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Missing Soldiers Sought in Iraq; Homeless to Hero; More on Wildfires

Aired May 13, 2007 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I made it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: She made it, all right. Next in the NEWSROOM, this young lady from homeless and living under a bridge - not that long ago - tonight, a featured hero. Brenda Combs (ph) joins us live with a remarkable story.

Also, wildfires, thick smoke and high winds once again closing stretches of major highways in the Southeast. We're going to take you live to Florida to bring you the very latest on that.

Also, three U.S. soldiers that have been missing in Iraq. We're going to bring you the very latest on what's going on with that, as 4,000 of their comrades are now trying to move heaven and earth to try and find them. U.S. military leaders are vowing to leave no soldier behind.

Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Let's try and bring you up to date now on all the stories that are taking place.

First, that pre-dawn attack that we've been telling you about that's affected the insurgent stronghold of Mahmoudiya, leaving four Americans dead. Also killed, their Iraqi interpreter.

Tonight, three troops are still missing, possibly in the hands of insurgents. Some 4,000 Americans are going house to house, tree to tree and bush to bush to try and find them.

The very latest on the story from Baghdad from CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, BAGHDAD (voice-over): Carefully maneuvering through the brush and canals, Iraqi troops help U.S. forces search for clues, combing through every field, every farmhouse, searching this dangerous and harsh landscape south of Baghdad, also known as the "triangle of death."

The U.S. military is determined to find three of its own.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: Every asset we have, from national assets to tactical assets - and when I say "national," I mean United States government assets - that may not habitually be routinely used on a daily basis are being used, all the way down to the 4,000 troops.

DAMON: These pictures are said to show where the pre-dawn ambush took place. No answers yet about why it was such an unusually small contingent of Americans, or why it took as long as an hour for quick reaction forces to respond.

The little that the military is disclosing is enough to conjure horrific images of the scale of the attack. Over 24 hours later, and still, the bodies of the dead are not all identified.

CALDWELL: We can establish now the identity of three of the American soldiers who were killed and the one Iraqi army interpreter that was killed. So the identification of four of the five who were killed is now complete. The fifth one is still ongoing.

DAMON: Posted on an extremist Web site, a claim of responsibility from the Islamic State of Iraq, a group led by al Qaeda.

Last June, in the same area, a group affiliated with al Qaeda claimed it kidnapped and killed two U.S. soldiers. Their mutilated bodies were found three days later - gruesome images America cannot forget. The U.S. military doesn't want to see this happen again.

DAMON (on camera): One of the main tenets the U.S. military lives by is never to leave a man behind. One can only imagine what is going through the soldiers' minds as they relentlessly search for three of their own and try and figure out what went horribly wrong.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO)

SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, two bombs killed scores of Iraqis today, including several dozen Iraqi Kurds. In northern Iraq, a suicide attacker drove a truckload of explosives into an office of a Kurdish political party. At least 50 people, we understand, were killed. More than 100 hundred, by the way, were wounded, as well.

And in Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near a central marketplace. At least 15 people were killed and about three dozen hurt. Also today, 22 bodies found dumped throughout the capital.

Well, today, the military reported the deaths of two more American troops, as well. One was killed today in a blast near Haditha. Another died after an explosion. This was near a U.S. combat patrol.

Less than two full weeks into the month, 42 Americans have died in Iraq in May. The death toll for the war is now approaching 3,400.

CNN's Michael Holmes just got back from Iraq. And in the next couple of minutes, you're going to hear from him with the inside story behind his hour-long report, "Month of Mayhem." Michael's going to be along about 7:20 Eastern. "Month of Mayhem" airs tonight, by the way, at 8 o'clock. It's a special you don't want to miss.

Vice President Dick Cheney's Middle East tour took him to Cairo today for talks with Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. Mr. Cheney is trying to get moderate countries in the region to support Iraq's fragile government. He later ended the tour in Amman with a chat with Jordan's King Abdullah.

Now to Iran. After decades of bad blood and some harsh words between Tehran and Washington, Iranian and U.S. officials say they're going to be sitting down together and talk about security in Iraq, specifically.

A landmark meeting could happen, we understand, within weeks.

CNN's White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, has details from Jamestown, Virginia. President Bush spent some time there today.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA (voice-over): On a visit commemorating the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, America's first permanent English settlement, President Bush predicted democratic ideals would eventually prosper worldwide.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These values took root at Jamestown four centuries ago. They have flourished across our land, and one day they will flourish in every land.

