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Cruise Ship Rescue; Coalition Troops Search; U.S. Soldiers Shot?; Southern Wildfires; Chrysler Sold; Getting Insurance

Aired May 14, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Tony Harris. Stay informed in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what we have on the rundown for you.

Close to 300 passengers and crew scrambling for life boats right now. A small cruise ship runs aground off Alaska and takes on some water.

COLLINS: Winds expected to grow gusty across northern Florida today. That could whip up a wildfire. Already, it's shut stretches of two major interstates down.

HOLMES: Also, Chrysler, an iconic name brand, returning to American ownership. Will this morning's sale mean an all-American deal for you?

It's Monday, May 14th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A cruise ship rescue underway right now off the cost of Alaska. Seems like, by all accounts, that things are going pretty well in this, though. Passengers and crew are abandoning that ship. It hit a reef about 50 miles from Juneau, Alaska's capital. Coast Guard on the scene. About 50 volunteer boats also helping out in this rescue.

The ship is the Empress of the North. There were 281 passengers and crew on board. Not known right now exactly what brought this incident about. We did talk with the Coast Guard just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN MILLER, SPOKESMAN, MAJESTIC AMERICA: Our last update is that she's no longer taking on water and that our guests are being transferred to other vessels at this time. She only took on water for a short period of time before that -- the flow was stopped and the pumps engaged to start pumping the water out. But we have transferred right now about 90 passengers on to three separate, local vessels who are taking our guests back to Juneau.

And we are working with the Alaska state ferries, which has dispatched one of its ships, to the Empress and will transfer all of the remaining passengers to the ferry, again, for transport back to Juneau. The ship has stabilized and is operating under its own power, so we'll be able to take her on her own power back to Juneau where we can assess any damage at that time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, yes, that was encouraging news there and that was actually from a spokesperson, Dan Miller, from the company that runs that cruise ship.

We want to get to our Jeanne Meserve now, who's also tracking this story for us. She's in Washington.

What do you have?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., different numbers from the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials now say that 235 people of the 281 on board have been removed from the Empress of the North. All have been transferred, they say, to a commercial tug and barge, which responded to the scene, along with about 40 other private vessels and coast guard assets, including helicopters.

The Empress ran aground at about 2:00 a.m. local time, but the sun is now rising there, which is helping the evacuation effort. In addition, although it is raining, the weather remains relatively calm. Although the evacuation continues, Coast Guard commander Jeff Carter says the passengers appear to have fully cooperated and the crew appears to have been diligent in getting them off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CMDR. JEFF CARTER, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, this is an inspected vessel that holds a Coast Guard certificate. And the crew is trained in how to get the passengers to abandon ship. The passengers are briefed on that at the beginning of any cruise. And so they're executing that plan now and putting the passengers in the life boats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The Coast Guard says the Empress of the North ran aground on Hannas (ph) Reef in Lynn Canal. That's about 50 miles from Juneau. And it's an area which ships transit all the time, we're told. The ship had left Seattle on Saturday and was heading to Juneau, according to the Coast Guard. Right now it is still listing, the Coast Guard says, and taking on water, though, as you heard a spokesman for the company which owns the ship, Majestic America Lines, says it has now been stabilized and is on its own power. The Coast Guard says it will be taken into port for inspection and then repairs.

Back to you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Jeanne Meserve with the update for us there from Washington.

Jeanne, thanks so much.

MESERVE: You bet.

COLLINS: Want to quickly take a moment now to get to Rob Marciano to talk a little bit more about the weather situation as those folks are being taken off of the Empress of the North.

Rob, we've got some rain, obviously cold temperatures and cold water too. So still need to be probably pretty careful about what they're doing there.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You don't want to be swimming around in this water. Forty-five degrees or there abouts, give or take a few degrees. That's chilly. And that will, you know, within an hour's time, if you happen to be in that water, you'd be struggling to remain conscious just from the cold and how tired you'd be from just trying to stay alive in that cold. And then the survivability at about that temperature, anywhere from one to three hours. So definitely not something you want to fool around with.

All right, the southeast corner of the state, we go towards Juneau, Alaska, it is in the inland part or, I should say the straights and the canals and the bays that a lot of these tourist boats will go up and down through. This is the icy strait. That description that was just given, the Lynn Canal is right here. And then this is the Chatham Straight. So somewhere right in through here we think is where this boat went down. Again, about 50 miles west of Juneau, Alaska, and five miles offshore.

