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F-16 Pilot Missing; Pope Benedict Arrives in Turkey; NATO Summit Stop for President Bush; Shooting Probe in Atlanta

Aired November 28, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Missing in action. Concern this morning about a U.S. pilot whose fighter jet crashed outside of Baghdad.
We're live with the very latest.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: War report. President Bush in Latvia right now, getting an update on the war in Afghanistan and planning tough questions for the prime minister of Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: Faiths collide. Pope Benedict XVI is on the ground in Turkey. He's trying to mend fences as old comments stir up new Muslim outrage on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Tuesday, November 28th. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Thanks for being with us.

Let's begin with a developing story out of Iraq about the fate of that pilot who is missing in that F-16 crash outside of Baghdad. It happened yesterday.

CNN's Arwa Damon is live in Baghdad with some new details for us.

Good morning, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

That pilot's status now classified as "duty whereabouts status unknown." This announced by Major General William Caldwell at a press briefing here in the capital that ended just a few moments ago.

Now, the crash happened yesterday at about 1:30 in the afternoon. The fighter jet was conducting what is called a strafing operation, flying at a low altitude and firing on targets.

The cause of the crash is unknown. However, other coalition assets, coalition aircraft that were in the area observed insurgents at the crash site. They confirmed that insurgents were at the crash site.

Now, when the time was appropriate, they say that they sent in ground forces, a quick reaction force to the scene. They secured the area, but did not find the missing pilot.

Now, we do know that the investigation is ongoing, that they have gathered evidence from the crash site, as well as they are conducting DNA testing. We are told that when those results come out, they will be made public.

Now, the crash happened in the volatile Al Anbar Province, about 30 miles northwest of the capital, Baghdad, not too far from Falluja. That does remain one of Iraq's more dangerous areas for U.S. troops here -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, in Kirkuk, the convoy of a governor was attacked. He survived, but what do we know about that attack?

DAMON: Well, according to the local police, a suicide bomber approached the convoy and exploded his belt. Now, this governor did survive the attack; however, 18 other Iraqis were wounded in this bombing, both from his convoy, some of his guards, as well as innocent bystanders who are constantly caught in the middle of these attacks here, really suffering the brunt of the violence.

In Baghdad as well, a double car bombing killed at least four Iraqis, wounded another 40. They were standing outside of the morgue at one of western Baghdad's main hospitals where one car bomb went off. And then as Iraqi police responded to the scene, a second car bomb detonated.

Really, Soledad, the violence here not decreasing. In fact, even though both U.S. and -- both the American and Iraqi governments are insisting that Iraq is not in a civil war, many Iraqi civilians who look around at this violence around them every day will tell you that the civil war here actually started a long time ago -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon is in Baghdad for us.

Thanks, Arwa -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The president and the pope both on the road at this moment. Here's what's new this morning.

Pope Benedict XVI in Turkey, a trip that is mushroomed in importance since the pope's comments that caused so much anger in the Muslim world in September. President Bush is in Riga, Latvia, this morning. He'll talk one on one with the NATO secretary-general, primarily about the war in Afghanistan.

Before leaving Estonia this morning, the president paused to blame the violence in Iraq on al Qaeda. He says the terror group is provoking the sectarian violence.

We have live coverage from around the world this morning.

Robin Oakley is following the president's trip. He's in Latvia right now.

We begin with our faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, in Turkey for the pope's visit. She's on the line with us from Istanbul -- Delia.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well, the pope arrived about two hours ago here in Turkey to begin the first day of this much anticipated four-day visit. And it's really a significant day, because he's meeting with some of the politicians here in Turkey who have been outspoken in their criticism of his comments at Regensburg, and he will have a chance this afternoon to issue two public speeches which we will be looking at carefully to see what kind of approach he's going to use on this trip.

It's been questioned how -- whether he's going to go back over some of the issues that he raised in that address or whether he's going to try and just move on from that. You'll remember that there was a whole question about whether he had apologized and what exactly he had apologized for. And some of these politicians had called for more of an apology.

So, in addition to his private meetings with these politicians, he will be giving two public addresses, and we'll be able to hear then exactly how he's going to set the theme for this trip. And most analysts I've spoken to suggest that he is going to try to put it in a positive light.

