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CNN Sunday Morning

Rice Visits Iraq; Violence Under Control in Uzbekistan

Aired May 15, 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.


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is a surprise Sunday, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits new leaders in Iraq. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, May 15th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the East, 3:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Thank you for being with us. Let's get you started with the morning's headlines now in the news.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Iraq. She's meeting with a number of the newly elected Iraqi leaders. State Department officials say she will push for a timeline for drafting an Iraqi constitution. Rice is also expected to stress the importance of including all ethnic groups of the population.

In Uzbekistan, the streets of Andijan are finally quiet after days of clashes between government troops and protesters. Reports indicate as many as 500 people may have been killed, but the death toll hasn't been confirmed. Thousands of refugees fled into nearby Kyrgyzstan to escape the violence.

President Bush will pay tribute to the 153 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers killed last year in the line of duty. He is the keynote speaker in today's ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

NGUYEN: And here's some of the other stories we are working on for you this Sunday morning. A barrage of bullets in California prompts an unusual response from law enforcement officials. We'll tell you about that.

And a first responders are on the frontlines of the methamphetamine epidemic. We will look at some of the insidious dangers the drug brings to communities just ahead.

Plus, we will meet a 10-year old, a 10-year old, who is already -- well he has his future mapped out. And it includes some Internet magic.

HARRIS: Wait until you meet him. Now more on our top story.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is paying a surprise visit to Iraq. Her visit comes at a turning point in Iraq's political future. And right in the middle of an uptick in violence.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us live from Baghdad. And Ryan, what was the secretary's message today?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the secretary's first visit to Iraq. It is also the first visit of a senior U.S. official to Iraq since Iraq's new government was formed just about two weeks ago. And she's been quite explicit with her message. She made some comments earlier today once she arrived, basically saying that she would like to see three things happen.

Firstly, she is saying that it is very important for the Iraqi government to keep to a timeline that binds them to drafting Iraq's first post Saddam constitution by August 15th. U.S. government thinks it's very important to keep the political momentum going that they've seen here so far.

She also said that she would like this government, which is mainly made up of Shiites and Kurds, to be as inclusive as possible of all of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups. That's being seen basically as a message to try and include more Sunni Arabs in the government. Sunni Arabs by and large feel like they've been shut out of the political process. And the U.S. government feels it's very important to include them, because they are often blamed for supporting the insurgency.

And finally, speaking of the insurgency, the Secretary of State said that she is concerned about the level of violence here. She's concerned about the insurgency. And she asked that the Iraqi government, the Iraqi people, do everything they can to fight it.

She made those comments up in Erbil. That's way up in the north of Iraq. It's a Kurdish city. That's where she met with some Kurdish officials. She's also going to be traveling around Iraq.

Today, we understand, she will be also meeting with the prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK. Ryan Chilcote for us in Baghdad. Ryan, we appreciate it, thank you.

NGUYEN: U.S. Marines say they have successfully completed their week long offensive near the Syrian border known as Operation Matador. The assault was designed to neutralize insurgents and foreign fighters. Operation Matador was launched after an escalation in insurgent attacks following the installation of Iraq's new transitional government.

Now success comes at a hefty price. Nine U.S. Marines were killed in the offensive.

You will get a chance to hear firsthand what happened during Operation Matador. That is coming up in the 9:00 hour. We will talk with a reporter who was embedded with the Marines from the first platoon of Lima Company. That's an Ohio based company, which will aid nine U.S. soldiers killed last week.

HARRIS: This week's hero story is about a soldier who says he was just doing his job when he put himself in harm's way again and again to help his fallen comrades.

CNN's Casey Wian has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gerrit Kobes works the assembly line, putting together wood stoves in a factory in Colville, Washington. At 23, he's one of the youngest workers, but he commands respect for his service in Iraq. Kobes, a medic, earned an Army Commendation Medal with valor, just two months into his year-long deployment. Shrapnel hit a soldier in the head, leaving him gravely wounded.

SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: I intubated him with a tube, to breathe for him, and started breathing for him. There was no movement. He had a slight -- a weak pulse. We got him into the ambulance. I rode with him in the ambulance. I didn't expect him to make it. He went through four hours of neurosurgery.

WIAN: The soldier lived. The experience left Kobes a changed man.

KOBES: There's a soldier that got to go home to his family because of what everybody did that day. So it was a great, great day for me.

This is probably the most important award to me. Made me believe in myself a lot.

WIAN: Months later, Kobes distinguished himself again, this time braving mortar fire to save the lives of Iraqi soldiers during an attack on their convoy.

KOBES: I put my head gear back on, and we ran through, you know -- there is few vehicles here and there for cover. A lot of open ground. And we ran approximately 500 meters to the wounded. There was four on the ground that I treated immediately when I got there.

WIAN: All the soldiers lived. Kobes was awarded the Army's third highest honor, a Silver Star, for risking his life to save others.

KOBES: I don't know. I wouldn't call myself a hero, I guess. But just doing my job. I'm happy. I'm proud, you know, to save lives over in Iraq.

WIAN: Now Kobes focuses on the lives of his family. He wants to buy a new home for his wife Erica (ph) and their two sons. Kobes plans to stay in the National Guard and hopes for a future career in law enforcement.

Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. NGUYEN: Sheriff deputies in Compton, California are doing something they rarely do. And that is, saying sorry. But will the community accept the apology? Find out next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: And meet the youngest web wizard in America. This 10- year old?

NGUYEN: Ten.

HARRIS: Ten. OK, can put a lot of adults to shame. We're here to testify to that.

NGUYEN: Yes, we are.

HARRIS: He will stop by later this hour.

NGUYEN: And we want to say good morning, Washington, as the sun comes up over the nation's capitol. We will check your weather in just a few minutes.

HARRIS: And here is our e-mail question this morning. Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his controversial comments about U.S. minorities? In case you missed the story, here is a direct quote from Mr. Fox talking about illegal Mexican labor in America.

"There is no doubt that the Mexican men and women -- full of dignity, willpower, and a capacity for work -- are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."

E-mail us your thoughts. Our new address is weekends. That's weekends@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to the volatile situation in central Asia. Thousands of people have been fleeing Uzbekistan to escape the bloodbath in the city of Andijan, where soldiers mowed down hundreds of demonstrators in anti-government rally.

Journalist Ethan Wilensky-Lanford is at one of the border crossings in Kyrgyzstan. And he joins us via phone.

Ethan, first of all, tell me the situation where you are right now. What is it?

ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD, JOURNALIST: Yes, hello Betty. I'm actually at -- in Osh now, but I -- a short while ago, was in Carasou (ph), which is about 30 kilometers north of here.

At that area, there was a border that's being reconstructed between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan by the Uzbeks on the northern side. It's a bridge across the river that was closed several years ago. And people now are able to come and go freely.

There's also been reports of large numbers of refugees crossing over north of there, into Jalalabad and to the town of Susdak (ph). I have confirmed from the U.N. 600 mostly women and children crossing over, many seeking medical treatment there.

NGUYEN: How many -- do you know, because very few journalists have been able to get into the city and determine how many were killed in this protest. Do you know by now how many were killed by police?

WILENSKY-LANFORD: The reports that I've heard have been around 500. I know that on Saturday morning, people have reported seeing just trucks coming and picking up tons and tons of bodies, many, many bodies. Some people were saying that it was a lot more than 500, but without being there myself, it's really difficult to confirm that.

The real difficulty here is that Uzbekistan is not letting in foreign journalists than the ones that are there now are not allowed to film anything. So it's really difficult to get an accurate view on that.

NGUYEN: Well, let me ask you this, Ethan. Were you able to witness what happened? Did police open fire on protesters?

WILENSKY-LANFORD: I did not see that myself in Andijan, but certainly what the eyewitnesses who were there are telling me, apparently there was a large rally on Friday. President Karimov flew in and was in the airport. He was there to meet with a huge Islamic fundamentalist, who were released from prison the night before. And at that point, there was a firefight between the anti-government forces and the government forces.

But I will caution to say that this is not an Islamic fundamentalist movement. Many people here are quite poor, trying to have an easier way of life.

Everyone I asked is...

NGUYEN: OK. The audio is breaking up a little bit, Ethan.

WILENSKY-LANFORD: ... people want to be able to come and go.

NGUYEN: We appreciate your time this morning. We'll be obviously following this story. That was Ethan Wilensky-Lanford. And the story in Uzbekistan on protesters there who were apparently killed in a situation. We'll continue to follow that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) just to find their niche, to find their purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The search for the meaning of life is leading millions to the purpose driven church. In our faces of faith, we'll look at a new religious fervor that's sweeping the nation. That's in our next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: In Compton, California, sheriff deputies offered an apology for last week's shooting incident. Deputies there fired more than 100 shots at an unarmed motorist they were pursuing.

Peter Viles was there for the explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four days after this shooting was caught on tape, an unexpected twist. The deputies who fired the shots stood silently while their lawyer apologized.

GREG EMERSON, LAWYER FOR DEPUTIES: They're not hiding. They're honorable, decent individuals. They're proud professionals of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. And they're willing to stand up and tell the community that they do apologize, and that each of them to a person that stands here today wishes that things would have been a little bit different.

VILES: The lawyer also offered an explanation. The deputies fired because they believed the driver, Winston Hayes, had a gun and was using his vehicle as a weapon, citing this radio warning from a sheriff's helicopter.

SHERIFFS HELICOPTER TRANSMISSION: He is driving very erratically. It looks as though he actually is aiming to hit deputies.

VILES: On the streets of Compton where bullets filled the air Sunday night, residents we met were not yet ready to accept the apology.

BOBBY BROWN, COMPTON RESIDENT: It was just wrong. What can they do? You know what I'm saying? They shot a man over 100 times, I heard. That is (INAUDIBLE), there's no call for that.

VILES: Barber Joe Holliday considered my question and threw it right back at me.

JOE HOLLIDAY, COMPTON BUSINESS OWNER: How would you feel if somebody came over and shot up your neighborhood?

VILES: Extremely upset.

HOLLIDAY: Extremely upset.

VILES: Mark Bonner says he has relatives in law enforcement and some sympathy for the deputies.

MARK BONNER, COMPTON RESIDENT: Well, two sides to the story. They're human beings also, I understand that. And they want to go home to their families. You know, there's -- they have a job to do. But the shooting was uncalled for that many times.

