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CNN Live Sunday
Rice Visits Iraq
Aired May 15, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes a surprise visit to Baghdad this morning. CNN will have a live interview with the secretary in just a few minutes.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Also ahead this hour, Rice's special meetings with Kurdish leaders in Iraq and what has been accomplished. Plus, controversial comments about race from Mexico's president and why it's sparking protest and demand for an apology in the U.S.
And later...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: (INAUDIBLE) what everybody did that day, so it's a great day for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: One of the many heroes of Iraq, a soldier whose saves lives and what he believes he gained. But first a look at the top stories.
The man accused of kidnapping and killing a Florida girl reportedly faces new charges, attempted escape. Authorities in Tampa say David Onstott tried to escape from jail early yesterday. Onstott is accused of killing 13-year-old Sarah Lunde during an argument. Authorities say he has confessed to the crime.
A group of clerics in Afghanistan threatens the U.S. with a holy war unless some interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are turned over to an Islamic country for punishment. The interrogators are accused of putting copies of the Koran in bathrooms and in one case, flushing a copy down the toilet. The Pentagon is now investigating the allegations.
A young girl seen in sexually explicit poses on the Internet has a new home and a new name. A U.S. attorney says she has been adopted by an identified family. The girl, who was born in Russia, was the focus of an intense two-year search but authorities announced several days ago that she had been found safe.
In the fight for Iraq, news that the most wanted man in the country may be seriously wounded. That from a report in London's Sunday "Times." An Iraqi doctor says he treated a heavily bleeding Abu Musab al Zarqawi last Wednesday. Zarqawi is believed to be the mastermind behind much of the terror plaguing Iraq. The wounded terrorist reportedly came to a hospital in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The doctor said he wanted the terrorist to remain there for additional treatment. The report says the doctor is being questioned by American forces now. No precise word on where or how Zarqawi might have been wound but U.S. forces wrapped up an offensive in western Iraq this weekend. At least nine U.S. Marines and 125 insurgents were killed in the week-long battle. Operation matador targeted insurgents believed to be holed up in the region near the Syrian border.
The fighting extended to the border town of Cane (ph), where gunmen trying to get U.S. forces out of the area have held the kidnapped governor of the Anbar province. He was released today.
Also in Iraq, today a surprise visit from a high-ranking U.S. official. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went to the Kurdish north and then on to Baghdad. Our Ryan Chilcote has more on her visit. Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. It certainly was a surprise visit. In fact some of the people at the State Department, some of the officials that are very close to Secretary Rice didn't even know she was coming reportedly until minutes before she left. She arrived just a short while ago, stopped a little bit over eight hours ago actually in the north of the country, in the Kurdish city of Erbil. Security paramount, that's where she met with Kurdish officials including the leader of the Kurdish democratic party, thanking the Kurds for their support of the U.S. intervention here in Iraq. She then traveled on to Baghdad. A short while ago appearing in one of Saddam's former palaces in a room packed with troops and diplomats. She acknowledged that the situation here in Iraq right now is tough, but that this was not an elective war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a tough environment sometimes, maybe all of the time but I want you to stay focused on what it is that we are doing here. You see, this war came to us, not the other way around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHILCOTE: And she just met with the prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. She applauded the progress that she said had been made on the political front. She reminded everyone that it was just a year ago that Iraq gained its sovereignty. She also reminded everyone that it was just a little bit more than two weeks ago that Iraq got its most recent government so she called for patience. However, she has also been urging the new Iraqi government to get on with drafting its first post-Saddam constitution. She wants the Iraqi government, she said to stick to a timeline of doing that by the middle of August. The U.S. believes that it is very important for the politicians here in Iraq to keep the momentum that they appear to have gotten. Meanwhile, she also said that she wants to see more inclusion of the government of the ethnic and religious groups here. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad. Thanks so much.
Later this morning Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari talks to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. That interview is coming up on LATE EDITION, the last word in Sunday talk, live at noon eastern.
