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: Time for a check of stories in the news right now. This Easter Sunday, Pope John Paul II blessed a crowd of thousands in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. He tried but was unable to speak. Many in the crowd cried or applauded his effort.

An attorney for the parents of Terri Schiavo says she is, "past the point of no return." Another spokesman for the Schindler family denies that. Family members on both sides of the dispute have stopped speaking with the media for now, and the Schindler's have asked protesters to go home for Easter Sunday.

Supporters of Schiavo's parents are still pushing Governor Jeb Bush to intervene in some way. Governor Bush says his heart goes out to Schiavo's parents and to her husband. But he tells CNN; he cannot violate a court order. A live report on the Schiavo case is just moments away.

SANCHEZ: The "L.A. Times" is reporting that House Speaker (sic) Tom DeLay once faced a similar situation as that of Michael Schiavo, and chose to disconnect his father from life support. DeLay and his family disconnected Charles DeLay after a freak accident had left him hospitalized like Schiavo; he did not have a living will and was found to be in a permanent vegetative state. However, a spokesman for the DeLay's says that the two cases are different because Charles DeLay was also on a ventilator. DeLay has criticized Michael Schiavo calling his actions at one point, barbaric.

The extraordinary political action in the Terri Schiavo case has generated plenty of criticism. Today there is a big topic on the Sunday circuits as well. CNN's Elaine Quijano is joining us with the details. She's in Crawford, Texas where the president has been spending the weekend. Elaine over to you.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you Rick. That's right, it was one week ago that President Bush rushed back to Washington from his ranch here in Crawford, Texas, in order to be in place to sign that emergency legislation in the Schiavo case. But a new poll shows that most Americans did not agree with that decision.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish all the fellow citizens and their families a Happy Easter.

QUIJANO (voice over): At Fort Hood in Texas, President Bush made no mention of Terri Schiavo as he left Easter services. But one week after he signed legislation, aimed at giving federal courts jurisdiction in the Schiavo case, a new poll by "Time" magazine shows most Americans think he and Congress were wrong to intervene. Seventy percent feel that way about the president's involvement. And 75 percent do not agree with Congress' intervention but some Republicans are defending lawmaker's actions.

REP. DAVE WELON, (R) FLORIDA: One of the things that make the United States unique in nations of the world are belief in the sanctity of human life.

NEWT GINGRICH, FMR. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: All the Congress was doing a week ago was allowing the Schiavo family the same opportunity that every convicted murderer has.

QUIJANO: On the Democratic side, one lawmaker, who vehemently argued against legislative action, offered explanations on why her colleagues remained silent.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: I think that the Democratic leadership was very concerned about not doing what the special interest groups and activists had been doing and that's politicizing a family tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let Terri live!

QUIJANO: Still, others made no apologizes for going along with Republican-led legislative efforts.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I thought she deserved at least one more chance in a federal court to ask whether that constituted a denial of due process in the deprivation of her right to life.

QUIJANO (on camera): Now, despite the poll numbers, analysts say voters have short memories. And they say that the intervention by President Bush and members of Congress should not have any lasting political impact. Rick.

SANCHEZ: Although the political impact for Governor Jeb Bush in Florida continues, even as we speak, Elaine. We thank you so much for that report from Crawford, Texas, we should add.

WILLIS: Terri Schiavo has been kept alive all these years by a feeding tube connected to her stomach. The technology surrounding the feeding tube has changed dramatically in the past 20+ years. Earlier I spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky, one of two doctors credited with creating the feeding tube being used today.

DR. JEFFREY PONSKY, CASE WORKER RESERVE UNIV: In 1979 I was working with a pediatric surgeon named Mike Guaderer, and he and I were required to put in feeding tubes in a number of babies who had severe neurological problems and required long-term feedings. Many of these children did have a potential for recovery. And at that time, the only way to put in a feeding tube was to do a major operation, opening up the abdomen under general anesthesia. And we were fortunate together to work out a technique and Dr. Guaderer had been thinking about it for a while and we worked together to develop in technique. Where by we were able to perform this procedure with an endoscopies going through the patient's mouth rather than to make a big abdominal incision and the technique involved a combination of putting a needle through the abdominal wall and catching it with the endoscopes through the patient's mouth. And then feeding the tube back down through the mouth and out through the abdominal wall.

WILLIS: So it sounds possibly like the way this technology is used today may be different than what you originally intended, is it?

PONSKY: Certainly, we intended it for patients who had some recovery potential. And indeed, Terri Schiavo, when this tube was put in, had a recovery potential. So in some of these cases, we get wonderful gratification because the patients get better and someone like Terri Schiavo, unfortunately we are left with a dilemma like this.

WILLIS: Well you say a dilemma like this do you mean to say that you disagree with the way it's being used now?

PONSKY: Not at all. I think this tube has kept this patient alive. This patient has not shown recovery. And now the ethical question becomes paramount. The feeding tube isn't really the issue. The issue is whether the patient should be kept alive by any means, whether it is a respirator or IV fluids, or even continued oral feeding. Make no mistake: feedings don't have to go through our type of feeding tube. They can be delivered intravenously or through the nose with a tube. But the real issue is whether to prolong this patient's life. And that's the ethical issue which I can't solve.

WILLIS: We have been talking of course about reconnecting Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, is that a difficult procedure?

PONSKY: Well, typically, once it's been removed, if it's replaced within a few hours or a day, it can usually be put right back in. To put a feeding tube like the one she had back in, would probably, and I haven't seen her or examined her, but would probably require that she undergo another andoscopy and some sedation in order to put the tube in. It's not as easy as when you just change the tube right away.

WILLIS: Dr. Ponsky thanks for your help today.

PONSKY: It's a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.

WILLIS: I asked the doctor whether it was better to use a feeding tube over intravenous feeding? He said yes, it is, because it's healthier for the patient, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Interesting. Quite a discovery that he has there huh.

