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Iraq Parliament Bombing; Preacher's Wife Trial; Imus Off the Air

Aired April 13, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the program, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and get you updated on some of stories that we are following today this Friday, the 13th of April.

Here's what's on the rundown.

The Rutgers women's basketball team making an appearance a short time ago, just hours after a meeting with radio host Don Imus. The coach pledging to turn the I-Man's ugly comment into a national dialogue on race.

HOLMES: And day two of the Mary Winkler murder trial in Tennessee. The preacher's wife accused of gunning down her preacher husband. The defense tries to explain.

COLLINS: Scientists make an intriguing discovery. For the first time they link obesity to genetics. When fat is all in the family, in the NEWSROOM.

Officials today reduced the Iraq parliament building death toll. They now say one lawmaker died in the blast. Initially, they reported as many as eight people killed.

CNN's Arwa Damon is at the shattered parliament building in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The attack took place just on the other side of this wall. This is the convention center at the heart of the heavily fortified Green Zone, where parliament convenes on a regular basis.

A day later, the devastation still remains. There are pieces of flesh and dried blood embedded in the carpet, shards of glass littering just about everything. All is covered with a thick layer of dust.

Parliament did convene today in an emergency session to commemorate the life that was lost in the attack, that of Mohammed Hassan Awa (ph). They placed a wreath of flowers in the chair that he will no longer be occupying, and many individuals spoke out in his memory, also calling for true national unity and national reconciliation, saying that his death, his martyrdom would continue to represent the Iraqi government's ongoing effort and determination to stand up against terrorism.

But the most emotional testimony came from Nada Mohammed. She barely escaped with her life and said that it was a life-altering experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADA MOHAMMED IBRAHIM, NATIONAL DIALOG FRONT: And after I had, you know, concussion, and I have injury in my neck, they took me to the hospital. I never, ever think about myself or the other injured people who I have been with them in the hospital. I don't know why, because -- maybe because I am a doctor. I always think that -- about the other Iraqis who have been for the last four years hit and killed, and they couldn't have the chance even to go to a decent hospital to have good treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: We also heard from the Kurdish deputy prime minister, Barhem Saleh, who said that the Iraqi government could not afford to lose and that they would not lose. But for the Iraqi people, many of them are looking at this attack as an example of the Iraqi government's inability to protect itself and, therefore, its inability to protect them. They have heard calls of national unity and national reconciliation from members of parliament and from their own government many times in the past. If the government is truly going to stand behind those statements, the Iraqi people are waiting to see the rhetoric turned into action.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And a group linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq now claiming responsibility for the parliament building bombing. The Pentagon today reacting to the attack and other recent violence in Iraq.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now live.

And Barbara, what are they saying there?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., hello to you.

It is hard at this point to overestimate the level of concern here at the Pentagon about those two recent attacks in Baghdad, the car bombing of the bridge over the river, as well as this bombing by a suicide bomber at the parliament building. Officials here say it is of great concern, they are trying to figure out at this point whether this really is going to become a pivotal moment in the effort to bring security and stability to Iraq. They saw it more than a year ago with the bombing of the Golden Mosque, of course, resulting in months and months of sectarian violence. Here, the concern, of course, is that the Iraqi government be able to hold together, because the entire U.S. security operation is aimed at giving this Iraqi government that was attacked yesterday the opportunity to take hold. So a good deal of concern here.

But we just finished a briefing with a top U.S. commander in Baghdad, and there are additional concerns. And those are Iran's continuing, growing involvement in the trouble inside Iraq.

We've heard an awful lot about Iran's involvement in supporting Shia groups. But now, today, we are hearing more details about why Iran apparently now is supporting Shia extremists.

Listen to what Lieutenant General Ray Odierno just had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, U.S. ARMY: I think it's mainly because they want to continue to create chaos in Iraq. They do not want this government potentially to succeed.

