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The Pope's Parting Message to the World; Problems With the Space Shuttle Discovery

Aired April 07, 2005 - 07:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just moments from now, the pope's parting message to the world. His last will and final spiritual statement expected to be made public, all this as Rome gets ready for the final that could overwhelm this city. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, and Bill Hemmer in Rome.

HEMMER: Hello, again. And good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer at the Vatican.

Soledad, good morning to you as well.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill. Thanks.

Lots to talk about this morning. I'm reporting from New York City this morning.

We're going to take a look this morning at problems with the Space Shuttle Discovery. It bears some ominous similarities to what doomed the Shuttle Columbia.

Also this morning, we're going to tell you about some interesting comments that were made by the Reverend Al Sharpton to O.J. Simpson at Johnnie Cochran's funeral.

Those stories ahead and much more as well, plus Mr. Cafferty with us this morning.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: They're at it again down there in the state of Florida. There's a new law that Governor Jeb Bush thinks is just a great idea. If you perceive that you are about to be the victim of a violent crime, under this new law, you can whip out your Smith & Wesson and lay a little lethal force right on them. No questions asked. The NRA think its a good idea. A lot of people think it will lead to the shoot now, ask questions later Wild, Wild West kind of deal. We'll take a look at it.

O'BRIEN: Lots of questions about that this morning. Thank you, Jack. Let's get right back to Bill, though, first in Rome.

Hey, Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

As Rome gets ready for this papal funeral tomorrow on Friday, here's what we're learning today. Details of the pope's final will will be made public at any moment. In fact we're waiting for word from the Vatican any minute. We'll bring it to you live when it happens here.

Also officials are trying to wrap up this procession of mourners coming to view the pope's remains. Late last night, pilgrims trying to get in line were turned away. But then a few moments ago, many people jumping the line again today. But the public viewing officially will end tonight, at 10:00 Italy time at St. Peter's Basilica, and then close for final preparations for the funeral on Friday. Estimates of visitors here in Rome for that funeral are now as high as five million across the week. Authorities dealing with massive health and security challenges, as one can imagine.

Also the president, a U.S. delegation parade yesterday in front of the pope inside St. Peter's. And with some 200 world leaders in town, security is being beefed up -- 15,000 security personnel expected to be on crowd control by the start of the funeral on Friday morning.

Soledad, with all this to do here, how are Italian authorities dealing with the strain on their security?

Alessio Vinci reports today from Rome for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The largest security challenge so far has been controlling a growing crowd trying to reach St. Peters Square. Italian officials say they had a plan for the pope's death, but they had no idea millions would show up to pay their last respects to John Paul II. Because, they say, up to five million people could be involved by the time the funeral ends on Friday, they only had a matter of days to adapt their security plan.

Despite the long wait to see the pope's body, officials say the crowd has not been hostile towards security forces, but they're not taking any chances. The defense shield will reach its peak on Friday, when close to 200 heads of state and government, including the current and two past U.S. presidents will sit in St. Peters Square, attending the pope's funeral.

Most dignitaries will have a security detail, but officials here say the deployment of security forces will reach close to 15,000 men and women, including hundreds from the military. It already seems as if every street, corner and piazza around the Vatican and beyond is being carefully watched. Key areas are being monitored with cameras linked to police headquarters. The River Tiber is patrolled 24 hours a day. If someone tries to reach the Vatican from here, these two officers tell me, he has no chance.

(on camera): This is just one of many security measures being employed to protect Vatican City. As you can see, the basilica is very close to the river. However, the first line of defense is far away from here. High above Rome NATO planes circle to protect the skies, and antiaircraft missile-defense systems have been deployed just outside the city center. The airspace over Rome has been shut to private aircraft, and commercial air traffic will be reduced drastically by Thursday night. And on Friday, the entire city of Rome has been declared a no-driving zone.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Now that's on the security side. What about the will side? The late pontiff's will will be made public any moment now, the final message from Pope John Paul II to the world. What can we expect?

Our Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher is with me now. And good afternoon to you.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: What can we expect?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think, for sure, we can expect some kind of message to the world, some kind of last teaching of the pope, some kind of spiritual message, perhaps about death, reflection on death. Let's remember that he wrote this in the first instance in 1979 -- so one year after he was elected, so just in case -- and then he updated it at several times after that.