WILLIS: Absolutely. SANCHEZ: On this Easter Sunday as Christians around the world proclaimed their belief, we need one group. The Easter morning church service wasn't just a demonstration of faith. It was also a show of courage. As they put their lives on the line in order to worship.

WILLIS: Also ahead, rising water swallowing up more and more land across the U.S. coast. What can be done to reverse this trend? You are watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

LA ERICA PLASAHA: Hello, my name is La (ph) Erica Plasaha (ph) I'm here in Camp Fallujah, Iraq. I just wanted to say Happy Easter to my family back home in Brooklyn, New York. Hi Lucy. Hi Sandra and hi Roseina. I love you all and miss you all and I should be home soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. There is another gruesome video that's surfacing from Iraq. On, it a group claiming to be al Qaeda, purports to have killed an Iraqi ministry official. The video was posted today on Islamic Website. CNN could not authenticate independently the claim. However the Associated Press is saying the tape shows a man apparently being killed. The Iraqi ministry told CNN that it could not immediately verify the tape's authenticity. We'll keep checking on it for you. Gerri, over to you.

WILLIS: Insurgents have also attacked ordinary Iraqi citizens. Often their targets are Christians who make up about 3 percent of Iraq's mostly Muslim population. On this Easter Sunday, security is tight as many Christians reflect on the violence. Our Aneesh Raman visits one church that's still reeling from an attack last year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On this holiest of days for Christians, a gathering prescribed by religion, but defined by resilience. A dwindling congregation meets at this Baghdad Christian church led by Father Mukalseeen. Dwindling in part because the faithful have been routinely targeted by insurgents.

REV. MANSOUR MUKALSEEEN: They cannot escape from this situation so they have to take it. But at this moment, it's a little bit better than some month or two months ago. And that moment, in some places they are really suffering.

RAMAN: They suffered here. Five months ago this church was rocked by a bomb that destroyed everything. One of five attacked by insurgents in a single morning.

MUKALSEEEN: The church a huge fire went on, see. And it was such a strong tension inside, that the church became to look a bomb had exploded.

RAMAN: The remnants of that day remain -- a destroyed painting, unfinished construction, a ravaged crucifix, one that the congregation will not repair, so it will serve as a persistent reminder. It will take about a year for the entire reconstruction of the church to be complete. And for Father Mukalseeen, the hope is that in the after math of attacks like this Iraqi Christians do not start leaving the country.

Iraq has just under one million Christians a small minority. Since the attacks began, many have left. For those who stayed days like this, reaffirm a sense of belonging.

MUKALSEEEN: If I wouldn't have this faith in God and in Christianity, they are like lost people. They tonight have something inside.

RAMAN: This church is five decades old, led by Father Mukalseeen seen for the past 20- years it has survived the worst of war and on this Easter Sunday, seeks simply to pray in peace.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: The news around the world now. Lebanon's president vows to fight violence in his country, following the third bombing in eight days. It's a blast that occurred in a mostly Christian sector of Beirut last night. The apparent car bomb injured several people and turned multistory buildings into infernos.

Lebanon is deeply divided over Syria's political and military presence there. Monaco's ailing Prince Rainier appears to be improving. A palace spokesperson is telling CNN the monarch has regained consciousness and stabilized after being placed in intensive care. Rainier has ruled Monaco since 1949. He married, as many note, American actress Grace Kelly in 1956 -- she died in a car crash in 1982.

And this story, a high-ranking Church of England official is calling on Prince Charles to apologize to his fiancee's ex-husband. The prince plans to marry Camilla Parker Bowles April 8th. Bishop David Stanco (ph) say church rules demand that Charles first atone for adultery and apologize to Andrew Parker-Bowles for breaking up his marriage. No comment yet from Charles' office.

WILLIS: Carol Lin is here with a preview of what is coming up at 6:00. Carol what's going on?

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I want to do more on that story. I mean, you can imagine!

WILLIS: That's a great story.

LIN: I have your ex-boyfriend.

WILLIS: Do you have to mean it is the question?

LIN: Or do it in person. We have I think it is going to be an inspiring story. I'll be interviewing Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has written a children's book about St. Frances of Aceci. The patrons say to the animals and the environment about why he is doing it. And it will be interesting to also ask him in this age of Terri Schiavo whether faith has a role in politics and visa versa. So I'll be talking to him at 6:00.

At 10:00, you'll hear an interview Jesse Jackson who interviewed Michael Jackson, and apparently Jesse has been doing some spiritual advising of the pop superstar during this trial. So it will be interesting to get his take on how Michael's doing and what's going on with the case. And might want to also ask him about Terri Schiavo. And this right to die or right to life case and get his take on current events.

SANCHEZ: Two big names a Kennedy and a Jackson.

LIN: There you go.

WILLIS: Great interviews Carol.

LIN: Look forward to it.

WILLIS: Tune in.

LIN: Easter Time.

SANCHEZ: Well the polar caps are melting. Sea levels are rising and shorelines are disappearing. What does a warming planet mean for coastal cities? Could evacuations be far behind? It's an interesting question. We are going and search of some answers for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Brad Huffines with this influenza update from Center for Disease Control. Looking at the map you can see that there is still widespread activity from Kentucky over across the Virginia's, down to North Carolina and up through the Delmarva. The rest of the east is still experiencing in the blue and that means widespread activity become the more regional across the nations plains things are getting better. The more states that turn purple the more regional the activity and localized it's becoming. As the weather warms, this map will continue to get better. You can always, though, count on CNN SUNDAY, which will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Coastal Louisiana sinking into the sea loosing about 100 yards every half hour, the experts it is likely to get even worse if there is more global warming. The residents of low-lying New Orleans face an uncertain future. As CNN's Miles O'Brien reports in our special report, we call it "Melting Point."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the marshy bayou where the mighty Mississippi rolls and royals into the Gulf of Mexico, the water is rising, the land is sinking and a way of life is gradually fading away. KENNY CAMPO: In 1960, this channel marker right here was only 40 feet on land. Now as you can see, it's no longer on land. None of the markers are on land.

