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Freed British Troops to Speak; New Deployments to Iraq; Pet food Recall; U.S. Protects Iran Dissident Group

Aired April 06, 2007 - 08:59   ET

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


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And Good Friday morning to you, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in today for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on this Friday, April 6th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

NGUYEN: We are going to hear live from those freed British sailors and marines. They plan to talk about their time in Iranian custody one hour from now.

HARRIS: Apocalypse now? A major report on climate change forecasting possible catastrophe -- famine, drought, monster storms, entire species dying out. We will talk live with the driving force behind these findings.

NGUYEN: Five Louisiana fifth-graders facing charges, accused of classroom sex. Extreme biology lessons in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And at the top this morning, firsthand accounts of captivity in Iran. The Royal Navy has set up a live news conference one hour from now. Some of the freed British sailors and marines will talk about their detention in Iran.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has been covering the homecomings and family reunions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 15 British military personnel are still in the RAF base behind me. In fact, west England. Still undergoing debriefing and medical checks. Now, shortly, we will be hearing from them to find out exactly what happened in Iran.

(voice over): Back on British soil, and finally reunited with their loved ones. Fifteen British sailors and marines describe it as a dream come true. Now for the tough questions.

Several said they were well-treated while being held in Iran. Since they've been back, there have been suggestions of solitary confinement. One defense official described the moods of the 14 men and one woman as ranging from jubilant to emotionally struggling.

Today, the former detainees are still being extensively debriefed, along with a complete physical check. Also, the first chance for the public to hear what really happened.

The Royal Navy has started an investigation of how the 15 could have been captured and, crucially, whose waters they were in. Britain says they were in Iraqi waters. Iran claims British crews have previously violated their waters.

In a British television interview before the capture, one captain of the crew said part of their job was to gather intelligence of Iranian activities in the area. The Ministry of Defense insists this is not unusual in modern operations.

(on camera): A Ministry of Defense official says that many of them are far more relaxed this Friday. Thursday evening they enjoyed a four-course meal with their families, who they haven't seen for some time. And we also saw them as they landed in Heathrow looking relaxed as well, but the physical check they're undergoing at the moment will say exactly how they are.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, RAF, Chivenor, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Held by Iran for almost two weeks. A live news conference with the British sailors and marines now back home in England top of the hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: But in the meantime, the secretary of defense expected to sign new marching orders today for thousands of National Guard troops. Destination: Iraq.

Let's check in now with Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

And of course, Barbara, the first thing that comes to mind when we think about all this is, when will this begin and who is going to be affected?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty.

Yes, it will start, perhaps, at the first of the year. Defense Secretary Robert Gates expected to sign orders today that will send 12,000 Army National Guard troop to Iraq beginning in January '08.

You know, we hear these troop announcements it seems like almost every week now. So let's sort it all out for people.

This is a rotation, 12,000 fresh troops going so other troops can come home, not an increase in the overall troop numbers in Iraq. But these troops are earmarked for particularly dangerous duty. They will do base and convoy security missions in Iraq.

What is significant here, perhaps, these National Guard units, these are the first guard units to go back to Iraq for a second tour of duty. The Guard went in the opening months of the war. Some of these units have actually been home for about three years. But now, for the first time, the National Guard is going back to Iraq for a second tour -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, let me ask you this, Barbara. Will this have any impact on the war funding debate?

STARR: Well, the two issues, troop deployments and war funding, really are becoming tied together at this point. In fact, just a day or so ago, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a new letter to congressional leaders detailing how much they said they needed, the $100 billion in supplemental war funding, saying, that there would be "... increasingly disruptive measures..." if they didn't get that money quickly.

And one of those disruptions could be that it would be -- mean a delay in troops rotating into Iraq, because there wouldn't be money to train them quickly. And that could mean, of course, troops already in Iraq might have to stay longer -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Barbara Starr.

Thank you for that.

HARRIS: Another pet food recall, and now Senate hearings on the horizon. Growing questions about the growing recall list.

CNN's Joe Johns investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day would end with a provocative question: Was the pet food accidentally contaminated. Or was it deliberate?

