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CNN Sunday Morning
Fighting in Republic of Georgia Intensifies; The Beijing Scorecard
Aired August 10, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this August 10th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty. It is early. It's 7:00 in the morning here on the east coast -- of course, a 12 hours difference, 7:00 in the evening in Beijing.
HOLMES: Yes. What's going on in Beijing? A little something to happen over there.
LONG: Something big is happening there. Yes. We'll be following the Olympics this hour for you, of course.
HOLMES: Of course.
Also, a story we've been following the past several days and it's getting worse actually. Fighting is intensifying across that small country of Georgia. Of course, it's a former Soviet Republic and it's spreading all over the place. Is Russia now is the question being a bully or is Russia actually protecting its peacekeepers? Depending on who you ask, that question -- the answer to that question is much different.
LONG: Of course.
Also, we're continuing to follow a story we've followed in great detail for you at this hour, yesterday -- John Edwards' former mistress is saying she does not want a paternity test of her child who is now about five months old. That's after John Edwards, the former senator, said he would take a paternity test.
HOLMES: That's story just keeps getting stranger and stranger. So, we're all over that this morning.
Also, the Simpsons using the Simpsons -- yes, in humor to spread the evangelical. That is in our "Faces of Faith." You sure want to stick around for it.
But as we said, Georgia, we'll start there. Things are changing fast and getting worse in that republic. A U.S. ally is locked in a bloody battle with Russia over the future of a breakaway region there. Russia has now launched new air strikes this morning. LONG: And there are also plans to move more troops and armed vehicles into the Georgian territory. The U.S. is now calling on Russia to stand down.
With more, here is CNN's Elaine Quijano.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush has been getting regular updates on the situation in Georgia as he attends the Olympics here in Beijing. Officials continue to express concern, particularly about Russia's involvement, and the fact that the fighting has now spilled beyond the borders of the South Ossetia region in Georgia. A short time ago, White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino talked to reporters
Here's a little bit of what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are 100 percent focused on solving this peacefully. President Bush does think that the Russian response has been disproportionate. We are very concerned about the innocent people especially inside of Georgia. We respect Georgia's territorial integrity and we expect Russia to do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: President Bush this weekend talked to the president of both Russia and Georgia. President Bush and other top U.S. officials are urging restraint and a cease-fire for the parties involved -- Melissa.
LONG: Elaine Quijano there traveling along with the president in Beijing.
Now, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called his country's response, and I quote now, "totally legitimate." He is calling on Georgia to follow the conditions of the cease-fire. The Russian ambassador to the United Nations laid out those plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Georgian forces must pull out of South Ossetia. They must pull out of the territories which they have taken over in the past few days in this act of military aggression against the South Ossetian people. And then, they must accept a need to sign an agreement on non-use of force with South Ossetians. So, the things which we have been urging them to do for the past few years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Georgia has started moving troops out of the capital of South Ossetia, but as CNN's Matthew Chance has been reporting, many troops are still massing along the roads out of that region.
And we do hope you will stay with us this morning. Of course, this is a developing story we'll be following for you in great detail. Frederik Pleitgen is in Georgia's capital this morning. And he'll be joining in just live in a few minutes from now.
HOLMES: Also, new video we have this morning, beach traffic. A nightmare across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. An accident that happened several hours ago, sent a tractor-trailer over the railing into the water. Check that scene out.
Reporters from the scene say three vehicles were involved; two people had been taken to a trauma center. All traffic has been diverted to one span -- that means huge backups today for people traveling to and from the Delaware and Maryland beaches. The two-span bridge is part of Route 50, one of the major highways to Washington, D.C.
LONG: A grim shadow over the Olympics this morning. Security is on high alert at Beijing's major tourist attractions after the fatal stabbing of an American Todd Bachman. He is the father-in-law of a U.S. men's indoor volleyball coach, Hugh McCutcheon. His team won against Venezuela today but he was not there.
"The New York Times" is now reporting that he doesn't know when or if he'll be able to return to the team. Now, his mother-in-law was also injured in the attack. She is hospitalized in critical, but stable condition this morning in a Beijing hospital after surgery. Officials are still looking for a motive, but they say they think it may have been a random stabbing.
HOLMES: Still, Beijing is trying to assure athletes that the city is safe, despite this violence on day one of the Olympics. The violence happened a day after what may have been the grandest opening ceremony in Olympic history.
LONG: Absolutely.
Emily Chang has more now on the attack in China.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beijing's famous Drum Tower is rain-soaked and closed on a day when it's normally alive with tourists. Foreign media anxiously camped out at the locked doors, a day after a man wielding a knife attacked an American couple -- Todd and Barbara Bachman and their Chinese guide.
The Bachmans were sight-seeing with their daughter Elizabeth, a former Olympic volleyball player and wife of the U.S. men's volleyball coach.
DALE BACHMAN, VICTIM'S COUSIN: I was told that Todd was a few steps behind Barbara and Elizabeth -- and when the attack happened, Barbara heard Todd. She turned, went back toward Todd and that's when she was attacked.
CHANG: Elizabeth wasn't harmed, but was by her mother's side as she went in to surgery with multiple stab wounds. DR. WANG YIPENG, VICTIM'S PHYSICIAN (through translator): Now, the surgery is finished. The patient is under further medical care.
CHANG (on camera): The attacker left to his death from a balcony of the Drum Tower to the ground. Chinese officials have identified him as 47-year-old Tang Yongming, a retired factory worker with no criminal record. They say he left his home in southeast China a week and a half ago, then turned up in Beijing.
(voice-over): His body was carried away in a wooden box. His motive is unknown. A troubling start to the Olympic Games.
President Bush was in town for the competition.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES: Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. And the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs.
CHANG: China has made every effort to ensure the safety of foreign visitors during the Olympics, though Beijing has a relatively low crime rate compared to other international cities, and assaults on foreigners are rare.
The Drum Tower was used to tell time in ancient China, the drums beat to mark the hours. But, for now, this colorful land mark will be known for time it witnessed this crime.
Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, he was running for president not too long ago, but now, he's talking about things like paternity tests. John Edwards says the baby is not his, but his ex-mistress is refusing now to take a paternity test to prove whether or not he actually is the father. Edwards is admitting having an affair with Rielle Hunter in 2006 -- the woman you see there -- but he denies fathering her five-month-old daughter and says he is willing to take that paternity test.
But in a statement, Hunter's lawyer says, I quote here, "She wishes to maintain her privacy and her daughter's privacy. Furthermore, Rielle will not participate in DNA testing or any other invasion of her or her daughter's privacy now or in the future."
Well, he's a former senator and ex-presidential candidate, of course. He was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in '04 but can John Edwards' political career survived his admission that he cheated on his wife and lied about it?
Rick Sanchez posed that question to CNN political editor, Mark Preston.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I will tell you, you know, the biggest unanswered question for me, Rick, and I don't know if we'll ever get any answer to this question, is, you have two brilliant lawyers, John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, making a calculated decision to continue running for the White House to making a bid at a time when they knew that they had this secret and who would have thought that it would have gotten out but if you're running for the White House, clearly you know the odds are greater.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Is he done?
PRESTON: Short term, it's devastating. He is done. Long term, it is still up in the air, Rick, but here's the deal. Even if he does try to make another run for it, what dos he bring to the table? He was only a senator for six years -- of those six years, two of them he was running for president. You know, he's a brilliant lawyer but, again, what does he bring to the table? I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Political editor, Mark Preston, weighing in.
