Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Where's Kin Jong-il?; Texas Prepares for Ike; The Junior Bang Theory
Aired September 10, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): He's the unpredictable leader of an unpredictable, secretive, authoritarian state with nukes. So is Kim Jong-il alive or dead, healthy or sick? The whole world wonders.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig.
PHILLIPS: Fifty-five days before the election, there is no such thing as a cosmetic issue. Every comment is a controversy, and nobody's turning the other cheek.
ROBERT ROGERS, LOST FAMILY IN FLASH FLOOD: After I was sucked out of the van, the water was so powerful that I knew I was drowning.
PHILLIPS: Robert Rogers survived the flash flood, but could he survive the death of his wife and children? You will be amazed at one of man's triumphs over tragedy, a victory of giving over loss.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
North Korea says that its "Dear Leader" is alive and well, and any reports to the contrary are a conspiracy. South Korea and the U.S. and the rest of the world, well, they're not so sure.
The latest world on the Korean dictator comes from the office of South Korea's president. A spokesman there says that Kim Jong-il is likely recovering from an apparent stroke, but is not deathly ill. Speculation reached a fever pitch this time yesterday after Kim failed to show for a major celebration, the Stalinist country's 60th anniversary.
Well, the more the world learns about Kim Jong-il and the nation that practically considers him a god, the more we want to know. Kim took over from his late father Kim il-Sung in 1994. The elder Kim was North Korea's founder.
The Kim dynasty is a first in the history of communism. The younger Kim has stuck to a policy of military firsts and has a million-man army to show for it. In 2006, he shook the world with a nuclear bomb test, and the fallout continues to this day. August 14th was the last time Kim Jong-il was seen in public, but ever bigger than the questions surrounding Kim's health is, who is calling the shots?
CNN's John Vause picks up our coverage from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Kim Jong-il is alive and well, North Korea is doing little to prove it. State television news led with a story on Kim Jongelia, the flower named in his honor. And while the North's second most powerful leader reportedly says there is no problem, South Korean intelligence tells CNN three weeks ago Kim had a mild stroke. His face is partly paralyzed; his speech slurred; he's walking with a limp, but his condition is not life threatening.
All confirmed, they say, when Kim didn't show for Tuesday's 60th anniversary parade. But Professor Tasimutso Shugamora (ph) in Japan believes Kim is in fact dead and has been since 2003, replaced by four body doubles, two, he says, have also since died.
Dead or alive, healthy or ill, the mystery is now driving questions about who is likely to take Kim's place. His three sons seem unlikely. The oldest fell out of favor after reportedly trying to sneak into Japan on a forged passport to visit Tokyo's Disneyland.
The other two have no public profile in North Korea, unlike Kim, who is also buy his father's side, Kim-il Sung, the country's founder. Politically there is Kim Jong Nam, the powerful number two, but he is 80 years old. Or military hardliners could take over.
LEE CHUNG-MIN, NORTH KOREA ANALYST: I would argue that the post Kim Jong-il era has already begun effectively from today. And that from today onwards, we'll be seeing a very different North Korea without Kim Jong-il as the major patron, designer and architect of the DPRK.
VAUSE: Kim was last seen August 14th, the same day North Korea announced a freeze on disassembling its nuclear plant, angered by Washington's refusal to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Since then, the North is believed to have started rebuilding the plant.
(on camera): If Kim Jong-il is in poor health, it could stall negotiations to resolve the standoff over the North's nuclear program. Those who have met the man once dubbed the "Dear Leader" say he and he alone makes all the decisions.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, along the Texas coast, Hurricane Ike's likely impact is still days away, but there is no time to waste. With the storm now a Category 2 hurricane, evacuations are getting under way in some areas, and hundreds of National Guard troops are at the ready. A big push right now, making sure the roads are ready for the big rush north.
Carolyn Campbell with our affiliate KHOU reports from Houston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROLYN CAMPBELL, REPORTER, KHOU (voice-over): Cleaning the roadways is routine, but the routine becomes much more important when a hurricane threatens. After the massive backups during the Hurricane Rita evacuation, the state decided to add what are called evaculanes.
GERGORY RANFT, TXDOT: Which are basically shoulders most of the time. But when we do have to implement the evaculane, then we'll put traffic into that shoulder lane.
