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U.S. Soldiers I.D. Cards Found in Raid; Iran's Influence Across Middle East; Case against Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong; Dolphins Killed; South African Soccer Players Receive Free Professional Coaching

Aired June 16, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, breaking news in Iraq, new clues in the search for two missing U.S. soldiers. We are live with the latest.
Also, most people have no idea that inside this warehouse in New Orleans, are 100 victims of Hurricane Katrina, still unburied. We're keeping them honest.

Plus ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...insurance. (INAUDIBLE) What'd they charge you for that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Have you heard about this new movie? It's not in the theaters yet but you can see it. The new movie from Michael Moore, you can see it for free and you'll see why the movie company is not happy about it.

The news is unfolding live on Saturday, January 16, and I am Susan Roesgen filling in today for Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And here's a story we've been following just in the last couple of hours, the discovery of I.D. cards belonging to two missing U.S. Soldiers in Iraq. The U.S. military says those cards were found in a raid on a house in Samarra. CNN's international correspondent Karl Penhaul is embedded with U.S. troops in Samarra, and he's joining us now live via broadband -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Susan, just to bring you up to speed we're embedded with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, in fact, part of the battalion that carried out that raid. That raid was carried out on June the 9th. It was a separate company from the one that we were embedded with. But the official information at this stage is coming from the commanders in Baghdad.

Now, what they've said is that this raid on a suspected al Qaeda safehouse was carried out on June the 9th. Just over a week ago. In that raid, they found the two I.D. cards of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. Those two, two of the soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division that were captured in fighting with insurgents in the so-called Triangle of Death, that's south of Baghdad. They were captured on May the 12th.

Also in this raid on the al Qaeda safehouse were found a quantity of computers and video production equipment along with ammunition and rifles. What the statement from military commanders says is that no one was found in that raid. That means that there were no clues as far as we're being told, of the physical whereabouts of these two captured U.S. soldiers who've now been missing for well over a month.

What they -- what military commanders do say, however, is that there is a wealth of intelligence information here, and they are working through that to see what further clues they can find -- Susan.

ROESGEN: OK, Karl Penhaul reporting live for us in Samarra in Iraq. Thank you.

Now earlier today, earlier this morning, CNN spoke with Private Byron Fouty's stepfather, Gordon Dibler. Here's some of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON DIBLER, BYRON FOUTY'S STEPFATHER: ...his birthday, April 17th. And we -- he had been discussing his desire to go in to being a medic and I was real proud of him for that for wanting to be a healer. And my -- our last actual words were that we loved each other.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And if you could send a message out today, what would you say?

DIBLER: If I could send out a message today, (INAUDIBLE) anxiously rating his return and that we love him very much, and that his sister is -- and I are both waiting with everything we have, and that his brothers and sisters that are helping support him are always thinking of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Again, the stepfather of private Byron Fouty speaking to us earlier this morning after the announcement that the U.S. military had found his I.D. card, and that of sergeant Alex Jimenez.

Now to the escalating Palestinian crisis. The violence is spreading from Gaza to the West Bank. Hundreds of Fattah gunmen today stormed the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, and other Hamas controlled government buildings in Nablus in the West Bank. But Hamas has control in Gaza, overtaking the presidential compound, defeating Fattah forces yesterday.

Aides to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas say the U.S. is now offering to lift an international aid embargo against the Palestinians as soon as Abbas forms a new government without Hamas.

So we've got Hamas and Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militants in Iraq, and U.S. Officials say all these groups have one common denominator, they are all supported by Iran. CNN's Brian Todd explains the growing fear of Iran's influence across the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hamas captures the streets and power centers of Gaza. The group designated terrorists by the U.S., but voted political power by the Palestinians, shows its might.

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: This is the Iranian work. This happened in Lebanon. It is now happening in Hamastan, which was Gaza until yesterday.

TODD: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, anti-American Shia militants in Iraq, U.S. officials say Iran is supplying them all with weapons. And recently, U.S. and British officials told CNN sophisticated weapons bound for the Taliban in Afghanistan can be traced to Iran, although it's not clear if the Iranian government has its fingerprints on them.

Iran denies the accusations. But analysts and U.S. officials say Iran has strong motives for so-called proxy wars.

SEAN MCCORMACK, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPT.: It's no secret that they have used other, you know, outside groups as proxies, to try to extend their influence within the region.

