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Eight U.S. Troops Killed in Shootdown & Bombings; Sudan Sanctions; Hillary Clinton to Speak About 'Shared Prosperity' in New Hampshire; Contact Solution Recall

Aired May 29, 2007 - 08:59   ET

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


9 TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

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

You can watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on this Tuesday morning. It is May 29th.

Here's what's on the rundown for you.

Eight U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Two when their helicopter goes down, the others when they're called to the crash site.

HARRIS: She lost her husband in the war a few months back. Now this war widow is joining the Army, hoping to serve in Iraq.

NGUYEN: Contact lens solution recall. Experts say it's contaminated with a parasite that can cause serious infection. Dr. Gupta eyes the story.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, we do have new developments out of Iraq to tell you about. Eight U.S. troops killed. The chain of events began with a helicopter shot down near Baquba. U.S. forces rushing to the scene hit by deadly roadside bombs.

CNN's Hugh Riminton is in Baghdad now.

Hugh, walk us through what happened here.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as far as we know in these situations, it's still under investigation, Betty. It seems that a Kiowa helicopter -- these are tactical helicopters the U.S. military uses with two people on board -- crashed, we understand, from small arms fire, although that is still officially being investigated. Two people on board were killed.

It is standard practice if anything like this happens to send out what they call a QRA, for quick reaction force. That's exactly what happened. Vehicles rushing to the scene near Baquba, to the northeast of Baghdad. It ran into a terrible scene. A roadside bomb blew up one vehicle, killing five U.S. soldiers on board. A second vehicle also hit. One soldier died there, three wounded.

So, in this sequence of events, eight U.S. soldiers killed, three wounded. And the monthly total for May -- the month not over yet -- 112, far and away the worst month for U.S. deaths so far this year.

NGUYEN: Goodness.

Well, let's talk about this, the kidnapping that happened this morning at an Iraq Finance Ministry building. What do you know about that?

RIMINTON: Yes. Everybody knows that Westerners are high-value kidnap targets across Iraq. And it appears that's what happened on the face of it.

This was a very well-organized attack. This person was going to the Ministry of Finance IT department, we understand, to advise and educate local staff.

He had a private security detail with him. We believe that that is four British citizens. They're private security guards, if you like.

We believe, we understand from a variety of reports, that a group of people dressed as Iraqi police went into the building, collected those people. We believe five have been kidnapped in total, but there are conflicting reports on that as well, and have removed them. They have not been seen since.

The British Foreign Office has begun a special emergency meeting by the people they have to look after, exactly these kinds of events. German authorities are also investigating whether one of their nationals was also taken in this same raid -- Betty.

NGUYEN: What a day.

CNN's Hugh Riminton in Baghdad for us today.

Thank you, Hugh.

HARRIS: Well, the new casualties make this month the deadliest of the year for the U.S. -- 112 American troops have died so far in May. The deadliest months for U.S. troops took place in 2004, 137 Americans died in November of that year. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war now stands at 3,461.

NGUYEN: Also today, dozens killed and wounded as car bombs rock Iraq's capital. One blast near a police checkpoint, the other an hour later at a Baghdad street market. In all, at least 38 people dead, nearly 100 wounded.

HARRIS: President Bush announces new sanctions against the government of Sudan, hoping to stop the carnage in Darfur. CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House for us.

Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

And yes, President Bush this morning basically said that he had lost confidence, lost patience with the Sudanese government. So he's calling for new sanctions.

First of all, against 30 government-run Sudanese companies that are involved in that country's oil business. The U.S. will also sanction two senior Sudanese officials and a rebel leader believed to be responsible for much of the violence.

The U.S. again will also push for United Nations Security Council sanctions against Sudan. With some 450,000 now dead and roughly 2.5 million homeless, President Bush this morning said that the time for promises from the Sudanese government is over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United Nations believe that President Bashir could meet his obligations to stop the killing and would meet his obligations to stop the killing. Unfortunately, he hasn't met those obligations. President Bashir's actions over the past few weeks follow a long pattern of promising cooperation while finding new methods for obstruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, President Bush insists that the United States still supports diplomatic efforts to solve the Darfur crisis and does indeed want to see a full complement of United Nations peacekeepers sent to the region.

The announcement comes though this morning as President Bush heads to the state of Georgia for a briefing on the raging wildfires there along the Georgia-Florida border that have charred more than 500,000 acres. The president will also be making a speech backing immigration reform -- Tony.