CAMPBELL: But shoulders tend to collect debris. So they have to be cleared.
RANFT: So that people don't end up having flat tires or run over objects that, you know, aren't good for their cars.
CAMPBELL: And unlike during Hurricane Gustav, when construction stuck evacuees from Louisiana on I-10, the state says getting out of harm's way will be smoother because any roadwork will be cancelled.
RANFT: This is our in-ground storage tank.
CAMPBELL: TXDOT says stockpiling fuel is another important preparation to keep traffic moving. Right now the state is filling up its fleet of courtesy trucks.
RANFT: And they'll give a gallon or so of gas to stranded vehicles or motorists that are out of gas so they can get down to the next pump (ph) station. They also have the capability of jumping batteries, fixing flats.
JOHN CURRY, COURTESY TRUCK DRIVER: We're going to run into a lot of situations -- injuries, people overheating.
CAMPBELL: John Curry is a courtesy truck driver who helped dozens of stranded motorists during Hurricane Rita.
CURRY: I think they learned their lesson. We're going to be a lot more prepared this time.
CAMPBELL: Although they don't know yet if Hurricane Ike will test their evacuation plans, they believe they'll score a whole lot better than they did during Hurricane Rita.
Carolyn Campbell, 11 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk politics now.
The White House hopefuls have 55 days to get their message out, and as of now, Americans appear to be closely divided between John McCain and Barack Obama. The latest CNN Poll of Polls gives McCain a one-point edge over Obama, 47 percent to 46 percent. McCain led by two points yesterday. And our Poll of Polls averages the results of seven different nationwide surveys.
Now, John McCain's campaign says that Barack Obama should apologize. Barack Obama says they are faking their outrage.
It's all because Obama said yesterday that replacing President bush's policies with those of John McCain would be like putting lipstick on a pig. Well, the McCain team says that line was directed at Sarah Palin, who called herself a hockey mom or a pit bull with lipstick in her convention speech.
Obama says that the whole controversy has just been made up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Spare me the phony outrage. Spare me the phony talk about change.
We have real problems in this country right now. And the American people are looking to us for answers, not distractions, not diversions, not manipulation. They want real answers for the real problems that we are facing. That's the kind of debate I intend to have, because that is the kind of debate the American people deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So we did a little digging, and it turns out that people all over Washington use the phrase about pigs and lipstick, Democrats and Republicans, including John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In 1993, we rejected the then-Clinton universal health care proposal. It was rejected by the American people. I don't like to use this term, but the latest proposal I see is putting lipstick on a pig.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: There you have it.
Well, the McCain campaign isn't backing off. Today it launched an Internet ad criticizing Obama for that remark and repeating a demand for an apology. So what's next?
Well, promises coming at a price, a steep price. We're going to tell you what the candidates are pledging and what it will cost you.
And it's like a time machine for a high-speed crash test, and it could give us a look at the start of time. We're going to give you a peek.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, imagine being there the moment our universe began. Scientists are vying for a glimpse of it, and today, along the Swiss/French border, they conducted a highly controversial experiment, shooting protons down a 17-mile tube at incredible speed.
Now, eventually, they hope to smash atoms together, creating a junior bang. It's a simulation of the explosion that created our galaxy, and in doing so, learn more about the particles that actually make up the stars, the planets and us.
Well, we didn't want you to tune out to the scientific jargon or the physics because, well, this is pretty cool science. So we're bringing in Bill Nye the Science Guy to demystify what exactly is going on.
As you can see, he's coming to us, of course, through the great technology of Skype.
Bill, good to see you.
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": Good to see you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. So I know you've been reading up on this. It fascinated us, we were talking about it in our morning meeting.
Explain to me exactly how this experiment is going to work and why it is such cool science.
NYE: Well, here is what we do. We get -- you know, I'm in Chicago. I'm very near (INAUDIBLE), where they did these sorts is of experiments and still do, these sorts of experiments for years. But now it's at a much higher energy level. So here is the idea.
You get beams, protons going around in these rings. And what makes them stay in the racetrack is this magnetic field, these rays of magnetic fields that are very, very strong magnets. Like when you get an MRI, much, much stronger than that. And to get those sorts of magnetic fields you need liquid helium, if you get enough electricity to flow, and it's all big fun.