VALI NASR, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: They are trying to obviously stretch the United States as thin as possible, in as many arenas as possible, because that makes it much more difficult for the United States to focus on Iran, particularly militarily, when it has its hands full.

TODD: How to counter it? Analysts point to a range of U.S. options. One is to recognize Iran as a major power in the region, and talk to Tehran about issues beyond Iraq. But they say the U.S. has to talk from a position of strength, turn the tide militarily in Iraq, and make one thing clear.

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Always demonstrate the Iranians that we're going to protect our interests, if that requires striking back if they try to attack the United States, friends or allies.

TODD: While applying that pressure, analysts say, hit Tehran where it's most vulnerable by tightening economic sanctions and investment.

(on camera): Analysts say Iran is already stretching its economic resources by engaging in all these so-called proxy wars and may simply run out of gas, but they warn the U.S. is in danger of doing the same.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROESGEN: And the ethics trial against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse rape case is still going on right now. District Attorney Mike Nifong said yesterday that he plans to resign. But what other punishment could he still face? CNN's Susan Candiotti is covering the case in Raleigh, North Carolina -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Susan. You know, much of the focus here and throughout this ethics panel hearing has been on DNA evidence and whether embattled Durham D.A. Mike Nifong knew that there was no DNA evidence linking the three lacrosse players to the alleged rape victim, here. Not linking her to them, or to any other of the Duke lacrosse players.

And so, in a case like this, the question becomes, when you have evidence that could possibly be exculpatory, in other words, could help the defense, you must share that with the defense. And that's the question here. And it pointed -- and it prompted, rather, the pointed exchange between the chairman of the ethics panel, and the lawyer representing Mr. Nifong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

F. LANE WILLIAMSON, CHMN DISCIPLINARY HEARING CMTE: I think there's enough guidance there to say that to the extent that the issue is that the information was never turned over, other than within 1,844 pages, of, this is my characterization, scientific (INAUDIBLE) with no Rosetta Stone attached -- that it was never turned -- I mean you can't argue that (INAUDIBLE) never turned it over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Well the chairman of the ethics panel wondered how it is possible that Mr. Nifong could not have made this information available to the defense attorneys.

Again, lawyers for Mr. Nifong say it couldn't have been intentional because Mr. Nifong knew that eventually, in this case, that this DNA information would become known to the defense lawyers so therefore, he couldn't have been trying to hide it. Now, how this reasoning will play with the ethics panel is yet to be seen.

Once both sides finish up their case the matter will be before this three-person panel, and they will decide whether they will punish Mr. Nifong, and if so, how. And punishment ranges from sanctions to fines, to losing his license to practice law in this state. Back to you -- Susan.

ROESGEN: Yeah Susan, we know that yesterday, Nifong announced his resignation. He was tearful there in front of the panel. And the big question has been, you know, is this enough to keep him from getting disbarred. Have you gotten any kind of behind-the-scenes sense on whether or not that could be the case, that he would not be disbarred because he's already announced his resignation?

CANDIOTTI: Well, I can tell you this, after he announced his resignation, a lot of people thought it was disingenuous of him to do it at this time and a ploy, some people were calling it, to engage himself with this panel. But I don't think -- I think it would be safe to say, rather, that most people here think that Mr. Nifong does not stand a very good chance of keeping his license that this has been too painful for this community, here. So, even though he resigned, I don't think it necessarily will impact how this panel will rule in terms of its punishment -- two separate tracks.

ROESGEN: OK, we'll be watching with you, Susan, to see what happens. Thank you very much.

Well, Houston, they had a problem and they're starting to solve it. First that potentially dangerous computer glitch on the International Space Station. NASA says four of the station's six computers now are up and running again. As for the shuttle "Atlantis," astronaut Danny Olivus (ph) successfully stapled that thermal heat blanket. And that outer blanket is the one that helps protect the shuttle from the extreme heat of re-entry.

Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, a wild ride on top of a camper for this very lucky little girl.

Also, we'll have more from Iraq. Samarra has become the hot spot for the U.S. military, and CNN's Karl Penhaul takes you with U.S. soldiers on patrol in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: In Illinois, a startling discovery for search teams, a really great discovery for search teams who were looking for a girl that they assumed had drowned. The 5-year-old girl had been on a boating trip with her grandfather when she emerged from the woods, naked, scratched and holding some raspberries. Just hours earlier, search crews had pulled the body of her grandfather from the river. She was taken to a hospital for a checkup. They say she slept with her parents, and a teddy bear before she was released.

