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Obama Heads Home from Summit; Iran Convicts U.S. Journalist of Espionage

Aired April 19, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama heads home from the Summit of the Americas. He sees a potential thaw in U.S. relations with Cuba and Venezuela. His test for success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- very worried and anxious about our daughter and we are not politicians, we are statesmen, we are not in politics. All we want is our daughter's freedom. We find that our daughter's health is waning, and it's very dangerous for her to stay in the prison.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And his daughter sits in a prison in Iran convicted of espionage. The father of an American journalist speaks out, and this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that people will probably say it's been 10 years, how can you still be thinking of her every day or why are you not over it or, you know, what, you still cry. But you know, yes, you still think of her everyday, she's my daughter, you know, I love her.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Voice of another parent, the Columbine tragedy, 10 years later, parents of the victims open up about their loss and immeasurable heartache.

Hello everyone I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Obama thinks U.S. relations with Latin America may be heading into a new era. Speaking to reporters at the end of the Summit of the Americas, the president called the conference very productive. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Suzanne what about this? How is the president measuring progress?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, one of the things that he really emphasized in this closing news conference is that this is really a different kind of relationship that he's trying to establish with Latin America. Not a junior and a senior partnership, but really equal partners and he was asked about this, the changing nature perhaps of relations with Cuba as well as Venezuela, to take on his critics. What does he think of his notion that perhaps talking to arch nemesis Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, gives him, that leader certainly credibility if you will. Legitimacy that some critics say is not warranted here, that perhaps it's even dangerous.

President Obama says, look, it doesn't cost the United States anything. We've seen these pleasantries, handshakes, gift giving, that type of thing. Even an offer, perhaps, to reinstate ambassadors in both of those countries and he believes that despite the rhetoric of Hugo Chavez and despite the past, perhaps there is an opening now to change that relationship. I want you to take a listen, Fred, to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It's unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chavez that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States. I don't think anybody can find any evidence that that would do so.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Fred, bottom line he says, look, you know you take a look at Venezuela's defense that they don't have any kind of defense, compared to the United States. They don't pose any kind of military threat and they are the third largest exporter of our oil. So this is a relationship that is very important. If there is an opening, a way to change the tone or change the rhetoric with this fiery, you know, fierce critic of the United States, then he's going to go ahead and accept that opening. Fred?

WHITFIELD: So here's something else. Of the 34 nations, Cuba was not there. However, Cuba was on the table of talks. Exactly what is being said or what is the agreement in terms of what other Latin countries seem to think needs to happen and what the U.S.' stance is?

MALVEAUX: Well, Fred, all of the Latin American leaders universally, they unanimously were saying, look, we believe that you should bring Cuba back into the fold when it comes to this summit, it should normalize relations, that you should lift the embargo. We've heard from President Obama saying we are not yet at that point, we're not there, but he certainly is encouraged by some of the things we've seen just over the last week. When he lifted some of those restrictions for Cuban-Americans and Raul Castro responded saying he does want to go ahead and talk to the president about everything, about human rights, political prisoners, all those kinds of things.

That was really kind of an extraordinary breakthrough that we saw, and President Obama says, look you know, there will be some conditions to these talks that he wants to see some action before those two leaders get together, but he is hopeful that that is a sign of progress, and, Fred, that really was what he was trying to do here in Latin America, was breakthrough in some way, to start a dialogue, a dialogue that just didn't exist under the Bush administration. Fred? WHITFIELD: And the dialogue is now ongoing. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much joining us from the Port of Spain there in Trinidad.

We are going to take a close are look at one of the headlines from the Summit of the Americas. The possibility of improved relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, coming up in just about 10 minutes, a discussion about the way progress is indeed being measured.

President Obama is in the air. He's airborne right at this hour, flying back to Washington. Tomorrow he'll preside over his first full cabinet meeting. He'll ask cabinet members for ideas on where to trim their budget, also tomorrow congress reconvenes following a two-week spring break. There will be hearings on an energy and global warming bill.

President Obama says he is concerned for the safety and the ell- being of a U.S. journalist jailed in Iran. Roxana Saberi was convicted of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison. Her one day trial was closed to the public. She denies the charges. Her family here in the states plans to actually appeal. Her father is in Tehran right now and talked with CNN earlier today.

