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Several Organizations Condemning Gingrich's Comments; Iran Crisis
Aired April 01, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ: An English only rib gets applause, but at whose expense? Spanish equated with ghettos.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fugitive aliens, what the heck is that?
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SANCHEZ: Hint, it's somebody who may live on your block. We'll explain.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an enemy that will stop at nothing.
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SANCHEZ: He should know. He is a top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. Someone certainly worth a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can hear everybody just shouting there she is, there she is.
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SANCHEZ: Yes, there she is. Pictures just coming in tonight, seen for the first time of a woman who fell off a cruise ship. Her actual rescue next from the CNN NEWSROOM.
And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. We're going to start things off here in B control, as we often do, because there's some new video coming that we want to show you. This is new video out of your Iran, mind you.
Here's the (INAUDIBLE).
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the morning of Friday the 23rd of March at approximately half 8:00, we left coalition warship Oxford 99. Our top - our two boats had pick up the area around this Persian Gulf around here.
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SANCHEZ: There you have it. Some new images. You're hearing some of the -- what we often call natural sound. We're hearing the sound of these guys talking. It's been coming in to us throughout the course of this evening. These are the captured British troops.
There is a lot of fallout over this story. And we're putting it all together for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
But first, let's talk about the expected political fallout over the comments that were made by former Speaker Newt Gingrich. The possible presidential hopeful was criticizing bilingual education when he appeared to equate the Spanish language with ghetto living. Listen for yourself.
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NEWT GINGRICH: We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and so they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.
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SANCHEZ: Now Gingrich was speaking at the time to the National Federation of Republican Women in Washington, who we should mention, applauded the comment.
Tonight, several organizations are condemning Gingrich's comments, including Voces de la Frontera. Also, the League of United Latin-American Citizens. They're often referred to as LULAC, whose representatives have spoken to us here throughout the course of the evening at CNN.
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CHRISTINE NEUMANN-ORTIZ, PRES., VOCES DE LA FRONTERA: Ignorance, eliticism, and racism. Ignorance, because bilingual education is nothing new to this country. It was the way that through the 1800s early European immigrants actually acquired English and assimilated into society. It was valued by our founding fathers. Our founding constitutional documents were translated and available in many languages. So it doesn't fit our heritage of the country.
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ROSA ROSALES, NATL. PRES., LULAC: And I would say to him that I heard he might run for president. And if he expects any kind of support from the Latino community in the United States, that he needs to do much better. He needs to respect the Latino community. It is -- the language is a beautiful language. And it's always beautiful to be bilingual. It's an asset. So I don't know why he would be so disrespectful to the Latino community.
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SANCHEZ: And we should -- we should also mention that we offered the former Speaker to be on with us here tonight, but he declined because of a contractual situation that he has with another network.
Now we've been hearing from many of you about this tonight as well. And, boy, have we ever. Both sides, by the way. Here's a taste of some of the comments that we've been getting from you throughout the course of the evening.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he is right on target, but I think there is a much more tactful way of saying it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's out of order. It's very uneducated the remarks that he made.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is absolutely in the right. And his words were not used wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making a point that we need to succeed in educating our children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe Newt Gingrich's remark is discrimination.
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SANCHEZ: Now let's talk about something else. Because really, stop and think about this for a minute. At the core of Gingrich's comments, before you get to the word that some consider offensive, you heard those people reacting to, is the idea that there's something inherently wrong with bilingual education. That's the point that he seemed to be trying to make in his speech.
It's certainly a valid and arguable position that he was making. So much so that I traveled recently to the one place in all of the United States most affected by this controversy and found that even there, administrator, school administrators believe essentially that much of what Gingrich is saying is right.
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SANCHEZ (voice-over): They're called English learner's, students who arrive at a school system speaking their only their native language. And nowhere in the country are there more of them than in California.
Fully a third of the nation's English learners now live here. The cost and complications and trying to educate these students is so emotionally charged that in 1998, California passed a law that all but outlawed bilingual education.
Bilingual education means schools have to hire teachers to teach in many languages. Spanish teacher for Spanish students, Chinese teachers for Chinese students, costing taxpayers millions.
Also, English learners are separated, a sort of school within a school. One for them and one for students who speak English.
The cost of educating these 1.7 million students with special needs in California was enormous. So what's the alternative? Many point to so-called immersion, which is more of a sink or swim really. Purists of this system want no special teachers, no special classes, English only regardless of a child's language. But under this system, studies show many English learners become confused and drop out.
