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American Morning
Three American Hostages Rescued in Colombia; Ingrid Betancourt Freed; Shakeup Occurs in the McCain Camp; General Motors Saw Its Stock Close Below $10; Three American Hostages Rescued in Colombia; Odds of Winning Top Prize for Lottery Game Aren't Just Long, They're Impossible; President Bush Weighing in on Rumors of a Potential Military Strike Against Iran
Aired July 03, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And just unimaginable joy this morning, for the families who waited and waited all of these years. Sometimes losing hope, sometimes believing that there was a still a chance. And then all of a sudden, in a flash, it happened.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And an early Independence Day for those three American hostages, now at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. That's the breaking news that we begin with on this Thursday morning.
Right now, three Americans held hostage for years deep in Colombia's jungles. Today, they're waking up on American soil. They arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, late last night after a deceptive and dangerous raid that not only rescued them but 12 others.
The three men, Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes, have been held captive by left-wing guerillas in Colombia since 2003, February of 2003, enduring more time as hostages in any American history. Last night the niece of one of the three men spoke with Anderson Cooper as the former hostages headed to the hospital for checkups.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF AMANDA HOWES, NIECE OF FREED HOSTAGE THOMAS HOWES: We are doing so great. We are so overjoyed with this whole process. And today is a great day for us. It redefines the word "miracle." It really does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rescued hostage Marc Gonsalves' father George was out cutting his grass in Connecticut when his neighbor told him about the rescue. Here's George's story in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE GONSALVES, FATHER OF MARC GONSALVES: She told me, you know, he'd been rescued. And of course, you know, I got the lawn mower going. I shut it down.
I said, really, whose been rescued? And she says, Marc. I said, Marc has been rescued? She goes, yes.
I said, really? She goes, yes, yes, yes. She was really excited about it. So I believe it. I said, yes, really?
When I saw that last proof of life the only thing I compared it to is, you know, I remember Vietnam when we had our prisoners in Hanoi and they were so tattered, you know, and haggard and it was heart wrenching to see him.
There was a media article that said he had hepatitis, and that was confirmed. So it's very possible he may be a pretty sick guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to do with your son when you see him?
GONSALVES: Oh, got to give him a hug, anyway. I got to give him a big hug. I miss him. Boy, it's been a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He's going to be going down to see him in San Antonio in the next day or so. And a little bit later on this morning just about an hour and a half from now, we're going to be speaking with George Gonsalves. Get some more thoughts from him as he's had some time to let this sink in.
This morning we got extensive team coverage of the rescue. CNN's Ed Lavandera live in San Antonio where the men are this morning. Susan Candiotti is live today in Bogota, Colombia.
First, let's get to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's in San Antonio. What's the latest from Brooke Army Medical Center there?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, the three men slept in the hospital there on the grounds of Brooke Army Medical Center, which you see behind me. They arrived here in San Antonio, as you mentioned, late last night. They arrived by C-17 aircraft at Lackland Air Force Base. Then they were ferried by helicopter back over here to Brooke Army Medical Center.
And this is where the long process of medical tests, psychological evaluations will begin in earnest today as well as a debriefing as they meet with military investigators as well. So it's a long road for them.
Officials here at Brooke Army Medical Center say that they have extensive medical tests and psychological tests that they want to perform on these three men. They said they learned a lot from POWs during Vietnam and the kind of testing and the kind of medical attention that they need, they feel they need, at this point.
So all that begins in earnest today after having arrived here late last night getting probably one of the best night's sleeps you can imagine they've had in at least five years. We do know that these men will bring some difficulties with them. There was one hostage that was released earlier this year in February who described some of the men having physical problems as a result of the plane crash that they had back in February of 2003, which is what led to their capture by the rebels in Colombia.
So all of that we imagine will be extensively tested. And, of course, they anxiously await the arrival of many relatives which we suspect will begin happening here in the next few hours as relatives pour into San Antonio to try to meet with them for the first time in five years -- John.
ROBERTS: I'm sure there's going to be a whole lot of happy reunions taking place there in the next little while, Ed. You know, we heard about some medical problems. George Gonsalves was saying his son Marc probably had hepatitis. The U.S. ambassador to Colombia is saying that a couple of these hostages, without saying who, are suffering from a parasitic disease called leishmaniasis. Is there any preliminary estimate on how long they may be there at Brooke Army Medical Center before they get a chance to go home?
LAVANDERA: I haven't gotten a gauge on that. But from kind of listening to what they've been saying, it sounds what they're preparing for and what they have been preparing for quite some time is an extensive process here in terms of easing them back into society here.
They say, look, it's not that easy just to be held captive for five years. It's not like you can just turn around and walk out into every day life and expect that to be a normal, easy transition. So it sounds like what they're preparing for here is a gradual process of allowing that to happen as well as checking out their medical needs.
You know, they've been spending five years in the jungles. Of course, you're susceptible to all sorts of disease there. And what I've found interesting was that they're still suffering physical ailments from the plane crash that led to their capture five years ago.
