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CNN Sunday Morning
Distracted Drivers; Tiger Attack at San Antonio Zoo; Religious Persecution; Sex Abuse Case Settlement
Aired July 15, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: From the CNN Center Atlanta, Georgia this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, it is July 15. Good morning to you all I'm T.J. Holmes.
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: And good morning, I'm Melissa Long into for Betty; 7:00 in the morning here is the East Coast, 8:00 in the evening in Tokyo. That is a big story today that super typhoon is now a tropical storm. We are going to talk about where it hit and where the damage is coming up.
HOLMES: Also, this morning a Christian evangelist being held in North Korea and facing execution. His family is hoping the U.S. State Department can help. It is. Our "Faces of Faith" segment this Sunday morning.
But we are going to get started with a major development in the priest sex abuse scandal. The nations largest archdiocese has agreed to a record payout. According to the "Associated Press" the Catholic Church in Los Angeles agreed to a settlement of $660 million. The settlement covers more than 500 people who claimed they were sexually abused by clergy. That amount averages to more than $1.3 million per plaintiff. According to the AP the settlement calls for the release of confidential personnel files on priests. A judge still must approve this deal and details still need to be worked out.
LONG: A new Al Qaeda video has popped up online and it contains a clip of Osama Bin Laden. In the video Bin Laden praises martyrdom for Muslim causes. His message, which lasts less, then minutes was part of a 40-minute tape. We cannot verify the video and there's no indication of the date it was shot but our Arab affairs correspondent says it appears the clips are old.
In more than Pakistan a suicide bomb attack on a police army convoy has killed 14 people, including 11 Pakistani security personnel and 3 civilians, nearly 40 others were wounded. It happened in the northwest region that borders with Afghanistan, and this comes after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack against another convoy just yesterday.
HOLMES: We could see one of the terror suspects in Britain in court as early as tomorrow, Dr. Sabil Ahmed, the third doctor charged in connection with the failed terror in London and Glasgow, he is charged with withholding information that could have prevented an act of terrorism. Also charged Saturday Dr. Muhammad Haneef is has been held in Australia, charged with providing support for terrorism. Australian authorities say Haneef will be tried there avoiding immediate extradition to the U.K.
North Korea announcing it has shut down its main nuclear reactor. That could help the country move closer to normalizing international relations.
LONG: But there is still plenty of skepticism. We get more on this story from CNN Sohn Jie-Ae.
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the aftermath of North Korea's announcement that it shut down the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, a reactor that produces weapons-grade plutonium, a welcome response from Washington State Department but more cautious words from the man on the ground. U.S. assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill who is in Asia, ahead of six-party nuclear talks with North Korea on Wednesday.
CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: What we're not interested in is a shutdown as the end. As I said earlier, we're interested in a shutdown as a step and then we go to the next step and we would get to disabling and eventually dismantling and fully abandoning these facilities. So if you look at the February agreement, it says "shut down for the purpose of eventual abandonment." I think that's an important sentence, because it suggests we're not just temporarily freezing.
JIE-AE: In the agreement reached in February, North Korea agreed to shut down Yongbyon in return for 50,000 tons of fuel oil. Further negotiations are needed to get the north to completely abandon its nuclear weapons program, which includes submitting a list of all materials for U.N. inspectors. Analysts believe North Korea already has enough weapons grade plutonium to make at least six to seven nuclear bombs. Even North Korea's recent shutdown announcement needs to be verified and monitored by inspectors from the National Atomic Energy Agency who arrived in North Korea on Saturday.
On Seoul's streets, some breathed a sigh of relief. "I was always worried that North Korea, if pushed into a corner, might use the nuclear weapons in some way," says this woman. But a Seoul bus driver said he didn't trust the North Koreans to completely give up its nuclear ambitions. He says North Korea tells so many lies that he would only believe it when it is fully verified.
Seasoned North Korea negotiators understand this progress is by no means a sign of smooth sailing ahead. History has proven that the road to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is long and full of bumps.
Sohn Jie-Ae, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: New leadership in Israel today, there is a new president former Israeli Prime Minister Perez will be sworn into the mostly ceremonial post in about four hours from now. Perez's political career stretches back more than half a century. He's been a two-time Prime Minister, Member of Parliament, defense minister and he is a Nobel Prize Laureate. HOLMES: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is dropping the Mideast travel itinerary from her trip that was to get underway today. Instead she'll join Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a full scale Middle East mission next month. Their goal? Assure U.S. allies that the region remains a top priority of the Bush administration and they will also promote White House policies on Iraq.
In Japan, massive surf, heavy rain and major destruction. The deadly typhoon has weakened to a tropical storm but still a threat. Winds gusting to more than 75 miles an hour, and forecasters are warning of landslides, thousands of people have evacuated their homes. The typhoon has killed at least three people in Japan and injured more than 70 others.
LONG: They were still predicting so much worse a situation.
HOLMES: It seems weird we're talking about all of that destruction; they dodged a bullet there. Bonnie Schneider has been keeping an eye on this thing for us all weekend. Here with us again and is this thing kind of going away now or we still got issues to deal with?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have a few more issues to deal with, T.J. and Melissa. And you are right we did dodge a bullet because the storm passed south of Tokyo. Now just south of Tokyo we did see the waves kick up to about 30 feet. There's pictures of the waves for you now as you can see them crashing on the shore. Wow! Look at that fierce force of Mother Nature. Look at our satellite perspective what you will find is the storm has really broken down quite a bit. Here's much of the precipitation now off the coastline. We're still getting the backlash of it on some of the northern islands north of Tokyo. The latest projection right now has tropical cyclone Man-Yi with winds sustained at 50 miles per hour. So the storm is no longer a typhoon, but it is still going to bring about some gusty winds.
Watch what happens as the storm finally pushes further off to the ocean, we have a front that is over Korea, and that is helping as a steering mechanism to turn away the storm as it's moving out east- northeast quite rapidly at 29 miles per hour. The storm is starting to work its way further offshore and we'll continue to see that movement as we work our way through the rest of the afternoon today and certainly into tomorrow.
Now taking you back to the U.S., we are also tracking weather here that's going to cause some problems. We have nice conditions across much of the northeast. There is a front that runs the risk of bringing powerful thunderstorms to upstate New York and Pennsylvania later today. Look at the temperatures just a beautiful morning, Detroit checking in with a cool 57 degrees, New York City at 72. We will see that warm up throughout the day today after the front passes through, you are going to see temperatures before that to about 90 degrees in New York and hot across the desert southwest once again for today.