STEVEN KENNEDY: I've had a mixed experience with some total immersion, also with bilingual program in my past life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steven is the principal here at Manafee Elementary. Half the students are English learners and live below the poverty level. He has found that neither bilingual nor immersion really works.
Your program is not immersion? And it's not bilingual education?
KENNEDY: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: It's something in the middle?
KENNEDY: It is right smack-dab in the middle and it's all about kids.
SANCHEZ: One of the students is Monsura Gonzales, speaks no English. In fact, arrived in the U.S. just five days.
She's being immersed because her teachers only talk to her and her classmates in English.
SANCHEZ: Do you like learning English in this class?
CROWD: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Yes? Only in English? You like learning in English only?
CROWD: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Although they're being immersed in English, the students are taught in a setting similar to the bilingual model. For two hours a day, they meet here in Mrs. Sanchez's class with other students who are also English learners. For a full year...
Their parents seem delighted.
MARIA HERNANDEZ, PARENT: It would not only help the kids. It helps the parents, too.
SANCHEZ: That's because there's even a weekly session for newly arrived parents. But it's the school's administrators who are really delighted.
They've seen costs go down and test scores go up. Way up. Menofee Elementary is now beating the state academic average by more than 50 points.
And it's not just for Hispanic students. Kate O'Neil came from Russia less than a year ago, speaking not a word of English. Listen to her now.
KATE O'NEIL, STUDENT: Yes, I'm trying to learn as fast as I can. I really like speaking English. It's fun.
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SANCHEZ: The key is, you look at this, if you teach them only in Spanish, they're never going to learn English. So if you do teach them in Spanish, set a limit and then set them free.
Of course, we want to hear from you about this. What do you think about his comments, if not his intentions? His comments. Give us a call 1-800-807-2620. We'll continue the conversation throughout the course of this newscast.
Tonight, by the way, as the nation tussles with questions like bilingualism and immigration, thousands were showing their colors today. This is in Dallas, Texas. Look at these pictures. Wearing white shirts and waving American flags, members of this group gathered to push for immigration reform of some form. Thousands. They say that the immigrants that are already here in the United States should be given a way to complete their documentation so they can get somehow get some kind of citizenship.
Now the march is a sequel to another one of sorts that was very similar it to. Much bigger, though, but you'll recall we showed you last March of last year, of course.
Well, of course, tens of thousands of Americans are convinced that our borders need to be controlled, controlled more. And they'll also go on to say that the problem of illegal immigration can't be solved with any form of amnesty or documentation, as many would call it. What they contend is many undocumented immigrants should be removed from the United States, especially those that are referred to as fugitive aliens. And who are those? Here's CNN's Joe Johns.
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JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Lebid family. They own their own home, have jobs, and pay taxes. Seem like nice people. But the Lebid family was arrested in February for living in the United States illegally. The federal government calls the Lebids and hundreds of thousands of other people living here 'fugitive aliens' and has made a priority to get rid of them.
A new report by the Department of Homeland Security says the number of fugitive aliens in the U.S. has almost doubled since 2001. JAMES TAYLOR, DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Despite the efforts of fugitive operation teams, the backlog of fugitive apprehensions has actually increased from over 330,000 in September of 2001 to over 620,000 as of August 2006.
JOHNS: But keeping them honest, are these fugitive aliens dangerous criminals?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fugitive aliens, what the heck is that?
JOHNS: Immigrations and Customs enforcement, ICE for short, says they are non-U.S. citizens who were supposed to leave the country and haven't, or they just haven't responded to a letter from the department telling them to report in, or their names just never got deleted from the computer.
Even ICE says there are a lot of names lumped together in that 620,000 number. And some of them probably don't belong there.
JOHN TORRES, DIR. OF DEPORTATION, ICE: That number applies to every single person in our old database, which is 25 years old, that may include someone who died, that may include somebody that is sitting in a county jail that we need to arrest and transfer to our custody.
JOHNS: OK, so does anybody really know how many so-called bonafide fugitive aliens there are in this country? Not really. At least not yet. ICE says it's working on updating its 25-year-old computer program.
But the real question is how many of those on the government list do you really have to worry about? Desperados versus working families and others that have a status problem.
