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CNN Live Sunday
Concern over Backlash of Great American Boycott; Support for Army Husbands; Interview with Joey Cheek; Young Golfer Achieves Dream of LPGA
Aired April 30, 2006 - 17:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: This is CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour...
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SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: Silence, acquiescence, paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong.
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ROESGEN: Denouncing the violence in Darfur. We're live in D.C. as thousands rally to try to end the bloodshed.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brothers and sisters I ask you to join me in the Great American Boycott on May 1.
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ROESGEN: Also, taking a stand on immigration legislation. Will tomorrow's massive boycott backfire?
And hitting the links against the world's best. Ahead, a daughter's dream round that made a mother's wish come true.
And here's what's happening now in the news. Thousands take to the National Mall in Washington to urge President Bush to do more to stop the crisis in Darfur. We'll have more in a live report straight ahead.
Plenty of well-known faces in the crowd at the rally in Washington. Actor George Clooney, Illinois Senator Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, among there. Also there today, Winter Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, who will join us live in just a few minutes.
A stark assessment from Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman. He says the U.S. is in the midst of an oil crisis and he says it could be more than three years before the price of gasoline goes down. We'll have more on that in a live report coming up.
A report from Europe suggests that tonight's deadline for Serbia to hand over war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has been extended. Mladic faces charges of genocide in the deaths of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims during the Serbian Civil War.
And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice blasts Iran and its controversial nuclear program. Today Rice accused the Iranian government of playing games with the international community. More on that story just ahead.
Good evening, I'm Susan Roesgen, sitting in for Carol Lin tonight. They came today by the tens of thousands, packing the National Mall, speaking with one voice. Stop the genocide in western Sudan. The famous were there, the influential were there, but mostly ordinary people from all around the world were there, calling for action. CNN's Brianna Keilar is live for us there in Washington. Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Susan. The people who spoke at this Save Darfur rally really are from all walks of life. People who have seen genocide unfold before their very eyes, like Elie Weisel, survivor of the Holocaust and Nobel Peace Prize winner and Paul Rusesabagina, the man who the movie "Hotel Rwanda" was based around.
They were joined by people like George Clooney and Def Jam Records CEO Russell Simmons, all trying to bring awareness to the dire situation in Darfur, Sudan.
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KEILAR (voice-over): A woman from Darfur collects firewood outside a camp for displaced people. Like many other women, she risks being attacked and raped by an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, fighters that according to the U.N. are backed by the Sudanese government, an allegation the government denies. But food must be cooked. So they go, because men could face death if caught.
It began three years ago when black Muslim rebels from Darfur revolted against Sudan's Arab-Muslim government. The statistics complied by the U.S. government are staggering. More than two million people driven from their homes, at least 200,000 dead, many from starvation and disease. Others from the violence. All of this happening as much as the world stands idly by.
DR. BAROUDI FASHIR, SUDANESE EXPATRIATE: When you recognize genocide, there is a moral and legal obligation to protect the people (inaudible). We don't see any side of protection.
KEILAR: Now living in Canada, Dr. Baroudi Fashir and Taraji Mustafa (ph) have family in Darfur and at least two of Fashir's relatives have been killed. They are working with the coalition that is getting help from some of Hollywood's biggest names and Washington's biggest players.
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: We're at the doorstep of something we thought was impossible to dream of in the 21st century. If we turn our heads and look away and hope that it will all disappear, then they will. All of them, an entire generation of people. OBAMA: Silence, acquiescence, paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong.
KEILAR: President Bush has denounced the deaths of innocent civilians.
BUSH: Genocide in Sudan is unacceptable.
KEILAR: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the international community needs to do more.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: There really must be a more robust security force. We stand ready to support that force.
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KEILAR: The organizers of this rally also launched a postcard campaign, hoping that one million people would send these postcards addressed to President Bush to tell him they want the U.S. to do more about Darfur. Susan?
ROESGEN: Sometimes there's strength in numbers. Thank you, Brianna, reporting live for us in Washington.