T.J., Melissa.
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie, thank you so much. We will be checking back in with you.
LONG: Thank you. We are going to continue to talk about the weather right now and talk about the west bracing for possible wildfires. Officials in Washington State say an expected lightning storm could ignite more fires. Similar storms Friday and Saturday sparked more than a dozen fires in the eastern and central parts of the state. Firefighters are getting an upper hand on those fires.
To Utah, firefighters say they hope to have the massive Milford flat fire fully contained by Tuesday. The fires burned more than 560 square miles, that is an area larger than New York City and Chicago combined.
HOLMES: A lot of these fires bigger, hotter, more dangerous, we're seeing a new breed of wildfire in the west, but it's not unstoppable. People looking for better ways to fight them before they start. Here is CNN's Kara Finnstrom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Walls of fire, the ashy graveyards of more than 250 homes. Lake Tahoe, one of the latest cities ravaged by a new type of fire monster.
REX NORMAN, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: It's no longer burning at low intensity like it did historically for thousands of year. It's burning with raging, catastrophic intensity.
FINNSTROM: Rex Norman of the U.S. Forest Service says 100 years ago people started living in forest communities. They suppressed and escaped small wildfires but set the stage for devastating infernos.
NORMAN: Much of our forest areas here are four, six, in some cases up to ten times the density that they were naturally.
FINNSTROM: Now the forest service is clearing and burning trees around Lake Tahoe neighborhoods.
NORMAN: Those defenses probably ended up saving about 500 homes.
FINNSTROM: But some homeowners say the forest service should have done more, bundles they had chopped but not yet burned were stacked above Jeff Risser's neighborhood.
JEFF RISSER, SOUTH LAKE TAHOE RESIDENT: I hike up there all the time. There have been piles for the last two and a half to three years.
NORMAN: Some of these sections over here were saved.
FINNSTROM: The forest service says its work as quickly as possible. Operations are expensive and must be balanced with not harming Lake Tahoe's fragile soil. The concern is that soil erosion could lead to a clouding of these crystal clear waters. That wouldn't only be harmful to the lake but also to the tourism that this community depends on. The other big debate, whether communities are doing all they can.
NORMAN: It's totally dry. FINNSTROM: That's preventing soil erosion. He was required to put it around the dream home he was building.
VAN MARSHALL, SOUTH LAKE TAHOE RESIDENT: It's like pouring a fuel around your house. This yard has green grass. The house is standing. The coals hit the grass. They didn't continue onward. My house just 30 feet apart, maybe 40 feet apart, is gone.
FINNSTROM: Marshal wants local leaders to reconsider strict building regulations. Environmentalist Craig Thomas says many homeowners want seclusion and don't clear what regulations do allow.
CRAIG THOMAS, SIERRA FOREST LEGACY: There is a fairly low level of compliance in a lot of these communities.
FINNSTROM: What everyone agrees upon the need to act and that was always so. A few years ago homeowners protested small burns to thin forest.
NORMAN: They went from saying "not in my back yard" to say, "when are you going to get to my back yard?"
FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom for CNN, South Lake Tahoe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Richard Nixon unplugged. New documents and audiotapes just released. Here candid comments from the former president.
LONG: And we will take you to a Texas zoo packed with people when a tiger turns on his trainer. One witness tells us what she experienced.
HOLMES: Also, from armed robbery to an apology, proof that a little kindness can sometimes go a long way. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. Hope you're having a nice weekend so far. The John McCain campaign is coming apart but the candidate vows to press on. We are expecting more staff changes, as early as tomorrow. Two top campaign staffers actually dropped out last week. McCain is taking responsibility for his campaign's financial misfortune. He's almost out of money. At a campaign event in New Hampshire just yesterday, McCain said he'll keep fighting and said he's still the best campaigner in the field.
HOLMES: And that field is smaller today. Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore is out. The Republican says his late start and the importance of the early primaries made it impractical to continue. Also, isurf (ph) reports Gilmore to suspend his campaign has scheduled nearly two weeks ago, his campaign has about $90,000 on hand and that ain't much when you are talking politics.
There is plenty of action expected on the campaign trail today the top Democrats are expected to be lumped together in Chicago. Barack Obama on his home turf there, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Joe Biden are speaking at a presidential forum. We'll look at this week's campaigns ups and downs right here in about 90 minutes.
LONG: And John McCain's wife Cindy is our focus of our running mate series and you'll meet her in our next hour.
Then mark your calender, Monday, July 23rd the Democratic candidates square off in a CNN/Youtube debate. Anderson Cooper hosts the event; it's live and interactive. You can see the Republican candidates debate Monday, September 17th.
Tomorrow night CNN kicks off the week with John Roberts and Kiran Chetry previewing the CNN/Youtube debate, you can find out what is on Americas mind when we reveal some of the possible video questions for the candidates every night this week at 8:00 Eastern only on CNN your political headquarters.
Richard Nixon's secretly recorded audiotapes helped doomed his presidency and now new releases are for a deeper look into his bare- knuckled attitude. CNN's Brian Todd explains for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Election night, 1972, Richard Nixon, celebrating his greatest political victory, a landslide win over George McGovern. In a phone conversation with Henry Kissinger shortly after midnight Nixon let's loose on his opponent.
RICHARD NIXON: This fellow to the last was a prick. Did you see his concession statement?
TODD: That exerts part of the Nixon libraries new release of hours of Nixon's phone conversations from that period. Shortly after Kissinger's call, Nixon speaks to his deputy counselor, Harry Dent and has not mellowed toward McGovern.
NIXON: This son of a bitch, didn't you think he was about the worst candidate, Harry?
HARRY DENT: Yes, sir.
NIXON: What he said, I think, we're not going to let them get away with that.
Even last night he started out nicely but then proceeded to jut his jaw out and said he wasn't gonna support you know, this or that. Did you notice that?
DENT: Yes, sir.
NIXON: What did you think of that?
Dent: I thought I was quite graceful to the son of a bitch.