He feels that there is a lot to be gained from "good relations" with Islam, and, you know, he thinks that the Christian religion and the Muslim religion have a lot in common. So we should expect to see a kind of more positive spin on his stance on Islam, certainly with regard to what we've seen in the past -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Delia, this trip was planned before those remarks were made. It was planned as an effort by the pope to try to mend fences with the orthodox Christian world.

What's he going to be doing on that front?

GALLAGHER: Well, that is what the Vatican might say the primary purpose of this trip. In fact, he was invited by the patriarch of the orthodox church here, Patriarch Bartholomew. And it's about a schism between the orthodox and the Catholic Church.

And it was over theological issues, and it happened back in 1054. It's called "The Great Schism," and it was something which the Catholic Church, for a long time now, Since Vatican II, has wanted to try to bridge.

And so they make various attempts, certainly around this time. Usually every year there's some kind of a meeting between orthodox and Catholic leaders because it is the Feast of Saint Andrew, who is considered the patron saint of Istanbul for the orthodox, and he was said to be the brother of Saint Peter, who, of course, is the patron saint for the Catholics in Rome.

So, there is a kind of symbolic tone to this as well. And it is thought that the pope and the patriarch will issue some kind of a joint communique about this unification. Just another step in what is a very long process. I mean, John Paul II did it throughout his 26 years, and it's still not particularly close, but certainly relations are getting better. And it's something that the Vatican is keen to keep going.

M. O'BRIEN: Delia Gallagher on the line with us from Istanbul.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: To the NATO summit now. President Bush has arrived in Latvia this morning.

Robin Oakley is there bringing us the very latest.

Robin, good morning to you. What exactly is the focus of the summit?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, it's a big, big summit for NATO, because this is being called a transformation summit, where they're going to try and redefine the role of the alliance for the next 10 to 15 years. It's symbolically important because it's the first NATO summit ever held on Russia's door step here in Latvia.

But the big, big focus is going to be Afghanistan, the first key out-of-area assignment that NATO has put itself in for, 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, a number of them fighting very tough battles against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. And Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO secretary-general, has been complaining about so many NATO nations aren't really stepping up to the plate with enough troops and equipment.

He said those fighting in the south are 20 percent short of what they need. And too many countries have got caveats, saying they won't send their troops to the dangerous areas. Those were words which were echoed this morning in Estonia by President George W. Bush on his way here. He said all the countries have to get into the tough areas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To succeed in Afghanistan, NATO allies must provide the forces NATO military commanders require. And I appreciate Estonia's commitment. Like Estonia, member nations must accept difficult assignments if we expect to be successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OAKLEY: The problem is that in a number of countries, it's the parliaments which decide where their troops are allowed to go on these kind of operations -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about the location of Latvia. How significant that this is the first NATO summit that's being held in a former Soviet bloc country?

OAKLEY: Well, certainly the president of Latvia, Vaira Vike- Freiberga, has been saying it is crucially important. And the Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, former members of the Soviet bloc, see it as absolutely crucial.

They haven't been members of NATO for very long. Vaira Vike- Freiberga was talking about not so long since Soviet tanks were rolling into this country. Now they feel that's something that will never happen again.

But there is a sensitivity as far as Russia is concerned. NATO's tried to improve relations with Russia, have joint exercises and so on, but Russia doesn't like NATO moving into what it sees as its sphere of influence. And they're saying here that the doors are open for Georgia and Ukraine in due course to come into NATO.

Russia isn't going to like that -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: No, I would imagine they would not.

How much do you think that people are sort of looking beyond this particular summit and looking to Thursday's meeting between President Bush and the Iraqi prime minister, al-Maliki?

OAKLEY: Certainly those in the media are focusing on that, and I think some of the 26 other -- or 25 other nations here will be questioning President George W. Bush about what is happening in Iraq. He indicated in Estonia this morning that he's going to be asking Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when he meets him in Jordan on Wednesday just what he is going to do about the escalating violence in Iraq.

But I think it's a big worry for all the countries here. They'll be looking for any signals they can get from President Bush about what kind of change of course there might be, both from the U.S. government and from the Iraqi government in tackling the problems of that country -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Robin Oakley for us this morning.

Robin, thank you for the update -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Wild weather to tell you about out West. Big snow, rain, floods.