BENJAMIN JOHNSON, AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAW FDN.: One of my biggest concerns is that we don't know how many of these people, this 600,000 number that they're talking about, how many are really people who pose a threat? And how many might be people who simply stayed longer on a visitor visa than they were supposed to?
JOHNS: For example, the Lebid family. They came here from Ukraine, do not have criminal records, and say three lawyers dropped the ball on their asylum application. Immigrations officers kept father Alexander and son Archam, but released mother Marina and daughter Daria.
DARIA LEBID, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: There was eight cars that pulled up to the house, flashlights. You know, my mom opened the door, flashlights in the face. They don't really identify themselves. They just showed my mom a badge and just came in the house pretty much. They didn't give my mom a choice. They didn't have like any source of warrant for arrest or anything.
JOHNS: Rounding up people who aren't hiding or dangerous is the kind of thing that gives immigration officers a real image problem.
REP. SAM FARR (D), CALIFORNIA: The local talk about your department is that you're the gringo gestapos.
JOHNS: It hardly seeps fair to the federal agents, who are just enforcing laws waiting for technology to catch up. The Immigrations and Customs Service says their database improvements should be up and running sometime next year.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
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SANCHEZ: All right. Then there's a story that's got a lot of people concerned, not only here in the United States, but all over the world. New pictures are coming out of Iran now. And there you see it. That's one of those captured British troops. He's pointing at that map. We're going to tell you about this. And by the way, Tehran is calling this a confession.
Also, fears of a tsunami in the South Pacific after a string of powerful earthquakes there. There's Bonnie Schneider. She's been trying to catch up with this information all night long. And she's going to bring you more in just a little bit from the Weather Center. We'll see you in just a bit, Bonnie.
Meanwhile, this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's yelling, I'm here, I'm here. Help me, I can't do this much longer.
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SANCHEZ: A woman falls off a cruise ship. And this guy was there. Tonight, he is bringing us his exclusive video and telling us details we never knew about this. You're going to be surprised about what really happened in that cruise ship situation.
And then a Sunday stroll reveals a blazing surprise. It's right around the corner. Some hot new video coming into us. We'll share it with you. We're going to be right back in just a little bit.
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SANCHEZ: All right, here we go. We're going to push forward now on this Iran crisis story that we've been telling you about. These are some pictures that we're getting in now, some of the very latest images. And there you see some of the British troops that are being put in front of a map. It's a map of the Persian Gulf in the staredown with Iran. It's in its ninth day now, by the way.
This video was aired on Iranian television. It shows the British service members, both officers today, standing, speaking and pointing to a map of the Persian Gulf.
One at a time, they tell someone off-camera that they did enter Iranian territory and that they have been treated well. It's the third released video showing one or more of the 15 British troops seized by Iranian forces.
The British foreign office is calling the airing of the images unacceptable.
Here's what was also going on, perhaps not far from where those soldiers were, those troops were. Rocks, firecrackers, and insults, all were thrown at a British embassy today in Tehran. Witnesses say the crowd of about 200 people also chanted 'death to Britain' and 'death to America'. They want the U.K. ambassador tossed out of Iran.
The protest was mostly just words at the time. Iranian police kept the crowd from entering the embassy compound. We've been looking at some of the pictures, though and examining them. And from time to time, it does certainly look like this may have been orchestrated by those higher above.
At one point, you see a truck that comes through. And some of them are actually getting the rocks off the truck, as if the rocks were brought there by someone either in the government or perhaps a part of the hard liners.
Britain's foreign office reports no injuries and no major damage there, by the way. But that's one of those stories that we're going to be following for you throughout the course of the evening.
Both sides at this point are standing firm. Iran says that a crime was committed. The U.K. says there was not a crime. The diplomats are doing what they do. So something's got to give soon, right? A British negotiator who knows first hand about being held against his will is volunteering now to help, but he says he'll do it with some conditions.
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TERRY WAITE, NEGOTIATOR, FORMER HOSTAGE: If I do make such a trip, I think it will be very important that the trip is seen to be exclusively a humanitarian endeavor, not in any way financed by the government, although one would hope that the government would give backing and support. I think it's very important the independence of such a mission is maintained.
My experience in dealing with the Iranian people and the revolutionary guards, they have been towards me honorable. And I would expect and hope that they would continue that should such a visit from myself come about.
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SANCHEZ: That's Terry Waite. Of course, we all remember from his hostage situation in Lebanon. By the way, Waite says that his proposal to help will be submitted to the Iranian government. And they'll do so in writing some time tomorrow.