Now the final speaker at that rally today was Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek. Cheek donated the earnings from winning his Olympic gold medal to benefit Darfur refugees. And he will join us later this hour on CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Well today is supposed to be the deadline for the Sudanese government and the rebels who are fighting in Darfur. They're supposed to arrive at some kind of peace agreement Friday, but it doesn't look good right now. Sudan's government and the various rebel groups are debating things like power sharing, security and U.N. peacekeeping. The rebel groups have decided they want changes in the deal before they sign on.
The failure of those peace talks will probably be part of the discussion when the United Nations high commissioner for human rights visits western Sudan. Louise Arbour will be in the Darfur region tomorrow. She's expected to tour refugee camps and talk to local leaders. More than two million people have fled their homes in western Sudan since the fighting started to spread there three years ago.
Before today's demonstration in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice weighed in on the worsening situation in Darfur. The Bush administration, as we've just heard, calls it genocide. Here's what Secretary Rice had to say to Wolf Blitzer this morning on CNN's "LATE EDITION."
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RICE: The United States has been in the lead on pressing the case in the security council for the use of first getting the possibility to use sanctions and then using sanctions against individual members of the government. The United States has been in the lead in working with NATO to provide an offer of logistical and planning support, first to the A.U. forces, which we are doing. We are helping there. But also, when there's a U.N. force, and there really must be a more robust security force. We stand ready to support that force.
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ROESGEN: Well once again, today was supposed to be the deadline for a peace agreement on Darfur. We'll let you know if the rebels do sign on to that deal.
It's being a called a day without immigrants. Immigrants and their supporters are planning a massive demonstration tomorrow, planning to boycott work and school, shopping. But some people in the Latino community are unsure whether or not to take part. They're concerned about a possible backlash. Peter Viles has that story.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brothers and sisters, I ask you to join me in the Great American Boycott on May 1st.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The goal of Monday's boycott is to prove the economic power of recent immigrants. And to pressure Congress to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
NATIVO LOPEZ, MEXICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL ASSOCIATION: We're going to see something that has never occurred in the history of the United States, a day in which immigrants withhold their labor, withhold their consuming power. They don't go to school, they don't go shopping, they don't go selling.
VILES: No one knows how widespread the boycott will be. In Los Angeles, American Apparel, the region's largest clothing factory, will not open. Nor will the Central Produce Market.
PEDRO ASTORGA, PRESIDENT, 7TH ST. MARKET ASSOCIATION: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're distributors to over 3,000 small businesses and supermarkets, 4,500 restaurants and about 15,000 retail buyers.
VILES: Truckers are threatening to disrupt traffic at L.A.'s massive ports. Already some are warning these tactics will backfire in Congress.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: I do think that these -- the big demonstrations are counterproductive. And they hurt with a guy like me, to encourage people not to go to work, or children not to go to school is counterproductive.
VILES: In Los Angeles, the boycott has divided those who organized the half million person march for immigrant rights earlier this spring.
GABINO ZAVALA, AUX. BISHOP OF LOS ANGELES: We are asking that students and workers use May 1st to go to school and work, and use that time to appreciate the dignity of work, the value of education.
VILES: Last week, L.A. Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and school chief's Roy Romer sent this letter to parents, saying quote, "missing school is not in the best interests of our children."
A similar message from some immigrants, don't loss your job over this.
ANGELICA SALAS, IMMIGRATION ADVOCATE: If there's any way you think that you might risk your job that day, don't do it.
VILES (on camera): Compounding the mixed messages from public officials on this issue, the state Senate here in California actually voted to endorse the boycott. They called it, quote, "the Great American Boycott of 2006." Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.
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ROESGEN: And CNN will bring you extensive coverage of the nationwide day without immigrants demonstrations.
ANNOUNCER: Events are planned in more than 60 cities across the nation. To give you the best coverage, CNN has teamed up with the Spanish language network Univision. Beginning in the east, we'll have live reports from New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta.
