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CNN Live Sunday
Is the U.S. Considering a Nuclear Strike on Iran?; Portrait of Children of Immigrants; Three Years After Toppling of Saddam Hussein's Statue; Athletes Behaving Badly
Aired April 09, 2006 - 16:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, explosive allegations. Is the U.S. secretly considering a nuclear strike on Iran?
Plus, young bears orphaned by hunters, left with an uncertain future. And it's not against the law.
And then a 5-year-old boy called 911, hoping to get help for his mother. What he got is anything but.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.
Dramatic moments at the White House today. Security was sent scrambling after an unarmed man somehow got inside the White House fence. He left a suspicious package and apparently the man was screaming "God Bless America" when he was arrested. President Bush was inside the executive mansion at the time of the incident.
It was a bloody weekend in Iraq. More than a dozen Iraqis were killed or injured in violence across the country. Several were killed by roadside bombs. Five of the dead are Iraqi men found east of Baghdad. Police say the bodies show signs of torture.
Undiplomatic moves in Venezuela. Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pelted the U.S. ambassador's car and convoy with eggs and tomatoes. Today President Chavez threatened to expel William Brownfield for provoking his people. Brownfield was also criticized for failing to notify Venezuelan authorities of his travel plans.
Painful news for motorists. Gas prices across the U.S. shot up another $0.17 in the past two weeks. The national average now stands at $2.67 a gallon for self-serve regular.
Palm Sunday services in St. Peters Square surrounded by the faithful waving olive branches and palm fronds. Pope Benedict XVI held the mass today marking the beginning of a busy holy week. It culminates next Sunday with Easter mass.
Amid growing international concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency is heading to Tehran. A spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency tells CNN Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is set to arrive in Iran Tuesday or Wednesday to hold talks with Iranian officials. The U.S. Security Council called on Iran last month to stop enriching uranium at its conversion facility. Iran said its activities are part of its right to create nuclear energy.
These developments come as a report surfaces that the Bush administration may be planning for a possible military strike against Iran. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh of the "New Yorker" magazine quotes unidentified sources as saying that the United States is working on a possible attack amid, aimed rather at destroying Tehran's nuclear facilities. Hersh appeared today on CNN's "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: ... Is that there are American forces clandestinely already inside Tehran.
SEYMOUR HERSH, THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: That's what I'm saying.
BLITZER: You want to elaborate on that?
HERSH: I'll you one thing that's very interesting to me about it. They are not special forces. They are regular military. That's part of the Rumsfeld notion that all military guys are potentially special forces. I think it is fraught with danger but they are there and we're not saying any more specifically about where they are or what they're doing. Nobody wants to see anybody get hurt. But they are there and the American public should know it because I assure you the Iranian government knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Reacting to Hersh's story a senior aide to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said quote, Seymour Hersh has a single anonymous source who is not in government and both Hersh and the source have made fantastic, unverified and wrong allegations before, end quote. Hersh's report in the "New Yorker" goes on to suggest the United States might consider using bunker busting tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. The goal to destroy any underground portions of Iran's nuclear facilities. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, British foreign Secretary Jack Straw rejected that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It suggests that plans are indeed underway by the Americans if necessary, to hit various facilities in Iran.
JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The idea of a nuclear strike on Iran is completely nuts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Bush administration has repeatedly said it wants to resolve concerns over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically but the White House also says nothing is off the table including military action. Some military experts say the administration must think long and hard before initiating any possible strike against Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ZINNI, FORMR CENTCOM COMMANDER: Any military plan involving Iran is going to be very difficult. We should not fool ourselves to think it will just be a strike and then it will be over. The Iranians will retaliate and they have many possibilities in an area where there are many vulnerabilities from our troop positions to the oil and gas in the region that can be interrupted to attacks on Israel, to the conduct of terrorism. There are a number of actions they can take in response to that. So when we take military action in that case, we're going to have to be prepared to in effect go all the way, whatever that means.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Iran steadfastly denies that it is trying to build nuclear weapons.