Now, in John Edwards' hometown, the reaction to this news of the infidelity is really ranging from disappointment and disbelief to sympathy and sadness.
CNN's Kathleen Koch reports now from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were fresh vegetables and raw nerves at the farmer's market down the road from John and Elizabeth Edwards' Chapel Hill home as neighbors shared their disappointment over the news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel sadness for him, I feel a lot of sadness for her and I just felt it was heartbreaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was surprised. And disappointed mainly and felt sad for her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My prayers are with her and I hope that she knows that there are people out there who love her and I hope that people -- people also are there for John Edwards himself because he is going through some struggles.
KOCH: Some were less forgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate to say it, but he put his bed and now he's going to lie in it
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you know you're going to be running for office, you know, keep it in your pants. It's just not a smart thing to do. It's ridiculous.
KOCH: Yet others wondered if the nation was overreacting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I mean, it's an embarrassment. It's definitely an embarrassment. But he's human. You know, live and let live.
KOCH (on camera): John and Elizabeth Edwards have put our statements asking for privacy and haven't been seen leaving their home here. The former senator says he'll have no further comment on the affair.
(voice-over): Close friends of the Edwards say they're ready to move on.
JENNIFER PALMIERI, EDWARDS FAMILY FRIEND: I think that they are relieved that they have, that -- you know, that Senator Edwards has done this in very year they put these statements out, that they feel they've answered the questions that they need to do.
KOCH: Still, there could be more questions as more details of the affair emerge.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, remembering one of the original kings of comedy. Family and friends are mourning the death of actor and comedian, Bernie Mac. You see there, this guy.
LONG: It was so shocking to learn this news yesterday.
HOLMES: Yes. We just got that yesterday morning.
LONG: Reflections of his life, his career, and his legacy. And new details about how he died.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello. Good morning again. From the international desk here in our newsroom, where our editors and producers are working several stories happening around the world, certainly one being -- really keeping a close eye on right now to what's happening in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The fighting is going on there between Georgian troops, also Russian troops as well as separatists in that much debated and much fought-over area of South Ossetia.
Our Frederik Pleitgen is actually in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, keeping an eye on what's going on there.
And Frederik, we've been talking over the past couple of days. We talked to the Georgian president yesterday hoping for a cease-fire but it doesn't seem like things are necessarily going in that direction?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (through phone): Well, T.J., they could be now. I mean, what we're seeing earlier this morning is that the Georgian troops have actually come out of the Southern Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali which they had been holding and occupied for the past couple of days. Now, of course, they didn't do this voluntarily. They said that there was a massive influx of Russian tanks and artillery over the night and that's they got heavily bombarded in the night hours and then at around 5:00 a.m. early this morning, Georgian time, they decided to go back and then basically retreat to the outskirts of that city and now they have left that capital of that separatist region altogether.
Now, this is something that the Georgian government tells us is a good gesture of goodwill toward the Russian to see if a cease-fire can be worked out but nevertheless you're absolutely right. This is still something that's very, very far away from a cease-fire.
Both sides are using still very, very strong rhetoric. The Russians are saying that the Georgians were using tactics, a strategy of scorched earth in that separatist region and, of course, the Georgians are accusing the Russians of violating their territory. So, this is still a very, very dangerous situation of course. There is still fighting and bombings going on, but nevertheless, Georgians are saying that now they have pulled their troops out of one of those disputed areas, T.J.
HOLMES: And, Frederik, you talked about that kind of being a gesture there. Have we seen any indication from the Russian side of the gesture by the Georgians, even though you say, yes, maybe they were kind of forced into making this move but the move to withdraw, have we seen any indications that it has been reciprocated in any way by the Russians and, like you said, maybe we are starting to move toward some kind of a cease-fire?
PLEITGEN: Well, it would be very early stages if we are moving towards one. I mean, we haven't really seen much of a reaction from the Russian side yet. The Russian side is even saying they have not received any sort of formal proposal for a cease-fire. They say it's well and good for the Georgians to be saying on media, "Well, we would like to have a cease-fire"; they have not received anything in writing yet.
At the same time, the Georgians are saying that the Russians are escalating the situation by blocking a lot of the Georgian ports and not allowing humanitarian aid goods to come into the country. At the same time, the Georgians are telling us that the Russians are bombing targets not only in that breakaway region of Southern Ossetia but also in other Georgian territories.
And one thing that we've learned this morning which is very interesting or should be very interesting for our viewers, the United States has actually, this morning, evacuated dozens of U.S. citizens from Tbilisi in a convoy that went to Armenia, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Well, I guess, like you said, it certainly will be of interest to our U.S. audience here to hear that Americans are being taken care of and getting out of that dangerous region. Frederik Pleitgen, we appreciate you checking in with us and keeping an eye on things there. We'll check back in with you a little later. Thank you so much. LONG: T.J., of course, he made millions of people laugh and cry sometimes from all the laughter and comedy clubs and movies and on the small screen as well, but there is such sadness this morning over the shocking death of comedian and actor, Bernie Mac.
CNN's Don Lemon now has the highlights from his life and career and the details now on how he passed away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNIE MAC, COMEDIAN: People are (ph) type of (BLEEP) you know.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bernie Mac had a dirty mouth, but, boy, was he funny.
MAC: I just want to have fun.
LEMON: Funny enough to make him a superstar and a box office hit.
Good friend and fellow comedian Steve Harvey was in town attending a parade when Mac died at a Chicago hospital not far away.
STEVE HARVEY, COMEDIAN: I mean, it really, really knocks you down a bit, you know, but, you know, my heart really goes out to his wife of over 25 years, his kids, you know? Bernie was a great family guy man, great family guy. A great father, you know? My heart goes out to those people.
LEMON: His wife Rhonda tells me they were high school sweethearts and married a few years later. "His sense of humor charmed me," she says. "We did not have a thing. He told me, 'Girl, you'd better get on board this train because I'm going to be rich one day.' I said, 'OK.'"
(on camera): Before Hollywood came calling, there was the South Side of Chicago where Bernie Mac honed his comedic skills in comedy clubs like this one, right in his own neighborhood.
(voice-over): It was a true rags to riches story. His wife tells me Mac not only worked the local comedy chic land (ph) circuit as he called it, but to make ends meet, he'd do stand-up on subway trains and would take odd jobs anywhere he could.
In 1990, his big break, Mac won the Miller Lite comedy classic, a $3,000 prize. "As a family, we jumped for joy when he won," his wife says. "We put most of it in the bank and we had a small party." Mac hit the road hard as opening act, then a feature performer. The movie roles came. So did a hit TV show.
Mac came down with pneumonia brought on by a disease he was diagnosed with in 1984, sarcoidosis.
Dee Dee Davis played Mac's daughter on the show.
DEE DEE DAVIS, BERNIE MAC'S CO-STAR: I remember like we had to do scenes without him because he was sick. I didn't know what he was sick with, but I guess it came back and it got worse.
LEMON (on camera): Was this towards the end of the show or?
DAVIS: This was towards like the end.
LEMON (voice-over): He recovered. And the disease went into remission until this summer when he developed pneumonia again. His wife says he went to the hospital three weeks ago on Thursday. He had trouble breathing. He had a fever. His back was hurting.
