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State of Emergency in Pakistan; Body of Little Girl Found in Texas
Aired November 03, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A little girl in a box, washed up on shore in Texas, a case that even hardened police officers are taking personally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's more to us than just a case number. In looking at the box that she was found in, was (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A state of emergency in Pakistan. Troops storm the supreme court. The constitution suspended, but what does it all mean for us? We'll take this one apart.
Plus, it looks like Hurricane Katrina. People stranded on roofs. Others trapped in flooded homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 90 percent of the last (INAUDIBLE) has been flooded. So we have water everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wind and raging water barrel close to the East coast. How much damage will Noel leave behind?
This pen saves a baby's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I seen the pen. And I just snap it, pull it out, stuck it in there, went like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The hero who turned a writing instrument into a life saver and the father who'll never forget it.
He's a music and fashion mogul. And that's just his day job. My conversation with Russell Simmons, his thoughts on Jena, nooses, and politics in America. And good evening, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. As we join you tonight, I can tell you we have spent most of our day tracking two incredible weather stories, two very different storms causing big, big problems.
In New England this hour, the remains of Hurricane Noel blasting the coast with heavy rains and powerful winds. Down in Mexico, people are still coping with the floods left behind by torrential rains. Our Jacqui Jeras is on duty in the CNN severe weather center. Jim Acosta is in Chatham, Massachusetts. And Harris Whitbeck is standing by in southern Mexico.
Jim Acosta, let us start with you this evening. When we last spoke, you were getting pushed around by some pretty big winds, some nasty rains. I don't know, is the situation improving at all for you this evening?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. I can report to you that things are improving, which is good news for people here on Cape Cod because earlier today, as you pointed out this evening, it looked ugly out there. And whether you want to call this a former hurricane, a nor'easter, an extra tropical cyclone, we heard that term thrown out there earlier today, it's just been plain ugly here on Cape Cod.
And we're in Chatham, Massachusetts, which took a pummeling earlier today. Wind gusts got close to 70 miles per hour. Still right now, we're feeling wind gusts around 50 miles per hour.
And what has that meant for the people who live in this area? Well, basically, what people have been predicting all along, the forecasters have been saying, expect downed trees, expect power outages. And that's what we're hearing at this hour.
According to power company officials in this area, about 30,000 people without power at this point. We talked to a town by the name of Orleans, which is about eight miles from here. We understand that most of that community is in the dark at this hour after some downed trees knocked out some power lines there.
But for the most part, this area, you know, it really, we can't really say it dodged a bullet because the bullet was about 100 miles off shore. But there were, you know, some I think pretty serious concerns earlier today that this was going to cause a lot of trouble for people here because of the concerns about the high winds and the coastal flooding.
While there have been some reports of problems throughout the area, by and large, this has just been a nasty -- here it goes again. It's just been a nasty day outside. I can point out one thing that happened to us earlier this evening, we do know that at the hotel we're staying at, there was a wedding earlier this evening. You know, rain is supposed to be good luck on a wedding day. I'm not sure what this means.
HARRIS: Yes.
ACOSTA: But the bride and groom did say yes.
HARRIS: Wow.
ACOSTA: I mean, they did tie the knot.
HARRIS: In the face of all of it, love prevails. All right, Jim Acosta for us, Chatham, Massachusetts.
Let's go to Jacqui Jeras now. And Jacqui, in that shot behind Jim, you can see, a, the remnants of Noel, but also, the gusty winds still associated with it.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's still going to be pretty nasty over the next couple of hours. But you know, after midnight, we'll see some dramatic improvements.
These are the current winds across New England right now. Here's Nantucket, 36 miles per hour. These are sustained winds, not to mention the gusts. We're going to still see those around 50, maybe 60 miles per hour. And we'll watch that progressively go down as we head throughout the night.
Here's some of the peak gusts we've seen so far this evening. 71 miles per hour. Nantucket. Falmouth, Massachusetts, 65. 61 there in Chatham, right where Jim Acosta is. And Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 60 miles per hour and a 55 miles per hour in Hyannis.