O'BRIEN: Kenny Campo is as much a creature of the Bayou as the wild game he has pursued here, most of his 56 years.

CAMPO: Muskrats, otters, newtras, minks. We trapped all of that in here. But we're losing it. It's gone.

O'BRIEN: Gone, along with the marches that sustain his prey. Swallowed up by the muddy waters of the big river.

Where there was once 14,000 square miles of marsh and swamp, there is now half that much.

PROFESSOR BOB THOMAS: We lose about a football field size about every 30 to 40 minutes.

O'BRIEN: Professor Bob Thomas is chair of Environmental Communications at Loyola University in New Orleans, the city the United Nations has called the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming in North America.

You live in Dover England, and you go out and look over the edge and you look down this big cliff and you say, the water will come up about six and a half inch in the next 50 years or maybe even 10 inches in the next 100 years. It's not a lot of concern. But if you live in coastal Louisiana that's like this.

O'BRIEN: Louisiana is so vulnerable because of a special problem. Hundreds of years of carving up and walling off the Mississippi Delta to suit human needs, has made the terra, not so firma. 'Now much of Bayou country is already sinking. Global warming will make it worse.

THOMAS: So literally, you could come up with anywhere from 21 to 44 inches of relative sea level rise in the next 50 to 100 years.

O'BRIEN: Big numbers in a place that is home to big numbers. Two million people live in coastal Louisiana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: But slowly, quietly people are leaving the places they love. Places like Shell Beach, where an old fishing community has dwindled to a handful of fishermen.

THOMAS: We haven't seen any cities where people have had to move yet but are there are several of them in Louisiana that I would believe in my children's lifetime will have to be relocated. It's going to be a mass of relocation effort.

O'BRIEN: Now think globally for a minute. Consider the millions of people all over the world who live near the sea. LONNIE THOMPSON, BYRD POLAR RESEARCH CENTER: I think this is the thing that really makes our world so much different than in the past. We had natural variations and things like sea level. We never had 6.3 billion people. And we never had a millions of those people living right at sea level.

O'BRIEN: Thirteen of the 17 largest cities in the world sit right on the water. Jakarta, Bombay, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles. So why are the seas rising? It's not as if the icebergs that are currently in the ocean are melting. That would be no different than this glass, as the ice melts, it doesn't cause this cup to run it over. No, the ice that is the problem is the ice that is on land. In this case, the ice buckets. Add some ice to the drink, and very quickly, you've got a big mess. In the case of the planet, the ice bucket is Antarctica.

RUSS SCHNELL, NOAA SCIENTIST: That's where it is. There are two miles of ice in Antarctica. That's two miles, not two feet. Two miles' thick. That's a lot of ice, spread over a huge area. When that starts break and moving out and melting and then you will see sea level change.

O'BRIEN: So what if the sea's rise a foot and a half over the next century? What will be the cost to us all? The United Nations estimates somewhere between $20 and $150 billion in property damage in the U.S. alone but that figure doesn't tell the real story.

THOMAS: Resources won't be here and people will not be living their lives the same way and that'll be a tragedy.

O'BRIEN: And for Kenny Campo the loss of a way of life.

CAMPO: What does a man 60 years old do? Someone will hire him when he's bane fisherman all his life? No. He stays fishing. He makes a living out of it. But his kids, his grandkids are moving out. We're losing our future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Programming note "Melting Point" is one of four CNN special reports on critical issues that are facing our world in the next 25 years. Miles O'Brien tracks the global warming threat. You can see the entire program. It's tonight, it is at 8:00 Eastern, and it's only on CNN.

WILLIS: That's all of the time we have this hour.

SANCHEZ: Next on CNN, straight ahead with the detailed look at Sony's new Play station Portable. Does it live up to the hype my kids want to know? Maybe yours too?

WILLIS: We will have a check of the headlines right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired March 27, 2005 - 16:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: ...violate a court order. I don't have...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here's something you're going to see only on CNN. Governor Jeb Bush reacting to calls for him to use his executive power into the Terri Schiavo case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHINDLER ATTORNEY: They've begun to give her morphine drip for the pain, and at this point, we would say Terri has passed the point of no return.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: But no matter what happens now, is Terri Schiavo's fate already sealed? We're live in Florida for all the latest developments.

SANCHEZ: Also, it's holiest day for Christians around the world. You are going to find out how the pope tried to overcome his ailing health to try and honor the faithful at the Vatican.

Hello again, everybody, on CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I am Rick Sanchez.

WILLIS: And I am Gerri Willis. We will go live to Florida in just a moment, but first a look at what is happening else in the news.

The body of an Iowa girl abducted from her home has been found. Officials in Johnson County confirmed that a body discovered near an abandoned mobile home was that of 10-year-old Jetseta Marrie Gage. The man accused of killing her is being held on $1 million bond.

President Bush attended an Easter service with troops at Fort Hood, Texas. The president prayed for peace and for soldiers and their families. It's the third straight year President Bush has spent Easter with troops at Fort Hood. Afterward, he returned to his ranch in Crawford.

Syria withdrew more troops from Lebanon today. The nation has already pulled out more than a third of its 13,000 troops stationed in Lebanon. This latest pullback comes after an explosion yesterday in a Christian suburb of Beirut.

SANCHEZ: We're going to begin this hour, though, by taking you to Florida, where we're hearing some conflicting reports right now on the fate of Terri Schiavo. An attorney for her parents is saying essentially that Schiavo's now past the point of no return. However, a spokesman for the family is saying that's simply not true. Let's go to CNN's Bob Franken. He's live outside the hospice center in Pinellas Park following the story throughout the course of the day, and he is joining us now. Good afternoon, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Rick. Family members say that they have visited her in the hospice, that she is still vital. She's fighting, they say, they're going to continue their fight. But they're also trying to tamp down a little bit the intensity of their supporters. There have been a number of demonstrations. Probably the most notable of the day is when a group of disabled people laid down in an act of civil disobedience. They were helped to be removed from their wheelchairs and laid down at the entrance of one of the hospices. The police, although they were violating a variety of laws, as one can understand, did not move against them. They're trying to make the point that Terri Schiavo is really just disabled, not in the vegetative state that doctors say she is, and that she could be rehabilitated.