Doctors induced him into a coma. They expected him to recover. But on Friday, close to midnight, he opened his eyes and Rhonda said, "I know you're tired, but don't leave me." He shrugged his shoulders, closed his eyes and his blood pressure dropped very low. He went into cardiac arrest.
They revived him once for about an hour. They tried reviving him again, and then, she said, "He was gone."
Don Lemon, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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HOLMES: And another person has died from injuries suffered on a charter bus crash in Texas. That brings the death toll now to 17. Twelve people died at the scene of Friday's crash. Federal officials say the bus was operating illegally. Also, a tire that blew out had been retreaded and that is in violation of safety rules.
Our affiliate station talked with one woman who had five relatives on that bus. Her brother's wife was killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KIAH)
THOA TRAN, CRASH VICTIM'S SISTER (through translator): He told me before he blacked out after the crash, he saw his wife's half- crushed body. She was saying to him, "Help me, I don't think I can live." After he woke from a coma, he kept telling us to go find his wife. He had no idea she died and I just couldn't tell him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the bus skidded off the highway and smashed into a guardrail in Sherman, Texas. That's near the Oklahoma state line.
LONG: Now, imagine being trapped in the Empire State Building. Several people were stuck in the landmark building's elevators when the power went out. That stranded people not only on the elevators but also in line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: None of the elevators were working because they had stopped everybody. We just were standing in line for well over an hour and we weren't moving at all. People were just sitting down in lines.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And they didn't explain?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They didn't explain, no. They just said we could have a refund or we could, you know, we could get a refund or leave or we could keep the tickets for good for another day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: I'd rather be in line than stuck on the elevator, though. The observation deck on the 86th floor is a popular tourist attraction. Many people, of course, proposed there as well. Now, people were trapped on the elevators for about half an hour on Friday. The outage happened during some electrical work that was being done on the building.
HOLMES: As kids begin heading back to the classroom, some parents might want to keep them ahead of the financial curve. Here now is CNN's Ali Velshi with this week's "Right on Your Money."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's just (ph) $1.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Introducing your child to the stock market early on may help them go from a corner lemonade stand to cashing in on Wall Street.
TROY DUNN, "YOUNG BUCKS: HOW TO RAISE A FUTURE MILLIONAIRE": It teaches them a quick understanding of profits and losses. Make money, lose money.
VELSHI: Author, Troy Dunn says step one is making it fun. He suggests having kids use their own money to buy a single share of stock in places they like to shop.
DUNN: Kids love Toys "R" Us, kids love Wal-Mart, kids love Disney. So, when you help your child understand that they can actually own a piece of Disney, that's very exciting for a child.
VELSHI: Dunn says the stock market is a great way for kids to learn about more than just map and money
DUNN: They get to figure out overtime is that the world events that are happening that we see on the news and we read about in the newspaper are impacting the money that they have in the stock market.
VELSHI: And parents could profit from the lessons, too.
DUNN: One of the benefits of teaching your child about the stock market is you'll learn right along with them. And who knows, you, as a family, might end up increasing your personal net worth. VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And this horrible news we've been telling you about. A fatal stabbing just as the Olympics gets started.
LONG: Yes. We're learning just who was stabbed to death. And, of course, the woman is recovering this morning. President Bush is also reacting today to the investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. Boy, it is early. It is 7:30 in the morning.
HOLMES: It is still early. Are you awake yet? Are you with us?
LONG: I am, absolutely. Are you awake? Absolutely. 100 percent. I'm Melissa long in today for Betty who hopefully is sleeping in.
HOLMES: She's actually not and she is on a little mission and we will be telling our viewers about it a little later. There's no rest for that young lady. She is always on the go.
Hello to you, all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Have you been in church lately or getting more of your religion from television?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOMER SIMPSON: Sanders? I guess you got some late night problems, too.
SANDERS: Yes. I made a great film but I'm having trouble getting it out there. I'm like Michael Moore except I'm skinny, my jeans are washed and god loves me. I wish I could find some way to spread my message.
SIMPSON: Have you tried checking the oil filter?
SANDERS: Are you even listening to me?
SIMPSON: Sure. I'd be happy to tell you my problems. I've got a venue the whole world will be watching and nothing to fill it with.
SANDERS: Wait a minute. You've got a medium and I got a message. Maybe god brought us together for a reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Really? Religion from Homer Simpson? The man who wrote the book "The Gospel According to the Simpsons" Mark Pinsky. He's going to be joining us live in our "Faces of Faith."
We do have a developing story to tell you about in to us from Toronto. Evacuations under way right now after a series of explosions at a propane facility. That's the last place you want an explosion. Police are ordering people who live in that area to get out. One man says the explosions blew out all of the windows of his home. There are some reports of injuries but so far no reports of any fatalities. We will keep an eye on this story. We'll give you updates as they come into us.
LONG: And this morning, Chinese officials are trying to piece this together. They're combing the scene of that stabbing death in Beijing at a popular tourist spot.
HOLMES: Yes. The victim now we do know is Todd Bachman. He is an American and the father-in-law of the U.S. men's indoor volleyball coach. Here is what we do know about that attack. Officials say a Chinese national stabbed Bachman and his wife and their interpreter before killing himself. Bachman's wife now hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Family members say she was hurt trying to save her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALE BACHMAN, VICTIM'S COUSIN: I was told that Todd was a few steps behind Barbara and Elizabeth, and when the attack happened, Barbara heard Todd. She turned, went back toward Todd, and that is when she was attacked. To me, that was a strong indication of her love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The Bachman's daughter, Elizabeth, witnessed that attack. She was not hurt however. Officials say this attack appears to be random and they don't appear to have been targeted but in the meantime they have stepped up security at several tourist attractions.
LONG: President Bush is in Beijing for the Olympics and he thanked the government for their help in this stabbing investigation. Traveling along with the President is CNN's Elaine Quijano who joins us live from Beijing. Good evening to you, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Melissa. A third day in a row here in China, President Bush raised the issue of religious freedom but today he did so delicately.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): President Bush began his Sunday worshipping at a Protestant church in Beijing.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You know, it just goes to show that god is universal and god is love.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President!
QUIJANO: A devout Christian himself he again prodded China's leaders on religious freedom.
BUSH: No state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion.
QUIJANO: The church officially registered with the Chinese government.
But across China there are thousands of unregistered so-called house churches, illegal under Chinese law whose members can routinely face harassment by Chinese authority. One house church leaders says the president's visit to a registered church actually sends the wrong message.
YU JIE, HOME CHURCH LEADER: I argued that the President should visit the real home church, he says and see what is the real religious freedom in China. President Bush who has been sharply criticized for his visit to China raised the issue of religious freedom during a meeting with Chinese president Hu Jintao though he avoided the pointed language he used just days ago.
BUSH: I had a very uplifting experience by going to a church. As you know, I feel very strongly about religion and I so appreciated the chance to go to church here in Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now critics remain skeptical that any public statement by President Bush here in Beijing will have any affect on the leaders here in communist China but supporters of the President argue that simply by attending the Olympics he's brought enough political capital to at least get the Chinese government to listen. Melissa.
LONG: The President has a busy agenda while in China. And I know he also had the opportunity to speak with our Olympic gold winner Michael Phelps who won gold in the 400 meter?
