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CNN Live Sunday
White House: North Korea Test-Fires Short-Range Missile; Deadly Day of Attacks in Iraq
Aired May 01, 2005 - 11:00 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, new information about the murder of aid worker Margaret Hassan in Iraq, why U.S. forces believe they have found her killers.
Also hunting child sexual predators, the new tactic police are using and how you may be able to help. And later, the dramatic rescue of two teenage boys lost at sea for six days. How they survived without food or fresh water in a tiny sailboat out in the open ocean. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. More on those stories but first a look at the top stories now in the news.
One day after moving into his apartment at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his first Sunday blessing to the crowd gathered below in St. Peter's Square. The new pontiff said he was keeping up the cherished tradition of his beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
A former U.S. State Department official is leveling some new accusations against President Bush's embattled nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The retired head of the State Department's European bureau says John Bolton circumvented proper channels when he scheduled meetings with British, French and Russian officials.
The once missing Georgia bride may still face charges. That's according to the district attorney handling the case. She could be charged with falsely reporting a crime. We'll have a live report on this story in a few minutes, including new information about what Jennifer Wilbanks told the FBI about her alleged abduction.
We begin right now with an unsettling new development on the Korean peninsula. A White House official says it appears North Korea has test fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. The development raises new concerns for the U.S. and its allies as the standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions continues. CNN's Elaine Quijano has the latest now from the White House and how concerned is the White House about this development, Elaine?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly this is unsettling, to say the least. The revelation came from White House chief of staff Andy Card just a short time ago. He sat down for a taped interview with our Wolf Blitzer. Mr. Card said that he had just received the report this morning, did not have a whole lot of information about it, but here is how he described the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They've had some failures and we have to work together with our allies around the world, especially the Japanese, the South Koreans, the Russians and the Chinese to demonstrate that North Korea's actions are inappropriate. We don't want them to have any nuclear weapons. We don't want the Korean peninsula to have any nuclear weapons on it and the president has said he will work in a bilateral way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now Andy Card went on to say that North Korea's Kim Jong Il is not a good leader. All of this news coming at a critical time when the six-party talks that include the U.S. and the North Koreans have been stalled. They have been that way now for almost a year and the Bush administration for months has insisted that the North Koreans need to work within that six-party framework.
At the same time, though in recent weeks we have also heard from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talking about the possibility of the United Nations as an option as well, but right now certainly this not the kind of news that the Bush administration would like to hear. It very much wanted to take -- wants to take the diplomatic route on this, saying that the six-party framework should be the framework that the North Koreans work within, but this coming again at a critical time though the North Koreans not coming to the table and in fact this news just coming up this morning, Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House. Thanks so much.
How are officials in Japan reacting to this latest reported missile test? CNN's Atika Shubert joins us on the telephone from Tokyo. And Atika, just how immediately were Japanese officials able to learn about this test firing?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they learned fairly quickly although they learned from the U.S. government. That's according to several media reports here in Japan. Actually Japanese officials haven't made a statement yet. Although it has to be said that missile tests of this sort is not for the first time. It's not really a surprise here, even though missile tests like this always makes Japan a bit more nervous.
Just to put this into context as to how the Japanese reaction might be, the last short-range missile test from North Korea was in 2003, but the test that caused the most serious concern actually occurred in 1998, when North Korea tested its long-range Taepodong missile and that sparked serious concern here because it proved North Korea's ability to hit Japanese shores with a missile, but also that it was working on a long-range missile to possibly hit the United States. Of course, all of this underscores the possibility of a nuclear attack, given that the talks with North Korea have broken down and of course Pyongyang announced in February that the country officially had nuclear weapons. Even though this test isn't as much of a surprise, it's certainly a cause for concern from Japan.
WHITFIELD: And Atika, does Japan not have the ability to be able to detect this type of testing? Why would, given the proximity to North Korea, why would it have to rely on U.S. officials to inform it?
SHUBERT: That's exactly it, actually. Japan has bolstered its missile defense, but really only in reaction to the 1998 Taepodong missile test. It is working on a joint missile defense system with the United States, but Japan, of course, because of its pacifist constitution actually relies quite a bit, relies almost completely, on the United States for its defense. And that's especially the case with the missile test like this.