As the demonstrators grew more intense through the day, family members who had asked that the vigil be closed down today, that people spend Easter with their families, sent Bobby Schindler up. Bobby Schindler is the brother of Terri Schiavo, who really met some resistance when he talked to the protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY SCHINDLER'S, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: We're not going to solve this problem today by getting arrested. We can change the laws, OK? But it's not going to change today. Getting arrested doesn't help...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't disagree. I don't disagree.

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: Oh, that's wrong. It's wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may or may not be, but here's the point. I am going to submit...

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: You're not speaking for our family...

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: You're not speaking for our family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

B. SCHINDLER: We're speaking for Terri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: But in spite of the angry rhetoric, things did calm down after a while. Rick, I should point out, that the police have increased security here -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Bob Franken, following that story for us out of Pinellas Park. We certainly thank you. Gerri, over to you.

WILLIS: Terri Schiavo's parents have urged Florida Governor Jeb Bush to do more to get their daughter's feeding tube reconnected. Just hours ago, CNN's Ed Henry spoke exclusively to the governor about that request -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Gerri. In fact, the governor told me that despite those pleas, he cannot and will not step in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Governor Bush emerges from Easter Sunday mass with a heavy heart.

(on camera): On this Easter, what are your thoughts about Terri Schiavo?

J. BUSH: I'm sad that she's in the situation that she's in. I feel bad for her family. My heart goes out to the Schindlers, and for that matter to Michael. This has not been an easy thing for any member of the family. But most particularly for Terri Schiavo. Without all of the (INAUDIBLE) enough uncertainty for people to have doubt, and I do.

HENRY: If she dies, are you at peace with the fact that you feel you've done all you can?

J. BUSH: Absolutely.

HENRY (voice-over): As a Catholic, the governor has faced intense pressure during the holiest week in the Christian calendar to intervene and save the brain-damaged woman's life.

At the governor's mansion on Good Friday, protesters held signs comparing Mr. Bush to Pontius Pilate.

REV. PATRICK MAHONEY, CHRISTIAN DEFENSE FUND: God, forgive us as a nation. Forgive us as a people. Can we truly say that we're the land of the free and the home of the brave when on Good Friday a woman is being starved to death?

HENRY: Schiavo's parents believe the governor has the executive power to override the courts and take custody of their daughter to restore her feeding tube. ROBERT SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: Governor Bush has the authority to stop all this. He's -- with a stroke of his pen, he could stop it. He can stop it immediately. He's put Terri through a week of hell and my family through a week of hell by not acting. And I implore him. It's going to take courage. But a man of integrity has courage. And I believe he has integrity. And again, I implore him to put a stop to this.

HENRY (on camera): But what do you say to the parents who say they feel you can do more and should do more?

J. BUSH: I can't. I'd love to, but I can't.

HENRY: And why is that? Because your interpretation of the state law is...

J. BUSH: It's not a question of interpretation. I mean, I cannot violate a court order. I don't have powers from the United States Constitution, or, for that matter, from the Florida Constitution that would allow me to intervene after a decision has been made.

HENRY (voice-over): But that's not good enough for some conservative activists who want Mr. Bush to step down.

LARRY KLAYMAN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, JUDICIAL WATCH: If that's his position, he ought to resign, quit, and go home right now, because we'll need a new governor to protect us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: While there is divided legal opinion on whether or not the governor can take custody, all sides agree that such a move would lead to another nasty legal showdown. And the governor is making it clear once again to CNN, he's not going down that road -- Gerri.

WILLIS: Ed Henry, when you talked to governor before, it seems to me that he expressed a lot of emotion about this topic. Did you see that in his conversation?

HENRY: I absolutely did see that. And in talking to people close to him, they say that in recent days this has really been weighing heavily on him. But they insist, it's not the political pressure, it's not the protests that are weighing on him. It's the fact that he has such deep concern for Terri Schiavo and her parents, and today he also mentioned to us, for Michael Schiavo as well. He made it clear, he has deep concern for all sides, but he's not worrying about the political pressure. He's just really concerned about the emotional impact on this family -- Gerri.

WILLIS: Ed Henry, thank you for that report.

SANCHEZ: Christians around the world gathered today to celebrate Easter Sunday. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the U.S. military sponsored a non-denominational Easter sunrise service. And now in Jerusalem, the holy day was marked with prayers and hymns. Pilgrims celebrated mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcur. It is the site where Roman Catholics believe that Jesus Christ was buried. Many Protestants, though, say that he was buried in a nearby garden tomb.

And now let's take you to Baghdad. There, U.S. forces also observed a religious holiday. These pictures exclusive to CNN, from a military service there. U.S. troops were able to lay down their weapons, at least temporarily, to market the resurrection of Jesus.

WILLIS: An emotional scene at the Vatican today. Pope John Paul II tried to give his traditional Easter blessing, but his voice was so weak from his recent surgery that he couldn't. His evident frustration brought tears to the eyes of many at St. Peter's Square, but the ailing pope found another way to reward them. Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Not even the morning rain could keep pilgrims away from St. Peter's Square. The feeling of anticipation to see the pope at the window of his apostolic palace was palpable.

Elise is from Los Angeles, but studies in London.

ELISE VETZEL, PILGRIM: Oh, my gosh, that would be just glorious. I would love to see the pope. That would be amazing.

VINCI: Katie is an American student, in Rome for a semester.

KATIE HAMMOND, PILGRIM: I would hope that we would see him, just because it would mean that he's well enough to come greet us.

VINCI: As expected, the pope didn't preside over the long Easter mass, which he followed on television from his study. But at the end of it, as a top cardinal was preparing to read the pope's traditional Easter Sunday blessing, the frail figure of the 84-year-old pontiff emerged.