ROBERTS: As you suggested, maybe a long road ahead for them but at least they are on that road.
Ed Lavandera for us in San Antonio this morning. Ed, thanks.
CHETRY: And that daring rescue was a moment of almost unimaginable joy for Ingrid Betancourt. She's a former Colombian presidential candidate seen there walking off the plane. She spent more than six years in captivity. She was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning in rebel territory in Colombia.
Yesterday the 46-year-old talked about her range of emotions when she realized that she was not being transferred to another rebel location, but instead finally being rescued.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
INGRID BETANCOURT, FORMER COLOMBIAN HOSTAGE: The helicopter went up. I was in my unhappiness, looking at my peers and in this discomfort where all of us were in a bad mood. Everyone is so humiliated.
Suddenly I looked, and I looked at Gazas (ph) on the floor. And I said what happened. I don't know how they did it. Mr. President, it was less than five minutes. They took off his clothes.
I saw him with a bandanna around his eyes. He was tied up. And the next thing is to hear the major that was heading the operation who said, we are the national military. You are free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And the man she was describing was actually somebody who had been her captor for years. And then she said the shock of seeing him naked on the floor of the plane in handcuffs was really an unbelievable turn for her. The impact in Colombia, the Ingrid Betancourt's rescue, cannot be overstated.
Let's bring in CNN's Susan Candiotti. She's live in Bogota for us. And you know for Americans who are not familiar with her or her situation, it would be as if one of our presidential candidates were just snatched off the campaign trail, not seen again for years. So describe just how big of a deal it is for the people there, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just like that. Very hard to believe, Kiran. Yes, this is a woman who, after all, was kidnapped from a roadblock while she was campaigning with her assistant. And they were snatched up.
So, yes, you can make that kind of a comparison. So people here had been in shock about this for years. And an extremely popular figure here. This is a woman who had quite a following.
She ran a very unorthodox campaign. For example, she once handed out free Viagra samples as sort of a fight against graft and corruption in this country. Long (ph) has been opposed to drugs and corruption in Colombia's government. And ran a campaign she said that she wanted to bring fresh air to Colombia. So the fact that she is now free, everyone is extremely amazed and very happy about it, happy for her and for her family.
CHETRY: So what's next for her, Susan?
CANDIOTTI: Well, we have heard that possibly within the next couple of hours a plane will be arriving, a government plane from France. And on board is her family.
She is a mother. Her children will be on board. They will greet her. It is unclear once they reunite whether she will get right on that plane and fly back to France.
She is divorced. She may go back there to visit her family, to live there. Or she might remain here in Colombia for a time and the reunion might take place at a military base here. So those details are still to be worked out.
And then there are the other hostages to think about as well. They had a reunion, some of them did, last night. And eventually they'll be reunited, others will, with their families later this day.
CHETRY: All right. Susan Candiotti for us in Bogota, thanks.
ROBERTS: For the families of the three rescued Americans, it's a day that they may have thought would never come. CNN's Randi Kaye has got more on their long hostage ordeal and the Colombian rebel group that was holding them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After more than five years in captivity, they are free.
MARC GONSALVES, RESCUED FARC HOSTAGE: I'm just waiting to go home.
KAYE: This proof of life video was taken just months after Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a guerrilla group that survives in the jungles and has been at war with the Colombian government for decades.
The American hostages were private contractors for Northrop Grumman working for the U.S. government. In February of 2003, their surveillance plane went down in FARC territory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have lost engine. We are north of 030394 --
KAYE: The three surviving American contractors became hostages joining an estimated 750 others, including Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, now free after six years in captivity.
INGRID BETANCOURT, RESCUED FARC HOSTAGE (translator): Please join me to thank God. To the Virgin Mary, I prayed a lot. I imagined this moment very often with my mom. Don't cry anymore. You don't have to cry anymore.
KAYE: Betancourt, a rising political star in Colombia, was kidnapped while campaigning for president in a FARC stronghold in 2002. This video was taken just hours before she disappeared. Last year a video surfaced showing the three Americans and the presidential candidate sickly but alive.
JUAN CARLOS LECOMPTE, INGRID BETANCOURT'S HUSBAND: We are right now in emergency. We cannot wait any longer, more months or more years. We can wait only weeks or days.
KAYE: But it's been an excruciating wait with little movement. Marc Gonsalves' mother recently told me she had visited Colombia three times to urge the government to find her son.
JO ROSANO, MOTHER OF FARC HOSTAGE: I look around I see all these mountains, and I see my son somewhere up there. And I'm getting no help at all from this government. No help at all.
KAYE: Keith Stansell's daughter talked to CNN last year about her dream that she would some day be reunited with her father.
LAUREN STANSELL, DAUGHTER OF KEITH STANSELL: I just want to hug him. I just want to hold him. I don't want to worry about catching up anything or telling him anything. I just want to hold my dad.
