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Grim Findings in the Atlantic Ocean from Air France Flight 447; President Obama's Grassroots Effort for a New Health Care Plan; Victory Gardens Making a Comeback

Aired June 07, 2009 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Grim findings in the Atlantic Ocean. Pieces of Air France Flight 447 floating in the water as recovery crews report finding more victims.

The president wants a health care plan for Americans and a grassroots effort to gain support is underway. But, is that the best way to get a bill to his desk?

And there have been thousands of commencement addresses. It's graduation season. But there probably hasn't been one like this one. Now speaking from Iraq.

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

Three more bodies have been recovered today, one week after Air France flight 447 simply disappeared off the coast of Brazil. That brings the total number of bodies recovered now and discovered to five. Around the clock search continues in the Atlantic Ocean. A Brazilian navy captain says they are sifting through a sea of debris. CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us live now. Karl, a briefing today as well. What more was learned?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Authorities, officers from the air force and from the Brazilian navy say those three bodies were recovered. They are now on board a Brazilian navy vessel and heading for dry land. What they do say is they can't identify at this stage whether those bodies are male or female.

Added to that, they say they will not comment about the state in which those bodies were found, whether they were mangled in the crash or whether simply decomposed from days in the water. They say they prefer to comment on those details direct to the family members to avoid any unnecessary distress. They also say that more bodies have been sighted in the water. They say that they expect to recover those in the coming hours and along with that, two more Air France seats. And they say that literally hundreds of pieces of debris and luggage.

But again in order to avoid unnecessary levels of expectation and distress to the family, they aren't describing any of the pieces of luggage too in case some of the relatives recognize some of the suitcases that their loved ones were carrying, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And now what about the weather because certainly that can dictate how much further a search can go. PENHAUL: For the last few days the weather conditions there we understand, have been good. But today the weather reports are not so good. The Brazilian Air Force says there is reduced visibility in the area and there is the prospect of storms as well. They say that that will hamper the search effort, but it won't stop it entirely. They have at least 12 aircraft working around the clock. 24/7 to locate items. And once any debris, once any bodies have been located from the air, they send a message to ships in the sea.

Now, there are at least six ships in the search area right now. And those will continue to operate as well. They say that they are operating against the odds because of the weather. But also because of the size of the search area. The search area right now is a massive 200,000 square kilometers. That's about the size of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's pretty tremendous. Thanks so much, Karl Penhaul. Appreciate that update.

All right. Even though the investigation into the Air France disaster is running 24 hours a day, recovery efforts are going rather slowly. There's a reason for that. The water in the search area is about 20,000 feet deep in some parts, and the area covers, as you heard Karl mention, 77,200 square miles. Just to put that in perspective once again, there you go. There is the state of Nebraska. That is the equivalent of that search area that they are now trying to concentrate on.

Meantime, overseas, a mystery in Iraq. Five U.S. security contractors have been detained in the killing of another American contractor. It happened in Baghdad's heavily secured green zone. CNN's Phil Black is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): CNN has obtained exclusive images of the American men now being detained in an Iraqi prison in connection to the murder of another American. There are five in total. All private security contractors working for the security firm CTU or Corporate Training Unlimited. Their names, Donald Feeney. He is the founder and CEO of that company. His son, also Donald Feeney, Michael Milligan, Mark Bridges and Jason Morton. The five were detained early Friday morning in a raid conducted by U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

And they are being held in connection to the murder last month of James Kitterman, a 60-year-old construction company operator here in Iraq who was found bound and stabbed inside a vehicle within the green zone. U.S. embassy officials have visited the five men. But their future for the moment is unclear. Should they be charged, Iraqi authorities can potentially prosecute them now here under Iraqi legal jurisdiction.

CNN understands that's negotiations are under way between the Iraqi government and the U.S. State Department to determine their future. Phil Black, CNN, Baghdad. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, President Barack Obama is back home after almost a week overseas. He arrived at the White House about an hour and a half ago. The trip took him to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France. And it included his much anticipated speech to the Muslim world. Also a trip to a Nazi concentration camp and he also carried out his speech marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.

