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CNN Sunday Morning
More Than 3,000 Killed in Indonesian Earthquake; It's a Girl!
Aired May 28, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
Welcome to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
The race is on in Indonesia to find survivors amid the earthquake rubble and to get international aid to the victims as quickly as possible. More than 3,000 people on the island of Java are known dead. The U.N. believes the toll will go much higher. An update from a U.N. official in Jakarta is just ahead.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Two more powerful quakes rumbled through that part of the world today. A 6.2 quake struck Papua New Guinea and an even stronger quake, measuring 6.7, hit the tiny island of Tonga. We are awaiting word on damage and casualties from those locations.
Officials in Hawaii say neither quake triggered a tsunami.
HARRIS: In Israel, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been taken to a long-term care facility in Tel Aviv. He has been in a hospital in Jerusalem since suffering a massive stroke in early January. Doctors say treating the 78-year-old Sharon will be long and difficult.
LONG: Off the coast of New England, five people had to be rescued last night about 250 miles from Nantucket Island. Their 36- foot pleasure boat hit rough seas three days into a cruise. A Coast Guard chopper picked them up after a captain issued a May Day.
HARRIS: And it's a girl! Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- was that OK? It kind of rolls in a little bit.
LONG: That was beautiful.
HARRIS: I just tried to, anyway, to make it a little different -- welcomed their daughter into the world yesterday. The baby's name, Shiloh Nouvel -- is that it, Melissa?
LONG: Yes, that's it.
HARRIS: ... Jolie-Pitt. As you know, the celebrity couple fled to Namibia to escape the white hot media attention while they waited for the baby girl's birth.
We will get all the details in a live report from CNN's Robyn Curnow straight ahead. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, the world headquarters of CNN.
6:00 p.m. in Indonesia.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
LONG: And good morning.
I'm Melissa Long, in this morning for Betty Nguyen.
Thanks for joining us this early hour.
HARRIS: It really is.
And good morning to you, everyone.
We begin in Indonesia.
U.N. officials say the death toll could be as high as 3,700 after a large earthquake on the island of Java. Troops have been deployed to help search for survivors and the U.S. is sending $2.5 million in emergency aid. A lot of international aid workers were already in the area. They have been keeping an eye on nearby Mount Merapi, anticipating a major volcanic eruption. Even so, getting aid to the quake victims is proving to be an enormous and difficult challenge.
John Budd is UNICEF'S communications officer.
He joins us on the phone from Jakarta with an update.
And, John, thanks for your time this morning.
I have to ask you, what has been the most difficult aspect of the relief effort so far?
JOHN BUDD, UNICEF: I guess it's the fact that it just keeps getting worse. As each hour passes, it just gets even worse. And, as you said, the fatalities have now reached well into the -- into the 3,000s. We got another 3,700 people who are severely injured.
And the hospitals are just simply overwhelmed. People are lined up in the corridors, severely injured people. They're turning away any person that's not severely injured. Officers in one of the hospitals reported that 40 percent of the people there were actually children.
HARRIS: Oh my goodness.
And, John, we're about 36, 37 hours into this disaster.
What are the priorities now? BUDD: The immediate priorities are obviously trying to get those trauma aid to the people who are really severely injured. And this is a major problem. I mean in a normal time in Indonesia, you would find that this is difficult. But right now, when you have these overwhelming numbers, it is just absolutely beyond belief.
So the major issue there is actually getting drugs, nurses, doctors, anything to help these people.
Then the next issue down the road is providing about 100,000 people who have been left homeless with shelter, with water and sanitation, with food. That will be, over the next few days, absolutely critical.
And another thing that's becoming quite apparent is the trauma that the people feel themselves. They are lying in paddy fields, in rice fields, because they're too scared to go anywhere near a structure of any sort.
HARRIS: Oh, boy.
John Budd is UNICEF'S communications officer.
He's in Jakarta.
And, John, we appreciate your time.
Thank you.
CNN's Dan Rivers is in the quake zone.
He filed this report from the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're joining me right in the epicenter of this disaster zone. You can hear about me there are children crying. Just beside me there is this old gentleman who's got a really nasty break on the leg. He's already been to hospital, but they were unable to deal with him. And look at his face. He's covered in cuts and scars from the earthquake, which has flattened lots of buildings around here.
About 50 percent of the houses in this area have been completely destroyed.
The residents of this one small village are beginning to pick through the debris of what used to be their homes. You can see this house has been totally flattened and all the contents inside pretty much destroyed.
If you look around here, here's another house that has got these huge great fissures across it, massive cracks. As you can see the roof line has been dented, where the whole building has almost fallen over. And look at this. This is the entire front wall of the house that has just simply fallen out and the window frame. And, clearly, this building is going to have to be knocked down. No one can live in that.
Most of the survivors are now having to camp out in the debris around their homes. This woman is typical, cooking a meal with pots and pans she salvaged from the rubble and some food that she's salvaged.
It rained last night and they had a very uncomfortable night underneath this temporary shelter that they built. And all of them are still obviously in deep shock, in deep trauma at what's happened. They've only buried their loved ones that died here less than 24 hours ago and all this is just beginning to sink in, their desperate situation and the fact that none of them here have received any help whatsoever.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Bantul Province, Indonesia.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: And, as you can imagine, the Indonesian government is desperately seeking aid. If you would like to donate money, call 1- 800-RED-CROSS or go to their Web site, redcross.org.
LONG: And now to Washington. A power struggle is playing out between the Justice Department and Congress. At issue? The FBI raid on a congressman's office. It has led to a revolt by lawmakers and a threat by three top Justice officials to resign.
CNN's Kathleen Koch explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KOCH (voice-over): Two senior administration officials say a tipping point came as top Justice Department officials argued with lawmakers over material seized last weekend from Congressman William Jefferson's Capitol Hill office. Those officials, as well as two senior government officials and others, confirmed that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and FBI Director Robert Mueller indicated they would resign if forced to give the documents back.
One senior government official described the men as "very angry." A source familiar with the negotiations says the threats were not made directly to the president, but came in the midst of conversations and negotiations and were usually framed as hypothetical.
Still, a former White House insider says it indicates the gravity of the debate.
BRADFORD BERENSON, FORMER ASSISTANT COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT: And if they are talking about it or threatening it, they're doing it only because they believe that there is a matter of highest principle at stake. Judge Gonzales in particular loves his job. He loves President Bush. And nothing would pain him more personally than resigning. So if he is talking about that, he's doing it only because he feels it is of the utmost importance.