The storm is still pulling up to the north. The center of circulation, as close as it's going to get really to the Cape right now. So watch for conditions to continue to go downhill in Maine.
Wind has been the biggest issue as opposed to the rain, although we've seen on average about one to three inches from Providence extending on up towards the Bangor area. We could see a little bit of ponding on the roadways. Certainly not great travel here for you tonight all along the I-95 corridor here.
Now where is it going to be going? It's going to continue to accelerate up to the north and towards the east. By tomorrow, it's going to be way up here in New Brunswick, then heads on up towards New Finland. By really Sunday night, this thing is going to be out of here altogether. In fact, if you live in Providence down towards the Boston area, you're not even going to know by tomorrow morning if you spent the day inside that anything happened.
It's all going to be great. And we'll have plenty of sunshine.
A lot of the worse conditions have happened in the outlying areas. I've had nine pages of storm reports. So thanks for our i- reporters for sending all of these pictures in. This from Edward Frank from Barneget from the light area in New Jersey. He said these were bass stripe fishermen that were out there. A lot of wind and a little bit of rain. He said kind of standard for this time of the year.
Seth Bonn from Martha's Vineyard sent us pictures of the sailboats pitching back and forth. He said there were a lot of crashing waves. Also, not a lot of rain from Seth.
And then Michael Page sent us some video that we want to show you from Hingham, Massachusetts. As this first of all, this is from Hull, he reports 40 mile per hour winds. He's a storm spotter, by the way. So we believe him with those estimates. This one from Cohasset. This is Sandy Beach. That is sand and water spray that you can see there. So some really nasty conditions, but things are looking a lot better there for tomorrow.
HARRIS: Boy oh boy.
JERAS: Tony.
HARRIS: You know what? I can't let you go before we touch on the other big weather story. And that is the flooding in Mexico. Jacqui, what can you tell us? What's the latest there?
JERAS: Yes. Villahermosa.
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: For the most part, they had a dry day there today. So that's some good news. The worst of the weather really happened early in the week. This is the area that we're talking about. And you can see this is the Bay of Campeche up towards the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture moving in again for tomorrow. Really just onshore flow as we call it. So they do have a chance of some showers and thunderstorms there again tomorrow. We don't think it will make things worse.
HARRIS: OK, great, great. All right, Jacqui, let's talk a bit more about Mexico. Relief workers are still trying to get supplies to the thousands of people in shelters and those still trapped in their homes.
Our Harris Whitbeck is standing by for us tonight in the hard hit city of Villahermosa. Harris, great to see you. My understanding is, and Jacqui just mentioned it a moment ago, that it's been a pretty dry day there in terms of rain. No rain to speak of. So have rescuers been able to take advantage of those conditions to get I guess more people to higher ground and to get some more supplies in?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well they have been, Tony. They've been working virtually around the clock here for a couple of days now. Most of the rescues have been taking place by helicopter because the areas that were flooded are so hard it to reach precisely because of so much water around. And obviously, the good weather conditions allowed for these helicopter flights to operate.
I participated in one of those flights this morning. I was up there for about a couple of hours and witnessed several very dramatic rescues. At times, people were being wrenched down on to rooftops. And at one point, one rescuer actually held two children in his arms. And they were raised up to the helicopter and then flown off to safety.
That scene has been repeated hour by hour, minute by minute in some cases as people are trying to get -- are being taken from their houses to safety. Even so, the authorities estimate that there are tens of thousands of people who are still in their flooded homes. Some of them decided that they simply do not want to leave their homes because they're afraid of looting. And others simply haven't been reached yet. And so those efforts will continue tomorrow.
The good weather, obviously, is good news because that also allows for people to go out in small boats, small launches to reach some of the communities that were flooded. President Calderon, the president of Mexico, has announced that he will be visiting this area again tomorrow. Tony?
HARRIS: OK, our Harris Whitbeck for us. Harris, appreciate it. Thank you.