WHITFIELD: All right. Atika Shubert, thanks so much for that information coming from Tokyo.
This just in. We're receiving reports this hour that all ground traffic is being diverted from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport, possibly due to a suspicious truck near the north terminal. And airport police say they are also dealing with a car fire in front of the south terminal. We're still gathering some information on this. Delta agents on the ground at the airport tell us there is a suspicious truck near the north terminal and police are now dealing with that. However Delta says the incidents have not interfered with its flights in and out of the airport. We'll continue to update you on the developments. Hartsfield-Jackson airport is the home of Delta Airlines and it's one of the busiest airports in the United States.
Another day of deadly attacks in Baghdad today. This as raids by Iraqi and U.S. forces net 11 terror suspects as well as items believed to have belonged to slain humanitarian worker Margaret Hassan. Ryan Chilcote joins us live from Baghdad with more on that.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we just learned that three arrests have been made in connection with the Margaret Hassan case. This information coming us to literally about 10, 15 minutes ago from the British embassy. Margaret Hassan was a British aid worker here. She was abducted in October of last year. Then in November, some video surfaced on the al Jazeera television network that apparently that shows her apparent execution.
Now these arrests, we understand happened this morning as a result of a U.S.-Iraqi raid in southeastern Baghdad. U.S. officials telling us that they apprehended several individuals during that raid. They're also saying that they found several items that they believe belonged to Margaret Hassan including her ID, a pocketbook and some of her clothing. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Chilcote, thanks so much from Baghdad.
Reports of credible terrorist threats against the U.S. are at their lowest levels since the September 11th attacks. That's according to the "Washington Post." U.S. intelligence officials and law enforcement sources have told that newspaper that their threat assessments currently list about 25 to 50 percent fewer threats against domestic targets. They also say terrorists are focusing on Americans deployed in Iraq. They cite progress in counterterrorism operations for the threat decline in the U.S.
Police are taking aggressive measures and it's starting to pay off. The hunt for sexual predators and some surprising statistics.
And after six days at sea, two boys refused to give up. How did they survive? Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the city slicker asked the old guy how to get to the nearest town.
LAURA BUSH: Not that old joke. Not again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The first lady upstaging her husband and brings the crowd to its feet. We'll have the highlights coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is back home in Duluth, Georgia, this morning where many in her community are feeling betrayed and angry. Wilbanks hid under a towel and had a police escort as she made her way through the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Onboard the plane she reportedly told the flight attendant the wedding was just delayed. Charles Molineaux is outside Peachtree Corners Baptist Church in Norcross and it's the church where the couple worshipped. Charles.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the pastor here asked today that the congregation pray for John Mason and Jennifer Wilbanks. This was their home church. It was actually an associate pastor here who was supposed to marry the couple. Their fellow church members say that this whole misadventure is a sad story, a surprising story. They are praying for the two of them. One said that if you told me back in the beginning of this whole situation that this was going to how it was going to end up, you'd have said you were crazy. But sure enough, this is how the story has played out. This prodigal daughter flew back into Atlanta last night and scooted out with a police escort.
A Delta flight attendant conveyed a message that Jennifer Wilbanks won't be making any public statements for a few days. Her disappearance across country odyssey just days before her wedding set off a frantic search, then relieved celebration when she turned up alive in Albuquerque with a phony story about being kidnapped, then her confusion when she admitted she had gotten wedding jitters and jumped on a bus.
