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Impasse in Negotiation Over War Funding; Jury Acquits Woman for Lying to School District; Will Gonzales Remain Attorney General?; Former Captive Brings Hope that Others Might Be Alive; Autism and Children

Aired May 18, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

Time marches on, and money is running out. An inverse relationship with adverse effects for the war in Iraq.

PHILLIPS: The battle over funding flares again, and once again, time, not money is the flash point. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Missing almost a week. Are they alive or dead? Three American soldiers somewhere in Iraq. Four of their comrades and an Iraqi translator killed in the ambush last Saturday in which they were captured.

Just today, we learned the name of the fourth soldier. The military needed a DNA test to confirm the victim was Sergeant Anthony J. Schober. Such was the condition of his body after the sneak attack that killed him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT SCHOBER, UNCLE OF SGT. ANTHONY SCHOBER: He was very proud of going into the Army, and the Army life fit him very well. He enjoyed it a lot. And that's why he re-upped. And going over to Iraq and being with his buddies was something he felt he needed to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: As you said, three soldiers with Schober's unit that day are still unaccounted for. A monumental search effort, thousands of troops working around the clock, have so far turned up nothing.

LEMON: The Democrats are disappointed. The White House is defiant. It's a battle over an Iraq war spending bill, including timetables to pull troops out. So far, no deal.

Our Dana Bash is at the Capitol with more -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you certainly would have thought that this is the way that day would have ended up if you would have looked at the pictures. And actually, we have some pictures of this meeting when the White House chief of staff and the House speaker and the Senate majority leader went into this meeting to talk about how to figure out the war spending bill that they all agreed they need to get to the president's desk in a week.

Look at that. They're all smiles. Well, when they came out about an hour later, the only thing that they agreed upon was that they were disappointed in the way the negotiations went down.

Now, what happened was Democrats offered to send the money for the war, but with that, a timeline for troop withdrawal. But unlike the bill that the president vetoed just a couple of weeks ago, this would give the president a waiver.

Well, the White House immediately responded in that meeting: No way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: What we passed with the president even being able to waive some of the timelines and the readiness accountability, no. Everything was no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And the White House chief of staff came out just after you saw the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid. Josh Bolton said, "Look, we are not going for a timeline for withdrawal, waiver or not."

He said that they fundamentally philosophically believed that that sent the wrong message to the United States' enemies. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH BOLTON, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The Democratic leaders did talk about having timelines for withdrawal that might be waivable. We -- we consider that to be not a -- not a significant distinction. It -- whether waivable or not, timelines send exactly the wrong signal to our adversaries, to our allies, and most importantly, to the troops in the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, in the one hand, it was a little bit surprising, Don, that this was the way that this meeting went down. Because we have been told privately by Democratic sources that they've known all along that there's no way that the president is going to sign a war spending bill that has a timeline for troops to come home. They've known that for sometime.

So the fact that they -- that they ended this meeting and they made a big deal to call the press in to say they were upset the president -- the White House rejected this, surprised us a little bit.

I just spoke with the Democratic source involved in the Democratic strategy going into this. And essentially what we're told is that they wanted to, quote, "smoke out the White House." They wanted to get them on the record rejecting the idea of a timeline for a troop withdrawal.

Because Democrats insist that that is where the majority of the American people are, and they wanted to show publicly that the White House is not onboard with that.

But these negotiations right now are at a stalemate. Democrats and Republicans still promise that they're going to try to get this emergency war funding bill to the president's desk by Memorial Day. That's a week from now.

LEMON: All right, Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much for that report, Dana.

PHILLIPS: Signed, sealed, and almost over, Paul Wolfowitz will step down as World Bank president June 30. He has given official notice, and the White House is vowing to move quickly to nominate a successor. Several names are being tossed around, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair. However, the bank has traditionally been run by an American.