Now to a story that has some of the toughest law enforcement officers very emotional. This is the girl they're calling Baby Grace. Her body washed ashore near Galveston, Texas earlier this week. She was found by a fisherman stuffed in a large plastic container very similar to this one here that you see there on your screen. Forensic experts say she's no more than 2, maybe 3 years old. A little girl, a baby really, who met a terrible end.
And as you can imagine, it was devastating for the man who found her and the people who are now trying to put a name to her face. They have seen horrific crime scenes and images that would haunt most of us. But seeing the little girl they call Baby Grace stuffed in a box just too much. And finding out what happened her has become very personal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. RAY TUTTOILMONDO, GALVESTON CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: She's more to us than just a case number. More to us than just an unidentified body. She is very much a human being. She is someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's cousin, someone's best friend. And to us, that's the most important part about this case. But in looking at this box that she was found in, this is not a way for her to end her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That was Major Ray Tuttoilmondo. And he spoke with our Heidi Collins about the case as it was breaking on Friday. And he is with us tonight in the newsroom. Major, good to see you. Thanks for taking the time to update us on this case. If you would, give us a bit of an update. Where are you in your efforts at uncovering the identity of Baby Grace?
TUTTOILMONDO: And you've hit probably the most important key element that we're focusing on right now, is who is Baby Grace?
HARRIS: Yes.
TUTTOILMONDO: Who's her family? Who's her mother, her father, her big brother, her little sister, her best friend who she played with down the street? Where we're at right now is running about 120 active leads out of literally hundreds of phone calls and e-mails that we've gotten from throughout the country and even from as far away as Europe. It's a tremendous outpouring of emotion from callers.
HARRIS: Yes.
TUTTOILMONDO: And it's really touching to us and it's keeping us very focused on that one key element that we need is who is Baby Grace.
HARRIS: Are you -- are the leads solid? Is anything solid? I'm guess I'm asking you, I mean, is there anything tangible moving the case, anything that you would consider, you know, really significant at this point?
TUTTOILMONDO: There are some times with cases like this that they may get a little bit of a slow start.
HARRIS: Yes.
TUTTOILMONDO: But we're waiting for somebody to get up and hit that home run.
HARRIS: Right.
TUTTOILMONDO: There are a number of leads that we're working on now. We're taking those to some next logical steps, simply because they have begun to develop. But is there anything solid that we can hang our hat on just yet? No. We're still working towards that.
HARRIS: Look, how frustrating is this? I mean, look, you mentioned just a moment ago this was somebody's friend, someone's child. I mean, maybe she was going to day care. I mean, how frustrating is it to have now something of a sketch, you've got the body, and yet, you don't have someone who at least at this point has come forward to say, hey, I know that child is and was?
TUTTOILMONDO: Every day that we continue what we're doing in trying to find out whose friend she might be, every little step that we're taking, we know that we're taking those steps in the right direction.
HARRIS: Yes.
TUTTOILMONDO: As slow as they may be, as frustrating as it may seem sometimes, sure, it is frustrating to us. We'd love to have this solved so we can spend some time with our own families.
HARRIS: Sure.
TUTTOILMONDO: But we know we're taking things in the right direction. And we're very hopeful and very confident that there's going to be some resolution to this. It just may take a little time.
HARRIS: Major, do we have all the numbers? Do we have everything that we need in terms of getting information to our viewers so that they can help if they can identify anything that might be helpful to you? Do we have the information that we need? .
TUTTOILMONDO: Absolutely. And we do appreciate every tip we get. No matter how small it might seem, it may be absolutely critical.
HARRIS: All right, we will put that together. And we'll update the story a little later in the news cast. And we'll put a number up if people have information that maybe might provide the break through that you need. Major, thanks for your time again this evening. Appreciate it.
TUTTOILMONDO: Thank you, Tony.