QUIJANO: But in Iraq, getting democracy to take root amid the violence has proven daunting, and the effort complicated, the White House believes, by Iranian interference.

Now, more than four years into the war, President Bush is allowing top U.S. officials to sit down with their counterparts from Iran, a country he once labeled part of the axis of evil. A White House spokesman says, in the next few weeks, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker will meet with the Iranians in Baghdad for talks limited to a single topic - Iraq.

Said the spokesman, "This is not about the United States and Iran. This is about Iraq. This is about Iran playing a constructive policy role inside Iraq."

The U.S. wants Iran to use its influence with Iraq's majority Shia population to forge political reconciliation. And the U.S. wants Iran to stop sending bomb components into Iraq.

But Republican Senator and presidential hopeful, John McCain, has reservations. The U.S. could risk elevating Iran's international standing.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZONA, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember, this is the world's largest sponsor of - state sponsor of terrorism. They're dedicated to the extinction of Israel. There are enormous difficulties.

But if there is something to be gained, OK.

QUIJANO: The Bush administration insists talk on Iraq do not mean the U.S. is going soft on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Vice President Dick Cheney tried to underscore that message just days ago with a blunt warning to Iran, delivered from the deck of a U.S. carrier poised in the Persian Gulf.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we'll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.

QUIJANO (on camera): As for the upcoming Baghdad meeting, the U.S. would not say which side initiated it. A White House spokesman would only say that it resulted from informal meetings during regional conferences over the last couple of months.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, traveling with the president in Jamestown, Virginia.

(END VIDEO)

SANCHEZ: And we have this significant development coming out of Afghanistan. One of the Taliban's most notorious leaders is now confirmed dead.

NATO officials say that Mullah Dadullah left his haven in southern Afghanistan, and U.S.-led forces killed him. To prove his death, in fact, Afghan officials showed off his body before television cameras.

We're going to the video here. A warning, of course. That video might be disturbing to some of the viewers. We're not going to go in tight or anything. You can see it there.

Various marks on Dadullah's body and an amputated leg helped officials ID him. His death is being called the biggest blow to the Taliban in the last six years.

Just who is the elusive Taliban leader? And why is his death considered so pivotal in the fight against the insurgency in Afghanistan? A fascinating look at someone called a killer of killers.

That's coming up in just 20 minutes, by the way.

Up next, Florida still under fire - wildfires, that is. Major interstates are closed. People still kept out of their homes.

Driving? Well, a nightmare. Imagine trying to go through that smoke. What they need now is rain.

Then, she was once homeless and living under a bridge. Today she has two college degrees, and she's actually going for a third. What a story - hero story, wouldn't you say?

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SANCHEZ: All day now we've been following those big wildfires in Florida for you. Heck, not just all day. We should tell you the truth on this. We've been following this for, what, at least a week now. And you keep thinking it's going to go away, they're going to get some rain. Well, it hasn't.

And now police saying that there's a new one that's broken out just this afternoon. It's near Jacksonville. A lightning strike apparently sparked it, and it's already grown to about 300 acres in just a matter of hours.

The Florida Highway Patrol and Jacksonville sheriff's officers have shut down a 10-mile stretch of I-95.

Now, Florida is being hit hard by these wildfires. It's not just that one place that we were just showing you. Take a look at this map.

Isn't that amazing? I mean, that's a map of the state of Florida that's been given to us by Florida officials, the Department of Agriculture.

Look at that. Each one of those little red dots that you see right there is a fire in a different part of the state. You see the biggest concentrations up around Jacksonville, up around that St. Augustine-Jacksonville area along the St. John's River.

But look, go west along the panhandle, all the way to the end. All the way to Pensacola you see fires. Now come down south to the western part of the state, you know, the "gold coast," as they call it.

There, Naples, Tampa, fires there, as well. And all the way to Miami on this side of the coast. They call those the silver and the gold coasts in the state of Florida.

For the latest now, let's go to CNN's John Zarrella. He's live in Lake City, which is kind of toward the middle of the state, following things for us.

What a story, John. It just doesn't seem to want to go away.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, LAKE CITY, FLORIDA: No, Rick. And if you count all those red dots on that map you were just showing, there's 218 active fires burning in Florida right now, a total of 190,000 acres have burned.

