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Shootdown & Bombings; Baghdad Kidnappings; Sudan Sanctions; Diana Documentary; U.S. Sanctions For Sudan
Aired May 29, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn't want them to hear that. They didn't want them to hear the other side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If that means believing there were dinosaurs on Noah's arc, then so be it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins today.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
A U.S. helicopter shot down near Baquba, Iraq. The pilots killed. Six members of a quick reaction force also lose their lives on the way to the crash site.
NGUYEN: Tragedy in Darfur. President Bush puts new penalties on Sudan hoping to stop what he calls genocide in east Africa.
HARRIS: Disrespectful documentary. A new television special on Princess Diana's death will show her body in the crashed car. It is Tuesday, May 29th, and you are in the NEWSROOM.
New developments out of Iraq. Eight U.S. troops killed. The deadly chain of events began with a helicopter shot down near Baquba. U.S. forces rushing to the scene, hit by deadly roadside bomb. CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Baghdad.
Paula, if you would, walk us through what happened.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the information we have from a U.S. military official is that on Monday this happened near Baquba in the very volatile Diyala Province just northeast of Baghdad. A helicopter with two pilots was shot down, they believe by small arms fire, according to this official. And then afterwards, when a quick response force went to the scene, one of the vehicles hit a roadside bomb.
Now we understand from this official five U.S. soldiers were killed in that one particular vehicle. And a second vehicle was also hit. We understand one person was killed in that vehicle and three more wounded. So on Memorial Day, eight more U.S. soldiers were killed, three more injured in this very volatile area. And, once again, a helicopter being shot down. It is not unusual, unfortunately, in this area. This year alone we've had at least nine U.S. helicopters being shot down, at least 30 military personnel being killed within those attacks.
Tony.
HARRIS: And, Paula, what about the kidnaping that happened this morning at an Iraq finance ministry building?
HANCOCKS: Now the details of this are very sketchy at this point. And a lot of them contradictory. But what we think we know is that there was certainly a kidnapping at this one Iraq finance ministry building in Baghdad itself on Palestine Street. This is north central Baghdad. And we understand from some officials that three people were kidnapped.
Now it's not certain which nationality they were of. We understand the British foreign ministry is looking into the fact they could have been British. We understand the German foreign ministry also looking into this issue. We did speak to the ministry of interior. And he said he's setting up an investigation, a committee to find out what exactly happened.
So very sketchy details coming in at this point. Most reports saying that they were westerners. And two of them were from a private security force looking after one particular person. So at this point it really is very sketchy, but we'll try and get more details later in the day.
HARRIS: OK. CNN's Paula Hancocks for us in Baghdad.
Paula, thank you.
The new casualties make this month a deadliest of the year for the U.S. One hundred and twelve American troops have died so far in May. The deadliest months for U.S. troops took place in 2004. One hundred thirty-seven Americans died in November of that year. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq War now stands at 3,463.
Also today, dozens killed and wounded as car bombs rocked Iraq's capital. One blast near a police checkpoint, the other an hour later at a Baghdad street market. In all, at least 38 people dead, almost 100 wounded.
NGUYEN: President Bush on the road today and on the stump for immigration overhaul. Congress is considering a compromise bill. But the loudest critics, conservatives. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now from Georgia.
First, Elaine, let's talk about the president putting those new sanctions on Sudan this morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
Good morning to you, Betty. President Bush is trying to turn up the heat essentially on the government of Sudan after what he says has been a long pattern of obstruction by that country's president, Omar al-Bashir. The president almost three years ago the Bush administration labeling the violence in western Sudan, particularly the Darfur region, as genocide. Specifically the government-backed attacks by Arab militia men against African villages. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Millions of people have been displaced.
Today President Bush at the White House before leaving announced the U.S. is expanding and tightening economic sanctions against Sudan, targeting in particular 31 countries and three individuals. President Bush today also called on Sudan's leadership to allow international peacekeepers into the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I call on President Bashir to stop his obstruction and to allow the peacekeepers in and to end the campaign of violence that continues to target innocent men, women and children. And I promise this to the people of Darfur, the United States will not overt our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Why now? Well, the White House says that the president had intended to make an announcement about taking these steps back in April, but the U.S. held off in order to allow the United Nations to continue its diplomatic efforts. But White House Spokesman Tony Snow a short time ago on Air Force One telling reporters the Sudanese government has not changed its stripes.