Bank employees are upset that Wolfowitz is staying on another six weeks. They released a statement chastising the board, saying, quote, "They have attempted to save Wolfowitz's face and in so doing have destroyed that of the institution that they are entrusted to protect."

LEMON: When pump prices go up, convenience stores say they feel the pain. Take a look at where your money goes.

The store that you pump your gas makes about 1 percent per fill- up, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The lion's share goes for crude oil: about 56 percent per gallon.

So don't get angry at the retailer says Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores. He tells CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" some stores are actually losing money on gas. And their frustrations don't end there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF LENARD, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES: I think frustration is -- is a pretty key word. Obviously, customers are frustrated. You hear a lot of that at the pump. We hear it a lot with the profit margins or, if there are any profit margins on a gallon of gas.

No one likes $3 gas, and I think everybody would love to see it at $2. But that's where we are right now.

I think if there's any real frustration with retailers now, it's some of these bills that are going through Congress looking at gouging legislation. Doesn't really define what gouging is, but it's possible that a retailer could be fined $150 million, which is kind of a hit when you have one store, and ten years in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Well, there are several different ways to view Jeanine Echols. And you could see her as a dedicated mom who may have been bending a rule on behalf of her kids, or could view Jeanine Echols as a criminal, a felon worthy of prison. A short time ago, a jury just north of Atlanta announced that opinion, the opinion that matters the most.

And here with that story is CNN's Rusty Dornin -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jeanine Echols has three children, 16, 18, and 14. And she wanted them to go to the best schools. So she had enrolled them in schools outside of her district in the city of Marietta outside of her county district. Well, she used her husband's family's address. So she basically lied on the application.

Well, Ms. Echols went to awards ceremonies. Her children were doing very well in school. Went to awards ceremonies on Monday and on Tuesday. On Wednesday, she was arrested.

LEMON: Wow.

DORNIN: Sixteen counts of lying to government agencies. And she could have faced up to 80 years in prison.

LEMON: Yes.

DORNIN: But the jury came back with the verdict and said, no way. She's not guilty at least of felonies. And when her attorney was asked, why did they do this, he said, he wasn't sure exactly why.

LEMON: He wasn't sure. And he did -- go ahead.

DORNIN: Well, I think we have -- I think we have some sound from the attorney talking about that.

LEMON: All right, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIC REYNOLDS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it was a school board that -- a school system that probably does have a problem with some folks who may live out of district. They don't know -- didn't know how to handle it at that time period. This was a circumstance that had went on for a number of years without any problem whatsoever.

The D.A.'s office took the stand that there's a right way and a wrong way. But as we emphasized to the jury, there was a right way and a wrong way to handle this particular set of facts. And thankfully in the end, the jury handled it the right way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: And apparently, the jurors talking to CNN did say that they thought it was overkill.

LEMON: Right.

DORNIN: And they deliberated very briefly before they came back and completely exonerated her, at least on these felony charges.

LEMON: Yes. And I think they admitted they did something wrong, but it didn't rise to this occasion.

DORNIN: Right. And that there was no criminal intent.

LEMON: Yes, yes. We did a little unscientific survey in our meeting this morning. And people -- a lot of people said, "Yes, I did it with me. My parents did it with me, or my sibling," or what have you. How common of a problem is this?

DORNIN: It's very common, especially in this area, where people want their kids to go to better schools. In fact, the photographer who went out on his story said that in his school it happens all the time because of the overcrowding in the one school that people want their kids to go to. And parents are basically ratting each other out. And...

LEMON: For that space. Yes.

DORNIN: Yes, for that space. Because it's overcrowded. And of course, there's always the idea of athletic teams...

LEMON: Yes.

DORNIN: ... where you want your child to go to a better school that has maybe an athletic event that they don't have at his school or maybe it's just a better athletic team. And so people do that quite often to get their kids into those schools.

LEMON: We'll see if it's going to be a different, a more lenient sentencing for her now?

DORNIN: There's no sentencing. She was acquitted of -- at least of the felony charges.