The crowd below broke into a long applause. Some were overwhelmed. The pope sat for almost 15 minutes while the cardinal read his message, calling for peace in Africa and the Middle East, and for all those suffering from hunger and poverty.

At one point, he tried to utter a few words, but simply couldn't. Unable to bless the crowd with words, he used his hand.

Pilgrims and tourists, including those who hours earlier had only hoped to see him, felt rewarded.

VETZEL: I just felt completely unified with like all the people there, and all the people, you know, watching on television and such. So it was a very glorious moment, I thought.

HAMMOND: The whole thing was beautiful. What I thought was best was just the crowd's reaction to him. You could tell that everyone was so pleased that he was well enough to come and greet everyone.

VINCI (on camera): Because the pope is first and foremost a priest, his inability to give mass on Easter Sunday must have been a terrible burden for him.

At the same time, he can take comfort from the fact that his silent message of suffering continues to have an impact on pilgrims here in Rome and around the globe.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here is an appropriate story for this day: Faith under fire. How Iraqi Christians refused to let insurgent attacks ruin their most holy day. That story still coming your way.

WILLIS: Plus, could America's farmers hold the key to energy independence for the U.S.? We'll explain why country legend Willie Nelson thinks so and what he's doing to change how you drive your car.

SANCHEZ: Also, up next, Michael Jackson goes on the air, to talk about his criminal case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT LOUIS NARR: I'm Sergeant Louis Narr (ph) with (INAUDIBLE) from Camp Fallujah, Iraq. I just want to say happy Easter to all my family in the Bronx, Yonkers, Staten Island and Long Island, and also happy Easter to everybody working at the Bronx Board of Elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY. The judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial is going to take up a crucial issue tomorrow. Judge Rodney Melville is going to hear arguments on whether prosecutors can introduce past claims against the pop star, to show jurors a pattern of abuse. Accusations in 1990, for example, and 1993 were settled out of court, so there were no criminal charges.

As for Jackson himself, he appeared on the radio with the Reverend Jesse Jackson. The show is called "Keep Hope Alive."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: I gained strength from God. I believe in Jehovah God very much, and I gained strength from the fact that I know I'm innocent. None of these stories are true. It's totally fabricated, and very sad, very, very painful. And I pray a lot. And that's how I deal with it. And I'm a strong person, I'm a warrior, and I know what's inside of me. I'm a fighter. It's very painful. At the end of the day, I am still human. You know, I'm still a human being. So it does hurt very, very, very much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was part of the message from Michael Jackson. He goes on to say that he's gaining strength from his faith and his God and from knowing, he says, that he is innocent -- Gerri.

WILLIS: They're watching for super cells in several Gulf Coast states today, where sever thunderstorms could spun dangerous tornadoes, and there is more widespread pain -- rain, that is -- pelting the nation's midsection. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is live with all the latest on the wicked weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WILLIS: Brad, thanks for that report.

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Certainly.

SANCHEZ: As we continue, we're going to look at into what a feeding tube really is, as the one being used in the Terri Schiavo case. For example, is it a form of life support? How invasive is it? How is it developed? We're going to hear, in fact, from one of its creators.

Also up next, how this military training exercise reveals an important function of your everyday memory. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: The mystery of memory, what is it, and what happens to our memory under extreme stress? CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the mystery in tonight's prime-time special, "Memory." Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not going to listen to anymore lies from you. You've been lying to me, off an on, ever since we've started this interview.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You'd think it would be unforgettable. Imagine, nearly an hour, face to face, an interrogator leans in, cajoling, then threatening, demanding the code word.

This is the military's elite survival school at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The final exam? Three days of hell. Hiding in starvation in the woods, inevitable capture, an interrogation by an instructor playing the role a brutal warden in a POW camp. If you want to study the effect of stress on memory, this is the place.

Dr. Andy Morgan of Yale University tested trainees during the mock interrogation. Not surprisingly, he found that stress, measured by hormone levels, is extremely high.

DR. ANDY MORGAN, YALE: It's extraordinarily high. I mean, specifically that it's higher in levels than we've seen in people who are landing on the aircraft carrier at night for the first time. It's higher than in people who are skydiving for the first time.

So the physical pressure can be up. People can actually physically touch them. And their heart rate goes way up, to about 165, 175 beats a minute.

GUPTA: A day later, Morgan showed trainees a lineup, like the ones used by police. Could they identify the guard who was grilling them? Remarkably, the answer for most was no.

Details of the training are classified. The military did not let us film the mock interrogation. But we can say the interrogator's face is uncovered and comes within inches of the squirming prisoner.

And yet, when shown a set of photos, only 34 percent could identify the man or woman who had confronted them. In the experiment, the eyes were not covered as they are here.

MORGAN: People picked a male when it was a female who had interrogated them. We had people who were interrogated by white men, who picked black men in the lineup, and other minorities. We had people who were picking folks as their interrogator who have hair on their head, when in fact their interrogator was bald.

GUPTA: When photos were shown one by one, instead of all at once, accuracy was a little better, but still just 49 percent.

Memory may have suffered from lack of food and sleep. But Morgan says stress was the key, and that the more stress the trainee registered, the less accurate he was.

MORGAN: So for the high-stress event, whether you give live lineups, photo spreads, or the sequential photo lineup, you would have done better flipping a coin.

GUPTA: When it comes to memory, we often can't trust our own eyes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reveals the surprising secrets about memory in this prime-time special. That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific only on CNN.

SANCHEZ: One week ago today, Congress was racing trying to pass legislation to help Terri Schiavo's parents get their daughter's feeding tube removed. So why is Capitol Hill suddenly so quiet this weekend? We will have a live report.

WILLIS: Plus, how country legend Willie Nelson is trying to change the way America pumps up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Willie Nelson, a name that conjures up "Stardust Memories," "Outlaw Country," Farm Aid, and now he hopes, biodiesel. With gas prices sky high, alternative energy sources of all kinds are getting a lot of attention these days. Biodiesel has actually been around for decades, though. Nelson now wants to use his star power to try to bring it to truck stops all over the country.