So even though this is protected area, you know, you have winds or seas about three foot. So that's not that big of an issue. But told that the accident occurred about five miles offshore. So it's not likes this people, just because they ran aground, can kind of just, you know, swim ashore. We've got five miles to deal with here. So it's a full-on rescue operation.

Winds right now about 15 miles an hour. There is some rain in the area. That's typical for this time of year in south eastern Alaska. Also typical are to see pretty strong storms and we're not see that today. We don't look to see that for a couple days. So the weather conditions certainly could be a lot worse as they make this rescue operation happen and happen hopefully 100 percent successfully.

Heidi and T.J., back to you.

COLLINS: All right, Rob, thank you.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COLLINS: Also unfolding this hour in Iraq now, coalition troops carrying out a massive manhunt. They're scouring cars and homes for three U.S. soldiers. And just minutes ago we learned a warning has been issued by the terrorists who claim to be holding them. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad now.

And, Arwa, tell us this new claim about what's happening with these U.S. soldiers.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the claim just crossed on an extremist Web site here put out by the Islamic State of Iraq. That is the umbrella organization that was formed by al Qaeda in Iraq and is claiming to hold these three missing U.S. soldiers. Now, what the claim specifically said, and this was directed straight at U.S. forces here. It said, your soldiers are in our hands. And if you want their safety, you will not search for them. Your search is a futile effort.

It also said that -- referencing things such as Major General William Caldwell's statement that he was making to the media, saying that he was out there with a pale face. Really this group very able to follow events as they're unfolding on the ground. And also said that, again, the search would be a futile effort. Saying that the battle between you, U.S. forces, and us, the Islamic State of Iraq, is endless.

Now, despite the threat coming from the Islamic State of Iraq, the search for U.S. troops would be a futile effort, that effort -- the search is still, rather, ongoing. Some 4,000 U.S. troops fanned out in that area known as the Triangle of Death, just south of Baghdad. U.S. troops backed also by Iraqi security forces. The military emphasizing that it will continue to use all means at its disposal to try to find its messing men.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, when you talk about 4,000 troops out there searching for these soldiers, and you would probably not expect any less than that, does it leave other areas vulnerable then?

DAMON: Well, Heidi, most of these 4,000 troops are actually already in position. Remember, with the surge that took place, there were additional brigades that were sent down to that area just south of Baghdad to try to prevent weapons flow and flow of fighters in and out of the capital. The U.S. military does also have on standby a quick reaction battalions that they can deploy.

They are quite adept at moving their force structure around. And we have speaking with a senior military official who did, in fact, reassure us that the search for the missing soldiers would not in any way jeopardize operations. But one can not really emphasize just how crucial it is for the U.S. military to carry out this mission. Remember, the U.S. military lives by the saying that they will never leave a man behind.

And also, this is a very dangerous and difficult area to operate in. If you remember, last year there was the case of the kidnapping and then brutal murdering of two soldiers that took place, in fact, just about a year ago.

Heidi.

COLLINS: CNN's Arwa Damon watching the situation for us live from Baghdad today.

Arwa, Thank you.

HOLMES: And a little more information coming in this hour on a shooting involving U.S. soldiers near the Pakistani-Afghan border. Details and specifics still not quite clear here. But a Pakistani army spokesman said a U.S. soldier and a Pakistani soldier were killed. We want to get to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. She has the new information for us.

Hello, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, T.J.

Well, we have now spoken to U.S. and coalition spokesmen in Afghanistan. And what they are confirming to us is gunfire broke out earlier today on that Pakistani side of the border, where U.S., Afghan and Pakistani troops were meeting the hold discussions about the security situation. Very unusual for U.S. troops to be on the Pakistani side of the border. But they were there for this meeting.

Gunfire broke out as the U.S. soldiers were leaving the meeting. At this point, spokesmen are not able to say who launched that attack. But when it was all over, we are told one soldier killed, three wounded.

Now, the military being very cautious. Officially they are saying that these were NATO troops. But we are led to believe quite candidly that the one killed and three wounded were, in fact, U.S. troops operating under the NATO flag, of course, attending that security meeting on the Pakistani side of the border. A very unusual situation to say the least.

T.J.

HOLMES: And, Barbara, you say it's unusual for U.S. soldiers to be on the Pakistani side. Is it also unusual just for the three sides to be talking and certainly meeting face to face no, matter where it is?