HARRIS: All right. In about 90 seconds, pictures that will make you ask just one question, how on earth did this man survive this? A nine inch knife halfway through his head, and he still managed to joke about it. The whole story straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, let's give you a look at tonight's top picks. How about this? Ouch. What a headache. Yes, this is a real x-ray of Sergeant Dan powers after an insurgent in Baghdad put a nine inch knife halfway through his head. Now we want to warn you, the images get more disturbing. You ready? Not only did Sergeant Powers survive, he even talked to doctors on the operating table with the knife sticking out of his head.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lucky to be alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, I know this is tough to look at, but we're dealing with one tough guy here. Just after the attack, Sergeant Powers says he had no idea a knife was in his head until his buddies told him.
OK, now check this out. You think fixing your roof is tough? Try this. It is one of the toughest spacewalks ever attempted, but shuttle astronaut Scott Parazynski did it today. He patched up a ripped solar energy panel on the international space station. A fix that was vital to the station's stability.
Now back on earth, a nation on edge. This is Venezuela. Take a look at these pictures. Riot police out in force, thousands of protesters not backing down. Massive protests are going at this minute against proposed constitutional changes. People are afraid those changes would turn their democracy into a dictatorship.
And coming up, marshal law in Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARAFF, PAKISTAN: Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It is a top ally in the war on terror. It's in crisis. And the ripples are being felt all the way to the United States. The full story in just 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A state of emergency in Pakistan. Troops storm the supreme court. The constitution suspended, but what does it all mean for us? We'll take this one apart. This pen saves a baby's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seen the pen. I just snap it, pull it out. Stuck it in there. Went like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The hero who turned a writing implement into a life saver and the father who will never forget it.
He's a music and fashion mogul, and that's just his day job. My conversation with Russell Simmons, his thoughts on Jena, nooses, and politics in America.
Pakistan, the nation, and America's partner in the war on terror is in trouble tonight. A few hours ago, the president declared martial law. He suspended the constitution. He sent home the chief justice of the supreme court. He put one of his main political rivals under house arrest. President Pervez Musharraf apparently now solely in charge. And he says on national television that what he did was do or die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSHARRAF: Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Now here's an interesting side to this crisis. No one is 100 percent sure of the reason why the president took such drastic measures. He cites a threat of what he calls terrorism and extremism without being more specific. World leaders from Canada to Europe to India all roundly condemn the events in Pakistan. The U.S. Secretary of State spoke exclusively to CNN, urging patience and a measured response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I understand that there are difficult circumstances in Pakistan, but we've been very clear that extra constitutional means is not the way -- would not be the way to deal with difficult circumstances.
But again, the situation is just unfolding. I think we should wait for that. But anything that takes Pakistan off the democratic path, off the path of civilian rule, is a step backwards. And it's highly regrettable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, a far away country wobbles on the brink of a breakdown. So why tonight here in the United States, are we discussing Pakistan's problems with such urgency as if what happens there will impact us here? Well, the short answer is, because it will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Do we care what happens in Pakistan? Why should we? It's a relatively small Muslim country half a world away. Their chief export, textiles. And their one main adversary is India.
But there are plenty of reasons why chaos in Pakistan would spell trouble here in the United States. In no order, they are the troops. Nearly 30,000 American soldiers and Marines are deployed next door in Afghanistan. Remember, most analysts believe Osama bin Laden is somewhere in a rocky range of mountains between the two countries. Al Qaeda would certainly flourish in a country distracted by a worsening state of emergency.
Then there is the issue of the nukes. Pakistan has them. India has them. They've already fought three full-on wars, mostly about territory and autonomy. And they still threaten each other all the time. It's safe to say that the world is safer with steady fingers on nuclear buttons.
Next reason, democracy. Pakistan's current President Pervez Musharraf took power in 1999. Literally took power. He was not elected. He handpicks judges, generals, and lawmakers. His last re- election, he got 98 percent of the vote. That raises eyebrows in Washington, where the White House would prefer to do business with a government of the people.
Still, Washington regards Pakistan as an indispensable ally in the war against global terrorism but it's a relationship that will only weaken if order and stability is not soon restored in Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK, let's listen now to a couple more voices representing two sides of this crisis. Pakistan's ambassador to the United States spoke to CNN on his wishes for the near future.