And we know from Paul VI, for example, he left a spiritual message -- he, too, by the way, started his will in 1965 and updated it. So at least we know we can expect a spiritual message.

HEMMER: I think it's absolutely fascinating to think in 1979, his first trip to Poland, in fact, first of three, he started working on this will. He's had time to think about it.

GALLAGHER: Yes, I think he realized the very great responsibility that he was carrying, and I think it's probably normal for people in his position to think about those things.

However, we shouldn't be thinking in terms of a material will. I mean, this is a pope who before he was pope was a poor priest. He doesn't have material things. Any gifts the pope receives at the Vatican are given to the papacy, given to the Vatican, to St. Peter, not to the pope personally. So any material possessions that he might have would probably -- he doesn't have any living relatives. His brother died when he was younger. His parents are dead. So any material possessions would be small things that wouldn't be any sort of major heirlooms like we've seen with popes in the past. Pius XII for example came from a very aristocratic family. He had some major family possessions to give away. But this pope doesn't have that.

HEMMER: And when you consider priests take a vow of poverty in the beginning, anyway. I thought it was interesting Bishop John Magee, who's a bishop from Ireland, told us the other day that the pope left him a cossack, which is the long flowing black robe that priests wear.

GALLAGHER: You mean that he gave it to him while he was still alive?

HEMMER: No, he passed. He came to the Vatican, and just days ago, he went up to the Apostolic Palace and was given it.

GALLAGHER: And was given that.

Well, after the pope died. So he was given it by the private secretary probably, Stanislaw, who's a very generous man, and probably knew before the pope died what were the little gifts that wanted to be given. So I don't know if those will be written in the will. But there's no doubt in my mind that the pope would have left special gifts to a lot of people that were closest to him.

HEMMER: And there was a report that came out and hour ago that his statement might be about 15-pages long. We expect it in Polish and in Italian, and we'll get it at any moment, we think.

Thanks, Delia.

GALLAGHER: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Talk to you a bit later.

I want to let our viewers know tomorrow, we want to make sure you join us. We will be on the air very early in the morning. Our special coverage of the papal funeral starts at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. That will continue throughout the funeral coverage and the burial ceremony as well.

I'll be here along with Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, and our whole team covering the story from Italy.

HEMMER: More in a moment. Back to Soledad now in Italy.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

Iraq's newly elected president and successor to Saddam Hussein is going to be taking the oath of office today. Jalal Talabani was elected on Wednesday. He is the first Kurdish president in Iraq's history.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad for us this morning.

Aneesh, good morning to you.

Give us a sense of the reaction to the election?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.

As you'd expect, the Kurds in the north have been euphoric, celebrating in the streets since last night. The symbolism of this moment not lost on anyone. A people long oppressed by Saddam Hussein, one of their own now moments away from being sworn in as Iraq's new president.

But generally throughout the country, this is an enormous sigh of relief. This is a government they've been waiting months to take shape. The expectations are high, as are the demands. They have just over four months to draft a constitution, all that, Soledad, while managing day-to-day affairs that include enormous security issues, basic services and massive unemployment.

O'BRIEN: We spoke yesterday, Aneesh, about Saddam Hussein being allowed to watch the broadcast of the information on the election. So I'm curious to know if there's any word on the reaction to that?

RAMAN: Yes, last night, we spoke to the interim human rights minister, Baktiar Amin, who initiated this process. He said Saddam did watch the entire ceremony on tape. He had the option of not. He chose to. He was visibly agitated, Armin said, that really he saw the permanency of this new government. Saddam still had hopes perhaps that he would regain that title of president of Iraq. Ten other high- level detainees also given the option, all of them watching the ceremony in full. So this government really proud of this moment, of this step as it moves forward on the path towards democracy -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad for us this morning. Aneesh, thanks. We'll check back in with you a little later this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: We're also going to get you back out to Rome in just a few moments. Also this morning, NASA rolling out a space shuttle for the first time since the Columbia disaster. But should officials be worried about a new problem that was found on Wednesday.

Also a final farewell to a man who was called a champion of justice and civil rights: remembering Johnnie Cochran, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Space Shuttle Discovery is now in place for next month's launch. It was moved on Wednesday to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. At the last stop, it will be NASA's first shuttle launch since the Columbia broke apart two years ago. But is Discovery ready to go? A small crack was found on an external fuel tank.