Moving west, we'll be live in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles as well as Mexico City. And you can count on our local affiliates to provide coverage from other cities. CNN.com is preparing photo galleries and Web blogs. And for streaming live footage of events, check CNN Pipeline.
In addition of course to coverage by our Spanish language network CNN en Espanol. Our coverage goes throughout the day, starting at 6:00 a.m. with "AMERICAN MORNING."
ROESGEN: Coming up, we all know how high gas prices are. Now the energy secretary has a blunt assessment of how long it might be before the prices go down.
Olympic gold medal speed skater Joey Cheek was one of the high- profile faces today at the Darfur rally, as we've mentioned. He'll be with us in about 20 minutes.
And a profile of a very young golfer with a very big heart. CNN LIVE SUNDAY will be right back.
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ROESGEN: Now the energy crisis, the current energy crisis. That's what the Bush administration is calling it today, a crisis. And what's more, the administration warns that there is no quick fix. We get the latest live from the White House, from CNN's Ed Henry. Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Susan. That's right, for the first time a senior Bush official is characterizing the energy problem across the country as a crisis.
That's coming from Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, appearing today on NBC's "Meet The Press." He also said it might take up to three years to lower gas prices. Democrat Barbara Boxer appearing on CNN's "LATE EDITION," pounced on those remarks, saying she believes this shows President Bush's four-point energy plan released last week really will not put a dent in the gas crisis.
Take a listen to Bodman and Boxer sparring on the Sunday shows.
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SAMUEL BODMAN, ENERGY SECRETARY: We're here today, that would say there's apparently some evidence that we have a crisis. There's a lot of concern about this and so the president is looking at everything, every tool at his disposal to put to work on it. I'm not embarrassed by that.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Well all you had to do was look at Mr. Bodman's body language and what he said. We think we have a crisis. I'm not embarrassed. What is that?
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HENRY: And the White House is also facing new pressure from a conservative Republican, Trent Lott, who now said today on CNN's "LATE EDITION" that he's now open to this Democratic proposal floating around to perhaps tax the windfall profits of oil companies. Take a listen.
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LOTT: This may come as a shock to you, but I'm going to keep my options open. The message to the oil companies is hold down your price of gasoline and it better start sliding back the other way. If they don't control it and if they continue to have prices go up, profits go up, and salaries go up, Congress will do something.
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HENRY: But experts point out that either raising taxes or cutting them, in the case of the Senate Republican plan to give consumers a $100 rebate to pay for gas, really is not going to affect energy prices in the short-term. Said this is a long-term problem, specifically the nation's dependence on foreign oil. White House officials say they realize this is a long-term problem, that's why they're not promising a short-time fix. But obviously there's heavy pressure from consumers who want some kind of fix and they want it now. Susan?
ROESGEN: Yes, talking about foreign oil, Ed. Today an Iranian oil minister suggested it would be difficult to press sanctions against Iran since the price of oil is already so high. How does that complicate the whole energy debate?
HENRY: Well it can complicate both the energy debate, but also the national security debate. I mean basically, experts like the former CIA director James Woolsey say this just proves the fact that we are so dependent on foreign oil that we're also susceptible to having difficulty in a standoff with Iran. Any rogue nation like that, because it really weakens our hands. If in fact we were to press U.N. sanctions against Iran, that could raise oil prices around the world and make it even more difficult. Susan?
ROESGEN: Well Senator Lott's idea to tax some oil company profits, that sounds like something that would go over like a fart in church in Congress. I mean, who else -- is he out on a limb on this or who else is going to go with him?
HENRY: Well interestingly in Congress, you're starting to hear some support for it. Some Democrats are behind it, but also Republican Arlen Specter last week came out for it. But you're right, there's been a thud here at the White House. President Bush himself said Friday in the rose garden, no way to this windfall tax, Susan.
ROESGEN: And we need some relief. Thank you, Ed, live in Washington.