All right. CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian followed the president on this trip and he reports now that the fanfare is over and so now the diplomatic work begins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He gave a handshake and a hug to the Muslim world. Then delivered a prescription for peace. Now President Obama is trying to show the world that it was more than a goodwill gesture and a sightseeing trip. This week sending his special Middle East envoy George Mitchell to the region.

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: I think the moment is now for us to act on what we all know to be the truth, which is that each side is going to have to make some difficult compromises.

LOTHIAN: Mr. Obama is counting on world leaders like Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to be key players in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear ambitions. And fighting against terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. German chancellor Angela Merkel assured the president she's on the same page.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: I sent on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany that we would like to try and be helpful in this peace process to the extent that this is possible to us.

LOTHIAN: And there is that increasingly troubling question about what to do about North Korea with its nuclear test and missile launches. Meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Normandy, President Obama suggested there's a limit to his patience.

OBAMA: I don't think that there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilizing the region and we just react in the same ways by after they've done these things for a while, then we reward them.

LOTHIAN (on camera): On his overseas trip, Mr. Obama also visited the Buchenwald concentration camp and attended the 65th anniversary of D-Day. All part of a common theme that the world community should engage to make sure that right triumphs over wrong. Dan Lothian, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today made her first appearance on a Sunday morning talk show as a cabinet member. One topic she was asked about on "ABC This Week," Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: If Iran is seeking security, if they believe and you know you have to put yourself into the shoes of the other party when you negotiate. If they believe that the United States might attack them the way that we did attack Iraq, for example --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before they attack, as a first strike.

CLINTON: That's right. As a first strike or they might have some other enemy that would do that to them. Part of what we have to make clear to the Iranians is that their pursuit of nuclear weapons will actually trigger greater insecurity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Clinton went on to say President Obama has absolutely convinced her that he is ready for that 3:00 a.m. crisis phone call. She raised the question during last year's presidential campaign if you recall.

He called her a racist. And he's not taking it back. Instead, Newt Gingrich says he refrained what he said about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Name calling explained. Former house speaker Newt Gingrich says that he has refrained something that he said on-line. He recently called Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist on the social networking site, twitter. He cited her 2001 comment that - revisiting this quote you've heard a lot. "A wise Latina woman would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male." Well, here's Gingrich's view on CBS' "Face the Nation" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's talk about Sonia Sotomayor and what you said about her. You rescinded --

NEWT GINGRICH, FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: Well I refrained. When I did a twitter about her, having read what she said, I said that was racist. But I applied it to her as a person. The truth is I don't know her as a person. It's clear that what she said was racist and it's clear for somebody racialist if you prefer. It's clear that she didn't just say it once. I think one of the challenges for the administration is having first chided me for language, then having said she didn't mean it, then having said she ought to restate it. Now they face the fact that she has said this, written about it four or five times.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Gingrich went on to say if the term white male had been used instead of Latina, that person, he believes, would have been disqualified.

Well, a top republican on the senate judiciary committee is making a promise to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor that you will get a fair hearing. It's a sensitive issue for Senator Jeff Sessions. He was caught up in questions of racism 23 years ago. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Listen in to what republican Jeff Sessions told the democratic president's Supreme Court nominee.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: You will get a fair hearing before this committee.

BASH: He is so emphatic because of his own experience. 23 years ago, Sessions was nominated by Ronald Reagan to be a federal judge but was rejected.

SESSIONS: I am sorry that the Senate judiciary committee did not see fit to find me qualified for it.

BASH: He's now the top republican on that very committee.

SESSIONS: That is a very odd thing. Somebody says it gives new meaning to the word irony.

BASH: Irony bringing back memories he tries to forget.

SESSIONS: It was not a pleasant event. I've got to tell you. It was really so heartbreaking to me.

BASH: Then a 39-year-old Alabama U.S. attorney, Sessions was accused of racial insensitivity, calling a black lawyer boy, a white lawyer a disgrace to his race and civil rights groups like the NAACP un-American. He was pounded by democrats like Joe Biden.