Now, you know, that rainfall that Jacqui was just talking about, well, it's getting here. That sky behind me is dark. And that's not from smoke. That's from the dark sky. In fact, I just felt a little bit of a raindrop here.

Now, this fire has consumed over 100,000 acres just by itself. And tomorrow, firefighters are telling us, is absolutely a pivotal day, because once this rain moves through and this front moves through, the wind is going to pick up. And that's going to test all those fire lines that they built.

Now, we had an opportunity this afternoon again to go out with the Florida Division of Forestry firefighters, out to the front lines. And what they were dealing with this afternoon was the wind beginning to kick up and setting off spot fires.

So, they are dealing with those spot fires tonight, trying to contain them, trying to keep spot fires from jumping to other areas of that timberland and of that forest out there.

It's been a very, very tough day. They've been racing basically against the wind, to try and move in the heavy equipment. We saw them moving in lots of heavy equipment today, more tractors coming in - some from as far away as Texas - so that they get in there and bulldoze long lines, firebreaks.

And that's the key in Florida. That's how they fight the fires here. It's not by dumping water so much as it is by building these firebreaks, sometimes 50 yards wide and miles long, to try and stop these fires from spreading.

We had a chance to talk to a couple of the firefighters out there on the line today and get their feelings on how tough this job has been.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

JULIAN PRIEST, FLORIDA DIVISION OF FORESTRY: We're trying to reduce the fuel so that, if the winds do pick up and the humidity drops, we have got a wide fire line to keep embers and sparks from going into the fuel that hasn't burnt.

JAMIE RITTENHOUSE, FLORIDA DIVISION OF FORESTRY: We want to do the best we can. There's a lot of fire out here. And there's miles and miles. There's 158 miles of fire lines. So, we've got to do what we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

ZARRELLA: A hundred and fifty-eight miles of fire lines, just here alone, Rick. And you know, you were talking about the I-95 being shut down. We just heard alligator alley, down there in south Florida that crosses between Fort Lauderdale and the Naples area, that's been shut down, as well, a portion of that because of smoke from a fire over in the Lee/Collier County area.

So, you're right. There's just all over in Florida right now.

Hopefully the rain will get here, give them a little bit of break tonight. Maybe that wind won't kick up so much and the fire lines will hold.

But again, tomorrow, they're telling us the pivotal day here - Rick.

SANCHEZ: You know, they don't just need a little bit of rain. Right? I mean, you and I have covered - you remember those fires we used to cover in the Florida Everglades? And even after it rained, they would still keep burning, because the underbrush was burning. It was almost like the soil was burning.

I mean, they really need a pretty good drenching, don't they?

ZARRELLA: Oh, they need a lot of water here. They need inches and inches and days and days.

So, it's going to be a long haul here in Florida, because of the drought that we're in, before they're going to be able to get a handle on all these fires, until the rainy season really kicks. And some of the state forecasters have told us that that may be still several weeks away - Rick.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Somebody in Florida I was talking to yesterday said, I hope we don't ask for something and then we get too much of it with the hurricane season.

ZARRELLA: Yes, exactly.

SANCHEZ: So, that's another story you'll be following. John, thanks so much.

Let's go over to Jacqui Jeras. She's been following the actual, I guess, weather situation as it relates to rain, and whether or not they're going to get any.

You were saying a little while ago that you saw at least a little bit of precipitation, what, somewhere. Right?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST, CNN WEATHER CENTER: Yes, well, it's moving in. It's moving in to at least the western parts of the fire area.

You know, all day it's been down here to the south around Gainesville. And now we've had thunderstorms developing in the last hour-and-a-half and in southern parts of Georgia. And now they're pushing in over the fire areas.

Here we have Baker County. This is Columbia County. And this thunderstorm here is pushing towards the west, unfortunately. But now we've got new stuff developing in this area. They're driving down to the south and west. SO, that's going to be pushing in right over the fire area. So, that is some good news, at least with that.

But one little thing to think about - those lightning strikes associated with these storms. Some of them are severe, and they could be producing wind gusts of around 60 miles per hour. So, unfortunately, that could fan those flames a little bit. So, kind of a Catch-22 going on with this situation here.

(WEATHER BREAK) SANCHEZ: Growing up in Florida, I'm thinking it's almost time for summer thunderstorm season, right?