And let's take a look at some other news across America now. Two 10-year-old boys are under arrest for allegedly starting these brush fires in southwest Florida. The police are looking for a third young suspect. More than 1,500 acres and dozens of homes have burned.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Canadian-born economist John Kenneth Galbraith has died. A former adviser for three presidents, Galbraith may be best remembered for his 1958 best-selling work "The Affluent Society." He was 97-years-old.
Place your bids now. Several pieces of famous contemporary artwork will be up on the auction block. Sotheby's of New York is planning a large sell-off of works from the like of Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder and others. The auction is set for May 10th and 11th.
"Mission Impossible III" hits the theaters this week, but the promotions for this movie have already created a buzz and for the wrong reasons. Soria Fedel (ph) with CNN affiliate KCAL has the story.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): It's an unusual sight and sound, a singing news rack when you pick up your morning paper. The electronic sound box inside "L.A. Times" news racks have caught many folks off guard. While some are surprised, authorities tell us the wires and audio gadgets have already triggered an emergency response. A Santa Clarita resident thought the device was a suspicious package and called authorities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Initially the gentleman thought it may have been an explosive device. So we acted upon it and our explosives unit went out, made the investigation and found that it was a device that plays music. We're asking folks, when they open up a newspaper stands, especially if it's "L.A. Times" to be a little bit wary. They will hear some music, not to be alarmed.
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ROESGEN: That was Soria Fedel (ph) with CNN affiliate KCAL in Los Angeles.
Condoleezza Rice weighs on Iran and its nuclear program. More on that when we come back. And the former secretary of state talks troop strength in Iraq and what he says he told the president.
Getting used to female troops in Iraq is one thing, but what about their husbands back home? We're going to talk to one back home who says it can be more difficult than you might think.
But first, do you think you're paying too much for gas? Sure you are. Do you think you're getting gouged? Well maybe Gerri Willis can help.
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GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With gas prices averaging nearly $3 a gallon, it might feel like the oil companies already have one hand in your wallet before you even pull out of the garage.
But are these high prices fair? The government has launched a federal investigation into price manipulation. But of course, if you want to avoid being gouged, it's up to you to be vigilant.
For one, you'll likely pay more at isolated gas stations. The more competition a station has, the less you're likely to pay.
Also, stay away from stations that have large price swings. And if you do suspect price gouging, don't sure suffer in silence, do something. Fill out a form at the Department of Energy at gaswatch.energy.gov or you can call your state's attorney general's office.
We do have some good news for you. High fuel costs are not likely to stick around for too much longer. Prices are likely to fall after the 4th of July, that's what the experts say. So if you can hold off on that road trip, you'll spend less money on gas and more money on vacations.
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ROESGEN: In Iraq, British officials say three private security contractors were killed and two other were wounded when a convoy struck a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad. Elsewhere, Iraqi police say two Iraqi civilians were killed and six other wounded when another bomb went off inside a minibus in Sadr City. And the U.S. military says a rocket-propelled grenade fired by insurgents killed two Iraqi children in the town of Ramadi.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is talking about the number of American troops sent to Iraq at the start of the war. In an interview on British television, Powell said he advised President Bush before the invasion that more troops would be needed.
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COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We had debates within the administration as to what we should prepare for in the aftermath. And I offered the full resources of the State Department to the Defense Department in order to put together a team. We had debates as to who should be part of that team and who should not be part of that team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you get excluded from this?
POWELL: Was I excluded?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the real decision.
POWELL: What real decision do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real decision about whether or not to put in place the provision of enough troops, the capacity ...
POWELL: ... As I think I said I had said to you earlier, I had raised directly with General Franks and with Secretary Rumsfeld and in front of the president the size of the force that was coming in. But I'm the secretary of state, not the secretary of defense or the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
And the president's military advisers felt that the size of the force was adequate. They may still feel that years later. Some of us don't. I don't. And I have said that but at the time the president was listening to those who were supposed to be providing military advice.
And they may well have been completely right. We didn't know at the time. They were anticipating a different kind of immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad. It turned out to be not exactly as they had anticipated and they've been adjusting to that. Now with respect to my actions, I was in all of the counsels of government meetings that we had. I was aware of what was going on and had every opportunity to give my views to president, which I did.