Immigrants right, activist re-launch protests, tens of thousands take to the streets of Dallas including many who are waving American flags. Most are wearing white to symbolize peace. Their number one goal a reform bill from Congress to legalize millions of undocumented workers.
And now a portrait of a family of immigrants. The parents came to the U.S. illegally and now their children are American citizens. Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marabeth Sanchez (ph) is only 12 years old but she has a message for Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not criminals. We just follow our dream.
CHERNOFF: Marabeth is the daughter of Fernando and Anna Sanchez undocumented immigrants who illegally crossed the U.S. Mexican border 15 years ago. Fernando Sanchez works on construction sites says he didn't have the option to come to the U.S. legally and only intended to stay for a few years. But after having four children, all U.S. citizens because they were born here, Fernando wants to remain in America legally and says he wants to live the American dream.
FERNANDO SANCHEZ (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): For me it means to be able to have progress, to have a better life than the one I would have in my country.
CHERNOFF: The entire Sanchez family will march on city hall Monday joining thousands of expected protesters to support the right of illegal immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship. Community activists Ana Maria Archila says illegal immigrants are eager to have their voices heard.
ANA MARIA ARCHILA, LATIN AMERICAN INTEGRATION CENTER: They don't feel like they don't come here to break the law, but they come here to do jobs that are hard jobs, that are low paying -- low paying jobs that are really risky jobs and they feel like there is a lot of lack of gratitude from the members of Congress that are instilling fear and hatred against immigrant communities.
CHERNOFF: Ana Sanchez agrees and says life is hard as an illegal immigrant. She and her husband live in constant fear of deportation and they have not been able to visit their family back in Mexico for 15 years but it's all worth it she says to raise her family in America.
ANA SANCHEZ, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have to struggle and that you cannot give up for what is good for -- I cannot give up for what is good for myself, for my husband and for my children.
CHERNOFF: Marabeth Sanchez and her brothers will carry their home made signs to Monday' rally and hope their voices will be enough to reach lawmakers in Washington so their parents and other illegal immigrants can finally call America their country, and their home. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A number of rallies are dotting the map today, just a day ahead of tomorrow's more widespread demonstrations against any kind of illegal immigration reform. You're looking at Salt Lake City right now where a number of people had -- have converged there. They are all making their way to the state capitol. A number of people including Hispanic rights activist as well as members of the Minuteman Project.
In Allan Chernoff's piece earlier, thousands of immigrants rights activists are to attend rallies tomorrow across the nation. You saw some of that in his piece. The events are being organized by a group called National Capital Immigrant Coalition whose demands include a path to U.S. citizenship for people who have come here illegally. Joining us live from Washington to tell us what to expect one of the organizers, immigration activist Jaime Contreras. Good to see you.
JAIME CONTRERAS, IMMIGRATION ACTIVIST: Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: So what is the plan tomorrow particularly in Washington the stage is quite different than the other rallies across the country. What is the focus?
CONTRERAS: The focus of the event, April 10, is to bring attention to the rights of immigrants in this country and to say enough is enough. We have been used for many years now as scapegoats during election years. Now you have labor organizations, religious, business, and the community as a whole come together to say enough is enough on April 10 where we're going to have over -- we are estimating 2 million people around the country. In Washington, DC we're expecting over 200,000 people to join us to speak with one voice. This is not just a Latino issue. This is immigrants from all walks of life.
WHITFIELD: So a number of people who are involved in the rallies tomorrow and even some of the rallies we have seen in recent weeks, are you saying that a number of people are saying they don't want any kind of illegal immigration reform whatsoever. Or in some of these reform packages or proposals they have certain demands that they would like met?
CONTRERAS: What we want is real comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pass to earn citizenship to the 11 plus million undocumented people who are already in this country but also provide security in our borders and have -- and build in a humane way with the future flows for immigrants who want to come into this country legally. The immigrants don't want to come here legally. Right now the number of visas that is allowed, allotted for immigrants to be able to come here, is not enough and the demand for the labor is high.
WHITFIELD: Some of the stipulations in some of those proposals that have been batted around Capitol Hill in recent days including illegals that have been here less than five years would have to go perhaps back to their country and then re-enter this country with possibly some sort of work permit. Is that a condition that you think is acceptable?