STARR: Well, let's be very clear. These meetings are the one clear mechanism that all three military forces, U.S., Pakistani, and Afghans have to meet about the border security situation. So they do meet regularly. It is a bit unusual, they meet on the border, but U.S. troops simply don't regularly go into Pakistan, except, of course, for these authorized meetings.

They had been meeting earlier today because of a number of previous incidents over the last couple of days on the border. This is a very porous border. This is the area where the U.S. has long said that both Taliban and al Qaeda militants cross from Pakistan where those training camps are operating, into Afghanistan to launch their attacks. So the security on this portion of the border is absolutely crucial to security inside Afghanistan. To the best of anyone's knowledge, there has not been an attack like this where the three sides have been meeting in very peaceful, well coordinated, well set out circumstances and somebody opens gunfire.

T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Barbara Starr with the very latest for us.

I'm sure we'll be talking to you again, Barbara. Thank you so much.

STARR: Thank you.

COLLINS: Firefighters in north Florida likely to face an even stiffer test today. Strong winds expected to fan a stubborn wildfire, making their job a lot tougher. CNN's John Zarrella is in Lake City now.

And, John, how far away are you from the actual flames that we were seeing on that video there?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're probably about six to 10 miles away to some of the very front line flames that we've been able to see. And the video that we have of those fires from yesterday is actually what firefighters want to see happen. They want to see the fires burn right up to the fire line and then die out completely. That's their hope. That's the plan. The problem they have today is that there are high winds coming in and those high winds may fan these flames and may allow the embers to jump from the fire line to the next stand of trees. So they're in there with a lot of very heavy equipment, heavy bulldozers in there digging wider and wider fire lines so that -- in hopes that they'll be able to prevent that from happening.

Now, what we have going on right now, there's a press conference that's being held with the forestry official. It's just now beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These lines out on the west side or the north side have been tested yet, but we were able to accomplish burnout from the lines all the way around the west side of the fire, up into the Penhook (ph) Swamp. We've got about a mile area in the north end of the Penhook Swamp that wasn't conducive to burnout last night. So we've got about a mile that hasn't got a burnout edge around the fire.

So we're looking in pretty good shape, as long as mother nature kind of gives us a little bit of reprieve today to where we don't have a lot of spot overs. We did have several spot overs last night but we were able to contain all of those.

We have established just in the event that the fire were to make a run or spot out of that thing, we have established trigger points yesterday. And without the new updated map, I can't exactly tell you the road numbers and all. But it's basically a road system that's about three miles back off of east of 441, and we've talked with the sheriff's department, the EOC, everybody's on board. If the fire jumps, our containment that we have at this time, and it runs to that contingency line, then we will start further evacuations. But we don't anticipate that happening. But it's all set up that we can pull the trigger if need be.

So right now we're in pretty good shape. We just need -- hope that the humidity holds in here today and the winds stay low and we're close.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mike. Next we'll have the sheriff. Sheriff Bill Cody (ph).

ZARRELLA: So now what you heard that -- that's some pretty good news. If the winds don't kick up too much more, if the humidity stays up, you heard him say they're close. That's good news. Of course, the last report we had, only about 15 percent contained, this fire. But today, again, that pivotal day. If they can get through this, they're going to be in good shape.

Now, we did hear just a little while ago too from forestry officials about what you might consider an unlikely rescue. A rescue probably you think human. Well, not a human. Yesterday morning at about 11:00 a.m. out there in that thick forest, forestry officials managed to rescue a black bear cub. Got some pictures of that black bear cub that they rescued. Don't know the details yet. We should get some more at this press conference as to where they took the black bear to get him or her out of the fire zone. But certainly any good news is welcome, whether human or bear, out here today.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, that's for sure. And certainly glad to hear that people are doing all right, even though many of them out of their homes and really watching those flames.

All right, John Zarrella following this story for us in Florida.

Thank you, John.