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ROESGEN: Well Powell's successor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was national security adviser at that time and she says she doesn't really remember what specific instance in which Powell mentioned more troops for Iraq.
Every week we bring you stories from the frontlines. Tonight, our story is a different one. When you think of military spouses left behind, we usually think of the wives left behind. But about 75,000 woman are serving in Iraq and in many cases, the military spouses left home alone are their husbands. But some of those husbands say they don't get the same kind of support as the stay at home wives. Joining us in Nashville tonight to talk about it is Greg Wilkinson. Greg's wife is an army medic in Iraq. Greg, what is it like being a military husband?
GREG WILKINSON, MILITARY HUSBAND: It's unique. I think it's probably -- it's challenging.
ROESGEN: In what ways is it challenging for you? I mean, do you feel that you're left out? Do you feel you get the support from the wives who are home whose husbands are overseas? What's missing?
WILKINSON: Well the army has set up the family readiness programs which are geared to support the families left behind for the soldiers. Typically, those are going to be wives. And they do a really good job.
I really can't say that I expect the army to cater to one male and to exclude all of the wives. I think that that would be unfair. But there are fewer of us and so we tend to be a little more isolated. It probably would be nice if we had a better networking or communication system amongst the husbands' spouses. But I don't cite the army as necessarily being responsible for that.
ROESGEN: Well you and your wife had started a Web site. And on that Web site you say, the woman, my wife, that I said good-bye to six months ago was not the soldier and the woman who stepped off the plane when she got back. What's changed in her and what's changed in your relationship?
WILKINSON: Well I guess the way to explain it best is when you think of a male soldier, you think the short hair, the square-jawed soldier and he pretty much goes to work the same way as he comes home.
I mean, and he's a soldier. In the case of my wife, the female soldiers that we know, they go to work and they have to prove themselves worthy amongst the male soldiers. They have to earn their respect. And then they come home and they're the mother, and they're the wife, and they have to go through that transformation back into that world.
So they're sort of going back and forth across this line. So I didn't really have an association with the army side of my wife. And so when -- when she's in Iraq, she's full-time army. There is no line. And so I've had to learn to adjust to someone that has had to harden, adapt, adjust. And that whole persona that I don't see on a daily basis. And so when she came home for leave, of course, she was more that mindset and I had to remind her a couple of times that I'm not one of her soldiers.
ROESGEN: Well listen Greg, you've given us a lot to think about. We don't often think of husbands who are at home while their wives are overseas. So thank very much and maybe you should start a support group and help you and other husbands out.
WILKINSON: Well thank you so much, hopefully we can do that.
ROESGEN: All right, take care.
A nuclear-capable Iran is unacceptable. That is from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today. She told CNN's "LATE EDITION" that Iran's leaders were playing games with the world community and did not rule out the United States taking unilateral steps to stop a nuclear power from emerging in Iran.
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RICE: The international community is completely of one mind, that no one wants, needs, or really can tolerate a nuclear armed Iran in the midst of the world's most volatile region.
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ROESGEN: And coming up now, if you don't know Dakoda Dowd, we're sure that you will soon. She is one of the youngest golfers playing against the pros. And if that weren't hard enough, she and her family are coping with an unimaginable crisis.
Olympic medalist Joey Cheek joins us to talk about his involvement in today's rally for Darfur.
And President Bush turns the other cheek at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROESGEN: And now in the news -- in Baghdad, a car bomb went off in the Sadr City suburb today. Police say it killed two Iraqi civilians and wounded six others.
More American pressure on Sudan. That's what thousands of protesters on the National Mall called for today. A rally organized to try to get the attention that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region desperately needs.
And the Darfur rebels balk at signing the peace plan. The Sudanese government had agreed to sign the deal endorsed by the African Union, but the rebels did not. It is aimed at ending the bloodshed the Bush administration calls genocide.
Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek was at that rally today and I'm going to talk to him on the other side of the commercial break.