SESSIONS: They may have taken positions that I considered to be adverse to the security interest of the United States.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Does that make them un-American?

SESSIONS: No, sir, it does not.

BIDEN: Does it make the positions un-American?

SESSIONS: No.

BASH: Some democratic senator Sessions now serves with, call his him racist.

SESSIONS: No, that was not fair. That was not accurate. Those were false charges and distortions of anything that I did. And it really was not. I never had those kind of views. And I was caricatured in a way that was not me.

BASH: Sessions went on to win a Senate seat in 1996, but the allegations still sting.

SESSIONS: I think it was hard.

BASH: The parallel to today, some republicans charging Sotomayor as a racist is eerie.

(on camera): When you hear that, you hear Ted Kennedy and other democrats going through your head saying Jeff Sessions is a racist?

SESSIONS: You know, that's such a loaded word. And I don't think it's appropriate.

BASH (voice-over): Sessions will ask tough questions about deep differences with Sotomayor on judicial philosophy. But also hopes to use her hearing to close the door on a painful part of his past. Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And some pretty amazing pictures that you simply don't want to miss. We'll show you an undersea discovery that some say outshines Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our news across America begins in Hillsboro, Oregon. A 28-year-old Karena Roberts has been charged with murder after officers found the body of a pregnant woman in the crawl space of Roberts' home found. A newborn infant she claims was hers also died. Officials say Roberts has not given birth and that she could also face charges in the infant's death.

And in Ohio, give this year's graduating class at Centersburg High School an "A" for resourcefulness. School administrators canceled ceremonies because of a suspected cheating scandal involving one senior. So parents and students held their own do-it-yourself- style graduation ceremony instead.

And as we draw closer to nine months after Hurricane Ike, obstetricians on the Texas coast say these twins that you are about to see, are signs of things to come. Local baby boom is expected as some couples may have taken more than just refuge during the storm. Just use your imagination on the twins.

All right. Think the age of discovery ended long ago? Well, stop a minute and watch this next story. Divers are discovering a vast area of coral reef that could rival anything found in Australia's Great Barrier region. CNN's Arwa Damon shows us this new find in the waters off Indonesia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One look and it's easy to see why it's nicknamed the Amazon of the seas. Southeast Asia's Coral Triangle literally is a Technicolor jungle, explode with marine life. We actually know very little about this kaleidoscope of thousands of species. Mark Erdman has been diving these waters for nearly two decades.

MARK ERDMAN, CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: If you look at the biodiversity which we have in the Coral Triangle, it's really mind- blowing in that sense. In the area where I work, it's a little further to the east over the last two years we've found over 100 species, new species of fish and coral.

DAMON: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Papua, New Guinea and Timor make up the Coral Triangle. Australia and the United States promised financial support to saving these waters. With the U.S. as the largest financial contributor, pledging $40 million over five years. But money alone isn't enough. Experts say the respective governments need to take action.

We're talking about saving the most biodiverse marine eco-system on the planet. Ten times more so than Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It's home to 76 percent of known coral species. Thousands of species of fish and they are threatened by over fishing, pollution and at the top of the list? Climate change.

PROF. OVE HOEGH GULDBERG, CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND: If we don't take action today, within 30 to 50 years, we'll have a vastly changed ocean. It will be largely dead.

DAMON: Oceans may cover 70 percent of the earth but still, it's not easy for scientists to create a sense of urgency about what's happening under water.

GULDBERG: We are warming the oceans at almost the same rate as we're warming the land masses.

DAMON: Scientists also say it's not just about preserving what we know is already there. Only five percent of the ocean's species are known to science. There might be things we don't know about going extinct at this very moment. Arwa Damon, CNN, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Health care, a presidential push this week to make sure every American has medical coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Some Indiana pension funds are going to the Supreme Court in a last ditch effort to halt the sale of the bankrupt Chrysler. The pension funds hold Chrysler bonds and they say they'll be hurt if the deal goes through.

An appeals court upheld the sale yesterday. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes tomorrow, Chrysler's assets will be transferred to a new company owned by Italy's Fiat. The United Auto Workers Union and the U.S. government.