JERAS: Yes, it's getting there. But you kind of hit on the hurricane thing, too, Rick, by the way. Well, forecasters, the climate experts are predicting that La Nina is going to be kicking in over the next couple of months. And when that happens, that means an active hurricane season, usually. And it also tends to keep things drier and warmer than normal across the Southeast.

SANCHEZ: And that means more powerful fuel or conditions for a potential hurricane.

JERAS: Lighter winds, so that means more hurricanes can develop, yes.

SANCHEZ: Be careful what you wish for. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

First hand account now of life on the ground in Iraq. When we come back, I'm going to bring you my conversation with a CNN reporter who has been there repeatedly since the war began - knows Iraq through and through. Talk about a smart conversation with a really smart guy.

You're going to be surprised, by the way, about what he has to say. I'm talking about Michael Holmes.

Then later, just how important is the death of a Taliban chief, Mullah Dadullah? You're watching CNN. We'll bring you the latest on this, as well.

The most trusted name in news, we are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've been telling you about this dire situation that's taking place over in Iraq. I mean, 4,000 soldiers are now looking for three of their own. So, we're going to be focusing an awful lot on Iraq.

So, with that, I want to bring in somebody else, Michael Holmes, who probably knows Iraq as well as anybody - for two reasons, really.

He's been working on this special. He's the host, by the way, of "Your World Today." And his team of photographers has gone beyond the bombings and casualties to bring a rare and intensely personal, behind-the-scenes account of what's going on in Iraq.

His special is called "Month of Mayhem." And you're going to be seeing it tonight, right here on CNN.

But before that, we talked to Michael about that and about the security in Iraq now that's led up to the situation that we're falling for you tonight.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SANCHEZ: We hear about all these reporters who go to Baghdad. And most of the time they're sitting in a fortress somewhere because they can't get out, because it's too dangerous. We see you out with people.

How unique is that?

MICHAEL HOLMES, HOST, "YOUR WORLD TODAY": Well, at that time when we were out doing the religious observance of Ashura, that walk through the streets that day was a great illustration of that power.

That's Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army. They control that area. But we're walking down the street with the local sheikh - no one touched us.

SANCHEZ: You were going around with military people at the time, with our soldiers, with heavy guns and a lot of artillery.

HOLMES: You don't know what to expect when you go back in, but at the same time you do.

And this time going back, snipers all of a sudden become a really big issue. Instead of maybe looking there, a lot of people are looking up now, looking at windows and rooftops.

SANCHEZ: Could you do what you did without them?

HOLMES: On this last trip?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

HOLMES: No, absolutely not.

SANCHEZ: Too dangerous.

HOLMES: Oh, yes. No, I'd last - if I walked outside of our compound, I'd probably last about 15 minutes before I'd be killed or kidnapped.

SANCHEZ: Those things that you're showing us in your piece, when you're walking and you see the kids.

HOLMES: It's a great Arab tradition that you show hospitality to guests. We've just come in here with a dozen soldiers, people going house to house asking questions. And they're making chai.

So, everyone gets a little cup of tea, if they want one. It's traditional Arab hospitality.

SANCHEZ: That would have been a great thing to start establishing three years ago.

HOLMES: There are some good things happening here. There's, you know, Petraeus is - General Petraeus - is a smart guy. He's a scholar of counterinsurgency, written books about it. And he's doing some very good things. But I wonder whether they're a couple of years too late.

SANCHEZ: I'm just thinking that - is there a way to win? And what is the definition of winning?

Mine would be - I'll share mine with you - mine would be, A, stop killing them. Thereby they'll stop hating you and wanting to kill you. Or B, kill them all.

HOLMES: Well, the problem with this war is that it's, certainly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SANCHEZ: But are any of those options?

HOLMES: Well, no, because ultimately you want to kill the bad guys. And this is the first war I've ever been in where there is no front line. And the bad guys don't wear uniforms.

So, it's very hard for the U.S., for example, to pick out who you're going to shoot at.

You know, you could be driving down the street, or walking down the street, and the guy standing right there is a senior member of the insurgency. You don't know. And the guy over there is a baker.

And how do you pick? It's a very hard battle to win.

The key to winning an insurgency is to get the people on side. And that's a slow process. You've got to bring back that tribal fabric that existed before and get the sheikhs involved, and get them to fight the bad guys.