KOCH: A senior administration official says Vice President Dick Cheney met with President Bush on the issue and made the case that critics of the raid on Jefferson's office had points that needed to be considered. One political analyst sees irony in that, after constant administration insistence that intelligence agencies are not overstepping their bounds.
KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: We now have the vice president's office complaining about FBI overreaching. I think that was a concern all of this year, all year long.
KOCH: But legal experts warn the vice president interceding on behalf of Congress does not mean it has a leg up in the debate over the seized material.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The evidence is likely to be legal because, number one, a search warrant was executed. Remember that Mr. Jefferson ignored a subpoena. There have been efforts for the past eight months to have him produce documents. Once they weren't, a federal district judge approved a search warrant.
KOCH (on camera): Congress and the Justice Department began meeting Friday to try to end the stalemate. Another possible outcome, crafting ground rules for future searches like this, important because Jefferson's isn't the only corruption probe underway that touches a member of Congress.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: The Bush administration is asking federal judges in New York and Michigan to dismiss two lawsuits that challenge the domestic eavesdropping program. The administration argues national secrets would be compromised if legal actions go forward. The domestic spying program allows the National Security Agency, the NSA, to carry out surveillance without a court order.
HARRIS: And Other Stories Across America this morning.
Gunshots ring out at a crowded shopping mall in Oklahoma City. A teenaged boy was shot and wounded. The shooter was then shot and killed by an off duty sheriff's deputy.
A snowy surprise for campers in the California mountains. A late spring storm dumped about half a foot of snow in the Sierra. And die hard skiers and snow boarders cheered while making the final runs of the season at Squaw Valley.
And also across the country, many Americans are remembering our fallen soldiers. First proclaimed in 1868, Memorial Day honored soldiers who died in the Civil War. It used to be called Decoration Day because women decorated the graves of war dead. The veterans' motorcycle group, "Rolling Thunder," makes their 19th annual Memorial Day run-into Washington later today.
LONG: And this now brings us to our question of the morning.
Who are you honoring this Memorial Day?
E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com, and we'll share your responses throughout our morning.
HARRIS: And still ahead, bag the lines at the airport and check your luggage at your hotel? But is this new program really secure?
Details in about 20 minutes.
LONG: Plus, the long awaited arrival of a baby to a very famous couple has arrived. We're not talking about Reynolds Wolf's baby today.
HARRIS: Oh, we're not?
LONG: No. No. Ahead, we are live in Johannesburg with the latest on this story.
However -- good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi.
LONG: Did you get any sleep last night?
WOLF: I did. But I'm telling you, man, I hate copy-catters. Isn't that awful? Go figure. Just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) congratulations and that's wonderful.
Hey, we've got a lot of stuff to talk about weather wise around the nation today, your travel weather and, also, weather for people traveling very quickly in a circle. I'm talking about the race in Indianapolis.
Take a look at this live image that we have out of that great city this morning. Kind of hazy at this time and possibly some showers and storms later on.
Your complete forecast and so much more coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AMY GRANT, SINGER: Baby, baby, I'm taken with the notion to love you with the sweetest of devotion.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: That's a good song.
LONG: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mind Amy Grant. Tony... HARRIS: That's a good song.
LONG: ... has been singing that song in the break. I'm so sorry you missed it.
HARRIS: Well, it's a good -- don't you think it's a good song?
LONG: Yes, it's a great -- I like it, actually, better when you sing it.
HARRIS: You heard, baby, baby -- you've got to move with it. It's, you know, it's a baby. We've got a new baby in the world. I know a lot, it's controversial and everybody's a little hot about it in some quarters.
LONG: You (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sing that well.
HARRIS: But there you go.
LONG: I'm going to go forward with the script now, OK, Tony?
HARRIS: OK. OK.
LONG: OK. No more singing for now.
Unto them a celebrity child is born. The tabloids are scrambling to get that first photograph. The Brangelina baby comes into the world in the African country of Namibia. That's where the couple escaped to avoid all the media attention.
CNN's Robyn Curnow is live in Johannesburg with the Hollywood scoop.
And it seems they really did avoid the media.
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
The interesting thing is her name is Shiloh Nouvel. And she's just a few hours old, but already I think she's probably one of Namibia's most famous daughters. But not many Namibians would know it, because the news broke pretty late Saturday night, not in time to make the Sunday newspapers, and a good 10 hours after Brad Pitt's L.A. publicist confirmed that the baby has been born.
Many news outlets in Namibia were completely unaware of the birth. So hopefully the news is starting to filter down to the people.
But the fact that it hasn't really hit the airwaves just yet is no indication of the fact that the Namibians didn't like this couple being in town. In fact, there's been a lot of fascination, intrigue, even excitement with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie being in town.
One radio poll had an informal survey and 52 percent of Namibians thought it would be a good idea if a national holiday was declared on the day of the birth. So I'm sure many Namibians proud that this famous, famous couple has chosen their country to have their first biological child.
LONG: Robyn, you mentioned that possibility for a national holiday. Obviously, they've had a lot of support from the government. The government must have been an integral part of making sure they maintained their privacy.
CURNOW: Absolutely. I think, you know, a lot of people initially said why Namibia? Why did this couple go to this remote African nation to have their baby? But I think besides the fact that Angelina apparently had fallen in love with Namibia while filming "Beyond Borders" in 2002, they also had the support of the Namibian authorities. The Namibian authorities say that not only do they have a constitutional right to protect the privacy of their own citizens, but also guests.
And they have been very carefully managing the international media that is allowed into Namibian. That's one of the reasons we're sitting here in Johannesburg, in neighboring South Africa, and not in Namibia, is because the Namibian authorities have been very careful and very, very shrewd and careful about who gets work permits and how long the work permits take. And once you have a work permit they carefully monitor the media.
A number of journalists and one photographer has been arrested twice and others have been threatened with arrest or deportation.
So, really, the authorities helping Jolie and Pitt to maintain some sort of privacy during this, of course, very private time.
LONG: Robyn Curnow live with the scoop on Shiloh.
Thank you.
And "CNN PRESENTS," chasing the paparazzi's obsession with chasing Angelina Jolie.
That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
HARRIS: Well, now that "American Idol" is finished and we can all go back to work, the analysis has begun. Winner Taylor Hicks, runner-up Katherine McPhee and judge Randy Jackson appeared Friday night on CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE" with "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest filling in for Larry.