And Tuesday will mark the end of the road for nearly 800 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers. They'll no longer have the right to sell new Chrysler products. Among those being cut adrift, Carlos Planas, who has a Miami area dealership. And I spoke with him yesterday. And I asked him how many cars he still has and how he is going to unload them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLOS PLANAS, CHRYSLER DEALER: I was one of the nice guys I believe in Chrysler and the chairman. I took over 300 units more. So I have over 260 units left between now and Tuesday. I think I can remove about 40 of them. So I will have approximately a little over 200 units.

WHITFIELD: So you have about 260 units or cars we're talking, right, and you think you'll be able to sell them how or move them how?

PLANAS: I will probably move about 40 or 50. The rest is with me. Now, the bad thing about it is after that day, we no longer are going to have holdbacks, incentives, rebate, nothing. So we have to take the loss on each one of them.

WHITFIELD: OK. You got to take big losses. How willing are you to make these incredible deals in order to sell these vehicles? How do you do this? Are you saying, you got to have cash only in order to make a purchase?

PLANAS: That's right because the banks no longer go ahead and do any business with us. One of the things we're trying to do is to make sure that if Chrysler will do the same thing that GM is doing. They are paying them everything except about $300 less. So we are hoping that Jim Press and his comrades will go ahead and do the same thing that GM is doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. One option for Planas may be selling cars to a surviving Chrysler dealer. Chrysler factories are closing during the bankruptcy process so no new orders will be filled until that process is complete.

And here's a quick look at what's happening right now overall. First, the hunt for Air France flight 447. Searchers have found three more bodies off the coast of Brazil. Five bodies total have now been found this weekend. And Brazilian officials say more have been spotted along with hundreds of other items in this debris field.

Five private security contractors from the U.S. working in Iraq have been detained in the killing of another American contractor. The victim was a construction company operator. He was found bound and stabbed in Baghdad's green zone. The Iraqi government and U.S. State Department officials are working together on this case. President Obama is back from his trip overseas. He returned to the White House just about two hours ago. Stops and speeches in Cairo, Buchenwald and Normandy are now under his belt.

His family however is spending another night in Paris. There's nothing on the president's public schedule agenda for the rest of today.

Well, tomorrow, however is a different story. Mr. Obama is set to meet with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House. They'll be talking about economic recovery. And Thursday, the president travels to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for a town hall meeting.

And even before leaving France, the president was turning his attention to politics back home. He wants Congress to approve a new government sponsored health insurance plan. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports the opposition is already digging in its heels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Winding down a trip focused on foreign policy, President Obama returns to make the big push on his number one domestic priority - health care reform.

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: The status quo is broken. We cannot continue this way. If we do nothing, everyone's health care will be put in jeopardy.

BOLDUAN: President Obama wants health care legislation on his desk by October. The White House and democrats aim to ensure all Americans are covered. A draft bill by Senator Ted Kennedy obtained by CNN establishes a new government-run insurance option. Something republicans strongly oppose saying it threatens to drive private insurers from the market.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: The American people want health care decisions left up to families and doctors, not bureaucrats in Washington. They don't want a government takeover that denies or delays the care they need. And they don't want politicians telling them how much or what kind they can have.

BOLDUAN: Also under the draft bill, many individuals and employers would face penalties for going without insurance and it proposes the government subsidize premiums for people with incomes up to 500 percent of the poverty level. But the draft does not include specifics on how to pay for the health care overhaul.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for coming.

BOLDUAN: This weekend, the democratic party's advocacy arm Organizing for America, kicked off a campaign-style lobbying effort. Hosting meetings across the country to build public support for the healthcare push. Republicans fighting for a seat at the bargaining table say efforts like these aren't helping.

REP. ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: Activating the grassroots effort from the campaign is one way to keep your campaign effort alive. It's not a particularly effective way to create a bipartisan solution to an important problem. BOLDUAN (on camera): Senator Kennedy's office insists the draft bill is just that. A draft. Meaning it's not final and could change dramatically as the big health care debate begins in Congress. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Mitch Stewart is working to build support for the president's healthcare plan. He is the director for Organizing for America, a social project of the Democratic National Convention and he joins us now from Washington.