Now in the midst of all the relief that she is OK, the district attorney here in Gwinnett County Georgia says he's got questions before make anything decisions on whether Wilbanks will face criminal charges and a big issue could be just how much premeditation went into this. The FBI has some thoughts on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL ELWELL, FBI SPOKESMAN, ALBUQUERQUE, NM: She did tell the investigators during the interview that she had cut her own hair, but the reason she had done that is simply to change her appearance because she didn't want anyone to be able to identify her while she was riding on the Greyhound buses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: That march through the Albuquerque airport with the towel over her head actually came right about the same time she was supposed to be marching down the aisle in a veil. The FBI was mulling over this and another part of the story, the fact that her claim, rather that she was abducted by a Hispanic man and a white woman, a story which may actually have been based on a twisted version of actual events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELWELL: Well, according to her, she stayed in the terminal because her funds were pretty much diminished by this time and she had befriended a couple of individuals that she later described as being a Hispanic male and a female Caucasian and began to talk to them and mentioned they mentioned that they had been gambling in Las Vegas and then she mentioned they were heading off to Albuquerque and at that point based on the amount of funds she had, she decided well, then I'll go to Albuquerque and she traveled along with them on that last leg from Las Vegas to Albuquerque.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: Well, the DA here in Gwinnett County says that if she really did just freak out and take off he'd be a lot less inclined to pursue any criminal liability against her. On the other hand, if this was part of a deceptive plan, that might be a different story. He plans to get to work and ask some questions on this starting tomorrow. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And a crazy story it is. All right. Charles Molineaux, thanks so much.
Well, it was a night of laughs at the White House correspondent's dinner, but the most surprising moment of all? Laura Bush poking fun at her husband. We'll bring you the highlights.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: People who prey on innocent children will soon get stiffer punishment in Florida. The law which Governor Jeb Bush plans to sign tomorrow, will require those who molest children under 12 to wear satellite tracking devices for life once they leave prison. It will also force offenders to stay in prison longer with minimum sentences of 25 years. That's about three times the average sentence currently imposed on that state. Detectives are trying a different tact to try and find the tactic -- rather, to try and find the victims of child pornography. Since they can't publicly show the victim's faces, they are focusing instead on the room settings and other visual clues to generate leads. David Mattingly explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her face remains hidden to the public, but she is well known to child porn investigators around the world who are desperately trying to find her in ways they'd never dare before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are releasing the photograph of the material witness and hope that if a citizen can identify her, it will greatly increase the chances of successfully identifying the perpetrator and recovering the victim.
MATTINGLY: Atlanta police now take the extraordinary step of going public with a child they believe is a material witness in the case. About 9 years old in this picture when it was taken a couple of years ago, investigators have no evidence she is a victim or witnessed any acts of abuse, but they believe she is sitting on the same couch in the same room where this highly sought-after girl was photographed being sexually abused. A tip line has been set up in central Florida to take calls from anywhere, 1-866-635-help. Find the girl on the couch, investigators hope, and they will find their victim.
PAUL GILLESPIE, TORONTO POLICE: I am confident that the victim, perhaps knows this person and this witness might be able to help us out with that.
MATTINGLY: On the trail of this case for years, Paul Gillespie of the Toronto police child exploitation unit has been hampered, he says, by secrecy. It's been the rule in law enforcement to never reveal the faces of child pornography victims, out of fear that it could place the child in danger from the abuser. But according to Gillespie, it's a rule, he says, that needs to be changed.
GILLESPIE: I think we have to take into account that we have to start taking perhaps a little more aggressive measures to get in and break this cycle.
MATTINGLY: Using computers earlier this year, Toronto detectives removed the victim girl from her own pictures and recreated the rooms behind her. Pictures they could then show to the public and it paid off. Someone recognized a bedspread from an Orlando resort. It was an unheard of break but the hotel records with thousand of names didn't take them very far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think those records are going to prove valuable from a historical standpoint, but at this point, we have no idea who we're looking for, so one name means nothing more than the next name at this point.
MATTINGLY: Investigators believe this potential witness photograph is their last best hope. Years spent scouring more than 200 photographs of the unknown victim have yielded few usable clues. If this girl's photograph doesn't help find their victim, more extreme measures, they say, may be taken. How closer are you to releasing this girl's picture?
GILLESPIE: That's always going to be an option, to be quite honest with you.