Betty.
NGUYEN: Elaine, the president is in Georgia this afternoon to talk about immigration. What's on the agenda?
QUIJANO: He's going to be visiting a federal law enforcement training center. And, specifically, as you noted, trying to essentially round up support for this immigration bill which is so controversial, particularly for conservatives who look at some of the provisions as amnesty. Well, today the president's going to push back against that notion. He's going to stand side by side and talk about how as part of what he says is necessary comprehensive immigration reform, there also will be a border security component. So look for that when the president arrives here in Georgia and tours the facility.
Also, we understand, the president will be getting a briefing about the wildfires in this region. So a lot on the agenda today.
Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Elaine Quijano.
Thank you, Elaine.
HARRIS: Live pictures now of New York Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton making what we understand her campaign is calling a major policy address this morning on the campaign in Manchester, New Hampshire, this morning. Again, making what is called by her campaign a major policy address on the economy. We will monitor the speech and we will bring you a couple of her comments. We'll search for news in her comments and bring those to you a little later this morning in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Right now, though, Iowa also getting some attention in the '08 race. Democratic candidate Barack Obama unveils his universal healthcare plan just a short time ago now from Iowa City. Now in remarks obtained by the Associated Press, Senator Obama says his plan will make healthcare available to all Americans and will save the average consumer $2,500. He calls on the government, businesses and consumers to share the cost.
On the Republican side of this race, Mitt Romney is spending another day in New Hampshire. Yesterday he met with veterans and heard the story of a national guardsman who hasn't been able to get help for a broken foot since returning from Iraq two years ago.
Well, the candidates debate in the first real battleground in the campaign. That's live next week right here on CNN. The Democrats face off on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The Republicans at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. And you will see it live only on CNN.
HARRIS: The Fort Dix terror plot. Six people charged in the alleged scheme to attack a New Jersey Army base. Police tipped off to the group by a video clerk who saw something disturbing on a film brought in by two of the suspects. Brian Morgenstern now going public with his story speaking for the first time with AMERICAN MORNING's John Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN MORGENSTERN, FORT DIX TIPSTER: It was more of a moral dilemma at that point. I thought about whether or not it should be reported. I actually waited that night and weighed out my decisions. I went home. I talked to my family about it. Thought, you know, their input would be very helpful in the situation. They agreed with me. And the next day I went into work and I told the management at the time that I was going to make the call. And they supported me. Circuit City has been very supportive on this whole situation. And I called the police.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And what happened? What did the police say when you called them?
MORGENSTERN: The police came over. They took a look at the film.
ROBERTS: So they treated this pretty seriously right from the start? MORGENSTERN: Everybody has been very professional about this. And they came over and they looked at the video and they stopped it at one point and said, OK, this is serious. We need a copy.
I don't feel like a hero, to be honest with you. I feel like I did the right thing. But I think the real heroes are men and women overseas and the people in our law enforcement who handled this situation.
ROBERTS: Do you have concerns for your security even now?
MORGENSTERN: There are concerns, yes. But I think that me being present is more important than my security right now at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Morgenstern also saying that the whole thing feel as little unreal, like something out of a movie.
NGUYEN: Well, a frightening holiday on the beach along parts of Florida's east coast. Lifeguards had to pull hundreds of swimmers to safety after they were swept offshore by rip currents. Two hundred rescues at Cocoa Beach in just a three-hour period.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
: And the waves kept coming and kept coming. And they kept coming like hitting on top of me. (INAUDIBLE) salt water, I ran out of breath and I didn't have anything in me. So I started screaming for help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Rip currents also serious in Daytona Beach. Dozens of swimmers are rescued there.
HARRIS: Hey, Chad Myers, give us a little rip current 101 here. When and where do they occur?
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. So it's not easy walking in high heels in an evening gown, right?
HARRIS: Tell me about it.
NGUYEN: Just ask Miss USA.
HARRIS: Ow!