TODD: Thirty five years George McGovern listens with us to his old fo (ph). He says he never refused to support Nixon and he jokingly calls it a great distinction to be called those names by the president, but --
GEORGE MCGOVERN, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also found it rather sad. Here's this man, who has just won the most smashing triumph of his entire life, angry, frustrated, peevish.
TODD: The director of the Nixon Library says on that evening, Nixon didn't even have his family around him.
TIMOTHY NEFTALI, DIRECTOR, NIXON LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: On the night of his election, he's alone, contemplating the effect of his victory, complaining, if you will, celebrating, but it's Nixon alone.
TODD: A few days after his election victory, Nixon's is shuffling his cabinet. He talks about replacing the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., a man named George Herbert Walker Bush.
NIXON: That whole staff up there is violently anti-Nixon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
NIXON: Bush hasn't done one damn thing about it. He's become part of it.
TODD: We contacted George Bush Sr.'s office for a response to that remark from Nixon. An aide said Mr. Bush would not comment.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Final farewells and a final trip home for Ladybird Johnson. More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday in Austin, Texas, to remember the first lady. It included four former first ladies and the current first lady Laura Bush. Johnson died Wednesday at the age of 94. Later this morning Johnson's body will be carried to the LBJ Ranch where she be buried next to her husband in the family cemetery.
Well first the "crush on Obama" the girl in the tight shirt and whole thing.
LONG: Is that what you remember about it, OK. She had a beautiful voice as well.
HOLMES: I can't remember that part, but now someone apparently has the hots for Hillary, and not just anybody, a former "American Idol" contestant.
LONG: Scantily clad as well. He also went to Iraq as a soldier but left as a single father with one of the country's most innocent victims, and today he's our "CNN Hero."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Amazing people doing extraordinary things in our community, each and every day, trying to make our world a better place, and all this year, we are bringing you their stories. They are people we call "CNN Heroes" and we're also inviting you to tell us about the hero's that you may happen to you know.
HOLMES: Today we are going to introduce you to a man from Wisconsin, who went from fighting insurgents in Iraq becoming a single father. Scott Southworth, today's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT HAROLD SOUTHWORTH: No soldier goes to war with the expectation of coming home and adopting an orphan from the war zone. My name is major Scott Harold Southworth; I'm a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the father of an Iraqi orphan named Ala Adin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Ala'a.
SOUTHWORTH: My soliders and I volunteered at the Mother Theresa Orphanage in Baghdad, Iraq. I did not choose Ala, Ala chose me. [ speaking in foreign language ] yeah. When the sisters informed me that they were going to have to move him to the government orphanage I instantly told them I would adopt him. There were a number of obstacles to bringing him to the United States, not having enough money, not having a stable enough career, not having a wife, but I could not, as a Christian man, walk away from that little boy. It really was a step of faith for me to just put that into action. You are a good little boy.
ALA: I am.
SOUTHWORTH: I know you are. It's been two and a half years since I picked him up in Baghdad. He's learning how to walk, he is doing addition and subtraction, and he is learning to read the English language. He's just a brilliant little boy. Come on, work those legs. He's limited by some of the things can he do physically, but I never treat Ala'a as though his is disabled.
ALA: I love you, Baba.
SOUTHWORTH: I love you, too, buddy. He is so much more a blessing to me than I am to him. I felt a ton of sympathy for Ala'a when I was in Iraq. He didn't need my sympathy. What he need was some action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Wow. And if you would like to nominate your hero for special recognition, you'll find more information on our Website at CNN.com/heroes.
LONG: Inspirational young man.
HOLMES: That is amazing. A lot of hero's out there and like you were saying before we saw that story that is one of your favorites from our CNN heroes and I see why now.
LONG: Really a great guy.
HOLMES: We are going to turn to something hopefully you don't do, texting and driving. It's certainly a potentially deadly combination. LONG: Yes in fact it may have been what led to the deaths of five teens in New York. That story is coming up. Bonnie?
SCHNEDIER: We are also tracking typhoon Man-yi. The storm has weakened but still bringing wind to rain and-to-areas of northern Japan. I will have a complete report on that plus a look at your U.S. forecast coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning, 7:30 in the morning east coast time. Waking up on this Sunday, hope you're having a great weekend. I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. Put down the gun and have some wine and cheese. Yeah, robbery attempt ends in a group hug. I've got to find some of this wine. Got to be good stuff.
LONG: A peculiar story.
HOLMES: You've got to see this one. Stick around.
LONG: Plus a day at the zoo ends abruptly for thousands of visitors. We're going to tell you why, coming up.
Driving while distracted. We have all seen people driving while talking on a cell phone, right? Be honest about it, many of us of course do it. You make an excuse; I have to make this phone call.
HOLMES: Have to make this call and sometimes we don't, but that's bad enough. What about texts messaging while you are driving? Sounds even more dangerous, and it can be. Police in upstate New York now say text messaging may have contributed to a deadly accident. Jim Acosta reports.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bailey Goodman and her four teenage friends were on a late-night drive to her parents' vacation home in western New York when their SUV suddenly swerved into a tractor-trailer head-on. In an instant they were all gone. The accident late last month came just five days after they graduated from high school, where they had won a national cheerleading championship.
SARA DASTIN, FRIEND OF CAR CRASH VICTIMS: There's no words to describe what -- the feelings and emotions that you go through when you're told that your best friends aren't coming back.
ACOSTA: How could so much promise be lost so suddenly? Investigators say Bailey, who was technically breaking the law by driving at night on a junior permit, was attempting to pass another car on a two-lane road, all while her cell phone was in use.
SHERIFF PHILIP POVERO, ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK: Cell phones are a distraction and could be a contributing factor in this accident.
ACOSTA: As Bailey was driving, police say, her cell phone had sent and received a text message just 38 seconds before the first call came in to 911 reporting the teens had been in an accident. Because there were no survivors in the SUV, investigators will never know if it was Bailey doing the text-messaging.
POVERO: The records indicate her phone was in use. We will never be able to, you know, clearly state that she was the one that was doing any text-messaging.
ACOSTA: Driving while texting is a relatively new danger on the roads. Only one state, Washington, will ban the behavior outright beginning in January.
ROBERT SINCLAIR, AAA, NEW YORK: Well, imagine what you have to do when you're texting. You need two hands to operate the device. So, automatically, one hand is not going to be on the steering wheel.