Anyway, then once in a while, these counter-rotating protons will collide and a few protons will collide. A few protons will hit each other. And then you observe what happens. You look for, if you will, atomic (INAUDIBLE).
And so, it is dreamed, it is imagined that we will be able to recreate for a moment the condition of the Big Bang, where it is believed gravity, electromagnetism, the weak atomic force and the strong atomic force were all one big happy thing. And this would be the grand unified theory. So you may remember, Kyra...
PHILLIPS: Yes? NYE: ... the idea for conducting supercollider, which, among other sites, was going to be built in Texas, which is in the United States. And the physicists just couldn't convince Congress after the Vietnam War, after the Apollo program had done a lot to end the Cold War, people just didn't want to invest in this thing. Right?
So now, 20 or 30 years have gone by and the physics community has gotten enough together to get this thing back on track. So we are going to try these experiments at last.
PHILLIPS: OK. Let me bring this back down to Earth, because now my head is spinning. And of course, Bill, yes, I'm always up on my supercolliders.
Let's talk about what critics are saying. They're saying, OK, this experiment could create a black hole capable of swallowing the entire Earth. Is that true?
NYE: No.
PHILLIPS: Bottom line, no.
NYE: No. Or top line.
So it reminds me very, very much of the concern when the first atomic bomb was exploded or first nuclear reaction was created, where people thought that if you start this chain reaction, it will never stop. It will continue and the whole Earth will go into a chain -- the atmosphere will catch on fire and stuff.
Well, that didn't happen. The people who did it were quite diligent and understood physics.
But the reason it didn't happen, generally, is just (INAUDIBLE) Big Bang was every molecule, every atom in the universe, perhaps on the order of a Google number of atoms, maybe 10 to the 85th number of atoms. They were all in a space smaller than a grain of sand, maybe somewhat smaller than that.
So those were unusual conditions, very unusual. So it's very hard to create that kind of gravity and that kind of energy in that small of a space in a superconductor or a collider in Switzerland or France.
So if we're able to do it, it would only be for an instant of a moment of an instant. So it's very, very, very unlikely that this would -- these doomsday concerns would come to pass.
And the people doing it, with all due respect, my journalistic friends, the people doing it are not thoughtless. They have been working on this in the physics community since the days of Einstein. And so if there were some problem, they would be very worried about it. And they're not.
PHILLIPS: Bill Nye the Science Guy, coming to us via Skype, trying to explain something extremely complicated in the matter of two minutes.
NYE: Well, it's complicated at one level. But here's the idea, Kyra. Here's the idea.
PHILLIPS: OK. Bill, we've got to go. Unless you can...
NYE: Well, just let me say that what you think of as a particle -- what we think of as particles...
PHILLIPS: OK.
NYE: ... may be some other thing, some sort of wave, crazy phenomenon. That's what they're looking for. It could change the world.
PHILLIPS: All right. Change the world as I continue to bang my head trying to figure out this whole theory.
Bill Nye, great to see you.
NYE: Good to see you. Carry on.
PHILLIPS: OK. I'm going to try. I'm going to talk about OPEC now.
OPEC says there's plenty of oil on the market. That's a little more easier to understand. And that means less crude barreling in from the Middle East. It makes you wonder if those falling oil prices are about to shoot up again.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
In this half-hour, is the defense chief begging to differ with the commander-in-chief? You decide.
One day after President Bush said he's withdrawing about 8,000 troops from Iraq by February, Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged a go-slow approach in testimony today on Capitol Hill. Also appearing with Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. He offered a very sober assessment of America's other war, the one in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I'm not convinced that we're winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced that we can. It is my professional opinion that no amount of troops in no amount of time can ever achieve all of the objectives we seek in Afghanistan. And frankly, we're running out of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: And while Mr. Bush is pulling troops out of Iraq, he's adding about 4,500 troops to the American forces already in Afghanistan.
Fighting terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, spelling out U.S. strategy today, asked to explain the title of his speech, "All of the Above: Our Strategy Against Terrorism." Chertoff says that you stop a terrorist attack before the terrorists enter the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: "All of the Above" constitutes in my view what is an appropriate and layered comprehensive strategy to dealing with terrorism: deterring terrorists from entering the country; capturing or killing them in their home base, if you can do it; stopping them in the course of their travel; and bringing them to justice if we can find them in this country or in other civilized parts of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Chertoff says a key to fighting terrorism is the use of the military, not as many others have suggested, law enforcement.