As you might imagine, the conversation soon turned to the role of the hyper critical Simon Cowell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
TAYLOR NICKS, WINNER, "AMERICAN IDOL": I had -- I knew I had an uphill battle to climb and, you know, I'll tell you what. If anything that Simon Cowell did the whole season, it was drive me even more to succeed.
RYAN SEACREST, HOST: That's interesting. But that's...
NICKS: That's what happened, though.
SEACREST: But that's good, though.
NICKS: It did...
SEACREST: But to the point where you try harder.
NICKS: It really kicked me off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Be sure to catch that interview Monday night, when it will be replayed in its entirety.
Reynolds Wolf is upstairs in the CNN Weather Center.
WOLF: Yes.
HARRIS: You know, there's a lot of, you know, folks have all kinds of opinions about this couple, this Pitt-Jolie, what is it, Brangelina?
LONG: Brangelina.
HARRIS: But it's a new baby. We've got a new baby on the planet now.
LONG: What about this new baby in the CNN house, as you would say?
HARRIS: In the -- yes. In the six degrees of separation, Baby Aniston and once upon a time -- oh, we don't want to go down that road. It's too weird.
WOLF: Hey, love is love and babies are babies. It's good...
HARRIS: Babies are babies.
WOLF: It's good all the way around the world.
HARRIS: There you go.
LONG: The name Aniston, though...
WOLF: I mean can't you just feel the love that's coming right through your set?
HARRIS: Come on.
LONG: So much love.
HARRIS: Yes.
LONG: It's just that name Aniston, was that inspired by Ms. Jennifer Aniston?
WOLF: No. It was not. But that's a good tie-in there.
HARRIS: Yes.
WOLF: I feel where you're coming from with that.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
WOLF: But, no. No, it was not.
HARRIS: Well, good morning, sir.
Good to see you.
WOLF: Hey, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: Oh, you know the scenario, the long lines, the long waits.
HARRIS: Yes.
LONG: But, Las Vegas wants to cut your check-in time at the airport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We actually think it's even more secure than the system that we have today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: We'll take you straight to baggage check-in, ahead in our Security Watch.
HARRIS: And speaking of baggage, the home is no place for it. In about three minutes, we will introduce you to the art of feng shui and give you a few tips on how to turn your house into a retreat. That's coming up in our Faces of Faith.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Ever experience the feeling of being closed in, no room to breath, irritated? Are the walls closing in on you in your own home? Maybe your yen and yang is off balance? It may be time to explore your chi.
Once known only as an ancient Chinese secret, many have come to put their faith, hope and trust in the art of feng shui.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS (voice-over): Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement and arrangement of space. The goal is to achieve harmony with the environment and promote prosperity, good health and wellbeing.
ROBERTA GRANT, LICENSED FENG SHUI ADVISER: Getting rid of the clutter makes you feel healthier, makes you do things better, makes you move around more. Health is very important -- the way you eat. It's all related.
The bedroom in feng shui is for rest, romance and rejuvenation.
HARRIS: Roberta Grant is one of many licensed feng shui experts who practices what she teaches. She says to achieve a healthy feng shui friendly environment, you must first examine the flow of energy, or chi, in a particular space, whether it's in your home or office. Then adjust it, if necessary.
R. GRANT: I cleared away the clutter, which is such a big thing, and everything -- the energy started moving and people would walk in and say your place looks great. And my husband felt it and my career just took off. And the prosperity started coming in and everything changed, definitely.
HARRIS: It's all about balance between two key elements -- yin and yang. Yin is considered feminine energy while yang is associated with masculine energy. Both are opposing forces, but they can compliment each other nicely in life and in your living room.
R. GRANT: I personally have to have a lot of natural light. And I find most people do, too. Now, that is a yang person. A yin person likes the doom, the low ceilings. But if you're a yang person, you want to have all that light.
HARRIS: The practice of feng shui is more than 3,000 years old. In Imperial China, only a handful of astronomers and scientists were entrusted with the secrets of feng shui. But now we're all in on the secret.
R. GRANT: Feng shui really is not a religious-based belief. It is more common sense and it's more about energy. And everybody can practice it.
HARRIS: East meets West in homes across the country. And it's not just a chick thing. Grant's husband has become somewhat of a feng shui aficionado himself.
CLAY GRANT, ROBERTA'S HUSBAND: Roberta has been nice enough to let me be involved in the feng shui decisions, even though she's the expert on it.
HARRIS: Feng shui is so popular that real estate agents are studying it, hoping to appeal to clients who swear by it.
R. GRANT: I've helped real estate agents. I've gone into homes and helped prepare them for sale and they have sold. Getting rid of the clutter, again, is so important. And when the real estate agent tells the client to get rid of the clutter, they won't do it. But if I walk in there and tell them why they should do it, in order to have the energy move so people can see that the place feels good when they walk in.
HARRIS: So the next time you feel your home is a little less than, well, harmonious, consider swinging into feng shui.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: OK, let's review what you've learned.
Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space. Chi is the energy or force that connects people with their surroundings, so it's important to have very positive chi. And it's also a good idea to balance the yin and yang in your home. Yin is the feminine and positive energy, while yang is masculine, hot energy.
LONG: Thank you, Tony, for that soothing report.
We appreciate it.
There is a new way to check your bags when you fly. It will save you lots of time. But will your luggage arrive in the right place? Isn't that important? And what about security? The details straight ahead.
HARRIS: And later, honoring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice as the nation remembers fallen heroes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning everyone, desperate times in Indonesia. Rescue workers dig through the rubble for survivors of this weekend's 6.5 magnitude earthquake. UNICEF says the death toll has climbed to 3700. Hospitals are struggling to cope with thousands of injured people and relief agencies are rushing food, tents and medical supplies to some 200,000 people left homeless.
More earthquakes today in the South Pacific. One quake had a magnitude of 6.7. it hit near Tonga. The other measured 6.2 and struck off the coast of Papua, New Guinea. So far there are no reports of damage or injuries.
First a mass, then a notorious death camp. Pope Benedict ends his stay in Poland today by visiting the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. He continues the late John Paul's work to improve relations with Jews. This program note, holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel will be a guest tonight on CNN at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
A dramatic rescue off the coast of Massachusetts. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted five people from a battered sail boat off Nantucket. A preliminary report says the five are in good condition.