HOLMES: And another story we've been following this morning. Cruise ship in trouble. Almost 300 passengers and crew scramble for safety off Alaska this morning. We'll have an update for you here in the NEWSROOM.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ali Velshi in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Chrysler is coming back to the United States. But what does that mean to you? I'll have more in a couple minutes in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And this. A 91-year-old World War II veteran beaten without mercy. He has advice for the man throwing the blows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To turn his life around. Go to school, learn a trade, get a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Outrage in Detroit. The story coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. You're in the NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Vanished on vacation. Now the author of the "Harry Potter" books joining in the effort to find a missing girl. We'll tell you what she's doing, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Riding the wave of the future and dealing with the question of the day. What is a Hapa? We'll introduce you to one, a few. We got one that works here actually. Here's the answer in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Well, wake-up call this morning on Wall Street and in Detroit. The nine-year auto marriage of DaimlerChrysler coming to a screeching halt. It's Chrysler unit being sold to private investors. What could this mean for employees and American consumers? Well, the man with the answers, CNN's Ali Velshi live at Chrysler's U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Good morning to you, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, this could mean a couple things. First of all, Chrysler's already announced 13,000 job cuts earlier this year. And the announcement today says no more job cuts tied to the deal. But somehow this private equity firm that's buying 80 percent of Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler has got to make money somehow. It's got to turn this company around somehow. And cuts have been sort of the order of the day here in Detroit. So we're yet to see whether that's going to happen.

The United Auto Workers, which represents the unionized workers that work for Chrysler, is supporting this deal, saying it's the best deal they think their workers can get. So that's one side of the equation. Cost-cutting is one way that Detroit has to fix things.

The other side is that they've got to build cars that Americans want to buy. Chrysler has got part of that right. They've had some car models coming out in the last few years that have captured the imagination. The Chrysler 300. They've done well with some of their SUVs, their smaller SUVs, and they've done well with their minivans.

But, fundamentally, this company has got to get away from its truck-based strategy into more of a car, fuel-efficient car-based strategy and it's got to make the environment more competitive. The feeling here is that if this company, this private equity company, Cerberus Capital Management, can start to turn Chrysler around, can make their cars sexier and more appealing to Americans, well, like GM is doing, it sort of raises all boats and everybody starts to do better and it might create a bit of a resurgence or a rebirth of the U.S. auto industry.

One might argue that the U.S. auto industry, Heidi, has hit bottom and, as a result, we're now seeing some bottom feeding. We're seeing companies coming in and buying discount prices. This deal values Chrysler at about $10 billion. It was bought for more than $30 billion nine years ago when Daimler got involved.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, only a fraction, obviously.

What about the quality of cars, though? Is there any talk about whether or not that will be effected?

VELSHI: Yes. You know, quality is one level. I was speaking to somebody from consumer reports today who was saying they're not loving the quality that buyers have told them about on Chrysler cars. There's also an issue of design. Can they design and get things into production more quickly than they have in the last few years. And there's a question of renewing models and replacing models on a more speedy fashion. They're thinking that maybe with this private equity company, that doesn't have to have quarterly results that it reports to shareholders, they might be able to spend more attention on that and get out a better line of cars for American consumers.

COLLINS: All right. Ali Velshi for us reporting live from morning from Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Thanks so much, Ali. Nice to see you.

HOLMES: Homeowners insurance. Of course, it protect your most valuable asset and provides you that peace of mind. But it's also getting harder and harder to find in some places. Well, in California, where Allstate says it will soon stop writing new policies. Here with the details and the advice for us, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Gerri, so good to see you, as always.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, T.J.

HOLMES: So they're going to stop writing new policies. So what if you already have some Allstate insurance? Are you in trouble? Do you need to be worried?

WILLIS: Right. Well, here's what you need to know. The company will continue to serve customers with existing homeowner policies and it will renew those policies when they expire. Auto insurance is not going to be effected.

But brace yourself. If you're an Allstate customer, you should know the company is lobbying to raise premiums about 12 percent in California. Now, if you've got questions, contact Allstate directly. Or you can call the Department of Insurance hotline in California at 1-800-927-HELP.

Now, T.J., I want to put a little perspective on this, too. Allstate reduced the writing of new homeowners policies nationwide by about 12 percent. So there have been other markets besides just California effected.

HOLMES: OK. That makes -- doesn't really make a lot of folks feel better, maybe, but at least you know you're not alone.

WILLIS: No.

HOLMES: What happens, though -- of course, I guess it makes it tougher. There's not as many options out there. But, still, you can get insurance if you need it.

WILLIS: Oh, yes, there are lots of other insures. California alone has more than 100. And just as an aside, you should know that most other insurers in California are dropping premium prices, rather than raising them. State Farm rates are down 20 percent this year. And others cutting rates include AAA, Farmers, and Safeco. So it's not like there's nothing that Californians can do. There are actually lots of options.

HOLMES: All right. So what are some of your options? What should people do? Let's get into those tips now.