LEMON: OK. Rusty Dornin. Very interesting story. Thank you very much for that.

Well, the jury has spoken in this case, and we'd like to know what you think. Is it all right to lie to get your child into a different school? We want you to send your e-mail response to CNNNewsroom@CNN.com, and we'll read a sampling of viewers' opinions, just a little bit later on.

PHILLIPS: The whale rescuers are back to work, trying to save a pair of wayward humpbacks off the coast of California. The mother and her calf surfaced almost a week ago in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, about 90 miles off-track. The situation is complicated by the fact both have injuries, possibly from a ship's propeller.

Yesterday, scientists began using the recorded sound of whales feeding to lure the humpbacks back down the river and out to sea. Only, they swam way from the sound, not toward it. But they're not ready to give up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIETER FOLKENS, ALASKA WHALE FOUNDATION: These animals are not in a terribly bad situation. They're actually pretty normal. We don't have a level of urgency that I think a lot of people are having.

I just want to remind you we're going through a process. It's a learning process. We've never been here before. We've never had injured cow-calf pair this far up a river before. And so we're taking it very easy and deliberately. We don't want to make any mistakes along the way. So...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It could be a long show. Scientists say it could take weeks to get the whales back to the ocean. And they say there's only a 50-50 chance they'll be successful.

But back in 1985, the same thing happened to another humpback. Remember Humphrey? Well, he safely made it back to the Pacific and was last seen around the Paraline (ph) Islands in 1991.

LEMON: I hope he's having a good time.

Ever try to find someone who was lost or ever look for a kidnap victim in a war zone? CNN's Arwa Damon has slogged through the battlefields of Iraq with troops in search of three missing comrades. She's in the NEWSROOM next.

PHILLIPS: His boss still likes him. That's about the only thing still going for Alberto Gonzales. We'll take stock of those other things and the attorney general's prospects for getting through another week, later this hour.

LEMON: We'll also check here on that monster wildfire in Florida and Georgia. Will it ever rain again?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's 15 past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So no sign of three missing U.S. soldiers. They were kidnapped during an ambush that left four soldiers dead in Iraq. The identities of all the soldiers have now been confirmed.

For a second day, Israel stays (ph) air strikes against mosque targets in Gaza. At least 14 Palestinians are dead so far.

And no luck yet for efforts to herd two injured humpback whales back into the Pacific Ocean. The mother and her calf are still stuck in a California shipping channel. PHILLIPS: In northern Florida, some people run out of their homes by a huge wild fire, well, they're being allowed to go back now. Rain overnight helped firefighters gain even more control of the fire straddling Florida and Georgia. It's about 70 percent contained. But for how long?

This weekend, winds are expected to kick up again, and the temperatures will be rising. Not exactly ideal firefighting conditions. So far, the fires burned more than 320,000 acres.

Rob Marciano, you're just back from the fire lines. How much longer can they go on?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, Rob. Glad you're back. Thanks.

LEMON: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is still hanging onto his job. But more lawmakers, including Republicans, are calling for his resignation. We'll hear from veteran presidential advisor David Gergen, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Millions of people eyeball YouTube every day. Active duty troops overseas, no longer YouTube viewers.

The web site's founder is coming to the troops' defense. They're disputing the Pentagon's decision to block YouTube on Defense Department computers. The Pentagon says troops are sapping too much bandwidth watching and unloading (sic) those videos.

YouTube's founders say that can't be the case. They contend the military's huge computer network has plenty of capacity.

PHILLIPS: Another day, another record, and another report showing that soaring gas prices are forcing consumers to cut back elsewhere. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to break it all down for us.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

It's been a big concern on Wall Street, because everybody thinks there's going to be a point when consumer behavior starts to change dramatically.

And of course, gas prices keep going up. AAA says gas prices up another two cents to a record $3.13 for a gallon of self-serve regular.