Check out these pictures. Virtual snow bowl in Seattle, the Seahawks and the Packers the game. Not Lambeau Field, no.

They're approaching a record for wet weather out there in the month of November. And Chad Myers is all over it.

Good morning, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, they had so much rain.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, new developments in that police raid that left an elderly woman in Atlanta dead. The informant is breaking his silence. And what he's saying now could mean big trouble for the cops.

And more of our special coverage, "When Faiths Collide." He's a Muslim, she's a Christian, and they've made their marriage work for 25 years. We'll tell you the secret to their success straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Top stories we're following for you.

Pope Benedict XVI in Turkey right now. Many Muslims in Turkey protesting the visit because of comments the pope made back in September which linked Islam and violence.

President Bush also on the road. He's in Latvia meeting with NATO commanders this hour, talking about surging violence in Afghanistan.

In Atlanta, the police shooting death of a 92-year-old woman in her home is now a federal case. The FBI now looking into the raid and what led police to make it.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Police say it was the information from this man that led them to raid the home of 88- year-old Kathryn Johnston. They say he brought drugs at the house. "No way," says the man who claims to be the informant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never went in that house. I'm telling them I never went in that house.

DORNIN: When police burst through Johnston's door, she opened fire and was shot and killed. The police informant says he then got a call from officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They called me immediately after the shooting to ask me -- I mean, to tell me, "This is what you need to do. You need to cover our ass."

DORNIN: Atlanta police chief Richard Pennington says the informant has told internal police investigators the same story.

CHIEF RICHARD PENNINGTON, ATLANTA POLICE: After we brought that informant in and interviewed that informant, he told us that he had no knowledge of going into that house and purchasing drugs.

DORNIN: The officers had obtained what's called a no-knock search warrant for Johnston's house. A judge granted the warrant after police said they had watched their informant buy drugs at the house from a man called "Sam." They also said the informant had claimed there were surveillance cameras inside. Police refused to comment on whether those cameras were found.

Seven narcotics officers and a sergeant have been placed on paid leave.

DAVID NAHMIAS, U.S. ATTORNEY: This is now an FBI investigation, and anyone who lies or obstructs justice will be committing a serious felony.

DORNIN: Neighbors say Johnston was a shut-in. Nina Robinson spoke to the 88-year-old four or five times a day.

(on camera): So she never let anybody into the house that she didn't know?

NINA ROBINSON, NEIGHBOR: No. Even if I went there and I didn't tell her I was coming, she wouldn't open the door for me.

DORNIN (voice over): Johnston family spokesperson Reverend Markel Hutchins welcomes federal investigators.

REV. MARKEL HUTCHINS, JOHNSTON FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: At best, this was poor judgment on behalf of the police officers involved. At worst, it's an egregious and gross violation of Ms. Johnston's civil and human rights.

DORNIN: That question will now be up to the FBI to decide.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Atlanta's police chief says the informant will remain in a secure place until he can be questioned by the feds -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning, in South Carolina, a run from the law took murder suspect Eugene Frost (ph) right through an elementary school in Columbia. He was being chased by the cops. Still on the run, in fact. All the schools were locked down during the chase. Frost (ph) is suspected of killing a man during a robbery.

In Pennsylvania, ashes and embers all that's left of this house in New Castle. Take a look at this. This is just northwest of Pittsburgh.

The house exploded, caught fire. The owner is in critical condition. Another house was destroyed, 20 others damaged.

They were concerned that maybe there was a natural gas leak. But the gas company says, nope, no evidence they have of that. One witness said the explosion blew the roof off the house 200 feet in the air. And no -- take a look at this -- not bricks of gold. Maybe they should be, though.

This is a parking space. It measures 17 by 8. It's on a downtown street in Boston. It sold for $250,000. The parking space -- the average price for a parking space, in fact, in downtown Boston, $92,000. That's a lot of dough.

The anonymous buyer is still going to have to shovel. It doesn't come with a parking attendant. It doesn't come with any little helpers. He just owns it.

In Pennsylvania, a deer was having absolutely no part of the first day of hunting season. Take a look at this. Frightened by the hunters, apparently, the buck bolted into a Westmoreland County warehouse, ran around the building for a little bit, and then ran out an open door in the back.