WILLIS: Yes, it's homework time. You've got to make sure you do your research, your needs. See what companies are out there by going to your state insurance department's Web site. In California, that Web site is insurance.ca.gov. And, T.J., no matter where you live, you can also go to insure.com and insweb.com to compare insurance companies.

HOLMES: And also here, you don't need to waste any time really. You need to get on it.

WILLIS: You know, if you've got a mortgage, you need homeowner's insurance. Homeowner's insurance covers the cost to repair or rebuild your home if it's damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane or lightning. But it will not pay for damage caused by a flood or an earthquake. You've got to pay separately for other kinds of coverage for that.

And, of course, make sure you have enough insurance to rebuild your house. Do you know that two-thirds of homes are insured for less than their full value? To get the best estimate of what you need, ask a contractor to tell you what it would cost in today's dollars to rebuild your home.

And if you have a question, send it to us at toptips@cnn.com. If it's insurance, whatever's on your mind, we always love hearing from you. And we answer those questions right here every Friday.

T.J.

HOLMES: It is always good to talk to you. It scares me because you remind me of something that I'm not doing that I should be doing, and that's a good thing.

WILLIS: Well, you've got to get on it.

HOLMES: I've got to get on it.

All right, Gerri Willis, always good to see you. WILLIS: Good to see you.

HOLMES: Well, of course, the other big story -- or the big story, one of them, we've been following today. The cruise ship, big rescue underway right now. This is off the coast of Alaska. Passengers and crew jumping ship essentially or abandoning ship. It hit a reef about 50 miles from Juneau. That's the capital there in Alaska.

The Coast Guard on the scene now and several volunteer boats helping out in that rescue effort. The ship is the Empress of the North. It carried 281 passengers and crew on board. And just a short while ago, we were told most of those people have been moved to safety.

We've got on the line with us now the ship captain. Mark Guillory on the line with us.

Sir, you're the ship's captain. By all means, sir, you know what was going on up there. What in the world happened to make you all start taking on water?

CAPTAIN MARK GUILLORY, U.S. COAST GUARD: : Good morning. It's T.J.?

HOLMES: Yes, sir.

GUILLORY: Hi. This is Mark Guillory. I'm actually a captain in the Coast Guard, I'm not the ship's captain. But . . .

HOLMES: Total apologies, man. I was given some wrong information there. So that's all right. I appreciate you. You give me an update best you can from your vantage point, which is certainly different than the ship's captain's vantage point. So go right ahead.

GUILLORY: No problem. I'll just do a rundown of the situation.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. this morning, Alaska time, the Empress of the North reported that they hit something and went aground approximately 50 miles south of Juneau. They had 281 people on board. And we immediately made a call out for good Samaritans to respond and we also launched Coast Guard vessels from Juneau and helicopters out of Citgo (ph), Alaska.

The current situation is, we have all 248 passengers, that's all the paying passengers, evacuated from the Empress of the North. They are safely on board other vessels and they are in route Juneau, Alaska, where hopefully they will be getting off here in Juneau today, sometime maybe later -- as early as later this morning.

HOLMES: And, sir, how far offshore was this ship?

GUILLORY: Well, southeast Alaska is a chain of islands. So you're never that far from shore. My understanding is maybe they were just a few miles from the nearest large island. HOLMES: All right. How severe of a threat was it? We understand it was taking on water. But was there ever -- you all understanding, like a race against time? That you had to hurry up and get these folks because it was taking on water to such an extent that sinking was a possibility? Give us the best idea you can of just how scary of a threat this taking on water was.

GUILLORY: Yes, T.J., any time -- we're in Alaska. This is a very severe environment. Any time we get a report of a vessel running aground, especially when we have this many passengers on board, it is very serious. So we respond immediately.

It looks like, right now, the situation is stable. As I said, all the passengers are safe. The crew is still on board the vessel and they have actually drifted away from the rocks, what they ran aground on. And they are trying to come up on their own ship's power. And right now we are working on deciding where to send them to.

HOLMES: OK. And those waters, as well, you just never know sometimes. You said you're never too far from shore anywhere. But is the area, best you can tell, an area where, you know, ship go all the time and maybe just an unlucky break and miss something, or was the ship maybe in some waters -- it was getting a little to close to land?

GUILLORY: T.J., I can't really speculate on why they ran aground. I can answer your question that this is a pretty routine route. Apparently they were on a seven-day cruise from Juneau. They left on Saturday and they were due to return, I guess, next Saturday. And again, it's way too early to speculate on why they hit this rock.