KAYE: A bait and switch before FARC ever knew what hit them. Not even the hostages' family could have dreamed of that. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: It really is still astounding when you think about how that operation went down, and we'll have much more on exactly how they managed to infiltrate that group of rebels a little bit later in the show.
We're also going to continue to follow the amazing rescue of the three Americans and how they're doing.
But first at 6:15, an entire town evacuated this morning as the wildfires take a turn for the worst.
Then at 6:43, it's a no-win situation literally. A popular state lottery that's not paying up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We discovered that what the lottery was doing was leaving stale tickets on the shelves after the last grand prize winners had been claimed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUREN STANSELL, DAUGHTER OF KEITH STANSELL: So glad to know that they're OK and that we're going to get to see them. So --
KYLE STANSELL, SON OF KEITH STANSELL: You can imagine, I mean, that was some five years. I was 10 years old. I just want to see him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow. That was Lauren and Kyle Stansell, daughter and son of former hostage Keith Stansell. He's one of three Americans finally waking up on U.S. soil this morning after being held captive in the jungles of Colombia for more than five years.
We'll continue to cover their heroic rescue and homecoming throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: You can imagine, the father is away for five years. They only got some indication earlier this year that he might have been alive and boom, suddenly he shows up. Wow, what a homecoming that's going to be.
Scientists say particle board may be to blame for the high levels of formaldehyde fumes in FEMA trailers. That chemical can cause respiratory problems, even cancer. Right now, FEMA no longer uses travel trailers but about 15,000 hurricane victims are still living in them.
As officials prepare to shut down the current troubled Walter Reed facility, this morning the ceremonial ground breaking will take place for the new Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland. President Bush expected to make remarks before meeting with wounded soldiers.
And this morning with flames now burning dangerously close, California officials have ordered the entire community of Big Sur to evacuate. Crews have been attacking the flames there for 11 days. So far that fire has destroyed at least 16 homes and torched more than 81 acres.
Rob Marciano is in the weather center in Atlanta for us. He is looking at the fire forecast. And also another tropical storm out there, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're looking at this thing. It could be our next tropical storm of the season. Love to get some of this moisture into California but as you know that's not the way it works. California now in their dry season and pretty much everywhere from San Francisco south will see dry weather going forward.
We're looking at this storm. Well, officially a tropical depression. Our second one of the season. We watched it yesterday come off the Africa coast as a wave. It's just to the south of the Cape Verde Islands by about 250 miles. Fairly well organized.
I think it becomes our second tropical storm. I think the name is Bertha. Either way, I mean, here's South America, Caribbean. It's nowhere close to us. And if it does anything, it may very well head into the Atlantic. So we'll watch that.
So it could change its course if the subtropical ridge strengthens and keeps it to the south. But this time of year it's tough to do that. I mean, it's really not the season for what we call Cape Verde storms or what is out there still a little chilly.
I-95 corridor, you're clear. But we had some rough weather with the front that's slowly approaching the East Coast last night. Toledo, Ohio, had some -- is still seeing flash flooding as folks from Kansas City South towards Springfield back through St. Louis.
Heavy, heavy rain with this and certainly some thunder and lightning. We had some wind gusts in excess of 60, 70 miles an hour in parts of Missouri. So folks who live in Kansas City will certainly be happy to see these thunderstorms move to the south and east today.
Temperatures will be a little bit cooler behind the front; 77 in Minneapolis, 89 degrees ahead of it though in New York. A little bit more warm and humid today, and 94 degrees expected in Washington, D.C. We'll talk more about the July 4th forecast throughout the program. Back to you guys in New York.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that. Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Well, John McCain playing musical chairs, if you will, with his top campaign staff. His campaign manager is calling it a good thing, saying they're gearing up for the general election. Coming up, a look at his new strategy.
Also Stephanie Elam joins us today on a day that we're officially in a bear market. What does it mean?
STEPHANIE ELAM, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Do you hear that? Do you hear that distant growl off of Wall Street?
CHETRY: Right now?
ELAM: Yes, it's a grim milestone. I'll explain it all to you coming up right here on AMERICAN MORNING. You're watching CNN, the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-one minutes after the hour here on the "Most News in the Morning." And pictures of the three American hostages, Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes, arriving at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, late last evening. They're going to undergo a number of tests, reintroduction to society after being out there in the jungle for five years.
And, of course, we understand that at least a couple of them may have medical problems that would need some urgent attending to. So all of that ahead for them but finally back on American soil after that long ordeal. Just incredible.
CHETRY: And they look incredible. They look great given what they've been through all of these years.
ROBERTS: Ingrid Betancourt was amazing. Last year she was in that photo that was released, she was so ill. And she looked very, very good yesterday.
She credited one of her fellow hostages, a member of the military, who I guess was also, I guess a medical corpsman for lack of a better word for helping her through that.
CHETRY: Great news this morning for all of them. We'll continue to follow that, but we have some other news that's not so great today regarding our market.