But additionally, I think they want to try to tie down coalition forces here. And it's clear that they are attempting to affect what's going on inside of Iraq on a daily basis. And we have to be very aware of that, and we will continue to be aware of that and work it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: What General Odierno is really talking about here, T.J., is an expansion of Iran's trouble-making influence, efforts to get involved in the war in Iraq, not supporting just the Shia groups that it's been well known they are supporting for many months now, but now expanding their efforts to Sunni extremists groups that until now they haven't been allied with -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Expanded troublemaking.

Barbara Starr for us from the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you so much.

COLLINS: The preacher's wife back in court today. Mary Winkler faces a first-degree murder charge for killing her husband. Both sides outlining a secret life behind the facade of a perfect marriage in small-town Tennessee.

Our Thomas Roberts is covering the trial and joins us now from outside the courtroom.

Thomas, where do the proceedings stand at this point?

THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, good morning.

We're in day two of the first-degree murder trial that's taking place here in Selmer, Tennessee. And so far this morning, the main focus of the testimony has been about the statement or the confession, as some call it, that Mary Winkler made after being brought in by authorities in Orange Beach, Alabama.

She spoke with investigators briefly -- or not briefly, but shortly after the time period where she was picked up there in late March of last year. And it's pretty interesting to listen to her demeanor, and also to watch Mary as she listens to herself in this statement.

Let's go ahead and listen to some of the bites that come to us from her own confession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

MARY WINKLER, DEFENDANT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he ever hurt you?

WINKLER: With all due respect, newspaper and, you know, whatever -- this comes to pass. No matter what in the end, I don't want it -- I don't want him smeared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Now we're hearing there Mary trying to protect Matthew, saying that she didn't want his name to be smeared.

Another statement that she made is when they asked her about the shotgun itself and the shooting itself. And she said, well, it had a smell to it after the shot was fired, and also it wasn't as loud as she thought it would have been.

Mary Winkler is listening to this very intently this morning. They're in recess right now. They took a quick break, Heidi, this morning here. This is the first break of the morning.

And still, it remains to be seen whether or not Mary Winkler is going to take the stand. You know, day after day, we've been asking her defense attorneys whether or not she's going to take the stand. And still, they're playing pretty shrewd with their answer on that.

COLLINS: So many people wondering about her thoughts of what went on and about that marriage, I'm sure.

What about her oldest child, though? I think there had been some discussion about whether or not her oldest child would actually testify.

ROBERTS: Yes, Heidi, you're absolutely right. There was discussion, because in opening statements yesterday, the prosecution made reference to their oldest daughter.

She was 8 at the time of the shooting. She's 9 years old now. But made reference to the fact that she gave a statement to authorities about what happened after she heard the shot that morning in the house, and then what her mother told her, and then when they ultimately left in the car to go on to Alabama.

The defense stood up and said that they were saddened to hear the fact that the prosecution may decide to call a child to the stand. So, again, we're kind of blind here, a little bit, to the witness list of exactly who's going to be lost, if Mary Winkler is going to be called, if that young daughter is going to be called.

And interesting to point out that the father-in-law, Dan Winkler, was the first person to take the stand yesterday. However, his name wasn't on the witness list that was provided to us. So, it's kind of anybody's guess.

COLLINS: Yes. Yes, it is.

Well, we're glad that you're there watching it for us.

Thomas Roberts live from Selmer, Tennessee, this morning.

Thanks, Thomas.

HOLMES: Off-the-cuff comments, off the air the result. Don Imus fired for a racially-charged remark. Well, just minutes ago, a public awards rally for the women of Rutgers basketball. They were the targets, of course, of Imus's comments. This even was scheduled before his remarks ignited outrage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. VIVIAN STRINGER, RUTGERS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: We're going to take this point and all of what's happened as something very positive. It's not about hate. It's not about anger. It's about an understanding.

And I think these women at Rutgers University have brought the attention of the nation here. It needs to start here at Rutgers University. It needs to continue here at Rutgers University. And with every breath in my body, I will continue to speak out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Last night, hours after being fired, Imus kept his scheduled meeting with the basketball players and the coach. Imus was accompanied by his wife.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DEIRDRE IMUS, DON IMUS'S WIFE: They gave us the opportunity to listen to what they had to say and what -- why they're hurting and how awful this is. And I have to say that these women are unbelievably courageous and beautiful women. And one thing I want to say is that the hate mail that's being sent to them must stop.