CONTRERAS: Not at this moment. Our belief as the National Capital Immigrant Coalition is that divides families. Right now as it stands that compromise does not guarantee people that they are going to be able to come back to this country after they go back across the border. It divides family and it also the compromise doesn't take away the criminalization of people like me who A, in a humanitarian way, undocumented workers and also it doesn't take away that if you use fake documents to work then you can't legalize your status. That takes away all the 11 million undocumented people in this country would not be able to legalize their status because that provision is still in the compromise.
WHITFIELD: Sorry. How disappointed are you or what is your reaction overall that Congress did not manage to come to agreement on a compromise just before their holiday recess?
CONTRERAS: Well, we're not, you know, we encourage the Congress to continue to work hard on this issue. It's a very important issue that affects millions and millions of people. We're not so disappointed because now that they went back home, on Monday, we're going to make sure they get a nice warm welcome if they have been good. And if not, then we're going to remind them we're a force to reckon with and we're more than 44 million strong in this country and we're going to be continuing to press our issues both SEIU and other national unions and religious communities and organizations around the country, both labor and business community are going to be working together because this is a nation that affects everyone.
WHITFIELD: Jamie Contreras, thank you so much, one of the organizers for tomorrow's planned march in Washington as well as many other marches that are similarly taking place across the country tomorrow. Thanks so much.
CONTRERAS: Thank you for having me. WHITFIELD: Well talk about a rude awakening. Baby bears, awakened from hibernation and orphaned by hunters. Ahead the struggle to save these little guys from certain death. And one day after the storms we'll tell you about the cleanup efforts in the southeast and weather across the country, what you can expect for your morning commute straight ahead.
(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)
DISPATCHER: I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police up there to knock on your door and you're going to be in trouble.
(END AUDIO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: And this 911 call is sparking outrage. Why? The young boy wasn't joking and his mother was found dead. More on this story after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: As Tennesseans recover from Friday's deadly twisters we're now getting a better idea of the storm's strength. The National Weather Service estimates that the tornadoes that hit middle Tennessee were between F-1 and F-3 on the Fujita scale. That means wind speeds were between 73 and 206 miles an hour. All 12 reports storms fatalities were in the volunteer state.
No deaths but certainly plenty of damage in north Georgia where the line of storms went after hitting Tennessee. Georgia state insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (ph) predicts that damages from yesterday's severe weather may be the most expensive since the late 1990s.
And wild fires are scorching hundreds of acres in Florida and Texas. In Texas it's the hill country around San Antonio that's on fire. Firefighters hope to contain the fires by day's end. In Florida it's the space coast. And further south towards Miami, that is weathering brush fires. Florida officials are hoping forecasts for rain holds true as parts of the state haven't seen any wet weather in six weeks. Let's check in with CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider to see if south Florida's forecast is going to be seeing some rain. Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, they are getting some rain but it's kind of coming with a price to pay because when you have thunderstorms rolling through thunderstorms and lightning could ignite any sort of fires that get going and also you have the gusty winds associated with those storms.
Let's take a closer look at south Florida now and you'll see much of the storm activity is pushed offshore in the Miami area though we're still seeing some rain and some downpours towards Port St. Lucie. The heaviest batch of precipitation I have been watching throughout the afternoon has pushed offshore but we're not out of the woods yet. There's still a severe thunderstorm watch and that does include from Ft. Lauderdale all the way down through Miami and Miami- Dade County.
Here is that watch box stretching all the way off to the west including to Ft. Myers. This goes until 7:00 tonight and we were talking yesterday a lot about tornado watches. Well, a severe thunderstorm watch is also serious because you could see large-size hail. We have reports of that in Desoto County, an inch size wide (ph) as far as the hail goes there and very strong wins gusting up to 60 miles per hour. Now speaking of the threat of fire danger, we'll be watching another part of the country tomorrow. We're looking at warm temperatures across much of the southwest and for tomorrow into Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico we're looking at a critical area for fire danger due to those gusty winds as well. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie.