HARRIS: Kathleen, just a quick question for you. What is the international reaction to these proposals? And are they likely to work?

KOCH: Well, the Sudanese government, Tony -- and it's no surprise they call these sanctions unjustified. Now, China has extensive commercial interest in Sudan, and it also says that these -- that it is opposed to these sanctions. Its representative on African affairs saying, "Expanding sanctions can only make the problem more difficult to resolve."

And Tony, it's important to point out the U.S. has already had itself some very strict sanctions in place in Sudan for nearly 10 years. So, many believe it will take other countries stepping up to the plate, taking similar sanctions, putting them in place to persuade the Sudanese government to change its ways.

HARRIS: Kathleen Koch at the White House for us.

And just a footnote to this story. Andrew Natsios -- he is the special envoy to Sudan -- will be joining us in the 10:00 hour right here in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, there is a tragic end for New England Patriots' football player Marquise Hill. The body of the New Orleans native was pulled from Lake Pontchartrain.

Hill had been missing since Sunday, when he fell off his jet ski. His passenger, well, she was rescued. Neither of them were wearing life vests.

The former Louisiana State University standout was also known for his work off the field. He spent much of his time helping rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Marquise Hill was just 24 years old.

HARRIS: Oh boy.

A frightening holiday on the beach along parts of Florida's east court. Lifeguards pulled hundreds of swimmers to safety after they were swept off shore by rip currents. Two hundred rescues in Cocoa Beach in a three-hour period.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the waves kept coming and coming, and they kept coming and like getting on top of me. I kept swallowing salt water, I ran out of breath, and I didn't have anything in me. So I started screaming for help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Rip currents also serious in Daytona Beach. Dozens of swimmers were rescued there.

NGUYEN: You know, I was just in Destin a couple days ago -- actually yesterday. Came back, and that was the big issue down there, Chad, these rip currents, because they were pulling people out.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Thanks, Chad.

HARRIS: Thanks, Chad.

You know, Chad, we are reminded by the ladies in our lives all the time that it is not easy walking in high heels and an evening gown.

NGUYEN: Oh, no. HARRIS: Oh, just ask Miss USA.

NGUYEN: Oh.

HARRIS: How do you feel about that, Betty?

NGUYEN: I'm embarrassed for her.

HARRIS: Oh. Wasn't she great, though? She popped right back up.

NGUYEN: Well, yes, you have to. The show must go on.

HARRIS: And there you go. And the smile was there.

Rachel Smith, well, she took that tumble last night while competing in the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City. She ended up as the evening's fourth runner-up.

Japan's Riyo Mori...

NGUYEN: There she is.

HARRIS: ... took home the title. Gorgeous. She says she hopes to open an international dance school some day soon.

NGUYEN: Maybe she could train some of the others on how to recover from slips like that. As if you've never done that. Maybe not in heels, Tony. But that's OK.

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: Yes.

Well, if you wear contact lenses, stay tuned. Important recall information you need to know right here in the NEWSROOM.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Hillary Clinton is going to give what her presidential campaign calls a major address. So, what's she going to talk about? We'll tell you coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: An ongoing tribute. Oregon National Guardsmen honor the fallen, even when no one else is watching. Their story for you in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Arming a deadly garden and a way to detect landmines without getting too close. We have this story just ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Hillary Clinton and what her campaign calls a major policy address. The presidential campaign trail takes the Democrat to New Hampshire this morning. The subject, your wallet.

CNN's Dana Bash with us from Manchester.

Dana, good morning to you.

Here's the question. Why is Senator Clinton giving this speech today?

BASH: Well, she's giving this speech because she's here in the state of New Hampshire, the first in the nation primary state, and to talk about an issue that really has in some ways gone under the radar because there's so much talk, especially among Democrats, about the war. And if you want to know what she's going to talk about, if you want to know what any candidate is going to talk about, Tony, you just look at the bumper sticker banner behind them. And that's what you see behind me -- "Shared Prosperity".

What Hillary Clinton is going to do is she's going to try to tap into something that you talk to Democrats here in New Hampshire, across the country, you look at the polls, you see it is one of their major issues. And that is what we call the income gap, the difference, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the anxiety that many voters feel about their lives, basically, about the fact that many of them, yes, do have jobs, the economy is good, but why aren't they necessarily feeling it? Why are they looking at corporate America and thinking that they're doing so well but we're still having a lot of trouble making ends meet, even though we're getting a paycheck every month?

So, she's going to try to address that with some kind of policy prescriptions, but I think for the most part she is just going to make clear that she gets it.