In Washington, a memorial for an American who lost her life in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka, the humanitarian activist killed by a car bomb last month was remembered for her work to help civilians injured in the war. U.S. and United Nations officials were at yesterday's ceremony, talking about the importance of Ruzicka's work and sacrifice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The activist founded the campaign for innocent victims in conflict and had gone door to door to look for civilian casualties.
There's anger among some African-Americans today in response to a comment by Mexico's president about the jobs Mexican immigrants take in this country. Vicente Fox's remarks are drawing demands for an apology. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports on the controversial remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mexican President Vicente Fox inflamed the immigration debate Friday when he described the role illegal Mexican workers play in the United States. Addressing Texas business leaders in Mexico he said:
TRANSLATOR: There's no doubt that Mexicans filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.
MALVEAUX: While President Bush often sells his guest worker program as a way for Mexicans to fill the jobs Americans don't want --
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and the others are willing to do.
MALVEAUX: Fox's remark drew immediate criticism from the Bush administration. A State Department spokesman said that level of dialogue doesn't merit comment. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson called Fox's remark an unfortunate stereotype.
JESSE JACKSON: Most poor Americans are not black. They're white. They're female. They're young. MALVEAUX: Mexico's foreign relations secretary reacted to the criticism saying the president didn't make a declaration in the racist sense. He said that Fox wanted to highlight that Mexican migrants are making great contributions in the U.S. But Mexican journalist Jose Carreno says tension between U.S. and Mexico has been building as the U.S. imposes tougher measures against illegal immigrants.
JOSE CARRENO, MEXICAN JOURNALIST: Since the beginning of the administration 2001, 2001, they expected something to happen in terms of immigration. It never happened.
BUSH: I will continue to push for reasonable, common sense immigration policy with the United States Congress.
MALVEAUX: While Mr. Bush continues to highlight his program to allow illegal Mexican immigrants to work in the U.S. legally, this proposal has languished in Congress. Congressional republicans will soon present him with legislation that will impose new controls on foreign-born people, make it tougher to get driver's license and will extend the fence along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigrants. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Violence has quieted down in Uzbekistan after days of fighting between soldiers and anti-government protesters. That fighting has left as many as 450 on people dead and forced hundreds more to flee toward the border with Kyrgyzstan. That's where journalist Ethan Wilensky-Lanford is, and he's joining us by phone to let us know what he's hearing from the Uzbek refugees. Ethan, describe for us if you can, what the scene is like with so many hundreds of citizens who have fled to this border town. Is it called Karasu (ph)?
ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD, JOURNALIST: Yes, hello, Fredricka. I am actually in Osh, right near the border town of Karasu. However, the refugees fled elsewhere into Kyrgyzstan, near the city of Jalalabad. Their number was about 600, many women and children, 20 of whom are in hospital now in Kyrgyzstan. They've all been accepted by the Kyrgyz government. There's been a border that's been reopened here in Karasu, which is surprising because the Uzbek police are nowhere to be seen.
WHITFIELD: So describe and explain how it got to this.
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Well, in the beginning, on Tuesday, there were thousands of protesters in the Uzbek city of Andijan, protesting the trial of an accused Islamic fundamentalist. Karimov, the President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan oftentimes is accused of imprisoning Islamic fundamentalists in -- it's a complicated situation, but...
WHITFIELD: Aren't some of the -- weren't some of the anti- government protesters also accused of storming this prison and helping the release of some of their prisoners there?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Yes. That's exactly right. However, many reports that I'm hearing from people that were on the ground were that these protests were not about Islamic fundamentalisms at all. They were people complaining that there's no work, there's great poverty in this part of the country, and Islam Karimov is oftentimes accused by many critics of blaming Islam for political opposition.
WHITFIELD: So Ethan, is there a good explanation as to how it got so violent, in other words, between the soldiers and the anti- government protesters. Who fired the first shot, so to speak?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Well, that's very tough to say. What we do know is that the government forces came in and there were eyewitness reports of them shooting a whole lot of unarmed protesters on Friday night. Now, before that, some of the protesters had indeed stormed the prison on Thursday night and taken about 15 policemen hostage who apparently were the first ones to be killed.