MATTINGLY: If that comes to pass, it would be a landmark step in the fight against child pornography, but for now, investigators in two countries wait, hoping the next phone call brings the break they've been looking for. David Mattingly, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Here's additional, very disturbing information on the problem at hand. One in five girls and one in 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. The U.S. Justice Department says one in five children from ages 10 to 17 receive unwanted sexual solicitations online. And CNN will bring you coverage of this very important issue throughout the day. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH: George always says he's delighted to come to these press dinners. Baloney! He's usually in bed by now. I'm not kidding. I've said to him the other day, George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Just like having great timing of a great comedian, the first lady showed off her stand-up skills last night at the White House correspondent's dinner. She actually stopped the president, mid-quip and took over the podium herself at one point. The president was the butt of her good natured jokes. She just may want to hire an agent after getting a standing ovation for her routine.
Let's check in now with Howard Kurtz and get a preview of what's coming up on RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Thanks Fredricka. Coming up, reporters grilling George Bush, Tom DeLay under fire, John Bolton's troubled nomination, Bill Frist's fight against filibusters. Are journalists going after the Republicans or just doing their jobs?
Then, the Wonkette, Ana Maria Cox is here to dish about last night's bit White House party, plus real-life drama on cable too good to be true, apparently and the "Chicago Tribune" fingers the wrong man in a mob hit of sorts. It's all next on RELIABLE SOURCES.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot Howard. Let's get a look at your weather picture out there with Jill Brown, who's in the weather center. Jill. JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Fredricka, it hasn't been so pretty lately. As a matter of fact yesterday, I got so stir crazy, I took the kids out to just play in the rain, but you won't have to do that today, and it looks like even in Florida, where we had some thunderstorms and some severe weather this morning, it's cleared out. You can see it's kind of hovering off the coast, but there's hardly a sprinkle to be found here. As a matter of fact, if you work your way up the coast, the show is pretty much over, the rain showers, just off the coast.
We had some heavier rain, North Carolina into Virginia and Maryland a couple of hours ago, but even that is pretty much gone and they hover a little while longer for you in Boston. It always seems like you just stick out there far enough that it's tough to get rid of the rain when everyone else is clearing out.
But that may not look so bad after you see our next stop and that is in Denver where we have snow in the forecast. Oh, man, it's not going to go to it, is it? All right. I'll tell you what. We'll look on this this way. We'll take you around the country and I'll show you what's expected.
First off, down into Florida, again once these clouds move out and the showers, temperatures in the 80s, you can't beat that. It will be much warmer within a few weeks and we'll wish for these days. The northeast in the 60s with some rain showers. A little bit of cool sprinkles across the great lakes and as you head west, Minneapolis, Denver, chance of some snow showers it looks like for tonight. So we definitely have some spots out there where it's still a little bit rough, Frederick, but warming weather on the way for folks in Denver and Minneapolis in the next couple of days. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: The light at the end of tunnel. All right. Thanks a lot, Jill.
Checking other stories making headlines across America now. Two South Carolina teens are back on solid ground after they spent nearly a week at sea without food or fresh water. The boys launched their sail boat off Sullivan's Island just near Charleston last night, but high winds quickly took the boat out to sea. It was spotted yesterday off Cape Fear, North Carolina and the boys were rescued by a fishing vessel. The boat had traveled 111 nautical miles. Both boys are said to be OK is and they are being treated in a hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina right now.
In Arizona, the Minuteman Project is wrapping up its long, long stint monitoring the boarder with Mexico for illegal immigrants. The group says its tips to the border patrol led to 335 arrests. Some of the members have carried weapons on their patrols leading critics to call the project nothing more than a group of vigilantes.
And in Idaho, a big surprise for a high school basketball team. The team's coach, right there, who was a National Guard soldier, who has been on duty in Iraq decided to surprise them. He returned home on a two-week leave and he wanted to check on the team and see how they were doing. Great surprise there. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing seeing him here. He's like my older brother. He's been our coach and, you know, it's good to have him back to watch our game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: They love their coach. That's so great.
In Washington, they are the talk of the town and now they're getting a new home. The mother duck that took up residence outside the Treasury Department has a new family. Her eggs have hatched and to make sure the brood is safe, authorities are moving mom and her ducklings just down the street to Washington's Rock Creek Park.
Well, that's it for CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Up next, RELIABLE SOURCES with Howard Kurtz. Then on LATE EDITION, Wolf Blitzer talks to the Iraqi national security adviser for the latest on the continuing attacks against Iraqi security forces.