Another developing story that we want to get to right now. Parts of the South Pacific are under a tsunami warning tonight, have been for several hours now, this after a string of very powerful earthquakes. Let's go to Bonnie. She's following the story. This is in the Solomon Islands, right, Bonnie?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It's a remote area that a lot of people might know not exactly where it is. So we'll take you around the world now, cross over to the Indian Ocean and to the Pacific Ocean and to the South Pacific. Here's Indonesia and Australia, the Coral Sea. Then we go to the north and we find the Solomon Islands, a very small string of islands, unfortunately, where we had a major earthquake, numerous earthquakes, but the most powerful one occurred right here, 8.0 in magnitude. We had varying reports of the magnitude of this quake.
But notice the waves coming in. The Associated Press reported waves as high as 10 feet, inundated villages here in the city of Gizo. Some of the witnesses reported houses completely flattened. Imagine 10 feet of water coming in with little notice after this earthquake occurred.
Now this wasn't the only earthquake that we saw. We saw numerous earthquakes pass across this region, some ranging from 4.4 on the Richter scale, all the way up to the 8.01. And we had a 6.7. There are after shocks happening even right now around this region. So it's something we're keeping an eye on very closely. Rick?
SANCHEZ: And just because there's an earthquake doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have a tsunami. I mean, there's got to be like a tectonic shift in the plates themselves under big a mass of water, right?
SCHNEIDER: That's right. And this earthquake occurred six miles beneath the earth, the surface of the ocean. And it does actually depend on the way the plates move, whether they move vertically or horizontally.
SANCHEZ: Right.
SCHNEIDER: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: Excellent. Hey, Bonnie, we appreciate the explanation.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
SANCHEZ: Keep us up to date on what's going on there.
Straight ahead, neighbors helping neighbors, but sometimes it isn't enough.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if the baby had gotten out there by herself or I don't know how she got out there. Because there's no way that the mom could have put the baby out there as much fire that was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: This man rushes to a house fire. And just wait until you heard what happens next.
Also, this story.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought him over here one time. And he just cried. Why can't I go in the house.
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SANCHEZ: A family ripped off by a bad contractor. But tonight, help is on the way.
And then of course, Newt Gingrich's ghetto remarks. Want to know what do you think. Give us a call, 1-800-807-2620. Your responses are coming up in just a little bit.
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SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. Here's what people are talking about tonight across America. We start in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is where fellow police are mourning the deaths of these two officers. They went to answer a routine call about this time last night and were shot in the parking lot of an apartment building. Neither officer was able to fire back.
Police were looking for two suspects. Tonight, they say that they have found one of them. Demetrius Montgomery this hour faces two counts of first degree murder.
Also, he was a star athlete with a promising future just a couple of years ago. Tonight, he is accused of first degree murder. Police in suburban Chicago say Hubert Thomson tossed his 66-year-old neighbor over a balcony and to his death. In high school, Thomson was a top rated defensive end prospect in the nation. Signed with the New Orleans Saints back in 2000, but was cut after just a couple of days.
In Union City, Oklahoma, the state fire marshall is combing through the rubble of a family's home, trying to figure out what happened there. But the answers won't bring back two small children, who died in the blaze. One was 3. The other was 5. Neighbors said they did all that they possibly could to try and help some others save her kids.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was awful. By the time, when we got the windows busted out -- I stuck my head in and instantly, my breath was taken away. My father-in-law stuck half his body in another one. And we couldn't even see the floor.
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SANCHEZ: In the tiny town of Spheresville, Louisiana, you are not going to believe what some fifth graders are said to have done in school. Police say students were left alone in a classroom during an assembly. When the teacher came back, two kids were allegedly on the floor having sex. Two others were fondling each other. And their classmates were right there watching like a class exhibit. Police are trying to determine if a crime has been committed.
Well, just how safe are Baghdad neighborhoods?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an enemy that will stop at nothing. And we've seen demonstrations of that in recent days.
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SANCHEZ: CNN's on the ground, on the streets with the top U.S. commander. Also, the guns, who should carry them? And where should they be carried? It's an age-old debate that's getting some new life. We're going to bring it to you, the debate that is.