WHITFIELD: So are any of these protesters going to be able to return to the city of Andijan?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: The situation in Andijan right now is calm, however there's a strong military presence with tanks on the streets and heavily-armed militia, military men around. Life is beginning to return to normal in that part of Uzbekistan.
WHITFIELD: OK. Ethan Wilensky-Lanford, thanks so much for that report coming from Osh, Kyrgyzstan.
A reminder, CNN will have a live interview with Condoleezza Rice in Iraq in just a few minutes. Also, sheriff's deputies who opened fire in a Compton neighborhood offer an apology, but is that enough for the community? We'll tell you straight ahead.
Still to come, how the runaway bride is sparking the entrepreneurial spirit in Georgia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In Compton, California, deputies who fired more than 100 rounds at an unarmed motorist have offered an apology and an explanation for their actions. And while the sheriff says the deputies feel bad about what happened, many residents of Compton aren't ready to forgive just yet. CNN's Peter Viles reports.
(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 sheriff's department and they're willing to stand up and tell the community that they do apologize and that each one 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.
SHERIFF'S HELICOPTER TRANSMISSION: He's driving very erratically. It looks as though he actually is aiming to hit deputies.
VILES: On the streets of Compton where bullets fill 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 a hundred times I heard in his car. There's no call for that.
VILES: Barber Joe Holliday considered my question and threw it right back at me.
JOE HOLLIDAY, BUSINESS OWNER: How would you feel if somebody came over and shot up your neighborhood?
VILES: I'd be 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: There's two sides to the story. They're human beings also, I understand that and they want to go home to their families. 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.
SHERIFF LEE BACA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: When have you ever had a peace 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 in Compton, residences are disappointed their city's image has been battered once again.
BONNER: I've been living here in Compton for 39 years and Compton isn't a bad place as everybody put it out to be.
VILES: Peter Viles for CNN, Compton, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The driver of the vehicle in that incident Winston Hayes was shot four times, but none of the wounds were life- threatening. He was not carrying a gun and has not yet been charged with a crime.
Ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, we are still awaiting a live interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She's in Baghdad on a surprise visit.
Also the runaway bride inspires others to run all of the way to the bank and see how one entrepreneur is cashing in on the Jennifer Wilbanks' national faux pas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In Hawaii, a tough act to swallow. The world's top fire and knife dancers are showing their stuff at the 13th annual world championship. Twenty competitors performed the ceremonial Samoan dance. They're judged on speed, technicality and creativity.
In Georgia, a saucy story for nervous brides-to-be. Before walking down the church aisle, one man wants you to walk down this aisle and try Jennifer's High Tailin hot sauce. It's based on Jennifer Wilbanks, the Georgia bride-to-be who recently ran away days before her wedding. The merchant says the hot sauce could be a cure for pre-wedding cold feet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID "PAPPY" RYAN: This is a habanero and chipotle pepper sauce that is made for me by a co-packer down in Florida and I had always thought that, as you see a lot of the labels I have here have humorous labels because people like to collect these. The parody between the bride with cold feet and a hot sauce label would be funny and I felt like this would be a good time to introduce it to the market and it's been highly successful. We've got hundred of web page orders. Can't hardly keep it on the shelf and it's just been a hoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It's funny, it's inventive and apparently a new cash cow for him. All right. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras for a look at the weather.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Anything for a buck, huh Fred?
WHITFIELD: No kidding.
JERAS: We got three storm systems that we're looking at across the country for today, one in the Pacific northwest, one here in Texas and then east coast getting some wet weather. The worst of the weather at this hour is in Texas, smack-dab in the mid-section of the state kind of sandwiched in between I-10 and I-20 here, pushing off to the east. These storms are not severe, but producing very heavy rain. One to three inches can be expected as this line moves through. We've seen some flash flooding already in Midland and Odessa and Abilene, you're next to get some of that flooding.