Two wars, a stimulus package, a big drop in tax revenues -- add them all up and you get a federal budget shortfall of $407 billion in fiscal 2008. That's the latest forecast from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. And next year's forecast is worse. The biggest deficit ever came in 2004 -- $413 billion. But as a percentage of the total economy, deficits in the 1980s and 1990s were worse.
Ambitious plans with a hefty price tag. The candidates are offering big proposals, but what is their bottom line? CNN's Christine Romans checks it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCCAIN: Taxes low --
OBAMA: Cut taxes --
MCCAIN: Energy independence --
OBAMA: Energy independence --
MCCAIN: My health care plan --
OBAMA: My plan will lower your premiums.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wouldn't be a campaign without promises. Promises you and I would inevitably pay for. MAYA MACGUINEAS, COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET: What they're talking about would cost good deal of money. And right now, we're not paying the bills for even what we're already spending.
ROMANS: Maya Macguineas works for a budget watchdog and has tallied the cost of Obama's and McCain's respective plans.
MACGUINEAS: None of the policies that the candidates are talking about come for free. And the most expensive items for both of the candidates are tax policy.
ROMANS: She says McCain's tax plan would cost a whopping $417 to $485 billion. Obama's, $360 billion. Obama's promise of health coverage for everyone, $65 billion a year. And McCain's pledge to end pork barrel spending --
MCCAIN: Every single pork barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk as president, I would veto it.
ROMANS: Would save $35 billion a year, a drop in the bucket according to Washington policy analyst, Daniel Clifton.
DANIEL CLIFTON, STRATEGAS RESEARCH PARTNERS: That does not get anywhere close to offsetting the cost of his proposals.
ROMANS: He says the candidates are talking about new promises that they cannot possibly pay for.
CLIFTON: I think that the media has really given these candidates a pass by knowing that a lot of these proposals are unrealistic.
ROMANS: Both campaigns promise to close tax loopholes/unnecessary spending and cut health care costs, promises seemingly repeated every four years.
MACGUINEAS: Neither Senator Obama or Senator McCain could get into office and possibly pass all the ideas that they have.
ROMANS: So, consider these platforms more of a wish list than a to-do list.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Both campaigns have laid out very detailed proposals and each campaign says that other's detailed plans that are unrealistic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Sarah Palin's large family of five children only adds to the public curiosity about the Alaska governor. How does she juggle all of her possibilities and responsibilities?
CNN's Jessica Yellin talked to some of the people who know her best. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Governor Palin starts sending e-mails at 4:30 in the morning.
MEG STAPLETON, PALIN CAMPAIGN ADVISER: We used to joke around that it's as though she has an I.V. of caffeine running through her, because we could never keep up with her and it would be constant.
YELLIN: According to a childhood friend juggling five kids does not phase her.
KRISTAN COLE, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: When she was mayor, or just when she was a citizen, you usually saw one child on her hip.
YELLIN: She regularly takes daughter Piper to work.
COLE: Gosh, I would say the first six months she was born, she was underneath Sarah's desk at the mayor's office.
YELLIN: While the older kids help clean and run errands, her husband does his share.
COLE: When Sarah is really busy, Todd will be the one to make their breakfast, puts the ponytails in.
YELLIN: But sometimes no one really does the cooking.
STAPLETON: And she has joked around about that, that oh, they could throw a sandwich together.
YELLIN: These days, the crib in the office is infant son, Trig's. Friends say Palin has come to terms with the new challenge, telling them --
COLE: You know, I looked at my other four children and I said, they are not perfect and she said it allowed me to see that I'm going to love Trig just as much as I love the other four, because they are not perfect, and he is not perfect either. But I love them. And I'm going to love him, too.
YELLIN: Palin supporters insist her experience as a working mother means she will represent American women, but some women's groups are critical. The nonpartisan National Partnership for Women and Families gives Alaska a D-minus when it comes to its parental leave policy. For example, there is no guarantee of paid leave for new parents.