And then in Delphos, Ohio, another deer right there. See that? Whoa, he's moving. He couldn't find a warehouse, I guess, so he went right through a restaurant. Broke windows, turned over chairs, and then jumped out of the restaurant and back into the woods.

M. O'BRIEN: He couldn't afford a parking spot. That was the problem.

S. O'BRIEN: No warehouse, no parking spot for him.

M. O'BRIEN: No.

MYERS: You have to be careful when you're driving nowadays, too.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.

MYERS: Right? I mean, you have hunters going through the woods, scaring deer out, and then especially right at sunrise, right at sunset, they're bolting.

S. O'BRIEN: And they will injure you in a vehicle if they come -- if you run into them in your car. I mean, you'll kill them and they will hurt you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they can be very serious, for sure.

By the way, I did the mathematics on that parking spot.

MYERS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: $1,838 a square foot. So even by Manhattan standards, that's pricey.

S. O'BRIEN: That's steep, yes.

MYERS: But I'm wondering, you have a deed. So you have a deed, therefore you must have taxes, property taxes.

M. O'BRIEN: In Massachusetts, guaranteed.

MYERS: I suppose. So...

S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure someone is taxing you as much as they possibly can, if not twice.

MYERS: If you buy a postage stamp it's going to cost you some taxes there, too.

Let me show you what's going on today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: More of our special coverage, "When Faiths Collide." In a moment, we'll meet a happily married husband and wife. One is Muslim, the other is Christian, and they've made it work for 25 years. What's their secret?

Plus, a possible breakthrough to detect breast cancer. Some promising news just coming out. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta will interpret it all for us, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: It looks like the Michael Moore trend, which you might call a fad, is spreading as filmmakers find out the best way to criticize a company is make a little movie about it.

Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

This is interesting.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I don't know if you find business news entertaining, as I do.

S. O'BRIEN: Yours is, for sure.

M. O'BRIEN: Always entertaining.

VELSHI: But it is influential. And what happens, when we can't get access to companies and wanting to report on them as effectively, what we're seeing is movie makers, filmmakers, documentary makers going sort of around them and making movies about them, because they're not held to the standard of news and having to get all sides of an issue.

Michael Moore's "Roger and Me," about General Motors back in -- I guess that was -- what was that, 1989 -- got -- earned $6.7 million at the box office. "Super Size Me," Morgan Spurlock's movie about McDonald's and eating fast food all the time, $11.5 million. That was the granddaddy.

"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" wasn't that big a success, but it took a very complicated story -- and if you wanted to watch it, it made it accessible.

And then "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" in 2005 was another one of those movies.

Well, a couple guys decided to make a movie about the rampant poverty among Ethiopian coffee growers. They wanted access to Starbucks. Starbucks, as often is the case when the story's not fantastic for them, said no.

The guys made the movie. It aired at Sundance in January. It's been airing at art houses and festivals since then. And now Starbucks is all over talking to these guys as part of a campaign to try to make -- make it look better.

M. O'BRIEN: So now they want to get in the movie.

VELSHI: Now they want to -- it's too late to get in the movie, but they want to deal with the outcome of it.

M. O'BRIEN: Right.

VELSHI: "Citgo" is Michael Moore's documentary on the pharmaceutical industry. That's expected out next year.

And next week, "Blood Diamond," which isn't really about an industry, but it all does point back to De Beers. And that's coming out.

So, you know, there's some influence. That's, of course, a big money movie, "Blood Diamond."

The other thing about big money, Chewy Vuitton, I was telling you about this a little while ago -- Louis Vuitton sued Haute Diggity Dog of Las Vegas for putting the name "Chewy Vuitton" on some pillows.

I think we have some pictures of these -- pillows, stuffed toys, things like that. A federal -- that's cute -- a federal court in Virginia said it's unlikely that this Chewy Vuitton stuff will be confused with Louis Vuitton, which is -- and if it were...

S. O'BRIEN: Well, they do use the same pattern and the same color.

VELSHI: No, I'm thinking it could be. This company, Haute Diggity Dog, also has other brands. I'll give you the names of some of them: Jimmy Chew, Dog Perignon, Chewnel No. 5, and Sniffany & Company.