And then the pictures that you have to see. A woman floating in the ocean after falling off of a cruise ship. You'll only see it right here in the NEWSROOM. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: And we've got an update now for you on a story that we here at CNN have been following since - well, since last November. And it's, I'm sorry to say sad news, because it involves two little boys that have been missing now since November. It's in Red Lake, Minnesota. This is them. That's what they looked like. Tristan Anthony White, Avery Lee Stately. They said that they were - they went off for quite some time. One of them is four years old, by the way, since November 22nd.
They disappeared while playing outside their home in the Red Lake Indian Reservation near the Canadian border. Now an FBI spokesperson is telling us tonight they have been found, their bodies encased in ice, found in a lake about a half mile from their home by a volunteer search and rescue team.
Obviously at this point we don't have details. We're going to be listening to what the FBI is saying. We understand there might be a further statement that might be released on this. And as we get it, we're going to be sharing it with you.
In the meantime, we're going to be talking about presidential hopeful John McCain, who is determined to get a positive message out about progress being made in Iraq. And today he traveled to Baghdad to do just that. Several Republican senators are traveling with McCain, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Graham says the group was able to get around town with less security than in previous trips.
Also, they're not alone. CNN's Kyra Phillips is in Baghdad on assignment and she recently spent the day traveling with General Petraeus, the commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq.
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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is one of the most dangerous places in Baghdad.
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR. MULTINATIONAL FORCES, IRAQ: The Dora area is one in which there has been clearly a death squad, as you heard that activity has declined dramatically since the units started the Baghdad security plan but we think they're still there and so they do have to root them out.
PHILLIPS: Rooting out al Qaeda and demolishing torture chambers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we've got three battalions, Iraqi battalions that I've partnered with, two national police and one Iraqi Army.
PHILLIPS: The commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus Gets briefed because today, we're going there. Destruction from extremists riddles the Dora market. It's still not safe.
(on camera): You talk about the al Qaeda threat here and yet you're wearing your soft cap. Interesting message you're trying to send.
PETRAEUS: Yeah. I'm very comfortable with these guys. They have got plenty of security around here. We'll be fine. You're not wearing a Kevlar ...
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're comfortable, I'm comfortable.
PETRAEUS: Ruin your hairdo, wont it? It ruins the image.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Joking aside, because of the death squad that operates here, the area is flooded with security.
LT. SAMIR KHALEL HASSAN (through translator): People were scared of militias in here.
PHILLIPS: Iraqi Army Lieutenant Samir Khalel Hassan tells Petraeus the militias have been brutal but locals are starting to have faith.
(on camera): Does he want to take over the areas and U.S. troops go home?
(voice-over): The lieutenant tells me we're looking for the day that we take over and provide complete security here and do it on their own. Petraeus has these Iraqi forces going through a warrior leader course. They're going to need it.
PETRAEUS: The challenge, then, frankly, will be even suicide vest bombs. This is an enemy that will stop at nothing and we have seen demonstrations of that in recent days. PHILLIPS: Another tactic insurgents are using to make life unbearable, another tactic Iraqi Lieutenant Colonel Najn Talid Mutlaf (ph) will have to fight in the battle for security.
(on camera): How does he think his men are doing?
(voice-over): The colonel tells me, "We're learning how to execute raids, carry out searches and conduct patrols."
One hundred twenty shops have reopened in the Dora market. There used to be 600. We still need more security, the shop owner tells us then we'll do even better. I just opened today, just get going started getting going.
Petraeus says U.S. troops can't leave Iraq until areas like Dora are secure and self-reliant.
PETRAEUS: We can study language and culture all we want, we are never going to have the feel for it than what a lieutenant colonel like that has right here.
PHILLIPS (on camera): And lieutenant colonel, what does it mean to have General Petraeus here in this market?
(voice-over): "This market was dead in the past and we brought back life," the colonel tells me. "The general is seeing that for himself."
Bringing back life, for now, but like everything in Iraq, the question is, will it last? Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Speaking of Baghdad, we told you just a little while ago about John McCain and the comments that he made after he too had toured parts of Baghdad. He made some comments about it. We have them now for you. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: In comments that you made on CNN you said that General Petraeus wandered around here in an unarmored Humvee and I want to bring it back to you - what kind of security ...