ROBERTS: Can we call it a Knut, a Knut market. He's a cute little bear. ELAM: He's nice. We do like him. I don't know. And I guess some people do like the option of having a bear market. It builds opportunities for some, but for most of us the milestones that I have to tell you today are not that great.
Let's start off with oil. We're kind of used to this one, so this one is not as hard for you to digest hopefully.
Oil hitting a new record high yesterday closing at $143.57 a barrel. Up $2.60 yesterday. And this morning crossing over $145 a barrel in trade. So it continues to run up as we see those tensions in Nigeria, also in Iran affecting oil prices. That obviously affected the markets yesterday as well.
Just to give you an idea, let's take a look at numbers yesterday. The Dow losing 1.5 percent yesterday. Nasdaq losing 2.3 percent. And if you take a look at the S&P, it lost nearly two percent as well.
So yesterday it was a day that we saw more dropping on the major indices. But what's noteworthy about is the fact that the Dow is now officially in bear market territory. There you go. You see a one- year wrap.
ROBERTS: Knut territory.
ELAM: Knut, I'm sorry. Knut territory. Thank you, John.
We're in Knut territory there as you see. The one-year graph you see where we hit our high of 14,164 in October. That was the all-time high for the cycle and actually the all-time high for the Dow as well.
Since then we've dropped 20 percent, and that's how you determine what a bear market is. It's that 20 percent drop there. Just of note, Nasdaq has been in a bear market for a little bit of time now. So now two of the three major indices hanging out down there growling. That big bull statue might have to shift over.
ROBERTS: You know, It guess it doesn't really matter what you call it. It's pretty bad, isn't it?
ELAM: I think we all know that at this point. It's just, you know, we have to have these technical markers to make sure we know what we're thinking, right?
ROBERTS: Steph (ph), thanks very much.
ELAM: Thanks.
ROBERTS: We'll see you again soon.
CHETRY: For the second time in a year, a major shakeup in John McCain's presidential campaign. Is it a sign of trouble or is it just what he needs? We're going to ask Republican strategist Ed Rollins.
Also, the U.S. considers the FARC a terrorist organization. We're going to take a closer look at the rebel group that's been at war with the Colombian government for decades.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 26 minutes after the hour. There has been a power shift in the McCain campaign, one at the very highest levels. Responding to growing fears that his presidential bid is stumbling, McCain has put a new man in charge of his day-to-day operations. Actually, a familiar face, who is in a different position.
I'm now joined by Republican strategist and CNN contributor. Ed Rollins is here to talk more about this.
Ed, what kind of shape was the McCain campaign in before this retooling?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's kind of adrift. I mean, since he won the primaries early in February, they've been kind of adrift. They've sort of been watching the other side and not doing a whole lot and there's a lot of disaffection among Republicans across the country.
Steve Schmidt is a first rate guy. He ran the rapid response campaign for Bush. He has worked in the Bush White House. He ran Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign in California.
He's a tough guy. He'll take charge of this campaign. They won't make the little mistakes that they've been making in moving the campaign forward.
ROBERTS: Were they little mistakes or were they mistakes that were about to become big ones?
ROLLINS: Well, they're on the verge of being big because there really isn't a message. The message is sort of been I'm experienced and Barack Obama is Barack Obama.
As opposed to defining John, John is more than a war hero. John is a man who's had a long career. But the American public still doesn't know a whole lot about him, what does he stand for, what kind of leader is he going to be.
ROBERTS: So if you were running this campaign, what's the message you would put out?
ROLLINS: The message is -- whatever message I want to put out is all about the economy. It's what the people want. And, obviously, they got to go out and convince people that I understand your pain. I understand what's going on. Don't use the Bush model of, you know, I'm a great foreign policy leader but I don't understand anything about economics.
He's got to basically relate to ordinary people, and they got to think in terms that he can fix some of the problems that are facing them.
ROBERTS: So what do you make then of his trip to Colombia to promote free trade at a time when so many people in the heartland are suffering from job loss.
ROLLINS: Just a total idiotic campaign. I mean, you could not have made anything more -- for this reason. He has foreign policy credentials. Going down to Mexico and Colombia talking about NAFTA and creating jobs for those people at a time when people here are hurting is not the right message. It may be a matter of principle to him, but it's not a matter of good campaign strategy.
ROBERTS: Also, what about the idea that he was out of the country when this retooling of his campaign took place?
ROLLINS: Well, he stepped -- he stepped all over his story. That's another problem. You don't step on your story. You got to make a change like this.
You don't do it when you're trying to basically highlight your foreign policy credential. You do it on a Monday morning. You do it on a Friday afternoon.
ROBERTS: Although if, as you say, the policy of going down there wasn't exactly sound maybe you are looking for some sort of a distraction.
ROLLINS: Well, I think it's -- it looks like you're -- at the end of the day, a campaign manager is only a jockey. You got to have a good horse. And the real question here is what kind of a horse is John McCain going to be?