The baby is finally here. Angelina Jolie gave birth to Brad Pitt's daughter yesterday. No pictures yesterday yet, but we do know the baby's name is Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. She was born at a resort in Namibia where the couple went to avoid media attention. For complete coverage of breaking news and today's top stories, stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
LONG: Are you flying over this holiday weekend? It's pretty much a given in this post-9/11 era, you have to factor in plenty of time to have your bags checked. But what if you could avoid the wait and go straight to security? CNN's Susan Candiotti has a way you can do just that. Her report first aired on "American Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If mom Tiffany Larson struggling with baby in tow could avoid standing in line to check her luggage --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, for sure.
CANDIOTTI: She and business traveler Hal Wheeler would jump at the chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, 100 percent.
CANDIOTTI: Now travelers at McCarran airport in Las Vegas can check in their luggage at a hotel as early as 12 hours before a flight. The Venetian hotel is the first to offer the service called speed check advance. A less secure service was offered prior to the 9/11 attacks.
PAUL PUSATERI, SR VP, VENETIAN HOTEL: When this idea came across my desk it was a no-brainer. We believe that this just provides another convenience for our customers.
CANDIOTTI: Guests can take their bags to a hotel kiosk and at a cost of $20 for up to three bags, get baggage claim checks and a boarding pass. So someone uses the system, how will they avoid all this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They won't have to come to this location at all.
CANDIOTTI: Instead travelers go straight to security and on to their gate. By that time their bags have been taken from the hotel and loaded on to a truck. The truck is padlocked, sealed and driven to a cargo loading dock away from the main passenger terminal where those bags are x-rayed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the speed, 37 miles an hour.
CANDIOTTI: Each truck is tracked by global positioning satellites. A green dot when the truck is moving, red when it isn't.
KEITH WIATER, BAGS TO GO: We tracked how fast it goes, what street he's taking and when he gets to the facility. If the truck deviates, we can stop this truck.
CANDIOTTI: From a security standpoint airport officials say, x- raying bags off site is a plus because if a piece of luggage is pulled aside as a risk, passenger terminal operations could continue without disruption.
RANDALL WALKER, McCARRAN INTL AVIATION DIR.: We actually think it's even more secure than the system that we have today.
CANDIOTTI: So far only Southwest Airlines is on board. But other airlines and Las Vegas hotels are expected to join soon. The Transportation Security Administration suggests it liked to see the service in other cities.
KIP HAWLEY, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: We certainly want to make it easy for people to adopt it because it helps us with our processing.
CANDIOTTI: And when travelers spend less time at the airport, hotels are convinced they'll spend more money with them. What would do you with that extra time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spend it on tables.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the plan, right?
CANDIOTTI: Even in Las Vegas, that's a safe bet. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: So, you are wondering is this new system really secure or are we bagging security to avoid the wait? Earlier I spoke with Rosemary Vassiliadis. She is the director, the deputy director of aviation at McCarran International airport in Las Vegas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEMARY VASSILIADIS, McCARRAN INTL AIRPORT: It's a very secure process. What happens is the passenger can go ahead to the kiosk at the hotel or location, check it in. It is then tracked by a GPS system through the third party agent and goes right to what we call the back of the airport, so it goes right to a screening node that we have set up with the TSA for the processing of this luggage.
LONG: You mentioned this third party agent. So what I'm wondering and what a lot of people will likely be wondering is, with so many peoples hands will be the luggage, how safe is it and should there be any worries of theft?
VASSILIADIS: Well, there really isn't additional hands on to the luggage because the third party agent works as an agent for the airlines, not unlike what happens with the sky cap or even a ticket agent because some of the airlines do third party that out as well as at an airport. So there's not additional hands on the luggage whatsoever. It's just a different method in which it's going to get to the airport.
LONG: There was another version of this program prior to 9/11. It was by a third party, a company out of Nevada. How similar is this program to the one that existed prior to September 11th? VASSILIADIS: Conceptually, it's very similar. Security wise, it isn't. There's a lot of additional parts of the operation for the security that this process has because we have to have it now. But conceptually and to the passengers, it is very, very similar.
LONG: What are some of those changes to the security that are in place now that weren't in place several years ago?
VASSILIADIS: Well, the big one is the explosive detection that we have to do. So as you see in the lobbies of airports today with the big machinery, what all airports are doing as well as McCarran is going to an in-line system. And we have a special node what we call an area that -- off-airport will be processed through and go right to the aircraft.
LONG: Is the motivation between this idea, again using radio frequency identification or RFID, is the motivation behind it an enterprise, a business enterprise, a venture to make money or is it all about security?
VASSILIADIS: It's all about security and customer service. Las Vegas lives on customer service. And this just goes hand in hand on what the customer expects and really deserves when they come here.
LONG: We're really into about the second month now, from what I understand, of using this new security at McCarran International Airport. Have you made any changes or tweaked anything since it started?
VASSILIADIS: Well, it just began and we are looking at it, right now we have one airline, one location with others soon to come on in a couple of months. And we'll be tracking it closely.
LONG: And you have no problems with this service? You would definitely use it yourself?
VASSILIADIS: Oh, I would definitely use it myself when I'm on vacation and I don't have to lug around my luggage and I can go shopping or go to the casino or take in an extra show and not have to worry about it, I would never have a problem.
LONG: Rosemary Vassiliadis, in charge of operations at McCarran International airport out in Las Vegas, thanks so much for talking to us about the speed check advance. We appreciate it.
VASSILIADIS: You're very welcome. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: So we do hope you will stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable information on your safety and security. Tony.
HARRIS: We have a water cooler for you today. In fact, the tabloids are going to have a field day with this x-ray. The image of its gizzard is kind of out of this world. Actually, you can own it, strange but true when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning to you on this Sunday, hope you are having a nice Memorial Day weekend. Here are some of the top stories we are following for you this morning. Earthquake survivors in Indonesia are sorting through what little is left of their homes. The 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed more than 3,000 people and left about 200,000 survivors homeless. Today two strong quakes rocked Tonga and Papua, New Guinea in the South Pacific. There were no reports of serious injuries or damage there.
Israel's former prime minister has been moved from a hospital to a long-term care facility. Ariel Sharon remains in a coma. Doctors still hope to wean him off of a respirator and bring him out of the coma, but one expert says chances of recovery are slim.
And for inquiring minds that just must know, actress Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a new baby girl this morning, the baby's name, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.