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) AZ: General Petraeus goes downtown almost every day and of course he has protection and we had protection today. Things are getting better in Iraq. And I'm pleased at the progress that has been made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, tonight, a family loses thousands of dollars to somebody that they thought they could trust. They also thought they had lost their faith. But now, somebody is helping them put it back together as well. Tricia Taskey from our Hartford affiliate WTNH has their story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRICIA TASKEY, WTNH-TV (voice-over): The Browns have been living a nightmare the last seven months. That's when they say they were scammed by a fake contractor who essentially destroyed their home and left the Stamford couple and their 18-year-old son who has cerebral palsy with no place to live.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I come back here and start crying and I get up in the middle of the night because I don't sleep. Because he's not understanding and I brought him over here one time and he just cried. Why can't I go in the house? So it's hard.
TASKEY (on camera): The Browns just wanted to make some small adjustments to their home to make it's easier for their son to get around, like widening doorways and making kitchen cabinets lower so he can reach them and the bathroom wheelchair accessible.
Instead, their entire home was gutted.
(voice-over): They say their contractor took their $20,000 and wouldn't come back to repair the house. That was September when the Browns had to start living in a hotel. By March 1st, their story hit the local newspaper. That same day, he got a call from another contractor, Rich Prowse.
ERIC BROWN, HOMEOWNER: He said these people want to put the house back together for us and they're not talking about any money. Of course, I'm like, yeah, right.
TASKEY: Prowse turned out to be their answered prayer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just know (inaudible) everyday.
RICH PROWSE, CONTRACTOR: I saw the article in this paper and it got me mad.
TASKEY: Prowse, who has been a contractor for 30 years and works at Hatch and Bailey Lumber Company got his company and other contractors to help get him get the Browns back in their home.
PROWSE: My boss was convinced in a matter of seconds. And the minute the guys that come in heard about it, they were all for it.
TASKEY: Only four weeks after that newspaper article, work here began.
Now, the Browns say their nightmare turned into a miracle.
BROWN: It made a believer out of me. I believe there are happy endings. There are people that care.
TASKEY: In Stamford, Tricia Taskey, News Channel 8.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: Also tonight, some spectacular I-Reporter images of a warehouse fire. This one is in Indiana. We have been seeing this. It came in a couple hours ago, Diane Archer of Union City took this video. She says that she was going outside for fresh air, saw the smoke and then just grabbed her camera. Her footage really speaks for itself. We contacted the fire department who reported no injuries but said it took almost 100 firefighters to put this thing out. Thanks, Diane.
And remember, always keep a safe distance when trying to shoot footage like this no matter how it's going to be used.
A lone woman in a group of men. But trust me, this ain't considered a party. She has been considered armed and dangerous but she is neither.
Then, thinking of arming yourself in your home, in your car, at your work? How much heat is too much heat? We're going to take this one. Next right here in THE NEWSROOM.
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SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. Christians are entering Holy Week, it's a sacred time marking the final days of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.
AMERICAN MORNING is going to be live in the Holy Land all this week following those last steps.
CNN's Atika Shubert gives us a preview now of the truth about Jesus.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every year, thousands of Christian pilgrims come to Jerusalem, following the last steps of Jesus. From the place where Jesus ate his last meal with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is betrayed and contemplates his own death. The streets where Jesus carried his cross and the place the place the Gospels say Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
The myths and history of these sacred places and the politics that engulf them today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the most precious, the most sacred sites in Christianity, that's why everyone wants a bit of it.
SHUBERT: The story and the history behind the last steps of Jesus.
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SANCHEZ: CNN is live in the Holy Land and exploring the truth about Jesus. Join AMERICAN MORNING at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow and all this week. Well, what are you clicking on tonight as you get ready for the work week? Here's what got our Web surfer's attention on cnn.com. The detained British troops. And you watch all of the videos released so far and see an interactive map and timeline of the incident.
Also, Shauntay Henderson is locked up tonight. And you might not know her name but the FBI certainly does. She is the only woman on the 10 most wanted list, she is charged with murder and arrested in Kansas City.
Now how does this sound, President Tommy Thomson? The former health secretary hopes it sounds good to you. He threw his hat into the crowded presidential campaign race. Those stories and so much more are just a click away at cnn.com.
Coming up. Are you defending yourself or just gun crazy? When and where should you pack heat? A heated debate is next. Then ...
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the ship, we could pinpoint where she was in the water. But apparently on the rescue boats, they couldn't hear her.
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SANCHEZ: Amazing. He watches and videotapes a stung ocean rescue. His show and tell is just ahead. Stay with us in THE NEWSROOM.