A new survey shows consumers are convinced that prices will keep going up. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers believe that by Father's Day, the average gas price will reach $3.32 a gallon. That extra money has to come from somewhere. So many people are changing their spending habits on discretionary items to give their wallets a bit more cushion -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We know what that means: fewer trips to the mall and other places that people like to go?

LISOVICZ: Yes, and that's one of the reasons why we're waiting for that other shoe to drop or not to drop. Fewer shoes. Think of that.

PHILLIPS: No, we don't want to think about that.

LISOVICZ: Horror for us.

Here's one change. A survey from the National Retail Federation shows that 40 percent of consumers say they're taking fewer shopping trips, in addition to staying closer to home when they do shop.

And they're hunting for bargains. Nearly a third of people asked say they're keeping their eyes open for more sales. Roughly a quarter of people surveyed said they're simply spending less on clothing.

However, we've seen in the past that consumers sometimes say one thing and do another. The Clifton (ph) Watch survey on consumer sentiment, out today, showed the surprising increase in confidence during the early part of the month.

The nation's upbeat job market and the booming stock market may be offsetting concerns about those high gas prices, at least for some of us.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: In the next hour of NEWSROOM, I'll tell you why workers at Chrysler might be breathing a sigh of relief. Kyra and Don, we'll talk about that.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. See you next hour.

LEMON: What's the logic behind this: spending millions for a job that pays only $400,000 a year? Is it only? That's a lot of money. Welcome to the world of presidential politics.

But you needn't worry about the candidate; most of them are millionaires. Of the Republicans who reported their finances, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads the pack, his assets anywhere between $18 and $70 million. Never knew that.

He's followed by Senator Sam Brownback and Congressman Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo. The only clear non-millionaire, from Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee.

PHILLIPS: John Edwards tops among the Democrats, with assets totaling more than $29 million. He's followed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Chris Dodd. Senator Barack Obama is on the cusp of joining the millionaire club. Among the least wealthy Democrats, senators Mike Gravel and Joe Biden.

Senator Hillary Clinton is among five candidates who have until June 29 to file their financial disclosure reports. The who have received extensions are former Virginia governor, Jim Gilmore; Senator John McCain; former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, who's believed to be the richest person in the race, and former Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson.

You can hear from these candidates on CNN in just a couple of weeks when we host the Democrats' debate on Sunday, June 3 in New Hampshire. And the Republicans just two days later.

LEMON: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is still hanging onto his job. But more lawmakers, including Republicans, are calling for his resignation. We'll hear from veteran presidential advisor David Gergen, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips.

LEMON: A political stunt? Well, that's what the White House says about a move in Congress to hold a no confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Now, the Justice Department's decision to fire eight U.S. prosecutors has sparked a political firestorm. Critics say it's time for Gonzales to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: His credibility is shot. Any faith that he can manage or run the department is gone. And the very justice system which is at the core of our democratic values is held in disrepute every day that he holds office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, even some Republicans are lining up against Gonzales. Will President Bush keep him on? That's the question we're going to pose that to David Gergen. He's been an adviser to four presidents. He's a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and editor at large for "U.S. News & World Reports" and he joins us now from Denver. The answer to the question -- will the president still stand behind him even with all of this, David?

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: He will try for a bit longer but just as he had his hand forced and had to concede on Paul Wolfowitz and lost him at the World Bank, the president is going to have to concede with regard to his attorney general in the days coming and I think it's going to be sooner rather than later. But it may stand out for a while. Listen, the attorney general could have possibly survived the -- the uproar over the fired U.S. attorneys.

But, there have been two other blows to his credibility and his stature. One came on the degree of politicization on the assistant U.S. attorneys being done within his office. Now we've had the testimony this week, extremely damaging testimony from a former deputy attorney general about his actions while Mr. Gonzales' actions while he was at the White House. That combined has left him with virtually no Democratic support and growing Republican opposition.