HARRIS: So, Dana, this is being billed as a major policy address by her campaign. How big a speech is this really?

BASH: Well, we'll be able to tell you for real in about 45 minutes or so, when she starts to speak. But I think it is important because, as I said, this really is a big issue for Democratic voters. And maybe even more importantly for Independent voters, especially in this state. And I'll just tell you a story.

We went to a diner, which is where -- the best place to go in New Hampshire to talk to voters yesterday. And you know, certainly, as I said, the war was top of the list when you ask, "What are the issues you care most about?" But we also heard from, for example, a single mom, who said she was at the diner, she was having a breakfast, it was a special occasion because she never gets to go out.

She has a good job. She's an accountant, but she still feels like she has problems making ends meet. And she's looking for a candidate who is going to address those issues.

She's willing to hear from everybody, so that's why this kind of speech that Hillary Clinton is going to give today is so critical to try to tap into that particular voter, to get their vote.

HARRIS: Yes. BASH: Of course the war is by far dominant, but this is something that has -- that all of the candidates in the Democratic field are vying for.

HARRIS: Dana Bash with the Clinton campaign for us this morning.

Dana, thank you.

Iowa also getting some attention in the '08 race. Democratic candidate Barack Obama unveils his universal health care plan a short time from now. In Iowa City, in remarks obtained by The Associated Press, Senator Obama says his plan will make health care available to all Americans and will save the average consumer $2,500. It calls on the government, businesses and consumers to share the cost.

On the Republican side of the race, Mitt Romney is spending another day in New Hampshire. Yesterday he met with veterans and heard the story of a National Guardsman who hasn't been able to get help for a broken foot since returning from Iraq two years ago.

The candidates debate in the first real battleground of the campaign. Next week live on CNN, the Democrats face off on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, the Republicans at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, and you will see it live, right here, only on CNN.

NGUYEN: Well, Tony, there are concerns today about eye infections, even blindness leading to a global recall of a contact lens solution.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to talk about the culprit.

It's a parasite, correct?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. Acanthamoeba is the name of the parasite. It is something that is pretty rare but potentially has devastating consequences.

It's a parasite. It can get into all sorts of different waters, including drinking water, including hot tubs, freshwater, saltwater. Sometimes it can cause this eye infection as well, and oftentimes it's associated with using contact lenses.

Now, the thing that's so concerning about this is, if the infection at its very worst occurs, it can actually cause blindness as well, which is why so many people are paying attention to this. Again, simply from using the contact lens solution, or storing your contact lenses improperly.

I think we have a picture of the specific solution we're talking about there. It's Complete Moisture PLUS. It's made by Advanced Medical Optics.

And Betty, this was a voluntary recall. They went to them with the data. They said, look, it looks like there is a link between this particular solution and these eye infections. It's pulled off the market. They did that. So you can't buy it anymore, and they say don't use it, obviously.

NGUYEN: Yes, but how did a parasite get in the contact lens solution?

GUPTA: Don't know. And they don't know the answer to that. And they don't know for sure that it's even in the contact solution now. They do know that there appears to be this link.

We're talking about something that's very rare here, a one in a million chance of actually getting this infection. What they found though was that out of all of the people that they interviewed so far that had this infection, a vast majority of them used contact lenses, and specifically this particular solution.

So, it's more of a link per se. What they're recommending though is very specific. Throw away the solution, throw away the contact lenses. And also, don't forget to throw away the lens case as well.

NGUYEN: Really?

GUPTA: Sometimes a parasite can sort of hang out in there. You want to make sure you get rid of all of that.

NGUYEN: You can't just clean it and expect it to be gone. You want to be absolutely sure.

GUPTA: This is an incredibly difficult parasite to get rid of. So, yes, to be absolutely sure, just throw it all away.

NGUYEN: All right. But -- so if someone uses solution, what are the chances that they would get this infection?

GUPTA: It is very rare, and that's probably the best news in all of this. You know, there's about 30 to 40 million people who use contact lens solution, who use contact lenses. And about 39 people so far they have confirmed actually had this infection. So, it's literally a one in a million sort of thing.

But there are some things to sort of look out for. You know, if you have significant eye pain, eye redness, blurriness of vision -- which everybody gets from time to time. But if it's bad, particularly bad, worse, and you also are using a solution, have sensitivity to light, the sensation of a foreign body in your eye, and you've been using the solution, you want to get it checked out, Betty.