VILES: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca is taking some of the blame and supporting his deputies.

LEE BACA, SHERIFF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: When have you ever had a police officer come out through a representative model and say I'm concerned, I have a sense of feeling about this, I want you to know that I don't feel good about this. This has never happened in this county. And this speaks well for the integrity of these deputies.

VILES: Back at Compton, residents are disappointed their city's image has been battered once again.

BONNER: I believe here in Compton for 39 years. And Compton isn't a bad place as everybody put it up to be.

VILES: Peter Viles for CNN, Compton, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now the driver, Winston Hayes, was shot four times, but none of the wounds is life threatening. He was not carrying a gun, and has not yet been charged with any crime.

HARRIS: Other stories across America this morning. Family and friends and neighbors gathered for the funeral of Krystal Tobias. Nine-year old Krystal and her eight-year old best friend Laura Hobbs were killed last week in Zion, Illinois. Laura's father allegedly confessed to beating and stabbing the children on Mother's Day. A service for Laura is scheduled today.

A young Russian girl seen in sexually explicit photos on the Internet has been adopted by a family and is living under a new name. She was the subject of an intense two year search. The girl's former adoptive father is now serving 15 years on a child porn conviction.

Jesse Jackson is bristling at Mexican President Vicente Fox's comment on African-Americans. Did you hear this? Fox said that Mexican immigrants to the U.S. take jobs "that not even blacks want to do." Jackson says the remark has ominous racial overtones, but a Mexican official defends Fox saying "he meant no insult."

Check out these pictures. Look familiar at all? That's a better shot right there. Yes, yes, yes, that's it.

NGUYEN: No way.

HARRIS: You got it. The latest edition to your lunch or dinner is inspired by the runaway bridge.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

HARRIS: We'll bring you the saucy details later this hour.

NGUYEN: All right, but first, meet one of the youngest web wizards in America. There he is. This kid puts many adults to shame, just to shame when it comes to computers. He shares his secret. That's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK, chances are good you found your way onto the information superhighway, but just how Internet savvy are you? I'm not very savvy when it comes to the Internet, but you think you could figure out how to put together a Web site like this one? Maybe you should ask a 10-year old to help.

Eric Fancher can do it. And his work is getting him recognized as the Internet wiz kid. He is here this morning with his mom, Krista.

Thanks for being with us, both of you. We appreciate it. So you are Mr. web wizard. How did you get that title?

ERIC FANCHER, WEB WIZ KID: Well, in October, I started making a Web site for the technology fair. The year before, I had made a robot. And I wanted to try something new and different.

NGUYEN: OK, you're 10-years old.

E. FANCHER: Yes.

NGUYEN: The year before, you made a robot?

E. FANCHER: Yes.

NGUYEN: How do you learn all of this?

E. FANCHER: I don't know.

NGUYEN: Has he always been interested in computers, mom?

KRISTA FANCHER, MOTHER: He really has, ever since he was really little. But it's just been the last few years that he's really taken off with it.

NGUYEN: And would you say that you have kind of aided in this, because you are a computer lab teacher?

K. FANCHER: I'd say it probably helped get him started. But he knows probably a lot more than I do now.

NGUYEN: I see, I see. Now had you always wanted to become this web wizard? Or is this...

E. FANCHER: I never thought that I would win this contest. And I was surprised that my Web site won, because there were thousands of entries. And there was a national contest.

NGUYEN: Wow.

E. FANCHER: So...

NGUYEN: And so what does your Web site do? What kind of Web site is it? E. FANCHER: It's a Web site for Scouts. I'm in Scouting. And my gen needed a Web site. So we -- so I created a Web site for -- to enter in the technology fair. And it helps us communicate and it tells like when our next meetings are and what activities you have to do to get certain badges.

NGUYEN: You're going to be an Eagle Scout before you know it I tell you. Well, OK, so you won this competition. You had to have gotten some goodies. What did you win?

E. FANCHER: I won a Dell Inspiron laptop.

NGUYEN: Pretty cool.

E. FANCHER: And a year of free web hosting.

NGUYEN: And so what are you going to do with that year of free web hosting?

E. FANCHER: I'm hoping to make lots of Web sites.

NGUYEN: Now you're actually helping some businesses, aren't you?

E. FANCHER: Yes. This summer, I'm helping to help businesses make Web sites -- I hope to make them for small companies like maybe small pizza companies that don't have Web sites that need them.

NGUYEN: Boy.

E. FANCHER: (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: What a community leader. How proud of you -- are you of him?

K. FANCHER: We're very proud of him. He's always been a pretty easy kid to parent. And this makes us proud every day.

NGUYEN: Were you surprised that he won? Or did you know hey, my kids got it?

K. FANCHER: Absolutely shocked.

NGUYEN: Really?

K. FANCHER: It was a contest that he entered kind of as a just a whim. And very shocked when we got the call. Very, you know, just really pleased.

NGUYEN: So what does a web wizard want to do when he grows up?

E. FANCHER: Well, when I grow up, I want to be an engineer, because I like to build. And I like electronics. And when I grow up, I still want to continue using computers all my life.

NGUYEN: And you already have a great title on the resume already. We appreciate you being with us this morning. E. FANCHER: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Congratulations. Nice to see you both.

K. FANCHER: Thank you.

E. FANCHER: Bye.

NGUYEN: Can you believe it, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes, I can believe it. These kids today, they're just wired differently. You know what? She may not rival Eric, but she's pretty handy with a computer. Jacqui Jeras is in.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, they've put their lives on the line, but when a drug lab full of toxins is on fire, should these men be risking their lives? Randy Kaye investigates later this hour.

NGUYEN: Plus, a flood of refugees pouring out of a former Soviet Republic. We are going global. That's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Gone too soon, the life and legacy of this American activist is remembered in a special way. Welcome back, everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.

We have that story in just a moment, but first, here's a look at what's right now in the news. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Iraq overnight for a surprise visit. These are some of the first pictures we're getting from that visit in Iraq this morning. She is pressing Iraqi leaders to stick with a timetable of drafting a constitution. She's talking with political power brokers in the northern Kurdish region as well and she is meeting with Iraq's prime minister in Baghdad.

President Bush pays tribute to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty today. He'll speak at the annual memorial service in Washington. 153 officers killed on the job last year at the Federal, state and local level will be honored.

Threatened homes and miles of debris, that's what emergency workers in Florida want to avoid this summer. Today, they're kicking off hurricane preparedness week. They'll test their ability to juggle two storms at once. Training scenarios include handling and emergency operation and a recovery mission all at the same time. Hurricane season begins June 1st.

HARRIS: Now, a check of some of the other international stories making news around the world.

NGUYEN: We have some new details in the violent anti-government protest in Uzbekistan. For those details, let's go now to the international desk and Anand Naidoo. Good morning Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very good morning to you. The crisis in Uzbekistan has ended for now but there are heavy casualties, we're hearing. Funerals for some of the victims are being held. Russia's Interfax news agency quotes human rights markers saying hundreds of people were killed by government forces in the eastern town of Andijan. The violence began when a group stormed the prison where several businessmen are being held. Then other protesters called for the government to resign. Correspondents say thousands of Uzbek refugees are heading south and crossing into Kyrgyzstan. The Uzbek President Islam Karimov, a close ally of the United States, is blaming the violence on Islamic militants.

In Iraq, 34 bodies are found in three separate locations. Officials say 10 bodies were found in the western city of Ramadi, a key stronghold of the insurgency. The men had been dead for around two days. Iraqi police found the bodies of 11 Iraq men in two trucks they stopped. That was just south of Baghdad and three beheaded male bodies were discovered in the same area. There were indications those bodies were tortured before they were beheaded.

From Afghanistan, a warning to the United States, it could face a holy war over that Koran issue, the Muslim holy book issue. At least 16 Afghans have died in recent anti-U.S. protests. Now, 300 clerics say they will declare holy war against the U.S. if it does not hand over the military interrogators who allegedly defiled the Koran at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. military says for its part, that so far investigations have revealed that there's no evidence to support those allegations.

More from me later, but for now let's send it back to Tony and Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, a busy day. Thanks, Anand.

HARRIS: Marla Ruzicka was a humanitarian aid worker in Iraq when she was killed in a roadside bombing last month. She was 28 years old and had accomplished more than many people do in a lifetime. She helped the civilian victims of war and that is how she was remembered at a memorial in Washington yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D) VERMONT: We (INAUDIBLE) recognize thanks to Marla's tenaciousness that civilian casualties need to be counted. Only by doing so do we know the true cost of war and we can properly dignify and honor each person killed or wounded as an individual, as a father, a son, a daughter, a mother, not just as collateral damage. That's Marla's legacy.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D) CALIF: It's just the instant that we occupy, that we know about. So what we do with that instant is all important. Here was really a young woman who lived her instant to the fullest.

PETER BERGEN, JOURNALIST: Where else in the world is the government helping the civilians they harm in conflict. Marla was very proud of this fact. And then a final note, we're helping lots of kids with medical care, this is on the day that Marla died. This place continues to break my heart, need to get out of here, but it's hard.

Marla's work continues with the organization she founded, the campaign for innocent victims in conflict. You can find out more on line at civic worldwide.org.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Each week at this time, we're going to bring you some of the best and most relevant stories from our CNN investigative unit. Today we explore the hidden methamphetamine labs and increasingly the drug labs are being set up in homes at great danger to the community. CNN's Randi Kaye tells us how it changed the life of one North Carolina fire fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's colorless; it's odorless and in very small amounts, it can give you a headache, make you sick or kill you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It nearly killed Darien South. January, 2003, South, a volunteer fireman, responded to a routine call in Watauga County, North Carolina.

DARIEN SOUTH, FORMER FIREFIGHTER: I told my wife I didn't feel like getting up for anything more than a structure fire. I just wanted to get a good night's sleep. And 10 minutes later we got dispatched to a structure fire.

KAYE: South and his fellow firefighters had no idea this mobile home was also a meth lab, a place where addicts mix deadly chemicals with over the counter cold medicine to make methamphetamine. The cooking process is very volatile.

SOUTH: We followed every guideline, every state regulation that there was that we were to follow. And it was just like a snake jumped out and bit us.

