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CNN LIVE SUNDAY

More Air Strikes in Gaza; Bill Keller Responds to 'New York Times' Criticism; Congress Looks into Protection of Private Information

Aired July 2, 2006 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN SUNDAY, I'm Susan Roesgen filling in for Carol Lin. Ahead this hour.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason for the scrub is we were dealing with weather all morning long, as the weather patterns over the central Florida have been producing a number of rain showers, as well as thunderstorms.

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ROESGEN: More storms, more delays, no holiday for NASA.

Her son fought for his country. Now she talks to the man who fought for her son. We know that veterans have been the victims of laptop security breaches. Are there new rules to protect your information yet?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I really hope is that when people leave the show they go, that was amazing. How did they do that?

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ROESGEN: How did they do that? Later this hour, we'll show you how they make the Fourth so flashy.

And here's what's happening. NASA will shoot for a Fourth of July launch for space shuttle Discovery. For the second day in a row today, threatening skies around Cape Canaveral forced NASA to scrub the launch.

Baghdad rocked by another day of bombings and gun fire. Several police stations and patrols were targeted. And a blast at an outdoor market again killed four people and wounded 22.

A top secret burial for Abu Musab al Zarqawi. An Iraqi official says the slain Jordanian terrorist was buried in Baghdad in an undisclosed location. The head of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed June 7th in U.S. air strike.

Film critic Roger Ebert is in serious condition after emergency surgery today. The operation was meant to repair complications from earlier cancer surgery.

A man is being held in Berlin after crashing his car into a World Cup viewing area. Eleven people went to the hospital. Fortunately, there were no games today, so the crowd there was smaller than usual.

David Beckham retired today as captain of the English soccer team. He's getting old at 31, but Britain's most glamorous athlete says he still hopes to play for the English squad in international competition.

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DAVID BECKHAM, BRITISH SOCCER PLAYER: I've lived the dream. I've -- I am extremely proud to have worn the armband and been captain of England and for that I will always be grateful. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: And now our top story. NASA hopes to light a huge rocket on the Fourth of July. The red glare of the space shuttle engines. Bad weather today forced NASA to scrub the launch for the second time. CNN's Daniel Sieberg is live at Kennedy Space Center. Daniel?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Susan. That's right. In fact, the weather was so dicey at one point with some thunder and lightning in the area, we had to move our operations inside here at CNN mission control, you could call it.

It was Groundhog Day all over again in a sense for the astronauts. They went through all the motions today. They came out and waved to the crowd, walking by up on the platform there. They got into their space suits, wedged into position on the Discovery orbiter. And got close very to having the actual hatch door closed. It was about two hours away from launch, scheduled launch, when they heard the announcement that nobody wanted to hear.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have announced a scrub for today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not going to have a chance to launch today. And so in order to preserve time as much time for the scrub turn around as possible ...

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SIEBERG: So, they got the announcement there from mission control telling them they had to scrub the launch for the day. Poor weather was blamed for that. The scheduled launch was for 3:28 in the afternoon. And a short time after the astronauts emerged, there was a press briefing. And it was at that point that mission director John Shannon pointed out why it was so important to wait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN SHANNON, SHUTTLE MISSION DIRECTOR: Nobody is going to remember that we scrubbed a day a year from now. But if we go launch and get struck by lightning or have some other problem, that will be very memorable. We're going -- since we've taken this much time, we're going to make sure the weather conditions are right and we'll launch when we are ready.

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SIEBERG: And speaking of those weather conditions, it is actually expected to get better on Tuesday afternoon. That would be at 2:38 in the afternoon, that's when the next scheduled launch would be. About a 40 percent chance of weather prohibiting the launch at that time.

Now, of course, Tuesday is July 4th, that would be the nation's 230th birthday. And NASA has said they would love for it to happen that day, to in a sense be a gift to the nation. But we will just have to wait and see if that happens. There's a lot that needs to be done between now and then. That 48 hour turnaround time. The crew will get some rest. Obviously they are going to be a little bit disappointed. But they know eventually it is going to go up, and it's better to be on the ground, wishing you could fly, rather than be flying around and wishing you were on the ground. Susan, back to you.

ROESGEN: That's true, Daniel. We figure the astronauts are getting antsy, but is their mission in space affected by pushing the launch back?