But it began with another recall, this time, an Alabama company that makes dog biscuits. It received some of the suspect wheat gluten containing a chemical known as melamine, believed toxic to dogs and cats. The FDA said recall of the products manufactured by Sunshine Mills pet food company was delayed, because Sunshine apparently got its Chinese wheat gluten from a middleman distributor that had purchased the wheat gluten from another U.S. supplier, a company called ChemNutra.

DR. STEPHEN SUNDLOF, DIRECTOR, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR VETERINARY MEDICINE: So, it was a little circuitous route, took us a little longer to trace that all down. But now we believe that we have accounted for all the wheat gluten that came from China, that shipment that is -- that is high in melamine, that we have accounted for all of it that has come into this country. And -- and, by the way, it all went into pet food.

JOHNS: Meaning it did not enter the human food supply chain.

How and where the melamine got into the wheat gluten is still a mystery. But the investigation took a new turn today, when the FDA told CNN it is looking whether there could have been a profit motive for deliberately introducing melamine into the wheat gluten. In other words, it might not have been an accident and may have been about money.

(on camera): That's right. Until now, the assumption has been that this was an accidental contamination, because melamine is used in plastics and pesticides, and has no business in pet food. However, the chemical could potentially be used to raise protein levels in the gluten, which could increase the price or make it easier to sell.

SUNDLOF: That's -- that's one of the theories that we have. In fact, that's one of the ones that we are pursuing, because, as you indicated, adding something that would increase the protein content of the wheat gluten would make it more valuable. So, that's -- that's a distinct possibility. But it's -- it's only one theory at this time.

JOHNS (voice-over): All the companies, including the company in China, have denied adding melamine to the wheat gluten in the pet food.

The FDA also that the number of pet food complaints it's received since the start of the scare is now at 12,000, the volume it would normally get over a two-year period.

In announcing the latest recall, Sunshine Mills said, no dog illnesses or deaths have been traced to its dog biscuits, which contain 1 percent or less of wheat gluten. Pet owners aren't the only ones watching. Plans for hearings in the Senate have now firmed up.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: What's happened over the last several weeks is unacceptable. What we have found is a threat to the lives of pets, dogs and cats, across America, a threat that should have been minimized and maybe even avoided.

JOHNS: When asked whether the worst is over, the FDA says it thinks so. The number of dead pets as a result of all this remains unclear. Officially, FDA only confirmed 16, though the real number is likely to be much higher.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, here's the question. What should you do to protect your pets? We will ask Lassie's vet?

Betty, you're going to talk to Lassie's vet?

NGUYEN: The veterinarian to the stars, including Lassie.

HARRIS: Get out of here. All right.

Coming up in just minutes, here in the NEWSROOM.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: A massive manhunt has just ended in New Jersey. Police say they have captured a third bank robbery suspect connected to the deadly shooting of an FBI agent.

Now, authorities had been searching for the suspect since yesterday, and that's when agent Barry Lee Bush was shot. As his team conducted a stakeout of several people believed to be involved in four bank robberies, the FBI says it appears Bush was shot by a fellow agent. An investigation is under way.

Dire new warnings this morning about the future of our planet. It comes from about 2,000 top scientists meeting at a global warming conference in Brussels. According to the U.N. document, up to 30 percent of the world's animal species risk extinction if global temperatures rise more than 3.5 degrees above the average in the 80s and 90s.

Plus, the world's natural treasures like the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rain forest and the Mexican desert face possible destruction. The report also warns of drought in some areas, flooding in others, as well as more hunger and disease.

That outlook is cataclysmic, but some scientists say that's the watered-down version. The report weakened at the insistence of some governments.

Well, we want to talk more about it.

Joining me now from Paris, Salvano Briceno of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

Salvano, great to talk to you.

Let's see if we can -- there's a lot there to digest, but let's try to bring this home as quickly as we can and put a fine point on this.

What do you consider to be -- let's start with the United States -- U.S. -- the United States' contribution to climate change?

SALVANO BRICENO, U.N. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION: Well, the U.S. is certainly the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, but they are also the leading country in many of the technologies that are needed to address this issue. So, the expectations for the U.S. is not only that it changes, or it helps to change behaviors in the American citizens to reduce their vulnerability, but also to show the lead and to lead the world on this since they have the greatest knowledge on this subject.