The city of Detroit is investigating serious allegations against its 911 operations. The family of a six-year-old boy says he called 911 for help when his mother collapsed but the dispatcher gave him a scolding and by the time crews did arrive a tragic outcome. We get details now from reporter Derricke Dennis of CNN Detroit affiliate WDIV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT TURNER, CALLED 911: (INAUDIBLE) I'm not so happy.
DERRICKE DENNIS, WDIV (voice-over): Six-year-old Robert Turner can at least talk about it now. His mother, 46-year-old Sherrill Turner died February 20. Robert says she was passed out on the kitchen floor waiting for a 911 operator to help.
DISPATCHER: 911, what's the problem?
TURNER: My mom had passed out.
DENNIS: That's Robert on the phone asking Detroit police to send somebody, anybody, but instead of getting officers and an ambulance on the way, the operator had questions.
DISPATCHER: Where's the grownups at?
TURNER: (INAUDIBLE)
DISPATCHER: Let me speak to her before I send the police over there.
TURNER: I tried to tell them she wouldn't talk.
DENNIS: Confused, traumatized scared the operator would get him into trouble Robert hung and started playing around the house. Thinking about his mom, hoping she would wake up not know she was dead.
TURNER: I thought she was passed out. But she was --
DENNIS: Robert was his mother's only hope. He knew how to dial 911, knew she needed help. He even called a second time and again was accused of playing around. His older sister Dalaine says the system failed them all.
DELAINE PATTERSON, ROBERT'S SISTER: The dispatcher assumed that this was a prank call and maybe they do get prank calls. I don't know. However this was a child calling. There was no laughter and he repeated what he was saying.
TURNER: (INAUDIBLE)
DISPATCHER: I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Detroit's police chief issued this statement saying quote, the citizens of Detroit can be assured that our department is meticulously examining every aspect of what occurred and if disciplinary action is recommended following the completion of the investigation, then that is the course that will be taken, end quote.
Well take a look at these darling bear cubs. They are cute, they're cuddly and now they are orphaned, all at the hands of hunters. The story of their fight for survival straight ahead.
And later, it's been three years since Saddam's regime fell. We'll visit one Iraqi family and find out if life is better or worse. CNN LIVE SUNDAY will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: There's the flash of a muzzle and then they're orphans. Hundreds of bear cubs starve or freeze to death every winter in Russia. The reason, their mothers are killed by hunters. This report by Matthew Chance first aired on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" and we first warn you, some of the video you're about to see may be difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deep in the Russian winter, bear hunters are out to kill. Russia's rich pay thousands of dollars to trek through this frozen wilderness in search of a trophy. Sleep inside the snow covered dens, the bears are hibernating. The dogs are sent in to wake them. The hunters just stand back, triggers ready and wait for the kill. Winter den hunting isn't illegal in Russia, thousands of bears are killed like this every year. But at last the consequences are provoking calls for a change in Russian law. In the den the unintended victims of a hunt. It was a female bear they shot, a mother whose cubs must be rescued or perish. They are pulled out one by one. Toothless and vulnerable some are taken as pets or sold to zoos and circuses, most just freeze to death. Hunters like Moscow businessman Igor Dvorkin say the thrill of the hunt outweighs any sympathy for the animals they kill. IGOR DVORKIN, HUNTER: If you hit the target you feel for it a few seconds or even minutes. After it's all over you feel devastated just like after you won a game or spent the night of passion with somebody you care for.
CHANCE: Professor (INAUDIBLE) runs an orphan bear cub rehabilitation project in remote western Russia funded by U.S. charity. About a dozen cubs a year are handed in by hunters. Reintroduction into the wild is the goal.
PROF. VALENTIN POZHOTNOV, CONSERVATIONIST (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The biggest problem with raising bears is making sure they retain a fear of humans. Animals who are scared of people can settle down in the wild quite well but if we fail to develop the fear factor, our whole effort goes down the drain.
CHANCE: The professor's techniques have proved a success. The feeding times staff wear bear scented overalls and gloves to hide the smell of humans. Contact is kept to a minimum. I can only speak in a whisper.