HARRIS: It's the holiday weekend when many people across America take some time to remember this country's war dead. Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868 honoring those who died in the civil war. Now Memorial Day falls on the last Monday in May in most states. And several southern states observe an additional separate day to honor the confederate war dead. However you spend this holiday weekend, Memorial Day serves to remind us that someone somewhere made a sacrifice for us. Marine Sergeant Benjamin Sammis was 29 when his life was lost in war. On this weekend dedicated to remembrance, his wife Stacey shares her memories and the pain of losing her true love to war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACEY SAMMIS, HUSBAND KILLED IN IRAQ: I remember I sat on the couch and I stared up at this big lieutenant colonel with these big blue eyes and he had tears around his eyes and they were reading all these military technical terms, I just stopped the captain for a second. I said did the bad guys get him? He said yeah. And that was all I needed to know.
He had a heart that was so big. He just loved everyone, very intelligent and he had big dreams for his life, big dreams. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to be the best officer he could be. He was funny as anything. He could do voices from "Shrek," and the Klumps from "The Nutty Professor."
He was always (INAUDIBLE) to laugh. Every time I cry like now, he would say just smile, just smile. He was always there to pick me up. I loved everything about him, making dinner together. I miss waking up next to him. I miss the e-mails. I miss the future that we will never have, the children we'll never have. He used to say all the time we will go for a walk, we're going to be 80 years old in our matching sweat suits sitting out here feeding the pigeons. That sounded great to me. So I miss that. I was the center of his world and he was the center of my world and we were a great team. He used to call team Sammis. He was my best friend. I used to come right up to him, put my head right in the crook of his neck and he would give me a big bear hug and just hold me so tight. Maybe that's what I miss the most, just being able to be held and protected because I just felt so safe in his spot. He just held me so tight. I just knew nothing bad would happen if he were with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: I'm a little uncomfortable by that sound effect there. I don't know why.
LONG: I think it's cute.
HARRIS: You like it?
LONG: Yeah.
HARRIS: OK, then I'm with you.
LONG: Wakes you up in the morning.
HARRIS: All right. Here's some news we think you will enjoy.
LONG: I love this.
HARRIS: ... cant' swear by it. We hope you like it. But here is the thing, we are not making it up. Check this out on the monitor here. A boring meeting of dentists in the Czech Republic --
LONG: Boring to you maybe.
HARRIS: It gets good. I missed it. I missed it.
LONG: Sorry. It gets better.
HARRIS: Well, we're going to move on. We're going to recuse it here. What happens here is the speaker walks over and smacks the other guy right there in the head. You will see it here in a second. Ooh.
LONG: Loud. He's not laughing. Why are you laughing?
HARRIS: Because the noise. It's just so loud.
LONG: It probably hurt.
HARRIS: It's just so audacious. I walk and I punch you and I hit you some more. Both men are politicians but the (INAUDIBLE) was said to be of a personal nature. The slapper was accused by the slapee of being a womanizer. And there you go. That's what you get for your troubles. Take that with you.
LONG: That's loud.
HARRIS: Sorry.
LONG: OK. You going to do it again or are you good?
HARRIS: I'm good.
LONG: Check out this x-ray and check out the part that is circled. The x-ray is of an injured duck that was taken to a rescue center near San Fran and again, I direct your attention to the circled part, some sort of anomaly obviously, but most people think it looks like a tiny alien. No one's been able to explain this bizarre image. This x-ray no surprise, will be auctioned off today on eBay. I'm worried about the bird, though.
HARRIS: Yeah. It's pretty good. If we can work that slap in there, it would be a little better.
LONG: You are not even thinking about the poor bird.
HARRIS: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Do dragons exist? Yes. Yes and here is proof. This skull was unveiled the other day at a children's museum in Indianapolis. It's 66 million years old and was found actually a couple years ago in South Dakota. The creature was actually a type of dinosaur. Due to its dragon-like appearance, it was given a scientific name inspired by the Harry Potter books (INAUDIBLE) rex hogwartsia (ph). The author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rawling endorses the idea and the name.
LONG: (INAUDIBLE) rex hogwartsia. And finally on this Memorial Day weekend, a religious dispute over a soldier who died last year in Afghanistan. His family living in Nevada is upset that the military won't give Sergeant Patrick Stewart the head stone that they say he deserves.
HARRIS: Here is the thing. The Pentagon recognizes about 30 religious symbols for head stones but not this one. It's a pentagram in a circle. There you see it behind us. It's used by followers of Wicca, which includes the soldier and his family. The family wants the symbol on his headstone, but so far, the Pentagon has refused. And with that, no clever transition here. Right upstairs to Reynolds Wolf in the CNN weather center. Reynolds, good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Look at this shot. I'm inside this little box. Get out of this thing. (INAUDIBLE)
HARRIS: It's a little weird.
WOLF: Absolutely. We have a great forecast for much of the nation, a few trouble spots here and there, but if you plan on going out and playing some golf, we're going to take a look at the fair way forecast. Best destination to play golf today would be perhaps Orlando, Florida. It doesn't matter if you happen to be playing in Isleworth (ph) or (INAUDIBLE) or even at Pirate's Cove, a little putt putt golf place, conditions should be great, plenty of sunshine, temperatures warming up all the way into the 90s. You will get some sunshine over in parts of Texas. But this morning scattered showers and storms the variety you're dealing with, all the way from Victoria back up the I-10 corridor just to the west of Houston.
Up in northern Michigan, over near Macinaw (ph) Island, folks are enjoying the holiday. Right up here Macinaw Island, lovely place, nice bike track around there. Just off the west, some scattered showers, nothing severe at this point. Further out to the west even more, up near Judith's (ph) basin, right along I-90, we're talking about heavy snow, possibly up to two feet of snow in the higher elevations on this Memorial Day weekend.
Now what can you expect in terms of temperatures? Well, you can expect a high around 84 degrees in Denver, 61 in billings, 93 in Minneapolis, 88 for in New Orleans, 91 in Tampa. Now for tomorrow, looks like it's going to be pretty nice in many places, especially the northeast, beautiful conditions, fantastic conditions in the nation's capital, clear up to let's see, the Hudson River up near West Point and even Boston should be pretty good.
A little bit farther north of Boston you could get some scattered showers and could see some scattered showers through central Alabama, back over to Mississippi, even up to places like Louisville, Lexington, maybe even over to Memphis but partly cloudy skies to mostly sunny over portions of the four corners. Phoenix should be just lovely, a little bit of fog out to the west coast. By midmorning it should be gone giving way to a pleasant afternoon with partly cloudy skies in San Francisco. That's a look at your forecast. Let's send it right back to you.