LEMON: Yesterday, Chuck Hagel and other Republicans as well came out and said, you know, we think he should resign. I have all of these questions to ask you, but I think maybe we may be able to end this early. You may have answered it in the first question. Do you think it's really only a matter of a short amount of time before he's gone?

GERGEN: Well I think it's only a matter of time. I don't know whether it's quite, you know I'm sure it's more than days. This vote of no confidence that is being pushed by Democrats, this is sort of an Achilles -- I mean this is a (INAUDIBLE) sword they're hanging over Gonzales and they can bring it down at almost any time. I think a lot of Republicans don't want to have to take that vote. It forces them up on Capitol Hill to be either for or against the president or for or against Gonzales. That's not a comfortable vote for a lot of Republicans so they would rather have him do it before.

LEMON: Well is that going to force in any way -- do you think that this will force the president's hand in some way?

GERGEN: I think it's leverage. It doesn't necessarily force it. You know you have a half a dozen Republicans spoken out against him publicly. That means there are at least a half a dozen more who quietly oppose him but don't want to go out there publicly. So he doesn't have the votes and you know to extend this on only -- I think only invites more investigations, it's going to invite subpoenas, going to mean Karl Rove is going to have to testify.

I even think with resignation, this is not going to be the end of the story. There are hints in the air now that people may consider some sort of obstruction of justice charges with regard to the firing U.S. attorneys. From the president's point of view, this story will linger on even though Mr. Gonzales goes and then we'll have of course hearings on a successor that will only deepen. This story has a lot of legs yet.

LEMON: Yeah, it appears that way. We were watching the testimony earlier in the week. We were watching Comey, talking about the wiretapping and going to John Ashcroft's bedside. Listen to this and let's talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I was very upset. I was angry. I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: How much, David, did this testimony affect -- how much influence does this have on whether or not he stays or goes or what decisions will be made? Was it damning testimony?

GERGEN: Extraordinarily damaging. Only a few days earlier, Mr. Gonzales was sort of breathing more easily because the House Republicans seemed to be saying we're going to stay with him. And then along comes Mr. Comey, who is highly respected, was deputy attorney general. And he has this story that's an astonishing, dramatic tale.

And this is -- you know it's hard to understand some of the U.S. attorney's situations, it's not hard to understand when somebody is trying to -- you know when the White House is rushing out to get somebody on his deathbed to sign some piece of paper and they're trying to force his hand. That, in itself, is just -- it's got a repulsive quality to it. So, when Comey testified, I would really think that finished it off in effect. I think it left -- it's only now a matter of negotiations, how the end game plays out. It's not a question of whether we're going to have an end game.

LEMON: OK, you've worked with a number of administrations as we so aptly put when we introduced you.

GERGEN: Too many probably.

LEMON: What about the corruption in this case. Is it -- does it seem to be -- can you call it corruption because, again, no one broke the law here. It just seems unusual and that there was somehow maybe some sort of -- I guess you could say back dealings under way. But have you seen this on -- to this level in any other administration?

GERGEN: Well -- look, I was here for Watergate. Yeah, so I've seen a lot of corruption. I mean -- no money exchanged hands here. But we do have a couple of situations now which are probably -- are arguably violations of the law. One was when Ms. Goodling allegedly used political influence with regard to career civil servants at the Justice Department to apply political standards -- do you support the president, not support the president? Where do you stand on various issues?

That arguably went across the line of a legal law. And also the firings of the U.S. attorneys -- if it was done in a way to interfere with the process of justice, there is an arguable case -- I'm not sure you could win this in a court of law, but there's an arguable case that was obstruction. We have had for the first time in recent days some hints that -- of -- opponents to the president might actually pursue legal recourse here. It's conceivably even possible they could try to impeach Mr. Gonzales if he won't go.

LEMON: All right, David Gergen.