ACOSTA: For the sheriff investigating the crash that killed Bailey Goodman and her friends, it's just common sense.
POVERO: As we drive a motor vehicle, we need to constantly remind ourselves that this is our -- this is our main and only responsibility.
ACOSTA: A responsibility that's too often forgotten with tragic consequences.
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, in Wisconsin, a bungee ride turns deadly. It happened Saturday at a Christian festival in Oshkosh. A woman plunged to her death on a ride called Air Glory. Police say the woman fell some 40 to 50 feet to the ground after being launched into the air on this ride. The state inspector is expected to begin an investigation later today.
Well, a Texas zookeeper is recovering this morning after a close encounter with a tiger.
LONG: Yes. A young zookeeper said to be fortunate, but as Selena Hernandez of our San Antonio affiliate KENS reports, he wasn't the only one traumatized.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELENA HERNANDEZ, REPORTER, KENS (voice over): Tragedy at the zoo.
LYNETTE BARRERA, ZOO VISITOR: We didn't know what to think anymore. So it was just really scary.
HERNANDEZ: Scary and intense, as we're told a Sumatran tiger apparently turns on its young keeper, mauling him, dragging him into its cage.
DAWN CAMPOS, ZOO SPOKESWOMAN: It happened in the exhibit, yes. The animal was never, ever in public area. BARRERA: It was just chaos. It was very chaotic. I mean...
HERNANDEZ: Lynette Barrera was just feet away from where the attack happened. What she didn't see her camera caught...
(SCREAMING)
HERNANDEZ: ... screams laced with fear and uncertainty.
BARRERA: There was tons of people coming towards us and they were all crying.
HERNANDEZ: San Antonio Zoo officials immediately cleared the property. All 4,000 visitors made their way out.
CAMPOS: They were never in any danger. Our visitors were never in any danger.
HERNANDEZ: Yet left shaken from an unexpected experience while at the zoo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Again, that was Selena Hernandez reporting. And that San Antonio Zoo is set to reopen a little later this morning.
HOLMES: Well, that typhoon, Man-Yi, we've been keeping an eye on that's been threatening Japan is weaker this morning, but not officially downgraded in Japan, as we told you earlier that it was. The storm is still bringing in plenty of rain and wind, and at least three have died in the storm, dozens more injured. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes.
If your travel plans take you to Japan today, forget about it. Flights have been grounded and the country's high speed train has been shut down.
LONG: And again, despite the damage that we're showing you right there, a lot of people are expecting it to be much worse.
HOLMES: And a lot worse. And Bonnie was telling us earlier we dodged a bullet.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It is 7:40 in the morning East Coast time on this Sunday.
I hope you're having a great weekend.
And we're going to focus now on human rights groups that are desperately trying to get the word out this week.
HOLMES: Yes. North Korea is set to execute a man. His crime? He's a Christian.
LONG: In our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning, CNN's Carol Costello reports that pressure is now being put on Washington to intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): North Korea's Dear Leader. Its communist dictator controls the country's religious message, casting himself as a higher power through propaganda and economic control. Lawmakers here say Christians are routinely persecuted in North Korea, so now family members say Son Jong Nam, an evangelical, has disappeared.
SON JONG HOON, BROTHER OF SON JONG NAM (through translator): I knew where he was until March of 2006. He was in a national security prison in Pyongyang. I don't know where he is now. He's completely restricted. I can't get any information on my brother.
COSTELLO: He says his brother thought he was safe. In 1998, Son Jong Nam escaped North Korea for China after his pregnant wife was so severely beaten by the North Korean government she later died of her injuries.
He found comfort in Jesus while in China and went back to North Korea to evangelize, a crime under Kim Jong-il. He spent three years in prison for that. When released, he fled to China again and was arrested by Chinese authorities and deported. According to relatives, this time North Korea sentenced him to die in a public execution.
SON (through translator): I think that North Korea, they are evil. They are not allowed human rights. They are not allowed religious freedom. Christians here in the U.S., they can pray for my brother. They will open North Korea to change it.
COSTELLO: But Son Jong Hoon is hoping for more than prayer. He's met with American State Department officials in Washington and visited lawmakers. Presidential hopeful and senator Sam Brownback and four other lawmakers have sent a letter to the United Nations and to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, telling both, "Future cooperation and engagement with North Korea will be far more challenging if its leaders continue to persecute their own people for religious views."
Senator Brownback says Son's case and religious persecution ought to be part of the United States strategy in dealing with North Korea.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we have been engaged in six-party talks. We've been discussing with them on their nuclear power plant -- their nuclear plant and shutting that down. We can put this in the discussion and mix as well.
COSTELLO (on camera): We tried to get some sort of comment from North Korea officials, but when we called their embassy, before we even got to the question, they hung up on us.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Christian groups say North Korea tops its world watch list of 50 countries that severely persecute Christians.
LONG: This is one of the more interesting story this is morning: a would-be robber and a profound change of heart.
HOLMES: Yes. What a difference a little wine and cheese can make. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: They want him out of prison and they want him out now. About 2,000 supporters turned out in stormy weather near Atlanta yesterday, calling for Genarlow Wilson to be released from prison.
Wilson has served more than two years of a 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Now, that used to be a felony, but Georgia's law has since been changed. However, the state's courts says it cannot be applied retroactively. An appeal of Wilson's case will be heard Friday by the Georgia Supreme Court.
LONG: Another story we've been waiting for this morning, a would-be robber with a taste for fine wine, good company and perhaps not really a heart for crime.
Here's CNN's Zain Verjee with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Xavier Cervera took his dog out for a walk as his guests were winding down a dinner party last month on his patio, sipping French wine and nibbling cheese. Almost as soon as Xavier left, his party was crashed by an armed, hooded gunman who'd burst through an opened patio door.
XAVIER CERVERA, HOMEOWNER: I usually latch it when I leave. That evening, I did not. And so they were all sitting, spread out in the courtyard, and he just kicked the gate in.
VERJEE: The intruder pressed his gun against a 14-year-old's head, saying, "Give me your money or I'll start shooting."
Then Xavier's guests did something extraordinary.
CERVERA: They offered him some food and wine, which he accepted, which I assumes really helped.
VERJEE (on camera): The wine or the cheese?
CERVERA: Probably both. But maybe the wine more so.