And talk about a wild ride, a young Georgia girl survived a scary trip down the highway on top of her father's camper. Catherine Kim of CNN affiliate WXIA explains how it happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE KIM, WXIA REPORTER (voice-over): By most accounts 3- year-old Christa Whitlow shouldn't be alive. Instead she happily eats her strawberry shortcake, seemingly unaware of the pain. But Carey Whitlow watches his baby girl with a great deal of pain. The sight of her wounds him deeply.

CAREY WHITLOW, FATHER: And I'm thinking -- I'm thinking what if -- people say don't think about that, but we do.

KIM: Carey had a quick errand to run Tuesday afternoon.

COLLEEN WHITLOW, MOTHER: And he circled the vehicle, and realized he forgot his phone.

KIM: That's when Christa climbed on top of her dad's camper wanting to ride along. Carey drove off unaware of his precious cargo.

(on camera): Christa apparently was gripping on to the top of her dad's camper for five whole miles. Now police say this is where they found her, off of Jim Hood Road where she apparently let go of her grip. A passing driver says he saw her fall, but daddy's little girl got back up and chased after her dad.

CAREY WHITLOW: She said she got tired and wanted to step off and fell. I didn't know.

KIM (voice-over): It wasn't long after that Colleen called Carey frantic. Christa was missing. No one could find her at home.

COLLEEN WHITLOW: You know, you feel like as a parent your job is to love and to protect your kids, and you know, of course we feel like we let her down.

KIM: They soon found their miracle Christa cozy in her hospital bed, feeling a little guilty herself.

CAREY WHITLOW: She smiled, I bent down to kiss her and she licks my face, like sorry, dad. She thought she was in trouble. All she wanted to know was if she was still a good girl or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: Well, needless to say the police say that they don't believe any foul play was involved on the part of the father.

Who would shoot a dolphin? One official has said it's horrendous, four dolphins shot to death. The animal's bodies washed ashore in the San Diego area between May 29 and June 5. Examinations show the dolphins were healthy and may have been shot at the same time with the same weapon. Federal officials are offering a $2500 reward to find the shooter.

They arrived by luck, and they advanced by skill. South African kids get a chance to chase their dreams on the soccer field, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

But first, now's the time to start thinking about planting your summer garden and this year, why not get the kids involved? Gerri Willis has more on how you can nurture those little green thumbs in this week's "Modern Living."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRY WILLIS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Lydia Bastianich it's a family affair. On this day there are four generations planting, picking and sharing a passion for gardening. Even the youngest ones get their hands dirty, which makes a garden not only a great playground, but also a perfect learning ground.

LYDIA BASTIANICH, GARDENER: What's this?

WILLIS (on camera): So Lydia, when you're with the kids in the garden, what kinds of skills do they learn if they're out here?

BASTIANICH: Oh, there's many skills. Coordination, certainly. Planning, you know, sort of lining what will go where, organization.

WILLIS (voice-over): Kids also learn you to to work as a team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like this. Roll your hand on the bottom, and then you pull it up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! All right.

BASTIANICH: The garden is a perfect place for children, because they plant something, and they nurture it, and they see results. That plant responds to them.

Reporter: I'm Gerri Willis and that's this week's "Modern Living."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: It's a field of dreams South African style. Talented young soccer players are getting some free professional coaching as they pursue their goal of making it to the big time. Our own Fredricka Whitfield, on assignment in South Africa, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR (voice-over): One boy in this sprawling township dreams of hitting the big time. Usually, he'd be out here, playing a pickup game. But today, Cablaco Manyaca (ph) and his mom are packing his bags celebrating his good luck.

(on camera): You think you've got what it takes?

CABLACO MANYACA (PH), SOCCER PLAYER: (INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): This 14-year-old is off to the big city of Johannesburg, one of nearly 80 mostly poor kids from all over the country who've won a place at a free soccer camp. Along the way, advice from mom...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You must tray, you must tray hard and play.

WHITFIELD: And big brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) enjoy yourself. That doesn't happen often, this kind of opportunity.

WHITFIELD: An hour and a half later, he's on his own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to (INAUDIBLE), my man.