VICKI LOVELL, INST. FOR WOMEN'S POLICY RESEARCH: I think there is a contradiction there between Governor Palin's professed values about supporting families and then what we actually see in the state of Alaska where there are not adequate supports for families who are welcoming new infants.
YELLIN (on camera): On the question of parental leave, Palin's defenders say the governor has had other priorities since she has been in office, including championing a natural gas pipeline and getting Alaskans money from a tax on oil companies.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Anchorage, Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: CNN's special investigations unit takes a in-depth look at both vice presidential candidates this weekend in primetime. Correspondent Abbie Boudreau sat down with Senator Joe Biden and she is here to tell us some of what she learned about the long time Democratic senator.
Pretty interesting guy, no doubt.
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely.
We talked to him about so many different things, including, obviously, his stances on different political issues, but also about a tragedy that nearly ended his political career before had even really begun. The 1972 car accident in which Senator Biden's first wife Neilia, and his young daughter, Naomi, were killed. It was so devastating that he thought about giving up his Senate seat he had just won.
Now I asked him to read a passage from his book, "Promises to Keep," in which he writes about his current wife, Jill, and what she means to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I asked her once, not long before the wedding, how she could marry me knowing how much -- knowing how much I adored Neilia, and she didn't hesitate, she said, -- quote -- "that is the reason I can marry you," she told me. "Anybody who loved that deeply once can do it again." That is when I realized exactly what Jill's love had done for me. It had given me permission to be me again.
God, I'm sorry.
Well, she did. She restored my life. I know that sounds corny, but she really did. She gave me permission to -- that one statement sort of gave me permission to sort of -- anyway. It is accurate.
BOUDREAU: She brought you back?
BIDEN: She did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow. That must have been a hard. My heart sunk right there listening to that. You never really see that emotional side to him.
BOUDREAU: I know. You always see the long winded side, or the extra energetic side, but you don't see that soft emotional side. And we weren't really expecting to necessarily see that side either, but -- those are hard things to talk about and that is some of what our documentary is about that's going to air this weekend, is to learn more about who this person is. We're finding so much out right now about Sarah Palin, as we should be, but now it is time to learn a little bit more about this person who has been a senator for the last 36 years, and what he is all about, what makes him tick, and especially from an emotional, personal level as well.
PHILLIPS: Anything else that he told you that you found interesting, a little tease that you can give us?
BOUDREAU: Well -- he did tell a story about -- he says that everyone in his life is very much protective of him which was interesting. As much as he is protective of them, they are protective of him. And he told a story about a long time ago when he had become a senator, his father -- he saw a quote in the newspaper that said something about his father being a used car salesman and the father decided he was going to quit. And his mother called Senator Biden and said -- sorry -- Senator Biden's mother called Senator Biden and said, listen, your dad decided to quit. And he said, well why is dad quitting? She said, well because it doesn't look right that -- that he's a used car salesman; it didn't look good enough for you.
PHILLIPS: Oh wow.
BOUDREAU: And that was a moment where he said, I just felt so guilty that someone -- that my own father didn't think he was good enough to be the father of a senator.
And so these are kind of some of the stories that we're going to talk about and some of the things that we will be discussing. You will see him in a different light, and I think that is what is important about this documentary.
PHILLIPS: We look forward to it. Abbie, thanks so much.
And you can also see more on both VP candidates, actually, in the special investigations unit report. You can tune into "Revealed" this Saturday and Sunday night. Sarah Palin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and then Joe Biden, Abbie's interview, at 10:00.
Well he survived a flash flood, but could he survive --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: What would you do if the people you loved most were taken away from you unexpectedly and suddenly? It happened to Robert Rogers. Five years ago this month, he was burying his wife and four children. But what he has done since amazed us. We had to bring you his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Labor Day weekend 2003, Robert Rogers, his wife, Melissa, and their four young children attend a friend's wedding in Wichita. The kids play with balloons decorating the church. This would be their last family photo.
As the Rogers family drives home, a flash flood engulfs them. Melissa tries to keep the children calm.
ROGERS: Just before the seven-foot wall of water washed our van into the culvert (ph), she was even singing Bible songs to our four children to calm their fears, and she was praying over them as the water was filling our van. Her faith was relentless.
PHILLIPS: Robert kicked open a window. He, his wife and their oldest daughter were swept into the current.
