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More Chaos in Iraq; Human Shields of Gaza; APEC Leaders Urge North Korea to Dismantle Nuclear Program; Mall Shooting in Annapolis; Toxic Justice; Meditation and Health; Working in a War Zone; Snapshot of Hanoi
Aired November 19, 2006 - 16:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
You are in the NEWSROOM.
We hear a lot about private contractors in Iraq. A snapshot of their lives this hour.
A potentially deadly plot involving cookies and the nation's highest court.
And these are pretty pictures right? Well, they're hiding a gross reality.
A look now at our top stories.
A brazen kidnapping in Baghdad. Officials say at least 24 gunmen stormed the home of Iraq's deputy health minister, then abducted him. They say some of the gunmen were dressed like police officers.
And in Hilla Iraq, a scene of absolute carnage. A suicide bomber lured a group of day laborers to his car by promising them work, then detonated his explosives. At least 19 people were killed, many more wounded.
A full report from Iraq just 60 seconds away.
And reinstating the military draft in the U.S.? The incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says he plans to propose such legislation to do that. Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel insists bringing back the draft would make U.S. leaders more cautious about going to war.
The Asia-Pacific economic summit in Vietnam ends with a class photo and a joint statement. We'll tell you what world leaders said and didn't say about North Korea's nuclear program. A report from Hanoi straight ahead.
Today India successfully test-fired a medium-range nuclear capable missile over the Bay of Bengal. India's defense ministry calls the test routine. It comes just three days after rival Pakistan test- fired a similar missile.
More chaos today in Iraq. Dozens of people have died in attacks in major cities. And insurgents disguised as police have struck once again.
From Baghdad, here is CNN's Awra Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iraq's latest kidnapped victim, Deputy Minister of Health Ammar Al-Saffar, also a member of the prime minister's Shia Da'wa Party, kidnapped from his home just on the outskirts of a predominantly Sunni northern Baghdad neighborhood after 24 armed gunmen masquerading as Iraqi police and government officials arrived at his home in six vehicles. This is not the first attempt on his life.
Back in June of 2004, gunmen opened fire on him. He escaped the attack unharmed.
Violence around Iraq claimed the lives of over two dozen Iraqis. In the southern city of Hilla, at least 17 Iraqis lost their lives when a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near a group of day laborers. He arrived at the scene and lured the crowd to his location by claiming to have jobs for them.
And in Baghdad, in the southeastern portion of the city, also a predominantly Shia area, at least 10 Iraqis were killed after triple car bombs exploded at a busy bus station.
And in southern Iraq, the search continues for five kidnapped contractors, four Americans and one Austrian, kidnapped after their convoy came upon a fake checkpoint in the vicinity of Basra on Thursday. The U.S. military is calling it a very well-coordinated and sophisticated attack.
Arwa Damon, CNN Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Since Arwa filed that piece, the death toll in the Hilla bombing has gone up to at least 19.
Now more on the other kidnapping story taking place last week.
CNN has learned the name of another one of the four Americans who was -- who were abducted in southern Iraq. He is 23-year-old Jonathan Cote of Getzville, New York. The former soldier's family provided this picture but refrained from making a detailed statement.
And former police officer Paul Reuben is the other American identified to date. Reuben is from Minnesota.
In the heart of the Middle East, a new defense by Hamas against the Israeli air forces.
From Jerusalem, CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on the human shields of Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hundreds of Palestinians put themselves between an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza and its intended target. Late Saturday night, a militant leader in the Jabalia (ph) refugee camp was given a 10-minute warning call by Israeli forces to leave his home. An airstrike was imminent. But instead, he called on neighbors to defend the building, and with so many Palestinians directly in the line of fire, the Israeli air force called off the strike.
This senior Hamas militant said, "We decided to challenge Israel and sit on top of these houses that are threatened by airstrikes. So if we die we all die, and if we live we all live."
It appears that this unprecedented tactic of defiance has worked. At least this time. But two weeks ago, a call for Palestinian women to encircle a Gaza mosque to protect gunmen holed up inside turned bloody. Israeli troops shot and killed two of the women, claiming they were targeting the militants.
But last night's human shield tactic was seen as a success for the militants. This man says a campaign is starting now to protect the fighters. But airstrikes without warning continued Sunday.