But now tomorrow, when immigrant workers walk off the job to join the "Day Without Immigrants" demonstration, some employers may be angry, but not all. Some will shut down for the day in a show of support. CNN's Ines Ferre has one employer's story in New York.
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INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Francisco Guerrero, co-owner of a body shop on New York's Long Island says on any given weekday up to 16 cars get serviced here. But Monday they'll be closing up shop for the day in support of illegal immigrants.
FRANCISCO GUERRERO, AUTO SHOP CO-OWNER: We need to help them. Because we -- we were helped before.
FERRE: Francisco says he was forced to immigrate to the United States when he was 12 after civil war broke out in El Salvador. He was granted permanent residency and by age 24 he was serving in the U.S. Navy. He later saw duty in Desert Storm. Francisco says these are crucial times for immigrants.
GUERRERO: Through the years what Martin Luther King did here, Chavez did in California. So at this point we have to be part of this movement. We need to. Just because we are legal that doesn't change anything. We're still immigrants.
FERRE: All of Francisco's employees are immigrants, some documented, some still waiting for their papers. Even though Francisco openly shows his solidarity for the immigration movement, there is a fear among some that the movement may backfire. Days after the last public protests, raids carried out around the country led to the arrests of almost 1200 immigrants and brought the anxiety level up another notch.
One of Francisco's relatives who has permanent residence status but doesn't want to reveal his identity, fears that by openly supporting illegal immigrants he could somehow lose his residency and be deported.
Just by associating. He says he has a family. If he loses, he loses everything. But Francisco never forgets his roots. His father's picture reminds him of where he came from and why he's here.
GUERRERO: That's -- my family. Every day that I come to work I feel good because -- what I learned of my father. So it keep me doing the right thing.
FERRE: To him, that means closing shop on May 1st. Ines Ferre, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Events are planned in more than 60 cities across the nation. To give you the best coverage, CNN has teamed up with a Spanish language network Univision. Beginning in the east, we'll have live reports from New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. Moving west, we'll be live in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles. As well as Mexico City. And you can count on our local affiliates to provide coverage from other cities. CNN.com is preparing photo galleries and Web blogs. And for streaming live footage of events, check CNN Pipeline. In addition of course to coverage by our Spanish language network, CNN en Espanol. Our coverage goes throughout the day, starting at 6:00 a.m. with "AMERICAN MORNING."
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROESGEN: Up next -- inspiration from a teenager. This golfer has the fight of her life on her hands.
And President Bush got to try a little conservative compassion last night at the correspondent's dinner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: As you know, I always look forward to these dinners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a bunch of media types. Hollywood liberals, democrats like Joe Biden. How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: CNN LIVE SUNDAY will be right back.
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ROESGEN: With the big rally in Washington today the cause of Darfur has hit America's radar screen and one of the many people who helped put it there, is a gold medal athlete. CNN's Andrea Koppel reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For American speed skater Joey Cheek winning a gold medal in the tour in Olympics was a dream come true. You looked so excited when you were holding the flag.
JOEY CHEEK, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: That's -- that's a day that you dream of. It really is as cliche as it sounds it really is something that you dream of and chase in your head over and over and over again.
KOPPEL: But it's what Cheek did after he won gold that turned this Olympic champion into a hero. At a post race press conference Cheek announced he planned to donate the $25,000 bonus he won from the U.S. Olympic Committee, to help children in refugee camps. Especially those in Sudan's Darfur region. The 26-year-old Cheek, also donated his $15,000 Olympic bonus after winning a silver medal.
CHEEK: I saw in 2002, I won a bronze medal and I kind of saw how the news cycle work. And how the people who won would get an opportunity to speak for a few minutes and I decided when I got those few minutes, I wanted to make sure that I spoke on something that I really cared about and was passionate about.