KAYE: Six months earlier, the (INAUDIBLE) fire department had been trained how to identify dangerous meth lab fires. That night, South says there were no obvious signs meth was involved. Once the flames were out, South took off his breathing mask. A hot spot in the floor then caught his eye. He opened the crawl space and in an instant, a burst of hydrochloric acid gas burned through him.

What did it do to you that first time when you opened that...

SOUTH: It burned and it took my breath. I couldn't breathe. It was just like it shut my lungs down for a brief few seconds.

KAYE: But then you reopened it?

SOUTH: I went out and got my breath back and for some reason, I went back and opened it again.

KAYE: And then what?

SOUTH: The second time was almost fatal.

KAYE: What did your chest feel like?

SOUTH: Like it was on fire.

KAYE: South went into respiratory failure. His oxygen level plummeted. The ache in his head so severe he thought it would split open. Then, South started coughing up blood.

RENEE SOUTH, DARIEN'S WIFE: As the wife of a firefighter, that's your worst fear of having somebody show up at your door at 2:00 in the morning and that's exactly what happened.

KAYE: South spent six days in the hospital.

SOUTH: It burnt all around my mouth, into my nostrils. I had blisters all over my face. It burnt through my nasal (INAUDIBLE) down through my windpipe, my esophagus. It stunned my epiglottis to where I couldn't eat. I'd choke if I tried to eat.

KAYE: South lost 50 percent of his lung capacity. His vision remains blurred, sinuses severely scorecard.

What kind of reputation has Watauga County earned when it comes to meth?

SHERIFF MARK SHOOK, WATAUGA CO, NC: We've been called ground zero. We've been called the county that never sleeps.

KAYE: That nickname comes from meth's speed-like qualities. A meth high can last for days. Users don't sleep. They don't eat either.

The Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding Watauga County are a popular destination for skiers. But in recent years, these same mountains have become a popular destination for meth users. They provide good cover for people cooking meth and because they're so remote, the strong fumes go unnoticed. In Watauga County, 34 meth labs were discovered last year and in the last two years, 27 emergency personnel were injured in meth lab fires.

JOHN MARTYNY, JEWISH MEDICAL RESEARCH CTR: A very, very short exposure can cause significant problems.

KAYE: Dr. John Martyny studies the effects of meth-related chemicals on first responders. He says half of law enforcement officers report respiratory problems after raiding a meth lab full of toxins.

MARTYNY: The levels were high enough that they would be considered by government agencies to be immediately dangerous to life and health. They're that high. KAYE: South's experience taught every fireman running into a burning house in Watauga County to wear a breathing mask and not to remove that mask too quickly. Now, every fire here is treated like a meth lab fire. South can still play ball with his son, but his stamina isn't close to what it was. He takes medication and carries an inhaler.

RENEE SOUTH: I would wake up and hear him wheezing or gasping for air and I would always reach over and (INAUDIBLE) make sure that he was OK because I never knew if he was going to start stop breathing or what.

KAYE: This past January, two years after the fire, Darien South was finally strong enough to start work again, a desk job at the district attorney's office. On his way to and from his job at the courthouse, he drives by the scene of the fire and thanks God for keeping him alive that night.

SOUTH: I give him the credit. He's the reason I'm still living. I guess I've got a purpose left. He's got something left for me to do.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Watauga County, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And coming up at the 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour, another investigation unit report. We will meet an alternative Montana family who says it deserves the same rights a more traditional family gets. The struggle for family values. That's ahead on CNN.

HARRIS: And now, this look at our other top stories. Right now we're just getting in pictures from Erbil, Iraq. This is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talking to soldiers there in Iraq. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm so grieved that human beings have been willing to do that to other human beings. The answer to that as the president has said, is to give people a chance at freedom and liberty. And for many, many years, the United States, along with the rest of the free world, believed somehow that people in this region didn't care about freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, pictures just in from Reuters of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaking to U.S. forces in Iraq, obviously a surprise visit to Iraq by the secretary of State. She is there to consult with members of the new Iraqi government and to as you just saw there, visit with troops and thank them for their service against long odds in Iraq.

Let's move on now. Our e-mail question of the morning. Have you heard this? Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his controversial comments about U.S. minorities. Our new address is weekends@cnn.com. In case you missed the story, here is the direct quote from Mr. Fox talking about illegal Mexican labor in America. Here it is. There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work, are doing the work that not even blacks wants to do in the United States.

NGUYEN: I want to give you a CNN extra now. Actually, apparently, we're going back to some tape of Condoleezza Rice in Iraq. She arrived in Erbil this morning. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICE: ...last couple of months. I know that he is a dedicated servant. I see him on our videoconferences from time-to-time and he's just really given wonderful leadership and I want to thank him for that and I want to thank all of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's new video of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Iraq, speaking with troops there. As Tony just mentioned a few minutes ago is a surprise visit. She's meeting with the Iraqi government there. Let's take another listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICE: The freedom deficit is what has produced the ideologies of hatred that led people to fly airplanes into a building on a fine September day. People don't want to be suicide bombers. People don't want to be suicide hijackers. But somehow, the ideologies of hatred in this region have become so great, that human beings have been willing to do that to other human beings. The answer to that, as the president has said, is to give people a chance at freedom and liberty. For many, many years, the United States, along with the rest of the free world, believed somehow that people in this region didn't care about freedom. We cared about stability. And what we got was neither freedom nor stability. We got a malignancy that was growing that came to haunt us on that fine September day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: These new pictures, new video just in from Reuters, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, we saw just a moment ago, speaking to the troops, now, meeting with the troops, taking pictures with the troops. Obviously, always a great moment when the secretary of State or anyone or any high ranking official from the U.S. government gets an opportunity to actually take one of these surprise trips over to Iraq and not only take care of the political business that has to be taken care of, but gets an opportunity to meet with the troops as you just saw there, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice in Erbil, Iraq.

NGUYEN: She arrived there around 2:45 a.m. Eastern time. Of course, as we get more of that tape in, we'll be sending it right out to you. So stay tuned for that. We're going to take a quick break right now. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And here are some of the stories that will be making news during the week. As early as Tuesday, there could be a showdown in the Senate. Republicans are threatening to change Senate rules to eliminate the use of the filibuster on President Bush's judicial nominees. The so-called nuclear option could mean only 51 votes could approve a judge rather than the current 60. Democrats have used filibusters to block 10 of President Bush's 215 court nominees. Democrats point out that Republicans used the filibuster for about 60 judicial nominees during the Clinton administration.

Thursday, may the force be with you. "Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith" opens nationwide in movie theaters. It is the final prequel in the "Star Wars" saga. Then on Saturday, it is the 130th running of the Preakness stakes. The running for the black eyed susans. The horse race is the second of the triple crown races. All eyes and odds will be on the Kentucky Derby winner, Giacomo.

NGUYEN: A surprise win.

This morning we are talking about Vicente Fox in our e-mail question. Should President Fox apologize? Now let's tell you what he said. He said, speaking to Texas businessmen, that there is no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work, are doing the work that not even blacks wants to do in the United States.

We are getting a lot of responses to this. David in Missouri writes, it is my experience working in the service industry that President Fox is right on the money. It is refreshing to see someone tell the truth regardless of who is offended by it.

HARRIS: Gary (ph) has a different view. President Fox should be ashamed of himself. That has to be the dumbest thing he has said. He basically put his own people down. Thank you for the e-mails. You're right. They're pretty hot this morning. Should President Vicente Fox apologize for those comments? There's the e-mail address, weekends@cnn.com. And check out this new hot remedy for cold feet. Yes, it was inspired by the runaway bride. That's not the only thing. We'll have more when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Are you -- a couple of questions here -- a fearful fiance or a nervous bride to be? Well, before you walk down the church aisle, one man wants you to walk down this aisle first. An Atlanta area store has stocked its shelves with Jennifer's High Tailin' hot sauce. Food for thought based on Jennifer Wilbanks, the bride who recently ran away just days before her Georgia wedding. Do you remember?

NGUYEN: Oh yes.

HARRIS: How could you forgot? The sauce shows a fast moving bride grabbing her veil. The (INAUDIBLE) says the hot sauce could be a cure for cold feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID "PAPPY" RYAN, OWNER, PAPPY'S PEPPERS: Jennifer's High Tailin' hot sauce and if you read it over here on the warning label, this sauce may cause you to seek intense professional help voluntarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's not right, it's just not right.

NGUYEN: That was a hard one.

HARRIS: The woman is trying to get some help. She's got issues.

Other people are also producing products based on the story. One Connecticut company is selling a runaway bride action figure.

NGUYEN: It's all about the money apparently.

HARRIS: It's silly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, as we look at video coming in or just was of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her surprise visit to Iraq. We'll have much more about that throughout the morning.

Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Let's get you started with the morning's headlines. Now in the news. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Iraq today. Rice arrived in total secrecy in northern Iraq where she met with a Kurdish leader then she traveled to Baghdad to meet with the prime minister and other top officials. She came to personally impress upon the Iraqi leadership the importance of drafting a new constitution by the August deadline.

Rice also met briefly, as you can see here, with U.S. troops and embassy staff. In Uzbekistan, funerals today for some of the victims of two days of violent clashes between demonstrators and government troops. Witnesses estimate 450 people were killed. Thousands of Uzbeks have since fled to neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

And at the Vatican this morning, 21 new priests were ordained by Pope Benedict XVI, the oldest of the new priests is 55. They represent eight countries including three in Africa and four in Latin America.

NGUYEN: Coming up this hour, a base of reasons. As the Pentagon prepares to defend their reason for wanting to close several military basis around the country, one targeted base says it's not going anywhere. We'll have that story.

And Mexican president Vicente Fox is doing some explaining. He recently made some comments about Mexican immigrants and blacks in the U.S. So why is one civil rights activists calling Fox's words a racist insult? We'll have those details.

And in today's Faces of Faith living your life with prophets. We will explore the practice and preaching of a purpose driven church.

HARRIS: Our top story this hour, a surprised trip filled with high powered diplomacy and some highly explicit messages. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes an unexpected trip to Iraq. Her first time there as the nation's top diplomat.

CNN's senior Baghdad correspondent Jane Arraf joins us live with more, and hello Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. Given the security situation here pretty well all visits by senior officials are cloaked in secrecy and security. Now, Condoleezza Rice put on body armor for that helicopter trip from Qatar to Salaheddin (ph). That's near one of the regional capitals in Kurdistan. There she met Massoud Barzani. He's one of the top Kurdish leaders here, and he comes from a legendary family of Kurdish fighters. He is now trying to help put together politically this new Iraq.