VERJEE (voice over): Then someone hits a sore spot. CERVERA: One of them said to him, "Your mother would be ashamed of you." And apparently, that really toned him down. He became a little morose upon hearing that, and he said his mother was no longer alive.
VERJEE (on camera): The attacker took down his hood, had a little bit more wine, helped himself to some cheese. Then he tucked away his gun and looked around and said, "Maybe I've come to the wrong place."
(voice over): William Chambliss is a professor of sociology at George Washington University, and says that's comment by the gunman was revealing.
WILLIAM CHAMBLISS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: "I think I came to the wrong place." He came to the wrong place because these people were so nice and because they treated him like a human being. He couldn't really go through with the robbery.
VERJEE: Chambliss says treating the gunman with dignity was the key. And for the intruder, getting hugs was important, too. First, he wanted individual hugs. Then, a group hug.
(on camera): And after the group hug, he just turned around and left. Just the same way that he came.
CERVERA: Yes, thanked them again and apologized again. And went on his way.
VERJEE (voice over): Police told "The Washington Post" it was strange but true. The suspect still hasn't been found. Only the crystal glass he left with.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Some very fine wine. And I guess you'll want to serve that at your next dinner party if you would like to keep the peace, right?
We're going to hear more from the family saved by the wine. They will recount their story live tomorrow on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
HOLMES: Veronica and I are ready for our prom picture.
And we've got to get some of that wine. We've got to find some of that wine.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Where is my corsage? You forgot it.
HOLMES: It's in the fridge. No, it's good. We're good.
DE LA CRUZ: OK, good.
HOLMES: Good morning.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning. It's nice to see you. HOLMES: The most popular stories.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, the most popular.
You know what's popular? Is that story I was telling you about yesterday, the Merriam-Webster story, that 100 additional words.
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: So, "crunk" made the list.
HOLMES: Yes, it did.
DE LA CRUZ: And T.J. is going to use it in a sentence.
HOLMES: Yes. Did you go to T.J.'s party the other night? He had a crunk at his house.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, OK.
HOLMES: How you like that?
DE LA CRUZ: And our prom picture is going to be pretty crunk, right, when we finally take it?
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Also on the list, T.J., a pretty bizarre story out of Wyoming topping the most popular list as well this morning.
Take a look at this. This is news video about the incident from affiliate KGWN's Web site.
Robin Munez (ph) was singing at the Old Chicago Restaurant and Bar about midnight Friday. She was killed by a bullet to the head fired from outside the club. Police suspect the shooting was deliberate. Right now they are searching for her estranged husband who works for the National Guard.
A Guard spokeswoman says Munez (ph) is a trained sniper. And according to police, Robin Munez (ph) had complained of harassing calls from her husband as recently as the day of the shooting.
Also making that list this morning, chilling new details about the alleged plot by a pair of Long Island teenagers to carry out a Columbine-style attack at school. The boys, ages 15 and 17, were arrested after a journal allegedly outlining the plot was found in a McDonald's parking lot. Both are charged with misdemeanor conspiracy which carries a sentence of up to a year in jail. They have pleaded not guilty.
Finally, a pretty amazing story to tell you about. Paralympics sprinter Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, he's known as "Bladerunner" because of his artificial legs. He's trying to qualify for the summer Olympics in Beijing, but Olympic officials must first determine if his spring-like legs give him an unfair advantage. Pistorius faces his next challenge today in Sheffield, England, where he will race against American gold medallist Jeremy Wariner.
And I will definitely be rooting for him.
HOLMES: So that's not -- oh, I thought they had OK'd it. So it's still -- he has a hurdle.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, they -- yes, exactly. He has one more hurdle to go. They need to see if he does have an unfair advantage. But honestly, I mean, he is already at a disadvantage. What he's doing is so utterly amazing.
HOLMES: It is.
DE LA CRUZ: You know?
HOLMES: And he is apparently fast.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. I mean, it's amazing if you think about it. And one of the fastest men in the world. You know?
HOLMES: Veronica, thank you so much.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
HOLMES: We'll see you here soon.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm waiting for my corsage, so...
HOLMES: I've got it in the fridge, in the break room.
DE LA CRUZ: In the 8:00 hour.
HOLMES: Yes, it will be there.
DE LA CRUZ: OK. Let's get crunked.
HOLMES: All right.
Thank you, Veronica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARYN SOUTHERN, ACTRESS (SINGING): Anyway, call me back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Move over Obama Girl...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOUTHERN: Hey, Hill. It's me. I hope you don't mind all the messages. Oh, hold on.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LONG: ... and make room for this young lady. This girl is hot for Hillary.
The story straight ahead.
HOLMES: All right.
Then in our next hour, disturbing arrests in New York. Veronica just talked about this story, two students in a Columbine-style plot on a school. The chilling plan laid out by police.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. We are just minutes away from the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING, and this next story as well. Two teens facing charges in a police school shooting, but they say they did not commit that school shooting plot.
HOLMES: Also, you rely on nurses for care. Now they say they need protection from patients. What in the world is going on?
Those details at 8:30 Eastern Time.
Also, the presidential campaign really is playing out on the Internet. We've got our YouTube Democratic debate, of course, coming up this month.
LONG: There's also those unauthorized campaign commercials ranging from serious, of course, to sublime, with a little sex thrown in for good measure.
CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Obama Girl, meet Hot4Hill.
SOUTHERN (SINGING): I've got a crush on a girl named Hill. But she's not with me, she's with a guy named Bill.
MOOS: Oh, he won't mind.
SOUTHERN (SINGING): Hillary, I think I need you.
MOOS: Actress Taryn Southern was inspired by the "I've got a crush on Obama" video.
SOUTHERN: I thought it was brilliant.
MOOS: So the former "American Idol" contestant did a parody of the parody.
SOUTHERN (SINGING): I could be your maid or your White House aide or the soldier who marches in your first parade.
I would vote for Hillary.
MOOS: Though we're not sure this is the best way to help her get elected.
SOUTHERN (SINGING): H-I-L-L-A-R-Y. I know you're not gay but I'm hoping for a ride.
MOOS; We opted for a bicoastal connection. The whole angle of a girl writing about a crush on a girl, is it safe to assume you're acting?
SOUTHERN: I am actually straight.
(SINGING): The USA would be a better place if everyone could just get a taste of you.