KOPPEL: It was the genocide in Darfur that caught Cheek's attention. A genocide which has killed at least 200,000 people, according to the United Nations and forced 2 million Sudanese men, women and children to seek shelter in refugee camps. Before the Olympics were over, Cheek says he succeeded in raising more than half a million dollars in matching funds from U.S. corporations and individuals. The moral says Cheek -- CHEEK: That small act made by a lot of people is a very powerful thing.
KOPPEL: Cheek went to Washington to address activists at a Save Darfur rally along with other prominent public figures, calling for an end to the genocide.
CHEEK: I know that this can be stopped. But I know even more than that, we must be vigilant forever. After this genocide, there'll be another conflict, we don't grow tired, we can't grow weary of fighting the good fight, we have to keep fighting.
KOPPEL: As Cheek learned during his years on the ice, sometimes even one person focused on a single goal can do great things. Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Joining us live in Washington now is Olympic gold medallist Joey Cheek. Joey you told Andrea Koppel that you know now how the news cycle works. How do we keep it fresh? How do we keep from getting tired of what's happening in Africa?
CHEEK: Well, fortunately, and I sat in on the news conference when George Clooney sat with Obama and Senator Brownback of Kansas and I felt like the Calvary had arrived, so I felt like we had some big players coming in now and that I didn't have to do so much heavy lifting. But I think once people in the U.S. became aware of how monumental this crisis in Sudan is and in Darfur is then they want action to be taken.
ROESGEN: Have you been there. Or do you plan to go there?
CHEEK: Yeah I plan to go there. I have to get Visas approved by Sudan and U.S. Aid, the development organization part of the U.S. government is working on that and they've offered to take me. So I hope to make it into the region and see first-hand what's going on.
ROESGEN: What do you think you might do there? Who might you talk to, where might you go?
CHEEK: I'd really love to see some of the refugee camps. I'd like to talk to people on the ground and hear stories and see the conditions they're living in. Really, I'd like to bring some images back to the U.S. that we can continue to fight for this and continue to raise awareness.
ROESGEN: What about today's rally. What did you think of it, a lot of celebs there? Do you think it accomplished the goal?
CHEEK: We'll see. The thing about having a rally is it's an amazing way to raise awareness, to put this on the radar screens and when you guys have us now on CNN, because we had this enormous rally with tens and tens of thousands of people. But what we need to see happen is change happen on the ground. People of Darfur need to be able to return to their homes to be safe and to be able to be represented in their government.
ROESGEN: I read that you're getting ready to go to college now. You've got an "MTV" series in the works. How much more would you be able to do on this issue with so much in your own life happening?
CHEEK: Well, we'll just have to see. This is something that's very important to me and something that I'll continue to work on. School doesn't start until September. I still have a lot more months and then I've already spoken to the folks at school and they've said, you know, they're going to work with me. I'm going to still be able to do charitable things and work with charitable organizations. So, I'll think I'll still be able to put up a good fight when I can.
ROESGEN: Well we wish you a lot of luck.
CHEEK: Thank you.
ROESGEN: Thanks so much, Joey Cheek joining us in Washington.
CHEEK: Susan thanks for having me.
ROESGEN: You bet.
And now a power house both on and off the golf course. 13-year- old Dakoda Dowd fulfilled a dream this past week by playing in an elite tournament, playing against the pros. But that's just part of the story. More now from CNN's Ray D'Alessio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) a young golfer, Dakoda Dowd, dreamed of playing at the highest level. But it was her mother's dream that caught national attention.
KELLY JO DOWD, MOTHER: Wouldn't it be incredible if she could go all the way and go ahead and go on to the LPGA.
D'ALESSIO: In 2002, Kelly Jo Dowd was diagnosed with breast cancer. She appeared to have beaten the illness in 2004, but last year, the vicious disease returned with a vengeance.
KELLY JO DOWD: And now it's spread to bone cancer stage IV and liver cancer as well, so it was quite obviously a smack in my face.
DAKODA DOWD, GOLFER: It just didn't seem like she had cancer. It was like, how could this just like pop up again so bad, when we get tests every single month. So it just didn't make sense.