Good to see you Mitch

MITCH STEWART, DIRECTOR, ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: The president wants to be more involved in this process. He wants to conduct more town hall meetings; he wants to have more speeches that are directed to exactly what he wants to be in this health care reform. And Organizing for America has already been going door to door, right, launching some grassroots level campaigns to get people on board. What are you actually saying to people and what's the response been?

STEWART: It's been overwhelming. We're incredibly encouraged by the support that we've seen up to this date. Saturday, yesterday, we had health care organizing kickoffs across the country in all 50 states. Basically what we asked our people to, our supporters to do was to hold very small house meetings across -- in their community where they can engage their neighbors and friends about the president's health care plan.

WHITFIELD: So it's almost like people are trying to talk amongst themselves, come up with some ideas, talk about what they wish would happen, what they would prefer to happen, but they're not part of crafting policy.

STEWART: Well, when we laid out the president's principles as he did two weeks ago and the first principle is the cost of health insurance for both families and for businesses. The second of his principles is to provide choice. Both of doctor and of health care, of the health care plan. If someone wants to keep their current health care plan they can do so. If they want a choice to get a different health care plan, that's an option. Included in that choice is a public option. The third principle that he laid out was insuring every American has affordable access to quality care. And --

WHITFIELD: Is it really more so that the president under, you know, the auspices of this campaign really trying to convey and convince to the American people this is what I envision? This is how I see it would work more so than it is this is what people say they want and need and that information finding its way into any kind of draft such as the 170-page draft that Senator Kennedy has already compiled?

STEWART: We do feel at Organizing for America, we have a unique opportunity to push the debate forward. Every one of our supporters are folks that we engaged on Saturday in the report that we received from the field. By and large, all folks are supportive of the president's plan, of his principles. Everyone wants to lower the cost for families and for small businesses.

Everyone wants to maintain choice. Everyone wants to ensure access to affordable health care. So, you know, talking through the president's principles and then making sure that we come up with a plan. This is community by community to start engaging our neighbors and friends. Similar to what we did on the campaign. Folks going out knocking on doors making phone calls, talking to them about the --

WHITFIELD: Are people receptive? Are they feeling like this is almost like harkens back to the days of campaigning? Someone is knocking on my door trying to give me some information. What makes me want to open the door to the person?

STEWART: Well, I tell you, this problem, health care reform and, you know, the status quo being unacceptable, frankly to every American. We had a lot of Republicans who didn't support President Obama in the election show up at our health care organizing kickoff to engage in a conversation because this is an issue that is not just a Democratic issue or independent issue or Republican issue.

Frankly it covers the entire spectrum of our country. And people are desperate to change health care reform. It's one of the things that is the most important issue for our supporters. And one of the issues they are most passionate about engaging their neighbors and friends. I think they understand that not only are those conversations important. It's something that's never happened before. The issues that are being debated here --

WHITFIELD: The effort has been made before. But this administration is trying to say this is going to be very different than what was efforted during the Clinton administration.

STEWART: Well, I don't know if there's a grassroots component to what was done before. You can correct me if I'm wrong. Having conversations door by door on front porches, Main Street cafes across this country is not something --

WHITFIELD: The approach being very different.

STEWART: And we hope that not only these conversations are important but we've captured hundreds of thousands of personal health care stories. So, you know, folks understand it is in Washington and across this country that this is something that's affecting all of us. In the reddest part of the country or the bluest part of the country.

WHITFIELD: OK. Mitch Stewart thanks so much. The Obama administration trying to bring promise to 45 million uninsured Americans through this sort of health care reform that they, too, will eventually have some sort of health care coverage. We'll be watching. You're with the Organizing for America campaign currently under way.