It's -- this is -- this is the wrong -- if you want to send hate mail, send it to my husband.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COLLINS: Imus's wife, who you just heard, is sitting in for him, hosting his long-scheduled fund-raiser for children's charities.

Looking ahead, Imus's firing raises questions. What's his future and what about job security for other shock-jocks?

CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This broadcast is history in the making.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Shock-jock Howard Stern left the public airwaves for satellite radio. So did controversial radio hosts Opie and Anthony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our first day on XM Satellite Radio.

CHERNOFF: But a source in the industry says there's no opportunity now for Imus on satellite radio, especially since Sirius and XM are hoping to gain government approval for a planned merger.

PAUL LA MONICA, CNNMONEY.COM: Satellite radio can't afford the risk right now. Simply put, they just need to steer clear of any more controversy that could possibly derail their merger plans.

DON IMUS, FMR. RADIO HOST: And sometimes we go too far.

CHERNOFF: Indeed, the collapse of Imus, an original shock-jock, could mark a threshold, a change in attitudes about public vulgarity. In cutting ties to Don Imus, both CBS and NBC say they hope to clean up the airwaves.

STEVE CAPUS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENT: This had touched a nerve. And the comment that came through to us time and time again was, when is enough going to be enough?

CHERNOFF: CBS CEO Les Moonves told his staff in a memo, "Firing Imus is an effort to curb offensive speech in American pop culture. In taking him off the air, I believe we take an important and necessary step in changing that culture, which extends far beyond the walls of our company."

JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: ... more inclusive.

CHERNOFF: Minority leaders who called for Imus's firing say their campaign on all kinds of media companies is just getting started.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We're going to be looking around the television industry and the music industry. And clearly, I think that all of them ought to know that there is no one that does not, in our judgment, get a pass here. I think from musicians on.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Of course easier said than done. Controversial and sometimes offensive comments very often lead to big ratings in radio and television, and nasty lyrics certainly have not hurt music sales. So many people may be fed up, but among those who are not, will they actually stop buying and stop tuning in?

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The meeting held last night between Imus and the Rutgers players held in the governor's mansion in New Jersey, but Governor Jon Corzine was on his way to moderate when he was involved in a violent car crash. Today he is in critical condition but expected to recover.

The crash broke his leg, several ribs, his sternum, and fractured a vertebrae. The trooper who was driving Corzine suffered minor injuries. Police are searching for the driver of a pickup truck who's blamed for causing the crash.

The hospital has scheduled a news conference for the bottom of the hour. We're going to be watching it here in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Those former Duke University lacrosse players may be off the hook, but now it's the D.A. who's got some legal problems. What he's saying now, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Also, it hovers like a helicopter, flies like a plane, and is heading to the war zone. Take a wild ride in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And Old Glory holding on there in a massive dust storm out West. We have got all the dirt for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: You're looking at a live picture here at Rutgers University, where the women of Rutgers basketball have just been honored by the board of governors there, a regularly scheduled -- or previously scheduled event to honor their accomplishments for the year.

And here's the coach. It looks like she's about to make some comments. So we will tune in and answer to her.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

STRINGER: We just want to make a statement. OK? Because we could be a little more conclusive than what we were last night.

And I'll read a statement that we as a basketball team have decided to accept and embrace. OK?

"We, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knight Basketball Team accept Mr. Imus's apology, and we are in the process of forgiving. We still find his statements to be unacceptable, and this is an experience that we will never forget."

"These comments are indicative of greater ills in our culture. It is not just Mr. Imus, and we hope that this will be and serve as a catalyst for change."

Let us continue to work hard together to make this world a better place. As adults, we must lead. As parents we must guide. We must put children and morality above all else. And we must allow children to be children. The healing process must begin."

