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Hostage Rescue Details; Internet: a New Weapon for Amazon Rain Forest Tribes; Obama Blasts Bush, McCain on America's Education; Rudy Cosby Helping Other Actresses

Aired July 05, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Belief beyond words. Just think of how you would feel seeing your family for the very first time after more than five years of being held hostage and not even knowing that it's about to happen. Three Americans are holding private reunions with their loved ones after a roller coaster ride of a rescue. Colombian troops tricked their captors into letting them and a dozen other hostages go. How they did it, what's going on, we've got it all. Susan Roesgen is in San Antonio, Texas with more on the three Americans who are suddenly free.
Susan, take it away.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boy, what a relief, Rick. I'm here at Brooke Army Medical Center where the three men are getting reacquainted with their families and really re-acclimated to normal life, to their freedom because for the last five and a half years they've been trapped in a time warp in the Colombian jungle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice-over): As their small plane lost power over the Colombian jungle, American Keith Stansell made the mayday call for help.

KEITH STANSELL, RESCUED HOSTAGE: Mutt zero is declaring mayday. We have lost engines.

ROESGEN: Those were Stansell's last words as a free man. His captors made this video released a few months later.

STANSELL: I heard gunshots and the FARC were on the ground. They were shooting into the air.

ROESGEN: This is exclusive video obtained from the Colombian recovery team. Near the plane wreckage a Colombian intelligence officer and the American pilot, Tom Janice, were found shot to death. Keith Stansell and two other Americans, Thomas Howes and Marc Gonsalves, civilian workers for a defense contractor on a U.S. surveillance mission were taken hostage.

The rebels are leftist guerrilla fighters who have been trying for 40 years to overthrow Colombia's government. They are believed to have more than 700 hostages right now hidden away in makeshift camps like this one. Hostages who have escaped describe being chained at the neck, kept in the most primitive and cruel conditions. JHON FRANK PINCHAO, FREED HOSTAGE (through translator): These chains were placed under lock and key. They put them on at 6:00 p.m. We had to sleep inh them. There were months where we had to wear them for 24 hours.

ROESGEN: Although the world knew what was happening, the tough U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists meant the three Americans seemed to have little chance of ever getting out. And only rarely were they able to record messages for their families back home.

MARC GONSALVES, HELD HOSTAGE: Love you, too I want you to know that I am being strong.

TOM HOWES, HELD HOSTAGE: What I miss is my family more than anything.

When I feel like sometimes not going on, I think in my mind of my 11- year-old son.

ROESGEN: Imagine that you're a son or daughter, wife or parent and these images are all you've seen. The hostages had even less to keep them going. After an amazing rescue by the Colombian government, the Americans are home. What we can tell them about what they've missed these last five years and what they can tell us about what they've endured should be an incredible story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (on camera): Now, we don't yet have any public comment from the three Americans, those former hostages, but the Army did release today on their behalf this statement. Part we can read to you here says, "For five and a half long years we have all hoped and prayed this day would come. Now that it has, we're just overwhelmed with emotion. The love and the joy we're all experiencing is beyond description. We want to offer our heartfelt thanks to the government and the armed forces of Colombia. The operation they conducted to rescue us was one for the history books, something we will never forget for the rest of our lives."

Rick, that's got to be the absolute truth. So give you some perspective, Senator John McCain was held captive in Hanoi for about five and a half years, just a little longer than these gentlemen were held captive. Terry Anderson held captive in Beirut, Lebanon, he was held captive for six and a half years. A terrible thing to lose that much of your lie and to try to get it back.

SANCHEZ: What strikes me about this story is the fact that these guys were being rescued and they didn't even know that they were being rescued. As the rescue was taking place, they actually believed they were just being transported from one site to another as had probably happened in the past. But let me ask you this, Susan. Were these guys, while they were in captivity ever able to make any kind of contact with the outside world?