D'ALESSIO: Last fall, when the sponsor of this week's LPGA event heard about the Dowd's story, they made an unprecedented offer. Extending one of two exemptions to Dakoda, allowing her to compete against the tour's best. It was a phone call that changed their lives.
MIKE DOWD, FATHER: Said we're going to give Dakoda's sponsor exemption, Mr. Ginn is going to do that for her to play and then I just started crying. It was too much.
KELLY JO DOWD: Once he told us about this exemption, our family was in high gear. It actually put a different type of positive attitude and energy in our household.
D'ALESSIO: The Dowd family's dream became reality on Thursday as Kelly Jo watched Dakoda birdie her first hole. Dakoda finished Thursday's round with a solid 2 over 74, just two strokes behind girl number one (INAUDIBLE). But on Friday, the pressure of trying to make the cut took its toll as the 13-year-old finished eight shots off the cut, with a 10 over 82. Still, no one was disappointed with how the week played out.
DAKODA DOWD: Six months went by like so fast. I couldn't believe I was actually here.
KELLY JO DOWD: I don't want to brag too much. But I can't help but tell you how proud I am as a mother.
DAKODA DOWD: I want to be with my mom all the way up until forever, but if that doesn't happen, I want to be with her as long as I can. Every day.
D'ALESSIO: Ray D'Alessio, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: Black ties and cheap laughs. That's the tradition at the annual White House Correspondent's dinner. Last night the beltway big wigs took their good natured jabs at each other, including the biggest wig of them all, President Bush. He let us in on some of his internal dialogue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: As you know, I always look forward to these dinners.
STEVE BRIDGES, IMPERSONATOR: It's just a bunch of media types. Hollywood liberals, democrats like Joe Biden. How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?
BUSH: It's good to see so many influential guests here tonight, Justice Scalia. Justice Alito.
BRIDGES: Yeah, all the usual suspects.
BUSH: Speaking of suspects, where is the great white hunter?
BRIDGES: I am sorry Vice President Cheney couldn't be here tonight.
BUSH: So I want to talk about some serious issues such as -- BRIDGES: Okay. Here it comes.
BUSH: Nuclear proliferation. Nuclear proliferation. Nuclear proliferation.
BRIDGES: Nukear proliberation.
BUSH: See I'm an activist. I object to those stories that say I'm a lame duck. I'm not a lame duck. I'm a sprinting duck. I'm a hustling duck. I'm a leadership of the free world duck. And I'm continuing to spread our agenda globally and around the world. As well as internationally. [ laughter ]
BRIDGES: Some of my critics in the international community call me arrogant. I will not even honor that with a response. Screw 'em.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Takes a big wig to make big fun of himself.
Will tomorrow's nationwide walkout on immigration help or hurt the cause? Tonight at 10:30 Eastern you'll hear from both sides of the issue. We'll hash it out with the president of "We Need a Fence.com" Colin Hanna, who is anti illegal immigration. And an author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Time Magazine has named her one of the 25th Most Influential Hispanics in America and she's strongly pro immigration. That's coming up tonight at 10:30.
And the ladies loved him in "When a Man Loves a Woman," the guys know him from "The Godfather Part 3", it's actor Andy Garcia, tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Garcia talks to us about his latest labor of love, "The Lost City." Why this movie holds a special place in the heart of this Cuban-born actor.
And car thieves caught on tape with hidden cameras and the click of a mouse. Police departments go high-tech to track down stolen cars and wait until you hear what the guys say inside.
Also a two for one. Before that Garcia interview, we talk about CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta has two specials tonight. The first one on sleep, what is keeping you up at night? What's keeping all of us up at night? How do get some rest and how to enjoy the dreams you'll have along the way. That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And talk about a big dream. Imagine a world without AIDS. An AIDS summit with Sanjay and former President Clinton. That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Then at 9:00 p.m. "LARRY KING LIVE." A look at the new movie "United 93". Larry talks to victims' families about what it's like to relive the tragedy of 9/11 in a movie. Headlines when we come back. And then "CNN PRESENTS."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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