Let's talk about the weather front. Another mess for the Midwest. And the threat of possible tornadoes now. Let's check in with CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. Really violent and torrential weather this weekend in so many different parts of the country.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're just getting starting to right now. We are just starting to get a few severe weather reports out of Colorado. The atmosphere is ripe in the Plains for things to develop very rapidly over the next couple of hours. This will be more of an evening event for a lot of folks. We want to tell you about a very dangerous storm right now about 20 miles outside of the Denver area. Trained spotters here have been reporting a possible tornado touching down near I-70 here near the Watkins area. It flipped over a semi trailer but was very brief at the time.

A tornado warning remains in effect for Elbert, Douglas and Arapahoe Counties. This is a very dangerous storm that is moving east- southeast. You need to be seeking shelter right now. There's a severe thunderstorm watch in effect across that area. Once in a while you can get tornadoes, even though it's a severe thunderstorm watch and not a tornado watch.

All right. Looking at the radar here across the Plains states. Looks benign, doesn't it? Not a whole lot going on just some light rain showers. However, the atmosphere is becoming increasingly unstable in this area. And a tornado watch will likely be issued that could include you in Kansas City. Really any time in the next couple of hours.

We've got a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms here. Large hail and damaging winds will be prevalent, but we will see some tornadoes with them. That can cause, of course, an extensive amount of damage. The dark red area. We're expecting the greatest threat for those tornados and a slighter risk outside of it from Colorado to the Chicago land area. Make sure you have your NOAA weather radio on tonight when you go to bed for tonight and throughout the day as well.

Look at the difference in temperatures. This is the big storm front right there. You can see 70s across parts of the Plains states. Down here into Iowa and also into Missouri. And look up north. Temperatures 15 to 30 degrees --

WHITFIELD: The 70-something sound like that feels good. The 50- something, not so good for me. I like it toasty.

JERAS: It might snow today in Montana.

WHITFIELD: Snow in June. They are probably used to that, though.

JERAS: Not so much in June.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good. Thanks, Jacqui. We'll see you again a little bit later. We'll talk about some other stuff.

All right. Meantime, President Obama's message to the Muslim world. We've heard all the talk. Well, now there's action?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: This story just in. A New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagen who was traveling to Shanghai for an economic development trip has been quarantined in Shanghai because of the h1n1 health scare. Now not because the mayor is showing any symptoms of swine flu or h1n1, but apparently it's been brought to his attention and the attention of others who were on the same plane as Ray Nagen that someone else on that plane apparently did show signs of h1n1 and as a precaution, almost everybody on that flight, including Mayor Ray Nagin has been quarantined in a designated location in Shanghai until everyone is given the all clear.

This information just coming in. We understand there may be a press conference coming out of New Orleans later on to expand on some of these details. Mayor Ray Nagin quarantined in Shanghai, not because he's expecting any signs of h1n1 but because somebody else on his flight did. So those passengers, including him, are quarantined in Shanghai. More information as we get it.

Meantime, in Northwestern Mexico a scene of grieving parents burying children who died in the devastating day care fire. The death toll rose to 41 today. The blaze broke out Friday at a warehouse and quickly spread to the center. Witnesses tell CNN that some parents desperately tried to save their trapped children by ramming their cars into the building. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez who is there says one of the center's two doors was padlocked and that windows were too high for the children to reach. At least 33 children remain hospitalized.

All right. Votes are being counted in Lebanon following today's parliamentary elections. The Militants Hezbollah Organization is hoping to oust the pro-western Lebanese government. Observers warn that the results of the vote could complicate President Obama's efforts to broker a Middle East peace deal. Official results are expected tomorrow.

And word now action from the Obama administration on the Middle East peace effort. The president returned from his trip overseas just a couple hours ago back in Washington, D.C. and he has already dispatched special envoy George Mitchell to the region in a follow-up to the president's message to the Muslim world. We'll discuss the importance of that message with Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges; he is also the professor at Sarah Lawrence College.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE: The challenge facing President Barack Obama is to translate his wonderful and positive rhetoric into concrete policies. He knows that. But what he's trying to do is to really shift the debate. Reframe the debate. In the last eight years we've been basically fighting a so-called war on terror. It has done a great deal of damage not only to America's moral standing but also in terms of blood and treasure.