Forecast for today shows most of the midsection looking very nice, temperatures cooler than normal across the northern tier of the country. In fact even a little frosty in parts of Nebraska and throughout the Dakotas. High of only 55 in Minneapolis, 55 in Chicago. We'll see warmer temperatures along the Gulf coast, not bad into the northeast and staying cooler into the northwest because of that storm system which has pushed down in for today. That's going to linger into much of tomorrow.
The east coast, unfortunately the system stalls out so even though we're going to start to dry out a little bit, it's still going to be rather overcast. Today is May 15th. It is the start of the Pacific hurricane season and it is also the start of the Atlantic hurricane preparedness week. Need more information? Go to www.nhc.noa.gov and just for fun, a quick look at some of the hurricane names that are projected for this year. No Fredricka, no Jacqui.
WHITFIELD: Oh, darn. All right. Well, thanks a lot, Jacqui and the Atlantic hurricane season beginning on June 1st.
Stories from the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: I wouldn't call myself a hero I guess. I was just doing my job. I'm happy, I'm proud. I saved lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: How this man's actions in Iraq helped save the lives of several American and Iraqi soldiers. That story right after the break but first, Howard Kurtz lets us know what's comes up at the bottom of the hour.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, ordinary folks are doing it, celebrities are doing it, the "New York Times" is thinking of doing it. We'll get the lowdown on blogging from Arianna Huffington, the "New York Times" ombudsman and the man known as InstaPundit. Plus the Spokane, Washington, newspaper that snagged the mayor in an undercover sex sting. Did the paper go too far? And death on the air live in Los Angeles. That's all coming up RELIABLE SOURCES.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A National Guard officer in Washington state is getting the hero's treatment. He's back home from Iraq after earning honors for saving the lives of both American and Iraqi troops. The story from CNN's Casey Wian.
(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)
WHITFIELD: That's going to do it for CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Up next, RELIABLE SOURCES, blogging with a celebrity spin, a new project from Arianna Huffington.
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Aired May 15, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes a surprise visit to Baghdad this morning. CNN will have a live interview with the secretary in just a few minutes.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Also ahead this hour, Rice's special meetings with Kurdish leaders in Iraq and what has been accomplished. Plus, controversial comments about race from Mexico's president and why it's sparking protest and demand for an apology in the U.S.
And later...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: (INAUDIBLE) what everybody did that day, so it's a great day for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: One of the many heroes of Iraq, a soldier whose saves lives and what he believes he gained. But first a look at the top stories.
The man accused of kidnapping and killing a Florida girl reportedly faces new charges, attempted escape. Authorities in Tampa say David Onstott tried to escape from jail early yesterday. Onstott is accused of killing 13-year-old Sarah Lunde during an argument. Authorities say he has confessed to the crime.
A group of clerics in Afghanistan threatens the U.S. with a holy war unless some interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are turned over to an Islamic country for punishment. The interrogators are accused of putting copies of the Koran in bathrooms and in one case, flushing a copy down the toilet. The Pentagon is now investigating the allegations.
A young girl seen in sexually explicit poses on the Internet has a new home and a new name. A U.S. attorney says she has been adopted by an identified family. The girl, who was born in Russia, was the focus of an intense two-year search but authorities announced several days ago that she had been found safe.
In the fight for Iraq, news that the most wanted man in the country may be seriously wounded. That from a report in London's Sunday "Times." An Iraqi doctor says he treated a heavily bleeding Abu Musab al Zarqawi last Wednesday. Zarqawi is believed to be the mastermind behind much of the terror plaguing Iraq. The wounded terrorist reportedly came to a hospital in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The doctor said he wanted the terrorist to remain there for additional treatment. The report says the doctor is being questioned by American forces now. No precise word on where or how Zarqawi might have been wound but U.S. forces wrapped up an offensive in western Iraq this weekend. At least nine U.S. Marines and 125 insurgents were killed in the week-long battle. Operation matador targeted insurgents believed to be holed up in the region near the Syrian border.