HOLMES: All right. Again, Mark Guillary (ph) -- not the captain of this ship that ran aground. Sorry about that mishap at the beginning. But with the Coast Guard here. We appreciate your time and the update on the situation.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Welcome back to you, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Lovely to have you. I'm Heidi Collins everybody.

Want to get quickly to this story now. It affects almost all of us. Paying at the pump. Where is your money going anyway? We've got your answer and "Reality Check", ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Also, teachers stage a mock gun attack during a school field trip. Parents, not pleased.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids ran underneath the table scared, shaking, crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Real-life lesson or cruel hoax? Hear from both sides, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq and possibly in the hands of Al Qaeda; a terror group says it is holding the soldiers. The soldiers captured in an ambush. The Islamic State of Iraq offered no proof of its claim. Also a short time ago, the group warned the U.S. to end the search for the soldiers. Four other Americans and an Iraqi translator were killed in the same attack.

Thousand of coalition forces are scouring hostile land south of Baghdad, the area an insurgent stronghold known as the triangle of death.

COLLINS: There are 14 million Asian-Americans in the United States. And at some point just about every one of them will have to answer the question, what are you? For one group, labeled the face of the future, the answer is as complicated as their genetic makeup. CNN's Betty Nguyen explain in "Uncovering America."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Look at these faces. Do you know what they all have in common? They're part Asian. Better yet, 100 percent hapa. What's a hapa? Let's ask Kip Fulbeck. He's had to answer that question all his life. Maybe that's why he's inked his Chinese heritage on his back.

KIP FULBECK, UNIV. OF CALIF, SANTA BARBARA: I grew up Buddhist. She's the goddess of Mercy. Basically it's kind of a karma thing.

NGUYEN: Call it karma or an identity badge. This California surfer knows the meaning of hapa. It's a Hawaiian slang term for people of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry.

Kip is the only hapa in his family. His Chinese mother had four children before her first husband died. She came to America where she married a man with European roots and gave birth to Kip.

FULBECK: I grew up with a Chinese household. My siblings are full-blooded Chinese from China. I grew up as the white kid.

NGUYEN: But he wasn't just a white kid. And neither are some students Kip teaches in his identity class at UC Santa Barbara.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the only half-Tai person I know.

NGUYEN: Actually there are 1.6 million hapas in the United States. There was no way to count them until the 2000 census, when people were allowed to check more than one box for race.

FULBECK: For my whole life it was always check one box. Basically it meant mom or dad? Pick one. You know, it's like "Sophie's Choice". I'm not going do it.

I want people to be able to realize that millions of people go through the same thing all the time, and that's all right.

NGUYEN: But it isn't always easy, at least not for this little girl. That's me. Yes, I'm a hapa, too. A baby born of war to a Vietnamese mother and American serviceman.

(on camera): I get a lot of times, a lot of people think I'm Hispanic or a lot of people think I'm something --

FULBECK: You've got to be down with La Rasa (ph), come on, Betty.

NGUYEN: Right. I man, how many different cultures and nationalities have people mistaken you for?

FULBECK: Oh, my God, I get -- all of them. From, you know, I usually get Hawaiian, Filipino, Middle Eastern, black, Mexican, South American. Rarely -- I never get Chinese.

NGUYEN (voice over): That's why Kip traveled the country taking photographs for his book called, "Part Asian, 100 % Hapa." Everyone answered a question asked 1,000 times, what are you?

Some said: I feel like a chameleon socially.

No one questioned my father's race or ethnicity, but suddenly one generation later, I'm not Asian?

I am a daily contest to guess what I am.

SOHPIA MEANS, HAPA: I'm Vietnamese. If you hear my mom speak you would believe me, too.

NGUYEN: Sophia Means is a model who believes she's missed out on jobs because she's not one race, with one look. And yet, times may be change for hapas.

MEANS: Every now and again I book work and they want a girl who is ethnically ambiguous. It's nice to see that category now. I don't think it's existed before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a guy who says and does whatever he wants because whoever I'm with, white or Asian, just says to himself, it's OK, he's half.

NGUYEN: Daniel Spikard is half Chinese and half Caucasian.

(On camera): Do you think you've received some of the benefits of being a little bit of both?

SPICKARD: Uh, sometimes I do feel that I'm more unique in the fact that I'm not just another face in the crowd.