"As for the members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, their focus needs to be turned to their studies. We ask that you respect that. We would also like to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support throughout this very, very difficult time."

QUESTION: Coach, you talk about wanting to move on, but you're (INAUDIBLE) something that's very distressing, which is hate mail. Can you say, did you receive hate mail? What did it entail?

STRINGER: We're not going to address that. I think if we're talking about the healing process, then that's what we want to do.

We have accepted Mr. Imus's apology. What he did and what he said, which we all know, was just symptomatic of the greater ills of society.

I think that America has spoken. I think that we as adults do need to lead. Let the children be children, let the corporate leaders be responsible, and let the religious leaders, you know, go forward.

This is not just Mr. Imus. Like, as we said, it's not just Rutgers women's basketball.

It spoke to women, you know, it spoke to sexism, and it spoke to racism in our society. And to think that this all happened on the same day as the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, on the same day, at age 39, 39 years later, and in the 21st century. Don't we realize that it is time for we as Americans to all hold ourselves to a higher standard?

I sense that the music industry, the film industry -- you know, as adults, educators, everyone is sharing in this responsibility. And it's good to see us, you know, have this -- the type of dialogue that we've had.

So, you know, the hate mail needs to stop. And for anyone who receives or takes part in that, they need to stop.

So we don't accept the utterances of anything like that from anyone's mouth. And I'm hoping that at the federal level we decide to, you know, employ much higher standards for our children.

QUESTION: Were you shocked that he lost his CBS job as well? How do you feel about that? STRINGER: We didn't -- if you noticed, there was -- there was no time -- at no time did Rutgers University women's basketball team ask for, you know, his job. And it would sadden me for anyone to lose their job. And I do mean anyone to lose their job.

You k now, good things have got to come from this. So don't make a mistake and think that this is the Rutgers women's basketball team that has called for his job.

We were happy and excited, as was he, because we had a long dialogue with parents, coaches, players, our minister, our administrators, and we got a lot -- a lot of good things. And so the opportunity to discuss, I suggest that everybody do that.

We weren't calling for his job. And he came in spite of the fact that he lost his job. So let's give him credit for that.

QUESTION: How would you characterize the way he handled himself last night, his apology, his demeanor?

STRINGER: I thought that he was -- he was expressive of himself. I thought that he shared with us the context in which, you know, it happened.

It nonetheless, you know, absolves him from what was said. And we know that. You know?

But why did it happen? You know, we can ask these questions, you know, from now until eternity. That it happened, as I said, speaks to the greater issue.

He was remorseful. He expressed his apology. We've accepted his apology.

This team and I would like to heal. We are in the process of forgiving.

We have accepted his apology. We really are. And I think that's what everybody needs to do.

These young ladies don't need to receive anything more. They're innocent. You know?

Let's give credit to everyone, including MSNBC, CBS, everybody. Give credit to all these people. For once people are standing up. And for once, I just want to say to all of you guys, like I said, those of you who are handling the camera and those of you who are doing anything else, those of you who have children, you are for once taking another level of moral standard.

So just be and do the right thing. Don't try to sell a 35-cent newspaper. Don't try to make big headlines at the expense and off the backs of these young women or at the expense or off the back of Mr. Imus.

Let this man have some level of integrity. Let him grow. Let us all learn from this.

We don't -- you know, we seem to like, as spectators sports, putting people down, stomping on their throat, and making sure they are dead. And if they're not, we're going to follow it up with, how well were they dressed in the coffin?

We have got to stop.

QUESTION: So would you mind if he somehow showed back up on radio, satellite radio?

STRINGER: That is for the corporate people to decide. I'm not going to make a judgment about this man's -- this man's direction.

All I know is that we are looking forward -- I personally am looking forward to joining forces with other people who want to bring about change for the right reasons without respect to affiliation, political side, the religious side, you know, black, white, skinny, tall, whatever, big money, little money. It's just about people. That's where we're coming from.

And as I said to my team, as well as to our administrators, I've always been a person who has spoken of social change. I really want to make sure that we move in this direction now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

STRINGER: Thank you.