The fighting extended to the border town of Cane (ph), where gunmen trying to get U.S. forces out of the area have held the kidnapped governor of the Anbar province. He was released today.
Also in Iraq, today a surprise visit from a high-ranking U.S. official. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went to the Kurdish north and then on to Baghdad. Our Ryan Chilcote has more on her visit. Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. It certainly was a surprise visit. In fact some of the people at the State Department, some of the officials that are very close to Secretary Rice didn't even know she was coming reportedly until minutes before she left. She arrived just a short while ago, stopped a little bit over eight hours ago actually in the north of the country, in the Kurdish city of Erbil. Security paramount, that's where she met with Kurdish officials including the leader of the Kurdish democratic party, thanking the Kurds for their support of the U.S. intervention here in Iraq. She then traveled on to Baghdad. A short while ago appearing in one of Saddam's former palaces in a room packed with troops and diplomats. She acknowledged that the situation here in Iraq right now is tough, but that this was not an elective war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a tough environment sometimes, maybe all of the time but I want you to stay focused on what it is that we are doing here. You see, this war came to us, not the other way around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHILCOTE: And she just met with the prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. She applauded the progress that she said had been made on the political front. She reminded everyone that it was just a year ago that Iraq gained its sovereignty. She also reminded everyone that it was just a little bit more than two weeks ago that Iraq got its most recent government so she called for patience. However, she has also been urging the new Iraqi government to get on with drafting its first post-Saddam constitution. She wants the Iraqi government, she said to stick to a timeline of doing that by the middle of August. The U.S. believes that it is very important for the politicians here in Iraq to keep the momentum that they appear to have gotten. Meanwhile, she also said that she wants to see more inclusion of the government of the ethnic and religious groups here. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad. Thanks so much.
Later this morning Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari talks to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. That interview is coming up on LATE EDITION, the last word in Sunday talk, live at noon eastern.
In Washington, a memorial for an American who lost her life in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka, the humanitarian activist killed by a car bomb last month was remembered for her work to help civilians injured in the war. U.S. and United Nations officials were at yesterday's ceremony, talking about the importance of Ruzicka's work and sacrifice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The activist founded the campaign for innocent victims in conflict and had gone door to door to look for civilian casualties.
There's anger among some African-Americans today in response to a comment by Mexico's president about the jobs Mexican immigrants take in this country. Vicente Fox's remarks are drawing demands for an apology. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports on the controversial remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mexican President Vicente Fox inflamed the immigration debate Friday when he described the role illegal Mexican workers play in the United States. Addressing Texas business leaders in Mexico he said:
TRANSLATOR: There's no doubt that Mexicans filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.
MALVEAUX: While President Bush often sells his guest worker program as a way for Mexicans to fill the jobs Americans don't want --
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and the others are willing to do.
MALVEAUX: Fox's remark drew immediate criticism from the Bush administration. A State Department spokesman said that level of dialogue doesn't merit comment. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson called Fox's remark an unfortunate stereotype.
JESSE JACKSON: Most poor Americans are not black. They're white. They're female. They're young. MALVEAUX: Mexico's foreign relations secretary reacted to the criticism saying the president didn't make a declaration in the racist sense. He said that Fox wanted to highlight that Mexican migrants are making great contributions in the U.S. But Mexican journalist Jose Carreno says tension between U.S. and Mexico has been building as the U.S. imposes tougher measures against illegal immigrants.
JOSE CARRENO, MEXICAN JOURNALIST: Since the beginning of the administration 2001, 2001, they expected something to happen in terms of immigration. It never happened.
BUSH: I will continue to push for reasonable, common sense immigration policy with the United States Congress.
MALVEAUX: While Mr. Bush continues to highlight his program to allow illegal Mexican immigrants to work in the U.S. legally, this proposal has languished in Congress. Congressional republicans will soon present him with legislation that will impose new controls on foreign-born people, make it tougher to get driver's license and will extend the fence along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigrants. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Violence has quieted down in Uzbekistan after days of fighting between soldiers and anti-government protesters. That fighting has left as many as 450 on people dead and forced hundreds more to flee toward the border with Kyrgyzstan. That's where journalist Ethan Wilensky-Lanford is, and he's joining us by phone to let us know what he's hearing from the Uzbek refugees. Ethan, describe for us if you can, what the scene is like with so many hundreds of citizens who have fled to this border town. Is it called Karasu (ph)?
ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD, JOURNALIST: Yes, hello, Fredricka. I am actually in Osh, right near the border town of Karasu. However, the refugees fled elsewhere into Kyrgyzstan, near the city of Jalalabad. Their number was about 600, many women and children, 20 of whom are in hospital now in Kyrgyzstan. They've all been accepted by the Kyrgyz government. There's been a border that's been reopened here in Karasu, which is surprising because the Uzbek police are nowhere to be seen.
WHITFIELD: So describe and explain how it got to this.
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Well, in the beginning, on Tuesday, there were thousands of protesters in the Uzbek city of Andijan, protesting the trial of an accused Islamic fundamentalist. Karimov, the President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan oftentimes is accused of imprisoning Islamic fundamentalists in -- it's a complicated situation, but...
WHITFIELD: Aren't some of the -- weren't some of the anti- government protesters also accused of storming this prison and helping the release of some of their prisoners there?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Yes. That's exactly right. However, many reports that I'm hearing from people that were on the ground were that these protests were not about Islamic fundamentalisms at all. They were people complaining that there's no work, there's great poverty in this part of the country, and Islam Karimov is oftentimes accused by many critics of blaming Islam for political opposition.
WHITFIELD: So Ethan, is there a good explanation as to how it got so violent, in other words, between the soldiers and the anti- government protesters. Who fired the first shot, so to speak?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: Well, that's very tough to say. What we do know is that the government forces came in and there were eyewitness reports of them shooting a whole lot of unarmed protesters on Friday night. Now, before that, some of the protesters had indeed stormed the prison on Thursday night and taken about 15 policemen hostage who apparently were the first ones to be killed.
WHITFIELD: So are any of these protesters going to be able to return to the city of Andijan?
WILENSKY-LANFORD: The situation in Andijan right now is calm, however there's a strong military presence with tanks on the streets and heavily-armed militia, military men around. Life is beginning to return to normal in that part of Uzbekistan.
WHITFIELD: OK. Ethan Wilensky-Lanford, thanks so much for that report coming from Osh, Kyrgyzstan.
A reminder, CNN will have a live interview with Condoleezza Rice in Iraq in just a few minutes. Also, sheriff's deputies who opened fire in a Compton neighborhood offer an apology, but is that enough for the community? We'll tell you straight ahead.
Still to come, how the runaway bride is sparking the entrepreneurial spirit in Georgia.
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WHITFIELD: In Compton, California, deputies who fired more than 100 rounds at an unarmed motorist have offered an apology and an explanation for their actions. And while the sheriff says the deputies feel bad about what happened, many residents of Compton aren't ready to forgive just yet. CNN's Peter Viles reports.
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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 sheriff's department and they're willing to stand up and tell the community that they do apologize and that each one 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.
SHERIFF'S HELICOPTER TRANSMISSION: He's driving very erratically. It looks as though he actually is aiming to hit deputies.
VILES: On the streets of Compton where bullets fill 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 a hundred times I heard in his car. There's no call for that.
VILES: Barber Joe Holliday considered my question and threw it right back at me.
JOE HOLLIDAY, BUSINESS OWNER: How would you feel if somebody came over and shot up your neighborhood?
VILES: I'd be 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: There's two sides to the story. They're human beings also, I understand that and they want to go home to their families. 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.
SHERIFF LEE BACA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: When have you ever had a peace 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 in Compton, residences are disappointed their city's image has been battered once again.
BONNER: I've been living here in Compton for 39 years and Compton isn't a bad place as everybody put it out to be.
VILES: Peter Viles for CNN, Compton, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The driver of the vehicle in that incident Winston Hayes was shot four times, but none of the wounds were life- threatening. He was not carrying a gun and has not yet been charged with a crime.
Ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, we are still awaiting a live interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She's in Baghdad on a surprise visit.
Also the runaway bride inspires others to run all of the way to the bank and see how one entrepreneur is cashing in on the Jennifer Wilbanks' national faux pas.
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WHITFIELD: In Hawaii, a tough act to swallow. The world's top fire and knife dancers are showing their stuff at the 13th annual world championship. Twenty competitors performed the ceremonial Samoan dance. They're judged on speed, technicality and creativity.
In Georgia, a saucy story for nervous brides-to-be. Before walking down the church aisle, one man wants you to walk down this aisle and try Jennifer's High Tailin hot sauce. It's based on Jennifer Wilbanks, the Georgia bride-to-be who recently ran away days before her wedding. The merchant says the hot sauce could be a cure for pre-wedding cold feet.
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DAVID "PAPPY" RYAN: This is a habanero and chipotle pepper sauce that is made for me by a co-packer down in Florida and I had always thought that, as you see a lot of the labels I have here have humorous labels because people like to collect these. The parody between the bride with cold feet and a hot sauce label would be funny and I felt like this would be a good time to introduce it to the market and it's been highly successful. We've got hundred of web page orders. Can't hardly keep it on the shelf and it's just been a hoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It's funny, it's inventive and apparently a new cash cow for him. All right. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras for a look at the weather.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Anything for a buck, huh Fred?
WHITFIELD: No kidding.
JERAS: We got three storm systems that we're looking at across the country for today, one in the Pacific northwest, one here in Texas and then east coast getting some wet weather. The worst of the weather at this hour is in Texas, smack-dab in the mid-section of the state kind of sandwiched in between I-10 and I-20 here, pushing off to the east. These storms are not severe, but producing very heavy rain. One to three inches can be expected as this line moves through. We've seen some flash flooding already in Midland and Odessa and Abilene, you're next to get some of that flooding.
Forecast for today shows most of the midsection looking very nice, temperatures cooler than normal across the northern tier of the country. In fact even a little frosty in parts of Nebraska and throughout the Dakotas. High of only 55 in Minneapolis, 55 in Chicago. We'll see warmer temperatures along the Gulf coast, not bad into the northeast and staying cooler into the northwest because of that storm system which has pushed down in for today. That's going to linger into much of tomorrow.
The east coast, unfortunately the system stalls out so even though we're going to start to dry out a little bit, it's still going to be rather overcast. Today is May 15th. It is the start of the Pacific hurricane season and it is also the start of the Atlantic hurricane preparedness week. Need more information? Go to www.nhc.noa.gov and just for fun, a quick look at some of the hurricane names that are projected for this year. No Fredricka, no Jacqui.
WHITFIELD: Oh, darn. All right. Well, thanks a lot, Jacqui and the Atlantic hurricane season beginning on June 1st.
Stories from the front lines.
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SPECIALIST GERRIT KOBES, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: I wouldn't call myself a hero I guess. I was just doing my job. I'm happy, I'm proud. I saved lives.
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WHITFIELD: How this man's actions in Iraq helped save the lives of several American and Iraqi soldiers. That story right after the break but first, Howard Kurtz lets us know what's comes up at the bottom of the hour.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, ordinary folks are doing it, celebrities are doing it, the "New York Times" is thinking of doing it. We'll get the lowdown on blogging from Arianna Huffington, the "New York Times" ombudsman and the man known as InstaPundit. Plus the Spokane, Washington, newspaper that snagged the mayor in an undercover sex sting. Did the paper go too far? And death on the air live in Los Angeles. That's all coming up RELIABLE SOURCES.
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WHITFIELD: A National Guard officer in Washington state is getting the hero's treatment. He's back home from Iraq after earning honors for saving the lives of both American and Iraqi troops. The story from CNN's Casey Wian.
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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)
WHITFIELD: That's going to do it for CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Up next, RELIABLE SOURCES, blogging with a celebrity spin, a new project from Arianna Huffington.
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