When I was writing this video, I knew that the comedy would come from the fact that it's a girl singing about how she has a crush on a girl. That's what made the parody different from the Obama Girl video.
(SINGING): You're into border security. Let's break this border between you and me.
MOOS: It's hard to keep up. Not too long ago, a Condoleezza Rice video was big. A Condi imitator rapped on subjects ranging from Iraq to her Condilicious (ph) shoes. From Condi's shoes to Hillary's skin...
SOUTHERN (SINGING): Hillary, you've got great skin...
MOOS: The gain (ph) is seen to get under the skin of some, though most who commented online seemed amused.
(on camera): She may be hot for Hill, but Hillary wasn't hot to comment. The campaign had nothing to say about the video.
(voice over): They never returned our call. There was competition between Hillary Girl and Obama Girl, but while Obama Girl featured booty shorts, Hot4Hill focused on pantsuits.
SOUTHERN (SINGING): I like your hair, the pants that you wear, and the shape of your derriere.
I do like her pantsuits.
MOOS: Derriere was just a nice rhyme.
Jeanne Moos, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, hello there.
From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is July the 15th, 8:00 a.m. here at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, 7:00 a.m. in the heartland.
Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
LONG: Good morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.
With little money coming in and staffers on the way out, the McCain campaign is hitting some rough times. But Cindy McCain knows all too well about the struggles in life. Her story is coming up.
HOLMES: Also, grab a disinfectant wipe. Wait until you hear how dirty your cell phone is. I'm not talking about your conversation you're having on it, actually. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he has the details this morning on "House Call."
But we are going to get started with a major development in the priest sex abuse scandal. The nations largest archdiocese has reportedly agreed to a record payout. This is according to the "Associated Press." The Catholic Church in Los Angeles has agreed to a settlement of $660 million. The settlement covers more than 500 people that claim clergy sexually abused them. That is an average of more than $1.3 million per plaintiff. Also according to the AP the settlement calls for the release of confidential personnel files on priests. A judge has to approve the deal. Details need to be worked out.
LONG: In New York a 17-year-old boy is in jail this morning charged with plotting a Columbine-style attack on a high school. Police say the 15-year-old conspirator laid out the plot in his journal. CNN's Jim Acosta has the story in the boys own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Police on New York's Long Island arrested two teens after discovering what they described as a chilling journal, hand written in liberate detail by a 15-year-old juvenile.
RICHARD DORMER, SUFFOLK POLICE COMMISSIONER: The threats were to shoot students and staff and to detonate explosive materials at the school.
ACOSTA: The journal was found in the parking lot of this McDonald's where the teen worked and allegedly conspired with 17-year-old Michael McDonough who went to a different school. Police would not provide details on McDonough's role except to say McDonough agreed to go along with the plot. The police say two teens were targeting Connetquot High School, where the 15 year old was a student but had been on long-term suspension. Police say the journal paints a picture of a troubled teen with revealing exerts, reading, "I want to take out everyone there, and then turn the gun on cops, then myself." "I want to kill so many people in the war-zone and the target, so many that this will go down in history."
Authorities obtained a search warrant for the 15-year-old's house where they found no weapons but did find incriminating computer evidence and videotapes. DORMER: The 15-year-old made numerous inquiries and multiple attempts to purchase weapons, including an uzi machine rifle, automatic rifle. And five pounds of explosives black powder.
ACOSTA: Police describe some of the tapes as alarming.
DORMER: It was a very chilling tape. It was a -- tapes we saw from Columbine.
ACOSTA: Connetquot's High School superintendent referred to the 15 year old as social, it said the teen had been under watch for a while.
DR. ALAN GROVEMAN, CONNETQUOT SCHOOLS SUPT: This is a whole new world and we take different actions than we did five, six years ago. That's why we were able to get on top of it.
ACOSTA: Both were charged with conspiracy in the fifth degree. McDonough was arraigned and is being held on $25,000 bail. His family and attorney gave no comment. Police continue their investigation into whether any weapons were actually obtained.
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Both teenagers have entered not guilty pleas in their arraignments. The 17 year old he is due back in court tomorrow.
HOLMES: I got breaking news I need to bring you here. Looking at a live picture of an explosion in the green zone in Baghdad. This is a live picture from our bureau. This is just coming in to us. We can see this black smoke coming out now. Of course, we have people here, people on the ground there in Baghdad and trying to work this story and figure out what happened. Baghdad the zone, the green zone, which is heavy security there. Not supposed to be able to pull off things like that in the green zone in Baghdad. This is the one area, of course, where the military is based. All the major officials, green zone that fortified area.
And we are seeing it. We go back to the live picture a picture just coming in to us. Again, this is what we are seeing from our bureau. Appears pretty evident that something has happened an explosion has happened there. Where that black smoke going into the air. We have our people there on the ground working this, trying to figure out what has happened. We will get back to you and get back to this story as soon as we have more details. We are keeping our eye on it and will be back to us soon.
Meanwhile, I want to turn you back to the United States. Turn you to Nevada. Shocking story, really tough to hear about child neglect. Police in Reno say two parents left their babies starving and near death. The reason, the couple's obsession with Internet games. The man and his wife have both entered guilty pleas. Police say hospital workers had to shave the head of this couple's 11-month-old because their hair was badly matted with cat urine. Investigators say she and her brother are doing well now and starting to gain weight in foster care.
LONG: In northern Pakistan, a suicide bomb attack on a police army convoy has killed 14 people, including 11 Pakistani security personnel and three civilians. Dozens others were wounded. It happened in the mountainous northwest region bordering Afghanistan. This comes after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack on another convoy just yesterday.
HOLMES: A new al Qaeda video popped up on the Web. Contains a clip of Osama Bin Laden in the video. In the video Bin Laden praises martyrdom for Muslim causes. His message, which lasts less than a minute, was part of a 40-minute tape. We can't verify the authenticity of this video. There is no indication of a date it was shot. It does appear the clips are old.
Two more American soldiers killed in Iraq this weekend. Military says one soldier died yesterday when a land mine exploded south of Baghdad. Another was killed by an explosion close to his patrol east of the capital. There have been 35 U.S. service members killed in Iraq this month, 3,614 since the war began.
LONG: The Senate is set to resume debate on the war in Iraq tomorrow. On a debate over a Democratic amendment to a defense-spending bill, that amendment would mandate a timetable for the withdrawal of troops. President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that includes a timetable.