ROESGEN: You know, actually, Rick, they were. I mention in that report there that there were 700 or perhaps more than 700 hostages right now held by those Colombian rebels. Because of that there are several Colombian radio stations that are dedicated entirely to doing nothing but broadcasting messages from the family of those hostages. So we know that some of the family members of some of those three men did in fact get messages to those Colombian radio stations that broadcast them.

And the men were able to from time to time get some word from their loved ones back home and to give those tapes that we saw from the Colombian rebels back to their families. So the families knew they were alive. There were sometimes aid workers and journalists who would visit the camps and get more information, too. But still, all of the big stories in the last five and a half years they totally missed. They didn't even know the Iraq War had happened, they missed the whole thing.

SANCHEZ: Time warp, huh? Susan Roesgen, thanks so much for bringing that to us.

The acting job won't win any Oscars. It did win freedom for more than a dozen hostages. The Colombian government has released dramatic video of the actual hostage rescue. Now you saw a little bit of it in Susan's report. We've got some more. Here is CNN's Karl Penhaul explaining this to us, really breaking it down as it happens.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): FARC rebels toting assault rifles watch in a drug plantation in eastern Colombia. The time on the video says 1:22 p.m. Fifteen of the rebels most valuable hostages wait nearby, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American defense contractors. The rebels believe a helicopter that has just landed is a humanitarian mission to ferry their captives to another guerrilla camp. They have no idea this is the final phase of a daring operation by Colombian military intelligence months in the planning.

It's now 1:24 according to the video. One military intelligence officer posing as a cameraman asks a question of this FARC commander known as Cesar. Cesar seems relaxed but declines to answer. Like the other hostages American Keith Stansell is handcuffed, readied for the flight. 1:27 Stansell utters the word gringos or Americans and shows the plastic cuffs to the man he thinks is a bona fide cameraman.

Lieutenant Raimundo Malagon, held hostage for 10 years, seems agitated. "I'm Lieutenant Malagon of the glorious Colombian Army and I've been held in chains for ten years" he says.

A minute later, the hostages walk the final yards to the white chopper. The audio is cut as we see Ingrid Betancourt preparing to board. She looks haggard after more than six years as a hostage. A last shot of the guerrilla captors and minutes later this. Pure joy. Betancourt is in tears, the hostages have just been told they are free.

At a press conference to show the dramatic video, military commanders described how secret agents were trained for weeks in acting techniques to pull off their role as aid workers. They flew into the rebel camp unarmed, not a single shot was fired.

"It was 100 percent Colombian operation, no foreigners took part in the planning or the execution," he says. But he conceded a U.S. surveillance plane watched over the operation and said the rescue helicopter was equipped with a device to send an SOS signal to the Americans if the mission hit problems.

Asked about reports that a large ransom had been paid to win the hostages release, the defense minister was adamant.

"All that information is absolutely false. There is no truth in that. I can say we did not pay a single cent. But even if it did cost us $20 million to get these hostages back, it would have been cheap," he says.

The Colombian government acknowledges it does pay FARC informants and deserters. A source close to military intelligence with knowledge of this operation tells CNN the Army was able to persuade three senior FARC couriers switch sides. One of them gave bogus orders to rebel commanders to hand over the hostages.

(on camera): The full details of such secretive military operations are rarely revealed, but the key fact, 15 long suffering hostages are now home free. Karl Penhaul, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: By the way, just a programming note. We are going to be staying with this story throughout the course of the evening. I plan to have some conversations later with Karl Penhaul. You may not know this, but Karl Penhaul has been following that situation in Colombia for almost a full decade now. He's very well versed on what's going on. So we'll use him tonight as our expert. We'll have that at 10:00 p.m.

Also a special presentation prior to our newscast tonight at 8:00 p.m. This is an HBO documentary that looks at Ingrid Betancourt's kidnapping and her family's struggle for six years to try and free her. HBO's "The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt," you can see it again tonight. Again, this is a special presentation, followed by our newscast and breakdown with Karl Penhaul. You'll see that, again, at 8:00 p. Eastern, that is.