WHITFIELD: And it's all sinking in.

(on camera): When's the last time you got new athletic, brand- new athletic stuff like this?

MANYACA: Never. Never before.

WHITFIELD: First time?

MANYACA: I'm too scared and nervous.

WHITFIELD: Nerves aside, Cablaco, like everybody else, gets in the game.

DAN WHITING, SHONA KHONA PROJECT COORDINATOR: Keep your eye on the ball. Now you go. Now you go. Go!

WHITFIELD: Dan Whiting co-founded Shona Khona, translation, "go for it."

WHITING: I can tell you as a sportsman, as a professional sportsman, there's no better feeling.

WHITFIELD: Than showing these children new horizons and at the same time scouting football potential.

WHITING: There are some of the kids that are (INAUDIBLE) kids and they adjust quickly. The other kids we have to sometimes teach them how to eat their cereal out of a bowl with a spoon, it goes to that sort of basic level. But I tell you, they are tough kids. They are born tough, these kids, because they adjust very quickly, they get on with it.

WHITFIELD: For six boys, getting on with it will mean going to Brazil for more coaching. After two days of intense drills and matches, the grades. Behavior, first class.

WHITFIELD (on camera): So, what's it like being coached by some former professional players, and real professional coaches?

MANYACA: That makes me special.

(APPLAUSE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Then, the big moment. But Caplaco was not chosen for Brazil.

MANYACA: Maybe I didn't show my best.

WHITFIELD: To pick up the pieces, mom. And parting encouragement.

WHITING: We'd like to see you back next year. Keep working at it.

WHITFIELD: He will. In the pickup game on his street.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROESGEN: Well, coming up, she was off camera, but on air. A news anchor fired for her controversial comments. And you'll see why more than her job is at stake, still ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Right now in the NEWSROOM, the I.D. cards of two missing U.S. soldiers have been found in a raid on a house in Samarra. The soldiers were believed to have been kidnapped last month south of Baghdad. CNN's Karl Penhaul is in Samarra now with some new information -- Karl.

PENHAUL: Susan, this raid was carried out on June the 9 and from now until then that information about the raid has been highly classified. We've just got off the phone from the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division that led this raid. His name Colonel Viet Luong, he's given us new details about the raid. He said the raid on June the 9th was carried out by a company-sized unit, it was an air assault.

The men went in by helicopter to raid this al Qaeda safehouse, which is about eight to 10 kilometers south of the city of Samarra, where we are now. That puts it in the region of five to six miles south of the city of Samarra. The area there is farmland and this was a farming community, a fairly isolated house in a farming community surrounded by fields, and orchards.

Now, what happened is that there was an initial firefight. Four insurgents fled from that house. The airborne paratroopers then moved into the house and gathered up video equipment, computers, media devices, and a wealth of documents. With those documents, they then went back to their company headquarters, they searched through those documents, and in the course of searching through those documents, that's when they realized, among the bundle of paperwork, they had found the two I.D. cards of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.

At that point, the battalion commander, Colonel Pete LeBlanc (ph) turned around an entire battalion. They went back to this region six miles south of Samarra and conducted an intense 72-hour search. They brought in forensic experts. They brought in search dogs and searched the complete area for three days.

The result of that search, the colonel tells us, is that there was never any indication that the two captured soldiers had ever been there. We went on to ask him what that then meant for this search for these two captured soldiers, and he said the search is not focusing on this area around Samarra any more than on any other area in Iraq at this stage.

Just to remind you, the area where these documents were found, where these I.D. cards were found is 120 miles north of the Triangle of Death region where Specialist Jimenez and Private Fouty were captured on May 12th -- Susan.

ROESGEN: Karl, any indication from the conversation you've just had as to whether or not the U.S. military believes that this is a search and recovery mission, or whether they believe they'll actually find these two men still alive?

PENHAUL: Certainly not from anything so far, based on the raid around Samarra. The battalion commander was very clear in saying that that 72-hour search with search dogs and other forensic experts yielded no physical evidence that these two captured soldiers had ever been in that location. No trace of them, and nothing to indicate whether it's a rescue operation, or a recovery operation.

As I say, he did go on to clarify that the search mission is not focused specifically on this area any more than it is anywhere else in Iraq, Susan.