QUIJANO: That's exactly right. And it was interesting. Because we saw some of the video and, of course, this was a jubilant moment for Michael Phelps as we watched him shake the hands of not only President Bush, but former President Bush as well as he got congratulated for winning the gold medal. But you look at some of the descriptions as Michael Phelps looked up and saw in the stands, not only his mother, but then turned to the American VIP section and cheering him on, of course, President Bush and, the Bush family really. So quite a moment. Certainly a proud moment, and one that we should say the Chinese President even remarked about that he congratulated President Bush for Phelps' victory, so it was quite the big news story here.
LONG: Absolutely. And a tremendous news story for all of us back, of course, stateside here. So many people counting the golds this morning. Elaine Quijano, joining us live from Beijing. Elaine, thank you.
HOLMES: Well, the U.S. is keeping a close eye on intense fighting in the republic of Georgia. The Russian military getting more aggressive with the U.S. ally, have launched new air strikes deeper inside Georgia this morning. Earlier, I spoke with Georgia's president about a possible cease-fire. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Tell us what it will take for a cease-fire to be put in place and for it to hold. Will you, one side need to concede something to the other first?
PRES. MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: We are willing - we are willing. We are willing to do cease-fire immediately provided the other side stop to shoot and to bomb and we are willing to engage, disengage immediately and as soon as they stop to shoot at us, we are willing to take any of first steps required from us, as well as, you know, you spoke about Russian peace-keepers.
We regret for the loss of any human life from all sides even if they were shooting at us. We don't like people to be killed. we don't like people to die. We are a very small nation and these citizens we are talking about that are dying here these are our citizens. These are not some other communities. These are people of my nation and each one of them is valuable for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Also just minutes ago, Georgian official said they have moved all their troops out of that embattled South Ossetia region and that is the first condition of a proposed cease-fire and we were hearing the reporting from our Frederick Pleitgen a short time ago reporting saying, that in fact, the troops have moved out so maybe things are heading in the direction of a cease-fire but, still, pretty early in this process.
LONG: Of course, throughout this crisis in the Republic of Georgia, we've been hearing opposing explanations of about what really has been going on.
HOLMES: Yes. Georgia says Russia invaded its sovereign territory and Russia said it needed to protect its own citizens. Josh Levs, good morning to you.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HOLMES: And certainly that was the case when I was talking to the Georgian president, he certainly put all the onus onto the Russians for this, but, again, it's tough to confirm a lot of the information right now because it's tough for us to get into that region, some of our reporters. But also it's certainly back and forth going on here.
LEVS: It is. And you know what I like to do? Reality checks. This is what is being said here and here are what the facts are and to show you where the truth lies. In this case it's a little more complicated as you know. But what is happening is no one is giving you the full picture. Neither side is giving you the full picture. What we want to do is try to give you that full picture by starting off this with picture which is on the screen behind me.
Let's close in on this map so you can understand some of the basics we're talking about right here. We have this area here highlighted. Let's close in on it, called South Ossetia. Now, this is an autonomous region. This part you're seeing in yellow is an autonomous region. It is inside Georgia. Now, the majority of people here have made clear that they want independence from Georgia. A lot of them also want to reunite with North Ossetia which would effectively make them part of Russia.
Again, Russia supports that. Russia has peace-keepers in South Ossetia and Russia has also put a lot of people in this area on a fast track to citizenship, which gets right up what we were just hearing from the Georgian president. Russia still considers a lot of these people to be Russian citizens in addition to Georgia citizens, effectively dual citizens.
Let's look at a graphic we have now. Violence exploded there last week as you know. Georgia really cracking down on separatists. And Russia's position was this. Russia said we need to protect our peace-keepers and as I was just telling you about civilians/ We need to protect our civilians, hence all those tanks, all those military equipment coming across the border. Now, this is what Georgia says. Georgia say you know what. You're still entering our borders. It may be autonomous but the fact is it's in our borders. This is an invasion and they say that effectively you're furthering violence and that Russia was not just protecting civilians that it was, in the end, furthering violence.
And the violence has since spread to other areas that you've been saying, outside of South Ossetia. We have a little bit of video. Let's take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: It's really been spinning to a crisis, big-time. and I want to end this right now by showing you guys a quote I have from this "Time" magazine story and the story behind me. Let's close in on this quote if we can. We're seeing right here. "Time" magazine says this may be the most serious challenge to the post cold war balance of power since the collapse of the Soviet Union. That's how big this is. So, obviously we're keeping a close eye on it. We're going to continue to do that. we just want you to understand forward. Obviously, you can't take either side at face value. Long and complicated history, getting back to the Soviet era there.
LONG: Absolutely. And our viewers also may be curious about just why this is so important. I mean, this is an important pro- western ally for the U.S.
LEVS: Important pro-western ally. In fact, I think we have one more graph. Let's take a quick look at that. Yes, the key reasons for the United States to care a lot about this. No one wants instability in that region. No one. Well, I'm sure there are people in the world who do but the U.S. and major nations certainly do not. It's also a key oil transit line. There's an oil line pumping a million barrels a day that goes right through Georgia. And they're a key ally in Iraq. And Georgia wants to expand NATO and Russia doesn't really want to see NATO expand into that area. So key reasons the U.S. cares a lot and another reason why Washington is heavily concerned about this and another reason why we will be all over it, guys.
HOLMES: All right. We certainly appreciate you, Josh. We'll be checking in again with you this morning.
LEVS: Thanks.
LONG: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, the Simpsons, a comedy with a lot of religious things.
LONG: Yes, it's an interesting story coming up. What lessons can you learn from the "Gospel According to the Simpsons?" It's an actual book.
HOLMES: Yes, it is.
LONG: We will ask the man behind that best-seller coming up in the "Faces of Faith" segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Did you know I can't even believe the topic we're talking about this morning in our "Faces of Faith." We're turning to an unlikely spiritual source in this morning's segment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Your mouth is open for a soaping, boy. Now, stop asking silly questions and go kill your brother!
HOLMES (voice-over): Go kill your brother! The Simpsons may not be the first TV program to think of when you think of religion but they the cartoon family has been dealing with issues of faith for more than 400 episodes now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That spurred our next guest to write the best-seller, "The Gospel According to the Simpsons." And the author of that book Mark Pinsky joins us now from Orlando. Really? The Simpsons? How in the world do you think religion when you think Simpsons? Tell me how this book came about.
MARK PINSKY, "THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE SIMPSONS": Well it came about when my kids wanted to watch "The Simpsons." They were young. I knew the reputation of the show and I said well, I'll let you watch it but I have to watch it with you to make sure it's OK. And I'm a religion writer by trade and all of a sudden I saw this religion in the show. Here's a family where the dad and the family went to church on Sunday. Their next door neighbor was evangelical. They say grace before meals. They prayed out loud. They read the Bible. Unexpected to me but it turned out there's a lot of religion in this show. And of course, people spend more time in front of their TV screen than in church so it's important in that regard.
HOLMES: You said you weren't expecting this necessarily but the themes jumped out at you. Again, you didn't go into this think maybe I'll get something out of this and maybe there's going to be some religion I can pick up on and I can start writing about. Like you said, you're a religion writer by trade so this stuff was so obvious to you that it just begged for you to put something on paper?
PINSKY: Right. I got into this as a parent and, all of a sudden, you know, for a journalist your personal life tends to fodder for your professional life. And it was unexpected. And I grab my reporter's notepad. First an article and then a book.