But first, this is Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, who hopes to be the next prime minister. She spoke to us by telephone a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENAZIR BHUTTO, FMR. PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: It's very difficult to work with a military dictator. I would like to see General Musharraf restore the constitution of Pakistan. I would like to see him restore the judiciary and the judges who have been removed and to hold fair, free and impartial elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMUD ALI DURRANI, PAKISTAN'S AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We've had a lot of suicide bombings. We've had other problems by terrorists. So in a difficult position. We have even terrorists in Islamabad. So it is an unusual situation. I wish he did not have to suspend the constitution, but this was imminent because extra constitution measures are required to arrest the strength.
But I can assure you, he will go back and move on the part of democracy that is promised, his faith in his program. And you will see that happening very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It's Pakistan. And it's a definite crisis brewing there. Stay with CNN. We will continue to update you as the situation there evolves.
And just a programming note. Our 7:00 p.m. "Newsroom" telecast will be preempted tomorrow evening by a Pakistan special titled "Pakistan, Terror Central." 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening Eastern time right here in the "Newsroom."
Well, you've heard about the black sheep. Now get ready for the crazy uncle. Barack Obama talked about his distant cousin again. Don't go anywhere. Dog bone politics next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, time now to chew on the off beat news from the political world in our weekly edition of "dog bone politics."
Barack Obama still getting mileage from the news that he and Vice President Dick Cheney are distant cousins. In South Carolina today, he added an extra twist to his new favorite line about embarrassing relatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everybody's got a black sheep of the family. Crazy uncle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Look out Democrats, political activist Ralph Nader is back, the man many in the party blame for Al Gore's defeat back in 2000 has filed a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee, accusing the party of sabotaging his 2004 campaign for the White House. Nader claims the DNC conspired to keep him off the ballot in 18 states and also tried to bankrupt his campaign. No comment from the DNC.
And White House hopeful Hillary Clinton took criticism from all directions in this week's Democratic debate. But two days later at the all female Wellesley College, her alma mater, Clinton said she's ready to take on the six men who are trying to defeat her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: In so many ways this all women's college, prepared me to compete in the all boys club of presidential politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, you heard that applause, but the women of the Democratic left aren't all on the same page here. It is getting a little nasty out there. Kate Michelman has strong feminist credentials. She is the former president of the abortion rights group, NARAL. She's also advising Democrat John Edwards. And she's not impressed by Hillary Clinton's performance.
In a letter posted at openleft.com, Michelman describes Hillary Clinton, "At one minute the strong woman ready to lead, the next she's the woman under attack, disingenuously playing the victim card as a means of trying to avoid giving honest, direct answers to legitimate questions." Ouch.
You know, some called it national blackout day, a call for African-Americans to flex their economic muscle. Now a day later, we ask if the effort was a dollar short. We ask the question. We'll get the answer right after a break..
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
Friday was called National Blackout Day by some. A call for African-Americans to stop spending for one day, to, a, show solidarity, and b, to send a message to Washington. CNN's Rick Sanchez spoke with the protest organizer about what he hoped to accomplish. .
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The argument seems to be that this boycott isn't directed enough. That it's too generalized. And when things are general, people don't know which way to turn.
WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Rick, you know, I have to laugh at what he's saying and the professor is saying. And the reason I'm laughing is because we're not directing this at any advertisers. We're directing this at the federal government, number one.
Number two, the boycott, the purpose of it is to keep the momentum going. We're doing a march November 16th in Washington, D.C.
And number three, for African-American people, look, I got a whole bunch of calls today from young people, older people saying, look, I've never went a day in this country without spending money. Today is the first day. This worked because it taught our people discipline. See, everybody in this country wants to quantify something. Everybody wants to say well, how do we measure this? We measure this by each person, by each individual who took part in it, and who took pride in it, and felt part of a movement and keeps that momentum going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. An interesting point, I should mention. The call for National Blackout Day was initiated by urban radio, but was largely moved by the Internet, e-mails, text messages. Tonight, I had an opportunity to talk with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. We talked about a few things, including how this generation responds to issues highlighted by the media.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP MOGUL: The world has changed. And it's changing for the better. But you see, you know, these things in the media, of course, picks up on them and then there's more - there may be more...