NGUYEN (voice over): They might just be the faces of the future; already dubbed the poster children for 21st century globalization.

(On camera): In this book, I think what's fascinating is not only do they look different, but there's always this sense of, I've got to explain who I am.

FULBECK: Oh, I've got a story about that. I gave people these half sheets of paper to write their statements. I'll be like, go ahead, just respond to the question, what are you. If you don't like it, here's some more paper. I had one girl going through 17 pages. Just crumpling them up, throwing them away, crumpling them up and throwing them away. I had one girl at a shoot in the L.A where she sat for the entire shoot, three hours, with her pen and she never made a mark.

NGUYEN: Which speaks to how many hapas are searching for their true identity. And that's why Kip created his book of faces.

FULBECK: Ultimately, I think I want it to be a thing of celebration. I want people to really celebrate the difference of the hapa people, so it's not a thing of like, oh, I know somebody who is half Asian, too. Oh, you kind of look like him. It's like vastly varied people, and I want people to be able to go and put themselves out there, and have it be a real celebratory thing.

NGUYEN: So, Professor's Fulbeck's lesson is this. It's perfectly normal for hapas to deal with identity issues, and preserved in these pages, each face tells a unique story. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Oh, beautiful pictures. Betty Nguyen joining us now.

This was obviously a personal story for you.

NGUYEN: Oh, absolutely. Just like Kip, I've never fit into one particular category. And you know, when we talk about hapas, and their identity situation, some have a crisis because they haven't found anyone who is like them growing up. You don't see these faces in the mainstream. At least you don't know what they are when you see the faces, because they are, as Sophia said, ethnically ambiguous.

COLLINS: Which is something I've really never heard of before.

NGUYEN: Right. And you have probably never been asked, what are you, Heidi.

COLLINS: I've been asked a lot!

(LAUGHTER)

NGUYEN: I've been asked a lot. I do. And then you have to explain, well, I'm Vietnamese, born in Saigon. But, you know, a lot of people, a lot of hapas, especially in this book, when Kip would go around the nation, and say that he is going to do this hapa project, where he takes the pictures of people and ask them, what are you? People would line up. Before the doors were even open, they would have 30 to 50 people lining up. That's because hapas wanted to see others like them. They wanted to connect within their own group, and they wanted to know that they are not alone, and they're not the only ones.

COLLINS: Yes, well, I mean, it's a great project. It sounds very appropriate when he's doing it in that manner.

But you were telling me in the commercial break the number of times that you have to answer that question, just people coming up to you, and saying what are you?

NGUYEN: What are you? I mean, they think I'm a wide range of different things. And you know if I only had a penny for every time someone asked me that question.

COLLINS: Fascinating. All right. Betty Nguyen, thank you so much for that great, great piece.

NGUYEN: You're welcome.

COLLINS: To learn more about Kip Fulbeck's book and the hapa project, where he takes these photos to museums across the nation, just go ahead and log on to hapaproject.com. That's H-A-P-A, project.com.

Betty, thanks.

HOLMES: Cruise ship in peril, passengers abandoning ship in the cold waters off the coast of Alaska. The very latest on this developing story, coming up, right here. Don't go away.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Suzanne Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where DaimlerChrysler shares are up 2 percent on word that the company will sell its Chrysler division for a fraction of what it paid nine years ago. The implication for Chrysler employees, next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We do want to tell you the latest on that cruise ship rescue we were keeping an eye on off the coast of Alaska.

You're looking at the ship there, but what happened here. About 281 passengers and crew on this ship, the ship began taking on water after it got into shallow waters. Apparently ran into some rocks, but started taking on water.

Got all the passengers off. That is the good news. All the passengers have been taken off. The boat, however, has -- its crew still on it, because they have been able to get the ship to stop taking on water. The company believes the boat still can function. Still under its own power right now, but trying to get it back somewhere where it can dock. The important story here, important news is that all the passengers have been evacuated from that cruise ship, according to the Coast Guard. No injuries to report. Nobody ever went into the water.

But it was some scary moments. We've been following this, this morning. Just starting to get the good news and the better news. Details still coming in to us. We will continue to update that story.

COLLINS: One of the most expensive and least successful mergers in auto history is headed for a break-up. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange this morning with more on DaimlerChrysler, what used to be DaimlerChrysler.