HOLMES: And we were talking just a second ago before we came on here and I certainly didn't realize, there have been two other books. People might think this guy is crazy. He's writing about the Simpsons but other books have come after yours dealing with the same theme?
PINKSY: Right. One is the spiritual life kind of Net Flanders that Matt Groening, the creator of the show himself wrote and then most recently there was a book called - just released last month called "The Springfield Revival" by the Divinity students.
HOLMES: Now, Flanders is certainly the religious one and certainly people are familiar with the "Simpsons movie" and also certainly the episodes. It's been around a long time now. But Flanders, is he representative - is he emblematic of a lot of evangelicals out there? Do you think there are a lot of people like this character that are roaming around?
PINSKY: Well, I think Ned Flanders is a character, sort of overdrawn. He is kind of a doofus. He's a little silly. He's overzealous but his heart is so good no matter how much abuse Homer piles on him he always returns it with love. He believes in the social gospel. Yes he is overdrawn. Yes, he's a comic character but he's really beloved by many evangelicals especially on college campuses.
HOLMES: Let's talk about evangelicals. Certainly a big deal maybe on college campuses as well. In this current election cycle now, is there an opening for Obama that maybe wouldn't have normally been there for any other politician, any other democrat I suppose? But does he have a unique opening here and a chance with evangelicals?
PINSKY: He does. I think a portion of the evangelical vote is in play this year. It's a critical portion. I think Obama because he knows how to speak the language of religion, because he acknowledges evangelicals. He's beginning to court evangelicals. I think he has a chance to peel away a percentage of the white evangelical vote in enough red states that he could possibly pick up one or two and the democrats could actually pick up some congressional seats as a result.
HOLMES: And finally and quickly here. He has talent certainly that you speak of there but is it also an issue that many evangelicals not necessarily voting on values this time around. There are some pretty big problems out there that Obama can speak to or any politician can speak to when it comes to the economy and also with the war in Iraq?
PINSKY: Right. In the past they voted for belief and I think this time they are returning voting towards confidence but also there seems to be a split within the evangelical movement with younger evangelicals mirroring what's happening but larger evangelicals are attracted to him, celebrity, charisma, whatever you want to call it. Even though they oppose many of the individual positions that he espouses.
HOLMES: Well, you know, this is certainly an interesting book you have written here. And like you said, there had been a couple that came after yours but we'll see if Ned Flanders ends up being Obama's running mate in this election.
PINSKY: As long as it's not Hillary. If it's Hillary, it's a kiss of death.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness.
PINSKY: In the sun belt they see her as the anti-Christ!
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. Mark Pinsky, again, we certainly appreciate you taking the time with us this morning. Congratulations on the success of the book. We hope to see you maybe for another book down the road.
PINSKY: Thank you for having me.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much. Melissa.
LONG: "Face" becoming a political segment as well this morning. Some live pictures from our affiliate WBAL out of Baltimore, Maryland. You can't see it right now but in a moment you may be able to see a bit of a nightmare this morning for people that may be traveling across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This is video showing you what happened earlier today. Several hours ago, a tractor trailer went over the railing and into the water. Reports from the scene say three vehicles were, in fact, involved and a couple of people needed to be rushed to the trauma center for medical care. So if you happen to be in this area, again, planning to travel the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, you're going to have a headache today, because, of course, this will affect people heading to and from the Delaware and Maryland beaches. Traffic has been rerouted into just one span of the bridge.
These are live pictures again from our affiliate WBAL over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in that accident several hours ago. What would be a lovely day to spend out at the bay. Let's bring in Reynolds Wolf. He's been tracking the weekend forecast and also tracking some rain in the northeast.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And tracking T.J., too.
HOLMES: I'll stick around. WOLF: That's right. And T.J.'s home state of Arkansas. Dude, your state's getting rocked.
HOLMES: A lot of stuff going on there in Arkansas.
WOLF: Yes and we're going to tell you how long this will last, coming up in a few moments. Plus we're going to talk over the northeast getting some flooding there today which is moments away right here on CNN. Sounds good.
HOLMES: Sounds great.
WOLF: All right. See you guys in a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: One of the best parts about driving in for this morning's show is the weather is phenomenal. It's so quiet, and peaceful and cool.
HOLMES: Cool.
LONG: Exactly.
HOLMES: And then you get here and all hell breaks loose.
LONG: In the NEWSROOM?
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: Not too bad, pretty calm today I think.
HOLMES: Well, all right. Our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf in the severe weather station.
WOLF: I know where you're going with that man. I mean you're right, you walk in the door here and it's a happy zoo.
LONG: A happy zoo.
WOLF: We're a bunch of crazy animals and we have a great time. Don't we?
HOLMES: Exactly.
WOLF: Well, this morning in the zoo, we're going to talk about what's happening weather-wise around the country starting off in the northeast, where we have some scattered showers in parts of New York, moving across places like Buffalo, back over to Syracuse, right along i-81. Now the problem with that, is that's going to continue to move eastward in places inundated with heavy water. That means we could see some flooding in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, perhaps even parts of New York as we make a way through Monday evening.
So the rest of today and into Monday, that could be a problem. Also, low and behold. Take a look at this. some scattered showers near Little Rock, Arkansas, and back up to Serusi (ph). What we're going to be seeing here is heavy rainfall through a good part of the and with the rain, we also have, boom, flood watch in effect to this area until 1:00 p.m. Eastern time and in terms of high temperatures around the nation, it is going to be a warm day, big surprise.
Here we are talking of August in Texas and high today in Dallas going up very quickly. You're forecast goes up to 101 degrees, Houston going 96. Kansas City 83. New York with 79. San Francisco with 67 degrees. That is your forecast. Let's send it back to you, guys, at the desk.
LONG: Nice to see Denver cool off a bit, it's been hot there.
HOLMES: Very much so.
WOLF: Oh, yes.
HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you, as always.
LONG: Thank you.
WOLF: I got you.
HOLMES: All right. Precious medals being handed out in Beijing, in China as the home country event right now. Leading the way in gold and our Rick (). Rick, we like Rick.
LONG: That's Rick. We like Rick.
HOLMES: We like Rick.
RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Thanks. I appreciate it. Very nice. Happy Sunday.
LONG: He's blushing, I think.
HORROW: I'm blushing?
HOLMES: We'll see you on the other side.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
HORROW: Yes. Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, gold is great at the Olympics but the gold could turn to green after the Olympics. Our buddy, Rick Horrow, sports business analyst, live from West Palm Beach today in Florida to talk to us about a couple of things happening in the Olympics. Good morning to you, sir. I'll go from that theme of gold to green. Who is winning when it comes to endorsement and who is getting big dollars right about now? HORROW: Well, if Michael Phelps continues, OK, first of all he's making about a million dollars or more on his staple of endorsements today. Hilton, Omega, Kellogg's, Speedo. If he wins the eight, the sky is the limit. Gymnast Sean Johnson, decathlete Brian Gay, the basketball players, for example, we'll see what happens in the next couple weeks. 10,000 athletes in the Olympics. Only a few can be on the endorsement podium. Those are a good start.
HOLMES: OK. Very few, we should say. I mean, we are talking about a handful who can really cash in after this.
HORROW: A handful.
HOLMES: All right. What about corporations? We've been talking about so much controversy. We talked about fog, we talked about unfortunately this horrible incident and it just seems like so many issues that are happening surrounding the Olympics that we're talking about outside of the games, so are corporations still excited about and still want to get involved in this big thing, this big event that is, the Olympics?