SIEBERG: Well, it is affecting it in a certain. Of course it's delayed by a little bit of time. Basically what's happening right now, and they are going to have to top up some of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Some of the liquid hydrogen is used to power the fuel cells. That's for the electricity onboard. And they need that to extend the launch, in order to have a third space walk.

They are really hoping they can do that. The way that the schedule works is that they need to do this in order to have that happen. But they can come back and try again on Wednesday if they want to. Then, likely, they will take two or three days off, go through other some other motions to try to get back up shortly thereafter. This launch window extends until July 19th. Then after that, they have to wait until the end of August and then into October. So they certainly hope it will go sooner than later.

ROESGEN: OK. We'll have to see what happens. Thank you, Daniel, reporting for us there at Cape Canaveral. So, will the weather be any better in Florida by the Fourth?

Here is meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Susan, I think we will see a better chance, certainly, for better weather. But it's really depending on a lot of different factors. Right now we're looking at a tropical wave over much of South Florida right now. The areas in green indicate where we have more moist air and that is our water vapor imagery. Notice, there is a dry spot back here towards the Bahamas. Behind that is more moisture. So hopefully, if we can fit the shuttle launch between the two, looks like they will see better weather.

In fact, the forecast is certainly better for Tuesday than it was for today. Let's put this map into motion. You'll see what I'm talking about. This is a forecast computer model that shows the main concern is isolated showers and inland thunderstorms, but the good news is there is a 60 percent likelihood of a launch. Certainly a lot better prospects than what we saw today, it was down to 30 percent. And the launch is scheduled once again at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

We're watching out for some strong thunderstorms already rolling through parts of Pennsylvania right now. There is a watch box in effect for New York City into Allentown and up towards Albany. These go straight into the evening tonight. We will be watching these very closely because we are getting reports of gusty winds.

If you are traveling to your Fourth of July destination, certainly airport delays to deal with. New York City, into La Guardia Airport, JFK, Newark and Chicago all reporting delays at this hour.

We're also watching very closely an area of disturbed weather into parts of Texas. This is going to be very tricky to watch over the next few days because what we're looking at is tropical moisture coming in. Here's our area of low pressure that's kind of rotating in the storms, and we're watching for the moisture to be enhanced and look out for quite a bit of heavy rain.

We're expecting in the Houston area, a couple more inches of rain. And as we work our way to the east, into the parishes of southwest Louisiana, we could be looking at a major rain event over the next few days. Three to five inches. This is not good news, because it could cause some flash flooding. Something we'll keep our eye on. Susan?

ROESGEN: Pretty rainy weekend. Thanks, Bonnie.

The man who calls the shots at The "New York Times" says a controversial scoop was not news to the terrorists. The "Times" executive editor Bill Keller said today that the Bush administration did not conceal the fact that it tries to keep tabs on terrorist cash flow. President Bush has criticized the "Times" for printing details about the program. The president calls it disgraceful. More now from CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.

Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Susan, really, the war of words is heating up over that decision of the "New York Times." Whether or not to disclose that top secret program, of course, looking into suspected terrorists and their banking activities.

This is something that has gone back and forth, and it really comes at a time when Democrats and Republicans are both trying to frame the debate over the Iraq War. Both groups arguing that they can better protect the American people.

But we heard from the executive editor of the "New York Times" today defending his decision by the paper after President Bush calling it disgraceful. He said that the White House likes to have it both ways. On the one hand, confiding in the press about successful programs, on the other hand, however, rebuking the press when it does not suit their needs. Bottom line, he said he does not buy the administration's argument here that disclosing this program essentially jeopardized national security.

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BILL KELLER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: It's an election year, beating up on the "New York Times" is read meat for the conservative base. But I don't think this is all politics. I think the administration is a little embarrassed. This is the most secretive White House we've had since the Nixon White House.

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MALVEAUX: Now, Susan, on the other side, we heard from Congressman Peter King of New York. He is a Republican, and he is simply saying, he believes the "New York Times" and this paper, in particular, was guilty of espionage and that these are treasonous acts.