Well, throughout the day we have been watching the battle against some real raging fires along the central coast of California. We understand that aircraft -- you might see some of those from time to time -- they've been buzzing over Santa Barbara County dropping thousands of gallons of water trying to keep the fires from spreading once the afternoon winds pick up. This has been devastating problem around Big Sur. Thousands of homes continue to be at risk at this hour.

Let's check in first of all with CNN's Kara Finnstrom. She has been following this situation for us. I was watching you earlier from home in one of your reports. You were pointing to some homes behind you that you were concerned they might be devastated in all this. How are they making out?

KARA FINNSTRON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know what, Rick, I'm having a little trouble hearing you. But I will tell you that you can't see any flames behind me right now. The real concern though is that these hillsides are smoldering. When those canyon gusts pick up again this afternoon, the fear is that firefighters could see the same type of towering flames that they saw last night and that led to new evacuations. Resources from across the country are pouring in. We'll show you some video that we shot about a half hour ago of a huge DC-10 unloading tons of fire retardant.

Firefighters tell us this is the only aircraft like this operating right now in the country. The biggest there is. Last night as I mentioned, some new evacuations. Right now we're told about 3200 homes remain threatened. Just below us here in this canyon are about 35 of those homes in a small isolated community. A little earlier today we spoke with one of the homeowners down there. She and her lost their home 18 years ago to another fire. So far they've not followed the evacuation orders. Because they say they're staying put trying to save this home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY LYNN ROBHBACH, HOMEOWNER: It's been really difficult. I came up with my daughter and my two grandkids. I was ready to leave with them. But then I just can't leave. For some reason, I've got my husband here and my son here and i just can't leave yet. If it gets to where it's just on top of us, I'll go. But I can't leave yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: And her husband is actually a retired firefighter. They've been working with some volunteer firefighters in this area to do what they can to protect their home. Rick, one final note here, a lot of people have been wondering about the cause of this fire. Local authorities are asking anyone in this area who have seen something suspicious to call them. Because they do know now that this started in an area that's accessible to people. But at this point he cause still under investigation.

SANCHEZ: This really shakes people's minds up there. Thank you so much for this report. Let's go to Bonnie Schneider and get a feel for what the weather can be doing in these fires because it can play a major role, can it not?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, Rick. And what happens is the weather is so changeable in California. You start off with the marine layer with the wind coming from off the water with what's known as on-shore flow. We have a little bit of more moisture in the air. But then what firefighters and what Kara was reporting was right before the sunsets we get what's known as sundown winds or sundowner winds, and that happens because we get a decrease in relatively humidity with a rise in temperature at the end of the day. When it happens right here in Santa Barbara, for example, you have a very coastal plain, then you have a steep gradient up the mountain. And that steep gradient is key because when that gust of wind comes down the mountain, it has time to heat and compress and accelerate. So we could see gusts even this evening as strong as 50 miles per hour when we get closer to sunset.

Right now winds are coming out of the southwest. They're light. But notice the temperatures are still very hot. So it's something we will be watching because you may get beneficial weather in the morning, but then in the afternoon you'll be looking at more hot conditions. I want to show you an iReport of the Galida *ph) area. This comes to us from Kevin Winard who was actually with his friends and they went up to church on Fairview Avenue to get a look at the flames at the Galida Fire. He said they were perfectly safe. Even where he is there's a lot of ash in the air and a lot of debris. He said that remains very common. They've blocked off roads in order to get to that.

Just one other fact that we're looking at temperatures that are going to be heating up during the week. So that's something we'll keep an eye on as well. So the weather will get worse.

Another thing we're watching very closely is Tropical Storm Bertha. Rick, believe it or not, this storm has already set a record. Later on in the broadcast, I'll tell you what it is.

SANCHEZ: We look forward to hearing about that. You say tropical storm, we should let viewers know tropical storm, that's the phase just before something becomes a hurricane.

SCHNEIDER: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: And the path would be important, too. We'll talk about all that. Thanks so much, Bonnie.