Most likely the doctor is going to tell you you're fine, nothing to worry about. You're not that one in a million person. But, you know, the consequences is too great.

NGUYEN: Blindness.

GUPTA: I mean, blindness. Yes, nine out of those 39 people are going to need a corneal transplant.

NGUYEN: Oh my.

GUPTA: So this is pretty serious stuff here. You don't want to blow this one off.

NGUYEN: Well, that's why there's that global recall to make absolutely sure.

All right, Sanjay. We appreciate it. Thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you. Sure.

HARRIS: And still to come this morning in the NEWSROOM, after her son's death she was front and center in the anti-war movement. Now she's had enough. Cindy Sheehan's surprising announcement coming up for you in the NEWSROOM.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And if you want to look like Tony, you've got to drink things like vitamin water. Coke thinks it's a big deal. That's why they bought the company that makes it.

I'll tell you more about that when we come back in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, Cindy Sheehan walking away from the anti-war movement. In a letter posted on a Web site, Sheehan says she is exhausted and disillusioned. She says her son died in Iraq for nothing. And the peace movement -- quoting here -- "... often puts personal egos above peace and human life."

Sheehan first drew national attention nearly two years ago when she camped outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding a meeting over her son's death. But President Bush ignored her. In her resignation letter, Sheehan says her son died for a country that cares more about who will be the next "American Idol" than about American deaths in Iraq.

HARRIS: After a long holiday weekend, investors return to face a busy week on Wall Street, where they will be digesting some merger and acquisition news.

OK. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business".

Ali, great to see you after the long holiday weekend.

The markets get back to work. Is that what you're watching, M&A activity?

VELSHI: Yes. Well, you know, we're going to have a lot of economic reports later in the week. We're going to have the unemployment report. But really, there's been more of this M&A activity, these mergers and acquisitions that have so driven this market for the first few months of the year.

One of the big deals that we continue to look at is, earlier this month, Alcoa put in a bid to buy Alcan. Now, Alcoa is the biggest aluminum producer in the world. Alcan is the second. Alcan is based in Canada.

Alcan rejected the bid. It was almost about $30 billion. Now there are about five other companies that could potentially be bidding, and the outcome here is you're going to have whichever company makes this combination become the biggest aluminum company in the world.

So, it's a big deal, because this -- you know, we're using aluminum all over the world. China is using a lot of it, India is using a lot of it. We're using more of it. If the world is growing, aluminum's probably growing along with it.

HARRIS: Hey, I guess we heard a little bit about this Coca-Cola deal yesterday. Energy brands. Tell us about that deal that's pending out there.

VELSHI: Yes. And that -- the parent company there is Glaceau, where they make things like vitamin water, smart water, fruit water. Glaceau is part of this whole active lifestyle non-carbonated beverage group.

Coke paid $4.1 billion to buy this company. It's the single largest acquisition Coke has ever made.

HARRIS: Man.

VELSHI: But that's a growing category. Guys like you, Tony, you don't get to look like you for nothing. Right?

HARRIS: Yes, right. There you go.

I mean, I guess there's really something to this. You go to the convenience stores and you see more and more shelf space, cooler space, dedicated, devoted to...

VELSHI: Yes. I mean, scientists probably still -- you can probably ask them. You could probably take your vitamins every day, and for a lot cheaper than buying the $3 or $4 fancy flavored water.

HARRIS: Oh, is that the price point on these things? About three bucks or something for...

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: I mean, listen, I may not -- I'm buying stuff at the deli in my building. Everything's three or four bucks. But, you know, this is a growing area. Parents are keeping their kids off of the soda. People are concerned about sugars.

These seem to be healthier drinks, and Coke's cashing in on that.

HARRIS: You following Ford today?

VELSHI: Yes. An interesting story with Ford.

You know, maybe about a couple months ago Ford sold off its Aston Martin brand. It's got a few other brands in that whole premier automotive group, including Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Now there's word that Ford is looking to sell Volvo, and BMW is looking to perhaps be the buyer there. Now, you can see the fit between Volvo and BMW, obviously, the kind of clientele they get.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: But this -- in 1999, Tony, you'll remember Ford bought up a number of these luxury brands. It hasn't been as good for them as hoped. Particularly since Ford has to continue to cut costs.

HARRIS: Was Jaguar part of that mix as well?

VELSHI: Yes, Jaguar and Aston Martin both.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: Ford retains the Jaguar, has given off Aston Martin.

HARRIS: OK. There he is.

Good to see you, man. It's been a while.