NGUYEN: Ow! You haven't been there, Tony, have you?
HARRIS: Looks like there's a mini tramp back there. You see the way she popped up?
NGUYEN: You've got to get back up. HARRIS: Yes, you do.
NGUYEN: She's probably hating life right about now. But that's OK. We'll just play it another 20 times before the day's over. But we want to tell you that Miss Rachel Smith, Miss USA, took a tumble last night. You're not looking at her right now.
HARRIS: No.
NGUYEN: This is the winner.
HARRIS: Right.
NGUYEN: But Miss USA did take that tumble while competing in the Miss Universe Pageant in Mexico City and she ended the evening as fourth runner-up. Japan's Riyo Mori took home the title. You saw her there. She says she hopes to open an international dance school some day. Maybe Miss USA can take a few lessons.
HARRIS: Well, why Miss USA? Why is she the one? All the other countries participating in the pageant and she's the one who falls?
NGUYEN: It was not a good night for -- then when she was doing the interview process, they booed her.
HARRIS: They booed her.
NGUYEN: The audience booed her. So, poor thing. I mean, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. And, of course, we're going show the video of it.
HARRIS: A hundred and fifty times today, right here in the NEWSROOM.
Still to come this morning, this woman, what a story this is. Lost her husband in Iraq. Now she's joining the army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I can't save everybody. I'm not an idiot. But even if it's just that one person, it will be worth it. If they don't have to feel what I feel today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Grieving, her way, in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Ten years after a Paris crash, a documentary will show Princess Diana's body inside the car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It is a particularly sick gimmick.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Outrage in Britain. We have it here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Growing protests in Venezuela. Students now leading the chants against President Hugo Chavez upset over the loss of an opposition voice. That story coming up for you in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Coming up, crisis in Darfur. President Bush says it is genocide. Today he announces new steps to try to end the killing. Details in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the markets are up and running on this Tuesday. And a pretty good day so far. The Dow is up 31 points. Oh, just changed to 32. And taking a look at the Nasdaq. It is up 13 points for this Tuesday.
HARRIS: A journalist seriously wounded in Iraq. CBS' Kimberly Dozier suffered multiple injuries, including shrapnel lodged in her brain. Her camera crew and the sergeant leading the way all killed in the blast. The attack that nearly killed her came just about one year ago. Now she is well into her recovery and ready to tell the story in a new documentary. She talked about it with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CBS NEWS: We were all out of our humvees. And we were walking up and down the street look for people to talk to. Captain Funkhouser (ph) spotted a whole bunch of Iraqis. His translator, Sam, was already talking to them. They were at a tea stand at the corner. So he sort of shot ahead of me. We'd been walking side by side. And he got just level with the tea stand. I saw my camera crew, Paul and James, moving into position to get that shot of a soldier in full battle rattle with his gun walking up to these people, hand outstretched to say "salam alaikum." That is the instant that I remember the bomb going off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy. Dozier's documentary airs on CBS tonight and "Larry King Live" can be seen week nights right here on CNN at 9:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Baghdad car bomb. One of several attacks taking dozens of lives, including eight American GIs. We have that story here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Disrespectful documentary. A British broadcaster facing criticism this morning over a decision to show pictures of Princess Diana taken right after her death, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: New controversy over Princess Diana's death. Some say an upcoming documentary is way over the line. CNN's Phil Black has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Just minutes after leaving the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana lay unconscious, dying within the wreckage of this car. For almost 10 years, the British media has adhered to an unwritten code, not to publish or broadcast photographs taken of the princess after the accident. But now one British TV network is breaking ranks and it's caused quite a stir.
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It is a particularly sick gimmick. They're only interested in extraordinary amounts of publicity and that they have already got.
BLACK: The Channel 4 documentary "Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel," includes an image of a doctor attempting to treat the princess at the scene. An image CNN does not have the rights to broadcast. The producers have obscured her face and body. That's still offensive according to the opposition conservative party.
ED VAIZEY, BROADCAST MINISTER: If they decided to black out Diana's face because they recognize the photographs are sensitive, then they shouldn't show the photographs at all. I don't think they can have their cake and eat it.