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REZA SABERI, FATHER OF JAILED JOURNALIST: We already, you know, are worried and anxious about our daughter, and we are not politicians, we are statesmen, we are not in politics. All we want is our daughter's freedom, and the health, we find that our daughter's health is waning, and it's very dangerous for her to stay in prison. We see that she is very frail and she cannot stand with that kind of physique.

I wrote a letter that will be published, I believe in one of the newspapers tomorrow addressing the supreme leader of Iran to this problem, we're asking him to pay attention to this problem. So that -- this is now a global issue and Iran should not be pictured like this in the world, just for this case. The honor itself is at stake when they deal with someone like this who's Iranian and also American. After all she's a human being and she should be treated properly.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Now, Iranian media says Iran's president has sent a letter to the chief prosecutor in the case. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Saberi should have the opportunity to present a full dissent during her appeal. Joining me by phone right now from New York is chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Christiane, this appears to be a more moderate tone coming from Tehran. Is there an indication of some wiggle room with Ahmadinejad now being involved?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It happened and the sentencing came down yesterday. I was hearing from Iranian officials that there would be a public statement from President Ahmadinejad calling this an internal Iranian matter. And then I was waived off saying that no, in fact President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going to change that statement and he's going to do a different one. So then we see on the Iranian state news a letter from the president to the state prosecutor calling for quote the administration of justice in dealing with this case not just with Roxana Saberi but also another journalist who has been held for a long time Hosein (INAUDIBLE).

According to this presidential office in Tehran, the letter has called on the prosecutor to precisely handle the case and observe the administration of justice and "ensure that the accused can freely and legally defend themselves." Now I can tell you from my reporting from Iran and on other cases where Americans or other foreigners have been taken in, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a letter being sent by the president to the prosecutor.

What I can tell you, also, is that in the past, for instance when 16 UK, British sailors, were taken in March, they were eventually pardoned after being held for 12 days, and accused of military espionage. And the president, Ahmadinejad, publicly pardoned them saying their gifts to the British people on the date of the prophet's birthday. So there is precedent for that. It's way too early to know what this letter means, but very interesting that this letter has gone from the president of Iran to the judiciary asking for them to be allowed to defend themselves freely and legally.

WHITFIELD: Well that is very interesting, very different from, say, the pardon that you just spoke of involving the UK folks, but if, indeed, this letter might help promote a defense for this young lady while she is carrying out her appeal, is it your view in any way that what has helped her case is that her family, albeit that they live in the states in North Dakota, they are there present and they have their Iranian roots, does that help propel this case toward some positive territory for Saberi?

AMANPOUR: Well I don't think the fact that her parents are there or not matters in terms of what the Iranian prosecutor is going to do. Clearly it matters to them and it's very important to their daughter obviously to have her parents there and obviously to keep her case in the open air. However, there's always a lot of discussion as to whether increased publicity hurts or helps. We live in the internet, in the twitter and the blogging age and, of course, there's no way to keep this quiet. So her parents are doing their best to present their daughter's case in the best way possible.

What's going to be important is on the legal side. She has 20 days to appeal. Her lawyer in Iran has said that he will appeal on her behalf. More to the point, the case which then resulted in this eight year sentence and judgment was a one-day secret proceeding in the court. What President Ahmadinejad's letter apparently seems to say is that this should be fair and legal and she should have that ability to defend herself. So maybe they will provide more details in the court. Maybe they will provide more of the so-called evidence that they have. But the fact of the matter is that he is now asking the prosecutor to make it, make sure proper justice is administered and for them to be allowed to freely and fairly defend themself. As I say, I think it's too early to tell what this means but the tone is somewhat different than what we've been hearing over the last several days.

WHITFIELD: Christiane Amanpour thanks so much for joining us from New York. Appreciate it.

Talk about some weather matters right here in the state the rain swollen ditch in Houston has actually claimed the lives of five children. They were in a car that plunged down an embankment and then right into the water, as you saw there. Police say the driver was apparently distracted by a cell phone. They say he failed a field sobriety test, and may face now manslaughter charges.

North Dakota is still getting hit hard by floods. Rescue boats are searching for farmers stranded by swollen rivers. A fish and wildlife spokesman says two people were rescued near Kindred. Just take a look at these pictures right here from Langston, Oklahoma. Strong storms leveled four houses last night. Amazingly, no one was hurt. One of the homeowners had just replaced his roof after a hail storm swept through two weeks ago. National Weather Service is expected to decide today if the damage was indeed done by a tornado.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, 14 years ago today, hard to believe the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed.