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SANCHEZ: Friday, a flight attendant was arrested for bringing her gun from Atlanta to DC. Monday the aide to Senator Jim Webb allegedly brought a senator's gun into a Senate building. Guns on people and places and making a whole lot of others nervous. What's your right to have one or not have one? And where?
Here's some facts. Five states have passed laws now that allow gun owners to store their guns in their cars at work and several more considering it. Even though companies prohibit guns in the workplace or on their property. Here's the question. Should Americans be able to bring their guns to work? Let's debate it. With former Florida Congressman Bob Barr who is good enough to join us here. How are you, sir?
BOB BARR, FORMER CONGRESSMAN: Fine, Rick, as always.
SANCHEZ: And special FBI agent Don Clark is joining us as well. He is joining us from Houston, Texas, good to see you as well, sir.
DON CLARK, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good to see you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Congressman Barr, let's start with you. Do you defend the idea, the idea of having a law that says you're allowed to have a gun even if it's in your workplace, even if it's parking lot? BARR: If it's a parking lot that is accessible to the public, absolutely. You have, for example, in my home state of Georgia, you can have a gun in your car. Well, you have a gun in your car for legitimate reasons, you are a law abiding citizen, it is locked in your car.
SANCHEZ: What if the company you work for, be it company A, B or C says no guns on our property. Period. And we consider our parking lot to be part of our property.
BARR: Well, you have something called the Second Amendment. It might be inconvenient for some folks.
But the Second Amendment is there and unless those employers are willing to go to the United States Congress and have them work to repeal the Second Amendment.
SANCHEZ: So you say if it's private versus public and the public weighs out because they have the constitution behind them.
BARR: Absolutely. It's a constitutional right.
SANCHEZ: Makes sense. All right. Let's go to you, sir. You believe the same thing, agent?
CLARK: I really don't. I think we have the law to protect our society. The Supreme Court has said and I know the congressman knows this very well, too. That the Supreme Court said back in 1998, is that companies have the responsibility to protect their workers when they're on their property. So if they're on their property, whether it's in the parking lot or whether it's in the building, you know, I think they have the right to say, no, no guns will be here. I see that as chaos if something happens with everybody taking their guns there.
And listen, we have concealed handgun laws.
SANCHEZ: The fear here that we're talking about is what? I imagine special agent Don Clark, that you'd be thinking, if I'm an employer and I might be having problems with an employee and getting close to letting him go, I don't want that guy to be anywhere near a gun, even in the parking lot. Is that the point?
CLARK: That's one of the points, of course. If you're having problems there, listen, I don't want somebody to get their gun and come back and use it in the building whatsoever.
But also the other part as well is that if something should happen there and all of a sudden employees start to run to their cars to get their guns and the authorities come in, you have another problem compounded.
SANCHEZ: You're laughing about that. Why are you chuckling?
BARR: Well, I mean all of this is silly. Who are they protecting themselves from? This is more nanny state. The employer wants to protect the employee from himself or herself.
SANCHEZ: Or from other employees there. You've heard the ...
BARR: The fact of the matter, Rick, shootings that occur at workplace are not because of law abiding citizens with a firearm legitimately locked in the trunk of their car for heaven's sake. That's what we're talking about here.
SANCHEZ: But we do stories all the time people that go into workplaces, places they used to work because they had a fight with their girlfriend the night before or they are angry at their boss that fired them and show up and they do these things. We even have names for it.
BARR: But having a blanket prohibition at anybody that drives a car on to a parking lot that is publicly accessible, that's what we're talking about here, publicly accessible.
SANCHEZ: Publicly accessible but privately owned.
BARR: That's right. Publicly accessible lots. We're not talking about, for example, at Lockheed Martin in my home State of Georgia, cordoned off there, that's different. We're not saying everybody ought to be able to bring guns in there.
SANCHEZ: I get it. Let's give him the last word, he has been waiting patiently. Special Agent Don Clark. You get it. Go ahead sir/
CLARK: I understand clearly if it's publicly accessible. If it's private lot and contained, i say, no. Yes, publicly if you have a concealed handgun law, than we can live with that.
SANCHEZ: You say the public is OK but when it comes to somebody's private determination not allow his employees on there, they should have that right. You say just the opposite. Good debate. We thank you both for being here.
BARR: Thank you.
CLARK: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Always a pleasure to see you.