Now this is Condoleezza Rice's first visit here as the top U.S. diplomat. She was you recall one of the main architects of the invasion of Iraq and this is really her first look at it. She told reporters near Erbil that insurgencies can be defeated not only militarily but politically. And that's what she's talking to senior Iraqi officials about this afternoon.

Tony.

HARRIS: Jane, is there some concern that the Iraqi government might not meet this August deadline for writing up a new constitution for the country?

ARRAF: There always is concern, Tony. But what seems to be happening -- as you can tell it's a little bit noisy here with these over flights.

HARRIS: Sure.

ARRAF: But what seems to be happening is a concentrated push by the United States the same way we saw a similar push during the elections to hold elections on time. The feeling of U.S. officials seems to be that it may be a flawed process, it may not be perfect, but if these time lines slip then a lot of other things could slip as well. But yes a lot of problems. Right now on the entire committee for drafting the constitution there are only two Sunni Arabs. Vastly underrepresented on that committee.

Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Jane Arraf in Baghdad. Jane, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Secretary Rice's trip to Iraq comes at a time of intense fighting in western Iraq. The U.S. says it's Operation Matador is over, calling it a successful mission. Officials say the week long offensive near the Syrian border neutralized more than 125 insurgents and foreign fighters. Nine U.S. Marines were killed during the operation.

Some 45 miles north of Baghdad suicide bombers tried to assassinate the governor of Diyala Province, but failed. The governor was unharmed on the attack on his convoy, but five were killed and two dozen others were injured. And the bodies of some 34 Iraqis were found in three separate locations around Iraq today. Some of them had been shot to death and others were beheaded.

NGUYEN: Back here at home, the White House and a major proposal to close the military bases around the U.S. will be the focus of a congressional hearing tomorrow. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers will testify before the commission that we'll review the plan before it goes to President Bush this fall. Rumsfeld's plan hopes to make the military leaner and more cost effective.

Now it calls for 33 closures of major bases and retooling nearly 800 others. One slated for closure is the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. CNN's Alina Cho was there, Alina Cho that is, to gauge the local reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would happen to the businesses?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pop Ray has been a fixture in this community for 22 years. He owns a diner, laundromat and car wash a quarter from the base.

POP RAY: And 50 percent of my business or more is the military community. So obviously if it were to close within one day, let's say, I would end up out of business.

CHO: But Pop is optimistic.

(on camera): You don't believe the base is going to close.

RAY: No I don't. I've live through this before.

CHO: Back in 1993 the Pentagon had threatened to close the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. But after heavy political lobbying Congress scrapped the plans. This time with Republicans in power the outcome could be different. Eighty five hundred people could be affected an estimate higher than any other place in the nation. Craig Frickman could be among them.

CRAIG FRICKMAN, NAVAL BASE EMPLOYEE: It's an interesting area. Long history of submariners. People have belt submarines, work on submarines, they're families have been here for a lot of years, a lot of history. Are we going to see some loss there? I think so

CHO: Frickman has worked here for 28 years, the Rempert been here for 10. Heather's husband, Ron, is a submariner. She says if she has to she and her family will move.

We'd prefer not to but, you know, it's kind of like we're military. It's a possibility, so we just prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

CHO: Pop is 77 and says the possibility of losing his business is of less importance losing the people he calls his family.

You're starting to get emotional about it a little bit?

RAY: Yes, I can't help it, you know. it's very real.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And checking other news across America, devoted and tenacious both words used to describe American activist Marla Ruzicka. Some 20 people attended a memorial service in her honor on Capitol Hill yesterday. The 28-year-old Ruzicka was killed by a car bomb in Iraq last month. She was there helping to count the civilian casualties of the war.

In Philadelphia an athletic young man helps his rowing team win a race then dies at the finish line. Scott Laio, a rower for Boston College collapsed just after his crew won the race yesterday. Officials say the college junior apparently suffered a heart attack.

And officials in Pennsylvania say a young victim of Internet porn is living with her adoptive family under a new name. Officials say the Russian born girl now about 11 years old was adopted at age five. Police had been looking for her for about two years after sexually explicit photos showed up of her on the Internet.

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to some controversial comments from Mexican President Vicente Fox. Fox is being blasted for comments he made recently for comments he made recently for comparing blacks in the U.S. to Mexican immigrants. Discussing the immigration policy between Mexico and the U.S., President Fox said this and I quote, "There is no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, will power and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States>"

Now that prompted this angry response from civil rights figure Jesse Jackson. "The comparison of Mexicans coming across the border and African Americans is a serious comparison that is unnecessary and a diversion from his real point. I would think that -- there's an (inaudible) error in his comparison. The fact is more poor Americans are not black. They're white. They're female. They're young. "

Insisting Mr. Fox did not mean his comments as an insult, a top Mexican official said quote, "The president did make a declaration in the racist sense. Of course there are those who interrupt it in that way. Mexican immigrants are making great contributions in the United States and the role is a positive role."

And all of this brings us to our morning e- mail question. We want to know what you think about the Vicente Fox statement. Should he apologize. Send us your thoughts to our new Web address. It is weekends@cnn.com.

HARRIS: It helped a woman calm a man suspected in a murder rampage, but for tens of thousands of people it's much, much more. Faces of Faith this morning is a book that's churches and their members in a new direction.

NGUYEN: And later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, real life CSI. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us how medicine and technology combine to fight crime. That's ahead on HOUSE CALL. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A major military mission to target insurgents in Iraq wraps up near the Syrian border. What was accomplished. We'll take you inside operation Matador in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to check our top stories right now on this Sunday morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pays a surprise visit to Iraq. Rice is meeting with Iraq's prime minister and other political power brokers. She says she will focus in part on the importance of drafting a new constitution.

Meanwhile, Rice's boss will honor fallen law enforcement officers today. President Bush will speak at an annual memorial service in Washington.

And after getting pummeled by four hurricanes last year, Florida's emergency workers are kicking off hurricane preparedness week today. They'll take part in drills, testing their ability to handle two hurricanes all at once. Hurricane season, Tony, begins, can you believe it, June 1st.

HARRIS: Yes, sure. Churches, built on the foundation of one book's teachings, but it's not the book you think. There it is. Up next I'll take you inside a congregation driven by the purpose driven life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: It has been practiced around the globe for more than a decade now. I'm talking about the purpose driven church philosophy. It started with a best selling book by Pastor Rick Warren. He tries to provide a practical way to find and fulfill your true purpose in life.

More than 300,000 churches worldwide now practices what he preaches. In this morning's Faces of Faith we take you inside one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so as you sit here I want you to understand you were created for service.

HARRIS voice-over): It's an Atlantic congregation started with about 10 families in a small building a decade ago and a book.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't put it down since.

HARRIS: Destiny Metropolitan worship pastor Brian Crute read the best selling book, "The Purpose Driven Church." By Rick Warren.

BRIAN CRUTE, DESTINY METROPOLITAN WORSHIP: As I read it, oh my gosh, I was like yes this is what church should be, yes, yes.

HARRIS: I need you to break this down for me. The purpose driven movement. Explain it, define it for us.

CRUTE: Purpose driven is simply a strategy that is used to help assess or to determine the health of a church.

HARRIS: Warren's philosophy is intended to help a church and its members, any denomination define their functions in life.

CARRELL WORKMAN, DESTINY CHURCH MEMBER: You're not so much preached to, but those are how to message. How to apply the word of God from a practical standpoint. How do I conquer a gloomy Monday.

HARRIS: That philosophy was recently thrust into the national spotlight when another reader, Ashley Smith, said she used what she read in Warner's second book, "A Purpose Driven Life" to convince accused killed Brian Nichols, the man who allegedly held her hostage, in her Atlanta apartment to surrender last March.

Nichols, he suspect in four murders, was the focus of one of the largest manhunts in Georgia history.

CRUTE: He has a purpose. His purpose is not to go around killing people. There is a deep need to know why do I exist. So when I heard she'd used that book I wasn't surprised at all.

HARRIS: The pastor says turmoil is what brings people to a purpose driven church. He relives a set back of his own.

CRUTE: Right at the George, South Carolina Border it caught fire.

HARRIS: Ten years ago while moving to Atlanta from Virginia, Crute watched his possession go up in smoke leaving his family with nothing. It was then he says that Warren's philosophy helped define his role. One of them is to use this still relatively new method to reach people others may have missed

CRUTE: For those who maybe haven't experienced the church in quite some time or we call them burned stones, they just have had a terrible experience. We believe that this will help them be nurtured back to spiritual health.

ALLISON DUNCANSON, DESTINY CHURCH MEMBER: When you're just in a world where people are searching aimlessly just to find their niche, to find their purpose and so when you have a material like that that is so accessible and is so easy to read, it's a quick read also, it really just speaks to you at your core. .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: That's really affecting people all across the nation.

HARRIS: I'll tell you, you walk into that church think you're walking into a church. You think you're walking into an office building somewhere. It is a different approach to religion and faith.

NGUYEN: And it's catching on. All right we want to turn now to our e-mail question of the day for you and we're going to give you a little background info. As you might have heard, Mexican President Vicente Fox made some comments that have sparked a fire storm. He said this quote, "There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, will power and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.

So we have been asking for your opinion on this this morning. Should he apologize?

HARRIS: Well, here's our first e-mail response from Kyleena who writes, Fox should definitely apologize. As a politician there are some things you should not say in public no matter how true they are. :

NGUYEN: Well, Dawn says, "It seems as though Mr. Fox tells the truth and doesn't let pressure from other groups dictate his way of thinking. But then again I have no use for Mr. Fox because of the illegal immigrants or politicians who refuse to shore up our borders.

Continue to send those thoughts in. We're getting all kinds of different responses this morning to the e-mail question of the day. Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his remarks. E- mail us to our new address. That's weekends at cnn.com and we'll read those responses on the air.

HARRIS: And a little birdie tells me it's one of the most popular stories at cnn.com as well as you might expect.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HARRIS: OK. It is one of the last places you might expect to be on the leading edge of gay rights, but Montana's live and let live attitude means benefits for same sex couples that they can't get anywhere else. We'll have that story coming up in the 9 a.m. eastern hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: But first the medicine behind. Crime scene investigation. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you how it works on HOUSE CALL.