Putter her fame to good news use. Actress and UNICEF ambassador Lucy Liu wants your help to try and save children. We look at her campaign as part of this weekend's special coverage of "The Survival Project."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN. I am Rick Sanchez. Now to this troubling story about a country that used to be called Rhodesia. Did you know? His only rival dropped out of the runoff, but Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe apparently wasn't still taking any chances. There's a new video that been smuggled out of the country. And it appears to show a Mugabe supporter intimidating people into voting for the incumbent. That would confirm the suspicions of election monitors that Mugabe rigged the entire runoff.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse is in Johannesburg with more on the secret footage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT MUGABE, PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE: The votes on the 27th of June can never be rejcted by anyone.

NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But Zimbabwe's runoff elections have been rejected as a sham by foreign governments, African election observers and several African heads of state. Now "The Guardian" newspaper in the U.K. claims it has proof that Mugabe stole last night's run-off election by intimidating civil servants into voting for him.

According to the newspaper, this footage was formed by a prison guard official who wanted to expose how he was made to put (ph) Mugabe back into power. The publication claims that he and his colleagues were forced to vote under the watchful eye of this man, who they claim was one of Mugabe's war veterans. There was vote was not secret according to this video and by taking down the serial numbers of their ballot papers, the war vet would know who did not vote as they should have.

SHEPHERD YUDA, FORMER ZIMBABWEAN PRISON OFFICIAL: I took my ball point in front of a few of you (inaudible). And it wasn't secret, but they put it in front of them. All looking at your voting (ph) and then put my X. This was the most difficult moment of my life because I have never been ZANU-PF.

MABUSE: Robert Mugabe has for years been accused of vote rigging, something he has continuously denied. CNN has asked for the government's reaction to the video, but as of yet we haven't gotten a response. Nkepile Mabuse, CNN, Johanneseburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: By the way, there's a reaction tonight from the White House on this video. We received this this afternoon. Here's what it said.

"There should be no question in anyone's mind that Mugabe was not elected by the people. He used corruption, intimidation and violence to keep this election from being free and fair, as the evidence seems to show every day."

By the way, it goes on to say that the international community should stand together in recognizing that the election was a sham and Mugabe is not the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe.

Coming back to our own country now, news across America. Let's go to Toledo. This is where fireworks are suspected of igniting a huge blaze overnight. The city's fire chief calling it the biggest three decades. Eight buildings destroyed. More than 100 residents left homeless.

Salmonella in salsa. Okay. But what's in the salsa that's causing the salmonella? That's what the FDA is trying to find out. It is now widening its probe beyond tomatoes to include cilantro, some types of onions, maybe even some peppers. But what kind of peppers? More than 900 salmonella cases have been reported so far. The most recent just two weeks ago.

Count on even higher prices at the pump. That's right. For the sixth straight day we have a new record in gas prices. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is up $4.10. That's over $1.15 higher than a year ago.

Every single day, 26,000 young lives are lost to some type of preventable disease. This weekend on CNN we're trying to do something about that. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield sat down with our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta and UNICEF ambassador Lucy Liu. They talked about important work they're doing around the world, what they've seen and in some cases what they've been surprised by.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the biggest surprise, and maybe not that much of a surprise in retrospect is that you can do so much with so little. In the United States we're used to having all these resources available to us, hospitals with lots of supplies, equipment, clean water is a birthright essentially here. You turn on the tap and you expect to be able to drink the water. It's just not the case in so many places. But small amounts of money and small amounts of resources can make a huge difference.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Lucy, what were you observing and how do you use your celebrity to make a difference?

LUCY LIU, ACTRESS: I think what I observe is how -- what Sanjay said basically is how children really don't need a lot. If you give them a little bit, they can go so far with that. And that's the amazing thing. They bounce back so quickly.

WHITFIELD: It's one thing to witness it and it is a stark reality. It's another to actually get the need there. How is it that we're able to supplement what many of these villages and small towns already have?