HARRIS: OK, Salvano. Let's listen together to the president talking about climate change from his news conference from the Rose Garden earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I recognize that man is contributing greenhouse gases. Anything that happens cannot hurt economic growth. It's -- and I say that because, one, I care about the working people of the country, but also because in order to solve greenhouse gas -- the greenhouse gas issue over a longer period of time, it's going to require new technologies, which tend to be expensive. And it's easier to afford expensive technologies if you're prosperous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Salvano, here is the question. Will the changes that are necessary to reverse some of the trend lines that we will talk about in just a moment cripple the U.S. economy and other economies around the world?

BRICENO: Not at all. Not at all. There is clear knowledge about technologies that don't need to be expensive. There is a lot of changes that can be done at a very low cost.

The issue is not only changing technologies or adapting technologies, but also changing behavior. The main challenge is how to make people reduce their vulnerability, to be more aware of the potential impact of these extreme hazards or extreme weather events that are expected, and to adapt to it. So, it's mainly change the behavior, and government can lead that in a very substantive matter, same as has been done to adapt to the traffic accidents, to AIDS, to smoking.

What needs is people changing behavior. Technologies are available, and they're not expensive.

HARRIS: OK. All right. Let's talk about that. Let's drill it down a bit.

Government may help, they may not be as helpful as we'd like. So what are some of the individual changes that each and every one of us can make in our lives on a daily basis that will help reverse some of these trend lines that you report?

BRICENO: First of all, the most urgent and important issue is to be more aware. It's education. It's information. It's to understand how these hazards operate, how they will impact, and what changes will come to the communities in which people live.

But also to understand it on a global basis, because people now travel very often. And as tourists, or students, or business abroad, they can be impacted by hazards, as we saw with the tsunami, for example. So, it is important, awareness, education. It is also important to be aware of the buildings, of how the houses are built and where the houses are built -- homes, schools, hospitals.

Also, it is important to understand early warning systems and to use them, to be part of them, and to understand that early warnings need to be followed by specific preparedness actions.

HARRIS: I see.

BRICENO: So, it's education, it's understanding early warning, it's preparing for the hazards.

HARRIS: And if you would, expand on one of the findings from the report. What does the study conclude will be the long-term effects of global warming? We don't have the time to go through the range, but on humans.

BRICENO: Well, the most important impact is of course the expected impact on sea level rise and how the coastal areas are going to be impacted by extreme weather events. But there is also a lot of impact on greater humidity, greater floods or greater storms or droughts, in specific areas.

The main purpose is how to reduce vulnerability, and how -- and it's not just climate change. It's urban vulnerability, it's environmental degradation. It's all those factors that are contributing to increase vulnerability.

HARRIS: Yes. And one more quick one. I had a conversation, an interesting conversation with someone this morning who said we can't predict the five-day forecast with great accuracy. How is it that all these scientists can hope to predict what's going to happen over the next 50 or 100 years?

How would you respond to that?

BRICENO: Because we don't need the same kind of accuracy. What is needed is a global impact.

And the five days' accuracy is just for your own location, for the specific areas. But as on a global basis, or a regional basis, longer-range -- longer-term impacts can be predicted very easily, and we know what is going to happen, not only because of climate change, but because of the increasing vulnerability in coastal areas and urban areas.

So, there's two elements that need to be factored in and need to be dealt with. It's reducing vulnerability, while adapting to extreme hazards.

HARRIS: I see. Salvano Briceno of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

Salvano, thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

BRICENO: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Coming up, sex in the classroom. No, not a lesson, but a demonstration? Fifth-graders accused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the girls came in and said, "There's to no teacher. We could do whatever we want." I was just freaking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: I imagine.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: The facts of life in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Making their mark. Fifteen British sailors and marines held captive in Iran now back home. They'll be telling their stories at a news conference coming up at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and CNN will bring that to you live when it begins.

HARRIS: In the meantime, this story. A small Louisiana community in shock this morning. Four fifth-graders accused of having sex in a classroom.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She loves computers, science and astronomy. So, when 11-year-old Blair saw four of her fellow fifth-graders allegedly having sex right in front of her and her classmates, it was, well, creepy.

BLAIR, 11 YEARS OLD: Yes, I was just freaking out.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Did you try -- did you look? Did you try not to look?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I turned around and I saw them. But then I turned back around. I'm like, I don't want to have anything to do with that.