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REP. PETER KING, (R) NY: The only way you are going to stop the leaks is to go after the leakers, number one. And you do that by, if we have to, put the "Times" reporters and the editors in before the grand jury and cite them for contempt and put them in jail until they agree to disclose their sources.

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MALVEAUX: Now, Susan, while both hands are of course trying to get the upper hand on this, both sides, President Bush, however, focusing on this July 4th holiday season, he is emphasizing the need to be patriotic. Also, of course, to support American troops. That's where he will be on Tuesday, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. He will be meeting with U.S. soldiers and their families to deliver that message. Susan?

ROESGEN: Boy, the "Times" is guilty of espionage? That's a pretty strong charge there. Suzanne, thanks very much.

In fact, this Thursday on LARRY KING LIVE, an exclusive interview with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Your security and the war on terror are some of the topics they'll talk about in this special one-hour interview.

That's Thursday on LARRY KING LIVE, right here on CNN at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

And we have this just in. In Madison, Indiana, a car has apparently plowed into a crowd at a speedboat race on the Ohio River. The car then went into the water itself. As many as a dozen people had to go to the hospital because of this accident. We are expecting to have video from the crash scene very soon. CNN will bring you that and any updates as soon as they are available.

Thousands of American troops are in harm's way every day. But in the middle of a barrage of bullets, one marine steps in to save one of his own.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told me, he said, don't worry, he goes, if God wants to take me he will take me.

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ROESGEN: A mother gets her chance to say thank you.

And, can the government create a plan to protect your private information from falling into the wrong hands? You're watching CNN SUNDAY. Stay with us.

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ROESGEN: It's a somber milestone as we get ready to celebrate the Fourth of July. The military says now that 2,500 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. And in Oregon this week, the family of Marine Corporal Michael Estrella is saying good-bye.

Here's CNN's Kareen Wynter.

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MARIA ESTRELLA, LOST SON IN IRAQ: A part of us is gone.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flipping through the pages of an old photo album ignites painful memories for this grief-stricken mom. You may catch a smile when Maria Estrella describes how her son, Marine Corporal Michael Estrella, so full of life ...

M. ESTRELLA: You can see, he's always laughing.

WYNTER: And courage, paid the ultimate price for his country.

M. ESTRELLA: He told me - he said, don't worry. If God wants to take me, he'll take me. I'm coming to Iraq to be with my brothers and I have to be there.

WYNTER: Estrella was on his second deployment. His first took him to Afghanistan. This time, Iraq. The 20-year-old field radio operator was out on foot patrol in Haditha, June 14th when he was killed by a sniper's bullet. M. ESTRELLA: When we heard he was shot. My imagination just -- imagined him just being on the floor by himself, me not being there to pick him up. But I was told that they came to him, they did not leave him by himself. They came to him and picked him up. This person did not -- he didn't care there was bullets flying. He went and got him and pulled him out.

WYNTER: That person, Lieutenant Rick Posselt, who in a daring move risked his own to save another. We spoke with him from Iraq.

1ST LT. RICK POSSELT, USMC: The first thing I thought of was, I have got to get him to safety. That's all that was going through my head.

WYNTER: Estrella died from his injury. Posselt described the eager marine they nicknamed "Scratchy" as a close friend.

POSSELT: I used to go to him for everything. Every time I screwed up a radio he would be there to fix. It's a shame that we have to lose the good ones. But he is a true hero out there.

WYNTER: Estrella became the 2,500th serviceman killed since the start of the war. Maria Estrella says that is a somber statistic. But she is grateful for one gift. Knowing her son didn't die alone.

M. ESTRELLA: That's one thing he told me, he goes, mom, don't worry, they are always going to be there to help me and stand by me. And sure enough, someone was there with him.

WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Camitt (ph), California.

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ROESGEN: And as we just heard, there was someone who tried to save Corporal Estrella, a fellow marine. This weekend, I talked to him about his extraordinary bravery, and we gave Corporal Estrella's parents a chance to thank him, the platoon leader who risked his own life to save their son.

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POSSELT: We didn't see the shots, but it was an ambush. We were out there, trying to help the people, Corporal Estrella leading the charge. He is -- he was the true hero out there, trying to talk to the people, get them on our side, and we were ambushed, and that's how it played out.