HARRIS: Reynolds, thank you sir. See you next hour.
Want to get to you our e-mail question of the day. I feel like I should have a pointer here. (INAUDIBLE)
LONG: A little laser?
HARRIS: Yeah, yeah. On this Memorial Day weekend, who are you honoring this Memorial Day? There is our address, weekends@cnn.com. Gary writes I honor my dad for fighting in World War II, for being sent as an 18-year-old boy to a place far, far away, to be handed a gun and told to be a lookout, for making a difference and stopping a real threat to the U.S. and other countries. Thank you dad, you made a difference.
LONG: This next e-mail from Sharon Palmer-Melendez and Bruce Melendez serving in the 101st Airborne division. They write that this Memorial Day are honoring my parents Robert and Kathleen Shagg and my sister and brother-in-law Colleen and Charlie Fues. They are caring for our two small children while my husband and I are deployed to Iraq. We honor them for their sacrifice and we salute you this morning as well.
HARRIS: And how about the reach of CNN on this Memorial Day weekend. Becky writing us from Japan. I'm remembering and mourning my grandfather, Armour P. Boles Jr. while I am overseas serving in the Navy. He was a Navy corpsman. Thank you so much for your e- mails. Once again, who are you honoring this Memorial Day weekend, at cnn.com and the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning, in the news this morning, CNN has learned the attorney general and FBI director actually threatened to quit last week. The issue, a showdown with the White House over documents seized in a search of a congressman's office. Members of Congress now question whether the executive branch is trying to intimidate them.
Powerful after shocks following yesterday's major quake in Indonesia and the death toll continues to rise from the initial 6.3 tremor in central Java. More than 3,000 people dead and thousands more injured and homeless. The quake also sparks fears the already unstable volcano, Mt. Merapi might blow.
Two more powerful quakes rumbled through that part of the world today. The 6.2 quake struck Papua New Guinea and an even stronger quake measuring 6.7 hit the tiny island of Tonga. Officials in Hawaii say neither quake triggered a tsunami.
HARRIS: A Coast Guard team reached a sail boat in distress late Saturday about 250 miles out in the Atlantic. Guardsmen rescued five people who sent a May Day call when the boat was caught up in gale force winds. Alive update on the rescue in about four minutes.
Pope Benedict winds up his visit to Poland today. The Pope celebrated mass with about 900,000 worshipers. Later the Pontiff visits the concentration camp before flying back to Rome.
It's a girl and she is named Shiloh. No photos yet. Talk about a valuable picture. First shots for the baby?
LONG: Some says up to a million dollars for paparazzi.
HARRIS: Brand new daughter for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. She was born last night in the African nation of Namibia. The couples has refuged there to avoid the media spot light, a live update on the newest celebrity in about 15 minutes.
For a complete coverage of breaking news and today's top stories stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
A country in mourning, that's the best way to describe Indonesia, a day after a strong earthquake left thousands dead or injured, and hundreds of thousands homeless. A live report coming up in just a couple of moments.
LONG: From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. May 28th. Where did the month go? It's 8:00 a.m. at CNN Headquarters here in Atlanta, 7:00 in the evening in Indonesia. Good morning, I'm Melissa Long in this morning for Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: We do get to say hello, summer.
LONG: The weather is beautiful, at least here.
HARRIS: Memorial Day weekend. Welcome summer. LONG: You didn't invite me over for a picnic.
HARRIS: It's in your e-mail box.
Good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us.
We begin this hour with latest political wrangling on the hill. It began as an investigation into Louisiana Representative William Jefferson's financial dealings, now it is a power struggle pinning congressional leaders against the Justice Department with President Bush caught in the middle, Ed Henry is outside the White House with the latest. Ed, I'm not sure what to make of this story, so sort it all out for us this morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well good morning Tony. As you noted we already knew this was a really remarkable constitutional struggle between the legislative and executive branches. But now CNN has that in fact some senior Bush officials threatened to resign over this entire flap. Of course it was sparked by last Saturday night's extraordinary raid of Democrat Congressman William Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill.
Republican House speaker Dennis Hastert was so furious with the attorney general Alberto Gonzales about that, that Hastert started furiously lobbying President Bush directly to try to get those seized documents sent back to Congress. But now we have learned it also sparked a remarkable fight among top officials here. With Attorney General Gonzales, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and deputy attorney general Paul McNulty all threatening to resign if the president gave into speaker Hastert. Political analysts say what's happening here, this battle among Republicans is overshadowing a bribery case of a Democrat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: We have allegations, we have -- apparently we have videotaping of a member of Congress taking bribes. Looks like it could be a clear -- an open and shut case. Yet, somehow the Republicans are getting rid of any advantages they may have had by having this dispute with themselves whether the administration is overreaching, whether they are violating a separation of powers. Whether the FBI is going to far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But the president himself made clear late last week that he's not going to let any of this impede the federal investigation of Congressman Jefferson. That's why the president called an order to a 45 day cooling off period to let the documents be brought back from the FBI put into third party hands and let everybody cool down while they sort out the legal and constitutional issues.
Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Ed Henry at the White House. Man, what a story this is. Ed we appreciate it. Thank you.
LONG: The Bush administration asks federal judges in New York and Michigan to dismiss two lawsuits that challenge the domestic eavesdropping program. The administration agues national secrets would be compromised if the legal actions go forward. The domestic spying program allows the National Security Agency, the NSA to carry out surveillance without a court order.
HARRIS: And for a complete coverage of today's top stories, stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
LONG: What started as a pleasure cruise off the Coast of Nantucket Island ended up being anything but? Three days in to their trip. Five people in a sailboat encountered rough weather. It damaged the boat and the Coast Guard had to rescue them by chopper. Coast Guard Petty Officer Christopher Evanson joins us now by phone. Christopher, thank you for your time.
CHRISTOPHER EVANSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Good morning Melissa, how are you?
LONG: Very good. Just point of clarification first, they put out that distress call at 4:45 Saturday. When did the coast guard reach them?
EVANSON: I don't have the exact time when our first airplane reached them, reached the distressed vessel.
LONG: But a few hours later?
EVANSON: Yes.
LONG: I guess what I'm getting at, is that I'm trying to put myself in their shoes; they are stranded in the Atlantic Ocean waiting for help. Take me to the moment what it was like to rescue them in at that point.