ROBERTS: Well, what about that?
ROLLINS: I think he has great potential. Historically he's not been managed well by anybody. He's a typical senator who has lots of different people who give him lots of different advice. He has to run a very, very structured campaign, one that basically defines him and defines the opponent.
ROBERTS: You know, Ed, all through the primaries we're hearing about problems that John McCain had with conservatives, particularly religious conservatives. The other day there was a meeting in Denver. It's been reported on by "Time" magazine.
ROLLINS: Right.
ROBERTS: A hundred religious leaders, including Phyllis Schlafly, of the Eagle Forum religious conservatives, apparently got together and decided, OK, let's get behind John McCain.
ROLLINS: Part of the reason --
ROBERTS: How significant is that?
ROLLINS: It's very significant. But first of all, they got together because they're worried about Obama and they decided it's like a game of two-headed poker. Our pair of twos don't look like much but they'd beat one of a kind. They're against Obama. They think Obama will do great damage, and they see him reaching out. McCain has still got to make those people love him and go out and work hard for him.
ROBERTS: What about the money thing? We know now that Barack Obama is not taking public funds. He's got an incredible fund raising machine. John McCain did a little bit better in May than he has done in the past. But while the RNC outdoes the DNC by I think about 10 to one, how well can John McCain do in fund raising? How much -- how urgent is it for him to get on the stick?
ROLLINS: It's very urgent that he gets this thing moving forward. He will be the first Republican to ever be badly outspent, and it could be four or five or even more to one.
ROBERTS: Wow.
ROLLINS: And that part of the campaign hasn't begun yet. So he's got to be very effective. That's what part of what Rick Davis is going to do. He's been the campaign manager is focus on the fund raising, focus on the convention.
ROBERTS: All right. Ed Rollins, it's always good to see you. Thanks for sharing.
ROLLINS: My pleasure. Thank you.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're just crossing the half hour. Here are some of your top stories this morning. For the first time since 1954, General Motors saw its stock close below $10. Its price plunged 15 percent after reporting an 18 percent drop in sales. Merrill Lynch warned the automaker needs to raise as much as $15 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
A Roman Catholic diocese in Massachusetts striking a deal with five insurance companies to settle $8.5 million in clergy abuse claims. Of that money, 5 million will go toward a fund for abuse victims, and each victim could receive up to $200,000.
Also this morning, three American hostages rescued in Colombia, spending their first morning in more than five years on American soil. They arrived just after midnight at the Brooke Anderson Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The three were among 12 who were rescued during a trick raid deep in the jungles carried out by Colombia and monitored by the White House.
And in fact, right now, we're going to hear from one member of the military who was on the plane with those three hostages as they made their arrival in San Antonio. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: This is going to be a great day in the airport.
STAFF SGT. DARYL BRADLEY, AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION TECHNICIAN: Absolutely. Best thing we could have done today. Can't think of anything else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Do you think we can talk to any of them?
BRADLEY: Yes, it is. (INAUDIBLE) on the way home and they are very grateful, very excited to be home. They can't wait to see their families. They can't wait to see the differences in the United States. And they're just absolutely pleased to be home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He looks pleased himself to be able to be there for that moment. Rescued hostage Marc Gonsalves' father, George, was out mowing the lawn when a neighbor told him about the rescue. Here's George's story in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE GONSALVES, FATHER OF MARC GONSALVES: She told me, you know, that he's been rescued. And of course, I got the lawn mower going, shut it down, and said, really? Who's been rescued? And she says Marc. I said, Marc's been rescued? She goes, yes. I said, really? She goes yes, yes, and she was very excited about it. So I believed her.
When I saw him on that last proof of life video, the only thing I can compare that to is, you know, I remember Vietnam when we had our prisoners in Hanoi and they were so tattered, you know, and haggard. And it was heart wrenching to see him. There was a media article that said he had hepatitis. And that was confirmed. So it's very possible he may be a pretty sick guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to do with your son when you see him?
GONSALVES: Got to give him a hug anyway. Got to give him a big hug. I miss him. Why, it's been a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: In a show of support in Florida, people gathered outside of the Colombian consulate in Coral Springs with a candlelight vigil to celebrate the release of the 15 hostages. There you see a sign thanking Colombia's President.
ROBERTS: There is global praise this morning for the Colombian military operation that freed the 15 hostages. The FARC guerrilla group is still believed to hold more than 700 other hostages.
CNN's Joe Johns tells us more about the rebels and their decades- long battle with Bogot's government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spring 2003, Colombia. A small plane flies low over rebel-held territory on an anti-drug surveillance mission. Four Americans are on board. Private contractors working for the U.S. government's drug eradication program. The plane goes down in the worst possible place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magic Worker (INAUDIBLE). We have lost engines. We are north at 020394.