(END VIDEO)

SANCHEZ: You're going to see the special tonight. It's the SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT presents "Month of Mayhem." It is life in Iraq through the eyes of our very own Michael Holmes. You're not going to want to miss it. It's at 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And we bring back Michael tonight at 10, to talk about some of the aspects of what's going on tonight in Iraq.

Well, they called him the killer of killers. Tonight, he is dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is the killer which has killed a lot of Afghans, and he cut the head off a lot of Afghans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Next, just how important was this Taliban chief who's been killed in Afghanistan? Who was this guy? And why are some calling his death a major blow to the Taliban?

How important? We'll let you know.

Also, a toxic trend along the California coastline. Sea lions sick and dying in alarming numbers. We're going to tell you what could be causing this and what wildlife officials are saying they're going to have to do about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Want to bring you up to date now on exactly what's going on. First of all, there's still no word out of Iraq on the fate of the three American soldiers that have been captured yesterday during an ambush on their patrol.

Four other soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter died in that attack. That makes 42 U.S. troops killed already this month in Iraq, and in the four years since the war began, 3,393 U.S. personnel have died, sadly enough.

Meanwhile, two more suicide bombings killed 65 Iraqis, wounded 150 more. One of the bombs went off near government offices in Kurdish northern Iraq. The other detonated in a busy Baghdad square.

And along the Georgia-Florida state line, tomorrow's weather forecast prompts new concerns for fire fighters and residents alike. Winds could fuel a giant wildfire, spread even further, necessitating even more evacuations. About 365 square miles of land have already been burned. The good news there is that Jacqui Jeras says there might be a little bit of what those meteorologists call some precip coming in. That means a little rain, a little humidity. We'll check.

So this, he was a one-legged terrorist who orchestrated a series of suicide attacks, beheadings, massacres in Afghanistan. A man as elusive as he was brutal. Taliban chief Mullah Dadullah was his name. He stayed a step ahead of his pursuers for an awful long time, but it looks like U.S.-led forces have caught up with him.

Phil Black tonight has that story. A warning here, by the way, the video that you're about to see or parts of it can be a bit graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mullah Dadullah's body was displayed to journalists in the southern city of Kandahar. He had received two bullet wounds to the stomach and one to the back of the head. Hits amputated leg clearly visible, lost while fighting the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Afghan officials spoke of his death with satisfaction.

GOV. ASSADULLAH KHALID, KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: I told you this was based on good information and he was a killer who killed a lot of Afghans and cut the head of a lot of Afghan, police, soldiers and many other innocent Muslim Afghan people.

BLACK: NATO confirmed it played a part in killing Dadullah in a joint operation with the U.S. coalition and Afghan forces. It is a significant prize. Dadullah commanded the Taliban's military operations, the day to day running of the war in Afghanistan.

He was known for his brutality, frequently ordering kidnappings and beheadings. But unlike most Taliban figures, Dadullah was not camera shy. He encouraged his high profile through Taliban videos, agreeing to interviews and it's said, even phoning some western journalists directly.

He said he was in contact with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and only last month he insisted bin Laden was responsible for planning the February suicide attack on an air base in Afghanistan during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

MULLAH ABDULLAH, KILLED TALIBAN CHIEF (through translator): This operation was a result of his blessed planning. He is the one who planned the details of this operation and guided us and the operation was successful.

BLACK: The question now is who will rise to take Mullah Dadullah's place? The Afghan government says there has already been infighting among the Taliban's commanders, and it believes that will only increase with Dadullah's passing. Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: By the way, the military experts are saying that Dadullah's death is the biggest blow to the Taliban since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan back in 2001, strong words, but our terrorism expert Peter Bergen says don't expect his death to end any of the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Obviously the Taliban is not going to go out of business because of this guy's death but he was the most effective military commander. It's hard to think of somebody who might exactly fill his shoes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: NATO forces in Afghanistan have been targeting to Taliban bigwigs in hopes of decapitating the group's leadership for some time. They say this is a big get.

Well, up next, a sickening year for sea lions along the West Coast. Something in the ocean is killing them off in near record numbers. Why though? It's a story we're looking into in THE NEWSROOM. Also this ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I made it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: She made it all right, in spite of some real serious obstacles. Not too long ago a college degree, much less two, seemed all but impossible. She was a drug addict living under a bridge. Brenda Combs is going to join us live to tell us how she did it and we all can, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Starting tomorrow, mailing bills and letters is going to cost you a couple more pennies, by the way, as if you didn't expect something like this could be coming. As the Postal Service raises the price of first class stamps to 41 cents. It's the first hike since January of last year. Now with more on what's expected in the world of business this week, here is none other than Ali Velshi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A weak real estate market means many Americans can't sell their homes and that means they can't buy new homes. The nation's home builders are feeling that crunch. Three of America's top five home builders reported losses for the first five months of the year. Now this week we'll find out if April was any better.