HARRIS: Well...
SIMMONS: I would not think that it's just the media promoting it.
HARRIS: That's what you hear. That's what you hear.
SIMMONS: I don't know.
HARRIS: You hear often people think it's us.
SIMMONS: No, I think that these occurrences are more...
HARRIS: Right.
SIMMONS: ...but the mindset of the American public is not there.
HARRIS: Yes.
SIMMONS: You know, in other words, I don't believe that we're -- certainly not as racist or homophobic or any of those things we were in the previous generation. But these events - they're not isolated. They aren't coming up everywhere, but they're fringe.
HARRIS: Yes.
SIMMONS: The people are fringe.
HARRIS: Yes.
SIMMONS: Their mindset is separate from, you know, where America is.
HARRIS: So you're hopeful that this is perhaps just a series of episodes in that...
SIMMONS: Well, it is a series of episodes, all of this.
HARRIS: Yes. And that there is general goodwill for one another in...
SIMMONS: There's -- we're much better than we were.
HARRIS: Yes.
SIMMONS: All the research shows us that.
HARRIS: Yes.
SIMMONS: And you know, we have a Barack Obama. There's many examples, you know, whether it's the athletes or the artists or what young people are seeing on television...
HARRIS: Sure.
SIMMONS: ...or what - or the presidential candidates are saying, or you know, the acceptance of each other is much greater. There's more tolerance in this country.
HARRIS: Yes. I knew you're being lobbied. Have you decided which of the candidates you're going to support?
SIMMONS: I'm a very I guess what they refer to as a progressive person when it comes to - like you know, I talk about the suffering of the animals, the destruction of the planet, the promotion of world peace versus this kind of march towards world destruction and the fight on poverty and ignorance worldwide in this country.
So there are some candidates, obviously, Edwards, three on the frontrunners of the Democrats are most progressive. But you know, people pretty much -- we have to find a candidate that's going to make a change. And that person has to be political and smart, and have to be able to rally the troops for change.
HARRIS: Do you like any Republicans?
SIMMONS: I've met with a few. I don't know if there's any that I would support at this time. So no, not right now.
HARRIS: What's the single best piece of advice you would offer from your vast experience in business, in life, that you would offer to young people today? SIMMONS: I always remind them that they're already rich. To operate from abundance, that you know there's nothing they can really give you. And if you have that kind of freedom, you know, you can educate yourself. You can go to work and be focused. You can really do the work. You can't do the work in the future or the past. You know, just kind of accept where you are and be happy.
And I say that, that money can't make you happy. I always remind them that happy does make you money. And that's important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Russell Simmons in the NEWSROOM.
Go to Baghdad or else. Foreign service officers at the State Department in open revolt against their bosses. They don't want to go to Baghdad. And they're fighting back. Baghdad? Thanks, but no thanks. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Imagine if your boss told you this, go to Iraq or be fired. That's what dozens of State Department workers are facing right now. And some are fighting back. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Diplomacy goes out the window at the State Department.
HARRY THOMAS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, FOREIGN SERVICE: Don't dis me and say it's not good enough.
TODD: Normally measured Foreign Service officers lose their cool over the Department's plan to force diplomats to serve in Iraq if they can't get enough volunteers.
JACK CRODDY, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: That's a potential death sentence and you know it. And then another thought, who will take care of our children? Who will raise our children if we're dead or seriously wounded?
TODD: At a State department town hall meeting, one career officer about to retire, seemingly with nothing to lose, lays into the head of the Foreign Service because many diplomats didn't know about the decision until they read about it into "The Washington Post."
CRODDY: I just have absolutely no respect for the whole process because you've demonstrated a lack of respect for your own colleagues.
THOMAS: Thank you for that comment. It's full of inaccuracies but that's OK.
TODD: The Foreign Service chief steps off the podium, challenged again. It gets ugly again.