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 May 15, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is a surprise Sunday, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits new leaders in Iraq. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, May 15th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the East, 3:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Thank you for being with us. Let's get you started with the morning's headlines now in the news.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Iraq. She's meeting with a number of the newly elected Iraqi leaders. State Department officials say she will push for a timeline for drafting an Iraqi constitution. Rice is also expected to stress the importance of including all ethnic groups of the population.

In Uzbekistan, the streets of Andijan are finally quiet after days of clashes between government troops and protesters. Reports indicate as many as 500 people may have been killed, but the death toll hasn't been confirmed. Thousands of refugees fled into nearby Kyrgyzstan to escape the violence.

President Bush will pay tribute to the 153 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers killed last year in the line of duty. He is the keynote speaker in today's ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

NGUYEN: And here's some of the other stories we are working on for you this Sunday morning. A barrage of bullets in California prompts an unusual response from law enforcement officials. We'll tell you about that.

And a first responders are on the frontlines of the methamphetamine epidemic. We will look at some of the insidious dangers the drug brings to communities just ahead.

Plus, we will meet a 10-year old, a 10-year old, who is already -- well he has his future mapped out. And it includes some Internet magic.

HARRIS: Wait until you meet him. Now more on our top story.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is paying a surprise visit to Iraq. Her visit comes at a turning point in Iraq's political future. And right in the middle of an uptick in violence.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us live from Baghdad. And Ryan, what was the secretary's message today?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the secretary's first visit to Iraq. It is also the first visit of a senior U.S. official to Iraq since Iraq's new government was formed just about two weeks ago. And she's been quite explicit with her message. She made some comments earlier today once she arrived, basically saying that she would like to see three things happen.

Firstly, she is saying that it is very important for the Iraqi government to keep to a timeline that binds them to drafting Iraq's first post Saddam constitution by August 15th. U.S. government thinks it's very important to keep the political momentum going that they've seen here so far.

She also said that she would like this government, which is mainly made up of Shiites and Kurds, to be as inclusive as possible of all of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups. That's being seen basically as a message to try and include more Sunni Arabs in the government. Sunni Arabs by and large feel like they've been shut out of the political process. And the U.S. government feels it's very important to include them, because they are often blamed for supporting the insurgency.

And finally, speaking of the insurgency, the Secretary of State said that she is concerned about the level of violence here. She's concerned about the insurgency. And she asked that the Iraqi government, the Iraqi people, do everything they can to fight it.

She made those comments up in Erbil. That's way up in the north of Iraq. It's a Kurdish city. That's where she met with some Kurdish officials. She's also going to be traveling around Iraq.

Today, we understand, she will be also meeting with the prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK. Ryan Chilcote for us in Baghdad. Ryan, we appreciate it, thank you.

NGUYEN: U.S. Marines say they have successfully completed their week long offensive near the Syrian border known as Operation Matador. The assault was designed to neutralize insurgents and foreign fighters. Operation Matador was launched after an escalation in insurgent attacks following the installation of Iraq's new transitional government.

Now success comes at a hefty price. Nine U.S. Marines were killed in the offensive.

You will get a chance to hear firsthand what happened during Operation Matador. That is coming up in the 9:00 hour. We will talk with a reporter who was embedded with the Marines from the first platoon of Lima Company. That's an Ohio based company, which will aid nine U.S. soldiers killed last week.

HARRIS: This week's hero story is about a soldier who says he was just doing his job when he put himself in harm's way again and again to help his fallen comrades.

CNN's Casey Wian has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gerrit Kobes works the assembly line, putting together wood stoves in a factory in Colville, Washington. At 23, he's one of the youngest workers, but he commands respect for his service in Iraq. Kobes, a medic, earned an Army Commendation Medal with valor, just two months into his year-long deployment. Shrapnel hit a soldier in the head, leaving him gravely wounded.

SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: I intubated him with a tube, to breathe for him, and started breathing for him. There was no movement. He had a slight -- a weak pulse. We got him into the ambulance. I rode with him in the ambulance. I didn't expect him to make it. He went through four hours of neurosurgery.

WIAN: The soldier lived. The experience left Kobes a changed man.

KOBES: There's a soldier that got to go home to his family because of what everybody did that day. So it was a great, great day for me.

This is probably the most important award to me. Made me believe in myself a lot.

WIAN: Months later, Kobes distinguished himself again, this time braving mortar fire to save the lives of Iraqi soldiers during an attack on their convoy.

KOBES: I put my head gear back on, and we ran through, you know -- there is few vehicles here and there for cover. A lot of open ground. And we ran approximately 500 meters to the wounded. There was four on the ground that I treated immediately when I got there.

WIAN: All the soldiers lived. Kobes was awarded the Army's third highest honor, a Silver Star, for risking his life to save others.

KOBES: I don't know. I wouldn't call myself a hero, I guess. But just doing my job. I'm happy. I'm proud, you know, to save lives over in Iraq.

WIAN: Now Kobes focuses on the lives of his family. He wants to buy a new home for his wife Erica (ph) and their two sons. Kobes plans to stay in the National Guard and hopes for a future career in law enforcement.

Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. NGUYEN: Sheriff deputies in Compton, California are doing something they rarely do. And that is, saying sorry. But will the community accept the apology? Find out next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: And meet the youngest web wizard in America. This 10- year old?

NGUYEN: Ten.

HARRIS: Ten. OK, can put a lot of adults to shame. We're here to testify to that.

NGUYEN: Yes, we are.

HARRIS: He will stop by later this hour.

NGUYEN: And we want to say good morning, Washington, as the sun comes up over the nation's capitol. We will check your weather in just a few minutes.

HARRIS: And here is our e-mail question this morning. Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his controversial comments about U.S. minorities? In case you missed the story, here is a direct quote from Mr. Fox talking about illegal Mexican labor in America.

"There is no doubt that the Mexican men and women -- full of dignity, willpower, and a capacity for work -- are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."

E-mail us your thoughts. Our new address is weekends. That's weekends@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to the volatile situation in central Asia. Thousands of people have been fleeing Uzbekistan to escape the bloodbath in the city of Andijan, where soldiers mowed down hundreds of demonstrators in anti-government rally.

Journalist Ethan Wilensky-Lanford is at one of the border crossings in Kyrgyzstan. And he joins us via phone.

Ethan, first of all, tell me the situation where you are right now. What is it?

ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD, JOURNALIST: Yes, hello Betty. I'm actually at -- in Osh now, but I -- a short while ago, was in Carasou (ph), which is about 30 kilometers north of here.

At that area, there was a border that's being reconstructed between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan by the Uzbeks on the northern side. It's a bridge across the river that was closed several years ago. And people now are able to come and go freely.

There's also been reports of large numbers of refugees crossing over north of there, into Jalalabad and to the town of Susdak (ph). I have confirmed from the U.N. 600 mostly women and children crossing over, many seeking medical treatment there.

NGUYEN: How many -- do you know, because very few journalists have been able to get into the city and determine how many were killed in this protest. Do you know by now how many were killed by police?

WILENSKY-LANFORD: The reports that I've heard have been around 500. I know that on Saturday morning, people have reported seeing just trucks coming and picking up tons and tons of bodies, many, many bodies. Some people were saying that it was a lot more than 500, but without being there myself, it's really difficult to confirm that.

The real difficulty here is that Uzbekistan is not letting in foreign journalists than the ones that are there now are not allowed to film anything. So it's really difficult to get an accurate view on that.

NGUYEN: Well, let me ask you this, Ethan. Were you able to witness what happened? Did police open fire on protesters?

WILENSKY-LANFORD: I did not see that myself in Andijan, but certainly what the eyewitnesses who were there are telling me, apparently there was a large rally on Friday. President Karimov flew in and was in the airport. He was there to meet with a huge Islamic fundamentalist, who were released from prison the night before. And at that point, there was a firefight between the anti-government forces and the government forces.

But I will caution to say that this is not an Islamic fundamentalist movement. Many people here are quite poor, trying to have an easier way of life.

Everyone I asked is...

NGUYEN: OK. The audio is breaking up a little bit, Ethan.

WILENSKY-LANFORD: ... people want to be able to come and go.

NGUYEN: We appreciate your time this morning. We'll be obviously following this story. That was Ethan Wilensky-Lanford. And the story in Uzbekistan on protesters there who were apparently killed in a situation. We'll continue to follow that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) just to find their niche, to find their purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The search for the meaning of life is leading millions to the purpose driven church. In our faces of faith, we'll look at a new religious fervor that's sweeping the nation. That's in our next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: In Compton, California, sheriff deputies offered an apology for last week's shooting incident. Deputies there fired more than 100 shots at an unarmed motorist they were pursuing.

Peter Viles was there for the explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four days after this shooting was caught on tape, an unexpected twist. The deputies who fired the shots stood silently while their lawyer apologized.

GREG EMERSON, LAWYER FOR DEPUTIES: They're not hiding. They're honorable, decent individuals. They're proud professionals of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. And they're willing to stand up and tell the community that they do apologize, and that each of them to a person that stands here today wishes that things would have been a little bit different.

VILES: The lawyer also offered an explanation. The deputies fired because they believed the driver, Winston Hayes, had a gun and was using his vehicle as a weapon, citing this radio warning from a sheriff's helicopter.

SHERIFFS HELICOPTER TRANSMISSION: He is driving very erratically. It looks as though he actually is aiming to hit deputies.

VILES: On the streets of Compton where bullets filled the air Sunday night, residents we met were not yet ready to accept the apology.

BOBBY BROWN, COMPTON RESIDENT: It was just wrong. What can they do? You know what I'm saying? They shot a man over 100 times, I heard. That is (INAUDIBLE), there's no call for that.

VILES: Barber Joe Holliday considered my question and threw it right back at me.

JOE HOLLIDAY, COMPTON BUSINESS OWNER: How would you feel if somebody came over and shot up your neighborhood?

VILES: Extremely upset.

HOLLIDAY: Extremely upset.

VILES: Mark Bonner says he has relatives in law enforcement and some sympathy for the deputies.

MARK BONNER, COMPTON RESIDENT: Well, two sides to the story. They're human beings also, I understand that. And they want to go home to their families. You know, there's -- they have a job to do. But the shooting was uncalled for that many times.

VILES: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca is taking some of the blame and supporting his deputies.