On Wednesday we'll see how many building permits were issued and how many home building projects actually got under way. Most of those numbers were actually up a bit in March, but they are still way down compared to a year ago.

Now today is Mother's Day. Did you know more people buy flowers or plants for Mother's Day than for any other holiday except Christmas? Let's hope inflation hasn't eaten into the money that you'd have spent for mom's gift. We'll see if you have when the consumer price index comes out this week. It's the measure of a typical basket of goods that we pay for things like food, clothing and medical expenses.

In March the CPI had its largest increase in 11 months.

On the corporate front we'll get quarterly earnings from Daimler- Chrysler this week. Its Chrysler unit posted a moderate sales gain in April unlike American giants Ford and G.M. which posted losses.

Daimler is looking to sell Michigan based Chrysler after losses totaled nearly $1.5 billion last year.

Well, if you want more of this sort of thing watch me on "Minding Your Business" each week day morning on AMERICAN MORNING.

That's it from New York. I'm Ali Velshi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We want to bring you this story now, really a heartbreaking sight. Hundreds of sea lions dead or dying on the Southern California coast. It's been an ongoing problem for several years now, but this year may be the worst on record. And marine biologists say a natural toxin in the ocean that seems to be to blame and that it's becoming even more deadly as time goes on.

Kara Finnstrom has this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, bud.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A baby seal with a sliced flipper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's very down.

FINNSTROM: San Pedro's Marine Mammal Care Center is used it treating everyday injuries like this one. Right now, the center is overwhelmed by an unusual surge of sick sea lions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go into these intermittent siezures. Full body convulsion. Their eyes will bulge. Their flippers will tremble.

FINNSTROM: The culprit? Domoic poisoning. It's caused by toxic algae that's tainting the food the sea lions eat. When the algae blooms, rescuers see this. Listless, seizing sea lions washing ashore.

DAVID BARD, MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER: We've seen it go from an unusual event into something that's recurring.

FINNSTROM: Scientists don't know yet why the toxin algae blooms are getting worse. It could be related to agricultural runoff, global warming, even a natural change. All veterinarians like Dr. Lauren Palmer can do is treat its victims.

DR. LAUREN PALMER, VETERINARIAN: The real concern, I think for us and for scientists is that in the long term, the prognosis may not be so good for these animals. They may suffer permanent brain damage.

PETER WALLESTEIN, WHALE RESCUE TEAM: Hello?

FINNSTROM: While we're there ...

WALLERSTEIN: This is Peter.

FINNSTROM: Another call comes in. Rescuer Peter Wallerstein heads to Manhattan Beach. High water toxin levels throughout Southern California's waters prompted health leaders to warn people about collecting and eating shellfish. Wildlife experts say sea birds and possibly other animals are being poisoned but sea lions are the big concern right now.

WALLERSTEIN: What we have here now is an 11-month-old Californian sea lion.

FINNSTROM: Wallerstein evaluates her.

WALLERSTEIN: Hi, baby.

FINNSTROM: And spots signs of possible domoic poisoning. He says this sea lion needs care.

WALLERSTEIN: Any healthy animal would either get up, respond, bolt back into the water, retreat in some way. They don't want people to get this close.

FINNSTROM (on camera): But as our cameras pull away, the rescuers have to as well. Because under federal regulations, this sea lion must remain on the beach for 48 hours before anyone can help it.

(voice-over): It's a temporary regulation, imposed because care centers are dangerously overcrowded. So as scientists keep look for answers to why this is happening, many of these animals will be left to fend for themselves. Kara Finnstrom for CNN, San Pedro, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Wow, frustrating to watch, isn't it? Up next, a remarkable installment of our CNN "Heroes" series. Tonight you're going to meet a woman who against all odds refused to give up. She was homeless, but certainly not hopeless, and now, can we get a shot of her? There she is. How you doing, Brenda, you good?

BRENDA COMBS, PH.D CANDIDATE: I'm good.

SANCHEZ: You ready to go. Because we're going to be talking with you and you're going to be sharing your story with millions of people all over the world.