VELSHI: And you.

HARRIS: "Minding Your Business," Ali Velshi with us this morning.

Great to see you, Ali.

NGUYEN: Duke lacrosse winning back a reputation. What is next in Duke's road to recovery?

Well, we have that ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Here we go again, Betty. Those California whales...

NGUYEN: Whale watch.

HARRIS: ... stalled. But at least they're closer to home.

NGUYEN: That's good.

HARRIS: An update coming up for you right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I'm not kidding you, Betty. Any second we're going to get that -- what they do is they hit a button or something.

NGUYEN: There it goes.

HARRIS: And there you go. That's what gets the bell for us.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody, on this Tuesday. I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tony Harris.

Good morning to you.

More heartbreak from Iraq. The U.S. death toll just surges this morning. The latest attacks coming to light. Eight U.S. troops killed near Baquba . The chain of events began with a helicopter shot down on Monday. U.S. forces racing to the scene are hit by deadly roadside bombs. The fatalities, both chopper pilots and six soldiers from the Quick Reaction Force.

In Baghdad dozens dead and wounded in a pair of car bombings. One struck at a street market, the other targeted a police checkpoint. In all, at least 38 dead, almost 100 wounded.

Also today, a brazen kidnapping at a government building in Baghdad. Government sources say three people were snatched from a Finance Ministry building. The nationalities of the kidnapped not yet released.

NGUYEN: So here's a question many ask -- is Iraq a clearinghouse for terror -- exporting fighters and tactics across the Middle East?

CNN's Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Explosions and gunfire in northern Lebanon. Lebanese security forces encircle a refugee camp, battling a militant group called Fatah al-Islam.

A top Lebanese security official tells CNN some of the militants they're fighting came straight from Iraq.

Experts say after years of drawing in militants from around the world, insurgent groups are exporting fighters from Iraq into Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan. And it may not stop there.

FAWAZ GERGES, AUTHOR "JOURNEY OF THE JIHADISTS": If the situation continues in Iraq, if Iraq becomes a major foothold, a major base for Al Qaeda, I would argue that Al Qaeda could very easily send militants and terrorists and suicide bombings into American shores.

TODD: And it's not just fighters being exported, according to a former State Department intelligence official, who just wrote a report on this development.

DENNIS PLUCHINSKY, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Iraq is a laboratory for tactics and terrorist techniques -- how to put cells together, how to work cells, how to carry out surveillance of the target.

TODD: November 2005 -- militants believed to be from Al Qaeda in Iraq, then led by Abu Musab Zarqawi, stage nearly simultaneous bombings at three hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing more than 50 people.

Zarqawi, since killed by U.S. forces, bragged about those he'd sent from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL-ZARQAWI (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Three lions left their dens in Baghdad and headed to the heart of Amman to carry out the blessed attacks against three targets known to be headquarters of Jews, crusaders and other enemies of God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD (on camera): One of the biggest frustrations here, according to terrorism experts, is that we've seen this pattern well before those 2005 attacks, when militants from the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets back in the 1980s were left unchecked and set up training camps that were later attended by some of the 9/11 hijackers.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARRIS: Stalled again -- we are still watching the whales, Delta and Dawn, in the Sacramento River. They stopped again. Well, they didn't just stop. They're going in circles is what's going on. They're now just about 45 miles from the ocean. Heavy boat traffic may be to blame this time.

NGUYEN: It's not their fault.

HARRIS: No. No. No. Coast Guard crews were forced to pull some swimmers out of the water. Those people, apparently, trying to get a little too close to the whales.

Hello, people.

NGUYEN: Just let them just get back home.

HARRIS: Find their way.

NGUYEN: It's taking a while, though.

Chad Myers joins us now with a look at the weather outside -- they really need to just, what, get to the Golden Gate Bridge?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

NGUYEN: And then they could be home free?

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: Yes. Well, they'll start to feel -- they'll start to smell the ocean, as well, the salt water coming in.

But I have figured out why they -- they went up the river. NGUYEN: Why?

MYERS: They're afraid of Alvin.

HARRIS: Alvin?

MYERS: Alvin. Tropical Storm Alvin.

HARRIS: Oh.

NGUYEN: So that was like a joke...

MYERS: In the Pacific...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: Yes, that was his attempt at humor.

HARRIS: See, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) chipmunks or something.

NGUYEN: Weather humor here.

MYERS: I can't even hear -- I can't even think Delta and Dawn without hearing that song...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: That's right.