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Aired May 1, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, new information about the murder of aid worker Margaret Hassan in Iraq, why U.S. forces believe they have found her killers.
Also hunting child sexual predators, the new tactic police are using and how you may be able to help. And later, the dramatic rescue of two teenage boys lost at sea for six days. How they survived without food or fresh water in a tiny sailboat out in the open ocean. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. More on those stories but first a look at the top stories now in the news.
One day after moving into his apartment at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his first Sunday blessing to the crowd gathered below in St. Peter's Square. The new pontiff said he was keeping up the cherished tradition of his beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
A former U.S. State Department official is leveling some new accusations against President Bush's embattled nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The retired head of the State Department's European bureau says John Bolton circumvented proper channels when he scheduled meetings with British, French and Russian officials.
The once missing Georgia bride may still face charges. That's according to the district attorney handling the case. She could be charged with falsely reporting a crime. We'll have a live report on this story in a few minutes, including new information about what Jennifer Wilbanks told the FBI about her alleged abduction.
We begin right now with an unsettling new development on the Korean peninsula. A White House official says it appears North Korea has test fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. The development raises new concerns for the U.S. and its allies as the standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions continues. CNN's Elaine Quijano has the latest now from the White House and how concerned is the White House about this development, Elaine?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly this is unsettling, to say the least. The revelation came from White House chief of staff Andy Card just a short time ago. He sat down for a taped interview with our Wolf Blitzer. Mr. Card said that he had just received the report this morning, did not have a whole lot of information about it, but here is how he described the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They've had some failures and we have to work together with our allies around the world, especially the Japanese, the South Koreans, the Russians and the Chinese to demonstrate that North Korea's actions are inappropriate. We don't want them to have any nuclear weapons. We don't want the Korean peninsula to have any nuclear weapons on it and the president has said he will work in a bilateral way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now Andy Card went on to say that North Korea's Kim Jong Il is not a good leader. All of this news coming at a critical time when the six-party talks that include the U.S. and the North Koreans have been stalled. They have been that way now for almost a year and the Bush administration for months has insisted that the North Koreans need to work within that six-party framework.
At the same time, though in recent weeks we have also heard from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talking about the possibility of the United Nations as an option as well, but right now certainly this not the kind of news that the Bush administration would like to hear. It very much wanted to take -- wants to take the diplomatic route on this, saying that the six-party framework should be the framework that the North Koreans work within, but this coming again at a critical time though the North Koreans not coming to the table and in fact this news just coming up this morning, Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House. Thanks so much.
How are officials in Japan reacting to this latest reported missile test? CNN's Atika Shubert joins us on the telephone from Tokyo. And Atika, just how immediately were Japanese officials able to learn about this test firing?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they learned fairly quickly although they learned from the U.S. government. That's according to several media reports here in Japan. Actually Japanese officials haven't made a statement yet. Although it has to be said that missile tests of this sort is not for the first time. It's not really a surprise here, even though missile tests like this always makes Japan a bit more nervous.
Just to put this into context as to how the Japanese reaction might be, the last short-range missile test from North Korea was in 2003, but the test that caused the most serious concern actually occurred in 1998, when North Korea tested its long-range Taepodong missile and that sparked serious concern here because it proved North Korea's ability to hit Japanese shores with a missile, but also that it was working on a long-range missile to possibly hit the United States. Of course, all of this underscores the possibility of a nuclear attack, given that the talks with North Korea have broken down and of course Pyongyang announced in February that the country officially had nuclear weapons. Even though this test isn't as much of a surprise, it's certainly a cause for concern from Japan.
WHITFIELD: And Atika, does Japan not have the ability to be able to detect this type of testing? Why would, given the proximity to North Korea, why would it have to rely on U.S. officials to inform it?
SHUBERT: That's exactly it, actually. Japan has bolstered its missile defense, but really only in reaction to the 1998 Taepodong missile test. It is working on a joint missile defense system with the United States, but Japan, of course, because of its pacifist constitution actually relies quite a bit, relies almost completely, on the United States for its defense. And that's especially the case with the missile test like this.