HOLMES: You just got done listening there to Coach Stringer of the Rutgers women's basketball team, sounding a lot more forgiving and open to change than a lot of people have sounded in regards to Don Imus over the past week or so that this whole thing got stirred up. The first thing out of her mouth at that press conference, "We have accepted his apology. We are looking to move on and we are looking to heal."

Even mentioned in there at some point that people should stop beating up on him and allow him to have some level of integrity here. But certainly giving him credit for doing what he did and making his apology there. And they are ready to move on.

Also need to let you know that that meeting that took place last night between Imus and the women of the Rutgers basketball team happened last night at the governor's mansion. Well, the governor was on his way to the mansion there in New Jersey when he was involved in an accident, Governor Jon Corzine.

Video here you're seeing of that accident, a pretty bad accident. Now understand that today he is in pretty bad shape.

He has several broken bones, a broken vertebrae even, broke several ribs. He's going to have months and months of long recovery and suffering, we understand. But we do expect at 11:30, just maybe five minutes or so, a press conference I believe from the hospital, where we're going to hear about his condition and get some kind of an update. But that's connected to this Rutgers story as well.

But again, the headline from the Rutgers women, they have accepted his apology and calling for others to accept his apology and move on and heal from this as well.

So we're keeping our eye on that press conference about the governor and we'll bring that to you live when it does happen.

COLLINS: Saying I'm sorry may not be enough. Trouble for the district attorney who brought rape and sexual assault charges against three Duke University lacrosse players. They're now cleared of all charges and considering a lawsuit.

This, despite D.A. Mike Nifong's carefully worded apology issued yesterday. He writes this: "To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused."

Nifong is also up on ethics charges with the North Carolina State Bar for the way he handled the case. And that could cost him his law license. The case will be heard in June.

HOLMES: A gene that could keep from you fitting in your jeans. Scientists find a possible obesity link? That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Students get a surprise from their pen pal in Afghanistan. The soldier shows up in class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're sitting in a bunk, and you're away from your family and stuff, and you're reading some of the stuff that they write in there. You know, it just brings a smile to your face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Will probably choke you up, too. Letters from home, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Want to let you know what we are waiting to take a look at here. This is Cooper University Hospital. There will be a news conference on Governor Jon Corzine's condition. You may remember us telling you earlier in the program that he was hurt last night, pretty badly, too, on his way to moderate that meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team at his mansion in New Jersey. This is Camden, New Jersey now. We'll be waiting for, I believe it will be some physicians and so forth to come to those microphones and tell us how he's doing. LEMON: An insurgent group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq now claiming responsibility for the parliament building bombing. The claim made on an Islamist web site.

U.S. and Iraqi authorities say one person was killed in yesterday's blast. Earlier, they reported as many as eight killed. Investigators suspect the suicide bomber got help from insiders. They've detained three cafeteria workers and several security officers. Iraq's parliament is mourning the lawmaker who died in that blast. The parliament holding a special session this morning to quote "defy terrorism" but only a few lawmakers showed up.

It takes off like a helicopter, flies like a plane. Now, it's heading to Iraq. This morning, the Defense Department is confirming the deployment of its Marine B-22 Osprey. But as CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports, the aircraft is plagued with problems.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When you see the B-22 in action, it's easy to see how it captured the imagination of then Navy Secretary, John Lehman.

(on camera) Who first saw the predecessor of the B-22 at a Paris air show in the 1980s.

(voice over) But over the next 25 years, the B-22 Osprey would require a reputation as an unreliable, unaffordable, boondoggle whose unique tilt rotor design was inherently unsafe. Two deadly crashes in 2000 that killed 23 Marines just when the B-22 was supposed to be certified ready for combat, seemed to validate the critics and nearly doomed the $50 million program. But now the Osprey has risen, phoenix-like from the ashes.