Already this project has succeeded in returning more than 130 of these incredible animals back to the wild. That's still only a small proportion of the orphaned bear cubs that are brought here every year as a result of winter den hunting. All along the roads in this region 300 miles from Moscow evidence of how bears fuel the local economy. It's not just the rich who hunt. Bear skins can fetch hundreds of dollars. Bear fat is also sold. It's meant to possess healing qualities. For many Russians hunting is their sole income.
Trekking through the forest, Professor's Pozhotnov's son Sergei shows us how the cubs they raised are now hibernating in the wild. Russia's bear population has fallen by 30,000 in the past 15 years. This project restocks areas of Russia where bear numbers have fallen dangerously low. Each animal is radio tagged so progress can be closely monitored. The idea isn't to ban hunting they say, just to make Russian hunters more sensitive to the fragile environment.
POZHOTNOV: It's obvious that we can't save all bear cubs. That would be unrealistic. Each winter in Russia there are hundreds left out in the cold. It's a huge figure. But sending people a clear message that they can return to nature something they took from it, that they should treat wildlife with respect and humanity is very important.
CHANCE: And it's a message all the more important as the popularity of bear hunting grows and if the animal that most symbolizes Russia to the world is to survive. Matthew Chance, CNN, western Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: You can watch "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 pm Eastern right here on CNN.
Well, is there a sinister side of sports? Rape allegations at Duke University beg a larger question. Does celebrity status give players as free pass? The disturbing findings straight ahead.
And then lots of teenage girls like the look of the Olsen twins, right? One famous mom is taking on the pencil-sized celebs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look now at our top stories. Secret Service agents arrested a screaming man who jumped the fence at the White House this afternoon. President Bush was inside the White House at the time of the incident.
A U.N. team is in Iran today checking out that country's uranium conversion facility. The security council has called on Iran to stop enriching uranium. Later this week the head of the International Atomic Agency will go to Tehran to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
The Iraqi government has designated today Iraqi Freedom Day. It's intended to commemorate the third anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. In just a moment, we'll take a closer look at the situation on the ground in Iraq, three years later.
Gas prices are going up again. According to the Lundberg Survey, the average price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 17 cents over the past two weeks to $2.67.
American astronaut Bill McArthur and a Russian crewmate are back on earth after six months aboard the International Space Station. They landed safely in Russia along with Brazil's first astronaut, who spent nine days in space.
Three years ago, it was a day of joy and liberation in Baghdad. Many saw the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue as the beginning of a new chapter in Iraq. Now many fear they have traded one evil for another. Our Aneesh Raman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As U.S. tanks rolled into Baghdad three years ago, the world watched with an unflinching gaze as newly-liberated Iraqis proved a dictatorship had ended. Iraqis like Salman Ali (ph), doing what weeks before had been unthinkable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): After the tanks came, one person said let's go and pull down the statue. People started chanting and running towards the statue. I saw that they tried to pull it down with a rope and then started asking for help from the U.S. military.
RAMAN: With that help, down came the towering edifice of a tyrant no longer in power. And out came decades worth of pent up anger among the people he had ruled by fear. It was to all, a moment of new-found hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the statue was down, it was a decisive moment to me, between the two eras: the era of the dictator and the era of the new Iraq.
RAMAN: A prospect solidified months later when Saddam was captured, a disheveled shadow of his former self.
(on camera): Three years after Saddam Hussein's statue was torn off that pedestal after his regime fell, Saddam is now a defendant facing charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.
(voice-over): The trial has been chaotic at times, somber at others, meant as a way for Iraqis to come to terms with a brutal past. That for Salman (ph) is now securely tucked away in these photographs and memories.
But Salman (ph) also says the new Iraq is desperately struggling to stay together, with Shias still coming under near daily attack and the bodies of executed Sunnis being discovered at the same rate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're living in an unannounced civil war but not all people are involved in the civil war. I'm still living next to my Sunni neighbor and we're trying our best to keep this away from our children, but it's getting difficult.