LIU: Well, I don't think they have a lot. Water is something that's very, very important. It is a source of life for them. If you have water, they're able to have agriculture which will help with nutrition. It also gives children the ability to go to school. If they don't have water that's close by, they have to go miles and miles away to get this water, which then in turn gives the children the ability to go to school.

WHITFIELD: Sanjay, are you surprised that we're not further along globally to help stamp out many of these preventable illnesses?

GUPTA: Yeah, I am surprised. I think that one thing I've learned is that people are inherently compassionate. I really do believe that. And I think that's -- Lucy and I have traveled to some of the worst places in world. Lucy, I saw right when she got back from Congo last year, it dramatically affects you. But you see a lot of hope over there as well and you see a lot of people wanting to do the right thing. And I think with that energy and that positive sort of thinking, a lot more can be done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: "The Survival Project." One child at a time. It airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern. It is a chance to get a firsthand look at children struggling to survive and learn how all of us together can help. Up, up and away. It's one of the more unconventional ways of getting there that we've seen. But I bet you he didn't have to spend a whole lot of money in gas. This is a man named couch on a flying chair headed for the state line. Why not a couch, you ask? Yeah. We'll have it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rick Sanchez. His wife calls him crazy. And you may say that and more after looking at this video. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. That's a man on a lawn chair. Attached to more than 150 heliums -- heliums? Helium-filled balloons.

Kent Couch is his name. He took off yesterday. He hopes to ride the skies over central Oregon all the way to Boise, Idaho. His two previous attempts weren't so successful. There he is talking about it, probably bragging about it. Couch's landing gear is pretty unconventional. He has a big rider bb gun with a blow gun with steel darts to pop the balloons as need. How do you like that? How do you like them balloons, huh? How do you like them balloons, Bonnie Schneider?

SCHNEIDER: No, I wouldn't try that myself.

SANCHEZ: Do you think he'll have enough wind to get him to Boise, Idaho, Bonnie Schneider?

SCHNEIDER: That's tough to predict. Once you're up that high, the winds kind of go where they want to go.

SANCHEZ: Even you can't help this guy. That's what his wife says, he's loco.

SCHNEIDER: Probably. All right.

Well, we've got a lot going on the tropics. We are tracking Tropical Storm Bertha. I want to show you the latest track with the updated forecast that was just updated 30 minutes ago. Right now the storm is still about 1,369 miles from the Windward Islands. The winds are at 50 miles per hour, gusts are at 65 so this storm has intensified. It is likely to intensify further. By the time we get to Sunday, the winds strengthen up to 60, then 75 mile per hour winds by Tuesday. That's when it's right near the Lesser Antilles, that would classify a storm as a Category 1 hurricane.

Then by Thursday it gets much closer to areas towards the western Caribbean. I want to talk more about July. I mentioned earlier in our broadcast that this storm has set a record. Indeed it has. Normally when the water temperature is 80 or warmer, we see storms form near the Lesser Antilles, near the Leeward Islands or the Windward Islands or perhaps in the Gulf of Mexico where the temperatures are 80 degrees or warmer. And here's a look at typical storm tracks.

However, Bertha did not do that. Bertha formed a 25 west longitude. That's all the way here, closer to Africa certainly than to the islands. That makes it the storm that formed the furthest east of my tropical storm since records have been kept since 1967. So incredible that we felt the storm swarm so quickly so far off to the east. Here is the Windward and Leeward Islands I mentioned. These islands should start to feel tropical storm conditions as early as Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. So it's something we're going to track closely.

Rick, another factor we're watching is what's happening with Bertha, it will come into water temperatures just two degrees warmer than where it is now in the central Atlantic. That will give it the intensity it needs to strengthen. A lot of factors that have to come together.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: The question is will it go north or stay south? But for our own selfish reasons but hopefully the best choice is for it to dissipate in the Atlantic. We'll watch it. It could be by the end of this week that we'll see it possibly doing some damage.