Former astronaut Dr. Norm Thagard is in Tallahassee, Florida this morning.

Nice to see you, Dr. Norm Thagard. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

The crack in the foam, can you explain for laypeople like myself and others exactly what we're talking about, what the problem is? DR. NORM THAGARD, FMR. NASA ASTRONAUT: I would assume what happens is because of whatever factors, as the stuff dries, or maybe due to temperature changes, cracks can develop. But it's important to emphasize that whether a crack is a problem or not is probably dependent both on the size and certainly the location because there are huge areas of the external tank you could lose a lot of foam and it would never strike anything on the shuttle.

O'BRIEN: We've actually heard from NASA in fact that there's no reason for concern. What do you think of this decision to go ahead and roll out the Discovery, even with the discovery of this crack?

THAGARD: I think that it's probably the right thing to do. You know that NASA officials are very sensitive right now to safety issues. If anyone thought there were the slightest probability this would cause another Columbia sort of accident, or even minor damage, then they wouldn't proceed without repairing it.

O'BRIEN: Is the fact it's not being rolled back and repaired or maybe investigated more fully indicative of a sense of pressure that these launches have to go on as planned, do you think?

THAGARD: No, I think it's exactly the opposite. I think right now, NASA officials are very sensitive to any perception that they're somehow rushing to judgment, that they're somehow accelerating the process to launch in that May/June time frame. I doubt that there's any feeling at all among the NASA managers that's required. I actually flew with Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory and also with Associate Administrator for Spaceflight Bill Readdy. Those guys themselves are astronauts. I know them well, and I know that they would not allow anything to go forward if they had any concern.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, aren't issues about concern when you look at the tragedies of the Columbia and Challenger sort of things that you catch later? Couldn't this problem be considered small and not important now, but will be one of those problems that, God forbid, down the road ended up being a critical problem, as we saw in the Challenger and as we saw in the Columbia?

THAGARD: I don't think that's the case at all. Again, there are huge areas on the external tank it wouldn't matter if you lost a lot of foam. It only becomes a problem if it strikes something critical on the shuttle. As you know, that whole backside on the external tank away from the shuttle could lose foam and it couldn't possibly do any damage on the shuttle. I think the folks that looked at this are expert in the matter, and they decided there's no problem. And I suspect if they had a concern, even a small one, you would halt the process.

O'BRIEN: So you'd like to be an astronaut on this shuttle?

THAGARD: I always love to fly. If I didn't have to go leave what I'm doing now and train for a year, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

O'BRIEN: I had a feeling you were going to say that. Dr. Norm Thagard joining us. Former astronaut of course. Nice to see you. Thank you very much.

Let's get back out to Rome and Bill Hemmer -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

In a moment here, we were down with the people who were among the last in line to view the pope, and we'll take you down to the streets of the Vatican in a moment. Also the countless symbols of Vatican City and the one person the pope said helped save his life. That story as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING, live in Italy, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Guess what? We're talking about gas again. If you're gearing up for the summer driving season, a new report might tell you where gas prices are going. With a look at that and a look at the markets as well.

Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No relief in sight, Soledad, is the headline sadly this morning. There's going to be a report out at 9:30 Eastern today from the Energy Information Administration, which will tell us what the nation's gasoline markets look like. It's expected that the increase in demand will be about 2 percent, and that's not good news because the average price of gasoline, $2.23 a gallon right now. That's up from $1.88 early last summer.

And here's an interesting fact right now. This year, Americans are expected to spend $2,000 on gasoline this year. That's up from about $1,700 last year. And what's interesting is Americans don't drive less because of higher gas prices. What they do is have less income to spend on other things at stores. That's why you hear Wal- Mart complaining about Americans having less money to spend there. Or they take money out of savings. So it really does have an impact. We'll be reporting that to you later in the program.

As far as the markets go, yesterday, the third day up in a row for the Dow, which is good stuff. Tech stocks a little bit weak -- but futures are looking OK this morning. And Dell could be a mover because they announced they're going to be looking at $80 billion in revenue down the road, which is huge. That company just continues to grow.

O'BRIEN: Amazing, isn't it?