Also, up for discussion, a Republican amendment calling on the president to devise a new strategy for Iraq that includes scaling back the number of troops.
HOLMES: Secretary of State Rice dropping the Middle East itinerary from a trip that was to get underway today, however she will join defense secretary Robert Gates on a full-scale Middle East mission next month. Their goal is to assure U.S. allies that the region remains a top priority of the Bush administration. They will also promote White House policies on Iraq.
LONG: We could see one of the terror suspects in Britain in court as early tomorrow. Dr. Sabil Ahmed became the third doctor charged in connection to failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow, he is charged with withholding information that could have prevented an act of terrorism.
Typhoon Man-yi is weaker this morning but it is still a threat in Japan.
HOLMES: And the danger now potential mudslides. Japan's national weather agency is urging residents there to remain on high alert in the coming days. Man-yi is the strongest typhoon on record to hit Japan in July. We are turning to Bonnie Schneider who has been keeping an eye on this thing for us. Again, Japan is saying it is still a typhoon. By U.S. scale standards we are saying downgraded from a typhoon or hurricane, if you will.
SCHNEIDER: Very good, T.J. You are right. It would be a tropical storm. The winds definitely have a different scale depending where you are in the world. The main thing to note with this storm is that it has weakened. It is no longer an intense storm. But it still does bring the threat for heavy rain. We had on the high side, 28 inches in some areas. We have also seen very rough surf at times. The storm passed to the south of Tokyo and the winds kicked up the waves to 33 feet. So we saw incredible surf just to the south of the mainland island of Japan. We didn't see it on the shore but we did see heavy rains, so flooding is a concern. Even now as the rain and storm pushes further off to the east.
Sustained winds with the storm right now at 50 miles per hour, but notice the movement to the east-northeast at 29 miles per hour. That's a fast-moving storm. And not only is it moving away from Japan but we also have a stationary front just south of Korea and that will help steer the storm away from Japan. As we go through the day today and into tomorrow the storm will pose less of a threat to the islands of Japan.
Back to the U.S. mainland where we are watching out for more heat throughout the desert southwest today. Temperatures will be in the triple digits. We are looking at potential for flooding across areas into Louisiana and into Texas. Look at these powerful thunderstorms with real-time lightning strikes for you. You can see them moving across Alexandria, Natyhez (ph), on into areas like Baton Rouge. So we will see those downpours on and off. Even down through New Orleans if you are driving there today, you may have to dodge a downpour.
High temperatures for today will be pretty warm across the country. Even in New York City we will see high temperatures climbing all the way to 90 degrees, 93 in Washington. The hotspot again, Las Vegas, Phoenix, 108, and 111. At least it is not 115. It could be worse.
HOLMES: Thank you so much. Thank you both for being here, actually. Good to have you both. Thank you, Bonnie. We will get back to you.
And again, on that note, talking weather, weather causing some issues for folks fighting wildfires out west. They are still bracing there. Officials in Washington State say an expected lightning storm could ignite more fires. Similar storms Friday and yesterday sparked more than a dozen fires in the eastern and central parts of the state. Firefighters are getting the upper hand on those fires.
Also in Utah, firefighters say they hope to have the massive Milford flat fire fully contained by Tuesday. The fire burned more than 560 square miles. Firefighters in other parts of the state are also moving closer to having several destructive wildfires under control.
LONG: We are getting to know the candidates. Now we are meeting their other half. Our "Running Mate Series" continues after the break. We will meet Cindy McCain. >
HOLMES: Also, final fair well to Lady Bird Johnson. Remembering the life and legacy of a former first lady. We will have that and a little later on "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J. thanks. I'm sure like most people you spend good deal amount of time on your cell phone. You need to watch this morning. We discovered your phone may be dirtier than the bottom of your shoe. You are going to want to see that.
Plus, we are checking out the energy drinks that so popular these days. Are they boosting your system too much? We will explain. Two of the stories we have for you this morning. Make sure to tune in to "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It is 8:13 in the morning East Coast time. We are following two developing stories that led to the war on terror this morning. First, the nuts and bolts on a story in Pakistan. The "Associated Press" is reporting that a police official says there has been a second suicide bombing in Pakistan, the countries northwest side that has killed some 11 people. We have been reporting in the upsurge in violence along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent days. At least 14 people were killed earlier today when a military convoy was hit by two suicide attackers.
Reporting now on that second suicide attack. According to the "Associated Press," 11 people killed. We will continue to keep you posted as we gather more information on this story.
T.J., you will focus on Iraq.
HOLMES: Also, the other story we are following out of Baghdad this morning. The fortified green zone. We understand. This is new video we saw -- new video. This is in or around the fortified green zone in Baghdad where there has been some kind of an explosion. And what we are noticing here, you are noticing in this picture as you watch it with us, black smoke coming from that area. As you know, as you hear, oftentimes, talk about with the fortified green zone, that's the heavily guarded area by the U.S. military where many diplomats or a lot of business takes place there with a lot of people who make visits there.
Iraqi government. Everything is based inside that fortified zone there in Iraq. Back to the live picture we have here for you. You can't see -- you still can see smoke in the air. Not as thick as we saw earlier in that live picture. We do not have any word of what may have caused the explosion or word of any injuries or deaths. But we are keeping an eye again on the story. Just hearing about the suicide bombing in Pakistan and also trying to figure out what's happening with this explosion in the fortified green zone in Iraq as well we are watching both of those. We will up date you as we get more information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY MCCAIN, WIFE OF JOHN MCCAIN: Mr. Chairman, my name is Cindy McCain and I am the chairman of the Arizona Delegations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Cindy McCain, wife of presidential hopeful John McCain at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Though McCain lost the nomination that year to George W. Bush, the Arizona Senator still harbors presidential hopes. LONG: His wife is back on the road with him in the straight talk express. We introduce you to Cindy McCain, wife, mother, and activist. Here is CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My wife Cindy was a teacher of special education before I took her out of an honest line of work.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): So she was way back in 1979, a beautiful former cheerleader, smitten by a dashing war hero.
NANCY COLLINS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, HARPERS BAZAAR: Cindy met John McCain at a cocktail party in Hawaii. She was on vacation with her parents.