LEE BACA, SHERIFF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: When have you ever had a police officer come out through a representative model and say I'm concerned, I have a sense of feeling about this, I want you to know that I don't feel good about this. This has never happened in this county. And this speaks well for the integrity of these deputies.

VILES: Back at Compton, residents are disappointed their city's image has been battered once again.

BONNER: I believe here in Compton for 39 years. And Compton isn't a bad place as everybody put it up to be.

VILES: Peter Viles for CNN, Compton, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now the driver, Winston Hayes, was shot four times, but none of the wounds is life threatening. He was not carrying a gun, and has not yet been charged with any crime.

HARRIS: Other stories across America this morning. Family and friends and neighbors gathered for the funeral of Krystal Tobias. Nine-year old Krystal and her eight-year old best friend Laura Hobbs were killed last week in Zion, Illinois. Laura's father allegedly confessed to beating and stabbing the children on Mother's Day. A service for Laura is scheduled today.

A young Russian girl seen in sexually explicit photos on the Internet has been adopted by a family and is living under a new name. She was the subject of an intense two year search. The girl's former adoptive father is now serving 15 years on a child porn conviction.

Jesse Jackson is bristling at Mexican President Vicente Fox's comment on African-Americans. Did you hear this? Fox said that Mexican immigrants to the U.S. take jobs "that not even blacks want to do." Jackson says the remark has ominous racial overtones, but a Mexican official defends Fox saying "he meant no insult."

Check out these pictures. Look familiar at all? That's a better shot right there. Yes, yes, yes, that's it.

NGUYEN: No way.

HARRIS: You got it. The latest edition to your lunch or dinner is inspired by the runaway bridge.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

HARRIS: We'll bring you the saucy details later this hour.

NGUYEN: All right, but first, meet one of the youngest web wizards in America. There he is. This kid puts many adults to shame, just to shame when it comes to computers. He shares his secret. That's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK, chances are good you found your way onto the information superhighway, but just how Internet savvy are you? I'm not very savvy when it comes to the Internet, but you think you could figure out how to put together a Web site like this one? Maybe you should ask a 10-year old to help.

Eric Fancher can do it. And his work is getting him recognized as the Internet wiz kid. He is here this morning with his mom, Krista.

Thanks for being with us, both of you. We appreciate it. So you are Mr. web wizard. How did you get that title?

ERIC FANCHER, WEB WIZ KID: Well, in October, I started making a Web site for the technology fair. The year before, I had made a robot. And I wanted to try something new and different.

NGUYEN: OK, you're 10-years old.

E. FANCHER: Yes.

NGUYEN: The year before, you made a robot?

E. FANCHER: Yes.

NGUYEN: How do you learn all of this?

E. FANCHER: I don't know.

NGUYEN: Has he always been interested in computers, mom?

KRISTA FANCHER, MOTHER: He really has, ever since he was really little. But it's just been the last few years that he's really taken off with it.

NGUYEN: And would you say that you have kind of aided in this, because you are a computer lab teacher?

K. FANCHER: I'd say it probably helped get him started. But he knows probably a lot more than I do now.

NGUYEN: I see, I see. Now had you always wanted to become this web wizard? Or is this...

E. FANCHER: I never thought that I would win this contest. And I was surprised that my Web site won, because there were thousands of entries. And there was a national contest.

NGUYEN: Wow.

E. FANCHER: So...

NGUYEN: And so what does your Web site do? What kind of Web site is it? E. FANCHER: It's a Web site for Scouts. I'm in Scouting. And my gen needed a Web site. So we -- so I created a Web site for -- to enter in the technology fair. And it helps us communicate and it tells like when our next meetings are and what activities you have to do to get certain badges.

NGUYEN: You're going to be an Eagle Scout before you know it I tell you. Well, OK, so you won this competition. You had to have gotten some goodies. What did you win?

E. FANCHER: I won a Dell Inspiron laptop.

NGUYEN: Pretty cool.

E. FANCHER: And a year of free web hosting.

NGUYEN: And so what are you going to do with that year of free web hosting?

E. FANCHER: I'm hoping to make lots of Web sites.

NGUYEN: Now you're actually helping some businesses, aren't you?

E. FANCHER: Yes. This summer, I'm helping to help businesses make Web sites -- I hope to make them for small companies like maybe small pizza companies that don't have Web sites that need them.

NGUYEN: Boy.

E. FANCHER: (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: What a community leader. How proud of you -- are you of him?

K. FANCHER: We're very proud of him. He's always been a pretty easy kid to parent. And this makes us proud every day.

NGUYEN: Were you surprised that he won? Or did you know hey, my kids got it?

K. FANCHER: Absolutely shocked.

NGUYEN: Really?

K. FANCHER: It was a contest that he entered kind of as a just a whim. And very shocked when we got the call. Very, you know, just really pleased.

NGUYEN: So what does a web wizard want to do when he grows up?

E. FANCHER: Well, when I grow up, I want to be an engineer, because I like to build. And I like electronics. And when I grow up, I still want to continue using computers all my life.

NGUYEN: And you already have a great title on the resume already. We appreciate you being with us this morning. E. FANCHER: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Congratulations. Nice to see you both.

K. FANCHER: Thank you.

E. FANCHER: Bye.

NGUYEN: Can you believe it, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes, I can believe it. These kids today, they're just wired differently. You know what? She may not rival Eric, but she's pretty handy with a computer. Jacqui Jeras is in.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, they've put their lives on the line, but when a drug lab full of toxins is on fire, should these men be risking their lives? Randy Kaye investigates later this hour.

NGUYEN: Plus, a flood of refugees pouring out of a former Soviet Republic. We are going global. That's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Gone too soon, the life and legacy of this American activist is remembered in a special way. Welcome back, everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.

We have that story in just a moment, but first, here's a look at what's right now in the news. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Iraq overnight for a surprise visit. These are some of the first pictures we're getting from that visit in Iraq this morning. She is pressing Iraqi leaders to stick with a timetable of drafting a constitution. She's talking with political power brokers in the northern Kurdish region as well and she is meeting with Iraq's prime minister in Baghdad.

President Bush pays tribute to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty today. He'll speak at the annual memorial service in Washington. 153 officers killed on the job last year at the Federal, state and local level will be honored.

Threatened homes and miles of debris, that's what emergency workers in Florida want to avoid this summer. Today, they're kicking off hurricane preparedness week. They'll test their ability to juggle two storms at once. Training scenarios include handling and emergency operation and a recovery mission all at the same time. Hurricane season begins June 1st.

HARRIS: Now, a check of some of the other international stories making news around the world.

NGUYEN: We have some new details in the violent anti-government protest in Uzbekistan. For those details, let's go now to the international desk and Anand Naidoo. Good morning Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very good morning to you. The crisis in Uzbekistan has ended for now but there are heavy casualties, we're hearing. Funerals for some of the victims are being held. Russia's Interfax news agency quotes human rights markers saying hundreds of people were killed by government forces in the eastern town of Andijan. The violence began when a group stormed the prison where several businessmen are being held. Then other protesters called for the government to resign. Correspondents say thousands of Uzbek refugees are heading south and crossing into Kyrgyzstan. The Uzbek President Islam Karimov, a close ally of the United States, is blaming the violence on Islamic militants.

In Iraq, 34 bodies are found in three separate locations. Officials say 10 bodies were found in the western city of Ramadi, a key stronghold of the insurgency. The men had been dead for around two days. Iraqi police found the bodies of 11 Iraq men in two trucks they stopped. That was just south of Baghdad and three beheaded male bodies were discovered in the same area. There were indications those bodies were tortured before they were beheaded.

From Afghanistan, a warning to the United States, it could face a holy war over that Koran issue, the Muslim holy book issue. At least 16 Afghans have died in recent anti-U.S. protests. Now, 300 clerics say they will declare holy war against the U.S. if it does not hand over the military interrogators who allegedly defiled the Koran at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. military says for its part, that so far investigations have revealed that there's no evidence to support those allegations.

More from me later, but for now let's send it back to Tony and Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, a busy day. Thanks, Anand.

HARRIS: Marla Ruzicka was a humanitarian aid worker in Iraq when she was killed in a roadside bombing last month. She was 28 years old and had accomplished more than many people do in a lifetime. She helped the civilian victims of war and that is how she was remembered at a memorial in Washington yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D) VERMONT: We (INAUDIBLE) recognize thanks to Marla's tenaciousness that civilian casualties need to be counted. Only by doing so do we know the true cost of war and we can properly dignify and honor each person killed or wounded as an individual, as a father, a son, a daughter, a mother, not just as collateral damage. That's Marla's legacy.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D) CALIF: It's just the instant that we occupy, that we know about. So what we do with that instant is all important. Here was really a young woman who lived her instant to the fullest.

PETER BERGEN, JOURNALIST: Where else in the world is the government helping the civilians they harm in conflict. Marla was very proud of this fact. And then a final note, we're helping lots of kids with medical care, this is on the day that Marla died. This place continues to break my heart, need to get out of here, but it's hard.

Marla's work continues with the organization she founded, the campaign for innocent victims in conflict. You can find out more on line at civic worldwide.org.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Each week at this time, we're going to bring you some of the best and most relevant stories from our CNN investigative unit. Today we explore the hidden methamphetamine labs and increasingly the drug labs are being set up in homes at great danger to the community. CNN's Randi Kaye tells us how it changed the life of one North Carolina fire fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's colorless; it's odorless and in very small amounts, it can give you a headache, make you sick or kill you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It nearly killed Darien South. January, 2003, South, a volunteer fireman, responded to a routine call in Watauga County, North Carolina.

DARIEN SOUTH, FORMER FIREFIGHTER: I told my wife I didn't feel like getting up for anything more than a structure fire. I just wanted to get a good night's sleep. And 10 minutes later we got dispatched to a structure fire.

KAYE: South and his fellow firefighters had no idea this mobile home was also a meth lab, a place where addicts mix deadly chemicals with over the counter cold medicine to make methamphetamine. The cooking process is very volatile.

SOUTH: We followed every guideline, every state regulation that there was that we were to follow. And it was just like a snake jumped out and bit us.

KAYE: Six months earlier, the (INAUDIBLE) fire department had been trained how to identify dangerous meth lab fires. That night, South says there were no obvious signs meth was involved. Once the flames were out, South took off his breathing mask. A hot spot in the floor then caught his eye. He opened the crawl space and in an instant, a burst of hydrochloric acid gas burned through him.