ROGERS: After I was sucked out of the van, the water was so powerful that I knew I was drowning. Somehow, I believe by an angel of God, I was washed up on to the left river bank.
PHILLIPS: Hours later, rescuers found the bodies of 5-year-old Zachary, 3-year-old, Nicholas and 21-month-old Alenah inside the van. The next day, 8-year-old Makenah's body was found a quarter mile away. And then --
CHIEF JACK TAYLOR, EMPORIA, KAN. FIRE AND RESCUE: At approximately 7:30 this morning, we located Mrs. Rogers approximately 200 feet into the pond.
ROGERS: My beautiful wife, Melissa, was found yesterday morning. She did not survive the tragedy. She was the love of my life.
PHILLIPS: Robert had lost his entire family. But he had not lost his faith. Speaking out, just days after the accident --
ROGERS: I am not bitter against God. I had a full, abundant life and I'm fully persuaded that somehow, by his grace, he will turn this tragedy into good.
PHILLIPS: Robert turned from being a full-time electrical engineer to a full-time minister. He started a ministry devoted to helping others. Robert is determined to open five orphanages on five different continents in honor of the family he lost.
The first orphanage, Melissa House, opened in Russia in 2006. A second is under construction in Rwanda.
And now, Robert has a second chance at love. On May 20th, 2006, he married Inga (ph). And last year they gave birth to this little blessing, Ezekiel (ph).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we are going to talk to Robert Rogers live right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Robert Rogers joins me now live from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Robert, so good to see you.
ROGERS: Thank you, Kyra. It's an honor to be on your program.
PHILLIPS: Well, I've got to tell you, just watching you get up to speak in front of all of those people and talk about what happened -- I see your strength now, but tell me, just as strength to everybody that may be going through something like this, how did you wake up that next morning and continue to want to live after what happened to their wife and your kids?
ROGERS: It was a huge choice of faith. You know, faith is not about feelings, but it was a determination to live life, to honor God, to honor my heavenly family, and to make something productive out of it and not just to wallow in my pity, but to do something for the benefit of others.
PHILLIPS: Well, that is exactly what you are doing now. I want to get right to it. Your wife's name was Melissa. We should say is Melissa because her spirit is with all of us as we do this segment right now. You went to Russia and you built this home called the Melissa Home -- right -- in honor of her life? Tell me about it.
ROGERS: It is a beautiful home that we began sponsoring about two years ago in October of 2006. And it is a family center where eight teenaged orphan girls are cared for by a mother of father whose own children are grown and raised, and so they are cared for and their physical, educational, emotional needs and all around. And we dedicated it in honor of Melissa because she loved being a mom. And I hope that she is a role model to these girls who get into university education and do something productive with their lives.
PHILLIPS: And how do those girls respond to you, Robert, when they find out your story and what you are doing?
ROGERS: People's lives appear to be dramatically changed. I have told my story over 400 times in the past five years to over 120,000 people personally and millions more through the media and so forth. And people have responded to me that they want to change the way they live their life. They want to have a personal relationship with God, and they want to get right with their spouse, with their children.
I have had some people say, I know which of the two jobs I'm going to pick now because of you, because I want to live for my family. I had someone else say, we want to have another baby after hearing your story because we want to have no regrets in our life.
PHILLIPS: Wow. And I know you spent time recently in Haiti and in India. Tell me about ministering in those countries and what your plans are there.
ROGERS: Well, it was just overwhelming really. There are over 143 million orphans around the world right now. And that is a conservative number and since we had adopted an orphan from China in 2003, I had a passion for them. And so seeing them and administering to them in Haiti, and in India, after the tsunami, those who lost their loved ones in turbulent waters just tugged at my heart.
So my vision is to sponsor five orphanages around the world on five different continents in honor of my five heavenly family members. So far, we have one in Russia, as you mentioned and one's being built right now in Rwanda, Africa.
PHILLIPS: You know, I see -- I've just listened to this. I've read your book and you know, we have to live the life with no regrets, isn't that true? And live everyday like it's our last.
ROGERS: Yes. That's exactly right. It is easy to forget that because life is so busy as we all know.