Well this morning more than 300 mourners filed past the memorial to the victims of the attack. 168 people died in the bombing on April 19, 1995. Until the 9/11 attack, 6 1/2 years later, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.

And tomorrow marks a fateful anniversary for Littleton, Colorado. Ten years ago Monday, 13 people were killed at Columbine High School before teen gunmen Eric Harris and Dillon Clebold committed suicide. Most of the victims were students, one teacher was killed. The horrific rampage has changed the way police deal with shooting sprees. Police say that the change in tactics now saves lives. We'll take an in-depth look back at the tragedy a little bit later on in the hour.

Is there a war within the Republican Party? John McCain's daughter says, absolutely. We'll tell what you she told a group of gay GOP members.

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WHITFIELD: Across America Now, a Maryland man suspected of killing his wife and three children before fatally shooting himself left behind five notes including an apology. T he sheriff says the notes indicate there may have been psychiatric and financial problems.

Former Utah Congressman Bill Orton died in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His ATV flipped over on a sand dune yesterday. Orton was 60.

Pop star Madonna suffered minor injuries when she was thrown off a horse. A spokeswoman says paparazzi startled the animal yesterday when they jumped out of the bushes to photograph the singer. Madonna was treated and released from a Southampton, New York hospital.

A major diplomatic shift between the U.S. and Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he plans to name a new ambassador to the U.S. In September he expelled the U.S. ambassador prompting the U.S. to expel Venezuela's ambassador. Mr. Chavez proposed restoring ties at the Summit of the Americas. The Obama administration is welcoming the move. I talked with foreign policy expert Johanna Mendelson Forman about the apparent thaw in U.S./Venezuelan relations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHANNA MENDELSON FORMAN, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INTL. STUDIES: President Obama himself said, which I think is important, he said we don't want to look at the past, we want to look at the future.

WHITFIELD: Did that moment though initially kind of surprise you, or do you feel like there have been signs, whether it be from the Venezuelan president or others that this kind of tone might be emerging from this summit?

FORMAN: Well, President Chavez has said that he wanted to meet President Obama that he wanted to talk to him. What the conversation was going to be about is obviously unclear, but I think all of the leaders of the region, Chavez included, see the Obama administration as a new beginning and obviously you want to get off on a good foot. It looks like they started, but we have a long way to go.

WHITFIELD: How do you I guess discern or kind of decipher what's happened here? What's come of this warming of relations between certain Latin American leaders and the U.S., especially when you look at the very chilling relations under the Bush administration?

FORMAN: I think it's a worldwide phenomenon which you're now seeing in Trinidad. The extension of an opening to the United States, and I think the Obama administration has been very constructive in the language of partnership that it uses. It's not trying to impose will. The talk that Secretary of State Clinton gave as she left the Dominican Republic acknowledging we have shared responsibilities for problems is very, very constructive. Now of course we'll have to figure out how that works out, but the message is clear and he said it among 33 leaders of the region.

WHITFIELD: Cuba son the table, talk of Cuba is on the table. What are you expecting from President Obama and we know that Hugo Chavez is good friends with the Castros, and there have been many meetings between them, but what do you expect would be promised or what might the future look like in terms of U.S./Cuban relations?

FORMAN: Well I think it's very promising. Once again, we had the opening of travel for Cuban-Americans. Raul Castro said at the end of the Alba meeting that he wanted to discuss everything, including human rights, free press and political prisoners. I really think that's the beginning of a constructive dialogue. The United States wants that, and we want an opening, as does the Castro brothers. So I think we're on the right track. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So in part, what's prompted this whole discussion about Venezuela and the U.S. was this moment right here, the handshaking of President Obama and Chavez and, of course, the handing of that book. That book being called "Open Veins of Latin America." Well guess what, since that moment, has been viewed across the internet and television sets all across the country. Now it is number two, that book, on Amazon.com. Friday, guess what? It was number 60,280. So now it's number two, English and Spanish versions are out there. What's number one, Liberty and Tyranny is, conservative manifesto by Mark R. Levin.

Celebrating earth day at the national mall in the nation's capital. Elaine Quijano is plugged in.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka. I'm live here on the national mall testing out some new technology. Check this out, 150 miles per gallon, so they say. Let me give this puppy a whirl, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This earth day we're thinking, wouldn't you like to be green and wouldn't you like to be driving or riding in a green car? Ones with spunk and speed? CNN's Elaine Quijano is on the national mall in Washington. I don't know about the speed part, we know you have spunk. What about that ride you've got?