SERWER: It really is.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, then we'll look for that this morning. Thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Question of the Day about Florida?

CAFFERTY: They're up to their old tricks in Florida. Much more interesting state than the rest of the 50. Lawmakers there approved a bill this week that will allow a gun owner to shoot an attacker at home or out in the street in self-defense. This thing was sponsored by the NRA. It's the so-called Stand Your Ground Bill, no longer requiring a person to retreat before defending yourself. If you're home, you can now shoot an intruder whether or not that person has any intent to harm. You can figure that stuff out later. Similar laws are on the books in Oklahoma and Colorado, but the Florida law is the first to extend into public places.

Governor Bush said it's a good, common-sense anticrime measure. Critics say that Florida could become the new Wild, Wild West, where people shoot first and ask questions later.

Question is this, should it be legal for Florida residents to open fire when they perceive a threat? AM@cnn.com.

O'BRIEN: If it moves into public spaces, does that mean you're out walking through Central Park and someone mugs -- well, not Central Park, but the equivalent in Florida.

CAFFERTY: No, that's exactly what it means -- you're walking through the park and somebody approaches you, and you're afraid that you'll be the victim of a violent crime, you whip out that old Smith & Wesson and lay a little religion right on them.

SERWER: What about the cable guy coming in to your house, talk about an intruder. I'm kidding.

O'BRIEN: You make that joke, but there's a story in Florida, of course, of a teenage boy who was playing a prank on a neighbor. You know, the knock on the doorbell thing and then run away. He was 16. It was his 16th birthday, and he was shot.

CAFFERTY: Under this law, the guy never would have been prosecuted, he never would have been arrested. He was a teenager. He was trying to attach a fishhook and a line on the door knob. So they could hide in the bushes and knock.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: The guy heard the scratching on the door, opened the door and killed the kid.

O'BRIEN: Wow, interesting question. All right, Jack, thanks.

Well, still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, a star- studded farewell to Johnnie Cochran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON: In all due respect to you, brother Simpson, we didn't clap when the acquittal of Simpson came for O.J., we were clapping for Johnnie. (END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Reverend Al Sharpton salutes Johnnie Cochran's legacy, while sending a message to his most famous client. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 7, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just moments from now, the pope's parting message to the world. His last will and final spiritual statement expected to be made public, all this as Rome gets ready for the final that could overwhelm this city. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, and Bill Hemmer in Rome.

HEMMER: Hello, again. And good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer at the Vatican.

Soledad, good morning to you as well.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill. Thanks.

Lots to talk about this morning. I'm reporting from New York City this morning.

We're going to take a look this morning at problems with the Space Shuttle Discovery. It bears some ominous similarities to what doomed the Shuttle Columbia.

Also this morning, we're going to tell you about some interesting comments that were made by the Reverend Al Sharpton to O.J. Simpson at Johnnie Cochran's funeral.

Those stories ahead and much more as well, plus Mr. Cafferty with us this morning.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: They're at it again down there in the state of Florida. There's a new law that Governor Jeb Bush thinks is just a great idea. If you perceive that you are about to be the victim of a violent crime, under this new law, you can whip out your Smith & Wesson and lay a little lethal force right on them. No questions asked. The NRA think its a good idea. A lot of people think it will lead to the shoot now, ask questions later Wild, Wild West kind of deal. We'll take a look at it.

O'BRIEN: Lots of questions about that this morning. Thank you, Jack. Let's get right back to Bill, though, first in Rome.

Hey, Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

As Rome gets ready for this papal funeral tomorrow on Friday, here's what we're learning today. Details of the pope's final will will be made public at any moment. In fact we're waiting for word from the Vatican any minute. We'll bring it to you live when it happens here.

Also officials are trying to wrap up this procession of mourners coming to view the pope's remains. Late last night, pilgrims trying to get in line were turned away. But then a few moments ago, many people jumping the line again today. But the public viewing officially will end tonight, at 10:00 Italy time at St. Peter's Basilica, and then close for final preparations for the funeral on Friday. Estimates of visitors here in Rome for that funeral are now as high as five million across the week. Authorities dealing with massive health and security challenges, as one can imagine.

Also the president, a U.S. delegation parade yesterday in front of the pope inside St. Peter's. And with some 200 world leaders in town, security is being beefed up -- 15,000 security personnel expected to be on crowd control by the start of the funeral on Friday morning.