Here is CNN's Kathleen Hays.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Willie Nelson is on the road again, but these days it's not about a music tour like the one those famous lyrics celebrate. It's a new venture that's always on his mind these days: Biodiesel fuel. Willie's in the business of marketing this clean-burning fuel called Biowillie.

WILLIE NELSON, MUSICIAN: When I first heard about it, my wife told me -- this was a couple of years ago -- she said, you know, I want to buy this car that runs on vegetable oil. And I said, OK. So I bought a Mercedes. And it's never had anything in it except vegetable oil.

HAYS: Yes, biodiesel is made from vegetables, soybeans, even animal fats. Biowillie is a blend of pure biodiesel and petroleum diesel known as B-20, but even biodiesel blends reduce emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

Cleaner air is one big reason government agencies are using it. The U.S. Navy recently ordered that all Navy and Marine non-tactical diesel vehicles operate on B-20 blend biodiesel by June 1st of this year.

It's in all of Willie's tour buses. In fact, any diesel-burning car or truck can run on it, even school buses, without making any special changes to the engine.

Right now, biodiesel is sold at over 300 service stations across the country. Willie and his partners hope that by getting Biowillie distributed at more truck stops, more people will start using it.

It's still a niche product, though. The Energy Information Agency estimates that 44 million barrels of pure biodiesel will be sold this year. That compares with 44 billion barrels of petroleum diesel, and 142 billion barrels of gasoline.

FRED MAYES, ENERGY INFORMATION AGENCY: It has a lot of promise for reducing pollution. But it's still far too early to determine whether it will become viable in the marketplace.

HAYS: The government is doing its part to promote bio-diesel. It provides generous subsidies to bio-diesel producers. And President Bush signed a bill in October setting up tax breaks that producers and pass on to people who buy bio-diesel. Willie says he's not in it for the money. He's hoping bio-diesel can help America's family farmers get back on their feet. WILLIE NELSON, SINGER, SONGWRITER: I want to see millions of acres and millions of farmers, new farmers, old farmers out there growing fuel for America.

HAYS: It's a cause that gives the words of Willie's famous song a whole new meaning.

NELSON: On the road again.

HAYS: Kathleen Hays, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: Time for a check of stories in the news right now. This Easter Sunday, Pope John Paul II blessed a crowd of thousands in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. He tried but was unable to speak. Many in the crowd cried or applauded his effort.

An attorney for the parents of Terri Schiavo says she is, "past the point of no return." Another spokesman for the Schindler family denies that. Family members on both sides of the dispute have stopped speaking with the media for now, and the Schindler's have asked protesters to go home for Easter Sunday.

Supporters of Schiavo's parents are still pushing Governor Jeb Bush to intervene in some way. Governor Bush says his heart goes out to Schiavo's parents and to her husband. But he tells CNN; he cannot violate a court order. A live report on the Schiavo case is just moments away.

SANCHEZ: The "L.A. Times" is reporting that House Speaker (sic) Tom DeLay once faced a similar situation as that of Michael Schiavo, and chose to disconnect his father from life support. DeLay and his family disconnected Charles DeLay after a freak accident had left him hospitalized like Schiavo; he did not have a living will and was found to be in a permanent vegetative state. However, a spokesman for the DeLay's says that the two cases are different because Charles DeLay was also on a ventilator. DeLay has criticized Michael Schiavo calling his actions at one point, barbaric.

The extraordinary political action in the Terri Schiavo case has generated plenty of criticism. Today there is a big topic on the Sunday circuits as well. CNN's Elaine Quijano is joining us with the details. She's in Crawford, Texas where the president has been spending the weekend. Elaine over to you.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you Rick. That's right, it was one week ago that President Bush rushed back to Washington from his ranch here in Crawford, Texas, in order to be in place to sign that emergency legislation in the Schiavo case. But a new poll shows that most Americans did not agree with that decision.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish all the fellow citizens and their families a Happy Easter.

QUIJANO (voice over): At Fort Hood in Texas, President Bush made no mention of Terri Schiavo as he left Easter services. But one week after he signed legislation, aimed at giving federal courts jurisdiction in the Schiavo case, a new poll by "Time" magazine shows most Americans think he and Congress were wrong to intervene. Seventy percent feel that way about the president's involvement. And 75 percent do not agree with Congress' intervention but some Republicans are defending lawmaker's actions.

REP. DAVE WELON, (R) FLORIDA: One of the things that make the United States unique in nations of the world are belief in the sanctity of human life.

NEWT GINGRICH, FMR. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: All the Congress was doing a week ago was allowing the Schiavo family the same opportunity that every convicted murderer has.

QUIJANO: On the Democratic side, one lawmaker, who vehemently argued against legislative action, offered explanations on why her colleagues remained silent.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: I think that the Democratic leadership was very concerned about not doing what the special interest groups and activists had been doing and that's politicizing a family tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let Terri live!

QUIJANO: Still, others made no apologizes for going along with Republican-led legislative efforts.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I thought she deserved at least one more chance in a federal court to ask whether that constituted a denial of due process in the deprivation of her right to life.

QUIJANO (on camera): Now, despite the poll numbers, analysts say voters have short memories. And they say that the intervention by President Bush and members of Congress should not have any lasting political impact. Rick.

SANCHEZ: Although the political impact for Governor Jeb Bush in Florida continues, even as we speak, Elaine. We thank you so much for that report from Crawford, Texas, we should add.

WILLIS: Terri Schiavo has been kept alive all these years by a feeding tube connected to her stomach. The technology surrounding the feeding tube has changed dramatically in the past 20+ years. Earlier I spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky, one of two doctors credited with creating the feeding tube being used today.