RAMAN: Walking with Salman (ph) and his three sons in Fardus Square, his face lights up. Sitting where he sat three years ago, then a moment of hope that the worst was behind Iraq. These days he fears that may not be the case. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: News tonight in our "World Wrap." Canadian officials are calling it the worst mass murder in Ontario's history. The bodies of eight men were found in four cars abandoned in a farmer's field. All of the victims are from the Toronto area.
In Karachi, Pakistan, a stampede at a mosque has left dozens dead and injured. All of the victims were women and children. They were attending a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed's birth.
Bloody clashes on the streets of Nepal today. Police shot and killed at least one pro-democracy protester -- protesters, rather, support the pro-democracy group, which is trying to oust the Nepali king from power.
Zacarias Moussaoui's curses America, curses his attorneys and blesses Osama bin Laden. In court this week, he taunted relatives of the victims. CNN Justice correspondent Kelli Arena has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutors want jurors to hold Zacarias Moussaoui responsible for the horrors of 9/11 and decide that he should be executed.
And to remind the jury of exactly how horrible those attacks were, they showed dramatic videotape, like this, and made jurors relive the tragedy of people jumping to their deaths from the World Trade Center.
They were shown pictures of body parts lying in the streets, blocking rescue crews. And they heard former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani describe the stench of burned flesh that permeated New York City for weeks.
Abraham Scott, who lost his wife on 9/11, has listened to most of the testimony.
ABRAHAM SCOTT, 9/11 FAMILY MEMBER: And we were all in tears when they were showing the excerpts of the planes hitting the Twin Towers, people jumping out of the towers trying to save their lives, people on fire. It was just horrific.
ARENA: For the most part, the jury remained stone-faced. But at least two members had to fight off tears during the day. The same panel of nine men and three women who decided that Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty, will now decide whether he gets it.
Following Giuliani's testimony, jurors heard from the families and friends of some of the nearly 3,000 victims. New York Police Officer Jim Smith spoke about his wife, Moira, also an officer, who died helping evacuate people from the World Trade Center.
Breaking down, Smith said he now tells his little girl her mom was a hero.
Tony Sanseviro told of his friend, firefighter Danny Suhr, who was killed when he was struck by a falling body. One expert consulted by Moussaoui's defense says it's going to be very difficult for the jury to focus on the legal facts.
DAVID BRUCK, VA. CAPITAL CASE CLEARINGHOUSE: Whether this jury or any jury composed of human beings is going to be in any shape to do that, after they have been subjected to the extravaganza of grief and agony that the government has carefully, over these last few years, planned and stage-managed, after shopping around for the most heartrending week of testimony it could possibly find, that's a very, very open question.
ARENA: In opening arguments, Moussaoui's defense team urged jurors to keep an open mind. They say their experts have diagnosed Moussaoui a paranoid schizophrenic, reason enough to spare him execution. Moussaoui was in the courtroom listening, laughing at times, at other times, seemingly bored with it all.
(on camera): After hearing testimony about people dying in the flames of the World Trade Center, as he was leaving the courtroom, Moussaoui started singing Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," except that he changed the words to "Burn in the USA."
Kelli Arena, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Imagine a state where everyone has healthcare insurance. That's the goal in Massachusetts. But some aren't so thrilled about the cost of complete coverage.
And college athletes, are they prone to committing sexual assaults? Some say yes. Those stories straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's the holy grail of health insurance. Coverage for everyone, that's the goal of lawmakers in Massachusetts. The state is trying to make sure every zint has health coverage picking up the tab for people below the poverty line. But for others it means higher costs. Dan Lothian has more in this "Best of CNN" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): Massachusetts has its ivory towers and high-priced real estate, but it also has more than 500,000 people who have no medical insurance. Like home health aide Patrick Elliot.
PATRICK ELLIOT, HOME HEALTH AIDE: I need the health care. If I was to get sick today or tomorrow or to hurt or injure myself and I went to an emergency room, I couldn't pay that bill.
LOTHIAN: Elliot joined others at the state capitol in Boston this week rallying in support of a bill overwhelmingly approved that puts the state on the verge of offering nearly universal health care.