Soledad, with all this to do here, how are Italian authorities dealing with the strain on their security?

Alessio Vinci reports today from Rome for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The largest security challenge so far has been controlling a growing crowd trying to reach St. Peters Square. Italian officials say they had a plan for the pope's death, but they had no idea millions would show up to pay their last respects to John Paul II. Because, they say, up to five million people could be involved by the time the funeral ends on Friday, they only had a matter of days to adapt their security plan.

Despite the long wait to see the pope's body, officials say the crowd has not been hostile towards security forces, but they're not taking any chances. The defense shield will reach its peak on Friday, when close to 200 heads of state and government, including the current and two past U.S. presidents will sit in St. Peters Square, attending the pope's funeral.

Most dignitaries will have a security detail, but officials here say the deployment of security forces will reach close to 15,000 men and women, including hundreds from the military. It already seems as if every street, corner and piazza around the Vatican and beyond is being carefully watched. Key areas are being monitored with cameras linked to police headquarters. The River Tiber is patrolled 24 hours a day. If someone tries to reach the Vatican from here, these two officers tell me, he has no chance.

(on camera): This is just one of many security measures being employed to protect Vatican City. As you can see, the basilica is very close to the river. However, the first line of defense is far away from here. High above Rome NATO planes circle to protect the skies, and antiaircraft missile-defense systems have been deployed just outside the city center. The airspace over Rome has been shut to private aircraft, and commercial air traffic will be reduced drastically by Thursday night. And on Friday, the entire city of Rome has been declared a no-driving zone.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Now that's on the security side. What about the will side? The late pontiff's will will be made public any moment now, the final message from Pope John Paul II to the world. What can we expect?

Our Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher is with me now. And good afternoon to you.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: What can we expect?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think, for sure, we can expect some kind of message to the world, some kind of last teaching of the pope, some kind of spiritual message, perhaps about death, reflection on death. Let's remember that he wrote this in the first instance in 1979 -- so one year after he was elected, so just in case -- and then he updated it at several times after that.

And we know from Paul VI, for example, he left a spiritual message -- he, too, by the way, started his will in 1965 and updated it. So at least we know we can expect a spiritual message.

HEMMER: I think it's absolutely fascinating to think in 1979, his first trip to Poland, in fact, first of three, he started working on this will. He's had time to think about it.

GALLAGHER: Yes, I think he realized the very great responsibility that he was carrying, and I think it's probably normal for people in his position to think about those things.

However, we shouldn't be thinking in terms of a material will. I mean, this is a pope who before he was pope was a poor priest. He doesn't have material things. Any gifts the pope receives at the Vatican are given to the papacy, given to the Vatican, to St. Peter, not to the pope personally. So any material possessions that he might have would probably -- he doesn't have any living relatives. His brother died when he was younger. His parents are dead. So any material possessions would be small things that wouldn't be any sort of major heirlooms like we've seen with popes in the past. Pius XII for example came from a very aristocratic family. He had some major family possessions to give away. But this pope doesn't have that.

HEMMER: And when you consider priests take a vow of poverty in the beginning, anyway. I thought it was interesting Bishop John Magee, who's a bishop from Ireland, told us the other day that the pope left him a cossack, which is the long flowing black robe that priests wear.

GALLAGHER: You mean that he gave it to him while he was still alive?

HEMMER: No, he passed. He came to the Vatican, and just days ago, he went up to the Apostolic Palace and was given it.

GALLAGHER: And was given that.

Well, after the pope died. So he was given it by the private secretary probably, Stanislaw, who's a very generous man, and probably knew before the pope died what were the little gifts that wanted to be given. So I don't know if those will be written in the will. But there's no doubt in my mind that the pope would have left special gifts to a lot of people that were closest to him.

HEMMER: And there was a report that came out and hour ago that his statement might be about 15-pages long. We expect it in Polish and in Italian, and we'll get it at any moment, we think.

Thanks, Delia.

GALLAGHER: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Talk to you a bit later.

I want to let our viewers know tomorrow, we want to make sure you join us. We will be on the air very early in the morning. Our special coverage of the papal funeral starts at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. That will continue throughout the funeral coverage and the burial ceremony as well.