CANDIOTTI: It happened right in this classroom at about 9:00 in the morning. There was a school assembly going on at the time. These students were not invited. And officials say, because of a mix-up between two teachers, the students were left alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the girls came in and said: There's no teacher. We can do whatever we want.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Police say that girl suggested having sex. Then she and another girl had sex with two boys in the back of the room. A third boy acted as lookout.

(on camera): What is it your investigators told you about where these kids came up with the idea?

BOB BUCKLEY, UNION PARISH, LOUISIANA, SHERIFF: In my humble opinion, I think of a lot of this is being picked by children from Internet and from lyrics of songs and what they see in the movies. CANDIOTTI: Do the kids involved in this get it? Do they get why so many people are upset about this?

BUCKLEY: I don't really think they -- they have. I think that the notoriety has been kind of an ego booster.

CANDIOTTI: In fact, this scandal is a very big deal here at Union Parish, Louisiana. In this rural area, many parents work two jobs to make ends meet. The church is influential here. Folks host conservative family values. There is no sex education in public schools, but the sheriff says that needs to change.

BUCKLEY: ... we as a community and we as parents need to do is -- is demand that there's some sex education in the classroom or in the home or wherever that teaches these kids that there's more to sex than just the act itself.

CANDIOTTI: Blair's mother blames the school for being neglectful.

REBECCA TRUMAN, MOTHER OF BLAIR: They should be under investigation for leaving the children unattended in the classroom.

CANDIOTTI: Four children are charged with obscene behavior, but the district attorney has not decided whether to prosecute them. The school board has yet to decide whether it will punish the kids. As for Blair, with the help of family, she is trying to cope.

BLAIR: I want the kids to know that it's all right to talk to their parents about what happened.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Why do you think that's important?

BLAIR: Because, well, it's stuff that they need to know in life.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): An unexpected lesson in life in a fifth- grade classroom.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Union Parish, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And good morning once again, everyone.

I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.

Firsthand accounts of capture and detention in Iran. Members of the Royal Navy will speak soon about their almost two weeks of captivity. A news conference is set to begin in about 30 minutes, and CNN will bring that to you live.

All 15 British sailors and marines returned home yesterday. They have been reunited with their families at the Royal Marine Base in southern England. HARRIS: A Greek cruise ship that struck a volcanic reef, forcing a mass evacuation, has sunk. The Sea Diamond went down today in the Aegean Sea off of Santorini. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated after the ship began taking on water yesterday. Two French passengers remain unaccounted for.

The three-hour rescue involved the Greek military, commercial ships, and local fishermen. Most of the almost 1,200 passengers were Americans.

NGUYEN: Well, contradiction in Iraq. A group labeled as terrorists protected by the U.S.

That's in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There is more bloodshed in Iraq today. An Iraqi official says this time 20 people were killed and 30 wounded in a suicide truck bombing that happened at a police checkpoint in Ramadi, the capital of the volatile Anbar province. Now, also today, word that another U.S. soldier was killed by gunfire in northern Iraq. That incident happened yesterday. Another soldier was injured.

HARRIS: Branded as terrorists but protected as a valuable source, an Iranian group in Iraq has friends in high places, it seems. CNN's Michael Ware reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To the U.S. State Department these are terrorists based in this sprawling military camp inside Iraq. Yet in an American contradiction, they are also protected by the U.S. military. An Iranian dissident group, they are the mujahideen (INAUDIBLE) or MEK.

MOJGAN PARSAII, MEK VICE PRESIDENT: The U.S. military police protects us as protected persons under the Geneva convention against terrorist attack by the Iranian regime and its agents.

WARE: While U.S. intelligence hunts and arrests Iranian special forces said to be training and supplying weapons like these to Shia militia in Iraq, the MEK are American allies opposed to the Iranian regime. Their politics, pro democracy with a dash of Marxism and Islamic ideology. To the U.S., they're valued as sources of much- needed intelligence on Iran's armed forces and nuclear program. But under U.S. law, they're listed as a foreign terrorist organization, meaning no American can deal with them. U.S. banks must freeze their assets and any American giving them any support, even transport, commits a crime. Yet their regular supply runs to Baghdad are given U.S. military escorts.

PARSAII: The (INAUDIBLE) logistical needs also take place under their control and protection of the MPs.