Bonnie, keep an eye on it for us.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

SANCHEZ: The Internet is the new weapon of choice for a tribe in the Amazon Rain Forest. That's right. I said for a tribe in the Amazon Rain Forest. Think about that. They once might have used bows and arrows. Now they're joining forces with Google to try to protect it from illegal mining and logging.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Surui are celebrating deep in the Amazon Rain Forest. Four clans have come together on this date, some have traveled for 16 hours through the jungle. 40 years ago these Surui Indians had never had contact with the outside world. Since then, their numbers have fallen drastically because of disease and massacres by loggers and miners.

Today they fear their land and their way of life will disappear. In the last eight months alone, nearly 27,000 square miles of Brazilian Amazon have vanished due to logging and farming.

So they called on an unlikely source -- messengers. To you and me, Google. They want to document what's happening to their forest.

CHIEF AMIR SURUI TRIBE: We are gathering our people's collective history, that which is transmitted from father to son, to unify and strengthen us as a direct guarantee of our future.

WHITBECK: The project is the brainchild of Chief Amir, the only Surui who is also a university graduate. The first time he used Google Earth to zoom in to view his village he saw how deforestation was destroying the land. He approached Google Earth through an international NGO. Google wanted to help. REBECCA MOORE, GOOGLE EARTH TEAM LEADER: I think it is the geographic analogy to Wikipedia, podcasts. This is putting mapmaking, storytelling on the earth, enhances everybody. And local people have a deeper understanding of what's happening in their area than the experts who maybe are thousands of miles away.

WHITBECK (on camera): The project is about more than just bridging the digital divide. It is really about giving information and technology to people who need it. In this case, to a community who is planning on using it to ensure their survival.

(voice-over): The day a team of Google trainers showed up to show the tribe how to use the technology, they were welcomed with an elaborate ceremony. Young men prepared a special dye from a jungle fruit to paint ritual tattoos on the arms of the visitors.

They celebrated with Google that they'll be able to communicate their centuries-old rituals and unique way of life with 21st century technology in the hope that tens of millions will see them and join their cause.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: An amazing story, isn't it?

They had her back through her primary campaign. Still do, even though it's ended. We'll determine Hillary Clinton's supporters doom for Barack Obama in November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: From the world headquarters of CNN in Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.

Showing the Show Me State that he really, really does want their votes, Senator Barack Obama hard at work campaigning in Missouri for the second time this week.

Earlier today, he addressed the National Education Association by satellite. Obama blasted President Bush and Senator John McCain for their actions on the No Child Left Behind law. His praise was saved for those in the audience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe the real change begins with the understanding that from the moment our children step into a classroom, the single-most important factor in determining their achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from, it's not who their parents are or how much money they have, it's who their teachers are. It's the teachers and education support professionals in this room.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, it was a quiet day at the homestead for Senator John McCain. He took a day off from the campaign trail. He is spending time with his family at his Arizona ranch.

On CNN's political ticker, senator McCain is making more overtures to Hispanic voters after this week's visit to Latin America. The McCain radio spot voiced in Spanish airing in Nevada and New Mexico, the McCain campaign says we can expect more of these contrast ads in coming weeks. Contrasting him to Barack Obama, of course.

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are going to appear together at three fundraisers next week. But Clinton's faithful may not be following her lead. There's a new poll that suggests there's mixed support for Barack Obama still among Clinton backers. A growing number are saying they won't vote at all in November. Translation -- they're still mad.

Even if some Clinton backers don't want to play ball, that's not stopping senator Obama's plans for the convention. CNN has confirmed there are talks under way to move Obama's acceptance speech to Denver's Invesco Field. This is an NFL stadium that can accommodate 55,000 more people than the current venue. 55,000.

And George W. Bush is en route to Asia. The president and first lady left today for Japan and his final G-8 summit in office. Climate change, global warming will be big topics. The three-day summit begins Monday.

You can log on to cnnolitics.com for all the latest campaign news. The source for all things political.