An Israeli aircraft fired on a car in Gaza City. Two Hamas militants inside were seriously injured. Several civilians nearby were likely wounded, but Israel insists it always tries to avoid civilian casualties.
MIRI EISEN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: As soon as we know there are uninvolved combatants in the area, uninvolved civilians, then we are the ones who immediately stop the strike. We have done that in the past, and this is something that they know. And I want to think of it as our strength and not our weakness, and it's going to be something that we're going to have to approach in a different way.
HANCOCKS: Rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli town of Sderot Sunday, seriously wounding a 17-year-old boy. These rockets are one of the main reasons for Israel's airstrikes in Gaza.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Trade, economic growth and religious freedom. President Bush delved into all issues today at the APEC summit in Vietnam, but it was another matter entirely that dominated the meeting: North Korean nukes.
Reporting from Vietnam, CNN's White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After two days of meetings, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit wrapped up without a mention of North Korea in its final written statement. But APEC's chairman verbally urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table and said the group's 21 member nations were in agreement on enforcing sanctions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Leaders agreed to ask parties concerned to strictly implement the Resolution 1718 of the U.N. Security Council.
QUIJANO: Earlier President Bush sat down for a bilateral meeting with Chinese president Hu Jintao.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China is a very important nation. And the United States believes strongly that by working together we can help solve problems such as North Korea and Iran.
QUIJANO: China wields the greatest influence with its neighbor, North Korea, and is a critical partner in the six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Bush also met with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss North Korea, as well as Iran. And as expected, the two announced the U.S. is backing Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
President Bush began his Sunday morning as he usually does, by going to church.
BUSH: Laura and I just had a -- a moment to converse with God in a church here in Hanoi.
QUIJANO: By attending the ecumenical service in communist-run Vietnam, the president was making a political statement.
BUSH: A whole society is a society which welcomes basing freedoms. And there is no more basing freedom than the basic -- the freedom to worship as you see fit.
QUIJANO (on camera): The president ended his day in Ho Chi Minh City by having dinner with Australian prime minister John Howard, a staunch U.S. ally. On Monday, the president plans to highlight Vietnam's economic progress by visiting the stock exchange and meeting with business leaders before heading off to Indonesia.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, with the president in Ho Chi Minh City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And President Bush's trip to Indonesia is triggering this response in the streets of Jakarta.
Today nearly 13,000 protesters staged a demonstration, calling President Bush a war criminal and terrorist. The demonstrators also denounced U.S. policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war. Smaller protests have been held every day this month.
So you want to earn big money? Well, a lot of private contractors in Iraq are doing just that. But there are some huge downsides. A close-up look later in the NEWSROOM.
Also, an off-duty Secret Service officer is shot. Find out what happened straight ahead.
And poisoned cookies among the things America's judges have to look out for. A look at danger on the bench straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A Secret Service agent is recovering today from gunshot wounds suffered trying to break up a fight at a shopping mall. Maryland police say the off-duty agent intervened in a brawl that eventually sent him and two others to the hospital.
Gary Nurenberg has the story from Annapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It started as a typical Saturday night at the Westfield Annapolis Mall.
OFC. SARA SCHRIVER, ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY POLICE: You had families there, you had juveniles there getting ready to go to the movies upstairs.
NURENBERG: But a real-life drama soon changed the mood.
SCHRIVER: It was definitely a terrorizing event.
TINA STOLICA, WITNESS: All of a sudden, a lady comes running in frantically telling everyone to, "Duck, duck. There's a guy out there shooting."
DOUG WHIPPS, WITNESS: About five loud bangs. And then I didn't know what it was at first until I saw everybody running. And I looked in to the food court and there was people like hiding under the tables.
NURENBERG: Police say an off-duty Secret Service agent tried to stop a group of young men from beating another man in the food court.
CAPT. TIM BOWMAN, ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY POLICE: One of those individuals pulled a handgun and began shooting at the second individual. At that time, an individual who was in the immediate area, who we understand is an off-duty federal agent, drew his service weapon and began exchanging fires with the first assailant.
NURENBERG: The agent was struck, as was the 18-year-old shooter and a 16-year-old boy. The agent and suspect were flown to a shock trauma center in Baltimore. All three are expected to survive their wounds.