QUIJANO: Let me show you this, Fredricka. Yes thank you for that, I appreciate that. This is a Saturn Vue green line, this is something that car aficionados will recognize, right? Saturn Vue green line, this vehicle. It's a souped up version of that vehicle, Fredricka. AFS Trinity is the company that we're talking about here, calls this an extreme hybrid. Extreme. And joining us right now to talk about just why that is, is the company's CEO Mr. Edward Furia. Thank you so much for allowing us to take a spin in your vehicle. Why is this an extreme hybrid?

EDWARD FURIA, CEO, AFS TRINITY POWER: Well we call it an extreme hybrid because of what it does and how it does it. What it does is get the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon in mixed urban highway driving. How it does it is combine not just batteries but ultra capacitors.

QUIJANO: Ultra capacitors. Ok, people look at capacitors, flex capacitors, back to the future stuff? What are you talking about here?

FURIA: Well a capacitor is an energy storage device that can absorb energy and release it extremely fast and do it literally hundreds of thousands of times without being affected badly. A battery it is very good at delivering energy in a very slow trickle kind of way. In other words, a battery likes to be sipped, but an electric car, when you accelerate, wants to gulp energy, and it can gulp the energy from the ultra capacitor. Those two items together make it possible for this vehicle to get tremendous acceleration using energy that you get by plugging it in every night.

QUIJANO: Ok.

FURIA: And then you can go 40 miles every day.

QUIJANO: Ok, so let's get down to bare bones here. We're talking zero to 60 and how fast can this car go, zero to 60?

FURIA: If you want to do it, you can go zero to 60 in 6.9 seconds.

QUIJANO: 6.9 second. You were saying that is faster than a Porsche?

FURIA: It's faster than a standard Porsche Cayenne, that's right.

QUIJANO: Now Fredricka, we're not going to be able to go and see, put the pedal to the medal because we've got some pedestrians, but I'm going to take this for a very short drive, safety first, that's right safety belt mom, ok. So I'm taking a spin.

WHITFIELD: Nice.

QUIJANO: And I have to tell you, it's very quiet. I know that's not all that uncommon for other hybrids.

WHITFIELD: It looks good.

FURIA: It's extremely smooth and it's very quiet. In fact, I've driven this car over 100 times and it's the sonic signature that is most exciting to me.

QUIJANO: Sonic signature, what do you mean by that?

FURIA: What it sounds like, it sounds like a spaceship, it doesn't sound like a car.

QUIJANO: You know what you look at this and most people go, you know it doesn't look like anything different. I have t tell you the back seat, a little bit different, because you had to stick some more equipment back there.

FURIA: That's just the prototype, it's a little higher, yeah.

QUIJANO: So bottom line, can someone go out right now and buy this car?

FURIA: No. Not yet.

QUIJANO: How much do you think it will cost eventually?

FURIA: A car like this would cost between $32,000 and $35,000.

QUIJANO: And how soon, do you think, before they could actually get a vehicle like this? FURIA: Well, the first vehicle like this will be out in about year, but they'll only be 100 of them. That's a fleet vehicle. And then there will be a second fleet that will be 1,000, and then it's three years from now that you'd actually see it start into production.

QUIJANO: Ok, all right. There you have it, Fredricka. Mr. Furia thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

FURIA: It's my pleasure. We enjoyed having you here.

QUIJANO: They call this the extreme hybrid they say, depending on how you drive, Fredricka, you could go 40 miles on one charge overnight. 400 miles if it's in hybrid mode. They say 150 miles per gallon and Mr. Furia believes actually that this is the car that will electrify, in his words, transportation in the future. We'll see.

WHITFIELD: I guess for the price tag of between $32,000 and $35,000, I think, isn't that pretty comparable to other SUVs or vehicles of that size, but if only 100 are going to be available in that first fleet, something tells me it's going to cost you a little bit more to actually get that vehicle. You may have to bargain hunt.

QUIJANO: Yes, well and what they're saying is that it's a three- stage process, not to get too in the weeds about this, but their idea is to start off with 100, go to 1,000 and then eventually years from now is when you would see them out for mass production, basically out on the street. So this is a prototype, but they're moving towards this, according to Mr. Piria (ph). They believe that really, this is the wave of the future.