GERGEN: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Three American soldiers missing in Iraq. Whoever has them has so far alluded a search operation blanketing 300 square miles south of Baghdad. CNN's Arwa Damon has spent the past few days embedded with the search teams.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. SHANE SANDERS, U.S. ARMY: I didn't imagine that this would happen, no. When we first came up, all I saw was -- I saw bits of equipment and uniforms and I saw Chuck on fire and it just progressively got worse you know as you get closer.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Shane Sanders is a medic, one of the first at the scene.

SANDERS: It's definitely one of those instances where I wish I was -- but I also wish I wasn't there. Because, you know, the night before, I was watching TV with these guys, you know, joking with them. Now to see them like that.

DAMON: The killed and missing from Saturday's ambush lived here.

LT. DANIEL WELLS, U.S. ARMY: When you get out of the trucks today, got to make sure that once we clear a path for pressure plate bombs, you get off of the road as quickly as possible and link up with us because there's also command wire IDs, so if they see you lingering on the side of the road, they're going to blow it up.

DAMON: This area less than a mile from where the attack took place is not friendly to U.S. forces.

WELLS: They may not have known when and where it was going to happen, but they knew something was going to happen. You got to treat them humanely. They'll put the IED right on one side of it. So when you get lazy, you don't want to go through the Nasi canal, you bebop across that step.

DAMON (on camera): The vegetation is so thick in some of these places you can barely see through it. Providing the insurgents with perfect cover to carry out their attacks or plant roadside bombs and making it even more difficult for the Americans to find their missing men.

CHAPLAIN JEFF BRYAN, U.S. ARMY: They're very angry, of course, over the recent incident, but we've dealt with losses of our soldiers before. And I tend to find that these soldiers are not ready to quit. They're ready to just keep going.

PFC. SAMUEL RHODES, U.S. ARMY: And as a platoon, you wind up growing together. You wind up loving each other because it's who you -- it's all you got out here, it's each other. It's -- it's them that will help you through some of the trials and you'll be there for them to help them through some of their trials.

DAMON: But the trials have ended for four of Private First Class Samuel Rhodes' platoon and three are still out there.

RHODES: It's twice as hard every day. It's one of those -- we depend a lot on each other right now. Our heart was broken. But it's our will and our strength that drives us to keep going for our guys. I'm sorry for their loss. I'm sorry that their kids aren't coming home in the way that they want them to. They're all heroes, they all did their job.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow, Arwa Damon, spending a lot of time with these guys, truly getting a sense for just how much time this takes, but also the emotional toll that it's taking on them. What do they say? Is it their gut that they will find something?

DAMON: Well, Kyra, that is the hopes amongst all of them. It's really this emotion rollercoaster ride that they're going through. Because each mission that they go out on especially those that are based on intelligence, much of that is coming from individuals who they have detained, there is that increased sense of hope.

And at the end of the day when they come back from their mission with the reality that they weren't able to find anything, that there weren't any clues at that location, that they weren't able to find their missing men, that hope goes away. But I do think that what exists predominantly amongst everybody is that determination. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: And this really puts into perspective, Arwa, that for the average Iraqi who doesn't have the protection and the guns and the bodyguards and the entourage, even a soldier who's trained to deal for these type of ambush situations and this type of violence, even this type of situation happens.

DAMON: It does, Kyra. This is just exemplary of how dangerous Iraq is and still remains for U.S. soldiers and for the Iraqi citizens. I mean as you just mentioned, the kidnapping of Iraqis is a near daily occurrence. We report every day on the unidentified bodies showing up in Baghdad. Pretty much every Iraqi who you speak to has a story of someone in their family or someone who they know who has been kidnapped.

And Iraqi reaction to that in the sense of how the Iraqi security forces can react, it' not that they have the establishment in place to be able to search for kidnapped Iraqis. Of course in the case of the U.S. -- the U.S. military really treats this quite differently. Remember, it is one of their main aims, their main tenant by which they live and that is never to leave a man behind. And this is what we're seeing unfolding here in this intense search effort that is still ongoing.

PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, we'll stay in touch with you and update all our viewers on the search for their missing comrades. Thank you.

LEMON: Tasting freedom after nine years in chains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were months when we had to wear them for 24 hours, most recently, we only wore them for 12 hours.

LEMON: And now he brings word three American hostages are alive. Details in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Her autistic students need extra attention and now she's getting extra help to make sure they get it. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, technology helps capture critical moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Three Americans missing for four years now in the jungles of Colombia, captives of a rebel group. Now word they've been seen and it comes from a former captive. Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He emerged from out of nowhere, a gaunt, shadowy figure from the Amazon jungle who holds clues to three missing Americans. He brought hope -- all soured by a tale of terror.

JHON FRANK PINCHAO, ESCAPED HOSTAGE: They would chain us to each other's necks to sleep. There were months when we had to wear them for 24 hours, most recently, we only wore them for 12 hours.

KAYE: After nearly nine years in captivity, Jhon Frank Pinchao says he slipped off his chains when the guards weren't looking, then walked 17 days through the jungle before police picked him up. He was held captive by a group called the "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia," known as FARC. FARC has been at war for decades with the Colombian government. It's blamed for the kidnappings of hundreds, including police, politicians, and U.S. civilians.

Just weeks before escaping, Pinchao says he caught of glimpse of these men, the longest held U.S. government hostages ever. Seen here in this proof of life documentary by a Colombian journalist captured in February 2003. They had been working for Defense Department contractor Northrop Grumman surveying fields of cocoa, a key ingredient for cocaine, when their plane crashed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you guys and I'm just waiting to come home.

KAYE: This video was taken only months after Mark Gonsalves, Thomas House and Keith Stansel were kidnapped. Until now, it's been the only solid evidence they were taken alive.

JO ROSANO, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE: I have other evidence from God. He tells me every day in my heart that he's alive and he will be home.

KAYE: And if Mark Gonsalves mother Jo Rosano needs more proof, it may be this e-mail, sent from another hostage's brother just before Mother's Day. She believes this part is from her son. ROSANO: You have the complete adored mom security. In any moment, we are going to reunite. For that reason, you must take care of oneself. I read it over and over and over.

KAYE: Rosano says she has visited Colombia three times to urge the government to find her son.

ROSANO: I look around, I see all these mountains and I say, my son is somewhere up there. And I'm getting no help at all from this government. No help at all.

KAYE (on camera): Have you contacted President Bush. Have you attempted to reach him about this?

ROSANO: Oh, my gosh. I e-mailed him about 50, 60 times and all I got was an automated e mail.

KAYE: FARC considers the men political prisoners and says they will only be released in an exchange for FARC prisoners held by U.S. and Colombian governments. But the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists and FARC, in the eyes of the federal government, is a terrorist group. A rescue attempt, it seems, could be too dangerous.

PINCHAO: They told us that their responsibility was to keep us alive, but that the minute a rescue attempt was made and we cannot extract them all alive, we will have to kill you.

KAYE: Northrop Grumman released this statement Thursday, 'Northrop Grumman continues to work on efforts to secure the safe, timely release of all three employees. We are deeply concerned about news reports of a possible health issue involving one of our employees." Pinchao says Gonsalves has hepatitis, his mother worries he won't survive. She also fears he'll be punished for Pinchao's escape.

PINCHAO: I asked God to protect them. I hope they're not paying the price because of me but I imagine they are.

KAYE: The U.S. State Department is again promising action.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We want to see these three returned to their families safely and as soon as possible and we are going to do whatever we believe is appropriate to make sure that that happens.