ELLIOT: I should have affordable health care and I need it. I'm not getting any younger. I'm getting older.
LOTHIAN: While other states have plans dramatically expanding health care coverage, Massachusetts wants to take it to the next level. Residents at poverty level or below would get free health care. Others struggling, uninsured families would pay on a sliding scale. And those currently insured could get a little relief on their premiums. But some small business owners who don't offer insurance worry that they'll be pushed over the edge.
BETTY ANN WASILUNAS, BUSINESS OWNER: I think it's out of this world. I think it's crazy.
LOTHIAN: That's because the new bill will force her to provide health insurance coverage or pay the state nearly $300 per employee per year.
WASILUNAS: All of this adds up at the end of the week on, you know, how much money is left to pay me.
LOTHIAN: Governor Mitt Romney, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2008, says he'll take another look at the impact this could have on small business owners. However, he is expected to sign the bill. Closing the deal on what Romney described as an amazing bipartisanship effort.
GOV. MITT ROMNEY, (R) MASSACHUSETTS: It's a bit like the lining up of the moon and all the stars and the planets in a great gravitational pull.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The money for coverage will come from federal funding and existing state dollars. Experts say, depending on how it all works out, Massachusetts could become a model for other states.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" begins every weekday at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Now, let's take a look ahead as more of CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues with Carol Lin. Hello.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. We're going to be focusing on the news, but a couple of special stories, including one about the gospel of Judas. Whether he really was a traitor to Jesus or was he just following the boss's orders? There's some new ancient papers, the gospel of Judas, they're calling it, that kind of introduce this theory. So I'm actually going to be talking with somebody about that, who's got some theories of his own.
WHITFIELD: That's neat.
LIN: And then in the 7:00 hour, I'm going to be talking with a 911 dispatch trainer, someone who actually takes these people and says, "This is what you do in a situation." With this 5-year-old boy who called for help twice to try to save his mother's life, of course we want to know more about, how are these dispatchers trained?
WHITFIELD: And just about every jurisdiction could appreciate and really could need some extra training or refresher courses.
LIN: Exactly. So this kid wasn't giggling on the phone, and yet the operator still felt like it was a crank call.
WHITFIELD: Sad situation.
LIN: Yes, so we want to get more into that story.
WHITFIELD: All right, very good, thanks so much, Carol. We'll be watching.
Well an attorney goes on the offense for a member of the Duke lacrosse team. The lawyer is telling reporters the woman who says she was raped at a teen party is lying. But a police official says the case is being pursued as a possible sexual assault. The African- American accuser says she was hired to dance at the party. She says she suffered racial taunting and says three men raped her in a bathroom. DNA test results are pending. No charges have yet been filed.
College athletes often live a different life from other students. They have celebrity status on campus and they may get perks and privileges. But does special treatment lead some athletes to behave badly? CNN's Tom Foreman investigates in a story that first aired on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the world of sports, of teamwork, fair play and effort, the accusation has never been proven. No one has definitively shown athletes are predisposed to improper sexual behavior, or that competitive culture spurs sexual violence.
MIKE TYSON, BOXER: Come and say it to my face.
FOREMAN: But, even when athletes are directly accused of such behavior, victims' advocates say, sports figures are so admired, proving the charges is tough.
ALISON KISS, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SECURITY ON CAMPUS INC.: And, if a student is sexually assaulted by a high-profile athlete on her campus, I could definitely find it more difficult to report in that case. And I would guess, maybe nine times out of 10, she may not, because of the ramifications.
FOREMAN: Research by the U.S. Department of Justice found so much sexual violence on campuses, that college women are at a higher risk of sexual assault than their non-college bound peers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, touchdown, Rutgers.
FOREMAN: And a study by Rutgers University suggests, nationwide, athletes may help lead that trend, if only by their attitudes towards sex and their influence among students.
That study found many male athletes routinely describe women through sexual slurs. Some struggle, turning on and off the violent behavior connected to their sports. And these athletes widely believe accidental rape is possible, that is to say, rape in an overheated moment, for which they feel no one is to blame.