What did it do to you that first time when you opened that...

SOUTH: It burned and it took my breath. I couldn't breathe. It was just like it shut my lungs down for a brief few seconds.

KAYE: But then you reopened it?

SOUTH: I went out and got my breath back and for some reason, I went back and opened it again.

KAYE: And then what?

SOUTH: The second time was almost fatal.

KAYE: What did your chest feel like?

SOUTH: Like it was on fire.

KAYE: South went into respiratory failure. His oxygen level plummeted. The ache in his head so severe he thought it would split open. Then, South started coughing up blood.

RENEE SOUTH, DARIEN'S WIFE: As the wife of a firefighter, that's your worst fear of having somebody show up at your door at 2:00 in the morning and that's exactly what happened.

KAYE: South spent six days in the hospital.

SOUTH: It burnt all around my mouth, into my nostrils. I had blisters all over my face. It burnt through my nasal (INAUDIBLE) down through my windpipe, my esophagus. It stunned my epiglottis to where I couldn't eat. I'd choke if I tried to eat.

KAYE: South lost 50 percent of his lung capacity. His vision remains blurred, sinuses severely scorecard.

What kind of reputation has Watauga County earned when it comes to meth?

SHERIFF MARK SHOOK, WATAUGA CO, NC: We've been called ground zero. We've been called the county that never sleeps.

KAYE: That nickname comes from meth's speed-like qualities. A meth high can last for days. Users don't sleep. They don't eat either.

The Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding Watauga County are a popular destination for skiers. But in recent years, these same mountains have become a popular destination for meth users. They provide good cover for people cooking meth and because they're so remote, the strong fumes go unnoticed. In Watauga County, 34 meth labs were discovered last year and in the last two years, 27 emergency personnel were injured in meth lab fires.

JOHN MARTYNY, JEWISH MEDICAL RESEARCH CTR: A very, very short exposure can cause significant problems.

KAYE: Dr. John Martyny studies the effects of meth-related chemicals on first responders. He says half of law enforcement officers report respiratory problems after raiding a meth lab full of toxins.

MARTYNY: The levels were high enough that they would be considered by government agencies to be immediately dangerous to life and health. They're that high. KAYE: South's experience taught every fireman running into a burning house in Watauga County to wear a breathing mask and not to remove that mask too quickly. Now, every fire here is treated like a meth lab fire. South can still play ball with his son, but his stamina isn't close to what it was. He takes medication and carries an inhaler.

RENEE SOUTH: I would wake up and hear him wheezing or gasping for air and I would always reach over and (INAUDIBLE) make sure that he was OK because I never knew if he was going to start stop breathing or what.

KAYE: This past January, two years after the fire, Darien South was finally strong enough to start work again, a desk job at the district attorney's office. On his way to and from his job at the courthouse, he drives by the scene of the fire and thanks God for keeping him alive that night.

SOUTH: I give him the credit. He's the reason I'm still living. I guess I've got a purpose left. He's got something left for me to do.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Watauga County, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And coming up at the 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour, another investigation unit report. We will meet an alternative Montana family who says it deserves the same rights a more traditional family gets. The struggle for family values. That's ahead on CNN.

HARRIS: And now, this look at our other top stories. Right now we're just getting in pictures from Erbil, Iraq. This is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talking to soldiers there in Iraq. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm so grieved that human beings have been willing to do that to other human beings. The answer to that as the president has said, is to give people a chance at freedom and liberty. And for many, many years, the United States, along with the rest of the free world, believed somehow that people in this region didn't care about freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, pictures just in from Reuters of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaking to U.S. forces in Iraq, obviously a surprise visit to Iraq by the secretary of State. She is there to consult with members of the new Iraqi government and to as you just saw there, visit with troops and thank them for their service against long odds in Iraq.

Let's move on now. Our e-mail question of the morning. Have you heard this? Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his controversial comments about U.S. minorities. Our new address is weekends@cnn.com. In case you missed the story, here is the direct quote from Mr. Fox talking about illegal Mexican labor in America. Here it is. There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work, are doing the work that not even blacks wants to do in the United States.

NGUYEN: I want to give you a CNN extra now. Actually, apparently, we're going back to some tape of Condoleezza Rice in Iraq. She arrived in Erbil this morning. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICE: ...last couple of months. I know that he is a dedicated servant. I see him on our videoconferences from time-to-time and he's just really given wonderful leadership and I want to thank him for that and I want to thank all of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's new video of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Iraq, speaking with troops there. As Tony just mentioned a few minutes ago is a surprise visit. She's meeting with the Iraqi government there. Let's take another listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICE: The freedom deficit is what has produced the ideologies of hatred that led people to fly airplanes into a building on a fine September day. People don't want to be suicide bombers. People don't want to be suicide hijackers. But somehow, the ideologies of hatred in this region have become so great, that human beings have been willing to do that to other human beings. The answer to that, as the president has said, is to give people a chance at freedom and liberty. For many, many years, the United States, along with the rest of the free world, believed somehow that people in this region didn't care about freedom. We cared about stability. And what we got was neither freedom nor stability. We got a malignancy that was growing that came to haunt us on that fine September day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: These new pictures, new video just in from Reuters, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, we saw just a moment ago, speaking to the troops, now, meeting with the troops, taking pictures with the troops. Obviously, always a great moment when the secretary of State or anyone or any high ranking official from the U.S. government gets an opportunity to actually take one of these surprise trips over to Iraq and not only take care of the political business that has to be taken care of, but gets an opportunity to meet with the troops as you just saw there, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice in Erbil, Iraq.

NGUYEN: She arrived there around 2:45 a.m. Eastern time. Of course, as we get more of that tape in, we'll be sending it right out to you. So stay tuned for that. We're going to take a quick break right now. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And here are some of the stories that will be making news during the week. As early as Tuesday, there could be a showdown in the Senate. Republicans are threatening to change Senate rules to eliminate the use of the filibuster on President Bush's judicial nominees. The so-called nuclear option could mean only 51 votes could approve a judge rather than the current 60. Democrats have used filibusters to block 10 of President Bush's 215 court nominees. Democrats point out that Republicans used the filibuster for about 60 judicial nominees during the Clinton administration.

Thursday, may the force be with you. "Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith" opens nationwide in movie theaters. It is the final prequel in the "Star Wars" saga. Then on Saturday, it is the 130th running of the Preakness stakes. The running for the black eyed susans. The horse race is the second of the triple crown races. All eyes and odds will be on the Kentucky Derby winner, Giacomo.

NGUYEN: A surprise win.

This morning we are talking about Vicente Fox in our e-mail question. Should President Fox apologize? Now let's tell you what he said. He said, speaking to Texas businessmen, that there is no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work, are doing the work that not even blacks wants to do in the United States.

We are getting a lot of responses to this. David in Missouri writes, it is my experience working in the service industry that President Fox is right on the money. It is refreshing to see someone tell the truth regardless of who is offended by it.

HARRIS: Gary (ph) has a different view. President Fox should be ashamed of himself. That has to be the dumbest thing he has said. He basically put his own people down. Thank you for the e-mails. You're right. They're pretty hot this morning. Should President Vicente Fox apologize for those comments? There's the e-mail address, weekends@cnn.com. And check out this new hot remedy for cold feet. Yes, it was inspired by the runaway bride. That's not the only thing. We'll have more when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Are you -- a couple of questions here -- a fearful fiance or a nervous bride to be? Well, before you walk down the church aisle, one man wants you to walk down this aisle first. An Atlanta area store has stocked its shelves with Jennifer's High Tailin' hot sauce. Food for thought based on Jennifer Wilbanks, the bride who recently ran away just days before her Georgia wedding. Do you remember?

NGUYEN: Oh yes.

HARRIS: How could you forgot? The sauce shows a fast moving bride grabbing her veil. The (INAUDIBLE) says the hot sauce could be a cure for cold feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID "PAPPY" RYAN, OWNER, PAPPY'S PEPPERS: Jennifer's High Tailin' hot sauce and if you read it over here on the warning label, this sauce may cause you to seek intense professional help voluntarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's not right, it's just not right.

NGUYEN: That was a hard one.

HARRIS: The woman is trying to get some help. She's got issues.

Other people are also producing products based on the story. One Connecticut company is selling a runaway bride action figure.

NGUYEN: It's all about the money apparently.

HARRIS: It's silly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, as we look at video coming in or just was of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her surprise visit to Iraq. We'll have much more about that throughout the morning.

Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Let's get you started with the morning's headlines. Now in the news. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Iraq today. Rice arrived in total secrecy in northern Iraq where she met with a Kurdish leader then she traveled to Baghdad to meet with the prime minister and other top officials. She came to personally impress upon the Iraqi leadership the importance of drafting a new constitution by the August deadline.

Rice also met briefly, as you can see here, with U.S. troops and embassy staff. In Uzbekistan, funerals today for some of the victims of two days of violent clashes between demonstrators and government troops. Witnesses estimate 450 people were killed. Thousands of Uzbeks have since fled to neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

And at the Vatican this morning, 21 new priests were ordained by Pope Benedict XVI, the oldest of the new priests is 55. They represent eight countries including three in Africa and four in Latin America.

NGUYEN: Coming up this hour, a base of reasons. As the Pentagon prepares to defend their reason for wanting to close several military basis around the country, one targeted base says it's not going anywhere. We'll have that story.

And Mexican president Vicente Fox is doing some explaining. He recently made some comments about Mexican immigrants and blacks in the U.S. So why is one civil rights activists calling Fox's words a racist insult? We'll have those details.

And in today's Faces of Faith living your life with prophets. We will explore the practice and preaching of a purpose driven church.

HARRIS: Our top story this hour, a surprised trip filled with high powered diplomacy and some highly explicit messages. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes an unexpected trip to Iraq. Her first time there as the nation's top diplomat.

CNN's senior Baghdad correspondent Jane Arraf joins us live with more, and hello Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. Given the security situation here pretty well all visits by senior officials are cloaked in secrecy and security. Now, Condoleezza Rice put on body armor for that helicopter trip from Qatar to Salaheddin (ph). That's near one of the regional capitals in Kurdistan. There she met Massoud Barzani. He's one of the top Kurdish leaders here, and he comes from a legendary family of Kurdish fighters. He is now trying to help put together politically this new Iraq.