ROESGEN: OK, Karl Penhaul with a live update for us there in Samarra. Just getting off the phone with his military sources to bring us the latest information on that raid that resulted in the finding of the I.D. cards of those two missing servicemen.

Meanwhile, in the escalating Palestinian crisis, the violence is spreading now from Gaza to the West Bank. Hundreds of Fatah gunmen today stormed the Palestinian Parliament Building in Ramallah, and other Hamas-controlled government buildings in Nablus in the West Bank. But Hamas has control in Gaza, overtaking the presidential compound, and defeating Fatah forces there. Aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas say the U.S. is now offering to lift an international aid embargo against the Palestinians as soon as Abbas forms a new government without Hamas.

Well, her mic was turned on and her comments were a turnoff. But a news anchor's firing may not be the end of the story.

CNN's Octavia Nasr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On live television, a news anchor gloats about a politician's death, and wishes more of the victim's colleagues faced the same fate. Following the assassination of Lebanese anti-Syrian Parliamentarian Walid Eido, a female anchor's tongue slipped with hateful comments as she chatted with a colleague without knowing their mics were on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Hello, Hash (ph), my condolences.

NASR: Her colleague mumbled something that sounds like, my condolences. The anchorwoman then says ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): So, why did it take them so long to kill him?

NASR: She cracks up laughing, and her colleague joins in. Then the anchor says in reference to anti-Syrian parliament member, Ahmed Fetfet (ph) ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Fetfet should be next. I'm counting them down.

NASR: The colleague says we don't glee in someone else's misfortune, to which she responds ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's not glee, but we've had enough of them.

NASR: The anchorwoman didn't know that her comments were being broadcast for the whole world to hear. NBN is the mouthpiece of its owner, Nabi Veri (ph), a pro-Syrian politician, and Lebanon's parliament speaker. In a statement distributed to the media, the station said it had fired the pair and apologized for what it called, "an unintentional mistake," stressing that, "the comments made do not represent the station in any way."

In Lebanon, the leading anti-Syrian newspaper, Ahnahar (ph), exposed the incident without naming the station or the anchor. The exchange was picked up by local and regional media, and it made its way to YouTube and drew much outrage.

Fetfet, who the anchor suggested suggested would be next in line for assassination, told al Arabiya that he was very concerned for his life and hired an attorney as he was prepared to sue the station for comments he considered a direct threat.

On al Arabiya, the entire exchange played in every newscast, followed by interviews with officials representing and defending NBN, and saying that firing the anchor should be enough to quiet the voices of dissent. The anchorwoman was not available for comment.

At a time where Lebanon is going through some of its worst violence since the end of its civil war, a slip of the tongue cost an anchor her job, but has the potential of costing a fragile country a lot more.

Octavia Nasr, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And now we're checking the weather, and some rain today, huh, Bonnie, in the Houston area?

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROESGEN: Well, we will be watching the weather very closely in the next few months since we are in the hurricane season now. But, believe it or not, nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, 100 bodies remain unclaimed in a New Orleans warehouse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice-over): In the first few days and weeks after Katrina, search teams recovered more than 1,000 bodies in the New Orleans area. And most of the dead were identified and buried. Most, but not all. Every day, New Orleanians drive past this unmarked warehouse on Podre Street (ph), near the Superdome, never knowing that the bodies of 100 men and women lie in plastic-wrapped caskets inside. Thirty are still unidentified, DNA tests have found no matches. The rest are identified, but unclaimed, by families who haven't been able to bury them.

DR. FRANK MINYARD, ORLEANS PARISH CORONER: I hate to go over there, and I've always -- but it's -- what are we going to do? I mean, we were lucky to find Podre street.

ROESGEN: The New Orleans coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard has a plan, but not yet enough money to pay for it. Minyard wants to put the bodies in mausoleums in a memorial designed to look like the shape of a hurricane. The memorial would be here, in an old cemetery. But ground hasn't been broken yet, because the memorial would cost about $1.5 million, and the coroner's only been able to collect about $250,000 in private donations. And he's unwilling to move any of the bodies that have been identified but unclaimed out of the warehouse.

MINYARD: I just think, I mean, you can't spread these victims all over. This is a memorial to the hurricane.

ROESGEN: So this is where the bodies remain. But Terry Kent, who believes one of her relatives may be among the unidentified bodies, says the city has waited long enough to give the dead a proper burial.