(on camera) The appeal of the B-22 is that it combines the best of both worlds. It can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane. These 38-foot rotors can move from this vertical position to a horizontal position in just 12 seconds, taking it from a helicopter that might fly 100 miles an hour to a plane that can fly in excess of 300 miles an hour. Now, that gives it a lot more range than say this old Vietnam era CH-46.

(voice over) To show they believe the B-22's problems are a thing of the past, the Marines decided to let reporters fly on the futuristic aircraft. And I signed up for the maiden press flight at the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, along with CNN cameraman Jeremy Harlin and CNN producer, Jim Barnett.

(on camera) This is a little bit of history right here. We are the first civilians ever to fly on the B-22. After 16 years of development. The ride was wild, a rapid takeoff followed by some sharp turns and a heart-pumping low-level flight over Camp Lejuene, North Carolina.

One of the advantages the Osprey has, it's quiet. In fact, on the ground, you can't really hear it coming until it's right over your head. (voice over) The aerobatics demonstration proved the B-22 can easily outmaneuver a helicopter but only combat experience will prove if its critics are wrong. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

COLLINS: An earthquake rattled nerves but didn't cause major damage. The magnitude 6 quake was centered about 40 miles northwest of Acapulco. Tall buildings swayed and frightened residents ran into the streets, some of them in their pajamas. Mexico officials say about 20 percent of homes in Mexico City's downtown district lost power. There was at least one aftershock.

LEMON: Check it out there to the right. That big old rain cloud. No, really, that's dust to the right of your screen. A huge wall of dust rolled into the Phoenix area reducing visibility to just a few feet. Strong winds triggered the dust storm. The powerful gusts blew down trees and power lines and many flights out of the city, of course, had to be delayed.

COLLINS: They had to delay the flights, I think, because dust gets in the engine, that's a bad thing. FOD, Chad Myers, foreign object debris?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: A class of Alabama six graders working to make life easier for a soldier in Afghanistan. They made him their pen pal. Then he made a special visit. Brian Henry, a CNN affiliate of WSFA, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN HENRY, CNN AFFILIATE WSFA (voice over): Letters from home. A lot of letters. Two envelopes full, three written by Allison Walker.

ALLISON WALKER, PEN PAL: Sometimes we would just say thank you for what you're doing.

HENRY: Little did Allison and her classmates know her correspondence would catch the attention of a soldier thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. A surprise visit by Scott Wilson. And boy, did the kids every bombard him with questions!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to go back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your favorite thing to do there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it true it's burning up in the daytime and freezing at night?

SCOTT WILSON, PEN PAL: Yes. During the day you'd be sweating.

HENRY: So those letters and cards really do make a difference?

WILSON: Definitely. HENRY: Now the souvenirs, money from Afghanistan, some no longer in circulation but still pretty cool to Mary Shodor (ph).

MARY SHODOR, PEN PAL: The writing on it and how much it's worth.

HENRY: For the time being, Wilson has completed his tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. And actually flew down from his base in North Carolina to deliver a personal thank you. Not only to the children but to their teacher, Susan Barnes, who got the idea of writing letters from her Beta Club.

WILSON: An actual American flag that was flown in Afghanistan.

HENRY: Fighting in a foreign country, Scott Wilson says the letters meant the world to him.

WILSON: You're sitting in a bunk, away from your family and you read some of the stuff they write in there, it brings a smile to your face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you do for fun over there?

HENRY: Talking about his experiences, Scott Wilson brought the world closer to home to this group of children. It's his way of thanking them for bringing the comforts of home a little closer to the front lines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Quickly now to governor Jon Corzine's kids at Cooper University Hospital. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that there are many people that are concerned. It feels really good today. So I feel like, you know, we got a good vibe from him and he's, you know, he's a fighter. So we really believe he's going to be okay.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you been able to speak to him much? He has a tube in his throat. Is he able to communicate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll let the doctors take the questions. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Steven Ross, a member of the medical team here at Cooper University Medical Center.