Stay tuned.

COMBS: I'm ready.

SANCHEZ: We'll have Brenda's story. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's the story tonight of a woman who went from homeless to hero. Certainly in the eyes of many of her students. It was only a few years ago that Brenda Combs was a homeless drug addict, literally. Tough words, I know.

She was living on the streets of Phoenix. She was the victim of a drive-by shooting. She was beaten up a couple of times, robbed once of her shoes while she tried to sleep. Her life was really one horrific event or another, but Combs has done a 180-degree turn. She's now a nationally celebrated teacher who is loved by her students, loved by her community.

Brenda Combs is good enough to join us tonight as a matter of fact from Phoenix. Wow what, a story. Congratulations, by the way.

COMBS: Thank you. SANCHEZ: I can only imagine at its worse, and I know you probably don't like to dwell on the negative, but just to bring the viewers up to date. Take us back to when things were at their absolute worst. What was it like?

COMBS: It was pretty horrific. The worst part was not being able to take a shower, looking through trash cans for food and not feeling safe to sleep at night.

SANCHEZ: So where would you sleep?

COMBS: In the alley, on couches, in abandoned houses or buildings.

SANCHEZ: What were you on drugs at the time?

COMBS: Most of the time, yes.

SANCHEZ: So you were too high to really recognize any other way out?

COMBS: I didn't think there was a way out at that time.

SANCHEZ: So what got you out of it?

COMBS: Well, the morning that I woke up and someone had stolen my shoes, that was just like the last straw, I just couldn't deal with that lifestyle any longer.

SANCHEZ: Really? It all came down to a pair of shoes of all things?

COMBS: Well, it's a lot more detailed than that, but that moment was just the absolute last straw.

SANCHEZ: Why, you felt, you know, I don't even have shoes to wear, I mean, this is just the ultimate insult?

COMBS: Exactly, yes.

SANCHEZ: So you started to do what? How did you pick yourself up by your boot straps, Brenda?

COMBS: Basically my boyfriend at the time came and found me, took me to my brothers. My brothers took me to the probation office, and I found a halfway house program and put myself in it and really just made the decision that I either have to change my life or I'm going to die out in the streets.

SANCHEZ: How did you get off the drugs because I know that can be real tough to do, right?

COMBS: It was tough, but I went through this rehab program, and after I finished the program, I lived in a halfway house for women, and that took me basically almost my first year of sobriety and I found my own apartment and started living life as a productive member of society.

SANCHEZ: That's interesting because a lot of people try and do what you did and they failed and they try again and they fail and maybe try again but, boy, you went into it and first shot got it right.

COMBS: It was a long process. I got involved with the church and I started singing and writing songs and journaling and just got involved, and I had a lot of support from my family and my friends and my church.

SANCHEZ: Well, we're looking at shots of you now getting your diploma. This is what's amazing. It's one thing to be homeless, to be on drugs and to be sleeping under bridges. It's quite another to not only get out of it but get out of it and then go on to get what, you've got a B.A. and you went on to get your masters as well.

COMBS: Yes, I did.

SANCHEZ: That's crazy wonderful.

COMBS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: It really is, you know. You should feel fabulous about that.

COMBS: I do. It was a lot of hard work because I worked two jobs the entire time so ...

SANCHEZ: What a story.

And now I understand, a little bird told me, that you are going to go and get a doctorate.

COMBS: Yes, I am, as soon as possible.

SANCHEZ: But you know a doctorate is very expensive. You got the money to do that?

COMBS: No, but I'll find a way.

SANCHEZ: Well, yeah. You've done it before. Boy, I'll tell you what. It's so admirable. Let me bring somebody else in now, let's widen the camera out because I want to bring somebody else. This is Brent Richardson, by the way, the CEO of Grand Canyon University, and that is where Brenda received both her bachelors and her masters degree. You've got to feel good about your student here, don't you?

BRENT RICHARDSON, CEO, GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY: Oh yes. We're very excited to have her at Grand Canyon University. She's been an inspiration to all of us, our students, staff and faculty.

SANCHEZ: What a story. You think maybe there's any way you can help her out to get her doctorate because, you know, I know that's a bit of a financial hardship for somebody like her? RICHARDSON: Well, yes. As you know, Grand Canyon is offering its first PhD in leadership with an emphasis in education starting this fall, and because Brenda has been an example, a master teacher, her story has been an inspiration to all of us, and mostly just because we're so proud of her, I wanted to be here today to honor her and ask her if she will be the first enrollee in our PhD program and give her a full ride scholarship for the program.