WARE: Military police escorts because, as these U.S. documents show, coalition forces regard them as protected persons under the Geneva convention. An American two-star general writes that the coalition remains deeply committed to the security and rights of the protected people of Ashraf. The MEK denies it is a terrorist group. After the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, all 3,800 camp residents, including a female tank battalion, were questioned by the FBI or other American agencies. Not a single arrest was made. The Red Cross monitors the MEK as a protected group, insisting they must not be deported, expelled or repatriated. So, the U.S. designates the MEK officially protected terrorists. Despite repeated requests, neither Iran's ambassador in Baghdad nor the U.S. military would comment on this story. But Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador did.

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, FMR U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: We have a policy that as described people here from the mujahideen as a protected group. One of our coalition partner country is actually protecting the camp where they mostly are. But there is no change in our policy that the mujahideen are regarded as a terrorist organization.

WARE: Having fled Iran and operating from Iraqi camps, the MEK spied on Iran for decades, their movement credited with exposing Tehran's secret nuclear program. In the 2003 invasion, Green Berets arrived at their camp to find gardens and monuments, plus more than 2,000 well-maintained tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, anti-aircraft guns and vehicles, all quickly surrendered under a cease-fire agreement, an agreement that also guaranteed their safety.

PARSAII: Everyone interested in the camp and the departure are controlled by the U.S. MP force.

WARE: The MPs haven't approved journalists entry to the base, Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad. Two years ago, a "Time" magazine photographer Uri Kozarem (ph) and I snuck past U.S. sentries to see the camp for ourselves. This video recently shot by the MEK shows not much as changed and Camp Ashraf remains one of the best-kept army facilities in Iraq. Meanwhile, both Iran and Iraq accuse the MEK of ongoing terrorist attacks and the Shia-dominated Iraqi government wants them out.

We gave this organization a six-month deadline to leave Iraq, and we informed the Red Cross says Iraq's national security minister and presumably our friends, the Americans, respect our decision and now will not stay on Iraqi land.

The MEK denies launching any attacks and for now, America is helping them stay.

KHALILZAD: There are counter pressures too. There are people who say, no, they shouldn't be allowed to stay here. And as you know around the world, there are people who have got different views towards them.

WARE: Different views that allow the U.S. to regard the MEK as both a terrorist group and a potential source of intelligence on Iran. Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert at the via de la Rosa (ph) in Jerusalem. Thousands of Christian pilgrims are following what they believe to be the last steps of Jesus before his crucifixion. I'll have more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: At Good Friday services today, many Christians will follow the stations of the cross. It is a path some scholars say is paved with good intention but not fact. Our Atika Shubert is live from Jerusalem via de la Rosa where pilgrims walk this path. Atika, want to know how many people visit the city this time of year.

SHUBERT: Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims. We've been seeing these processions come every hour. It's especially heavy this year because the orthodox and Catholic calendars are actually converging, celebrating Easter at the same time. We see these Christian pilgrims walking down this very road following what they believe to be the last steps of Jesus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHUBERT (voice-over): Every year the faithful come dressed in robes and thorn crowns dragging wooden crosses. They walk the via de la Rosa, the Way of Sorrow, the route Jesus is said to have walked to his crucifixion. Pilgrims follow what are known as the 14 stations of the cross, scenes that mark Jesus final hours.

REV. JEROME MURPHY O'CONNOR, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR: Today there's a traditional route that starts on the east side of the city and goes towards the west. And that is completely wrong.

SHUBERT: According to the bible, Roman Governor Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. Some think it would have happened here, then the governor's residence, now a museum. Others think it started from another Roman barracks, now the site of a school. The official stations of the cross begin at this site, but even these scholars say, are a myth.

O'CONNOR: They're not mentioned in the gospels at all. It was simply a way of preachers trying to get people to really understand that this was torture.

SHUBERT: Historians think the stations were designed to spread the gospels, a liturgical invention originally placed on the walls of a church, re-created much later in the streets of Jerusalem.

STEPHAN PFANN, PRES., HOLY LAND UNIVERSITY: So, it was a matter of finding good places to have these 14 different stations in the midst of the city itself.

SHUBERT: But for pilgrims, none of this detracts from the holiness of the via de la Rosa today.