STEVEN ROSS, GOV. CORZINE'S DOCTOR: Governor Corzine remains in critical but stable condition in the trauma intensive care unit. He remains on the ventilator, on the breathing machine. Heavily sedated in order to treat the pain from his chest fractures. He's recovering well from the surgery that was done on his broken leg. He has significantly improved over the course of the night. He does awaken. And is able to communicate with us a little bit, but remains heavily sedated. And he is doing well, considering the injuries he sustained.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Dr. Ross, when you say communicate with you, what does that mean? Is he saying anything?

ROSS: No. He has a tube in his throat and cannot talk, but he is able to answer simple yes or no questions about whether he's having pain and things like that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do the days ahead look like for the governor?

ROSS: Well, a lot of it is going to depend on our ability to control the pain from the broken ribs. Hopefully he will make good progress with that and we'll be able to get him off the ventilator over the course of the next few days. That's in large measure going to depend on his individual recovery. So it's really impossible to predict exactly what, how he's going to do, how long it's going to take.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you assess the overall level of trauma that his body has faced as a result of this accident? The two surgeries that he's had.

ROSS: He has had severe trauma. Using a general lay description, he's had severe trauma.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What can you tell us about the procedure, starting from ...

ROSS: I really cannot give detailed information at this time. Once the governor is well enough to make his own decisions as to release of information, he may choose to allow us to release detailed information or release it himself. But at this point, I'm only going to give general information about his condition and his injuries and how he's progressing.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How long do you feel he'll have to be sedated?

ROSS: That's in large measure up to him in terms of what it takes to control his pain.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: People who have had broken ribs say it's extremely painful. Can you describe that?

ROSS: I can vouch for that myself. It's extremely painful. It hurts to breathe. That's the critical thing here, to make sure he has enough pain control so he can breathe on his own without the ventilator but not so much pain control that his mental status is depressed so he cannot breathe. That is generally how we treat people with chest injury.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does he have any other medical conditions?

ROSS: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was he wearing a seat belt or not wearing a seat belt? ROSS: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does he have any medical conditions that may complicate the treatment he's getting now?

ROSS: No, he does not.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there any way of determing how close he came to far more serious result than what he wound up with?

ROSS: There are two answers to that. I'll wait until they're done. No medical personnel described it as not being life threatening because we would not do such a thing. And second thing, there's no way to tell specifically how close he came to more severe injuries but based on the pictures I've seen of the crash, I think he was lucky. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. A couple more questions.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was he wearing a seat belt?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: ... red pickup truck or anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those questions should be referred to the New Jersey State Police.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was he wearing a seat belt?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state police are conducting that investigation. It does not appear he was wearing a seat belt.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Should the state police be conducting the investigation because there was a state police driver behind the wheel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state police will investigate. This is typical in these type of scenarios.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How common or uncommon is it for the governor to be driving without a seat belt?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police is conducting an investigation and will probably have something to say at the end of that investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about the state trooper ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One other thing we'd like to say, there will be a press conference later in the afternoon at the statehouse in Trenton, probably around 2:30 or so that will deal with the continuity of the people's business. By Acting Governor, Dick Cody. Thank you very much.

COLLINS: Alright. We've been listening into this press conference here at Cooper University Hospital where New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine is being treated after, much more serious, it seems, injuries than we had expected when we heard directly from the Head of Trauma at that hospital, Steven Ross.

He said this: he is on a ventilator, will be for days, he's in intensive care, he's heavily sedated because of the severe pain a person often feels from broken ribs. He's had one surgery on his severely broken leg. Which apparently will require more surgeries. He has improved and is awake, of course in lots of pain.

One of the larger issues is, of course, that seat belt as you heard the spokesperson say. Even though the state police are conducting an investigation on this accident, it is apparent he was not wearing a seat belt at the time. We have also learned they are still looking for the pickup truck involved in this accident, have not found that vehicle or the driver of that vehicle. Overall, we are learning from the doctors at Cooper University Hospital that apparently Governor Jon Corzine is a lucky, lucky man.

HUGHES: Well, a gene that could keep you from fitting into your blue jeans. Scientists find a possible obesity link. Stick around for that, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HUGHES: "Your World Today," coming up at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy standing by with the look ahead. Hello to you, sir.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello T.J. And Heidi as well.