(on camera): The local police department says the investigation has been slowed because as of midday Sunday, detectives had been unable to interview the Secret Service agent, the suspect, or the third shooting victim because of ongoing medical treatment. SCHRIVER: Most of these individuals that were involved in the altercation all ran away from the scene before the officers arrived. And since we're not able to conduct an extensive, detailed interview with the suspect, or the agent, or that third person, in fact, we don't have any information on motives.
NURENBERG (voice over): She says the department is investigating whether a fight at a local high school Friday where seven youths were arrested may have contributed to the Saturday night fight.
Shoppers Sunday said they were stunned by the violence.
PATTIE DOWNES, MALL SHOPPER: It just breaks my heart that all these kids have guns available to them. You know, I don't understand how that is happening and -- or what we are doing wrong.
NURENBERG: Her daughter works at the mall.
JESSICA DOWNES, MALL WORKER: I bet a lot of people will be more apprehensive to come to the mall.
NURENBERG: But with the reasons for the weekend shooting unknown Sunday, shoppers still lined up to get inside when the mall opened for business.
Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Annapolis, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Other headlines making news "Across America".
There's a big stink over raw sewage in the San Diego Bay. An improperly connected pipe from some Navy barracks sent millions of gallons of sewage into the bay over the past two years. The leak was discovered and fixed on Friday. The Navy is now investigating how this could happen.
A rough end to a transatlantic cruise. Nearly 700 passengers and crew on Carnival Cruise line's Liberty came down with a highly contagious virus. The Liberty docked in Florida today. Its next departure has been put on hold pending a thorough disinfection.
And Interstate 30 was temporarily closed this morning after a massive tanker fire near Dallas. The truck's driver was killed after he veered off the highway and struck an abandoned car. Police say he lost control after hitting a curb.
Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras. Big travel week.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Big travel week.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, it was a stunning revelation, highlighting some of the dangers facing justices on the highest court in the nation.
Mary Snow brings us details now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It might have been just another legal conference in Dallas until retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor mentioned in her words a wonderful package of home baked cookies sent to all the justices. The "Ft. Worth Star Telegram" quotes O'Connor saying, "Each one contained enough poison to kill the entire membership of the court."
Prosecutors say those baked goods and candy were laced with rat poison and sent not only to the nine Supreme Court Justices but to two FBI officials and offices in the army, navy and air force. It happened in April of 2005. Just last month, 60 year old Barbara Joan Marsh of Bridgeport, Connecticut was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sending those packages. Court watchers were surprised that they're only hearing about this now.
EDWARD LAZARUS, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: Quite clearly, the court did not want to publicize this incident. It's very different from the other branches of government. I think they just don't want the idea that this is even thinkable.
SNOW: A Supreme Court spokeswoman says the packages never reached the justices due to increased security following a 2001 anthrax scare at the Supreme Court. Another red flag, prosecutors cite typewritten letters accompanying the packages saying I am or we are going to kill you. This is poisoned. March's lawyer says her motive is unclear, but says she's had a history of mental illness.
While this incident may be a rarity, court observers say one reason O'Connor has been speaking publicly is to bring further attention to political attacks on judges, which she believes may encourage more serious threats of violence. In September, she gave a rare interview to CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, RETIRED U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: As I went through the last few years from service here at the court, I saw increasing indicators of unhappiness with judges. And it was erupting all over the country.
SNOW (on camera): Last March, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged a specific death threat against her and retired Justice O'Connor.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Now, this is one of life's biggest questions: How do I achieve happiness? Meet a monk who may just have found the ultimate bliss.
And later, Anderson Cooper talks with some of America's funniest comics about some serious business, rescuing the Gulf Coast from the ravages of Katrina. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So is it contagious? Whether it's a giggle, a chuckle, or a hearty belly laugh, more and more studies are touting the health benefits of laughter, adding credence to the adage laughter is the best medicine.
Around the world people are turning to other forms of healing, including meditation. Some of the best meditators on the planet are Buddhist monks. And one is helping doctors get a better look at the effects of meditation on the brain.
Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Few exert more power to shape their emotional state than Buddhist monks.
BARRY KERZIN, AMERICAN BUDDHIST MONK: There's so much happiness and joy and bliss, you almost don't know what to do with it.