BLACK: Channel 4's executive insist their use of the photograph is sensitive and necessary, telling CNN, "there was a very conscious decision on our part taken when we set out on this project that we wouldn't be showing any images of the occupants of the car." A similarities image has already been shown by another U.S. network and an Italian magazine.
The British public will form their own judgment when the program is aired next week. Almost a decade since the nation first grieved for Diana, this outrage shows her death can still provoke powerful emotions.
In a statement, Diana's sons, William and Harry, say they want their mother to be allowed to rest in peace. But in the countdown to the anniversary of her death, this documentary is unlikely to be the only re-examination of that night in Paris 10 years ago.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Widowed by war after losing her husband. This woman says she has a job to do in Iraq. We have her story, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Let's turn our attention to Sudan right now. Two hundred thousand believed dead. Millions forced from their homes today. President Bush announced new sanctions against the Sudanese government aimed at ending the misery in Darfur.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're working for the day when the families of this troubled region are allowed to return safely to their homes and rebuild their lives in peace. The people of Darfur are crying out for help and they deserve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And joining us now from the State Department, Andrew Natsios, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan.
Andrew, great to see you. Thanks for your time this morning.
ANDREW NATSIOS, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN: Nice to see you.
HARRIS: A sanctions program the president announced this morning against Sudan, 31 countries, three individuals. What are the allegations against these countries and these individuals? What kinds of behaviors were they involved in with the government of Sudan?
NATSIOS: Well, it's not countries, it's companies.
HARRIS: Companies, OK. Thank you. Thank you for the clarification.
NATSIOS: It's 31 companies.
HARRIS: OK.
NATSIOS: They are companies that are, in fact, owned partially or wholly by the Sudanese government. They are providing revenues to the Sudanese government that allow them to prosecute the war. There is one company that has violated the arms embargo that was imposed on Sudan by a security council resolution. And so they are part of the Sudanese government or extension of it economically.
The three individuals that were sanctioned, one of them is a rebel leader, who is an Islamic fundamentalist and, in fact, has been stonewalling the peace negotiations. And the two individuals in the Sudanese government helped orchestrate and carry out the atrocities of 2003 and 2004.
HARRIS: Talk to us about the significance of the move right now.
NATSIOS: Well, we agreed last November 16th to an international -- 30 countries were there -- international plan that the Sudanese government approved to bring 20,000 U.N. and African union peacekeeping troops to Darfur to stabilize the situation, because the 6,000 or 7,000 that are there now from the African union are wholly inadequate. And the Sudanese government were there. They sat in front of me at the meeting. They have stonewalled the implementation of his step by step.
The issues that are still outstanding from last November are outstanding now.
And so, we really haven't made a lot of progress. The Sudanese government is very good at delaying and obstruction tactics. And they have been for many years.
HARRIS: Why, why, why? That's a question that we're all asking, why the stonewalling? What is it that the Sudanese government is trying to achieve here?
NATSIOS: The Sudanese government believes if there are U.N. troops under U.N. command and control even with the A.U., they will start arresting people for war crimes trials. So, they're actually -- they believe this threatens the regime to have these U.N. troops in there.
And I might add that that is not what the security council resolution says. That is not what the Addis Abbuba (ph) protocol says from last November 16th. These are sort of paranoid fears. The reality is, though, terrible crimes were committed and they know it.
HARRIS: Yes.
NATSIOS: And I think some of them are very, very nervous that they're going to be held to account. They see what happened to Charles Taylor, what happened to Malosovitch (ph), what happened to Saddam Hussein. And they said to me, it's not going to happen to us.
HARRIS: Has the U.N. effort to bring Sudan, the Sudanese government in line, has the U.N. effort failed to this point?
NATSIOS: Well, it hasn't failed, but it's -- the Sudanese government is obstructing each step of that process. I think Ban Ki- moon has done an admirable job in trying under very difficult circumstances as Kofi Annan had prior to this when he was still secretary general last year. We believe that the U.N. effort, A.U. effort, the African Union effort, is the only way to get the peace- keeping troops in there, one, and to get a political settlement.