S. O'BRIEN: They've got lawsuits on all fronts.

VELSHI: Yes. And, you know, Louis Vuitton is one of these heavily, heavily counterfeited companies. Last year, they conducted -- I've got to get more information on this. They conducted more than 7,000 raids, and the police were very nattily laid out.

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: They were perfectly -- perfectly matching. VELSHI: Particularly elegant. Eighteen thousand new legal proceedings last year from Louis Vuitton against people taking the stuff.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm not surprised.

M. O'BRIEN: You would call that aggressive.

VELSHI: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. Thank you, Ali.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, more on the pope's visit to Turkey. Can he mend fences between Christians and Muslims? We'll take a closer look straight ahead this morning.

And some important health news for women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at a new development. Can you detect cancer without the needle biopsy in the breast?

That's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Pope Benedict XVI on the ground in Turkey trying to mend fences as old comments spark new outrage among Muslims.

S. O'BRIEN: Breast cancer breakthrough -- a promising new test that could better detect the disease in women.

M. O'BRIEN: Holiday fight. A wreath shaped in peace symbol sparks outrage and fines for some homeowners.

S. O'BRIEN: And serving up an apology, shaken not stirred, to the new James Bond, the blonde Bond, a 007 mea culpa from Miles and others on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: I thought he was going to be all right and cute.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, it's Tuesday November 28th. I'm Miles O'Brien. She was right.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, President Bush is on the ground in Latvia. He's expected to meet with the secretary general of NATO in the next few minutes. They'll talk about surging violence in Afghanistan, among other things. Tomorrow night President Bush travels to Jordan for that closely watched summit with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Inside Iraq, we're following a developing story -- the search underway right now for a missing American pilot. He vanished after his jet crashed. This is new video from the scene. The military now says insurgents made it to the crash site before U.S. forces. It's unclear if they took the pilot. Some progress in the effort to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Representatives from the U.S., China and North Korea are meeting in Beijing. They're trying to set a date before returning to the bargaining table. North Korea walked away from similar disarmament talks last year.

Here in this country, snow making quite a mess out west. New video just in from Washington State. Some cities and towns saw nearly two feet of snow there. It clogged roads, caused power lines to snap. The snow will be falling again today in other states all around the Rockies.

S. O'BRIEN: And all day today as CNN follows Pope Benedict XVI's trip through Turkey, we'll be taking a look at well, as well rather, ways that faith can unite and also divide us. In one case, it's united a husband and wife in marriage, one is a Christian, one is a Muslim. CNN's Jason Carroll shows us how they make it work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aman and Flora Awadallah have been happily married for 25 years. But both say when it comes to their faith, they've never been on the same page, literally.

FLORA AWADALLAH, CHRISTIAN WIFE: He doesn't even start on the same side of the page as I do. We read left to right. They read right to left.

CARROLL: Aman's book of worship is the Koran. He's a dedicated Muslim who prays five times a day. His wife Flora reads the Bible. She's a church-going Christian.

F. AWADALLAH: I truly believe in my religion. You know, I truly believe that Jesus is my savior. So if I believe that, I can't just go change my mind.

AMAN AWADALLAH, MUSLIM HUSBAND: As a man, as a Muslim, you like your wife to be Muslim, the same religion that is my religion.

CARROLL: According to a recent survey, Aman Awadallah is among 21 percent of Muslims in the United States living in a mixed religion household. There are a number of internet support groups offering advice on how to make interfaith marriages work. The Awadallahs say their marriage has lasted for several reasons: love, compromise, and not converting to the other's faith.

F. AWADALLAH: I'd have to have a real radical reason to convert. I would have to truly believe in Islam to convert to it. I wouldn't just convert to make him happy.

CARROLL: As for compromise, Flora Awadallah, in keeping with Islamic tradition gave up alcohol and eating pork.

F. AWADALLAH: I had to give up pepperoni.

A. AWADALLAH: Oh, yes. CARROLL: The couple has three children, two daughters, 11 and 17, and a son who is 19. They go to church.

F. AWADALLAH: I'd be thrilled if they were Christians.

CARROLL: And they study Islam.

A. AWADALLAH: To me, they are Muslims.

CARROLL (on camera): Do you think about whether you're Muslim or Christian or both or how do you identify yourself?