JOHNS: They are surrounded by gunmen, soldiers of the largest armed rebel force in the western hemisphere, a guerilla group that goes by the name FARC. FARC controls huge areas of the Colombian jungle, earning money from the cocaine trade, waging war against the Colombian government. Its members kidnap and kill. And the U.S. government has branded FARC a terrorist organization.
In this October 2003 video, one of the Americans describes what happened.
KEITH STANSELL, HELD BY FARC FOR 5 YEARS: Bags of the aircraft, I looked, and I heard gunshots, and the FARC were on the ground. They were shooting into the air.
JOHNS: The plane's pilot, an American and a Colombian intelligence officer are taken away and shot dead execution style.
This never before seen footage of the crash site, taken by a Colombian recovery team, shows the wreckage and the bodies.
The three surviving Americans, Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves are taken to a FARC camp. They have been held ever since.
More exclusive footage obtained by CNN, taken by the Colombian army after a failed attempt to rescue the hostages. By the time the army got there, the men had been spirited away, out of sight, all but forgotten for the next three years.
May 2007, an incredible development. A Colombian police officer, part of a group of 60 hostages that includes the Americans, escapes and tells his story. Pinchao says the Americans are alive, that he has seen them just weeks ago.
JOHN PINCHAO, ESCAPED FARC HOSTAGE (through translator): I hope they make it back soon one way or another. I know that some day they will see the light of liberty.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And here's more on the FARC in an "AM Extra." The group began as the military wing of the country's communist party, fighting for land reform back in the 1960s, who got into the illegal drug trade in the '80s, and now brings an estimated $200 to $300 million a year from cocaine sales.
The U.S. has given Colombia billions in mostly military aid to fight the drug trade. Those efforts are believed to have trimmed the FARC down to about 9,000 current members.
CHETRY: Attacking Iran. Is it on President Bush's to-do list before leaving office? You'll hear what the President said and didn't say about a possible military confrontation.
ROBERTS: And the odds of winning the top prize for one lottery game aren't just long, they're impossible. Ahead, the outrage over a lottery game with zero chance of winning the big prize. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And we want to show you some new pictures just coming into us as we continue to follow the breaking news of the Americans freed after years in captivity in the jungles of Colombia.
This is new video of the hostages coming off of that plane. They arrived just after midnight this morning. And there you see them. This is in San Antonio, Texas, where they were heading to Brooke Army Medical Center to get a workup. Both concerns about not only their physical condition but, of course, their psychological condition after five years in captivity.
So, again, we're watching them deplane there and this is some more shots that are coming into us. Here you go. Here's a look inside of the actual plane, the cargo area where the unloading was taking place.
And we heard just a few moments ago from one of the staff sergeants just describing really with pure joy as he described how happy he was to be able to be part of that mission, and to be there to share in the joy of these people and their families after so many years of uncertainty. And then the news that they were back on U.S. soil.
And, of course, as we said, they're going to be getting a major workup to make sure that they're OK, both physically and psychologically. And then they will be reunited with their families. We're going to be speaking to many of the family members throughout the morning as well to share their thoughts on exactly how they feel now, knowing that their loved ones are, indeed, safe.
John?
ROBERTS: A lot of coverage coming up on that on the "Most News in the Morning." It's 39 minutes after the hour. And a live look at the White House this morning. President Bush is weighing in on rumors of a potential military strike against Iran. We'll get more on that now from CNN's Ed Henry.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, there's been increased speculation that the U.S. and/or Israel may be headed for a confrontation with Iran. The President had a chance to knock that down. But he didn't.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HENRY (voice-over): Asked about a flurry of reports suggesting the U.S. or Israel may attack Iran by the end of the year, the President did little to discourage the talk.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have always said that all options are on the table, but the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically.
HENRY: But by the administration's own account, those diplomatic efforts have done little to stop Iran from continuing on a path to try --
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have always said that all options are on the table, but the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically.
HENRY: But by the administration's own account those diplomatic efforts have done little to stop Iran from continuing on a path to try and enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Pressed specifically on whether he would discourage Israel from attacking Iran, Mr. Bush refused to be pinned down.
BUSH: I best way to solve it diplomatically is for the United States to work with other nations to send a focused message. And that is that you will be isolated and you will have economic hardship if you continue trying to enrich.
HENRY: Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister sent a mixed message at the United Nations. He claimed Tehran, too, wants to solve the issue diplomatically but added defiantly, the U.S. can't attack Iran anyway.
MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Following repeated defeats in the Middle East, we do not believe that the United States is in a position to impose another war on American taxpayers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: At the Pentagon Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen made a blunt admission. He said with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a third front in Iran would really stress the U.S. military.
John?
Kiran?
ROBERTS: CNN's Ed Henry for us at the White House this morning.