ROESGEN: You know, they say the difference, lieutenant, between the hero and a coward can be just a split second. What were you thinking? How close did you have to get him to get him out of the way? Tell us about the last few moments with your interaction with Corporal Estrella?

POSSELT: Well, my last few interactions, it was so quick that, you don't even think of that, and when Corporal Estrella-- when I knew he was injured, the first thing I thought of was -- I have to get him to safety. That's all that was going through my head.

ROESGEN: You know, I've interviewed marine many times that say they never leave a fallen comrade on the battlefield. That's got to be true here too for you.

POSSELT: It's more of a reaction. You don't think about it. Just in a bad place at a bad time. And able to try to bring someone to safety.

ROESGEN: How well, lieutenant, did you know Corporal Estrella? What was our relationship like?

POSSELT: I had a close personal relationship with Corporal Estrella. It was definitely a hard loss with a marine of his caliber. I knew him from two years ago, when we deployed to Afghanistan.

And as a lance corporal, he showed his professionalism, becoming the com chief there, and that's when I started getting to know Scratchy real well. And then we were lucky enough to get him again for Iraq to be our com chief again.

I used to go to him for everything. Every time I screwed up a radio, he'd be there to fix it. Every time I needed music to download off his computer, he was there. He was a great marine and a great person. Just -- it's a shame that we have to lose the good ones. But he is a true hero out there.

ROESGEN: Well, lieutenant, we have Corporal Estrella's family here with us. They have something that they would like to say to you directly for the first time, so, Mr. and Mrs. Estrella, here now is your opportunity to talk to Lieutenant Posselt who did his best to save your son out there that day.

M. ESTRELLA: Hello.

POSSELT: Hi, Mrs. Estrella.

ESTRELLA: Hi. We just want to say thank you for being there for Michael. And not leaving him by himself. And he always told me that you guys would look after him, and that's true. We greatly appreciate you and it gives me a comfort that you were there to hold onto him.

POSSELT: Thank you, Mrs. Esterella. I know you are extremely proud of him, and I know you talked to my company commander, Captain Lansing (ph), expressed your condolences to the rest of the company and battalion. It means a lot to me that you can come and thank me personally, for a marine and a person that you raised so, well.

ROESGEN: We thank you, too, Mr. and Mrs. Estrella for being here, and certainly, Lieutenant Posselt, as well. Stay safe over there, come home safe, and Mr. and Mrs. Estrella, we hope that you find comfort in the really tough weeks and years ahead, I'm sure. Thank you all for joining us today.

POSSELT: Thank you.

M. ESTRELLA: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: More of CNN SUNDAY right after this.

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ROESGEN: And we have a little bit more now on the developing story in Madison, Indiana. A car plowed into the crowd at a speedboat race on the Ohio River. These are the pictures just in now. And then the car itself plunged into the river. At least eight people are now in the hospital. Eleven boats had been competing in this race which attracts crowds numbering in the tens of thousands of people. There, again, new video, just into CNN, where this car crashed into a crowd of people at the speedboat race. Madison is located between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati.

And more trouble in the Middle East. More air strikes in Gaza. Let's go right to CNN's John Vause live in Gaza City. John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan, about 20 minutes ago we were on the roof here at our location in Gaza City. We heard the helicopters in the skies, as well as the Israeli drones when just next to our position here, we saw a missile flying by. It hit the building next door to us, just north of our position. We are being told by Palestinian sources that the target appears to have been the offices of the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, the military offshoot of the Fatah Party, the same political party of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

So far, no word on casualties on this latest air strike here in Gaza City, but it comes after the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would do all it can to try to free 19 year old Gilad Shalit, an Israeli corporal who is being held by Palestinian militants somewhere in Gaza for more than a week now. Susan?

ROESGEN: OK, John Vause reporting live for us in Gaza City. Hope the next shot is farther away from you.

Still ahead tonight -- there are some terrific teenagers. A guy who is just 14 and just earned four world records.

Health records, personal records all up for grabs. Will some new rules protect you against laptop security breaches?

And then later, he's the man behind some of your favorite performers, but drugs in Dubai have hmm singing a different tune. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

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ROESGEN: And once again, a developing story we're following in Madison, Indiana. A car plowed into a crowd at a speedboat race on the Ohio River and then the car plunged into the river. At least eight people are now in the hospital. The boats had been competing there that generally get as huge crowd, tens of thousands of people. And Madison, if you haven't heard of it before is between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati.