ABRAHAM AWADALLAH, SON: I kind of take things from both and just put it together, and just combine it into one super religion.

MIRIAM AWADALLAH, DAUGHTER: My father wants me to marry a Muslim, my mom wants me to marry a Christian. Right now, I'm only 17.

CARROLL (voice-over): Marriage counselors say one of the biggest problems facing Muslim/Christian couples is raising children. The Awadallahs say regardless of who their children worship, they'll support them, just as they have each other.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Bringing both sides together is what the pope has said his trip is about. So, this morning we want to spend a little time understanding where each faith is coming from, both the Muslim side and the Christian sides.

Joining us this morning, the founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. And also joining us, Father James Martin, he is the associate editor of "America" Magazine and the author of "My Life with the Saints." Nice to see you both. It's been a long time since I've had a chance to talk fact to face with both of you.

We've been told that this is a fence-mending trip and that some of the words we'll be hearing from the pope will be unity, and brotherhood and coming together. Will we hear, do you think, Imam, will we hear an apology? Does he need to have an apology for the Muslims, many of whom are clearly very angry still.

IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, AM. SOC. FOR MUSLIM ADVANCEMENT: Well, I just came back from Turkey a couple days ago. The key concern there is certainly is with the history of Cardinal Ratzinger and his opposition to Turkey's entering the EU. That's the driving force right now.

S. O'BRIEN: So, you think it's not about this quote that he gave in his speech back in September, but more about the pope's position that the EU needs to be sort of more -- you know, linked through Christianity. RAUF: Yes, and less Muslim presence in Europe. This is one of the issues of perception certainly in Turkey. However, we do feel -- Muslims certainly do feel that the Reagansburg (ph) speech, he took a swipe at Islam, which was uncalled for. So, the perception in Turkey certainly when I was there before his coming, was that he is trying to mend fences between the Vatican, the historic riff between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church at the expense of Muslims. However, I believe it's an opportunity, nevertheless, for the pope to really do a great big step towards mending fences between Islam and Christianity that is very much needed.

S. O'BRIEN: Turkey is 99 percent Muslim, so why is he making this trip to a country where the Christian population is this big?

REV. JAMES MARTIN, ASSOC. EDITOR "AMERICA" MAGAZINE: Well, initially as the Imam was saying, he was going as a result of an imitation by the ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew.

S. O'BRIEN: The Orthodox Christian church meeting with the pope.

MARTIN: Right. And you know, since at least John XXIII in the 1960's, the Catholic Church has been interested to reaching out to the Orthodox Church. I mean just for obvious reasons we want Christian unity. And the second reason for his trip is obviously to reach out to Muslims, which has taken on more urgency after his talk in Reagansburg (ph)

S. O'BRIEN: What do you think his message needs to be? Apparently he's going to be holding at least two public meetings. What do you think his message -- you know, he's definitely refraining from doing an apology. He's done the I'm sorry you're unhappy version of the apology as opposed to I'm sorry for what was said. So, I would imagine that kind of apology is not going to be forthcoming. What can he say that could mend fences then.

MARTIN: Well, I think he can stress unity. There's a great phrase from John XXIII who himself worked in Turkey, he said -- in the essentials unity, in differences dialogue, and all things charity. And so, starting with the things that bring us together, I think, is a great way to start off. And anything symbolic he can do, he's visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul to show his respect for Islam, I think will go a long way.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you think that there's more than that he needs to do beyond visiting the Blue Mosque.

RAUF: I think if he takes a neutral position on the issue of Turkey's desire to become a member of the EU, that would do a big step or better yet, even saying he endorses it.

S. O'BRIEN; He's done the opposite of that. Do you really expect that to happen?

RAUF: Well, at least if he takes a neutral stance. You know, as to de-link religion from the political aspects of everything, that would be a great step forward. Because what we need to do, in much of the world today, is to de-link the government policies from being part of religious agendas. That's very key.

Second to that, he can also express his commitment to further dialogue and many, brilliant scholars in the Vatican on Islamic studies and Arab studies. He could make a commitment to visiting other Muslim countries like Egypt, like Syria, Saudi Arabia, which are very important Islamic countries. So, he could do a lot more.