The United States supports the U.N.-A.U. political and peacekeeping operation. But we think that unless some really aggressive measures are put in place of the kind that the president announced this morning, that the Sudanese government will find ways of delaying and obstructing Ban Ki-moon's diplomacy. We need Ban Ki- moon's memo that he sent last week for phase three, the most critical and controversial of the peacekeeping package that was sent to President Bashir last Thursday, we need to have it approved by President Bashir now.
HARRIS: China: helpful, unhelpful in efforts to bring Sudan to toe, to heel here?
NATSIOS: I -- I went to Beijing in January at the president's request. We agreed that our objectives are the same. The Chinese practice diplomacy a little differently than we do. They're not as public or visible. I think they've actually been very constructive. And I can give you a number of instances where's that's happened. The Chinese have invited me back in the last few weeks to go to Beijing. I intend to do that. President Bush thinks that's a good idea and so does Secretary Rice.
We think the Chinese can be critical in this. And their position has been evolving as the Sudanese government has become more obstructionist.
HARRIS: The president has ordered with (ph) Secretary General Condoleezza Rice to write up a draft resolution to be presented to the U.N. Security Council as you know. Here's the question. Did the president get ahead of the Security Council in making this announcement this morning and if so, did he lesson the chances of winning approval for the resolution or full implementation once the resolution is put in place?
NATSIOS: I actually think it will facilitate the resolution, his actions today. I might add that any member of the Security Council, particularly the prominent five, can propose a resolution any time they want to on any issue, and that's what we're doing. But we're going to do it with other countries, the British and the United States have been working on this together.
I know the French government is very interested. Bernard Kouchner is a great humanitarian figure, he's the new Foreign Minister of France. He's already proposed some things privately that indicate France is going to be much more active on this issue. And so, there are a number of things going on diplomatically, quietly, that would indicate to us that the Security Council and our allies around the world in Africa, among Arab countries, are ready for tougher action.
HARRIS: Andrew Natsios, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan. Andrew, thanks for your time this morning.
NATSIOS: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, there is more heartbreak from Iraq as the U.S. death toll rises. The latest attacks coming to light this morning. Eight U.S. troops killed near Baquba. The chain of events began with the helicopter shot down on Monday. U.S. forces racing to the scene hit by deadly roadside bombs. The fatalities, both chopper pilots and six soldiers from the quick reaction force.
Now to Baghdad, dozens dead and wounded in a pair of car bombings. One struck a street market, the other targeted a police checkpoint. In all, at least 38 dead, almost 100 wounded. And also today, a brazen kidnapping at a government building in Baghdad. Government sources say at least three people were snatched from a finance ministry building. The nationalities of those kidnapped, well, that's not yet released.
HARRIS: New questions today about several presidential hopefuls. Did any read a key intelligence report before a vote to support the war in Iraq?
CNN's Mary Snow investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democrat Hillary Clinton was grilled on the campaign trail last month about whether she read the classified national intelligence estimate on Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you read it?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I was briefed on it, I was briefed -- I was briefed on it.
SNOW: A spokesman says, "Senator Clinton was briefed multiple times by several members of the administration on their intelligence regarding Iraq, which included the classified aspects of the NIE." Clinton was not alone in not reading the roughly 90-page classified report, assessing Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction.
A spokeswoman for a Republican Senator John McCain says, "Senator McCain was briefed on the NIE numerous times and read the Executive Summary."
John McLaughlin, former deputy director of the CIA says the report raised questions about Iraq's ability to develop weapons of mass destruction.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think if someone read the entire report, they would walk away with the belief that the intelligence community thought there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but that there were serious differences expressed on a number of points.
SNOW: Now a CNN contributor, McLaughlin says dissenting views by the State Department, Department of Energy, and the Air Force made up about 10 to 12 pages of the report. Critics say they were not prominently highlighted.
In order for members of Congress to read the report, they would have to physically go to a secure location on Capitol Hill. The "Washington Post" reports no more than six senators and a handful of house members were logged as reading the document.
Asked whether he read it, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Joe Biden told the "SITUATION ROOM" --
JOE BIDEN, (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I not only read the dissenting opinions, I spoke to those who dissented.