WHITFIELD: Wow and I know you're at a very popular location. You're right outside the Native American Museum there. So you already have a lot of folks. Something tells me a lot of people already inquire about that vehicle wondering, hey, what is that? I want it.

QUIJANO: You know what, they have. We had to actually have our producer, Larry Lazzo (ph), shoo some people away right before our live shot because they were coming up and they wanted to ask Mr. Piria (ph). You didn't see that?

WHITFIELD: All right. That's cool. Elaine, thanks so much. Well drive safely, as you take off from this live shot. Appreciate it. Watch the pedestrians.

All right, well you can find out more about Earth Day and other ways that you can help the planet at CNN.com/impact.

Struggling to cope with the Columbine tragedy 10 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that people will probably say it's been 10 years. How can you still be thinking of her every day, or why are you not over it? Or, you know, what? You still cry or -- but, you know, yeah. You know, you still think of her every day. She's my daughter. You know? I love her. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Parents of lives lost, opening up about their losses and their immeasurable heartache.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now, an update on what's making news right now. A possible hopeful sign today for efforts to win the freedom of this U.S. journalist, Roxana Saberi. An Iranian court has sentenced her to eight years in prison for espionage. But Iran's president says she should have the right to mount a full dissent when she appeals her conviction.

President Obama is -- as you see in images here as he is departing Trinidad, soon boarding Air Force One, making his way back to Washington after the fifth annual Summit of the Americas. You see right there with handshakes and lots of congratulations on what he is calling a pretty impressive and progressive summit taking place. This taking place just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: As we've seen potential positive signs in the nature of the relationship between the United States, Cuba and Venezuela. But as I've said before, the test for all of us is not simply words but also deeds. I do believe that the signal sent so far provides at least an opportunity for frank dialogue in a range of issues including critical areas of democracy and human rights throughout the hemisphere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president says that U.S. and Latin-American leaders don't see eye to eye on every issue but added that it's possible to disagree respectably. Again, there the president boarding Air Force One, getting ready to leave Trinidad. No room for any jet leg because he's got a full week ahead, beginning with tomorrow a scheduled meeting with his full cabinet. We'll be learning more about the developments of that starting tomorrow.

All right, a candlelight vigil is now scheduled this evening for the victims of Columbine High School massacre. Thirteen people were killed 10 years ago tomorrow when two students began a shooting rampage at the school. And now a memorial overlooks the scene of the tragedy. Parents of the victims share their memories with Adele Arakawa of CNN affiliate KUSA.

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DAWN ANNA, CHILD DIED COLUMBINE: IN I mean, the emotions have been all over the place, but always Lauren's there, always. I know that people will probably say it's been 10 years. How can you still be thinking of her every day, or why are you not over it? Or why -- you still cry, or but, you know, yeah, you still think of her every day, she's my daughter. You know? I love her. Why would you ask me not to love her every day? Or think of her every day? But I likened it to, if I had lost an arm, and if I would get up every day and try to go about my day without the use of an arm. Even if I had a prosthetic to strap on, I would still have to function in a new normal, and I think that's what all of us have learned to do and that's what all of us go about doing, always, always thinking of the one that we've lost.

ADELE ARAKAWA, KUSA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the common thread among the families. When you think of Columbine, don't think of the ugly images. Think of those who died, with sadness, but peace.

PHYLLIS VELASQUEZ, CHILD DIED IN COLUMBINE: I want them to think of the names, but not just because they were named as victims. They were so much more than that. They were beautiful children and a wonderful father and teacher. They had so much to offer, and their lives were cut short way too soon. I think when we reflect back on that we need to reflect on their lives, and what they accomplished to that day, and the gifts that they left us her here. Not just their families, but I think they touched the entire world.

ARAKAWA: The Columbine Memorial stands as a symbol of those lives lost. It also stands as a reminder of what's important in life.

AL VELASQUEZ, LOST CHILD IN COLUMBINE: I think what I would really like is for people to take this day and to show the love for their kids, just on this date, because it was such a tragedy, you know, to have your child go to school one day and not come back anymore. But if it would be a day where they could, you know, spend time with them, set aside their busy day, whatever, but just spend time with their kids and know how lucky you are that you still have your kids.

BRUCE BECK, LOST CHILD IN COLUMBINE: The world lost 12 wonderful, growing, expanding souls that were going to make a difference in so many lives, and that's the most disappointing thing.