Elsewhere in the news. For the second time in as many days, NASA postponed the launch of space shuttle Discovery because of bad weather.

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BRUCE BUCKINGHAM, NASA LAUNCH COMMENTATOR: There was no hope that the weather would clear in time for us to meet our launch window at 3:26 so we have in fact scrubbed our launch attempt for today. We are going into a posture for a 48 hour scrub turnaround, that would place a launch on Tuesday, July 4th, at 2:38 p.m. Eastern Time.

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ROESGEN: And we're getting word of another possible Israeli air strike directed at suspected Palestinian militants in Gaza. This is new video just in this afternoon from the Gaza Strip. The location, Mismet (ph), Israel. We will update you with the developments as they come in.

Iraq's newly released most wanted fugitives has the family flavor of the former dictator. This most wanted list includes Saddam Hussein's wife and daughter. Topping Iraq's most wanted, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam's former deputy commander of the armed forces.

The CIA is now confirming the authenticity of the latest audio message from Osama bin Laden. It is now the fifth time we have heard from the al Qaeda leader this year.

And we've been talking about the trouble in Gaza City, more violence there. Two Palestinians killed by Israeli troops. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he will allow humanitarian aid to cross the Gaza border.

You can expect big delays if you are flying in or out of Los Angeles in the near future. A major runway construction project will gets under way later this month. Los Angeles International is preparing for the new and massive Airbus plane that is set to take to the skies there next year.

And look, up in the skies, up on the silver screen. Plenty of moviegoers turned out to see Hollywood's most recent incarnation of the man of steel. "Superman Returns" is the number one draw for weekend ticket sales.

And maybe it's a good weekend to see a movie in Florida, because the rain won't quit. Stormy skies there forced NASA to halt the countdown of "Discovery's" launch for the second time. NASA will try again on Tuesday. Earlier, Fredricka Whitfield talked to CNN's Miles O'Brien and former NASA commander Eileen Collins at the Kennedy Space Center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Part of the thinking is the weather was just looking positively more frightful as the afternoon went on and they didn't want to make it -- more or less strand the crew inside the orbiter because the safest place for them to be if there's a lightening storm is inside. The most unsafe scenario is them at the 190, 195-foot level of the launch scaffolding, trying to make their way down. You were talking about that, in the course of countdown, there are sometimes better than others for calling a scrub and this was one of them.

EILEEN COLLINS, FORMER NASA COMMANDER: I think because the (INAUDIBLE) crew was out there. They were (INAUDIBLE) closing the hatch. Before you send the (INAUDIBLE) crew away, you know, you need to help the astronauts get them out of their seats. Once you send them away, the crew is out there on their own. And then you wouldn't call a scrub until you can get the (INAUDIBLE) crew back out. So I think they used the fact that the crew was there, the (INAUDIBLE) crew, getting ready to leave, is a good point. The weather was looking bad as you were saying. We were getting rained on. We moved here into the trailer. I have to tell you a story. When the shuttle and the station are docked, we practice something called a juice, which is a joint undocking expedited separation. That's what you guys did here. The CNN team did a great job undocking and setting up in the trailer.

O'BRIEN: We got juiced.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We got juiced. That's a nice way of putting it. So, commander, I'm wondering, what does this do to the crew? I mean, here they are, pumped up, excited, ready to go. For the second time they are doing this dress rehearsal. This has to be exhausting and taxing.

COLLINS: Well, it is very tiring. I can speak from -- I've done this several times on my missions. You're laying on your back. You're in your suit. You're hot. You're having trouble really reaching the things that you need to reach because you are in a very tight suit. And mentally, you are ready to go. You got the adrenalin flowing. It's physically and mentally tiring and then you have to get out of the orbiter, go back and get ready to fly the next day. I'm going to tell you, I think the crew is probably glad that we're talking the day off tomorrow and waiting until Tuesday because it will give them a chance to rest and recover and be a little more fresh when we try to gone on the fourth.