Sarah McMahon was involved with that study.
SARAH MCMAHON, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Sometimes, alcohol was used to explain how that may happen. But there was a general kind of lack of accountability, lack of understanding of what consent means. And I believe that is connected to a sense of entitlement, that, if you're not going to be held accountable, that you can kind of disassociate yourself from what actually happened.
FOREMAN (on camera): Rutgers has emerged as a national leader in the movement to change what many might consider a traditional jock mentality, and many other schools are following their lead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most rapes are planned and motivated by aggression and dominance.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Some high-profile athletes are now using their influence to promote social and sexual responsibility. Is it working? No one really knows, just like no one knows if each sports sex scandal reveals rare and terrible behavior or something that is all too common.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And remember you can watch Anderson Cooper on "A.C. 360," weeknights at 10:00 Eastern on CNN.
Your teenage girls may look up to the stick-thin celebs, but one famous mom is speaking out on the dangerous trend. That story straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: Tired of all the skinny celebrities in the magazines? Well so is one very high-profile author, J.K. Rowling of "Harry Potter" fame. In our "Best of CNN" report, Sibila Vargas has this "SHOWBIZ" report.
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SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Lindsay to Nicole to Teri, Hollywood is thinner than ever. And that has got one of the most successful authors in the world fuming. J.K. Rowling is the mastermind behind the wildly popular "Harry Potter" series. She's also the mother of two young girls.
And today she's fuming over the messages that ultra-thin celebrities are sending to young, impressionable people, especially her girls. On her Web site, Rowling writes, "I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in their skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones."
And she's not alone. This nutritionist and author agrees, Hollywood is sending scary messages.
ELISA ZIED, AUTHOR, "SO WHAT CAN I EAT?!": I think by seeing all these so-called ideal images, it is encouraging children to take on unhealthy habits, which in turn can make them become very thin or become unhealthy.
VARGAS: J.K. Rowling is one of the most powerful women in the world. It was pictures of an emaciated woman in a magazine that made her want to speak out saying, "She can talk about eating absolutely loads, being terribly busy, and having the world's fastest metabolism until her tongue drops off, but her concave stomach, protruding ribs, and stick-like arms tell a different story. This girl needs help, but the world being what it is, they are sticking her on magazine covers instead."
ZIED: She's absolutely right, because parents are having such a tough time explaining to their kids why they should be proud of how they look as individuals when all across the media we are seeing very, very thin, unhealthy images.
VARGAS: Rowling is rallying around pop star Pink whose hit song "Stupid Girls" takes dead aim at the Lindsay Lohan and Mary Kate Olsens of the world, saying brains are more important than bones and lip gloss.
Rowling writes: "'Stupid Girls' satirizes the talking toothpicks held up to girls are role models: those celebrities whose only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat- sized dogs."
The pressure to be thin is stronger than ever, so strong, in fact, that many of our favorite stars have developed eating disorders.
JAMIE-LYNN SIGLER, ACTRESS: Within four months, I might probably have dropped almost 40 pounds.
VARGAS: Jamie-Lynn Sigler says she was eating next to nothing and exercising up to four hours a day before school, all why starring on HBO's hit show "The Sopranos." She's now a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association. So is "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul, who suffered from bulimia.
PAULA ABDUL, "AMERICAN IDOL": I had a serious problem.
VARGAS: Take "Simple Life" star Nicole Richie. She's lost a dramatic amount of weight, reportedly dropping below a hundred pounds. Still she says she's never had a problem with food. Even her dad, singer Lionel Richie, stands by that telling us she only loses weight when she's stressed out. LIONEL RICHIE, SINGER: She's OK though. I can tell that as a father. She's good.
ZIED: I think when you see these images of thin, thin women, it may be some sort of red flag for an eating disorder. In some cases, it may not be. But if you see wide fluctuations in your favorite celebrity, chances are there's something going on there. And it might not be the most healthy thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And that was Sibila Vargas for Headline News "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
Still much more ahead on CNN. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Thanks so much for watching. Carol Lin is up next with more of CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
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