MYERS (SINGING): Oh, what's that flower you've got on?

HARRIS (SINGING): Singing.

MYERS: All right.

HARRIS (SINGING): Could it be a...

MYERS: That's enough.

NGUYEN: Please stop, guys.

MYERS: Whoa. Whoa. We're losing viewers, man.

(WEATHER REPORT)

High school Lessening the danger from landmines -- a Danish scientist has a novel new way to detect deadly explosives with a weed.

We get the story now from CBC's David Common.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAVID COMMON, CBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a place that seems to exude peace and tranquility, what's going on here seems to counter all that. Danish soldiers are burying landmines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COMMON: This, though, is not an act of war, but of science, because this is the testing ground for what's now in this fridge -- a weed that turns color when it's planted near a landmine.

JARNE ELLEHOM, ARESA: Here there well be red plants one place, green plants another place and the red signaling danger.

COMMON: Jarne Ellehom genetically modified the thale cress weed, turning it into a potent yet simple detector of danger.

ELLEHOM: The real value of this is being able to clear more land without having to look for -- for the mines, because where there is green plants, it's clear. Where there are red plants, you go in, put your de-mining team in and clear that particular small patch.

COMMON: There are an estimated 100 million landmines buried in the world -- a hidden horror of conflicts and of wars long past. They are difficult to find, costly and time consuming to remove. Not only do they kill and maim people, they render good agricultural land useless.

But the thale cress could change all that. Planted from the air, it sprouts in about four weeks. As it grows the plant becomes sensitive to nitrogen dioxide, a substance which leeches from most landmines into the soil. If it detects it, the weed changes color.

(on camera): And testing shows the modified thale cress does work. When the plant came in contact with a landmine, it turned red. The only problem was they couldn't get the plants to grow big enough.

(voice-over): So the Danish researchers are testing more robust types of thale cress, including one from Canada. There are high hopes for success.

MAJ. POUL NEDERGAARD, DANISH ARMY: I think we could use some of the technology in controlling the areas, especially when we are moving in to set up a camp or something.

PER EGHEOJ, ARESA: It's a good feeling. It's actually not just a thought, it's a feeling that you can actually help people in a lot of places in the world.

COMMON: Within a couple years, the landmine finding thale crest should be in use, helping clear farmland, perhaps saving life and limb, perhaps becoming the world's most welcome weed.

David Common, CBC News.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARRIS: And this woman lost her husband in Iraq. Now she is joining the Army.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I can't save everybody. I'm not an idiot. But even if it's that one person, it would be worth it, if they don't have to feel what I feel every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Grieving her way, in THE NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Dinosaurs and humans roaming the Earth together?

Well, a new museum has its own version of human history. That's ahead here in THE NEWSROOM.

COMMERCIAL

HARRIS: Duke lacrosse still getting headlines. The story isn't that Duke lost the national championship at Johns Hopkins Monday.

Baltimore in the house.

Nor is it about the false rape allegations that canceled Duke's 2006 season.

The story is about reclaiming a reputation, something this team is all about.

David Graham is the editor of "The Chronicle," an independent newspaper run by Duke University students.

He joins us from Durham, North Carolina.

This idea, David, of reputation -- reputation reclaimed in your mind?

DAVID GRAHAM, EDITOR, "THE CHRONICLE": I think so, Tony.

It's really impressive that this team has been able to come back from what they did.

HARRIS: How did that happen?

I mean, my goodness, everybody thought they would be pretty good, the number one ranked team throughout the season.

But to get to the national championship game?

GRAHAM: Well, I think they really came around. They rallied around their cause. They had a motto, which was taken, actually, from Reade Seligman, one of the indicted players, high school's. And their new coach really helped to rally them around. And they carried themselves very well throughout the season and played some great lacrosse. And that's how they got there.

HARRIS: Reade Seligman and Colin Finnerty would have been on this team, correct?

GRAHAM: That's correct.

HARRIS: What are their plans? Do we know?

GRAHAM: Well, it's not clear. Based on statements that they and their parents have made, it seems like they probably won't be coming back to Duke. But I know Colin was at the game yesterday. And they have kept close ties with the team and have been very supportive, as I understand.

HARRIS: How disappointing was the loss, really?

GRAHAM: Well, it's always disappointing.

HARRIS: Sure.

GRAHAM: As a student, I would have liked to have seen a championship. But I think, again, it's impressive that they got to that point. And it was a very tight game. You can't call them...

HARRIS: Yes, it really was.