S. O'BRIEN: What he does next will really be sort of be the proof in the pudding. Gentlemen ...

RAUF: We are all watching.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and we are too as we follow the pope around live today. Thank you very much for talking with us Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, he's the founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Father James Martin, the associate editor of "America" magazine. Thank you, gentlemen.

RAUF: Thank you Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a promising new development that could make it much easier for women to detect breast cancer, no needle biopsy necessary. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that.

And not in their backyard, a Christmas message of peace creating a stir in Colorado. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: In this morning's "House Call," a promising development in the fight against breast cancer. Researchers are very excited about a new kind of ultrasound that could find the cancer more easily, and then, that would mean reduce the need for unnecessary biopsies, needle biopsies. Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the CNN center in Atlanta with some details. This is a basic ultrasound, but with more, right?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. There are no needles, there's no invasive techniques here involved. It's interesting, Soledad. About 80 percent of breast biopsies that are performed actually end up with the diagnosis being benign. So, a lot of people say well, that's too many unnecessary biopsies. How do we cut down that number? Specifically looking at a new type of technology using some of the existing ultrasounds, as you see it there.

Again, no needles, nothing invasive here, but adding some new sort of software. It's called elasticity imaging, basically trying to distinguish not only whether or not a lesion exists, but also what are some of the characteristics of those images as well. They're pretty excited about this because you can take this ultrasound and try and determine right off the bat whether something is more likely to be malignant or benign. Let me show you a couple of images to get a sense of what we're talking about here. The big question is -- is it a cyst or is it potentially a tumor? The image on the left is conventional sort of ultrasound. The one on the right, you can see sort the characteristic bullseye appearance. Now a lot of people haven't looked at ultrasounds before, so this may be hard for you to see, but that is very characteristic of a cyst.

Compare that to a malignant lesion, what they find is in fact when they do elasticity imaging, it's very different looking. Look at that image on the right -- that elasticity image of the tumor. It's big. There's no bullseye appearance. Very characteristic, according to the study authors who published this paper. They're excited about this as potentially -- it's still very early -- potentially a new technique to try to distinguish off the bat, possibly preventing the need for biopsy.

S. O'BRIEN: In the distinguishing it off the bat, how accurate is this new kind of ultrasound?

GUPTA: Well, I looked at that, that was my first question as well, Soledad. I looked at the study. Again, it's a relatively small study. 80 patients who had 123 lesions, suspicious lesions among those 80 patients. 17 of them were malignant. In this study, all 17 of them were found and diagnosed by this elasticity ultrasound. 106 were benign. 105 of those were found by this. So, you can just hear the numbers there. They are very good numbers in terms of finding those malignant lesions off the bat.

Again, small study though. It would have to be sort of reciprocated among other institutions. Also, one thing about ultrasounds Soledad is that it's very operator dependent. Unlike an MRI or an CT scan, which is all the technology, this really relies on the person actually doing the study. They'd have to be trained in this specifically.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Can I ask you a quick question about this new information that shows that young women who are obese seem to be better protected against cancer than women of the same age who are of normal weight. I mean really much significance difference percentage-wise? Tell me about that.

GUPTA: It's not a significant difference, but there is a difference. This is not the first study to show that, in fact, women who have a higher BMI before menopause, appear to have a lower risk of breast cancer. After menopause, it completely reverses. I think what it's saying is that we don't know exactly why that is. They thought it might be due to menstrual cycle irregularities or lack of ovulation. But they do think that breast cancer in a pre-menopausal woman appears to have different risk factors than in post-menopausal and high BMI, being slightly obese, might in fact be a little bit protective. The question is, you can't, you know, as soon as you go through menopause, it turns into a risk factor, so that obviously is where the problem lies.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's fascinating information. All right, Sanjay, thanks on both fronts. Appreciate it -- Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: In South Carolina, a run from the law took murder suspect Eugene Frost right through an elementary school in Columbia. He was being chased by cops. He's still on the run. All schools in the area were locked down during the chase. Frost is suspected of killing a man during a robbery.

In Pennsylvania, ashes and embers are all that's left of a house in Newcastle, that's northwest of Pittsburgh. The house exploded and caught fire. Its owner is in critical condition. Another house was destroyed and 20 others damaged. But, apparently no evidence of a gas leak. One witness said the explosion blew the roof off the house 200 feet into the air.