CHETRY: We're also following new developments about the 15 hostages freed from Colombian rebels. More on how to captures were tricked into delivering the hostages right into the hands of rescuers. And also what's happening today as their families get reunited with their loved ones. Stay with AMERICAN MORNING. We're going to talk to them and continue to follow the story all morning long. We're going to hear from those relieved family members, freed after five years in captivity deep in the South American jungle. What they're saying about the amazing rescue, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I just finished a phone conversation with President Uribe. And he told me some of the details of the rescue, dramatic rescue of 15 people who were held hostage. Three Americans are free. Ingrid Betancourt is also free. He says that they are in good condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That was John McCain on news that the three American hostages held for more than five years will be waking up on U.S. soil this morning. In fact, McCain was briefed by President Uribe on the pending operation the day before it actually happened.
We're going to continue to cover the heroic rescue and the homecoming Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell all morning long here on the "Most News in the Morning."
CHETRY: All right. Well, what do you do for fun? If it involves scratch off lotto games, we have some news for you this morning. You know, they offering the chance to win big, sometimes thousands and millions. While the odds of striking at rich are long, in some states it actually may be impossible.
CNN's Jason Carroll is here to explain.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the problem some say with scratch off tickets like this one is for this one happens to be from New Jersey, is that in some cases they say it's just not possible to win because they say the top prize is already gone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Chances are you've seen the slogans. Add millions to your jackpot.
In New Jersey, for every dream there's a jackpot. The problem is the pot may not be quite as big as advertised. That's because some states are selling scratch off lottery tickets for top prizes even after those prizes have already been won.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, really? I wasn't aware of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's terrible. That's not right.
CARROLL: Scott Hoover thinks it's wrong too.
SCOTT HOOVER, SUING VIRGINIA LOTTERY: I got duped into buying these things.
CARROLL: Last August, the business professor brought a $5 scratch off ticket for a Virginia game called "Beginner's Luck." The grand prize, $75,000. He lost. Curious, he researched the odds of winning. Public records show someone had already won the top prize, one month before he played.
HOOVER: We discovered that what the lottery was doing was leaving stale tickets on the shelves after the last grand prize winners had been claimed.
CARROLL: So he's suing the Virginia State lottery.
JOHN FISHWICK, HOOVER'S ATTORNEY: You now, it's one thing to say it's a long shot to win the $75,000. But it's another thing to say that you have no shot to win it.
CARROLL: "USA Today" estimates about half of the 42 states that have lotteries keep selling tickets after top prizes are claimed. Lotto officials for some states say the practice is fair because lesser prizes are still available. And they say tickets and lotto Web sites make that clear.
But it wasn't clear to some New Jersey lottery players who paid $20 a ticket trying to win the $1 million explosion game. That top prize is gone. The most they can win? $10,000.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Almost like false advertisement. You know, people are expected to win one thing and in reality they're going to be presented, if they win with something else.
CARROLL: A spokesman for the New Jersey lotto told CNN the information on winning tickets is readily available on their Web site. But they are looking at how to improve their procedures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Virginia lottery officials say that whatever problems existed in that state with that lottery was fixed more than a year ago. Scott Hoover is still suing the State of Virginia for $85 million. He estimates that is the calculated total for every person in that state who bought what he calls a stale ticket.
And Kiran is here still trying to win.
CHETRY: I can't believe he paid 20 bucks for this.
CARROLL: Yes, $20.
CHETRY: That's what -- all right, well.
CARROLL: But you could win a million according to the ticket.
CHETRY: Maybe or maybe not. That's the unbelievable part of it. You know, we're actually going to be talking to a Virginia State lottery official a little bit later. They also were one of the states that would continue to sell tickets and they stopped that practice last year.
ROBERTS: Hey, there is a little disclaimer on the back of the ticket.
CARROLL: There is a disclaimer right there on the back that says that - exactly consider and highlighted. It says, exactly, prize availability subject to prior claims. It also instructs you to go to their Web site to see what prizes have been won.
CHETRY: Yes. That's a little (INAUDIBLE). You're not looking at the back, are you? You're looking at the front.
CARROLL: It is there, though.
ROBERTS: Yes. But when -- also, when you go to the convenience store and you want to buy a lottery ticket where's the worldwide Web?
CARROLL: Exactly.
ROBERTS: So you can check (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: And by the way, I scratched these off. You didn't win anything. Take your ticket and go.
ROBERTS: Jason, thanks so much.
Still to come, three Americans and a dozen others rescued. At the top of the hour, we are live from San Antonio, Texas on the Americans' homecoming. Then at five after the hour, how it all happened. The planning, the rescue, the flight home. Our Randi Kaye is live with that story.
And at 12 after, a closer look at Ingrid Betancourt. A rising political star in Colombia kidnapped while campaigning for president in a FARC stronghold back in February of 2002. Her emotional account of being held captive, straight ahead. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Just a few seconds shy of eight minutes to the top of the hour. When you're running for president, there is no escaping the media spotlight.