How completely was this team embraced this season?

GRAHAM: I think within the Duke community very fully. We saw thousands of students who didn't really go to lacrosse games before going to games. In fact, the newspaper published sort of a dummy's guide to lacrosse so people knew what was going on.

And in the Durham community, there's been some of that, as well. I think there was a lot of talk about tensions between university and town when the allegations came out. To some extent, that was overblown. But that may have been exacerbated by what went on.

HARRIS: Overblown, you think?

GRAHAM: I'm sorry?

HARRIS: Overblown? Is that what you just said?

GRAHAM: Oh, I think the original tensions were overblown. But I think that what went on may have actually helped to exacerbate what there was.

HARRIS: OK, Duke's president, Richard Brodhead, says he's sorry that the whole incident, the ordeal, happened. You can certainly understand that sentiment.

But I wonder what lessons you believe he's taken from the ordeal and perhaps the university.

GRAHAM: Well, the administration has been very steadfast in saying they made decisions that they thought were right based on the information they had at the time. And I'm not sure -- and they've also declined to say specific things where they wish they had made a different decision. I think that what it has done is it's made a lot of students -- and maybe the administration as well -- wary of the district attorney, for example. And it's really reawakened people to the idea of innocent until proven guilty.

HARRIS: Yes.

Mike Nifong, a couple questions about Mike Nifong. I'm sure it's come up in your editorial meetings.

Do you have an explanation -- have you been able to find one that makes sense -- as to why he proceeded the way he did?

It feels like it should be something more than just to win an election.

GRAHAM: It's a good question, Tony. And the D.A.'s office, of course, gave a lot of interviews and made very public statements immediately after the allegations, and has been reluctant to speak since then. So it's hard to tell coming from them.

I guess I personally have a hard time conjecturing what it might be...

HARRIS: Yes.

GRAHAM: ... so I wish I could tell you.

HARRIS: Have you had a good answer to the question of why he hasn't stepped down?

GRAHAM: Not a good answer to that either. He is going to be -- he has a disciplinary hearing before the North Carolina State Bar starting on June 12th. So it may be taken out of his hands. We'll see.

HARRIS: Mike Pressler, the former coach, what kind of esteem is that man held in on campus and beyond?

GRAHAM: Yes, I'm not sure, Tony. I think that a lot of the team was very sorry to see him go and a lot of people do see him as a martyr, both on the campus and also within the sphere of the many bloggers who have taken up the case. He, luckily, seems to have gotten a job. He's got a book coming out very soon. So...

HARRIS: Yes.

Hopkins beat you guys in, what, was it '05?

GRAHAM: I believe so. Yes.

HARRIS: Yes. They beat you in '05 and beat you in '07, huh?

Hmmm...better luck next year, huh?

GRAHAM: Well, thank you.

HARRIS: David, great to see you. Thanks for your time.

GRAHAM: Take care.

HARRIS: OK.

NGUYEN: That is just wrong, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Baltimore.

NGUYEN: You need to stop rubbing it in.

HARRIS: Come on! That's my team.

What are you talking about?

NGUYEN: You need to behave a little bit better on here.

HARRIS: No conversation -- all right.

Well, I'm sorry, Betty.

My apologies.

NGUYEN: We are going to talk about an ongoing tribute, though. Oregon National Guardsmen honor the fallen even when no one else is watching. We have their story in THE NEWSROOM.

COMMERCIAL

HARRIS: Betty, stop kicking me. Just -- really.

Hi, everybody.

NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) tell those people.

HARRIS: I know.

Are you pod casting with me today?

NGUYEN: I sure am.

HARRIS: OK. Great, great, great, great, great.

Just a gentle reminder of the pod cast. You know, of course, to catch us here weekday mornings, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00, right here in THE NEWSROOM.

But you can also take us with you anywhere. Make us a part of your day to day life on your iPod. The CNN NEWSROOM pod cast available to you 24/7 right on your iPod.

And Betty's pod casting today.

NGUYEN: Well, we are also remembering the fallen. At one Oregon cemetery, the ultimate tribute, often without anyone but the honor guard standing by. Anita Kissee has that story.

She's with affiliate KATU in Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?

KISSEE: Every...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aim.

KISSEE: ... single...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire.

KISSEE: ... week day, Willamette National Cemetery pauses for a short but moving tribute -- the kind that puts that lump in your throat.

JACK FALL, RETIRED U.S. MARINE: It is definitely a somber ceremony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing the honors for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step.