O'BRIEN: Even though that's not the reason, the reason they are doing it is, basically, by trying twice, and then, topping off the fuel tanks they will end up having two opportunities on the fourth and the fifth, as opposed to trying a third time, where they have a longer down time to try to fill up all the consumables on board the spacecraft.

WHITFIELD: And so if Tuesday, July 4th, let's say it doesn't work. What is the window of opportunity in the month of July for them to get this shuttle up in the air? O'BRIEN: Well, we can spend a lot of time going through scenarios but here's the short-term horizon here is, they'll try the fourth. If they don't do well then, they'll try the fifth. Then, they'll have to stand down for, what is it, a four day, a three or four day -- the cryogenic fuel, which is the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which is the fuel cell material. It generates electricity while they're (ph) in orbit, just kind of boils away as time goes on as it's sitting there. So they need to replenish that. And so they want to have it topped off when they go. It takes awhile for them to get in and do that. So that will require several days. Then, they'll try another trio, maybe, of opportunities after that, right?

COLLINS: The most you can go for is three in a row. In this case, we're going to go for two in a row, yesterday and today, top off the cryo and then possibly -- I'm kind of speculating here, but possibly go for two in a row, the fourth and the fifth and then take off a day or two or however much it takes to reload the amount of cryo that has been offloaded. But we have until the 19th. After the 19th, it's going to be too dark in the early parts of the launch to get the photos of the external tank.

O'BRIEN: Every day that they make a delay, every day they have a scrub, the opportunity to rendezvous with the space station becomes 22 1/2 minutes earlier. It's just the orbital mechanics of trying to catch up with that space station at that very specific time of day so as they get deeper and deeper into this window, they get into a time of day that is more conducive for weather here in Florida in the summer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: So, this Fourth of July, make sure you tune in for complete coverage of the space shuttle "Discovery" launch. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

After thunderstorms in Florida, afternoon thunderstorms in Florida aren't anything new. But they do mess up a shuttle launch. So let's check in on the forecast with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

SCHNEIDER: Hi, Susan. Let's take a look at the latest forecast for you on Tuesday. What we're looking is 82 degrees, 60 percent likelihood of a launch. That's good news. But we still run the risk of isolated showers and inland thunderstorms. But the good news is, those upper level winds are forecast to be blowing from the east, meaning they will push those clouds top away from the shuttle launch site. So some very good news there.

Now, as we look at the map, we are watching a couple areas of severe weather popping up all evening long, for much of the northeast including New England. These are thunderstorm watch boxes including New York City and Allentown and Philadelphia. We can see some severe weather break out later tonight in all of those cities. Now of course this is affecting travel and many of you headed to your Fourth of July holiday destination, at the airports, there's a few delays. We've got Chicago at 45 minutes and also 20 minutes at O'Hare. We're looking at New York City delays have really increased for La Guardia, because of the thunderstorms on the way and of course, volume. A lot of people are traveling.

If you are driving, there's an area to watch for very closely over the weekend. It has to do with much of the Gulf coast. We're watching for plenty of rain to come into New Orleans and on into Texas, all the way across Houston. We're looking at flood watches in effect for tonight. This is an area of tropical moisture that's coming up from the Gulf and unfortunately, we are likely to see a lot of rain in a short amount of time, possibly even three to five inches over the next few days all the way along I-10. So if you're driving, just take it slow and watch out for ponding on the road especially out in through southwest Louisiana. Susan?

ROESGEN: OK, Bonnie. We'll be careful. Thank you.

Three people on board an experimental airplane died when the aircraft crashed outside Spokane, Washington. The single engine homemade plane was coming in for a landing when a propeller hit the side of a gully and sent the plane into a spin.

In Pennsylvania, searchers are paroling the Allegheny River after a deadly boating accident. They are looking for a 19-year-old girl who's been missing since the boat went over the Highland Park dam. Eight people were on that boat at the time. Authorities say one passenger died of suffocation.

All eyes on the skies over Albuquerque. The Air Force aerial demonstration team put in a dazzling performance. The Thunderbirds fly around the U.S. and all over the world, performing in the specially marked Air Force jets.

And it's been a record setting weekend for a California boy. Fourteen-year-old Jonathan Strickland flew to Canada and back. And when he did that, he became the youngest African-American to fly a helicopter solo, the youngest to do it internationally and the youngest solo pilot to fly both a helicopter and an airplane in one day.