What he's trying to do is create the context, the condition that enables the president to lay out his vision and proceed. What the president needs to do is to create an international coalition. You've seen him talking about the peace process in Germany yesterday. He also talked with the French president about the peace process as well. He is really trying to bring about an international coalition and also, Fredericka, to create a peace constituency in the United States itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He did draw a distinction between the war in Afghanistan as one out of necessity and the war in Iraq, which was a war of choice. And this is what he said about Iraq in particular. And he got a huge rousing applause when he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases and no claim on their territory or resources.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Why was that important for him to say and did that changes the message being conveyed from America to the Muslim community or to Iraq in particular?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERGES: It's one of the most important points made by President Obama that really has yet to see a great deal of attention. Remember, there are three critical issues that stand in the way between the United States and the Muslim world. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the American invasion and occupation of Iraq and America's elapsed support for Arab and Muslim dictators.

On Iraq he said it was a war of choice while the war in Afghanistan was a war of necessity. And he said many Americans oppose the war implicitly reminding Arabs and Muslims that he, the president of the United States opposed the war itself. He also said we are pulling out of Iraq by 2012 fully. No military bases. Basically Iraq will be run and governed by Iraqis. This message resonates deeply and widely in that part of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And on our blog, we asked this question. Do you think President Obama's trip will improve U.S. International relations? We'll take a look at some of the results. 83 percent say, yes, the trip will improve relations overseas, 17% answered no. This is not a scientific poll. You can check out the results of our blog yourself by going on to CNN.com/newsroom and click on my name, Fredricka.

There have been thousands of commencement addresses this graduation season. But there probably hasn't been one like this one. Now speaking from Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Tough talk today from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on North Korea. She says the Obama administration is considering adding North Korea back to the list of state sponsors of terror. Her remarks follow those of President Obama who vowed yesterday to take a very hard look at tougher measures. The backdrop, North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We will do everything we can to both interdict it and prevent it and shut off their flow of money. If we do not take significant and effective action against the North Koreans now, we'll spark an arms race in Northeast Asia. I don't think anybody wants to see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Clinton also said her office is doing everything it can in trying to win the release of two U.S. journalists detained by North Korea in March.

The principal of Goodrich High School in Michigan didn't get the chance to hand his seniors their diplomas. That's because David St. Aubin isn't just a principal. He's also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. And duty called late last year. But his service to his country didn't mean that he had to totally miss out on his students' big day. He delivered their commencement speech from Iraq and he had a special guest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ST. AUBIN, U.S. ARMY: Be proud to be an American. Be proud to live in the land of the free. Just don't take these things for granted. Remember, others like our Iraqi friends don't have the same freedoms. So see these things as a gift. Take advantage of what we Americans give and excel on your own terms. Excel with the freedoms that you are given. I'd like someone to come out here and say hello to you.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT:" Congratulations class of '09. Stay strong!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yes, that was Stephen Colbert with David St. Aubin, the principal of Goodrich High School. But coming to them from Iraq, Baghdad.

A fan of storms -- actually storms the court at the French Open. The drama that unfolded as he confronted tennis great Roger Feder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JERAS: I'm CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. Just want to update you on the breaking weather situation. A new tornado watch has now been issued for parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa. This includes Omaha, and Kansas City. I also want to update you on the tornado warning just outside the Denver area. Still in effect for Albert and Arapahoe Counties until 3:15. There have been reported tornadoes and funnels in the area. No damage other than a semi trailer being flipped over on I-70. No one injured in that.

WHITFIELD: See you in a couple of minutes.

Some other news we want to tackle right now. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, she still has got it. She can definitely draw a crowd. More than 20,000 people -- 20,000 people lined the streets to see the former Republican Vice Presidential candidate lead a parade through downtown Auburn, New York. Palin signed a proclamation honoring William Seaword, an Auburn native.

Seaword is 19th century secretary of state who negotiated a $7.2 million deal with Russia to buy Alaska. Later on, Palin spoke to several hundred people at a private fund-raiser where she reportedly criticized the Obama administration's policies on national security and on the economy.