KISSEE: Even for the Oregon National Guard soldiers ordered to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the most honorable jobs I've ever had.

KISSEE: At 3:01 in the afternoon, rain or glorious Portland sunshine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To honor Frank Sample.

KISSEE: Names are read...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Irvine Messmer (ph).

KISSEE: ... of each soldier...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Herbert Chandler (ph).

KISSEE: ... sailor or Marine brought here for burial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ralph Gossam (ph).

KISSEE: And full military honors bestowed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready, aim, fire.

SGT. KENNETH KAISER, OREGON NATIONAL GUARD: We do it with all the dignity that they deserve. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tracy Adams.

KISSEE: Former Marine Jack Fall and these soldiers weren't asked to do this. And on most days, no one is here to watch -- these four chairs for friends and family empty.

FALL: It makes you wonder, you know, was this soldier's family just not around?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: David Cline (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It actually sets me back a little bit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: William Klepner (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because, in my mind, that's the most important service of the day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glenn Kirk (ph).

KISSEE: Some of these passing World War II, Korean War and even Vietnam veterans have no family. Others had funerals somewhere else but without the honors. And even though their families aren't here to accept this flag...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation, as a token of our appreciation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by these veterans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost like I was the family member that was there for that soldier.

KISSEE: After recently serving in Iraq, Sergeant Thomas Morella (ph) and his honor guard know more than ever no veteran should pass without being recognized for their sacrifice.

SGT. THOMAS MORELLA: Yes, there's no family to see it, but we're there doing it for them. And they deserve that. Every soldier deserves that, no matter what.

(AUDIO CLIP OF "TAPS")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This service in particular really shows the caliber of people that work up here. I mean no one's really there watching us, you know, to make sure that we do everything to the fullest.

KISSEE: No corner is ever cut. Each step in time and every command followed precisely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forward, arms.

KISSEE: Just the way they know some other soldier will someday perform for them.

FALL: I mean if my time comes, it happens to come in the way that it's come for some soldiers, yes, I definitely hope this is what happens for me.

MORELLA: I guess because we're all veterans, you know, and I guess that's what we'd want.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: That report from Anita Kissee of affiliate KATU in Portland, Oregon.

The ceremony at Willamette Cemetery is called the 3:01 because of the time that it's held every week day.

HARRIS: I love the story.

Iraq -- another wave of gruesome violence for civilians and Americans.

That story ahead for you in THE NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Dinosaurs on Noah's Ark?

Well, a new museum floats that theory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN HAM, CREATION MUSEUM FOUNDER: Dinosaurs and people lived at the same time. And that's what the bible would teach, because all land animals were made on the same day as Adam and Eve were made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: In the beginning, right here in THE NEWSROOM.

COMMERCIAL

NGUYEN: Check her out. Celebrating a new beauty queen this morning. Oh, yes, she is queen of the universe. The pageant's ups and, shall we say, downs -- oh, you have to see the video when it comes up right here in THE NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Taking on evolution -- a new museum is open, giving visitors an alternate view of Earth's early days.

CNN's Jason Carroll takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "One Million B.C." a popular sci-fi fantasy movie of the late 1960s where humans battled dinosaurs on prehistoric Earth. A new museum doesn't believe that story is fiction or fantasy, but a biblical fact, now on display at the newly opened Creation Museum.

HAM: We believe that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time. And that's what the bible would teach, because all land animals were made on the same day as Adam and Eve were made. CARROLL: The religious controversy getting traction at a recent Republican debate where three presidential candidates took a stand against evolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not agree in that -- believe in evolution?

CARROLL: Surely, any number of scientists would debate the theory behind these exhibits, which show dinosaurs living side by side with humans. Here, the bible's account is taken word for word -- that Earth and all its inhabitants were created in six days -- a much different account of what you will hear at a natural history museum.

MIKE NOVACEK, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: There is absolutely no scientific evidence aligned with the notion that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

CARROLL: But Creation Museum Director Ken Ham says if Christians don't take the bible literally, they undermine its message. So he's confronting the theory of evolution head on.

HAM: The purpose of the museum is really to give people information that's currently being censored from the public schools, from the secular universities, information they don't hear about that actually shows that evolution is not fact.

CARROLL: Demonstrators who disagree with the museum's message protested outside the opening today.

HAM: They do not want children even hearing the possibility that evolution has problems or that it could be wrong. They don't even want them to hear that. They don't want them to hear the other side.

CARROLL: And if that means believing there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark, then so be it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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