CHETRY: So when Barack Obama just wanted to be a dad and watch his daughter's soccer game -- well, the cameras still caught his every move. It's the "Most News in the Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to seem presidential when you're wandering around looking for a spot to set up your portable seat so you can watch your kid's soccer game, on a warm night in Chicago full of summer sound. And bugs that don't care if it's Barack Obama they're buzzing. Occasionally, someone tapped his shoulder looking to shake his hand. But for the most part, Daddy Obama was just a guy with his wife routing for their daughter.
But even the thrill of the game couldn't overcome the sleep deficit --someone who's been going, going, going for months.
(on camera): Watching a candidate's every move almost has a whiff of spying to it. But there's a name for this. It's called the protective pool report also known as body watch.
(voice-over): A single reporter acts as the eyes and ears for the rest of the press following the candidate everywhere, from barber shop for a haircut to an upscale restaurant. They follow a written pool report with a decidedly informal tone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michelle looked slamming in a black cocktail dress with a severe slit down the back.
MOSS: Actually, a woman wrote that pool report. Once in a while a pool reporter gets it wrong. The other day, it was reported that a kid put out his hand for a fist pound and Obama refused. It turns out the kid asked Obama to sign his hand, not fist pound it.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Of course, mom may not be happy when she comes home. She'll like -- what's the dirt on your hand?
MOSS: Much of what's in a pool report is useless, but fun trivia. For instance, back at the soccer game when husband and wife had a mock fight. Pool report used Michelle and Barack Obama's initials to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8:32 p.m. M.O. and B.O. flirt. M.O. hits B.O. playfully multiple times in a row.
MOSS: During a break in the game, the parents high five their daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Obama stood up and demonstrated proper kicking form.
MOSS: When it was time for the candidate to go back to work, he gave his youngest daughter a kiss as she hung on his leg. One of our favorite moments, the pool report missed is when dad started reading his BlackBerry and mom gave him a sharp nudge. Back the BlackBerry went into its holster, bury that BlackBerry.
Jeanne Moss, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Breaking news. American hostages home for the first time in more than five years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are doing so great. We are so overjoyed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It redefines the world miracle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: This morning, the amazing story of a daring rescue that could have easily went the other way.
Plus, exit strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We're going to have to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: As the surge leads to some success, McCain camp sees an opening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: That's naive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 56 minutes after the hour. A look inside a helicopter there as the three hostages -- Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves, and Thomas Howes who had arrived moments earlier on a C-17 transport from Colombia, get set to take off for Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. It's about a short 10 or 15-minute ride.
They are there now where they will most likely be for at least the next few days. Getting a good going over by doctors there. Apparently, at least a couple of them not 100 percent physically. And as well, concerns about how they are psychologically after spending five years in captivity in the jungles of eastern Colombia.
But hey, they're back on American soil. That's great.
CHETRY: That's right. Their families are certainly thrilled. We're going to be talking to some of their family members throughout the morning.
Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." You're "Political Ticker" for this Thursday. The White House saying President Bush will stop over in South Korea on his way to the Beijing games next month. South Korea has been the site of violent clashes over the country's decision to resume importing American beef. South Korea imposed a ban on U.S. beef back in 2003 over fears of mad cow disease.
There is a new CNN Opinion Research Poll found that just over half of voters surveyed had a favorable opinion of Michelle Obama. That was compared to 39 percent for Cindy McCain. The same poll also found that a greater number of voters had an unfavorable view of Michelle Obama than Cindy McCain.
CNN's polling director says the results are largely due to Obama being better known than McCain.
Upon further review, reports of the fist bump demise were wrong. We told you yesterday that Barack Obama turned down a young fan in Ohio. Well, now, we have the tape and it shows a kid asking the candidate to sign his hand. Obama declined saying the boy's mom might not be too happy about seeing ink all over his hand.
Well, for more up to the minute political news, head to cnn.com/ticker. Speaking of every moment on the campaign trail being tracked and watch. There you go.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. He said he didn't want to start that because then he'd probably have to do every kid in the class.
Iraq and, particularly, the surge and whether it's working has been front and center on the campaign trail. John McCain supported it. Barack Obama was against it. Both men insist they have the right stuff to be commander-in-chief.
Jessica Yellin has more on that now from Washington.
Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, John, it's a question for Barack Obama. How does he stand by his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office without ignoring the fact that conditions there are improving.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): From the day he announced his presidential bid, Barack Obama has boasted about his early opposition to the war.
OBAMA: I opposed this war from the start. I thought it was a tragic mistake.
YELLIN: And he's laid out a plan to withdraw troops fast.
OBAMA: The best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq's leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops.
YELLIN: As president, Obama says he would immediately begin withdrawing one to two combat brigades a month with all combat troops gone within 16 months. But conditions in Iraq have changed since the campaign began. Violence has fallen and even former critics acknowledge the surge seems to be working. So far, Obama shows no signs of changing policy.
SUSAN RICE, SENIOR FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR, OBAMA CAMPAIGN: He's been very clear that he will withdraw Americans forces at a responsible rate, carefully from Iraq.