WHITFIELD: All right. Atika Shubert, thanks so much for that information coming from Tokyo.
This just in. We're receiving reports this hour that all ground traffic is being diverted from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport, possibly due to a suspicious truck near the north terminal. And airport police say they are also dealing with a car fire in front of the south terminal. We're still gathering some information on this. Delta agents on the ground at the airport tell us there is a suspicious truck near the north terminal and police are now dealing with that. However Delta says the incidents have not interfered with its flights in and out of the airport. We'll continue to update you on the developments. Hartsfield-Jackson airport is the home of Delta Airlines and it's one of the busiest airports in the United States.
Another day of deadly attacks in Baghdad today. This as raids by Iraqi and U.S. forces net 11 terror suspects as well as items believed to have belonged to slain humanitarian worker Margaret Hassan. Ryan Chilcote joins us live from Baghdad with more on that.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we just learned that three arrests have been made in connection with the Margaret Hassan case. This information coming us to literally about 10, 15 minutes ago from the British embassy. Margaret Hassan was a British aid worker here. She was abducted in October of last year. Then in November, some video surfaced on the al Jazeera television network that apparently that shows her apparent execution.
Now these arrests, we understand happened this morning as a result of a U.S.-Iraqi raid in southeastern Baghdad. U.S. officials telling us that they apprehended several individuals during that raid. They're also saying that they found several items that they believe belonged to Margaret Hassan including her ID, a pocketbook and some of her clothing. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Chilcote, thanks so much from Baghdad.
Reports of credible terrorist threats against the U.S. are at their lowest levels since the September 11th attacks. That's according to the "Washington Post." U.S. intelligence officials and law enforcement sources have told that newspaper that their threat assessments currently list about 25 to 50 percent fewer threats against domestic targets. They also say terrorists are focusing on Americans deployed in Iraq. They cite progress in counterterrorism operations for the threat decline in the U.S.
Police are taking aggressive measures and it's starting to pay off. The hunt for sexual predators and some surprising statistics.
And after six days at sea, two boys refused to give up. How did they survive? Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the city slicker asked the old guy how to get to the nearest town.
LAURA BUSH: Not that old joke. Not again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The first lady upstaging her husband and brings the crowd to its feet. We'll have the highlights coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is back home in Duluth, Georgia, this morning where many in her community are feeling betrayed and angry. Wilbanks hid under a towel and had a police escort as she made her way through the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Onboard the plane she reportedly told the flight attendant the wedding was just delayed. Charles Molineaux is outside Peachtree Corners Baptist Church in Norcross and it's the church where the couple worshipped. Charles.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the pastor here asked today that the congregation pray for John Mason and Jennifer Wilbanks. This was their home church. It was actually an associate pastor here who was supposed to marry the couple. Their fellow church members say that this whole misadventure is a sad story, a surprising story. They are praying for the two of them. One said that if you told me back in the beginning of this whole situation that this was going to how it was going to end up, you'd have said you were crazy. But sure enough, this is how the story has played out. This prodigal daughter flew back into Atlanta last night and scooted out with a police escort.
A Delta flight attendant conveyed a message that Jennifer Wilbanks won't be making any public statements for a few days. Her disappearance across country odyssey just days before her wedding set off a frantic search, then relieved celebration when she turned up alive in Albuquerque with a phony story about being kidnapped, then her confusion when she admitted she had gotten wedding jitters and jumped on a bus.