GUPTA: Inside this MRI scanner, American Buddhist monk Barry Kerzin meditates with such focused attention that he can actually generate his own bliss. His good feelings show up in an area of the brain where researchers think happiness lives. The left pre-frontal cortex. Negative emotions such as fear and anxiety show up on the other side of the brain.
Now, any of us can try to elicit happiness like his. But the feelings we typically generate disappear in less than half a second. Kerzin meditates up to 12 hours a day. Somehow, he and others well practiced at meditation can manipulate the feelings to last for minutes, and minutes, and minutes sustained over time.
KERZIN: It kind of has a little bit of a blissful feeling. It feels nice. It feels lovely.
RICHARD DAVIDSON, MIND-BODY CONNECTION EXPERT: They will tell you that they are in a state of deep and genuine happiness all the time.
GUPTA: Kerzin, who was a doctor before becoming a monk, is collaborating with Dr. Richard Davidson, one of the world's leading experts on the mind/body connection. Davidson calls Buddhist monks the Olympic athletes of meditation, making them ideal candidates for research on how a positive disposition affects our health.
Already, Davidson has found that people who are upbeat have a stronger immune response when they are given a flu vaccine. That means a positive outlook actually makes you less likely to get the flu. And population studies have shown that optimists live about seven years longer on average.
DAVIDSON: In general, there are data showing better health outcomes among optimists compared to pessimists on a number of different measures.
GUPTA: Meditation won't make you happier necessarily Davidson says, but even beginners can reduce the levels of stress hormone in the body and improve their immune response. Perhaps like the monks, all of us should think of happiness as a skill.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And don't miss Sanjay's hour-long special for a closer look at the surprising mind-body connection, "Happiness and Your Health." That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
New kidnappings put new attention on civilian contractors in Iraq. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, is working there worth the risk? An inside look at the dangers facing private contractors.
And later, as President Bush says good-bye, Vietnam looks towards its future. Impressions from the streets of Hanoi straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories.
Still no word on the status of the Iraq's deputy health minister, Ammar al-Saffar. Gunmen kidnapped him from his Baghdad home just over seven hours ago. Al-Saffar was previously targeted by insurgents. Two years ago he dodged an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on him while on his way to work.
In Hilla, Iraq, at least 19 people are dead, another 49 wounded in a suicide bombing targeting day laborers. Iraqi authorities say it's the second such bombing targeting laborers in as many weeks.
And President Bush leaves the APEC summit after wheeling and dealing with two of the world's biggest economic powers. The president completing 12 years of diplomacy by allowing Russia to join the World Trade Organization. The president also thanked China's president for his nation's trade and improving dialogue with the U.S.
In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, people are already protesting President Bush's scheduled visit tomorrow. Mr. Bush is set to visit his Indonesian counterpart to discuss terrorism. Extra police will be on hand to discourage any possible violence.
Kidnapped in Iraq. Four more American families are grappling with the emotions of a loved one's abduction. Two of the four Americans kidnapped Thursday in the Basra province of Iraq have been identified.
First was Minnesota's Paul Reuben. Now the family of former soldier Jonathan Cote has come forward to confirm his abduction. Cote's family has not made any public statements except to say they hope for his release.
The men worked for the Crescent Security Group based out of Kuwait City.
Being a private contractor in Iraq is risky business. The gig pays big bucks but costs lives sometimes.
CNN's Nic Robertson has more on working in a war zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
"GONZO," PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTOR: Locking and loading.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last-minute preparations for one of the most dangerous jobs on earth, private military contractor in Iraq.
"GONZO": I'm a gun truck commander. Basically, I drive the truck. I set the lead pace for the convoy. My call sign is "Gonzo."
ROBERTSON: The moments before the mission are loaded with bravado...
"GONZO": Rambo!
This is "Mr. GQ." He's our babe magnet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The military doesn't even like to go where we are going.
ROBERTSON: ... and a sobering dose of reality.
"GONZO": Carson (ph), Cameron (ph) and Cadence (ph). That's my three reasons for being. We've all got to be over here for a reason. Mine is so that I can provide a better life for my wife and kids.
ROBERTSON: Amy Clark is there when "Gonzo" leaves. I wanted to find out how this gutsy industry works and Amy will show me.
She runs the Baghdad end of a small military contracting business and has agreed to open the door to CNN so long as we agree not to disclose the name of her company.
AMY CLARK, PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTOR: The biggest thing I think about is that, is my team going to get wiped out tonight.