Another laptop computer stolen with personal information inside. This one belonged to the American Red Cross with information on thousands of blood donors, Social Security numbers plus medical, sexual and disease histories. The Red Cross says the information was encrypted making it less likely to fall into the wrong hands.

With so many cases of stolen personal information right now, Congress is looking at how the Federal government protects American's private information. Gary Nurenberg reports that changes are coming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the Veterans Affairs secretary walked into a congressional hearing about a missing laptop that contains the personal information of more than 26 million vets and active duty personnel, Jim Nicholson couldn't wait to give reporters some good news.

JIM NICHOLSON, VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: The subject hard drive and laptop computer that was stolen from a VA employee's home has been recovered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, does this let you off the hook, do you think? Mr. Secretary?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He acts as if he recovered the stolen data.

NURENBERG: Nicholson didn't get the reaction he wanted.

REP. BOB FILNER (D) VETERANS AFFAIRS CMTE: You start off with a little stunt. You never told us what -- that the data had been recovered, typical for this last two months. You've been spinning, spinning, spinning. You've been doing PR and you've done very little to deal with the issue that the veterans face.

NURENBERG: Veterans Affairs isn't the only Federal agency with laptop security trouble. The Internal Revenue Service says it lost a laptop with confidential information when an employee gave it to an airline as checked luggage. The Federal Trade Commission had two laptops with citizen information stolen from a vehicle. A hacker recently penetrated employee files of the Agriculture Department. Another hacker gained access to employee files at the Energy Department.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D) NEW YORK: No one's home in terms of running the government. This is something that never should have happened. And what we ought to do is make sure that every one of these agencies has real rules.

NURENBERG: The Office of Management and Budget wants Federal agencies to adopt by August new security provisions for laptop use, including requirements to encrypt all sensitive data, have a password and a lock, monitor all downloads, all designed to deal with this simple reality.

MARC ROTENBERG, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFO CTR: Once you remove data from a site, your ability to secure it drops significantly.

WILLIAM CHASE, FBI: We have to really be cognizant all the time where laptops are and where hard drives are so that we don't have occurrence of this type of event.

NURENBERG: But rules vary from agency to agency and there is no single standard that applies to all of government. Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: You know the music. You know the singers. But you might not know the man behind the big artists. He is a big producer in big trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People think that fireworks come first and you just put the music to it and we do work the other way around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Still to come, the timing and techniques of your Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza. You're watching CNN SUNDAY.

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ROESGEN: Mary J. Blige at this weekend's essence music festival in Houston. The event sponsored by Coca-Cola wraps up tomorrow with Toni Braxton.

Music producer Dallas Austin is used to attention. You may not know who he is, but you probably know his work. He is the producer of music superstars like Madonna and Michael Jackson. Now, he's facing big trouble in Dubai. He has pleaded guilty to charges of bringing cocaine into the country and he faces sentencing on the Fourth of July.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON MELVIN, COX NEWS SERVICE: Well, so far as we know, he hasn't yet deviated from what a normal person would face, which is four years in prison. There is intense speculation right now in Dubai however that he will get pardoned. This would mirror the case of an Indian fashion designer just about one year ago (INAUDIBLE), who was arrested for marijuana. He spent 33 days at the (INAUDIBLE) police department jail just as Dallas Austin has done. And then he admitted his guilt and he was pardoned and set free to going back to India.

There is a great deal of speculation that at a court hearing today, when Dallas Austin pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of cocaine, this was part of a choreographed arrangement that will lead to a similar arrangement for him where he will be pardoned and be free to go back to the United States. So, in answer to your question, I mean, I think that not only in Dubai, but in many places around the world, the United States included, wealth and celebrity count for a great deal. And that if Joe Schmo were arrested with a gram or so of cocaine coming in to Dubai, he'd be facing a considerable prison sentence.

ROESGEN: Who would give that pardon Don?

MELVIN: That would be given by a body known as the ruler's court and this is for ruler Sheik Mohammad (ph) who rules Dubai, is the vice president of the United Arab Emirates which is the Islamic country of which Dubai is a part. That court cannot vacate the verdict, which has yet to be rendered in this case. That verdict will be rendered on Tuesday, July 4th, but cannot vacate a guilty verdict, but it can suspend the punishment if it is in the interest of society to do so.