O'CONNOR: Places that have been visited in good faith by courageous, simple people that they do require a pattern to which every decent human being should be sensitive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHUBERT: For all the Christian pilgrims we've seen today, they've been coming from all corners of the world, Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Korea and so regardless of whether or not this is the actual historical route, clearly it's still a very emotional and meaningful journey for these pilgrims. Betty.

NGUYEN: Emotional and meaningful, but there are so many questions, Atika, which leads me to ask you, with this confusion out there, why were the stations created and why do Christians still follow it today?

SHUBERT: Well, it was created really to spread the gospels. It was a way of following, not just the physical journey, but the spiritual journey of Jesus and for that reason, many pilgrims say it doesn't necessarily matter whether or not this is historically the correct route, but that they are experiencing following the meaning of Jesus' message. That's what many of those visitors here today have told us.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Atika Shubert, thank you for that, Atika.

HARRIS: A father and son on a shopping trip. Did dad try to buy an AK-47 for his two-year-old son?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can hold it like this and anybody in front of you, you can mow them down. You can kill everybody up front you. And you a soldier. You're going to be a soldier because daddy's going to buy you this chopper (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Armed and diapered in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Almost two weeks in Iran. The confessions, the apologies, was any of it real? Freed British troops discuss their captivity. That is at the top of the hour live in the NEWSROOM.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis. Need help? I'm talking about financial help. We'll tell you what to look for in a financial planner. That's next on top tips in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, you already know how to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon Eastern. But did you know you can take us with you anywhere on that iPod?

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: The CNN NEWSROOM podcast. It is available 24/7 right on your iPod.

HARRIS: All right. It is Friday. I thought we had some music or graphics. OK. That means Gerri Willis is reaching into her bag of e- mail to answer your money questions. Gerri, good morning to you. Good Friday to you.

WILLIS: Tony, it's Friday. Hallelujah.

HARRIS: Hallelujah. Should we dive in?

WILLIS: Yes.

HARRIS: Let's do it. All right. Brian from Atlanta writes, oh, Gerri, I am in the market for a financial planner. What sort of things should I look for in hiring one?

WILLIS: Great question. It's all about the designations. The one thing you should look for is someone who has the letters CFP after their names. This stands for certified financial planner and it means the person has gone through a lot of training and continues to take continuing education classes. Don't forget that financial planners may get paid by commission. To find financial planners who don't, check out the advisers of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers. They have a web site, napa.org.

HARRIS: Very nice, very nice. All right, Debby from Massachusetts writes -- I need a bigger font on this. I can barely read this. I am planning to apply Gerri, to several mortgage companies to get a competitive rate. Will this reduce my credit rating?

WILLIS: Well, this is a very good question from Debby. Mortgage companies access your credit report every time you ask for a loan. And while typically a lot of credit inquiries would damage your score, in this case, it may not. That's because the FICO score ignores all mortgage inquiries made 30 days before scoring. Now, you run into problems when you have over three or four different inquiries over several months. So, bottom line here, really doesn't matter how many mortgage companies you apply to. What matters is how quickly you do it. You should do it inside a month.

HARRIS: Good advice. Thanks Gerri. Rashaun from Texas writes, my new job offers a thrift savings plan. I don't think I've heard of this, a thrift savings plan. Is that better than a 401k?

WILLIS: Well, Tony, a thrift savings plan is a retirement plan for Federal employees. It works very much like a 401k except there is no employer match for a thrift savings plan. Both vehicles invest in stocks and bonds and the contribution limits are the same. So to get the 101 on these plans, you want to go to tsp.gov. And Tony, I just want to mention we're getting a lot of e- mail, people are asking where you can find out which credit cards practice universal default. Now universal default is when your credit card operator raises your interest rate on your credit card. Even if you paid all your cards on time but were late with other payments for other things like utility bills. The thing to do go to cardratings.com. Here you get a comprehensive list of the specific policies and practices of your credit cards and of course, if you have a question, e-mail us at stocktips@cnn.com. We'd love to hear from you and we love answering your questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: You know what Gerri, in the very near future, let's put together a segment of top tips where we talk about some of these practices of credit card companies. I think that would be pretty helpful. Do you agree?

WILLIS: I think that's a great idea. We'll get to work on that Tony.

HARRIS: Let's do that. Have a great weekend Gerri.