ROBERTSON: What Clark doesn't know is that in less than three weeks, they will be hit hard in an attack and she will close down operations.
When we meet Clark, she's running a tight-knit outfit, struggling to find a niche, competing against the titans of the industry, where contractors fill a void left by U.S. and Iraqi troops.
CLARK: I call it outsourcing conflict and a lot has been outsourced. And where you've got a military where the assets and the personnel are strained thin, private contractors have had to step in and fill the void and it's unprecedented, like in no other conflict.
ROBERTSON (on camera): He's a Brit, right?
CLARK: Yeah, he's British, and he's great.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Industry insiders estimate the total value of logistical and security contracts in the multibillion-dollar range.
CLARK: The front lines are the logistical supply lines. That's where a lot of the IEDs are being focused. They are focusing on the major supply route.
ROBERTSON: And that's where Clark has found space in the market, on the front lines. Her employees put their lives on the line protecting, among other things, drivers and trucks full of gravel destined for U.S. Army bases.
In a 150-mile journey, the gravel's value can soar six times its original cost.
"GONZO": I've lost several -- several friends to IEDs, roadside bombs. I've been hit by an IED twice.
ROBERTSON: This is "Gonzo's" second tour as a private military contractor in Iraq. He doesn't know if he'll survive.
"GONZO": Right here is my MP5, automatic weapon, complete with nine rounds -- or .9 millimeter rounds.
ROBERTSON: So when he came back he started a video diary. And as he shows me his video, he explains exactly why he's prepared to risk his life again.
"GONZO": My wife and I are pretty frugal. My goal is pretty simple. I just want to be able to pay off a house and some property.
ROBERTSON: He can earn in three months what it would take him a year to earn back home.
"GONZO": I have a good insurance policy.
ROBERTSON: A former combat engineer, he served in Gulf War I. Back home, he'd either be driving a truck or be working as a carpenter.
"GONZO": If we get ambushed and cut off, yes, then we're going to fight back. That's what we're paid to do, and that's to protect the clients and protect the asset. That's our job.
To sound crude, our job basically is to be a bullet sponge.
ROBERTSON: "Gonzo" is exactly the sort of guy on which Amy Clark has built her small contracting operation. X-military, over 30, married, and most critically, won't freeze up if called upon to shoot fast.
CLARK: We had an incident Monday where the retaliation was much more complex than anything we have had. And, you know, one of these days I am going to have to-- instead of going to one family and talking about a funeral, I'll have to go to three or four families.
ROBERTSON: That day almost came. Just three weeks after our first interviews, Amy Clark's teams were hit in multiple IED roadside bomb ambushes. We went back to find out what happened.
CLARK: Two IEDs went off simultaneously, downing one of our security trucks and wounding two of our people. At that point they took on heavy small arms fire from rooftop positions.
ROBERTSON: "Gonzo" was out with another team when he got the call his buddies had been hit.
"GONZO": The blood in the back seat of the truck from all the bone fragments and flesh pretty much told the tale. He got hit pretty bad.
ROBERTSON: But the attacks that night were far from over.
CLARK: They took three IEDs, one in the front and two in the rear. By this point we were down one security truck.
ROBERTSON: Clark lost two men. Five more were wounded, including Tony who had given the security briefing only three weeks earlier. And then came a devastating blow.
The U.S. military withdrew her license to operate near Falluja. Overnight she says she was closed down. "Gonzo" and the others were given a woke to find other jobs.
Amy Clark's margins were so thin she couldn't afford to keep them on.
CLARK: If you fail here, no matter what the reasons are, it will be very difficult after this.
ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So what can be done to protect private contractors in Iraq? Former military intelligence officer Ken Robinson joins us live tonight at 7:00 Eastern on the security issues faced by workers and their employers there.
Moving from Iraq to Vietnam now, when we come back, getting to know the people of Vietnam. Ed Henry's impressions from the streets of Hanoi.
And where are they now? A hint: very far away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: For most Americans the image of Vietnam was shaped a generation ago. But a lot has changed since then. The government is communist, but the economy is marching toward capitalism.
CNN's Ed Henry is making his first trip to Vietnam. And this is what he found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The faces of the new Vietnam. As an American, I came to Hanoi thinking I would find a nation defined by the war. But this is a city bursting with pride. Its moment in the sun, hosting its first APEC summit.