DR. JEFFREY PONSKY, CASE WORKER RESERVE UNIV: In 1979 I was working with a pediatric surgeon named Mike Guaderer, and he and I were required to put in feeding tubes in a number of babies who had severe neurological problems and required long-term feedings. Many of these children did have a potential for recovery. And at that time, the only way to put in a feeding tube was to do a major operation, opening up the abdomen under general anesthesia. And we were fortunate together to work out a technique and Dr. Guaderer had been thinking about it for a while and we worked together to develop in technique. Where by we were able to perform this procedure with an endoscopies going through the patient's mouth rather than to make a big abdominal incision and the technique involved a combination of putting a needle through the abdominal wall and catching it with the endoscopes through the patient's mouth. And then feeding the tube back down through the mouth and out through the abdominal wall.

WILLIS: So it sounds possibly like the way this technology is used today may be different than what you originally intended, is it?

PONSKY: Certainly, we intended it for patients who had some recovery potential. And indeed, Terri Schiavo, when this tube was put in, had a recovery potential. So in some of these cases, we get wonderful gratification because the patients get better and someone like Terri Schiavo, unfortunately we are left with a dilemma like this.

WILLIS: Well you say a dilemma like this do you mean to say that you disagree with the way it's being used now?

PONSKY: Not at all. I think this tube has kept this patient alive. This patient has not shown recovery. And now the ethical question becomes paramount. The feeding tube isn't really the issue. The issue is whether the patient should be kept alive by any means, whether it is a respirator or IV fluids, or even continued oral feeding. Make no mistake: feedings don't have to go through our type of feeding tube. They can be delivered intravenously or through the nose with a tube. But the real issue is whether to prolong this patient's life. And that's the ethical issue which I can't solve.

WILLIS: We have been talking of course about reconnecting Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, is that a difficult procedure?

PONSKY: Well, typically, once it's been removed, if it's replaced within a few hours or a day, it can usually be put right back in. To put a feeding tube like the one she had back in, would probably, and I haven't seen her or examined her, but would probably require that she undergo another andoscopy and some sedation in order to put the tube in. It's not as easy as when you just change the tube right away.

WILLIS: Dr. Ponsky thanks for your help today.

PONSKY: It's a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.

WILLIS: I asked the doctor whether it was better to use a feeding tube over intravenous feeding? He said yes, it is, because it's healthier for the patient, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Interesting. Quite a discovery that he has there huh.

WILLIS: Absolutely. SANCHEZ: On this Easter Sunday as Christians around the world proclaimed their belief, we need one group. The Easter morning church service wasn't just a demonstration of faith. It was also a show of courage. As they put their lives on the line in order to worship.

WILLIS: Also ahead, rising water swallowing up more and more land across the U.S. coast. What can be done to reverse this trend? You are watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

LA ERICA PLASAHA: Hello, my name is La (ph) Erica Plasaha (ph) I'm here in Camp Fallujah, Iraq. I just wanted to say Happy Easter to my family back home in Brooklyn, New York. Hi Lucy. Hi Sandra and hi Roseina. I love you all and miss you all and I should be home soon.

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SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. There is another gruesome video that's surfacing from Iraq. On, it a group claiming to be al Qaeda, purports to have killed an Iraqi ministry official. The video was posted today on Islamic Website. CNN could not authenticate independently the claim. However the Associated Press is saying the tape shows a man apparently being killed. The Iraqi ministry told CNN that it could not immediately verify the tape's authenticity. We'll keep checking on it for you. Gerri, over to you.

WILLIS: Insurgents have also attacked ordinary Iraqi citizens. Often their targets are Christians who make up about 3 percent of Iraq's mostly Muslim population. On this Easter Sunday, security is tight as many Christians reflect on the violence. Our Aneesh Raman visits one church that's still reeling from an attack last year.

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ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On this holiest of days for Christians, a gathering prescribed by religion, but defined by resilience. A dwindling congregation meets at this Baghdad Christian church led by Father Mukalseeen. Dwindling in part because the faithful have been routinely targeted by insurgents.

REV. MANSOUR MUKALSEEEN: They cannot escape from this situation so they have to take it. But at this moment, it's a little bit better than some month or two months ago. And that moment, in some places they are really suffering.

RAMAN: They suffered here. Five months ago this church was rocked by a bomb that destroyed everything. One of five attacked by insurgents in a single morning.

MUKALSEEEN: The church a huge fire went on, see. And it was such a strong tension inside, that the church became to look a bomb had exploded.

RAMAN: The remnants of that day remain -- a destroyed painting, unfinished construction, a ravaged crucifix, one that the congregation will not repair, so it will serve as a persistent reminder. It will take about a year for the entire reconstruction of the church to be complete. And for Father Mukalseeen, the hope is that in the after math of attacks like this Iraqi Christians do not start leaving the country.

Iraq has just under one million Christians a small minority. Since the attacks began, many have left. For those who stayed days like this, reaffirm a sense of belonging.

MUKALSEEEN: If I wouldn't have this faith in God and in Christianity, they are like lost people. They tonight have something inside.

RAMAN: This church is five decades old, led by Father Mukalseeen seen for the past 20- years it has survived the worst of war and on this Easter Sunday, seeks simply to pray in peace.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: The news around the world now. Lebanon's president vows to fight violence in his country, following the third bombing in eight days. It's a blast that occurred in a mostly Christian sector of Beirut last night. The apparent car bomb injured several people and turned multistory buildings into infernos.

Lebanon is deeply divided over Syria's political and military presence there. Monaco's ailing Prince Rainier appears to be improving. A palace spokesperson is telling CNN the monarch has regained consciousness and stabilized after being placed in intensive care. Rainier has ruled Monaco since 1949. He married, as many note, American actress Grace Kelly in 1956 -- she died in a car crash in 1982.

And this story, a high-ranking Church of England official is calling on Prince Charles to apologize to his fiancee's ex-husband. The prince plans to marry Camilla Parker Bowles April 8th. Bishop David Stanco (ph) say church rules demand that Charles first atone for adultery and apologize to Andrew Parker-Bowles for breaking up his marriage. No comment yet from Charles' office.

WILLIS: Carol Lin is here with a preview of what is coming up at 6:00. Carol what's going on?

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I want to do more on that story. I mean, you can imagine!

WILLIS: That's a great story.

LIN: I have your ex-boyfriend.