WILLIS: Thank you Tony.

NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE)

HARRIS: I do what I can.

NGUYEN: Check this out Tony. Looks like a good time on the ice, right?

HARRIS: Yeah.

NGUYEN: Well, caught on tape, a CNN I- reporter. What happened next? You don't want to miss. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Now I want to see it.

And still to come, in pampers and packing heat. Did a toddler get his first lesson in armed combat from dad? Details in the NEWSROOM.

VERONIC DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: Whether you like it or not, it is time for spring cleaning. You can log on to cnn.com for a few creative ways to get your home in order. Now before you roll up your sleeve and take the plunge, point and click your way through trips on trimming your grass and organizing your garage and get some expert advice for the ultimate spring cleaning checklist. If you're repainting the house, take this quiz to find out what your color choices say about your personality. Then take a look at the gallery to see how the colors work in certain rooms.

And it's true the garage might be the messiest place in the house, but it can also be the most dangerous. This gallery tells you what you need to know when it comes to dealing with chemicals and teaches you how to store everything properly to keep you and your family safe. You can get more at cnn.com/spring. For the dot com desk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at these faces. They were held by Iran for almost two weeks. A live news conference with the British sailors and Marines now back home in England. That is at the top of the hour in the NEWSROOM. HARRIS: He was once a cleanup hitter in the major leagues. Now he is a developer cleaning up down-and-out properties to create low- income housing. In this week's segment of life after work, Ali Velshi looks at the big-league personality of Mo Vaughn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A big stick and a big personality made slugger Mo Vaughn a star during his 12 years in the major leagues. But when his baseball career ended in 2003, he had no intention of retiring. Instead, he traded his uniform for a business suit and the baseball diamond for the board room.

These days, Mo's fans are thousands of low-income families in and around New York City.

MO VAUGHN, FORMER BASEBALL PLAYER: Affordable housing is a need. It's not only a need here in New York. It's a world-wide need.

VELSHI: With the help of business partner (INAUDIBLE), he founded Omni New York in 2004. Since then, the company has turned notoriously run-down buildings in crime-infested neighborhoods into safe havens for affordable housing with the help of government bonds and tax credits.

VAUGHN: When we purchased this building, it was run down. There were tenants that were afraid to come out at night.

VELSHI: Grace Towers in east Brooklyn was transformed from a hub for drug deals and prostitution to a peaceful residential complex for families.

NELSON LEE, GRACE TOWERS RESIDENT: The only time I'm going to leave here when they take me out, feet first or head first.

VELSHI: Head first is how Mo dives into each now project and while he says his new career is lucrative, for Mo it's not just about the money, but rehabilitating run-down buildings and communities.

VAUGHN: I don't think anybody will beat the thrill of catching a 3-2 pitch at the bottom of the ninth to win the game, but this is probably as close as it can get to it.

VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Live picture now of the site of the news conference to begin any moment now. Members of the Royal Navy will speak very soon, we understand, about their almost two weeks of captivity in Iran, the news conference set to begin any moment. Of course, we will bring you life coverage of it. There you see the shot of the scene right now. All 15 British sailors and Marines, as you know, returned home yesterday. Live coverage right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. They have been reunited with their families, great pictures we were able to bring you yesterday at the Royal Marine base in southern England. When that news conference begins, we will bring it to you of course live right here in the NEWSROOM.

In the meantime, parents teaching children. One store manager says he witnessed a troubling lesson for one toddler, how to hold an AK-47. Latanya Norton (ph) of New Orleans affiliate WDSU has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LATANYA NORTON, WDSU CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is an image pawn shop manager Dan Reese never thought he'd see, a two-year old wearing diapers and holding an AK-47 given to him by his father and all of it caught on tape.

The husband asked to see an AK-47 and as soon as the girl hands it to him, he calls his small child over and tells him, daddy's buying you this AK, this chopper he called it. Dad's going to buy you a chopper so you can become a soldier.

NORTON: Reese is on the right side of the screen assisting another customer, this while the father proceeds to show the child how to hold, load and operate the weapon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's telling him this is how you hold your chopper, you can hold it like this. And anybody in front of you, you can mow them down. You can kill everybody out in front of you. And you're a soldier. You're going to be a soldier because dad is going to buy you this chopper.

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