TERRY KENT, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Please bury those bodies. Even if she's not dead, those people need to be buried, too. Everybody needs a resting place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: You know, with the billions of dollars promised to the Gulf Coast by Congress, you might think that the coroner wouldn't have to be taking private donations to build that memorial. But the catch with the federal money is that it can only be used to repair or rebuild something that was damaged or destroyed by the hurricane. It cannot be used to build something that didn't even exist, like that memorial, before the hurricane.

Many people have started downloading on the Internet Michael Moore's new movie, "Sicko." We'll show you what they're finding, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: I think the timing is all-important when you're trying to buy luxury travel on a budget. So, for example, if you're willing to travel during the off-season, you'll find some great deals.

Let's look at spas in Arizona. Now, typically during peak winter travel season, spas in Arizona go for $500, $600, $700 a night. But if you choose to travel during the heat of August, you can get the same luxurious rooms, the same water parks and pools, the same spa treatments and restaurants, only for about $150 a night.

The same goes for luxury resorts in Colorado and Utah. Now, in the winter, you'll pay anywhere from $500 to $700 a night for a slopes-side condo. But in the summer, you'll find that these condos go for $200 or less. And the Rockies are fantastic summer places for travel, because there's lots of hiking, biking, ballooning, and all manner of outdoor activity. You can find a great deal in Colorado and Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: And we have some breaking news now. On the phone with us is Lieutenant Colonel Viet Luong. He spoke earlier this morning to CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is embedded with American forces in Samarra.

Colonel, if you can hear me now, we're trying to get some more information about these I.D. cards that were found of these two missing servicemen and where they were found and what is the latest on the search. Colonel?

VOICE OF LT. COL. VIET LUONG, BATTALION CMDR., 82ND AIRBORNE: Yes, good afternoon.

Well essentially, this is a follow-on search that we were involved in. Initially, based on actual intel that we had received and derived, based on our own targeting. We were actually going after an I.D. maker/cache down to an area roughly about ten kilometers south of Samarra. And based on that raid led by my alpha company, Second Battalion 505th Parachute Infatroop Regiment (ph), we had found several computers and some documents that were associated with the house.

Upon returning to our base, we did an initial exploitation of the items found on the objectives, and immediately saw that there were the two I.D.s of the missing soldiers. Three hours after that, we initiated a battalion-sized cordon and search operation, in order to try to find the missing soldiers.

We were on the ground for approximately 72 hours, where we did an extensive search all by foot, dismounted patrolling. We also brought in numerous dog teams, forensic experts, to help us try to locate these soldiers. And after about 72 hours, there were really no indications that these soldiers were ever in the area.

Hence forth, two days ago, we had called off the search and reported up to our higher headquarters, and allowed the family to be notified that we had found some of the items.

ROESGEN: So, Colonel, you were looking for a bomb maker, you found these I.D. cards, but no trace of these two soldiers. What's next in the search for them? Is there nowhere in that area after your intensive 72-hour search, do you know where some of your colleagues there in the military are looking for these two guys? LUONG: Well, you know, we hope that based on the amount of intelligence that was brought up, the objectives, that, you know, higher headquarters intelligence assets can derive more information to act in another search. Right now, I can tell you that in the area that we found the two I.D. cards, we searched that very extensively and using all assets, and I can assure you that if there was any evidence of these soldiers being in the area, we would still be out there searching until we find them.

ROESGEN: And Colonel, I understand that Captain King, your commander there, is standing next to you, if you could pass the phone to him, we could get a little more information on what might be next in this search. Captain King?

LUONG: OK, sure.

ROESGEN: Hello, Captain King ...

VOICE OF CAPT. ADISA KING, CMDR., 82 AIRBORNE: Hello?

ROESGEN: ...this is Susan Roesgen with CNN here in Atlanta. We are very much interested in whatever information you can give us on what's next now in the search for these two missing servicemen, since you found the I.D. cards, but no trace of them in this area. What's next?

KING: What's next now is we've got to go back and look at the areas that we think these guys could be in. The fact that what we found and the area that we were in is remote, has a lot of orchards and what not, so we want to go ahead and continue to try to look back in those areas, and see what we can find with our regular patrols and our regular missions, just looking through imagery, and going back to those different areas.

ROESGEN: Captain King, it must be so frustrating to get something as tantalizing as these guys' I.D. cards, but just no sign of the two of them. How do you keep the search fresh? How do you keep looking for new leads?