Now in the midst of all the relief that she is OK, the district attorney here in Gwinnett County Georgia says he's got questions before make anything decisions on whether Wilbanks will face criminal charges and a big issue could be just how much premeditation went into this. The FBI has some thoughts on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL ELWELL, FBI SPOKESMAN, ALBUQUERQUE, NM: She did tell the investigators during the interview that she had cut her own hair, but the reason she had done that is simply to change her appearance because she didn't want anyone to be able to identify her while she was riding on the Greyhound buses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: That march through the Albuquerque airport with the towel over her head actually came right about the same time she was supposed to be marching down the aisle in a veil. The FBI was mulling over this and another part of the story, the fact that her claim, rather that she was abducted by a Hispanic man and a white woman, a story which may actually have been based on a twisted version of actual events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELWELL: Well, according to her, she stayed in the terminal because her funds were pretty much diminished by this time and she had befriended a couple of individuals that she later described as being a Hispanic male and a female Caucasian and began to talk to them and mentioned they mentioned that they had been gambling in Las Vegas and then she mentioned they were heading off to Albuquerque and at that point based on the amount of funds she had, she decided well, then I'll go to Albuquerque and she traveled along with them on that last leg from Las Vegas to Albuquerque.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: Well, the DA here in Gwinnett County says that if she really did just freak out and take off he'd be a lot less inclined to pursue any criminal liability against her. On the other hand, if this was part of a deceptive plan, that might be a different story. He plans to get to work and ask some questions on this starting tomorrow. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And a crazy story it is. All right. Charles Molineaux, thanks so much.
Well, it was a night of laughs at the White House correspondent's dinner, but the most surprising moment of all? Laura Bush poking fun at her husband. We'll bring you the highlights.
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WHITFIELD: People who prey on innocent children will soon get stiffer punishment in Florida. The law which Governor Jeb Bush plans to sign tomorrow, will require those who molest children under 12 to wear satellite tracking devices for life once they leave prison. It will also force offenders to stay in prison longer with minimum sentences of 25 years. That's about three times the average sentence currently imposed on that state. Detectives are trying a different tact to try and find the tactic -- rather, to try and find the victims of child pornography. Since they can't publicly show the victim's faces, they are focusing instead on the room settings and other visual clues to generate leads. David Mattingly explains.
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DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her face remains hidden to the public, but she is well known to child porn investigators around the world who are desperately trying to find her in ways they'd never dare before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are releasing the photograph of the material witness and hope that if a citizen can identify her, it will greatly increase the chances of successfully identifying the perpetrator and recovering the victim.
MATTINGLY: Atlanta police now take the extraordinary step of going public with a child they believe is a material witness in the case. About 9 years old in this picture when it was taken a couple of years ago, investigators have no evidence she is a victim or witnessed any acts of abuse, but they believe she is sitting on the same couch in the same room where this highly sought-after girl was photographed being sexually abused. A tip line has been set up in central Florida to take calls from anywhere, 1-866-635-help. Find the girl on the couch, investigators hope, and they will find their victim.
PAUL GILLESPIE, TORONTO POLICE: I am confident that the victim, perhaps knows this person and this witness might be able to help us out with that.
MATTINGLY: On the trail of this case for years, Paul Gillespie of the Toronto police child exploitation unit has been hampered, he says, by secrecy. It's been the rule in law enforcement to never reveal the faces of child pornography victims, out of fear that it could place the child in danger from the abuser. But according to Gillespie, it's a rule, he says, that needs to be changed.
GILLESPIE: I think we have to take into account that we have to start taking perhaps a little more aggressive measures to get in and break this cycle.
MATTINGLY: Using computers earlier this year, Toronto detectives removed the victim girl from her own pictures and recreated the rooms behind her. Pictures they could then show to the public and it paid off. Someone recognized a bedspread from an Orlando resort. It was an unheard of break but the hotel records with thousand of names didn't take them very far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think those records are going to prove valuable from a historical standpoint, but at this point, we have no idea who we're looking for, so one name means nothing more than the next name at this point.
MATTINGLY: Investigators believe this potential witness photograph is their last best hope. Years spent scouring more than 200 photographs of the unknown victim have yielded few usable clues. If this girl's photograph doesn't help find their victim, more extreme measures, they say, may be taken. How closer are you to releasing this girl's picture?
GILLESPIE: That's always going to be an option, to be quite honest with you.
MATTINGLY: If that comes to pass, it would be a landmark step in the fight against child pornography, but for now, investigators in two countries wait, hoping the next phone call brings the break they've been looking for. David Mattingly, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
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WHITFIELD: Here's additional, very disturbing information on the problem at hand. One in five girls and one in 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. The U.S. Justice Department says one in five children from ages 10 to 17 receive unwanted sexual solicitations online. And CNN will bring you coverage of this very important issue throughout the day. We'll be right back.