I'll be here along with Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, and our whole team covering the story from Italy.

HEMMER: More in a moment. Back to Soledad now in Italy.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

Iraq's newly elected president and successor to Saddam Hussein is going to be taking the oath of office today. Jalal Talabani was elected on Wednesday. He is the first Kurdish president in Iraq's history.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad for us this morning.

Aneesh, good morning to you.

Give us a sense of the reaction to the election?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.

As you'd expect, the Kurds in the north have been euphoric, celebrating in the streets since last night. The symbolism of this moment not lost on anyone. A people long oppressed by Saddam Hussein, one of their own now moments away from being sworn in as Iraq's new president.

But generally throughout the country, this is an enormous sigh of relief. This is a government they've been waiting months to take shape. The expectations are high, as are the demands. They have just over four months to draft a constitution, all that, Soledad, while managing day-to-day affairs that include enormous security issues, basic services and massive unemployment.

O'BRIEN: We spoke yesterday, Aneesh, about Saddam Hussein being allowed to watch the broadcast of the information on the election. So I'm curious to know if there's any word on the reaction to that?

RAMAN: Yes, last night, we spoke to the interim human rights minister, Baktiar Amin, who initiated this process. He said Saddam did watch the entire ceremony on tape. He had the option of not. He chose to. He was visibly agitated, Armin said, that really he saw the permanency of this new government. Saddam still had hopes perhaps that he would regain that title of president of Iraq. Ten other high- level detainees also given the option, all of them watching the ceremony in full. So this government really proud of this moment, of this step as it moves forward on the path towards democracy -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad for us this morning. Aneesh, thanks. We'll check back in with you a little later this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: We're also going to get you back out to Rome in just a few moments. Also this morning, NASA rolling out a space shuttle for the first time since the Columbia disaster. But should officials be worried about a new problem that was found on Wednesday.

Also a final farewell to a man who was called a champion of justice and civil rights: remembering Johnnie Cochran, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Space Shuttle Discovery is now in place for next month's launch. It was moved on Wednesday to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. At the last stop, it will be NASA's first shuttle launch since the Columbia broke apart two years ago. But is Discovery ready to go? A small crack was found on an external fuel tank.

Former astronaut Dr. Norm Thagard is in Tallahassee, Florida this morning.

Nice to see you, Dr. Norm Thagard. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

The crack in the foam, can you explain for laypeople like myself and others exactly what we're talking about, what the problem is? DR. NORM THAGARD, FMR. NASA ASTRONAUT: I would assume what happens is because of whatever factors, as the stuff dries, or maybe due to temperature changes, cracks can develop. But it's important to emphasize that whether a crack is a problem or not is probably dependent both on the size and certainly the location because there are huge areas of the external tank you could lose a lot of foam and it would never strike anything on the shuttle.

O'BRIEN: We've actually heard from NASA in fact that there's no reason for concern. What do you think of this decision to go ahead and roll out the Discovery, even with the discovery of this crack?

THAGARD: I think that it's probably the right thing to do. You know that NASA officials are very sensitive right now to safety issues. If anyone thought there were the slightest probability this would cause another Columbia sort of accident, or even minor damage, then they wouldn't proceed without repairing it.

O'BRIEN: Is the fact it's not being rolled back and repaired or maybe investigated more fully indicative of a sense of pressure that these launches have to go on as planned, do you think?

THAGARD: No, I think it's exactly the opposite. I think right now, NASA officials are very sensitive to any perception that they're somehow rushing to judgment, that they're somehow accelerating the process to launch in that May/June time frame. I doubt that there's any feeling at all among the NASA managers that's required. I actually flew with Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory and also with Associate Administrator for Spaceflight Bill Readdy. Those guys themselves are astronauts. I know them well, and I know that they would not allow anything to go forward if they had any concern.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, aren't issues about concern when you look at the tragedies of the Columbia and Challenger sort of things that you catch later? Couldn't this problem be considered small and not important now, but will be one of those problems that, God forbid, down the road ended up being a critical problem, as we saw in the Challenger and as we saw in the Columbia?