I mentions Jacqui was going to be back. Now we're back in the chat room and we got a lot of interesting things to talk about. A lot has been said about President Obama being overseas. Well, his family finally --

JERAS: Not alone.

WHITFIELD: His family met up with him while in France. He's back in Washington. But the girls, the Obama girls decided to stay in Paris. Isn't that fun? So they've taken in a little shopping. Apparently they hit a high end great kids shop on the left bank. Even though you are looking at pictures of them back home in Washington with the dog there. They are still in Paris because an 8-year-old birthday party is about to happen tomorrow.

JERAS: Sasha turns 8.

WHITFIELD: Isn't that nice? They did have a prelude celebration with the Sarkozys, a nice lunch. And that also included, of course, the outing of going shopping and then, of course, Saturday night, the Obamas, the first couple had a nice little time alone out at a restaurant.

It was a no-star restaurant.

JERAS: A no star?

WHITFIELD: A no star.

JERAS: Really?

WHITFIELD: And their reservations were made like ten days prior to them actually arriving and the owner of the restaurant had no idea until that morning. Yeah. Of course, he was very thrilled to meet them.

JERAS: Who would have expected that?

WHITFIELD: So nice time being had on Paris.

All right. But also in France, a not so good time. Good time because Roger Feder won but not so good time just prior to winning.

JERAS: Check out the video. Some guy breaks through security, gets on to the court. Tries to put a hat on top of him. Jumps over the net. There he goes and gets tackled. Boom. On the ground.

WHITFIELD: Did you hear that?

That was so glad it was really just a prank because this does conjure up memories of Monica Seles when someone rushed the court and stabbed her and it really impacted her career. Roger Feder did talk about this later. He said for a moment he really just wanted to get on with playing again but then only reflected later. Wait a minute. That was really quite frightening.

JERAS: But then he's able to get his game back together and win. How could you --

WHITFIELD: And tying Pete Sampras of grand slam wins 14 grand slam titles.

JERAS: I saw a quote from Sampras today saying that Federer is the greatest of all time.

WHITFIELD: Maybe he'll be at Wimbledon, too, to watch his record be broken.

Let's talk about victory in another way. Victory gardens. A lot of folks have been inspired to plant. I was inspired to plant but I'm not speaking about my victory garden. It's a flop at this point. But you have done so and it's doing well.

JERAS: Lots and lots of people are. 7 million more people this year are planting their own victory gardens. We've got an I-report that we want to show you that was sent in. This garden is amazing. Do we have the picture of that? This is from Vicki Willman of Mayport, Pennsylvania. She's been doing this for about five years. That's 30 feet by 60 feet.

WHITFIELD: That's more than a victory garden.

JERAS: She really saved hundreds each year. She can't remember the last time she bought any kind of tomato product.

WHITFIELD: That's fantastic. So you're on board with that. You just might do so well this year in your produce that you, too, could be saving hundreds.

JERAS: I'm working on it. We're going to see. We've had --

WHITFIELD: Very impressive. JERAS: Invest in some things. A little trouble-shooting as well. We've got a couple of pictures of my garden. Oh, there's my son. There's Ashton. He's been my helper. We had some Afid (ph) on my sugar snap peas. I read if you mix just a little dish soap and water, that it will kill --

WHITFIELD: Got to keep it organic.

JERAS: Walter Reed is our gardener he has been helping us throughout this.

WHITFIELD: You need to get yourself some ladybugs. They like to eat those, too.

JERAS: Look at the peas. I should be able to pick them tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: You have a nice salad for dinner.

Everyone share those six green beans.

JERAS: If you have questions about what troubleshooting problems you'll have, e-mail me. We'll do a piece with Walter coming up. If you have troubles, I want to know about it.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will look forward to that. Thanks, Jacqui. Happy gardening.

Much more straight ahead here on CNN, 6:00 Eastern Time, grumbling Republicans invoke 2012 as the year that they will be back.

And color blind on Broadway? We'll talk to a star who is challenging how we see race. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Fareed Zakaria "GPS" is next.