THOMAS: Don't you or anybody else tell me, the people in HR do not care about Foreign Service officers. I find that insulting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may care, but you don't articulate it. You roll your eyes, but we have polled the Foreign Service. 12 percent of your Foreign Service believes that Secretary of State Condoleezza rice is fighting for them, 12 percent.
THOMAS: That's their right. They're wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, sometimes if it's 88 to 12, maybe the 88 percent are correct.
THOMAS: 88 percent of this country believed in slavery at one time. Were they correct? So don't come here with that. OK?
TODD: The U.S. embassy in Baghdad is the definition of a hardship post. The Foreign Service Association says three U.S. diplomats have been killed in Iraq. The embassy's short 50 some diplomats and is having a tough time getting volunteers. The last time Foreign Service officers were forced into hardship posts was in Vietnam, where more than 30 U.S. diplomats were killed.
ED DJEREJIAN, FMR., U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: It was incumbent upon a Foreign Service officers to accept hardship assignments, sometimes in war zones. And that certainly has been a tradition of the service.
TODD: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was not at that meeting, but a State Department official says she clearly understands the tone and tenor of what happened.
Rice is expected to take the extraordinary step of sending out a cable to State Department employees around the world, encouraging them to serve in Iraq.
(on camera): For those diplomats called up who refuse to go to Iraq, State Department officials will consider the reasons why, but they also could fire them.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, I asked former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger what he thinks about the officers who refuse to go to Iraq. He served under the first President Bush's administration and he didn't mince words. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, FMR. SECY. OF STATE: I think they all should be fired. You know, when -- I grew up in the Foreign Service a long time ago, unfortunately. But we had no -- there was no question when I was a Foreign Service officer, you went where you were told to go. And this to me is -- well, it wrecks the whole concept of what I used to think of as the Foreign Service, which was that you went where you were told to go, that you were a disciplined service, and that you had the guts to take on the tough, nasty assignments. If they don't have the guts, then they ought to leave.
HARRIS: Is Iraq about as tough and nasty as maybe we've seen since Vietnam?
EAGLEBURGER: Well, since Vietnam, probably so. Although, I could assure you that if you had to go to Haiti during some of these times, it would be pretty unpleasant. But basically it's Vietnam. And in the Vietnam case, the Foreign Service officers did not perform like this at all. They went out there when they were told to do so. And they did what they were supposed to do.
HARRIS: Boy, it sounds like you think this is pretty shameful if you think they should be fired, if they refuse orders?
EAGLEBURGER: You have used the right word. It is shameful. Absolutely. In my judgment. Mind you, I'm an old crock at this, I suppose. But in the service that I was a member of, it would have been inconceivable. We're - you know, we're not the normal government employee. We -- supposedly the Foreign Service is supposedly prepared to go out anywhere, do anything. It is the closest civilian organization to the military that I can think of. And can you imagine some buck private or lieutenant or whatever saying, I'm not going to go serve? It's - well, I can't even...
HARRIS: Well, hold on.
EAGLEBURGER: I get very upset talking about it.
HARRIS: Yes, you are. I can see that.
EAGLEBURGER: It's so inconceivable. It's inconceivable to me.
HARRIS: Well, Mr. Secretary, let me at least have you hear some of the concerns, as articulated by one of the Foreign Service officers, who is not happy about what's going on. And then let me get your response.
EAGLEBURGER: All right.
CRODDY: See, that's a potential death sentence and you know it. And then, another thought, who will take care of our children? Who will raise our children if we're dead or seriously wounded?
HARRIS: A potential death sentence. Who's going to take care of our kids? Aren't these legitimate concerns when you're talking about the toughest environment since Vietnam?
EAGLEBURGER: I suppose they're legitimate concerns. But if those concerns are so great that you don't want to do what you're told to do, there is a solution. You resign. And that's what this gentleman ought to do. It's not a question of all of a sudden he's been faced with something that he never expected...
HARRIS: Yes.
EAGLEBURGER: ...he might have to do. When he signed that piece of paper, he knew perfectly well that that might come to him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Secretary Eagleburger.