WILLIS: Do you have to mean it is the question?

LIN: Or do it in person. We have I think it is going to be an inspiring story. I'll be interviewing Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has written a children's book about St. Frances of Aceci. The patrons say to the animals and the environment about why he is doing it. And it will be interesting to also ask him in this age of Terri Schiavo whether faith has a role in politics and visa versa. So I'll be talking to him at 6:00.

At 10:00, you'll hear an interview Jesse Jackson who interviewed Michael Jackson, and apparently Jesse has been doing some spiritual advising of the pop superstar during this trial. So it will be interesting to get his take on how Michael's doing and what's going on with the case. And might want to also ask him about Terri Schiavo. And this right to die or right to life case and get his take on current events.

SANCHEZ: Two big names a Kennedy and a Jackson.

LIN: There you go.

WILLIS: Great interviews Carol.

LIN: Look forward to it.

WILLIS: Tune in.

LIN: Easter Time.

SANCHEZ: Well the polar caps are melting. Sea levels are rising and shorelines are disappearing. What does a warming planet mean for coastal cities? Could evacuations be far behind? It's an interesting question. We are going and search of some answers for you.

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BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Brad Huffines with this influenza update from Center for Disease Control. Looking at the map you can see that there is still widespread activity from Kentucky over across the Virginia's, down to North Carolina and up through the Delmarva. The rest of the east is still experiencing in the blue and that means widespread activity become the more regional across the nations plains things are getting better. The more states that turn purple the more regional the activity and localized it's becoming. As the weather warms, this map will continue to get better. You can always, though, count on CNN SUNDAY, which will continue right after this.

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SANCHEZ: Coastal Louisiana sinking into the sea loosing about 100 yards every half hour, the experts it is likely to get even worse if there is more global warming. The residents of low-lying New Orleans face an uncertain future. As CNN's Miles O'Brien reports in our special report, we call it "Melting Point."

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MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the marshy bayou where the mighty Mississippi rolls and royals into the Gulf of Mexico, the water is rising, the land is sinking and a way of life is gradually fading away. KENNY CAMPO: In 1960, this channel marker right here was only 40 feet on land. Now as you can see, it's no longer on land. None of the markers are on land.

O'BRIEN: Kenny Campo is as much a creature of the Bayou as the wild game he has pursued here, most of his 56 years.

CAMPO: Muskrats, otters, newtras, minks. We trapped all of that in here. But we're losing it. It's gone.

O'BRIEN: Gone, along with the marches that sustain his prey. Swallowed up by the muddy waters of the big river.

Where there was once 14,000 square miles of marsh and swamp, there is now half that much.

PROFESSOR BOB THOMAS: We lose about a football field size about every 30 to 40 minutes.

O'BRIEN: Professor Bob Thomas is chair of Environmental Communications at Loyola University in New Orleans, the city the United Nations has called the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming in North America.

You live in Dover England, and you go out and look over the edge and you look down this big cliff and you say, the water will come up about six and a half inch in the next 50 years or maybe even 10 inches in the next 100 years. It's not a lot of concern. But if you live in coastal Louisiana that's like this.

O'BRIEN: Louisiana is so vulnerable because of a special problem. Hundreds of years of carving up and walling off the Mississippi Delta to suit human needs, has made the terra, not so firma. 'Now much of Bayou country is already sinking. Global warming will make it worse.

THOMAS: So literally, you could come up with anywhere from 21 to 44 inches of relative sea level rise in the next 50 to 100 years.

O'BRIEN: Big numbers in a place that is home to big numbers. Two million people live in coastal Louisiana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: But slowly, quietly people are leaving the places they love. Places like Shell Beach, where an old fishing community has dwindled to a handful of fishermen.

THOMAS: We haven't seen any cities where people have had to move yet but are there are several of them in Louisiana that I would believe in my children's lifetime will have to be relocated. It's going to be a mass of relocation effort.

O'BRIEN: Now think globally for a minute. Consider the millions of people all over the world who live near the sea. LONNIE THOMPSON, BYRD POLAR RESEARCH CENTER: I think this is the thing that really makes our world so much different than in the past. We had natural variations and things like sea level. We never had 6.3 billion people. And we never had a millions of those people living right at sea level.

O'BRIEN: Thirteen of the 17 largest cities in the world sit right on the water. Jakarta, Bombay, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles. So why are the seas rising? It's not as if the icebergs that are currently in the ocean are melting. That would be no different than this glass, as the ice melts, it doesn't cause this cup to run it over. No, the ice that is the problem is the ice that is on land. In this case, the ice buckets. Add some ice to the drink, and very quickly, you've got a big mess. In the case of the planet, the ice bucket is Antarctica.

RUSS SCHNELL, NOAA SCIENTIST: That's where it is. There are two miles of ice in Antarctica. That's two miles, not two feet. Two miles' thick. That's a lot of ice, spread over a huge area. When that starts break and moving out and melting and then you will see sea level change.

O'BRIEN: So what if the sea's rise a foot and a half over the next century? What will be the cost to us all? The United Nations estimates somewhere between $20 and $150 billion in property damage in the U.S. alone but that figure doesn't tell the real story.

THOMAS: Resources won't be here and people will not be living their lives the same way and that'll be a tragedy.

O'BRIEN: And for Kenny Campo the loss of a way of life.

CAMPO: What does a man 60 years old do? Someone will hire him when he's bane fisherman all his life? No. He stays fishing. He makes a living out of it. But his kids, his grandkids are moving out. We're losing our future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Programming note "Melting Point" is one of four CNN special reports on critical issues that are facing our world in the next 25 years. Miles O'Brien tracks the global warming threat. You can see the entire program. It's tonight, it is at 8:00 Eastern, and it's only on CNN.

WILLIS: That's all of the time we have this hour.

SANCHEZ: Next on CNN, straight ahead with the detailed look at Sony's new Play station Portable. Does it live up to the hype my kids want to know? Maybe yours too?

WILLIS: We will have a check of the headlines right after this break.

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