But when I share my story, it's really a wakeup call for people to No. 1, know God personally through his son Jesus Christ and No. 2, live a life of no regrets, starting today. Because we are not guaranteed the next five seconds. These past few years, we have seen cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes and you name it. And life is very fragile. And I hope my story's an inspiration and compelling for people to start living that life of no regrets, starting right now.
PHILLIPS: Robert Rogers, I encourage everyone to log on to your web site intothedeep.org. They can donate to help build these homes. And also, congratulations on finding love again. Your wife Inga, your baby Ezekiel, I understand there's another one on the way.
ROGERS: Thank you much Kyra. I am deeply blessed and deeply honored. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: We're going to take it to break with your song that you wrote for your family. It's entitled, "What It's Like in Heaven."
Thanks, Robert.
ROBERTS: You're welcome, Kyra. Thank you.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you know the phrase, one man's trash is another man's treasure. But could it also be fuel? In today's Solution Segment Rob Marciano checks out one of the biggest biodiesel refineries in the U.S., which churns all kinds of waste products into fuel for your car.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Biodiesel. It's being touted as the good alternative to diesel which is made from petroleum. But making fuel from food crops, such as soy beans and corn is being blamed for causing high spikes at the grocery store.
VOICE OF BRUCE BAUGHMAN, GREENHUNTER BIOFUELS: That's where the reaction between methanol and the animal fats and vegetable oil occurs. That's where the magic happens. MARCIANO: A company called GreenHunter Energy is among those that say they have a solution. It says it's new facility in Houston, can make biodiesel from all sorts of plants, not just food plants, as well as animal fat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what really distinguishes us from any other major biodiesel producer. We take the byproducts of refining the crude oils and also convert them to biodiesel. What's junk to others, is just more feed stock for us.
MARCIANO: Right now, most of GreenHunters biodiesel comes from animal fat like beef tallow. But the company says it plans to start making biodiesel from a tree-like weed called jatropha
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The jatropha plantations that we are developing around the world will not produce for probably another two to three years. But when they do begin producing, they'll be upwards to 50 percent of our feed stock.
MARCIANO: The GreenHunter facility is the largest of its kind in North America. And in full production the company says it can produce 150 million gallons of biodiesel a year.
Rob Marciano, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Sarah Palin in the spotlight for her candidacy and religion. Many of you sounding off about it too, in a big way. We're going to share what you're saying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're about to wrap up but we want to tell you about a great discussion we had about vice president candidate Sarah Palin and her appeal to Evangelicals in our morning meeting yesterday. And our guest segment on the subject, obviously struck a nerve with all of you. For many of you, it was a touchy one.
Listen to this from Jody Ross of Downey, California, writes: "CNN equals Christian Network Network? Kyra quoting scripture? Did I tune into the wrong channel? Is this a news network? If you want to discuss the appeal that Palin has for Evangelicals, is there no more useful conversation that battling interpretations of the bible? It wasn't illuminating.
Jody, believe me, if I could quote scripture, I wouldn't be in this evil-infested business, I would be a preacher.
Lynn of Collerville says: "Your two guests about Gov. Palin and her beliefs caught my eye. First, I am a college educated Christian woman. I have worked out of the home before my children were born. The pastor had it right. It's not sexiest to believe that women can serve in office, but cannot serve as the leader of the church. It's biblically sound." But, Colleen of Moscow, Idaho write: "I don't understand why there is next to no coverage on Gov Pali's religion. How can you say that you are being fair on the coverage that you give the candidates for president and gave Senator Barack Obama weeks of negative coverage on his religion? I think her church and their beliefs needs to be exposed. But apparently, you're afraid to do so." Well, Colleen, in all fairness that is not exactly true.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is energizing the Evangelical base of the Republican party and now we're learning more about her own personal faith.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Many Christian conservatives are more revved up about the Republican presidential ticket right now, now that Sarah Palin is on it. The Alaska governor's faith has helped shape reviews of politics and the world.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sarah Palin asking members of her former church to pray for an Alaskan pipeline she wants built. The video was shot in June, last year. It's big on YouTube right now. It's got a lot of people wondering about Palin's church and the rule of religion on her political decisions making.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Colleen, as you can see, we're not afraid to talk about anything, including what you had to say.
Thanks for joining us. Rick Sanchez starts the last hour of NEWSROOM right now.