ANNA: But I will never forget to, coming back down the street after missing Lauren for the first time, it took five days to be able to see him but we came down the street and the flag was at half-mast. And I grew up in the military, and the flag at half-mast to me meant the president had passed away. When I was growing up, that's what a flag meant, flying at half-mast, and this was just such a personal tragedy and it was such a personal loss.

I saw that flag at half-mast, and I turned and said oh, my gosh, something horrible's happened, and we've been so wrapped up in our own lives that, you know, we hadn't read papers. I turned to him and said, what's happened? And he said, Dawn, that's Columbine.

I was shocked that it impacted the nation. To me, it was our community. It was our house. It was our family, it was our community, and to see the flag that way and to realize it had struck not only our home but the nation and the world, was just -- I couldn't speak.

ARAKAWA: They will never forget, and they hope you won't either.

P. VELASQUEZ: It's still a very beautiful world. It's still wondrous and a nice journey, and I think that if we can continue that journey with joy and hope that we will come to the end of our days and look back and say, yes. It was peaceful. It was joyous. And we have hope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The daughter of Republican Senator John McCain warns of brewing trouble for the GOP. Meghan McCain is chiding her father's party saying old school Republicans are scared of the future.

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MEGHAN MCCAIN, DAUGHTER OF JOHN MCCAIN: I feel too many Republicans want to cling to the past successes. There are those who think we can win the White House and Congress back by being more conservative. Worse, there are those who think we can win by changing nothing at all about what our party has become. I think we're seeing a war brewing in the Republican Party right now. But it's not between us and the Democrats. It's not between us and liberals. It's between the future and the past. I believe most people are ready to move on to that future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meghan McCain was just one of the speakers as at Log Cabin Republican Convention this weekend. She has recently has become a vocal advocate of gay marriage. She is not the only one in her father's normally politically conservative circle to do so. Here now is our Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A surprising challenge from the man who ran John McCain's presidential campaign. Republicans should drop their opposition to same-sex marriage.

STEVE SCHMIDT, FORMER MCCAIN ADVISER: It cannot be argued that marriage between people of the same sex is un-American or threatens the rights of others. And our great Republican Party should always be on the side of expanding freedom and equal rights.

BASH: Steve Schmidt told this gathering of gay Republicans that allows same-sex marriage is in line whip the conservative credo to live and let live and keep government out of your life. And he argued raw politics. The GOP must be more open if it wants to reverse an alarming trend, a shrinking coalition, especially among younger, more accepting voters.

SCHMIDT: People are turned off in large measure by what they see as intolerance coming out of the party.

BASH: Schmidt has personal experience, a gay sister, and knows his is a minority view. Even McCain, the candidate he worked for, ran against same-sex marriage.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: One man and one woman. That's my definition of marriage.

BASH: But the group Schmidt addressed, the Log Cabin Republicans, hope other party leaders now realize that election losses prove the GOP catered too much to social conservatives.

CHARLES MORAN, LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: It's great that the Republican Party is going through this soul searching right now because Republicans are thinking outside of the box.

BASH: These days, their grass roots organization is reaching out to sympathetic Republicans in states debating same-sex marriage initiative. And this week, another Republican group, G-O Proud, formed to push a broader agenda, advocating traditional conservative issues like low taxes and small government, on behalf of gays.

JIMMY LASALVIA, GOPROUD: Well there's a misconception that if you're gay, you're liberal. Just like there's a misconception that if you're conservative, you're a bigot, you know?

BASH: Nearly three in 10 self-identified gays and lesbians voted Republican in the last election. Still, GO- operative Steve Schmidt admits most Republican leaders won't drop their opposition to same-sex marriage anytime soon. But he also says he thinks that will change as people get to know gay couples in committed relationships, as he has with his own sister. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich may try to re-invent himself in the jungles of Costa Rica. NBC reportedly wants him to star in its new reality series "I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here." If allowed, Blagojevich and other celebrities would be dumped in the jungle and face challenges to see how they adapt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not a joke. Could disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich actually end up on a reality show in the jungle of Costa Rica?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He could do infomercials.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, OK, maybe Flavor of Love.