Now this is Condoleezza Rice's first visit here as the top U.S. diplomat. She was you recall one of the main architects of the invasion of Iraq and this is really her first look at it. She told reporters near Erbil that insurgencies can be defeated not only militarily but politically. And that's what she's talking to senior Iraqi officials about this afternoon.

Tony.

HARRIS: Jane, is there some concern that the Iraqi government might not meet this August deadline for writing up a new constitution for the country?

ARRAF: There always is concern, Tony. But what seems to be happening -- as you can tell it's a little bit noisy here with these over flights.

HARRIS: Sure.

ARRAF: But what seems to be happening is a concentrated push by the United States the same way we saw a similar push during the elections to hold elections on time. The feeling of U.S. officials seems to be that it may be a flawed process, it may not be perfect, but if these time lines slip then a lot of other things could slip as well. But yes a lot of problems. Right now on the entire committee for drafting the constitution there are only two Sunni Arabs. Vastly underrepresented on that committee.

Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Jane Arraf in Baghdad. Jane, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Secretary Rice's trip to Iraq comes at a time of intense fighting in western Iraq. The U.S. says it's Operation Matador is over, calling it a successful mission. Officials say the week long offensive near the Syrian border neutralized more than 125 insurgents and foreign fighters. Nine U.S. Marines were killed during the operation.

Some 45 miles north of Baghdad suicide bombers tried to assassinate the governor of Diyala Province, but failed. The governor was unharmed on the attack on his convoy, but five were killed and two dozen others were injured. And the bodies of some 34 Iraqis were found in three separate locations around Iraq today. Some of them had been shot to death and others were beheaded.

NGUYEN: Back here at home, the White House and a major proposal to close the military bases around the U.S. will be the focus of a congressional hearing tomorrow. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers will testify before the commission that we'll review the plan before it goes to President Bush this fall. Rumsfeld's plan hopes to make the military leaner and more cost effective.

Now it calls for 33 closures of major bases and retooling nearly 800 others. One slated for closure is the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. CNN's Alina Cho was there, Alina Cho that is, to gauge the local reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would happen to the businesses?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pop Ray has been a fixture in this community for 22 years. He owns a diner, laundromat and car wash a quarter from the base.

POP RAY: And 50 percent of my business or more is the military community. So obviously if it were to close within one day, let's say, I would end up out of business.

CHO: But Pop is optimistic.

(on camera): You don't believe the base is going to close.

RAY: No I don't. I've live through this before.

CHO: Back in 1993 the Pentagon had threatened to close the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. But after heavy political lobbying Congress scrapped the plans. This time with Republicans in power the outcome could be different. Eighty five hundred people could be affected an estimate higher than any other place in the nation. Craig Frickman could be among them.

CRAIG FRICKMAN, NAVAL BASE EMPLOYEE: It's an interesting area. Long history of submariners. People have belt submarines, work on submarines, they're families have been here for a lot of years, a lot of history. Are we going to see some loss there? I think so

CHO: Frickman has worked here for 28 years, the Rempert been here for 10. Heather's husband, Ron, is a submariner. She says if she has to she and her family will move.

We'd prefer not to but, you know, it's kind of like we're military. It's a possibility, so we just prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

CHO: Pop is 77 and says the possibility of losing his business is of less importance losing the people he calls his family.

You're starting to get emotional about it a little bit?

RAY: Yes, I can't help it, you know. it's very real.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And checking other news across America, devoted and tenacious both words used to describe American activist Marla Ruzicka. Some 20 people attended a memorial service in her honor on Capitol Hill yesterday. The 28-year-old Ruzicka was killed by a car bomb in Iraq last month. She was there helping to count the civilian casualties of the war.

In Philadelphia an athletic young man helps his rowing team win a race then dies at the finish line. Scott Laio, a rower for Boston College collapsed just after his crew won the race yesterday. Officials say the college junior apparently suffered a heart attack.

And officials in Pennsylvania say a young victim of Internet porn is living with her adoptive family under a new name. Officials say the Russian born girl now about 11 years old was adopted at age five. Police had been looking for her for about two years after sexually explicit photos showed up of her on the Internet.

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to some controversial comments from Mexican President Vicente Fox. Fox is being blasted for comments he made recently for comments he made recently for comparing blacks in the U.S. to Mexican immigrants. Discussing the immigration policy between Mexico and the U.S., President Fox said this and I quote, "There is no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, will power and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States>"

Now that prompted this angry response from civil rights figure Jesse Jackson. "The comparison of Mexicans coming across the border and African Americans is a serious comparison that is unnecessary and a diversion from his real point. I would think that -- there's an (inaudible) error in his comparison. The fact is more poor Americans are not black. They're white. They're female. They're young. "

Insisting Mr. Fox did not mean his comments as an insult, a top Mexican official said quote, "The president did make a declaration in the racist sense. Of course there are those who interrupt it in that way. Mexican immigrants are making great contributions in the United States and the role is a positive role."

And all of this brings us to our morning e- mail question. We want to know what you think about the Vicente Fox statement. Should he apologize. Send us your thoughts to our new Web address. It is weekends@cnn.com.

HARRIS: It helped a woman calm a man suspected in a murder rampage, but for tens of thousands of people it's much, much more. Faces of Faith this morning is a book that's churches and their members in a new direction.

NGUYEN: And later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, real life CSI. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us how medicine and technology combine to fight crime. That's ahead on HOUSE CALL. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A major military mission to target insurgents in Iraq wraps up near the Syrian border. What was accomplished. We'll take you inside operation Matador in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to check our top stories right now on this Sunday morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pays a surprise visit to Iraq. Rice is meeting with Iraq's prime minister and other political power brokers. She says she will focus in part on the importance of drafting a new constitution.

Meanwhile, Rice's boss will honor fallen law enforcement officers today. President Bush will speak at an annual memorial service in Washington.

And after getting pummeled by four hurricanes last year, Florida's emergency workers are kicking off hurricane preparedness week today. They'll take part in drills, testing their ability to handle two hurricanes all at once. Hurricane season, Tony, begins, can you believe it, June 1st.

HARRIS: Yes, sure. Churches, built on the foundation of one book's teachings, but it's not the book you think. There it is. Up next I'll take you inside a congregation driven by the purpose driven life.

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HARRIS: It has been practiced around the globe for more than a decade now. I'm talking about the purpose driven church philosophy. It started with a best selling book by Pastor Rick Warren. He tries to provide a practical way to find and fulfill your true purpose in life.

More than 300,000 churches worldwide now practices what he preaches. In this morning's Faces of Faith we take you inside one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so as you sit here I want you to understand you were created for service.

HARRIS voice-over): It's an Atlantic congregation started with about 10 families in a small building a decade ago and a book.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't put it down since.

HARRIS: Destiny Metropolitan worship pastor Brian Crute read the best selling book, "The Purpose Driven Church." By Rick Warren.

BRIAN CRUTE, DESTINY METROPOLITAN WORSHIP: As I read it, oh my gosh, I was like yes this is what church should be, yes, yes.

HARRIS: I need you to break this down for me. The purpose driven movement. Explain it, define it for us.

CRUTE: Purpose driven is simply a strategy that is used to help assess or to determine the health of a church.

HARRIS: Warren's philosophy is intended to help a church and its members, any denomination define their functions in life.

CARRELL WORKMAN, DESTINY CHURCH MEMBER: You're not so much preached to, but those are how to message. How to apply the word of God from a practical standpoint. How do I conquer a gloomy Monday.

HARRIS: That philosophy was recently thrust into the national spotlight when another reader, Ashley Smith, said she used what she read in Warner's second book, "A Purpose Driven Life" to convince accused killed Brian Nichols, the man who allegedly held her hostage, in her Atlanta apartment to surrender last March.

Nichols, he suspect in four murders, was the focus of one of the largest manhunts in Georgia history.

CRUTE: He has a purpose. His purpose is not to go around killing people. There is a deep need to know why do I exist. So when I heard she'd used that book I wasn't surprised at all.

HARRIS: The pastor says turmoil is what brings people to a purpose driven church. He relives a set back of his own.

CRUTE: Right at the George, South Carolina Border it caught fire.

HARRIS: Ten years ago while moving to Atlanta from Virginia, Crute watched his possession go up in smoke leaving his family with nothing. It was then he says that Warren's philosophy helped define his role. One of them is to use this still relatively new method to reach people others may have missed

CRUTE: For those who maybe haven't experienced the church in quite some time or we call them burned stones, they just have had a terrible experience. We believe that this will help them be nurtured back to spiritual health.

ALLISON DUNCANSON, DESTINY CHURCH MEMBER: When you're just in a world where people are searching aimlessly just to find their niche, to find their purpose and so when you have a material like that that is so accessible and is so easy to read, it's a quick read also, it really just speaks to you at your core. .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: That's really affecting people all across the nation.

HARRIS: I'll tell you, you walk into that church think you're walking into a church. You think you're walking into an office building somewhere. It is a different approach to religion and faith.

NGUYEN: And it's catching on. All right we want to turn now to our e-mail question of the day for you and we're going to give you a little background info. As you might have heard, Mexican President Vicente Fox made some comments that have sparked a fire storm. He said this quote, "There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women full of dignity, will power and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.

So we have been asking for your opinion on this this morning. Should he apologize?

HARRIS: Well, here's our first e-mail response from Kyleena who writes, Fox should definitely apologize. As a politician there are some things you should not say in public no matter how true they are. :

NGUYEN: Well, Dawn says, "It seems as though Mr. Fox tells the truth and doesn't let pressure from other groups dictate his way of thinking. But then again I have no use for Mr. Fox because of the illegal immigrants or politicians who refuse to shore up our borders.

Continue to send those thoughts in. We're getting all kinds of different responses this morning to the e-mail question of the day. Should Mexican President Vicente Fox apologize for his remarks. E- mail us to our new address. That's weekends at cnn.com and we'll read those responses on the air.

HARRIS: And a little birdie tells me it's one of the most popular stories at cnn.com as well as you might expect.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HARRIS: OK. It is one of the last places you might expect to be on the leading edge of gay rights, but Montana's live and let live attitude means benefits for same sex couples that they can't get anywhere else. We'll have that story coming up in the 9 a.m. eastern hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: But first the medicine behind. Crime scene investigation. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you how it works on HOUSE CALL.

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