HORROW: Well, it better be. They spent $3 billion in activation and ad time. So McDonald's, for example, has 1,000 stores that have opened with China Max, those new burgers and of course, Coke has 2,000 bus signs with their logos on them. Bottom line is, by the way, 300,000 security cameras in China, can't catch everything, an unfortunate incident and so they know how to lock down and they're doing it. Corporations seemed to like what's happening in the first couple of days. We got 15 days to go, my friend.
HOLMES: WE got 15 days to go. Do we have any read on how the ratings are going so far? Are people watching and it's always the timing issue, people can find out the results before it actually happens and things like that, are people watching?
HORROW: Spectacular. I memorized the name of every one of those 2,000 drummers in that opening ceremony and so did everybody. So $1.7 billion in revenues from ads in the television for the IOC, you' better hope they're watching.
HOLMES: You memorized all of the names. Just give me five names right now.
HORROW: No. I'm not going to -- no, I'm not starting. I'm not going there.
HOLMES: Rick, we got to let you go. Buddy, good to see you as always. Thank you so much. Have a good rest of your Sunday.
HORROW: Talk to you next week.
HOLMES: All right. Bye.
LONG: Good morning, good morning, hope you're having a lovely Sunday. It is CNN's SUNDAY MORNING. Coming up on 8:00 in the morning, August 10th. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty. HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad to have you here with us from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Well, an Olympic dream lives on, even after a coach's relative dies in a brutal attack in Beijing. An unfortunate story here, but, yes, the games do go on.
LONG: The victim's wife is still recovering in the hospital this morning. And from terror attacks to team building exercises, survival, second nature.
HOLMES: But we're going to start, however, with things in the Republic of Georgia actually getting worse. The U.S. ally is under increasing attack from Russian forces. Now, those forces are moving deeper into that former Soviet republic.
LONG: We want to make sure you have the very latest this morning. Georgian troops have moved out of South Ossetia, that is the first condition of a cease-fire and that really lit the fuse, of course, that started all the aggression.
HOLMES: In the first place, yes. Also, troops in another breakaway region of Georgia are massing at their border.
LONG: And a Ukrainian official has told CNN they may not allow Russian ships back into their Black Sea ports. Russia, right now, has set up a blockade on Georgia's coastline.
We'll be talking to Frederik Pleitgen coming up a little later. Oh, he's able to join us, I understand. OK, Frederik Pleitgen is joining us live from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
PLEITGEN: Yes, you're absolutely right. The situation here in Georgia still remains very disorderly and we're hearing different things from many different sides. What I can tell you is that, as you've been saying, the Georgian troops have withdrawn their forces from that breakaway province, from the capital of that breakaway province of Tskhinvali.
I have actually been able to talk to some government officials here in Tbilisi and they say they consider this a gesture of goodwill toward the Russians and they say they hope that message is being conveyed to the Russians by the U.S. side.
LONG: Frederik, I wanted to ask you about the infrastructure there. You mentioned at the top of your report that it is awfully disorderly there. Yesterday, when we were talking to Matthew Chance, he arrived by car in Tbilisi because, essentially, the airport was not functioning as it should have been. What sort of communication do you have there in Tbilisi? What type of resources do the residents have access to?
PLEITGEN: Well, Tbilisi is actually OK. I mean, it gets a whole worse once you get to -- more of the regions that have actually been devastated by this conflict and those are really not only the regions in that breakaway province of Southern Ossetia. It's also many of the provinces here in Georgia because, as you know, a lot of them have also been devastated in the fighting that has been going on. Russian warplanes had bombed a lot of villages and many towns outside of Southern Ossetia. So, there are a lot of places that are having to deal with very bad infrastructure.
But, of course, if you get to places like Southern Ossetia, the situation does become even worst than that. We're hearing reports that people there do not have food, people there do not have water, and, of course, people there do not have electricity.
I, actually, was just, a couple of minutes ago, able to visit a refugee camp here in Tbilisi, where people are camping out at a dilapidated school that's not being used anymore, and they, of course, you know, needless to say, they don't have water and they don't have any electricity as well.
And they say what they're trying to do right now getting is their relatives that are trying to buy them food and trying to buy them some sort of warm clothing to protect them in the night because it does get very cold in the night. But, nevertheless, it is very difficult.
LONG: Frederik Pleitgen joining us live from the capital of Tbilisi. Frederik, thank you.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Georgia's president is making strong allegations against Russia, even bringing up war crimes. Earlier, I spoke with the Georgian president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What do you hope to happen now with this fighting? You've asked parliament to issue a state of war. What does that mean? What powers does that give you? And what is next?
PRES. MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: It's not about power bringing to the president. It's all about the reality. The realities that small nation of Georgia is being brutally attacked by big neighbor Russia, and as we speak, there is multiple -- 9 percent of all aerial attacks from Russia, come deliberately targeted at absolutely 100 percent civilian targets.
Today, for instance, and only in one instance, Russian planes destroyed the whole residential quarter, killing hundreds of people in absolutely civilian area. And they've been doing this over and over again.
HOLMES: Well, sir, we can't compare that here at CNN, some of these allegations you're making here, and certainly, the Russians are saying that is not the case and that they did not, they have been there on a peacekeeping mission. I know you disagree with some of this, but we have to tell people what they're saying, this was a Russian peacekeeping mission, they were in there and you all, actually, the Georgians were actually in there targeting some of their peacekeepers.
So, the other side is saying you all started this. SAAKASHVILI: Well, I mean, we, Russia has been massing troops across our borders for several months, and they've been menacing to use them inside Georgia. We had Russian-backed rebels inside our territory, that they have been attacking us over and over and over again, but we only responded after unilateral cease-fire, to their attacks. On few days ago, 150 Russian tanks, APCs and armored vehicles started to me in through the Georgia and Russian border into our sovereign territory.
This is exactly the kind of invasion the Soviet Union did into Afghanistan in '79. This is exactly the kind of invasion they did with Czechoslovakia in '68 and then to Hungary in '56. Every time they were looking -- when they did this, they're looking for some pretext why they would do it. And right now, it's like history we're seeing again, assaulting my own country. You know, it's not about peacekeeping. What they are doing right now is war crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This morning, Russia launched new air strikes, one of them aimed at a military plane plant near the Georgia capital of Tbilisi. We can see Georgian troops there around the scene actually not in this particular picture but, again, some more of the pictures of fighting and of the bombardment that's happening there in Georgia.
Meanwhile, President Bush has been monitoring that situation in Georgia. Meanwhile, he's at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The U.S. is saying relations could suffer. There isn't an immediate end to the aggressions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are 100 percent focused on solving this peacefully. President Bush does think that the Russian response has been disproportionate. We are very concerned about the innocent people, especially inside of Georgia. We respect Georgia's territorial integrity and we expect Russia to do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, on the other side, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says his country's military response is legitimate.
LONG: Of course, while we're celebrating Olympic gold with Michael Phelps, after claiming the gold of 400 meter -- of course, two Americans were attacked during the Olympics in Beijing.
Now, this morning, security is on high alert after the stabbing death of Todd Bachman. He is the father-in-law of the U.S. men's indoor volleyball coach. His wife is hospitalized this morning in Beijing with stab wounds. Now, officials say the attack at the famous Drum Tower in Beijing appears to be random.