EVANSON: The major thing, they were 250 miles east of Nantucket, they were very isolated. The coast guard launched an 825 Falcon airplane to provide cover while an H 60-rescue helicopter out of Air Station Cape Cod in a C130, were to arrive on scene. It took roughly a few hours to get out there. The Falcon provided cover, once the Helio arrived on scene; they rescued all five individuals from the sail vessel.
LONG: I can't imagine how terrifying they were. Now the sailboat suffered a lot of structural damage. Can you explain that?
EVANSON: Not too much information on the damage itself, however I can't say that the master notified the coast guard that he had been in gale force winds and rough conditions after three days and then when they notified the coast guard yesterday he wasn't confident that they could make it through the night. So he contacted the coast guard and asked if they could rescue them.
LONG: Considering the circumstances, are you surprised that they survived this experience?
EVANSON: I can't speak what it was like out there. It's great common sense for a boater, if, when in a situation such as that, to contact the coast guard. It was a very responsible decision made on his part.
LONG: And we are out of time. But I just want to bring an update on the five people who were traveling out in the Atlantic; they're doing OK this morning as far as we know.
EVANSON: They are all safe and sound and very healthy.
LONG: And I'm sure very glad to be back on dry land.
Christopher Evanson joining us by phone, Coast Guard petty officer thank you so much for bringing us up to date.
HARRIS: Inexplicable horror in Miami Beach, an Illinois man reportedly killed his two children then himself. Police say Dr. Edward Van Dyke tossed his two long young sons to their death from the 15th floor of a South Beach hotel and then jumped to his own death. The boys mother heard them screaming from another room, then saw her husband jump over the balcony, looking over the railing she saw her husband and two children lying on the mezzanine roof.
LONG: Remembering the fallen. U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan marched in a memorial ceremony at the main U.S. air base in Bahrain today. Thousands of U.S. troops are still based in Afghanistan since the Taliban rousted in 2001. Thirty-four American soldiers have been killed in fighting this year alone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSCAR MARTINEZ, MARINE'S UNCLE: When he was little you know he use to like to play with guns and everything. He always says he wanted to be like a soldier, marine or something. It was like in him. He was like a big man, you know, so little, but, you know, would take care of his ma; she got her leg amputated because she had cancer. Then my sister passed away, like when he was four years old, she passed away.
MARIA MARTINEZ, MARINE'S SISTER: He would cry with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Translator): I guess Oscar joined the marines, because he thought it would be good for him, for his family. It was an opportunity for him, but I never thought he would go to war.
O. MARTINEZ: He was kind of like overweight; he was like 10 or 15 pounds over the weight limit. He would come home; wrap him around with garbage bags. Every morning, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning he would be running, he would come and run up and down the street. But he got it, so he lost the weight. He went to North Carolina, went to Seymour when he graduated, graduated private first class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Translator): He called to say he was going to Iraq. O. MARTINEZ: Three weeks, three weeks. He was gone. My brother called me and told me marines were dead and Oscar passed away. He said he was the closest one when the missile hit inside the camp where they were eating.
M. MARTINEZ: The video is about my brother. Sending a message to us. I felt like he was still alive and I was really happy about it. Because I got to see him for the last time on the tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss you, I love you.
O. MARTINEZ: Imagine yourself in a really dark room. You see a light coming in the corner of the house where it's so dark, and you see a light. You're like, wow, there's light. That was him, that was him for all of us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And if you are just joining us this morning. We're closely monitoring the situation on the island of Java where a large earthquake has killed thousands of people. As if that weren't bad enough, the nearby volcano Mount Merapi is threatening to blow. Right now the focus in on finding quake survivors and getting emergency aid to the victims. Brooke Weisman-Ross is helping to head disaster relief and he joins us on the phone. Brooke thanks for you time, we appreciate it. I guess 36, 37, 38 hours into the disaster, give us the scene, as you know it to be right now?
BROOKE WEISMAN-ROSS, DISASTER RELIEF COORDINATOR: Right now, unfortunately, it's pouring rain. Which is very bad, because there are over 150,000 people homeless tonight and sitting out in the rain, they don't have shelter. The majority of the shelter has been destroyed. Unfortunately a very bad situation right now. Just a few hours ago when it was still daylight, you can see across the area, there were buildings down, schools destroyed. We saw 15 schools in just one location. Primary schools that had been destroyed. This is really a massive impact to these people. It's really a terrible thing. It's on a scale, which is very hard to understand.
HARRIS: It just seems unfair for this area of the world to be hit again. We all remember the tsunami in 2004 and that still has to be fresh on the minds of the locals there.
WEISMAN-ROSS: Absolutely, Tony. It was actually something that caused a panic yesterday morning, just about one hour after the earthquake struck. There were screams outside of where I'm sitting right now. I heard vehicles peeling out, people running. I looked out; everyone was running the same direction up hill, yelling that a tsunami was coming. Of course it was just a rumor, and it didn't happen. But that fear is very, very real to these people, having had such a large loss last year. This coming right after it's a strong blow to Indonesia and to the people.
HARRIS: Brooke, top priorities right now? WEISMAN-ROSS: Top priority right now is continuing to get medical assistance. The Red Cross is doing a great job here, so are many more organizations. But there is much more needed as well. Unfortunately, people have been lining up, lying on the streets in front of hospitals waiting for treatment. We have people coming in, medical teams, many other organizations do as well. But that is still a top priority.
Number two shelters. People need to get out of the rain. We have 150,000 people right now without any place to go but the rain.
HARRIS: Boy, Brooke Weisman-Ross, it sounds like a huge job. We're glad you're there to help coordinate this relief effort. It sounds like a massive undertaking. Brooke thanks for your time. We'll take a break. More CNN SUNDAY MORNING right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks on the grill. All of the usual summertime barbecue favorites. Overfilling your plate here can mean extra calories. Consider some of your favorites. A regular hot dog with ketchup equals 310 calories and 13 grams of fat. The classic back yard burger is 470 calories with 29 grams of fat, add cheese, and add 50 calories and ten more grams of fat. Now this doesn't mean you can't still enjoy summertime cookouts. Instead of an all you can eat fest experts recommend watching portion sizes, so say no to seconds. And offer low fat sides and condiments. Remember fresh summertime fruit makes a light and healthy desert.
Holly Firfer, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAYLOR HICKS, AMERICAN IDOL WINNER: I knew I had an uphill battle to climb. I tell you what. If anything that Simon did the whole season was drive me even more to succeed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is interesting.