ROESGEN: We know that Dallas Austin has been in jail there in Dubai about a month and a half. Have you had any contact with him?

MELVIN: Well, I had brief contact with him. I went to visit him. And I must say that from what I could see of it, the jail is nowhere near the rat infested pit that one might imagine from the Turkish jail in "Midnight Express," the 1978 movie, very clean, very well maintained. There didn't seem to be little dictators throwing their power around. I went to visit him unannounced. We shook hands. I identified myself and when he found out who I was, he declined to be interviewed. He looked fit and well, however. And I believe that his reluctance to speak was in service of this arrangement that we believe may have been made to grant him a pardon.

ROESGEN: OK, Don Melvin reporting for us there, international reporter for Cox Newspapers in Dubai. We'll see what happens with this case. Thanks, Don.

MELVIN: Pleasure.

ROESGEN: Now, you can join Anderson Cooper this Thursday as he talks to the first couple of country music. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are going to be in New Orleans for a special concert. They're raising money to help rebuild the Gulf coast after hurricane Katrina. Anderson's interview, only on CNN, Wednesday, not Thursday, Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

The sounds of the holiday. We'll take you behind the scenes of one of the nation's largest fireworks displays next on CNN SUNDAY.

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ROESGEN: We're following this developing story in Madison, Indiana. A car plowed through some barricades and right into a crowd at a speedboat race, an annual hydroplane race on the Ohio River. Then the car went into the water. We don't know what might have happened to the driver. We do know that eight people were taken to the hospital. And we will have more on this story coming up in about 10 minutes.

There is much more ahead on CNN tonight. Coming up next on CNN SUNDAY, in spite of a decent death on a ride, more and more people are taking the ups and downs and twists and turns of roller coasters. Not me, I'm terrified. But anyway, why the roller coaster experts say that ride will get even better.

At 8:00 then, "CNN Presents," dirt track warriors. It's one of the biggest sports that a lot of people have never even heard of. But in communities everywhere, dirt track racing is the big weekend event.

Then at 9:00 Eastern, Larry King weekend. Larry's guest tonight, Superman of their own right, the super man promoting the "Superman Returns" movie. And I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern. Tonight, can you burn the flag? Oppose the war but still love your country?

That's tonight at 10:00. And in New York this Fourth of July, millions of eyes will turn skyward to watch Macy's spectacular fireworks show. But below the bright lights, an entire pyrotechnic crew is hard at work. This year, even more so, because it's Macy's 30th anniversary show with thousands of fireworks set to shoot off from three different locations. How do you prepare for that? Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BILL SCHERMERHORN, ART DIRECTOR, MACY'S FIREWORKS: What I love about these fireworks, it is the largest Fourth of July fireworks show in the country. But more than that, we like to tell a story and have heart. We have the statue of liberty as your centerpiece and what can be more patriotic than the statue of liberty, the fireworks on a beautiful night.

People think the fireworks come first and you just put the music to it. We do work the other way around. January, we recorded the New York pops. Then I passed that score along to Gary Souza and they put a wonderful fireworks show together.

GARY SOUZA, PYRO SPECTACULARS BY SOUZA: I've been in the fireworks business all of my life. My father started with me, but his father got the family going, and my great-grandfather got the fireworks going back in the early 1900s. Fireworks have changed significantly over the years. I think probably the computer is one of the most significant inventions that we've seen in our industry, the best applications for firing fireworks more rapidly, a little bit safer and the ability to create more images in the sky, happy faces and cubes.

We have over 36,000 fireworks that are going to go off in Macy's show. But really, there's going to be somewhere near about a million different bursts. We have over 50 people that will work 11 days, working on all the barges to connect the 36,000 shells for the Macy show. You have butterflies, and, get nervous, and as soon as that first shell goes off, boy, the pyrotechnician is just the most relieved person in the area.

SCHERMERHORN: We are all little kids at heart on the Fourth of July. Somehow fireworks are magic in the sky. What I really hope some people leave the show, they go, that was amazing. How did they do that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And no matter how much you know about it, it is still magical.

The news continues on CNN SUNDAY with your top headlines coming up next. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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