Then there's this. She was America's sweetheart. And now she's all grown up. Now, Rudy Cosby is moving on and helping other actresses to try to follow in her footsteps.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The Essence Music Festival is drawing thousands of people to New Orleans for three nights of fantastic music. It's New Orleans, what do you expect? Oh, and food. But the festival is about much more than that. For industry insiders it's a chance to talk business. It's called an empowerment seminar. It sounds like a fancy buzzword. But it is about more.

Keshia Knight Pulliam knows all about what it takes to make it. As little Rudy on "The Cosby Show," she was America's sweetheart.

She talked today with Fredricka Whitfield in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITEFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR (voice-over): At 6, she was the youngest actress to ever be nominated for an Emmy. You'll remember her as Rudy on "The Cosby Show." I'm talking about Keshia Knight Pulliam. She's all grown up now. She's a Hellman College graduate. And since, she'll be opening up her own acting studio in Atlanta as well.

She joins me here at the Essence Music Festival.

Good to see you.

KESHIA KNIGHT PULLIAM, ACTRESS, "COSBY SHOW": Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: You were talking about a powerful topic here. We're talking about women overall in the media.

PULLIAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What's the focus?

PULLIAM: Well, we were on a panel yesterday. It was absolutely wonderful, just talking about the evolution of women and their role, especially minority women in film and in all different mediums. We've come a really long way. Currently I'm on the "Tyler Perry's House of Pain." and he was honored yesterday, Tyler was. Just talking about the wonderful, strong images of African-American women that he's shown. He's been on the forefront of making that difference in terms of how we're portrayed for the masses.

WHITFIELD: Really one of the big obstacles for women in the media, we're talking about age. You were someone who grew up in the public eye. 6 years old and everybody knew who you were. Then you grow up and, when folks see you and hear your name, it is almost as if you'll be bottled up and still 6.

PULLIAM: I know.

WHITFIELD: And you're a young woman. So you have to present yourself and almost re-introduce yourself, don't you, in your industry?

PULLIAM: I've definitely had to do that. It's been a process. I took a lot of time off after I finished "The Cosby Show" to college and do those things that I think are so important.

Now I'm back. I did "Beauty Shop," the gospel, several other projects. And it's a process. Because on one hand, it's wonderful that people who grew up with me and their children are still being able to enjoy the work that I did as a child. However, on the other hand, you're right. They expect me to still be 5 years old. And clearly I'm not. It's wonderful I've been able to evolve as a woman in front of the media and do my part in adding to the positive -- being a positive role model for other girls out there.

WHITFIELD: And you are a positive role model but you have to fight hard to maintain that, don't you? Because in this industry of film and television, there are a lot of forces pulling you in different directions, asking you to do things that really may not be part of your constitution. So how do you put your foot down and say, you know what? I do want to uphold my image. It's important to me. And it's important as your responsibility to the young people who follow you.

PULLLIAM: I definitely agree with that. As an actress, that's the one good thing. The issue we have most is the disproportionate roles for women in terms of the skew towards the negative images. There's nothing wrong with that. There are women who have had hard times and have done drugs, who have been prostitutes, who may not have that education.

But the thing is to show those stories and to show the triumph of those stories and the lessons that have been learned through that journey and that process. That's what the key is. There are people who have those stories and you should not tell those stories. They deserve to be told. But you also have to counteract that and balance it with the women who are positive who, you know, are in school, who are doctors, who are entrepreneurs or CEOs of companies. We're so multi-faceted, and have such a broad spectrum. It is about showing the whole rainbow.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Keshia Knight Pulliam, thank you for being with us.

PULLIAM: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: When does that acting studio open up?

PULLIAM: I'm working on that. I also have a production company, Pull-Pen Production, and we have a couple of different projects that we're working on, bringing to you very shortly. I'm very busy. I just finished a film, "Lydia Goes to Jail," so...

WHITFIELD: We're glad you had a little bit of time for us. Thanks so much.