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LAURA BUSH: George always says he's delighted to come to these press dinners. Baloney! He's usually in bed by now. I'm not kidding. I've said to him the other day, George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Just like having great timing of a great comedian, the first lady showed off her stand-up skills last night at the White House correspondent's dinner. She actually stopped the president, mid-quip and took over the podium herself at one point. The president was the butt of her good natured jokes. She just may want to hire an agent after getting a standing ovation for her routine.
Let's check in now with Howard Kurtz and get a preview of what's coming up on RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Thanks Fredricka. Coming up, reporters grilling George Bush, Tom DeLay under fire, John Bolton's troubled nomination, Bill Frist's fight against filibusters. Are journalists going after the Republicans or just doing their jobs?
Then, the Wonkette, Ana Maria Cox is here to dish about last night's bit White House party, plus real-life drama on cable too good to be true, apparently and the "Chicago Tribune" fingers the wrong man in a mob hit of sorts. It's all next on RELIABLE SOURCES.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot Howard. Let's get a look at your weather picture out there with Jill Brown, who's in the weather center. Jill. JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Fredricka, it hasn't been so pretty lately. As a matter of fact yesterday, I got so stir crazy, I took the kids out to just play in the rain, but you won't have to do that today, and it looks like even in Florida, where we had some thunderstorms and some severe weather this morning, it's cleared out. You can see it's kind of hovering off the coast, but there's hardly a sprinkle to be found here. As a matter of fact, if you work your way up the coast, the show is pretty much over, the rain showers, just off the coast.
We had some heavier rain, North Carolina into Virginia and Maryland a couple of hours ago, but even that is pretty much gone and they hover a little while longer for you in Boston. It always seems like you just stick out there far enough that it's tough to get rid of the rain when everyone else is clearing out.
But that may not look so bad after you see our next stop and that is in Denver where we have snow in the forecast. Oh, man, it's not going to go to it, is it? All right. I'll tell you what. We'll look on this this way. We'll take you around the country and I'll show you what's expected.
First off, down into Florida, again once these clouds move out and the showers, temperatures in the 80s, you can't beat that. It will be much warmer within a few weeks and we'll wish for these days. The northeast in the 60s with some rain showers. A little bit of cool sprinkles across the great lakes and as you head west, Minneapolis, Denver, chance of some snow showers it looks like for tonight. So we definitely have some spots out there where it's still a little bit rough, Frederick, but warming weather on the way for folks in Denver and Minneapolis in the next couple of days. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: The light at the end of tunnel. All right. Thanks a lot, Jill.
Checking other stories making headlines across America now. Two South Carolina teens are back on solid ground after they spent nearly a week at sea without food or fresh water. The boys launched their sail boat off Sullivan's Island just near Charleston last night, but high winds quickly took the boat out to sea. It was spotted yesterday off Cape Fear, North Carolina and the boys were rescued by a fishing vessel. The boat had traveled 111 nautical miles. Both boys are said to be OK is and they are being treated in a hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina right now.
In Arizona, the Minuteman Project is wrapping up its long, long stint monitoring the boarder with Mexico for illegal immigrants. The group says its tips to the border patrol led to 335 arrests. Some of the members have carried weapons on their patrols leading critics to call the project nothing more than a group of vigilantes.
And in Idaho, a big surprise for a high school basketball team. The team's coach, right there, who was a National Guard soldier, who has been on duty in Iraq decided to surprise them. He returned home on a two-week leave and he wanted to check on the team and see how they were doing. Great surprise there. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing seeing him here. He's like my older brother. He's been our coach and, you know, it's good to have him back to watch our game.
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WHITFIELD: They love their coach. That's so great.
In Washington, they are the talk of the town and now they're getting a new home. The mother duck that took up residence outside the Treasury Department has a new family. Her eggs have hatched and to make sure the brood is safe, authorities are moving mom and her ducklings just down the street to Washington's Rock Creek Park.
Well, that's it for CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Up next, RELIABLE SOURCES with Howard Kurtz. Then on LATE EDITION, Wolf Blitzer talks to the Iraqi national security adviser for the latest on the continuing attacks against Iraqi security forces.
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