Communism still rules, but the experiment with a market economy has taken off. It's now an Asian tiger.
(on camera): I was immediately struck by the constant chaos in the streets. People in perpetual motion. Whether you are walking or riding, it's hard to stay in a lane. And just trying to cross the road is a big-time adventure.
And wait until you see what people carry on some of the vehicles.
(voice over): Televisions, ladders, wide loads, a rolling botanical garden, a mobile shoe store, a family of four on the Vietnamese version of the SUV. I even saw two whiz by with freshly-slaughtered pigs.
Young people are full of optimism, like this 17-year-old girl. A first year university student, she wants to be an English teacher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Vietnam is developing very much, very fast. You know?
HENRY: Maybe too fast. The gap between rich and poor is widening.
On one street, Hanoi's first Louis Vuitton boutique, close by, abject poverty. A spanking new convention center built for the summit with energy-efficient solar panels, while decrepit power lines dangle dangerously all over the city. New buildings sprout up above dusty old bamboo shacks.
Still, amid all of the optimism and growth, I found reminders of the war sprinkled around Hanoi. Like the American B-52 bomber that crashed right in the middle of a neighborhood, or the lake where Senator John McCain's Navy plane was shot down.
But people here have moved on. I found this 75-year-old man proudly teaching young people the origins of Vietnam's national anthem.
(on camera): What do you think about President Bush coming here from America?
"This is good," he said. "The people of Vietnam and America are a step closer to healing."
The aspiring English teacher said she was happy about Mr. Bush's visit but had a strong message for him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like the way he -- he make the war in Iraq. You know? So, I don't like war. I like peace.
HENRY: Then she turned the tables on me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think about Vietnamese people?
HENRY: They're very happy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
HENRY: I don't know. You tell me. You seem very optimistic and happy. Everybody is smiling.
(voice over): She was shy, but then...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My life now is very OK. I'm satisfied with it.
HENRY: Here in Vietnam, the rough waters of the past now seem smoother.
Ed Henry, CNN, Hanoi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The Afghan government is asking for help after heavy rains Thursday spawned flash flooding.
(NEWSBREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, Hollywood's maverick and his new Mrs. are on their honeymoon today.
Our Sibila Vargas looks at the couple's whirlwind courtship which culminated in yesterday's lavish Italian wedding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Surrounded by an entourage of the world's biggest stars, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes made it official with a Scientology-style wedding, exchanging vows in a royal fashion at a 15th castle in Bracciano, Italy, and capping off more than a year of feverish fanfare.
From the moment this first shot of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes surfaced in Italy in April, 2005, their relationship has been the stuff of international headlines. The pairing of the 26-year-old actress with the 42-year-old superstar stunned many, including "People" magazine's Mike Fleeman.
(on camera): I mean, it certainly seemed that it came out of left field.
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: It did. It did. There was speculation about his love life and he had broken up with Penelope Cruz. But all of a sudden, Katie Holmes, of all people.
VARGAS (voice over): Some question the timing of the romance. Cruise was heavily promoting "War of the Worlds," while Holmes was set to hit the big screen in "Batman Begins".
KATIE HOLMES, ACTRESS: It's just been so exciting. It's -- I love him.
VARGAS (on camera): Are you surprised though at the scrutiny that you have experienced?
HOLMES: I don't really care. I mean, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
VARGAS (voice over): Then there was the now infamous Tom Cruise Oprah sofa moment. But Cruise was just getting started.
At yet another press event for his movie, this time in Paris, he announced the couple was engaged.
And then, just six months into their romance, the couple confirmed Holmes was pregnant. Suri cruise was born April 18, 2006. But the couple's reluctance to bring their new daughter out in public created a whole new media frenzy.
FLEEMAN: It's like the baby is not real until it appears on the cover of a magazine.
VARGAS: And then, finally, the couple allowed famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz to shoot Suri for the October 2006 cover of "Vanity Fair".
FLEEMAN: And then when the baby was on a magazine cover, people were like, "Oh my gosh, they're exploiting the child." Such as Tom Cruise. Everything he does is subject of debate, speculation, mystery and intrigue.