SNOW: A spokeswoman for Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd says, "He did not" read it. A spokesman for former Democratic Senator John Edwards says, "Having served on the Intelligence Committee, Senator Edwards read and was briefed on the intelligence provided to the committee.
The NIE report was requested by the Senate Intelligence Committee. It came out about ten days before Congress voted on the Iraq war resolution.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: An NFL player drowns. The New England Patriots Marquise Hill now being remembered, more for his off-field endeavors. We have his story, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Growing protests in Venezuela. Students now leading the chants against President Hugo Chavez, upset over the loss of an opposition voice. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New york Stock Exchange. When NEWSROOM returns, I'll tell you how the company behind the Hummer, the Escalade, and the Tahoe is going green. Details on GM's conversion, next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The tragic end for New England Patriots' football player Marquise Hill. The body of the New Orleans native pulled from Lake Pontchartrain. Hill had been missing since Sunday when he fell off his jet ski. His passenger, well, she was rescued, and neither of them were wearing a life vest. The former Louisiana State University standout was also known for his work off the field because he spent much of his time helping rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Marquise Hill was just 24-years-old.
HARRIS: Well, another day of protests in Venezuela. Students taking to the street, upset over the loss of an opposition TV channel.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck has the story from Columbus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monica Herrero is two months short of graduating from journalism school at a Caracas University. But as she participates in the latest protests against the closing of television station RCTV by President Hugo Chavez, she wonders if her timing isn't a bit off.
MONICA HERRERO, STUDENT: I think that in Venezuela, while Chavez's is here in (ph) Venezuela, I don't know. I think we can do our -- our war.
WHITBECK: Monica was joined Monday by thousands of fellow students at a protest a day after RCTV, Venezuela's longest running television network lost its license, accused by Chavez of inciting a rebellion against his socialist revolution.
(on camera): This is one of the first times that students from four different universities, public and private, have decided together to take to the streets.
(voice-over): For Chavez's opponents, the protests are a sign his latest move might turn public opinion against him. They cite opinion polls that indicate more than 60 percent of the population is against the closing of the network. That in addition to opinion a news programming produced soap operas and game shows. And they say, while the closing is also seen as a warning sign for other opposition broadcasters, they will not stand down in their criticism of Chavez.
Alberto Ravell is the director of Globovision, a 24-hour news network that consistently airs the oppositions' points of view.
ALBERTO RAVELL, GLOBOVISION DIRECTOR: We're not going to change our editorial line, that we are not afraid of the threat from this government and it's normal. Military government doesn't like news channels.
WHITBECK: The government, however, insists its decision to close the TV network was legal. And that it will keep its security forces on the streets to make sure protests against the closure do not get out of hand.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Caracas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the company that gave us the gas guzzling Hummer is trying to change its tune.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on GM's goal to become the greenest company in the auto industry. That might help gas prices, Susan?
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: And still to come this morning, Jack Kevorkian, remember him? Well, he's getting out of prison. But here's the question, has the man known as Dr. Death changed his prescription for the future? That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Also, Cindy Sheehan, she says she's no longer the face of the anti-war movement. We have her bitter letter of resignation right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, Betty, we're living in this new media world now. Folks, they are podcasting, Web chatting, oh, that's old school at this point.
So I just want to remind you again about our CNN podcast. OK, of course, you know we're here every day for you 9:00 until noon Eastern Time. But you can take us anywhere, right there on your iPod. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast. New medium is what we're talking about as we take a tour of the international desk. Available to you 24-7 right on your iPod.
NGUYEN: Right now we want to talk about something that is stalled yet again. Yes, we are still watching those whales in the Sacramento River. They've stopped moving unfortunately. Well, I mean, they're moving, but not in the right direction. Right now just about 45 miles from the ocean, heavy boat traffic may be to blame this time around. Coast Guard crews were forced to pull some swimmers out of the water. Listen to this, Tony. Those people were apparently trying to get a little too close to the whales. Can you just let them swim home?
HARRIS: Thank you, Betty.