Good morning, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Hi, Heidi. Nine years ago, boy, that announcement was made with grate fan fare. But since then, some say that deal more like a car wreck. So DaimlerChrysler agreeing to sell its money-losing Chrysler unit.

Private equity group, Cerberus Capital Management planning to buy an 80 percent stake in Chrysler, which will now be called Chrysler Holding. It's paying $7.4 billion and taking on billions of dollars in pension and retiree healthcare costs.

Just think in 1998 Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler for $37 billion. It's really been sold for just a fraction of that price. At a news conference earlier Cerberus Chairman John Snow, the former Treasury secretary, spoke about the benefits of turning Chrysler into a private company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SNOW, CHAIRMAN, CERBERUS CAPITAL MGMT.: There may be opportunities in the private sector, the private world, the world of private investment, that create more room for growth and expansion; that allow management to focus with greater intensity on the day-to- day business of producing better cars, and producing them in ways that lower costs and raise productivity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: And the company desperately needs to do those things to return to profitability. Chrysler, you may recall, lost $1.5 billion last year alone, Heidi. And when companies go private they can operate without that glare of a publicly held company where the stock can swing so -- so dramatically with some of the announcements, whether it's job cuts, or management changes. They'll be operating in some ways underneath the radar.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, which might actually work out to their benefit. What could this deal mean then for Chrysler employees? Are we going to see more layoffs?

LISOVICZ: Right. Well, that's the big question. Chrysler is already in the process of cutting 13,000 jobs. Some analysts say Cerberus could be even more aggressive in cutting labor costs. But in a surprise move the president of the United Auto Workers Union is expressing support for the deal. The UAW previously indicated it did not want Chrysler to go private. Chrysler's CEO said in a statement that no new job cuts are planned in connection with the deal announced today.

And Cerberus, by the way, an analyst who follows the auto industry spoke to CNN and said that Cerberus actually has a lot of credible. It has a lot of management who is very familiar, came from Chrysler, or other auto companies. So may intimately understand some of the challenges ahead, or at least that's what the hope is.

Shares of DaimlerChrysler off their highs for the session, but up right now 2 percent.

Stocks overall starting the week on a mixed note. Checking the numbers, the Dow still has positive mo, up 36 points, 13,364. I know you love it, Heidi. The Nasdaq composite, under just a bit of pressure, down 4 points. Not a bad start for the blue chips.

Heidi, T.J., back to you.

COLLINS: Not bad at all. All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

HOLMES: The wind is expected to kick up in north Florida. Another tough day for fire crews. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Some graphic video to share with you now. It might be a little too disturbing for some people to watch, but a 91-year-old man is attacked. What the victim is saying now about the man accused in this beating. Have the story for you coming up ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A 91-year old man beaten for his car. Some of you may find these images a bit disturbing to watch. We get story now from Derrick Dennis of affiliate WVIB.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DERRICK DENNIS, REPORTER, WVIB (voice over): Ninety-one-year-old Leonard Sims reacts to seeing the man who hit him, pounded him in the face over and over again, finally brought to justice. The arraignment of his suspected attacker beamed into Simms' living room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The court does note the fact that the complainee witness is a senior citizen.

DENNIS: Twenty-two-year-old Deante Bradley formerly charged with felony carjacking and assault for the brutal and vicious beating of Simms in the middle of a public carjacking, caught on tape.

LEONARD SIMS, CARJACKING VICTIM: You want the car, he could have grabbed the keys and taken off. Not to beat him. DENNIS: But that's exactly what Simms says Bradley did, using the side of his World War II veteran's face like a punching bag, literally trying to knock his block off. And let's not forget the people caught on tape standing by watching this beating go down, not one person bothering to help.

Still, Simms has a message for the suspect.

SIMS: Turn his life around. Go to school. Learn a trade. Get a job. And work for his living, not steal it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: It's tough to watch. Boy, that's for sure.

Vanish on vacation. Now the author of the Harry Potter books joining in the effort to find a missing girl. We'll tell you what she's doing, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Mounting concerns and a growing reward today for a little girl from Britain who is missing. Four-year-old Madeline McCann disappeared 11 days ago, in southern Portugal, while vacationing with her parents.

Her father says so many people have offered help and financial pledges. It's reported that contributions now total more than $5 million thanks in part to donations from Harry Potter's author J.K. Rowling, British tycoon Richard Branson and "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, also said to be offering their financial help.

HOLMES: Deadly Mother's Day crash; a flower stand now the scene of devastation. The questions and the heartbreak, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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