VARGAS: Proof of that in Italy, where the international press waited for a chance to get a glimpse of the happy couple. It may be their last chance for a while. Tom and Katie are keeping their honeymoon location under wraps.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So the pictures are in. Folks now can stop talking about them.
Maybe, Carol Lin?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I have never seen Suri's face. She's just a cute little baby.
WHITFIELD: She's a cutie. How do you go wrong?
LIN: Yes, dressed in Armani, too. Just like mom.
WHITFIELD: Baby, too?
LIN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well, Armani hooked them all up.
LIN: Anyway, coming up tonight at 7:00 Eastern, Fred, we have a really interesting first block. We're going to be focusing on Iraq and contradicting statements from a presidential contender, as well as former NSA advisor to President Nixon, oversaw the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger. Also an advisor to President Bush.
And what he says, that victory is impossible in Iraq. We'll see what happens. It's an interesting dichotomy on the airwaves today.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LIN: Matthew Chance also did this really interesting story about this Russian spy, a former spy who apparently was poisoned, and apparently he was on the trail of evidence that the Kremlin might have been involved in murder. So...
WHITFIELD: The murder of that famous journalist.
LIN: Of the famous journalist, absolutely. So we're going to find out what is behind that poisoning of this man.
WHITFIELD: All right. A lot straight ahead. Thanks a lot, Carol.
LIN: You bet -- 7:00.
Well, laughing long and laughing loud. All of that in the face of tragedy. What's so funny about Hurricane Katrina anyway? Anderson Cooper sits down with the brains and mouths behind this year's "Comic Relief" down on the bayou.
That and more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Humor arising from tragedy. Top comedians pulled out their best jokes this weekend to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims. Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams hosted "Comic Relief 2006" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Earlier this week, CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down with all three.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS, COMEDIAN: This never would have happened in Florida this long. This would have never -- honey, if -- if Disneyland had got hit, do you think -- do you think the mouse would be down?
(LAUGHTER)
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR, COMEDIAN: I've got to get on a boat.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: I don't believe they're coming with a trailer.
GOLDBERG: You know? I mean, you know, and I -- I don't take away from...
WILLIAMS: It is time once again for the Katrina reenactment. Everybody, brace yourselves. Time to get crowded in a bus again.
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDBERG: I don't take away from them at all. And I don't want it to sound like I'm saying that. But this is -- this is years.
WILLIAMS (SINGING): It's a third world, after all.
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDBERG: You know, as it turns out.
WILLIAMS (SINGING): It's a third world, after all.
GOLDBERG: What you going to do?
BILLY CRYSTAL, ACTOR, COMEDIAN: Well, I think what Whoopi said is -- is true. And what it also means is that he and I are going to get audited.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I heard you call this tour that "We still have our own hips" tour. Is that -- for "Comic Relief"?
CRYSTAL: Yes, they were saying, 20 years later, you guys are a little this, you're a little that. I said, "Yes, 'We Still Have Our Own Hips Tour,' that's what we're calling this."
We're all OK. We can get through the metal detector at the airport without setting something...
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: Can't get no medication.
(LAUGHTER)
CRYSTAL: Medication.
WILLIAMS: It's always good for me to come to Vegas after rehab. I love that.
(LAUGHTER)
CRYSTAL: This is a good town for you.
WILLIAMS: Good town for me. It's like going to Colombia.
You know, "Where are you going for detox?"
"Colombia."
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: Just to take it easy in a 24-hour alcohol town.
You get out of rehab, and, you know, like getting out of Jenny Craig and going, "Let's go work at the Haagen-Dazs factory."
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: For me, I like being here. I don't know why I'm talking like this for this. But, you know, my mama grew up in New Orleans.
CRYSTAL: Did she?
WILLIAMS: For sure.
CRYSTAL: Mmm-hmm.
WILLIAMS: Mmm-hmm.
(LAUGHTER)
CRYSTAL: But she did. That's right. She did.
COOPER: Did she really?
WILLIAMS: She was born in Pass Christian, which, for years and years and years, I thought was Louisiana. And then some very sweet Southern woman said, "Sweetheart, that's Mississippi."
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: "Your mother was trying to upscale herself. Bless her heart."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, they had a fun weekend.
Still much more ahead here on CNN.
Up next, "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK." Lou takes a look at the new leadership on Capitol Hill and its strategy for Iraq.
The day's top stories right after this. Then Lou Dobbs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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