You won't believe what is coming your way. It'll make you say you got to be kidding. Like this. A man with a pen, yes, a pen, saves a baby's life. Cutie pie. The hero's story in just a moment in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So we start in New York tonight for the stories that will leave you asking, are you kidding? OK, you see this. There you go. That pen right there, it saved a baby's life. Norman Torres was driving down the highway and saw a driver who needed help. The woman had been in an accident. And her three-month-old wasn't breathing. So Torres, who received emergency medical training years ago in the Army, broke the pen in two and put it in the child's mouth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORMAN TORRES, RESCUER: I went down and I said, I seen the pen, I snapped it, pulled it out, stuck it in there, went like this. And all of a sudden you hear that scream. That was a beautiful thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He helped us out a lot. You know, and he saved my wife and he saved my son. And I owe that man my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow, how about that? Tonight the child, cutie pie, has a fractured rib and skull, but doctors say he will be just fine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I know. You're starving, aren't you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Ready for this? In Iowa, mother and child have a good business going together, all because baby is a finicky eater. She won't drink the milk that her mom pumps from her breast. So mom came up with a profitable solution. She put an ad in the paper offering 100 ounces of her breast milk for $200 or the best offer. No word yet if anyone's buying.
And finally to Virginia where this judge's allegedly bizarre demeaning behavior to those in his courtroom has gotten him removed from the bench. The state's highest court said Judge James Schul (ph) twice made a woman drop her pants in court to prove that her husband wounded her in the thigh. A court bailiff testified Schul (ph) told him "her black lacy thong looked good." The judge is also accused of flipping a coin to resolve a child custody dispute. He claims he did it to encourage the parents to resolve the matter themselves. A close encounter of the presidential kind. CNN's Jeanne Moos gets public reaction after a presidential candidate says he saw a UFO. Politics meets outer space straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich this week questioned President Bush's mental health. He also confirmed reports that he, Dennis Kucinich, once saw a UFO. Make sense to you? Let's see what Jeanne Moos has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If politics seemed alien to you before, now a UFO has landed in the presidential race. Would you vote for a presidential candidate who had said he seen a UFO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably.
MOOS: What do you expect from a guy dressed up as Shrek? The candidate in question is long shot, Dennis Kucinich.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see a UFO?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did. And the rest of the account -- I didn't -- it was unidentified flying object, OK. It's like it's unidentified. I saw something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if he saw one, maybe it wasn't a smart idea to bring it up.
MOOS: Kucinich has his friend Shirley MacLaine to thank for that. In her new auto biography, she describes how Kucinich went out on her balcony in Washington state and saw a try angular silent UFO hovering, that it was a moving experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sounds like a little bit of instability to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of like Shirley MacLaine. They're very interesting people, but I don't want them to be president of my country.
MOOS: But Kucinich has company. Jimmy Carter saw a UFO, even submitted an official report on it. Though debunkers say what he really saw was the planet Venus. Even Ronald Reagan reportedly saw a UFO while flying in a small plane.
14 percent of Americans have reported seeing UFOs. They're all over youtube. Shaped like disks, often all blurry. The best looking UFOs are almost always fake. And though beam me up Dennis was ridiculed on the web, he was rewarded with a long post debate smooch from his wife. And more than half of the folks we asked said they would vote for a candidate who said he has seen a UFO.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would prefer that to a candidate who says that he doesn't believe in evolution.
MOOS: In fact, of the 20 people we questioned, three said this.
Have you ever seen a UFO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I saw one when I was like 15.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looked like -- moved like an insect. It just went there and there and there and there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw an object fly. Make a 90 degree turn.
MOOS: Halloween and UFO encounters, perfect together.
Call it a moving experience and you know...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I can tell you a few things about a moving experience. You know, I'm having one of them right now.
MOOS: This guy was dressed up as a porta (INAUDIBLE). And we appeared to be carried. That's a dummy. These are his legs. The naked ones are foam fakes. Have you ever seen a UFO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no.
MOOS: You are a UFO.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That's all our time tonight. I'm Tony Harris at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us in the CNN Newsroom.
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