KAYE: Until then, Jo Rosano will continue to pray hoping somebody hears her. Hoping her son too might some day simply appear out of the jungle.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Bristol, Connecticut.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Her autistic students need extra attention and now she's getting extra help to make sure they get it. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, technology helps capture critical moments. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Autism affects more than a million kids in the U.S. and is the fastest growing developmental disability in the country. Teaching children with autism is a difficult task to say the least. But new technology is making that just a little easier. Donna Lowry of affiliate station WXIA reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA LOWRY, WXIA (voice-over): At Haven Academy, all of the students have varying degrees of autism, from moderate to severe. Teacher Emily Rudd spends the day guiding behavior, praising and reinforcing.

EMILY RUDD, TEACHES AUTISTIC CHILDREN: Can you tell me, I want to sit on the beanbag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I sit on the beanbag, please.

LOWRY: And often correcting behavior.

RUDD: Can you put that in my hand please?

LOWRY: If juggling all of that's not enough, Rudd must keep records of much of it.

RUDD: If there's a behavior that's happening 50 times an hour trying to mark that down while you're trying to deal with the behavior is really difficult.

Oh Lord, you're ready for breakfast, aren't you?

LOWRY: That's why a year ago, she enthusiastically agreed to pilot new technology to ease her paperwork burden.

GILLIAN HAYES, GEORGIA TECH COLLEGE OF COMPUTING: We wanted to help them get the data that they wanted in a way that still respects their ability to manage their classroom.

LOWRY: Cameras in the ceiling but recording all day would produce volumes of video. So there is this little device that looks like a car's keyless remote.

RUDD: Basically the button is pushed. There's students here. I'm right here. We're able to see different behaviors from each student.

LOWRY: It works like Tivo or a digital recording, a click marks the minutes leading up to and after the behavior. And saves each one in a computer file. Its software designed during PhD work by Gillian Hayes and others.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, right now Haven Academy is the only school in the nation with this technology but that's about to change. Hearing technologies is now marketing it to school systems throughout the country.

LEMON: Hundreds of millions of your dollars spent for a state of the art Coast Guard fleet. What did you get? Boats that are barely seaworthy? What went wrong with all of this? We're asking admiral Thad Allen for answers straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Nothing funny about Robert, nothing funny about Leroy. But add this Iowa man's last name and you're guaranteed a laugh. "The Punchline" coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: What's in a name? Well if your name is Bob Head and your middle initial is L, well you could really shake things up. Oh, jeez -- Katie Wederman of CNN affiliate KCRG reports on one man's quest to be immortalized in plastic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE WEDERMAN, KCRG (voice-over): Meet bobble head -- OK slow that down, meet Bob L. Head. He's a retired car salesman and now a Catholic deacon. Little did he know his name would make him kind of famous.

BOB L. HEAD, BOBBLEHEAD CONTESTANT: Bobble head probably never really occurred to me because most people who call me Bob probably don't really realize what my middle initial is.

WEDERMAN: L as in Leroy. A name that makes him a candidate for the Portland Beavers AAA baseball team's bubblehead contestant. The team is searching the country for people with that name. They want to create a doll in the image of someone who is actually named Bob L. Head.

HEAD: When we got the doll in the mail which would have been in March about the middle of March. And actually we at first thought it was a joke.

WEDERMAN: But it's no joke. And if this Bob wins, he'll be the next bubblehead doll and get to throw the first pitch during a Beavers game in Portland. In (INAUDIBLE) everyone is talking about Bob Head and the contest. His friends at Osterhaus Pharmacy describe Bob as a super citizen.

BOB OSTERHAUS, FRIEND OF BOB L. HEAD: He's been the talk at the coffees. You know and over at church and -- I know it was in our parish bulletin.

WEDERMAN: You can bet this Bob L. Head is having fun with the situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, give it a whirl Bob.

HEAD: OK, here we go. I'm kind of a shaky guy. WEDERMAN: A shaky guy hoping for his shot to make history. In Maquoketa, Katie Wederman, KCRG TV 9 News.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That's a good story, right?

PHILLIPS: You just had to go there.

LEMON: Did you like the story?

PHILLIPS: Next hour of CNN's NEWSROOM starts right now.

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