KEITH OLBERMANN, MSNBC NEWS ANCHOR: The show has no connection to NBC News, MSNBC, MSNBC.com or our local news department in Chicago. In fact, I'm going to go wash my hands during the next commercial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Blagojevich faces one huge hurdle before he actually begins, whether a federal judge will actually allow him to leave the country to do such a show. Re-inventing yourself and rebuilding your resume. The job training boot camp that can make you more marketable. And you may be able to go there for free.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Millions of laid off workers are looking for ways to re-invent themselves and become more marketable. A Philadelphia-based company, Training Camp, says it can help. I talked to the company's CEO to find out how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS PORTER, CEO, TRAINING CAMP: We've developed a number of programs for individuals to maintain a level of job readiness, job- seeking readiness.

WHITFIELD: And this is the boot camp. People for a week would spend time at a hotel or at an office in a major city near you.

PORTER: Right.

WHITFIELD: Under the guise of this training camp, right, program, and learn how to improve their skills, but, wait, there's more. You're actually saying that this is something that will come free to people, if they have lost their job within the past year? What's the catch?

PORTER: Well, there is no catch. What they're really -- two sites of opportunities we're asking. One, Microsoft actually has offered a program they're calling "Elevate America." "Elevate America," they are offering one million vouchers for individual unemployed, or underemployed seeking retraining. Training Camp is offering those types of services for the Microsoft Elevate Americans.

Secondly, we're offering our employment assurancy guarantee which simply states that if you've attended any of our programs in the past or will continue in the future, we will offer you the opportunity, should you become unemployed, you can attend one of our programs really free of cost to get yourself additionally more marketable to attend.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So really, there are two ways to take advantage of this for free. You've already been through the program, you've lost your job in the past year and then you can go back and revamp some of your skills. And you're saying because of Microsoft generosity, there is money available to pay for other people to get this kind of job training. Are we talking about mostly I.T. jobs?

PORTER: Yes, yes, ma'am. Training camp was founded as an I.T. educational services firm. We do offer other programs for other types of curriculum like project management, information security, sales, those types of programs.

WHITFIELD: And what's the criteria to take advantage of that voucher program? PORTER: You can actually find it directly, for the Microsoft Elevate America on Microsoft.com.

WHITFIELD: OK, so I've lost my job in I.T. or something similar to that. I simply go to that Web site and how do I get onboard?

PORTER: Really, when you come to the Microsoft Web site or come to a training camp, our trainingcamp.com Web site, speak to one of our enrollment representatives, certainly can you demonstrate a financial need, which certainly should not be an issue and you simply be enrolled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Does that not sound like a great deal? If you are interested in learning about the company, the Web site is trainingcamp.com.

Techno wizards of tomorrow, building advanced robots today. We'll take you to the robotics championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ancient treasures are on display near Alexandria, Egypt today. An archeologist said he's close to discovering the lost tomb of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Among the items believed to be evidence of His impending find, 22 coins, 10 mummies and a mask with a cleft chin. Journalists were allowed to tour the 2,000-year-old temple near the Mediterranean Sea today. Ground penetrating radar has actually revealed three possible underground chambers which could hold the remains of the ill-fated lovers. Excavations are expected to begin on Tuesday.

Well competitors call it nerve-racking. But sponsors say it's the path for tomorrow's engineers. High school robotics teams from across the country showed off their creations in Atlanta this weekend. Check out some of the rolling talent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Here we go.

TIM BERRY, PARENT: Have to brain storm. What are we going to make this robot look like? How are we going to make it pick up the ball, collect them? What are we going to do, how are we going to get them into the trailers? There are so many ways of doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1868.

CATHERINE FUKUI, SPACE COOKIES TEAM: Yeah, it's really fun. I mean, you get to use what we've learned at school to apply to building a physical object like this. I mean -- I would have never thought I'd have joined the robotics' team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just enjoy socializing with all the teams here. KERI PORTER, STUDENT: This is my first year. My brother was actually on the team. I'd kind of seen it and got really interested into it, and I'm sucked in now. I can't get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first robot --

CHARLES WENSEL, STUDENT: As far as the ball path goes, we have two ways of loading. We can either player load, we can throw balls at the top here, or we can pick up off the ground down here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what's generating our future engineers. This is the bedrock of our country going forward.

WENSEL: I really hope to become a mechanical engineer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The competition can be nerve-racking but it's always fun. Always have fun whether we lose or win, it's just an awesome experience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, fun and smart.

All right, coming up at 4:00 Eastern today, the story of two veterans who served together in the Vietnam War. When they parted, they actually split a dollar bill in half. We'll tell you how they finally reunited. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.