Will your flight tomorrow leave on time? Our Bonnie Schneider is going to be watching the skies from the CNN weather center to give you the answer. After all, it is Monday.
We thank you so much, Bonnie and will be looking forward to it.
Coming up, the story that you've been waiting to see before you call it a night. It's one the whole office will be talking about tomorrow. The rescue at sea. Now, there's tape. Remember, they fell from the balcony into the water. But you see her waving there? We'll bring you more. We'll tell you all about it. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: We want to know what's going on with folks trying to get to work tomorrow or trying to flying all over the country. I understand and told in my ear moments ago, that delays have started already. True?
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SANCHEZ: All right, Bonnie. Thanks so much for the update.
Tonight we get a look, a first look, I should say, at dramatic rescue of two cruise ship passengers that fell into the Gulf of Mexico. See one of her right there. See her hand? She's waving right there in the water. Remember she was there six hours. I had a chance to speak with another passenger on was on last weekend's cruise in the Gulf of Mexico who happened to take these pictures that you're looking at right there. He took out a video camera and started rolling and he shared it with us exclusively here today.
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SANCHEZ (voice-over): The screams led rescuers to what they'd been looking for for a full six hours.
JEFFREY ROSENBERG, VIDEOTAPED RESCUE: I heard her calling. And she was shouting in a very gravelly voice. I actually thought it was an older woman when I first heard her. She's yelling, I'm here, help me, I can't do this much longer.
As the rescue boat was turning, she flashed in front of the spotlight and everybody erupted in cheers.
SANCHEZ: This is what they were cheering about. You see right there, the woman is waving her arms in desperation. How, though, had she stayed afloat for all that time.
For six hours, at least as far as you could tell, she was either swimming or treading water or floating.
ROSENBERG: She was treading water and floating in the water.
SANCHEZ: Travel experts say it's almost impossible to fall off a cruise ship. This woman and her traveling companion proved them wrong, falling off a balcony this weekend on the Grand Princess about 150 miles from Galveston.
Much was made of the fact was made that he was found nude. Here is how passenger Jeffrey Rosenberg explains it.
ROSENBERG: He knew enough that when you're treading water, you are going to be much more efficient if you take your clothes off so they don't drag you down. He went in clothed and then he initially tried to make a flotation device out of his shorts but that's difficult to do with shorts, apparently.
SANCHEZ: So that's why he took off his clothes. ROSENBERG: Yes. She was still clothed when they rescued her.
SANCHEZ: That makes sense when a night for a passenger like Rosenberg nothing else seemed to. From the moment the captain announced everyone needed to return to their cabins.
ROSENBERG: The captain came over the speaker and asked everybody to return to their cabins. Apparently he apologized but there had been an incident and said there may be people overboard.
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SANCHEZ (on camera): Hmm. People overboard for sure and able to take out his camera and see it for himself. The whole ordeal was basically over by sunrise. The woman's companion was found just minutes after she was rescued. They both suffered mostly minor injuries. But the woman was taken to a hospital at the ships very first stop.
This is like Georgia politicians night here at CNN. We had Bob Barr on just a little bit. Obviously we led with the story about Newt Gingrich.
So let me share another one with you. This is about President Jimmy Carter, I had to go to the Pentagon just two weeks ago and because I was working on an assignment on a story we're putting together for you, a brand-new presentation we're going to have for you.
Guess who was on the plane? President Jimmy Carter sitting just across from me in first class. So I immediately called my dad and said your favorite president is right here standing next to me. He said, oh, my goodness. And President Carter picks up the phone, says, Paco, I'm here with your son.
Sometimes the best moments happens with Georgia politicians in the most unexpected places.
Speaking of that, Georgia politician Newt Gingrich, your responses to his comments. Here it is.
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CALLER: I think in honesty, he's not trying to run anybody down. He's saying we should have one language and everyone should speak that language. I agree with him.
CALLER: It's very sad someone supposedly educated talking about bilingual education in such an ignorant way. I think he should just go ahead and apologize to everybody.
CALLER: I think Gingrich is right. Total immersion is best for kids who are trying to learn the English language. I think he's correct.
CALLER: I think that Newt Gingrich's comments are completely absurd. The U.S. Constitution was written with no official language for the United States. And it was written that way to accommodate for anyone that would come and to allow for diversity.
CALLER: All I have to say is bravo for Newt.
CALLER: I think comments like Newt Gingrich do nothing but fan the flames of racism.
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