Jana Shortal has more. She is with our affiliate, KARE television in Minnesota. That is where the Bachmans live.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, KARE)
JANA SHORTAL, KARE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was difficult to say the very least for Dale Bachman to choose what he will miss most about his cousin, Todd Bachman.
DALE BACHMAN, VICTIM'S COUSIN: I would say his friendship, his knowledge of the family and the business, and really his love and dedication to both.
SHORTAL: Todd was murdered yesterday in Beijing, China. His wife is seriously injured when a 47-year-old man attacked him with a knife while they were touring the Drum Tower with the guide and their daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a former Olympian and is married to the U.S. men's volleyball coach.
Dale Bachman says the U.S. Olympic family has always been family to the Bachmans.
BACHMAN: The U.S. Olympic family is another family for Todd and Barbara. They were very excited about making this trip to China.
SHORTAL: The brutal and senseless murder of Todd Bachman, the CEO of Bachmans here in the Twin Cities casts a dark cloud over day one of Olympic competition in China, a country that has been very focused on showing the world it could put on an Olympic game safely.
But here at home in Minnesota, this tragedy is hard to stomach.
BACHMAN: We are simply overwhelmed with the gratitude and the outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from all over the world.
SHORTAL: When asked about Barbara Bachman, Dale decided there was no better way to describe her than to describe her actions yesterday when her family was under attack.
BACHMAN: I was told that Todd was a few steps behind Barbara and Elizabeth, and when the attack happened, Barbara heard Todd. She turned, went back toward Todd and that's when she was attacked. To me, that was a strong indication of her love. She also is a fabulous woman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Again, she is being cared for this morning in a hospital in Beijing. That report coming from our affiliate there in Minneapolis, the hometown of the Bachmans.
Now, of course, historically politics and Olympics do not mix. Josh Levs will be along just a few minutes to explain exactly what the International Olympic Committee, the IOC, considers an inappropriate protest.
HOLMES: A developing story out of Toronto. Authorities have evacuated a neighborhood near a propane facility after a series of huge explosions. Check out the scene here. One man says the force of the explosions blew out all the windows in his home. Some reports we do have of injuries but so far we do not have reports of any fatalities.
Well, he made millions of us laugh so hard, we literally cried. There are tears of sadness now this morning over the death of comedian and actor Bernie Mac.
CNN's Don Lemon has highlights from Bernie Mac's life and career and new details on just how he died.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNIE MAC, COMEDIAN: People are (ph) type of (BLEEP) you know.
LEMON (voice-over): Bernie Mac had a dirty mouth, but, boy, was he funny.
MAC: I just want to have fun.
LEMON: Funny enough to make him a superstar and a box office hit.
Good friend and fellow comedian Steve Harvey was in town attending a parade when Mac died at a Chicago hospital not far away.
STEVE HARVEY, COMEDIAN: I mean, it really, really knocks you down a bit, you know, but, you know, my heart really goes out to his wife of over 25 years, his kids, you know? Bernie was a great family guy man, great family guy. A great father, you know? My heart goes out to those people.
LEMON: His wife Rhonda tells me they were high school sweethearts and married a few years later. "His sense of humor charmed me," she says. "We did not have a thing. He told me, 'Girl, you'd better get on board this train because I'm going to be rich one day.' I said, 'OK.'"
(on camera): Before Hollywood came calling, there was the South Side of Chicago where Bernie Mac honed his comedic skills in comedy clubs like this one, right in his own neighborhood.
(voice-over): It was a true rags to riches story. His wife tells me Mac not only worked the local comedy chic land (ph) circuit as he called it, but to make ends meet, he'd do stand-up on subway trains and would take odd jobs anywhere he could.
In 1990, his big break, Mac won the Miller Lite comedy classic, a $3,000 prize. "As a family, we jumped for joy when he won," his wife says. "We put most of it in the bank and we had a small party." Mac hit the road hard as opening act, then a feature performer. The movie roles came. So did a hit TV show.
Mac came down with pneumonia brought on by a disease he was diagnosed with in 1984, sarcoidosis.
Dee Dee Davis played Mac's daughter on the show.
DEE DEE DAVIS, BERNIE MAC'S CO-STAR: I remember like we had to do scenes without him because he was sick. I didn't know what he was sick with, but I guess it came back and it got worse.
LEMON (on camera): Was this towards the end of the show or?
DAVIS: This was towards like the end.
LEMON (voice-over): He recovered. And the disease went into remission until this summer when he developed pneumonia again. His wife says he went to the hospital three weeks ago on Thursday. He had trouble breathing. He had a fever. His back was hurting.
Doctors induced him into a coma. They expected him to recover. But on Friday, close to midnight, he opened his eyes and Rhonda said, "I know you're tired, but don't leave me." He shrugged his shoulders, closed his eyes and his blood pressure dropped very low. He went into cardiac arrest.
They revived him once for about an hour. They tried reviving him again, and then, she said, "He was gone."
Don Lemon, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: What a loss, a true superstar.
HOLMES: He was. I went home yesterday and put on "The Original Kings of Comedy" and skipped right to his part. And he didn't give you a break during his standup. He just kept at you. He didn't give you a break to stop laughing.
LONG: A full experience, right?
HOLMES: He just kept coming at you. He's coming at you. You just were in stitches the whole time.
LONG: I bet there will be a lot of people doing what you did yesterday, going home to look at some of the older clips.
HOLMES: Absolutely. So, you just couldn't (INAUDIBLE) but such a talent, he's going to be missed.
Next up here, though, we're going to be talking about healing some emotional scars.
LONG: Yes. This camp that is teaching young terrorism victims to trust again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We have some new video to show you this morning. Beach traffic, a nightmare across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge after a fatal accident early this morning, that sent a tractor trailer over the railing and into the water. At least one person is killed here.
LONG: You might be able to see all traffic being diverted to a single span. That, of course, will lead to the headache and the backup today for people traveling to and from the beaches in Delaware and Maryland. The two-span bridge is part of Route 50, one of the major highways, back and forth to Washington, D.C.
Another person has died from injuries suffered in a charter bus crash in Texas. The death toll is 17 now. Twelve people died at the scene of Friday's crash. Federal officials are saying the bus was operating illegally, when it skidded off the highway and then smashed into a guardrail in Sherman, Texas.
HOLMES: Well, next here. We're talking about the young victims here. Their parents were killed by terrorists.
LONG: They are young victims that are trying to let go of their anger and trying to trust again. It's happening at a first of its kind camp that is called "Project Common Bond."
Mary Snow has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This exercise may appear to have nothing to do with battling terrorism, but for these kids, it's a step toward building trust.
They are the children of 9/11, the bombings in Madrid and in London, and victims of terrorism in Israel. Each had a family member killed or seriously wounded. For the first time, they've been brought together in a camp called "Project Common Bond."
They share the mundane...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all like swimming.
SNOW: And there's a reason they've traveled to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess that needs to get out to the woods. Everyone lost someone.
SNOW: Martin Hart was 17 when his father was killed in the London bombings three years ago. He left the subway that was attacked only to be blown up by a suicide bomber on a bus.
MARTIN HART, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: If it's a normal situation. It's hard but you know terrorism just tears a family apart, but you just got to stay strong.
SNOW: Staying strong means addressing their anger. Carolyn Iskyan's father was killed in the World Trade Center.