SANCHEZ: Yo. Brenda, how about it?

COMBS: Oh, my God, I -- I don't know what to say.

SANCHEZ: You don't have to come up with the money.

COMBS: Oh my God. Thank you.

RICHARDSON: You're so welcome.

COMBS: This is awesome. I'm speechless.

SANCHEZ: I'd rather just watch you right now because I know how much this means to you. This is a great moment.

COMBS: It's such a blessing. This is such a blessing. This means so much to me and to my son and my students at Star Shine Academy, thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: What a story.

COMBS: Oh, my God.

SANCHEZ: We're so happy for you. Hey, let's all stop and think about this for a moment. You were on drugs, you were living under a bridge, you were living on the streets, you've gotten a masters, you've gotten your B.A. and now you're going to get your doctorate and I'm getting goose bumps just saying it.

COMBS: Oh, thank you so much, thank you. This is an amazing gift.

SANCHEZ: Brent Richardson, that's an awfully nice thing for you all to do.

RICHARDSON: Well, we're very proud of her and looking forward to having her back at GCU.

SANCHEZ: Brenda, I guess one last thing. There's an awful lot of people who are watching us right now and some of them may be going through some tough times themselves. What do you say to them?

COMBS: I say to them what I tell my students every day is that I believe in myself and my ability to do my best. I am intelligent and I am capable of achieving greatness, and I think that every person has inside of them what it takes to succeed, even if they need a little support.

SANCHEZ: Well, you know, we use these words a lot but if ever it's been appropriate I'm so happy to say it here. You go, girl.

COMBS: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

Up next, big delivery just in time for Mother's Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they said how much he weighed I started bawling my eyes out in the operating room actually. It was just so surprising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A reminder why we should all appreciate our mothers next. It's in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Did you call your mom yet? A mom in Buffalo, New York, has a lot to celebrate this mother's day. She gave birth to a 14- pound five-ounce baby boy last week. That's a big one, so big in fact his obstetrician says he's more like a toddler than a newborn already. Erika Brason of affiliate WGRZ shows us this big bundle of joy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIKA BRASON, WGRZ-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Evan James Dougherty came into the world on May 8, he instantly became the biggest news in the maternity wing at Mercy Hospital.

TAMMY DOUGHERTY, MOTHER: The doctors just started laughing and the nurses were laughing and I just looked at him and said oh, my God, are you kidding me.

BRASON: All kidding aside, Baby Evan weighed in at 14 pounds, five pounces and measured 23.25 inches, that's enough to break the record at Mercy and many other hospitals, too.

T. DOUGHERTY: When they said how much he weighed I started bawling my eyes out in the operating room actually. Yeah. It was just so surprising.

BRASON: Tammy and Bob Dougherty are a little overwhelmed about all the attention for their bouncing baby boy but their daughter Haley just can't wait to play big sister.

HALEY DOUGHERTY, SISTER: I just want him to come home.

DR. AUGUST BRUNO, DELIVERED BABY: Good thing I ate my Wheaties to hand the baby off to the nursing staff because we didn't anticipate it was going to be so large.

BRASON: Dr. August Bruno is Tammy's obstetrician. He predicted the baby would be around 11 pounds when he delivered Evan by caesarean section 10 days early but there was obviously more baby than he bargained for.

BRUNO: We're thinking when is this going to end and then this child comes out and we look at it and it's like, this is a toddler.

BRASON: And while you can't believe everything you hear when it comes to big babies, it is true Baby Evan is wearing size three to six months Sabres pajamas.

What position do you see him playing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Defense.

T. DOUGHERTY: Defense. Definitely like daddy.

BRASON: For now, Evan is scoring off the chart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cool.

T. DOUGHERTY: Yeah. Nice little start, definitely. A little record breaker already.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: He could probably start at defensive tackle already. That was Erika Brason of Buffalo affiliate WGRZ and we thank her for that.

I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm going to be back live in about 30 minutes with a news update and then again at 10:00 Eastern. A lot of news tonight, especially with the situation that's going on in Iraq. We'll bring you up to date.

First, though, putting a human face on the casualties of war and life from the ground in Iraq. CNN's SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, "Month of Mayhem" begins right now.

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