JOHNS: McCain's first marriage was crumbling. He found himself captivated by the young Cindy Hensley, nearly 20 years his junior. Their courtship was swift, just a year later, he was divorced and they were married for a short time, McCain went to work for Cindy's father who owned one of the biggest beer distributors in the country. The job didn't take, politics beckoned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain for Congress. New leadership for Arizona.
JOHNS: And in 1982, with financial support from his wife's family, McCain won a seat in Congress. He moved to Washington. But Cindy stayed in Arizona raising their children. Nancy Collins profiled the senator's wife for "Harper's Bizarre" and describes a challenging long distance political marriage.
COLLINS: During the week she had these three kids that she had and said by Thursday when he would come home she would be on the ceiling and he would walk in the door and calm everything down. Of course, I said I don't know how you put up with this because that's a lot of responsibility.
JOHNS: Responsibility. Nothing new for Cindy McCain. She launched a humanitarian charity and embarking on more than 50 overseas relief missions. During a 1991 trip to Bangladesh, Cindy arranged for a severely disfigured baby girl to get medical treatment in the United States. Accompanying the child to America she made a big snap decision.
CINDY MCCAIN: I was literally flying from Bangkok to L.A. You know, I don't think I want her to go to any other home except for mine. And I stepped off the plane in Phoenix and John took a look at her and he said where is she going, he is kind of whispering it in my ear, I said well I thought she would go to 7110 North Central Avenue. I said, let me introduce you to your new daughter. That's test and strength of a new marriage, let me tell you.
JOHNS: But around that same time, Cindy was also facing a very private test of her own. Drug addiction. COLLINS: She had a very bad car accident. Hurt her back. Started taking painkillers and got hooked. In 1993 her mother walked in one day and said there's something wrong with you. She said yes. There is. She broke down and she never took another pill after that.
JOHNS: Cindy eventually revealed her secret to her husband and to the world. Even admitting to stealing pills from her own charity.
MCCAIN: Mr. Chairman, my name is Cindy McCain. I'm the chairman of the Arizona Delegation.
JOHNSON: When her husband burst on to the presidential stage in 2000, Cindy McCain was at his side. Pounding the campaign trail. Riding the straight talk express. Now she's campaigning again and speaking out. For example, about the stroke she suffered in 2004.
MCCAIN: I was sitting at lunch and no pain. I had no warning. I just simply all of a sudden couldn't talk.
JOHNS: Heading into another grueling election, another personal challenge. Jimmy McCain, McCain's youngest son and a marine, has been deployed to Iraq.
MCCAIN: We joined the ranks of millions of other parents in the United States that will wait, worry, and pray about their children.
JOHNS: Yet another call to duty for the Senator's wife.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Next week in our part three of our "Running Mates" series former president of first husband, will Bill Clinton join his wife in a return to the White House?
HOLMES: In the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING, the future of John McCain's campaign. He is down but is he out? A closer look at whether McCain can be the next comeback kid.
LONG: Final farewells and a final trip home for Lady Bird Johnson today. More than 1,000 people gathered on Saturday in Austin, Texas. .
This is to remember of course the former first lady. Mourners included four former first ladies and current first lady Laura Bush. Johnson died Wednesday at the age of 94. A little later this morning Johnson's body will be carried to the LBJ ranch where she will be buried next to her husband in the family cemetery.
HOLMES: Anybody can build a ship like this. You will find the supplies in the frozen food section. Seriously. Story minutes away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Healthful eating can be a struggle. Page Love, a registered dietician, offers some simple solutions for managing portions and feeling full.
PAGE LOVE, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: Fresh produce is wonderful for us but it does not often fill us up.
COSTELLO: Try adding bulk to your meal.
LOVE: What really provides that is the balance of getting a lean protein and a grain, and your produce component. Those three things together really are what help us feel full.
COSTELLO: Love also says fruits are more sugar dense than vegetables and tend to have more calories. Monitoring portion sizes is important.
LOVE: We are talking portion control. Having a baseball portion or cup is a serving goal and fruit serving.
COSTELLO: Also, don't forget to drink plenty of water. It not only hydrates you but fills you up, too.
Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Coming up next, reunited in war. Two brothers fighting together in Iraq. Their story when CNN SUNDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, CNN continue to showing you a lot of photographs of men and women in uniform.
LONG: Veronica De La Cruz of the dot com desk has updates in today's "Salute to Troops."
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, COT COM DESK: Back in May we told you about two identical twin brothers. Amazing story. Jonah and Jordan Burfield. Take a look. This photo was sent in a couple of months ago by their family. Both soldiers are based in Baghdad, but at different bases. They didn't know if they would ever find each other. Mutual friends in Baghdad reunited them at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. An article on the army's Website says that the brothers have been reunited again for a special ceremony. Each was promoted to captain. The brothers went through training together and said that if one of them ever messed up, the drill sergeant was often punish the other one by mistake. There are three other boys in their family. All of them are in the military.
We also want to salute air force staff sergeant Candice Pepitone this morning a jet engine mechanic. This photo was sent into us by her husband who is also in the military. He says that he does look forward to the day they can be together again.
Chief Petty Officer Robert Clark's brother sent this photo as a birthday wish. Clark turned 35 on Friday. The family wants him to know that they love him and they miss him very much, especially his 6-year- old son.
The father of Sergeant Joseph Robles sent us this photo of him saying good-bye to his daughter Kayla. Robles are on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Now if you would like to see your loved one featured on "Salute to Troops" all you have to do is upload your photos to CNN.com/ireports.
LONG: We salute the troops. Happy birthday as well.
HOLMES: The twins. All right. Veronica, thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: Thank you.
LONG: let's talk about being off the mark and way off the mark. Watch this.
HOLMES: There's the windup and toss, quite a falter. You have to see -- that gives you an idea. You have to see where this thing lands. Stay tuned for that.
LONG: A lesson in recycling. This is made of discarded Popsicle sticks turned into sailing ships. How do they do this? We are going to tell you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: What's your favorite toy when you were a little boy?
HOLMES: Transformers and the Heman toys.
LONG: How about boats?
HOLMES: Not boats so much.
LONG: A boat made of Popsicle sticks. It is a sight to behold.
HOLMES: Replica of the Viking ship. A maiden voyage Friday in the lake of the Netherlands. The makers who hopes to sail it across the Atlantic. Good luck with that.
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