CAROLYNN ISKYAN, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: Where do you get off by just deciding one day to drive a plane into a building and killing all of these people and it was like yes, I was angered at them, I was angry at my dad for going to work, I was angry at people for not stopping it.
SNOW (on camera): What do you do with it?
ISKYAN: I talk about it.
SNOW (voice-over): It's a bond Evyatar Alush didn't expect to find in the United States, a terror shot his parents inside a toy store in Israel, killing his father and injuring his mother who escaped with his little brother.
EVYATAR ALUSH, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: (INAUDIBLE) was really young, like the age of six when our father died. I thought that terrorism is only in Israel.
SNOW: Well, at times, they are just kids.
The camp also aims to create a generation of leaders dedicated to fighting terrorism. George Tarr's father was killed by rebels in Liberia's longest running civil war.
GEORGE TARR, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: We have to understand them as well in order to, like, bring peace into our life and into their life as well.
SNOW: The project was run by Tuesday's Children, an organization for 9/11 families. It joined forces with similar groups, like one in Israel run by Jacob Cinci (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to look at the terrorists and say you didn't win. We're together now and we're going to take to you a better place.
SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: A lot of people that are unhappy with China's government and its human rights abuses have been attempting to use the games in Beijing to try to get their messages out.
HOLMES: Yes. But what if dissent shows up in the Olympic village or maybe even on the podium for the medals ceremony? The Olympic charter has a few things to say about all that.
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LONG: It's a good jingle.
HOLMES: You seemed to be like in a jingle this morning. You feel like dancing on this Sunday morning?
LONG: I mean, you can dance. I'll follow, your lead.
HOLMES: All right. We -- this music, I don't know if it necessarily goes along with this theme here but we're talking about the Olympics again and we knew it was going to happen. It already has been happing. People are trying to use the summer games as a platform to express their disapproval of the Chinese government. There's your music again.
LONG: Peppy. We bring in Josh Levs now. He's going to talk about now that the games are under way, the focus is shifting to the athletes. And what if they decide to protest, Josh?
HOLMES: Josh, you got to answer this.
LEVS: Yes. I know it's a serious topic but I really like that music, too.
LONG: You want to dance? (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: That's breaking one of my cardinal rules, that's never going to happen on camera (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: Go ahead, Josh.
LEVS: Yes. It sure is not going to happen.
HOLMES: You can do it, Josh.
LEVS: OK. I got you.
Hi, everybody. What's going on? We've been following this for months, right this thing, the Olympic Charter, and this is what comes into play right now. This is a cover of what you can see it online. And now, the big question is: will athletes decide to use this opportunity, the eyes of the world to make a statement in China -- that's about religion, for religious freedom or political freedom. This charter has some key things to say about.
Let's go to this first quote we have in a graphic for you. It says this, "No kind of demonstration or political religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."
Then, the Olympic committee sent out this letter clarifying, look what they wrote, "The conduct of participants at all sites, areas and venues includes all actions, reactions, attitudes or manifestations of any kind by a person or group of persons, including but not limited to," look at this last part, "their look, external appearance, clothing, gestures, and written or oral statements."
And one more thing, they added this last screen here, "As in all Olympic Games, such conduct must also, of course, comply with the laws of the host state."
Now, Olympic leaders say they understand the value of freedom of expression, but at sometime during the Olympics, there will be that freedom. They've also said for months that there are good reasons to follow this rule.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APRIL 10)
JACQUES ROGGE, IOC PRESIDENT: If we let athletes or coaches or officials use the opening or the closing ceremony or the podium ceremony as a way to express these divides, this will be the end of the spirit of the Olympic Games.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: (AUDIO BREAK) a close eye on this, this right behind me is the most famous protest in history of the Olympics in 1968 in Mexico City. We'll keep a close eye and see if there are any protests at the games by athletes this time around, and if so, what happens to them. That will be ruled, guys, primarily by the Olympic Charter.
HOLMES: All right, and really at some point, you told us about the Olympic Charter. It's a pretty thick document. You show us that (ph) once before.
LEVS: Yes, months ago. And now, this got into play (ph). So, yes, we had to kind of piece through it, see which was the operative graph, and that was it.
HOLMES: I mean, by all means.
LONG: Just a sneaky suspicion he has it all memorized, too.
HOLMES: He does that. He doesn't have time to learn how to dance. I'm just kidding, Josh. You the man, love you.
All right. We will turn now to Michael Phelps. We expected him to be and certainly he already is now the talk of the Olympic Games for winning a gold medal and setting a new world record and he is just getting started. Also, the U.S. men's basketball team set to tip off soon.
Our Larry Smith is live in Beijing this morning.
Larry, good to see you again. Again, good evening to you there and Michael Phelps, how do you just keep breaking these world records? How do you set record after record after record? This guy is amazing.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And how cool is this guy, too? I mean, how cool is it not to only win a gold medal but immediately afterwards, you look up in the stands and there is the president nodding his approval in your direction?
That is how this Sunday began for Michael Phelps, the 23-year-old from Baltimore, he shattered his own world record as he dominated the competition and winning the 400-meter individual medley. Now, that was this morning Beijing time, and it happened hours just 15 hours after he swam in the preliminaries. And then eight hours after winning the gold, he was back in the pool tonight, finishing only second in his hit (ph) for the men's 200-meter freestyle.
But don't be concerned, he swims in the semifinal tomorrow and in the finals the next day. So, Michael Phelps is hopefully will get his strength back after swimming three times in 24 hours.
He met with President Bush later and the president told him, "What a thrill it is to root for you." We're all rooting for Dara Torres as well. She made Olympic history today by becoming the oldest swimmer ever and the 41-year-old anchoring the women's 4x100-meter relay team to a silver medal. It's the 10th Olympic medal for Torres and her fifth summer games. It's incredible.
Men's basketball, the USA tipping off at about two hours from now against host China, and this nation is full of NBA fans. That should be a great atmosphere.
Officially, USA's motto is "United We Rise" but unofficially, they're being called "The Dream Team," looking to make amends at a disappointing showing in Athens four years ago, with the collection of NBA multi-millionaires could only come up with a bronze medal.
But this is Kobe Bryant's first Olympics, looking to bring home the gold as the NBA's MVP, taking on Yao Ming and the Chinese team.
One quick story, two from across the pond, it's a pretty good one. Her name is Nicole Cook. She's 25 years old, one of the top cyclists in the game. She's won two women's Tour de France's and she won the women's road race today despite the torrential downpours. So, very good for her. Great Britain's first medal of these games -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. It sounds good, sounds like a good start. It always helps to have Kobe Bryant on your team when you're trying to win something.
Larry Smith for us in Beijing.
SMITH: Absolutely.
HOLMES: Enjoy. We'll be checking in with you again. Thank you, buddy.
LONG: Breaking news story out of Toronto this morning. Some evacuations to tell you about. Some new pictures, live pictures we want to share with you from CBC out of Toronto, Ontario -- explosions happening this morning at a propane company. That has prompted local officials there, of course, to evacuate citizens that happened to be in the area.
First part of the explosion was early this morning when everyone was fast asleep, about 3:50 in the morning. There were some earlier reports of injuries but no reports of fatalities.
Here's some video, we wanted to make it a point to show you this morning. Again, police have not said how many people have fled the area. Evacuation buses are seen taking people away of course from the scene. Propane explosion in Toronto, big story we're following for you this morning on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
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