PULLIAM: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Also, this month, CNN and "Essence" magazine will be teaming up to bring you some of the most important voices in black America. Our special "Reclaiming the Dream." We'll look at the problems facing African-Americans today. That's Saturday, July 19th at 8:00 p.m. eastern. And we'll have two more specials as well. One looks at men, the other at women and the family. Those are July 23 and 24 at 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

She's always struggled with her weight. That's what makes her success story so incredible. You'll meet a woman who lost more than 200 pounds. We'll tell you how she did it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Rick Sanchez here.

Often people battling the bulge must wage many trials before a -- having a serious campaign. Trust me, I know.

Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets a winner in the weight loss fight who now gives back to others.

(FIT NATION)

SANCHEZ: When times get tough, brides get creative. A look at how some people march down the aisle these days. After all, they can't exactly break the bank because the bank is plum empty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Times are tough, right? What do you do if you're a bride getting ready to get married?

Here's Susan Lisovicz.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPNDENT (voice-over): Bride to be, Arden LaVine, but on her wedding day, she's saying "I don't".

ARDEN LEVINE, BUDGET BRIDE: You don't get a financial return on investment so you have to think about how much you're going to invest in that particular capital project versus something else that will actually have a return on investment that's not just the good feeling from your family, which is a beautiful thing, but won't put your children through college.

LISOVICZ: With the economy in the tank, more and more brides say the over-the-top wedding is no longer a necessity. For the first time this decade, the cost of a wedding now averaging close to $29,000 is expected to dip slightly.

Geraldine Brower runs a resell bridal boutique.

GERALDINE BROWER, FOUNDER, THE BRIDAL GARDEN: We get a lot of professional girls who are concerned about not wanting to spend a lot of money on a wedding dress.

LISOVICZ: One growing trend among brides, fake the cake.

REBECCA DOGIN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE KNOT.COM: Your big display cake is made of from Styrofoam and you have sheet cakes in the back. And the guests never know the difference.

LISOVICZ: Other ways to save big bucks, have your wedding and reception in a park. Only use flowers that are in season and plug in your iPod instead of hiring a deejay or band.

Budget Bride Arden is also saving money on the wedding rings.

ARDEN: We're melting down my parents' old wedding rings, which given the cost of gold these days, is a cost-efficient solution for us.

LISOVICZ: Budget brides say scaling back on wedding costs doesn't mean skimping on happily ever after.

Susan Lisovicz, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A lot of people are saying what's going on with the economy. We'll let you hear from the man who may have his finger on the pulse of the economy. The secretary of commerce of the United States of America will join us here tomorrow to talk about it and field your questions. I've asked him on the phone to come here. He will. Gas prices obviously on everyone's mind. You're going to listen to some of the questions we're getting so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I'd just like to know what he's going to do with the economy, gas prices and the way the nation's going. Are we going -- it's hard to go on vacation or do anything because of the price of fuel. I'd just like to know what he's going to do about getting our costs down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Due to the fuel increases and the price of oil going up and the fact that we have absolutely no control over that regulation, would we look to getting a better transit system, not just from within the city, but across the nation, that would actually connect some things and help people with their fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know what we can do to get gas prices lower. I work in the automotive industry and right now we're slow. We're facing lay-offs. People can't afford cars and can't afford to travel.

(END SANCHEZ: So those are some of the questions. Tomorrow tonight, real people with real questions and match them up with a real leader who makes decisions for our country, our world. Send your questions to us. And then join us Sunday night at 10:00 to hear the answers from the secretary of commerce.

What are you doing to recession-proof your life? On Monday, we share your I-reports, hear what the experts recommend, and give pointers on how to make the most of what you've got. That's 9:00 a.m. Monday eastern right here in the "NEWSROOM."

Tonight at 10:00, my special series, "The League of First-time Voters." A lot of you guys like this and talk to me and write to me about it. We're going to be talking about our broken health care system. 31 percent of the money in the health care system goes to administrators, paper-pushers, some would say. CEOs average about $28 million. What do nurses get, the grunts, the workers? I'll sit down with a group of nurses tonight and they tell it like it is. Real people, not talking heads, talking about the real deal here.