THAGARD: I don't think that's the case at all. Again, there are huge areas on the external tank it wouldn't matter if you lost a lot of foam. It only becomes a problem if it strikes something critical on the shuttle. As you know, that whole backside on the external tank away from the shuttle could lose foam and it couldn't possibly do any damage on the shuttle. I think the folks that looked at this are expert in the matter, and they decided there's no problem. And I suspect if they had a concern, even a small one, you would halt the process.

O'BRIEN: So you'd like to be an astronaut on this shuttle?

THAGARD: I always love to fly. If I didn't have to go leave what I'm doing now and train for a year, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

O'BRIEN: I had a feeling you were going to say that. Dr. Norm Thagard joining us. Former astronaut of course. Nice to see you. Thank you very much.

Let's get back out to Rome and Bill Hemmer -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

In a moment here, we were down with the people who were among the last in line to view the pope, and we'll take you down to the streets of the Vatican in a moment. Also the countless symbols of Vatican City and the one person the pope said helped save his life. That story as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING, live in Italy, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Guess what? We're talking about gas again. If you're gearing up for the summer driving season, a new report might tell you where gas prices are going. With a look at that and a look at the markets as well.

Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No relief in sight, Soledad, is the headline sadly this morning. There's going to be a report out at 9:30 Eastern today from the Energy Information Administration, which will tell us what the nation's gasoline markets look like. It's expected that the increase in demand will be about 2 percent, and that's not good news because the average price of gasoline, $2.23 a gallon right now. That's up from $1.88 early last summer.

And here's an interesting fact right now. This year, Americans are expected to spend $2,000 on gasoline this year. That's up from about $1,700 last year. And what's interesting is Americans don't drive less because of higher gas prices. What they do is have less income to spend on other things at stores. That's why you hear Wal- Mart complaining about Americans having less money to spend there. Or they take money out of savings. So it really does have an impact. We'll be reporting that to you later in the program.

As far as the markets go, yesterday, the third day up in a row for the Dow, which is good stuff. Tech stocks a little bit weak -- but futures are looking OK this morning. And Dell could be a mover because they announced they're going to be looking at $80 billion in revenue down the road, which is huge. That company just continues to grow.

O'BRIEN: Amazing, isn't it?

SERWER: It really is.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, then we'll look for that this morning. Thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Question of the Day about Florida?

CAFFERTY: They're up to their old tricks in Florida. Much more interesting state than the rest of the 50. Lawmakers there approved a bill this week that will allow a gun owner to shoot an attacker at home or out in the street in self-defense. This thing was sponsored by the NRA. It's the so-called Stand Your Ground Bill, no longer requiring a person to retreat before defending yourself. If you're home, you can now shoot an intruder whether or not that person has any intent to harm. You can figure that stuff out later. Similar laws are on the books in Oklahoma and Colorado, but the Florida law is the first to extend into public places.

Governor Bush said it's a good, common-sense anticrime measure. Critics say that Florida could become the new Wild, Wild West, where people shoot first and ask questions later.

Question is this, should it be legal for Florida residents to open fire when they perceive a threat? AM@cnn.com.

O'BRIEN: If it moves into public spaces, does that mean you're out walking through Central Park and someone mugs -- well, not Central Park, but the equivalent in Florida.

CAFFERTY: No, that's exactly what it means -- you're walking through the park and somebody approaches you, and you're afraid that you'll be the victim of a violent crime, you whip out that old Smith & Wesson and lay a little religion right on them.

SERWER: What about the cable guy coming in to your house, talk about an intruder. I'm kidding.

O'BRIEN: You make that joke, but there's a story in Florida, of course, of a teenage boy who was playing a prank on a neighbor. You know, the knock on the doorbell thing and then run away. He was 16. It was his 16th birthday, and he was shot.

CAFFERTY: Under this law, the guy never would have been prosecuted, he never would have been arrested. He was a teenager. He was trying to attach a fishhook and a line on the door knob. So they could hide in the bushes and knock.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: The guy heard the scratching on the door, opened the door and killed the kid.

O'BRIEN: Wow, interesting question. All right, Jack, thanks.

Well, still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, a star- studded farewell to Johnnie Cochran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON: In all due respect to you, brother Simpson, we didn't clap when the acquittal of Simpson came for O.J., we were clapping for Johnnie. (END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Reverend Al Sharpton salutes Johnnie Cochran's legacy, while sending a message to his most famous client. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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