In Huntsville Alabama, school is back in session for the first time since that horrific bus crash that took the lives of four high school girls. The girls were killed last week when the bus plunged off a highway overpass. Two students and the bus driver are still in the hospital.

In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, they're a little closer to giving peace a chance. A homeowners association fining a couple $25 a day until they took down a Christmas wreath you see there shaped like a peace sign on part of their home. Some neighbors saw it as an inappropriate war protest. Monday night, the association voted to withdraw the fine threat and call it all a misunderstanding -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" just minutes away. Heidi Collins is at the CNN center with a look at what's ahead this morning. Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush, as you know, is in the Baltics, urging NATO allies to come up with more troops and money for the war in Afghanistan. The president live next hour.

And war resistors, three young men who do not want to fight in Iraq, now in Canada. They will tell their stories.

And an informant comes forward. This man says he was asked to make up a story to cover for Atlanta police. Their drug raid left an elderly woman shot dead.

Tony Harris and me are in the NEWSROOM coming at the top of the hour on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see you then. Thank you.

Coming up this morning as well, Daniel Craig goes from Bland, James bland, to hot, James hot. He's a cutie. Miles and others eat some crow, offers a big apology, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) M. O'BRIEN: Well, it seemed like a longshot then, but MGM Columbia is taking home a lot of chips, courtesy of "Casino Royale" and a new James Bond, who is far exceeding his rather tepid advance billing. I must confess, I voted against Daniel Craig before I voted for him. Same goes for Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We just wanted to say, sorry, James. Sorry for all those cheap shots. For making you seem like a wimp when they first introduced you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Bond, wearing a life jacket? Give me a break!

MOOS: We tittered when your tooth got knocked out doing a stunt. We compared Sean Connery's manly furry chest to yours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We also are hearing that he has shaved his chest.

MOOS: Well, puff up that hairless chest, Daniel Craig. Here's what they are saying now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has a great body. I love it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His whole persona was just wonderful.

MOOS: Naysayers repent. "Casino Royale" is the No. 1 movie in the world. The critics are raving, and so are moviegoers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen every single one. This is the best Bond ever.

MOOS: Even hard-bitten reporters seem smitten by the new Bond.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You weren't anxious about having to achieve a certain chiseled perfection. Which you do, by the way.

DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR: Well, thank you.

MOOS: The scene featuring 007 frolicking in his blue swim suit has been compared to Ursula Andress coming ashore in her bikini. That was "Dr. No," but even men are saying yes to the new Bond.

A male critic for a British paper described the swimsuit scene as "so scorchingly hot I feel embarrassed watching it, even when alone."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy is more grittier. He's darker. He's more realistic.

MOOS: Sure, Sean Connery could drive a stick shift and still manage to eject a bad guy. And we must confess to making fun of Daniel Craig when we heard he didn't know how to handle the stick in his Aston Martin.

But now that the movie's out...

(on camera): Did he seem to know how to drive a stick shift?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he did fine.

MOOS (voice-over): And that Web site called CraigNotBond, the one that morphed Daniel Craig's face into one of the Three Stooges? It's gone.

And so, in this age of apology for weightier transgressions...

MICHAEL RICHARDS, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry.

MOOS: ... we, too, need a license to grovel.

(on camera): We're sorry, Daniel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Daniel. I'm very sorry that I doubted you. You are terrific.

MOOS: And hot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very hot.

MOOS (voice-over): He's gone from being called a girly boy with a girly gun to could be the best 007 yet.

(on camera): It's enough to make a guilt-ridden reporter eat her words. Or at least those rave reviews.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: He does look good, I've got to tell you.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Daniel Craig. I'll add to the list, I'm sorry.

S. O'BRIEN: Ending it there. Here's a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour for you.

ANNOUNCER: Some of the stories you'll see in the CNN the pope in turkey, high security as Benedict tries to smooth tensions with Muslims.

President Bush in Europe denying Iraq is in civil war. He says al Qaeda inciting ethnic killings.

And Seattle socked. A snowstorm putting the city within a hair of a weather record. You're in the NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: That's all from here on this AMERICAN MORNING. S. O'BRIEN: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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