KING: Well, the first thing that we do, especially when we talk about an insurgency is getting in with the local populous. OK, and you know, that's the hardest part, getting their trust, and trying to get them to give you information, because they know that. And one thing we were doing at the end, is waiting on intel and exploitation of all the information we had.

And the people are the ones that could probably lead us and help us to find these guys. They're the ones that know the area even better than we do. And that's where we're going, and I got guys out, matter of fact, leaving right now, to go and try to get that information and get more information from the local populous in the area.

ROESGEN: OK, well we certainly wish you luck. Many, many people are hoping that we can find these two servicemen alive, even after all this time. That's Captain King, the commander of the 82nd, and Lieutenant Colonel Viet Luong.

Now, to the world of sports, some of the world's best golfers are spending a humbling weekend in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. We'll have an update from the U.S. Open just ahead.

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BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your allergy report for Saturday. We're looking across the country. Things are looking pretty good for the Northern Plains. That's where we have little to no reports of allergens in the air.

However, there are some spots coast-to-coast where you may be suffering due to pollutants and general pollen out and about. We'll see that through much of the midsouth, parts of the northern Rockies, and even into parts of the northeast, including New England.

That's a look at your allergy report for Saturday. I'm Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

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ROESGEN: He's called the least-likely qualifier at the U.S. Open, under way at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Jason Allen is back on course with moldy clubs and an old pal.

Our Ray D'Alessio is live at Oakmont. Ray -- Ray? Well, can't hear us, so ...

OK, we'll try one more time, because we've got to find out about these moldy clubs and this old pal for Jason Allen. Let's check in again with Ray D'Alessio who's there in Oakmont.

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Susan.

You know, I'm sorry to report, first off, that Jason Allen did not make the cut here at the U.S. Open. But hey, all was not lost. He still got to play against some of the top golfers in the world, including Tiger Woods. And best of all, he got to do it with his good buddy, Pete Severson who also served as his caddy here at the U.S. Open.

You know, the fact that Pete was even here is nothing short of a miracle. Just 14 months ago, Pete was standing on a sidewalk when a drunk driver swerved, hit him and nearly killed him. Now, throughout his recovery, Jason was by his side, and then comes the U.S. Open, and naturally, Jason wishes he could have played better. But, the way he sees it, in the end, he still came out a winner.

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JASON ALLEN, COMPETED IN 2 U.S. OPENS: When it starts going bad, it's good to have somebody to joke with a little bit. And you know, the last six holes, last eight holes were much more enjoyable with Pete than it probably would have been with somebody I didn't know, obviously. Able to laugh at me and I'm able to laugh back at him.

PETE SEVERSON, JASON ALLEN'S CADDY: This is something Jason and I will -- you know, years from now, we'll be talking, 2007 Open we were together. Hopefully, many more together. Either both playing together, or both just being here.

ALLEN: The experience of having the family out here and being here with Pete, and something that we'll always be able to keep, you know, I mean, always keep close and we'll always remember and hopefully, you know, just make us that much closer as friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

D'ALESSIO: And the injuries that Pete Severson suffered in that accident were just horrendous. He had two broken legs, five broken ribs, even had swelling on the brain. So again, the fact that he's even here is just a miracle. And let me tell you, Pete's an accomplished golfer in his own right and Pete even told us yesterday that he hopes next year that he'll be playing in the U.S. Open, and that Jason will be carrying his bag.

So Susan, truly, a great, great story. And just the best of friends in the world, too.

ROESGEN: That sounds great. Thanks, Ray, really good story.

D'ALESSIO: All right, Susan.

ROESGEN: All right, when we come back here, we're going to have much more on the search for those two missing servicemen in Iraq. Don't go away.

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ROESGEN: Now, we're going to go to a story that we've been following all morning, a very serious story this morning. The finding of the two I.D. cards of our two missing servicemen in Iraq. These I.D. cards were found in a house in Samarra. Our military forces were looking for an IED maker, a bombmaker, when they stumbled across video equipment, some other supplies in this house, some weapons, and these two I.D. cards that you see there on the screen, the I.D. cards of Alex Jimenez and Byron Fouty, who've been missing since an attack back in May.

On the phone with us now is the Commander of the Coalition Forces in the region, live with us now, General Benjamin Mixon.

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