HICKS: It really ticked me off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. Even the American Idol winner and runner up on CNN's "Larry King Live" Friday night. Look the show will replay, Monday night, 9:00 Eastern. Idol winner, Taylor Hicks, runner up Katherine McPhee and judge Randy Jackson chat with Ryan Seacrest, who is filling in for Larry, again, that's Monday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
LONG: The buzz. Have you heard this morning is all about the brand new baby, Brangelina. Hollywood's super couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a new baby girl this morning. Now the hunt for the illusive baby pictures begins. The child was born in Namibia. And reporter Robyn Curnow live on the phone from Johannesburg. Robin of course the couple has pulled off the ability to avoid the press, by going to Namibia. But I'm curious about the medical care they have received. Do we know about that?
CURNOW: They've done a great job keeping out of the spotlight in Namibia. There's few and far between information about how they're doing over there. At the moment, we know nothing, besides the facts that the baby was born on the 27th of May. Which was late Saturday night, and that her name is Shiloh Nouvel. In terms of where the baby was born even and who helped Angelina to birth this child, we are none the wiser. Depend which tabloids you're reading though Melissa.
Some people say that Angelina brought out her own doctor to help her. There were some reports she might go to one of the local hospitals. Also reports that say they built their own birth center in this hotel that they've been renting on the Namibia coast. So it depends which tabloid you want to believe, but either way they've done a very good job of keeping the information very limited.
LONG: Thank you so much. Robyn Curnow live from Johannesburg. And they have certainly succeeded in the quest for privacy. Coming up. Radio Brangelina on the phone we have a disk jockey calling us from Namibia. What he has to say about three minutes from now.
HARRIS: Wow, OK and to get an idea how intense things can be with the media hot on your trail watch "CNN Presents" tonight, it's all about chasing Angelina. Paparazzi and celebrity obsession that is tonight 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: As we've been reporting all morning, the world, abuzz with news about --
LONG: You're even in on it now.
HARRIS: A baby, little baby. New baby for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had a little baby girl.
LONG: She was born yesterday in Namibia. Where the couple went to try to escape the non-stop media attention. I think they pulled that off. The baby's name is not Brangelina. Terrible. It's actually a beautiful name, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.
HARRIS: Joining us on the phone from Africa, are you kidding me is a radio D.J. for Radio Wave, he goes by the name of Deacon. Deacon are you there, all the way from Namibia?
DEACON, DJ, RADIO WAVE: I'm in the capital city, yes.
HARRIS: What city are you in? Are you in the capital?
DEACON: I'm in the capital of Windhoek, yes.
HARRIS: Well you don't have any other pressing news other than the birth of this new baby girl. You got a brand new Namibia.
DEACON: Probably the most famous Namibia.
LONG: Do you have sort of an inside scoop exactly what the medical situation was like? Did she bring her own doctors? Did she rely on Namibia doctors? That's what I want to know?
DEACON: Everything at the moment is still very, very under wrapped. We know she did bring her own doctor; she had her own doctor flown in a few days ago. There's a local doctor who goes by the name of Dr. Roberts, one of the top doctors in the country. He was on stand by. We know he didn't actually participate in the birth of the child. That's unfortunately all we know.
Also, whether or not she had the baby in the private hospital there. There were reports they converted a room in the lodge where they're staying into a full birthing suite. She could have the baby there if they had to. Also that would be easier to avoid the paparazzi, to avoid the photographers.
HARRIS: Well Deacon give us a since of what kind of a sensation this has been for this country on the west coast of Africa?
DEACON: I think the incoming, we spoke to people from Namibia tourism board and they basically said what Brad and Angelina has done for Namibia, was so much more than they could ever do. They could never afford the kind of publicity that they have given us, just by having come to the country in the first place.
HARRIS: Deacon, why Namibia?
DEACON: She was out here when they did the movie "Beyond Borders." They filmed that movie very close to where the Burning Shore Lodge is. Obviously, she fell in love with the country. Anyone who has spoken to from overseas say it's really a beautiful country. The people here are super friendly. I'm not just saying that, coming from here, but it's just that this country is so amazing. And Angelina sort of fell in love with the country when she was here. Also because we've got a lot of population, it is not a very big country, a lot of open space. Would afford that sort of freedom they were looking for to walk around. Unfortunately, I don't think that happened, because once the news broke they were here, obviously, reporters, photographers flew in from all over the world.
HARRIS: Well that was my question. Was there a window of opportunity where this couple could have walked around, mingled among folks there and actually gone about, I say, sort of a normal existence?
DEACON: We've seen photographs of Brad cycling, those caused a bit of a stir as well.
HARRIS: There you go.
DEACON: But, there have also been photographs of them walking through town. There's a south African magazine which is the closest it gets to a tabloid type magazine, photographs of them walking through town. Going shopping, Brad coming out of a jeweler.
HARRIS: All right Deacon that's what we needed to know. We appreciate it. Thanks for your time.
LONG: Really interesting about the fact that she brought her doctor. That's what I wanted to know.
HARRIS: If you want to get an idea how intense things can be with the media hot on the trail. Watch "CNN Presents" tonight. It's all about chasing Angelina, paparazzi and celebrity obsession. That is tonight 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
HARRIS: Let's quickly get you up stairs with Reynolds Wolf in the CNN Weather center. Reynolds good morning.
WOLF: Good morning. Kind of a big race today in Indianapolis, huh? Yes, there is. You really want dry conditions. For the right time, if you start the race for a time being. But there's a slim chance of showers later on today, maybe a thunderstorm or two. No guesswork in parts of northern Michigan into the Peninsula. We've got scattered showers, over to Traverse City, scattered showers and storms from Victoria over in near Corpus Christi and back up toward San Antonio we are going to be seeing more of the same.
Let's talk about highs very quickly today. Going up to 91 degrees in Kansas City, for Memphis about 90 degrees, 88 in New Orleans, Washington, D.C. some mid 80s, 82 degrees in New York. Should be a lovely day in New England with plenty of sunshine and a few scattered clouds. That's the very latest. Let's send it back to you.
LONG: Thank you Reynolds.
Are you trying to figure out a way to keep better track of your team and what they're doing when you're not around? How about using the latest gadget to keep track of your kids via GPS technology. It's possible, but should you do it? We are going to talk about that in the 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HARRIS: And "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and your top stories straight ahead.
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