We'll be checking back in on Baghdad one day after the devastating bomb in the green zone. Of course, there was this, the minute of silence. There's also a new determination from Iraqi lawmakers and new boasts from al Qaeda. We'll have the latest and we'll hear live from the prime minister spokesman.

Also, neocons in love. It could cost one of America's most famous proponents as war in Iraq his new job as head of the World Bank. Paul Wolfowitz helped his girlfriend get promoted and get great salary and he paid his pals from the White House some loving salaries as well. Now the staff at the World Bank says his credit is no good with them.

Plus, should a lot of the hip-hop artists and those who make money off of them, take a cue from Don Imus and just go away? The controversy begins to backfire on who can say what and hope to get away with it. All that and much more, coming up at the top of the hour on your world today.

HUGHES: Neocons in love and a little Snoop Dogg thrown in. We're tuning in for that one, Jim Clancy. Thank you so much.

More trouble for FEMA. This time we're talking about spoiled foods. Millions of prepared meals, millions of them, for hurricane victims, lost in the Gulf Coast heat. CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve (ph) is here with the details. Jeanne, say what?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., we've got a problem. Too little, too much, FEMA cannot seem to find exactly what's right. FEMA officials confirm a story first reported in "The Washington Post" that about $40 million worth of food stockpiled from last year's hurricane season has gone bad because it wasn't stored properly. FEMA didn't have enough space to keep all the food in its warehouses, so it was kept in hundreds of trucks.

You will remember that the agency was vilified for not being able to get food and water quickly to victims of hurricane Katrina and Rita, two years ago. So, last year, it stockpiled enough food to feed a million people for a week. At the time, FEMA Director David Paulison bragged about it.

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DAVID PAULISON, FEMA DIRECTOR: We're light years ahead as far as the type of commodities we stockpiled. We have tripled and quadrupled the supplies.

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MESERVE: No major hurricanes materialized last year. The meals ready to eat or MRES sat in trucks in the sun and went bad. A FEMA official says the agency was facing incredible pressure last year to pre-position ... supplies. Now it will likely be criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars -- T.J.

HOLMES: Forty million in food, sitting around, it goes bad. Do you just -- don't have a choice but to throw it out? There's nothing you can really do with it?

MESERVE: A FEMA official says it isn't a total waste, that the meals have been given to Second Harvest. That's a nonprofit that feeds the hungry. That group, FEMA says, is salvaging and using parts of the meal packets that are still good.

HOLMES: All right, so how are they going to change things up? This is supposed to be an improvement and that didn't work out. So how are going to try to do things even better and different next year?

MESERVE: Well, they're going to try to moderate things just a little bit. FEMA says it will be asking the vendors to sell commodity like food, water and ice to store many of them in their own warehouses. FEMA will then be able to get it and move it when it needs it.

HOLMES: In the meantime, the agency is trying to beef up its logistics capability so it can keep better track of the stuff it buys.

MESERVE: All right, Jeanne Meserve for us. They will get this thing right one of these days. They're trying there.

HOLMES: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.

MESERVE: You bet.

COLLINS: A genetic link to fat? British scientists say they have identified a gene that may be an obesity marker. A new study finds people who carry two variations of a particular gene carry, on average, seven pounds more than those who don't have the gene. Scientists say they don't know if the gene is related to appetite or calorie burning. About a third of American adults are obese.

To get your daily dose of health news online, logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

HOLMES: And you know we love crazy video around here. Check out what we have to show you. Looks fine -- oh! Where did that come from? that's one car crash we have to show you. We have a second one to show you here as well. That one is just nuts. And we have just crazy car crashes to show you, ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Where's he going?

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COLLINS: That being said, CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HOLMES: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. Stick around for that. So good to see you. Good here to be with you.

COLLINS: And thanks for being here.

HOLMES: No problem.

COLLINS: Have a great weekend, everybody. We'll see you Monday.

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