Cindy Sheehan walking away from the anti-war movement. In a letter posted on a Web site, Sheehan says she's exhausted and disillusioned. She said her son died in Iraq for nothing. And the peace movement, quoting here, "often puts personal egos above peace and human life." She at first drew national attention nearly two years ago now when she camped outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding a meeting over her son's death, but the president ignored her. In her resignation letter, Sheehan said her son died for a country that cares more about who will be the next American Idol than American deaths in Iraq.
NGUYEN: Widowed by war. Wanting to serve after losing her husband just one year. This young widow says she's heading to Iraq.
Jack Harper of Boston affiliate WCVB reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA GARVIN, WIDOW: I've seen the worse. I know the worse that can happen. I know the worse outcome. So I'm ready, I think.
JACK HARPER, WCBV REPORTER (voice-over): A few months ago Melissa Garvin's husband Marine Lance Corporal Eddie Garvin was killed in Iraq. Now she's signed up. She's going into the Army.
GARVIN: July 11th I leave. I go to Missouri. And then I go to Texas for six weeks after that, and then hopefully Iraq.
HARPER: They met in the second grade. A year ago they got married at city hall. The big formal wedding would have been next month.
Now Melissa wants to be a combat medic, largely because of the young man who held her husband's hand as he slipped away.
GARVIN: Because what helped me was talking to the medic who actually worked on him, knowing that he didn't suffer and knowing all the details about it. So I'm doing the same exact job as that person who talked to me. ANNA RABIDEAU, MELISSA'S MOTHER: I'm proud of her, but I don't want her to go to the Army. I think she could do more here. I'm afraid.
HARPER: Melissa lives her life for Eddie, helping other families setting up a scholarship fund, but some say she's crazy, joining the army.
GARVIN: I've tried the whole staying home, crying. It doesn't work. It just makes you more miserable. So now I have to keep going for him.
RABIDEAU: I'm hoping with a lot of other family members to talk her out of it, but I don't know.
GARVIN: I know I can't save everybody. I'm not an idiot. But even if just that one person, it'll be worth it, if they don't have to feel what I feel every day.
HARPER: Melissa has until the 11th of June to withdraw her enlistment, change her mind. But even her mother says she'll be shipping out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And that was Jack Harper reporting from Boston.
HARRIS: President Bush hits the road. One of his key priorities hit as wall, on the stump in the South, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Charred flags, hand-drawn swastikas on the graves of veterans. Police on the hunt for vandals and investigating a hate crime. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: And the man known to many as Dr. Death is coming home, but after more than eight years in prison has Jack Kevorkian changed his message? Well, here's our Carol Costello.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOCTOR JACK KEVORKIAN, ASSISTED SUICIDE ADVOCATE: When the patient hits the switch, the saline is cut off, at the same time the pentathol is started, a concentrated solution, which puts a person in deep coma.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Jack Kevorkian helped so many die with his cocktail of deadly drugs he earned the nickname "Doctor Death."
Due to be released from prison on Friday he's preparing to tell the world, again, why he believes doctors should help terminally ill people die. Telling a reporter in Detroit, "All I'm doing is trying to prepare for the big press conference coming up. I've got to have answers at my fingertips." Answers that were not good enough when he helped kill a man on national television. Prosecutes in Michigan were appalled as they watched Kevorkian helping a man commit suicide on "60 Minutes."
KEVORKIAN: We're ready to inject. We're going to inject in your right arm.
COSTELLO: Fifty-two year-old Tom Yout suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. After the program, Yout was dead and Kevorkian in court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree murder.
COSTELLO: He was sentenced to 10 to 25 years. After eight years in prison and now 79, he seems to have lost some of his bravado. Kevorkian in 1990 --
KEVORKIAN: I'll break the law because it's immoral. If you send me to jail, you better keep me there because I'll do it again when I get out.
COSTELLO: Today he says assisted suicide has "got to be legalized. I'll work to get it legalized, but I won't break any laws doing it."
Kevorkian's initial efforts did cause several states to take up the issue of assisted suicide, but only Oregon allows people the right to die. The law took effect in 1997, and according to the Associated Press, since then, 292 people asked their doctors to prescribe drugs to end their lives, which they did.
(on camera): Kevorkian's attorney says there is still plenty of interest in what Kevorkian has to say. In fact, he says, some are offering Kevorkian up to $100,000 per speech.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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