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CNN Live Saturday

New Dairy Diet Research Shows Good Results; Local, Tribal Leaders Meet With al Sadr Today; Smarty Jones Wins Kentucky Derby

Aired May 01, 2004 - 18:00   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Coming up, the latest as a severe storm system heads east. In its path, flooding and destruction from Texas to Louisiana. Rescue efforts continue. Orelon Sidney joins with us the forecast.
Also, move over Atkins, another diet is grabbing some attention and it might be right up alley. You can still eat ice cream. Details straight ahead.

But first, a look at our top story this evening. U.S. Supreme Court justice, David Souter, was assaulted last night on a Washington, D.C. street while jogging. Justice Souter is said to be all right. CNN's Kathleen Koch has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The apparently random attack occurred around 9:00 p.m. Friday while Supreme Court Justice David Souter was out jogging on a city street. Court spokeswoman, Kathy Arberg, says several young men assaulted 64-year- old Souter, who then contacted Supreme Court police. Officers took the justice to Washington Hospital Center where doctors found he had minor injuries and released him early Saturday morning.

Arberg wouldn't characterize the motive for the attack but did say Souter had not been robbed. Experts say Supreme Court justices are not required to have constant security. And court scholars point out that the justices generally attract little negative attention.

PAUL ROTHSTEIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSTITY LAW SCHOOL: Well, the abortion decision engendered a fairly high degree of threats for judges. But in general the Supreme Court judges are probably less often threatened than most other public officials.

KOCH: Eight years ago, another justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, was a victim of crime on Washington's streets. Ginsburg's purse was snatched from her while walking with her family near the Kennedy Center. Security experts say it often takes a series attack before agencies opt for stepped up protection.

LARRY JOHNSON, SECURITY EXPERT: It is just -- we have not invested in that up until this point. Now, once you start having -- if you start having attacks like this, it's going to raise the question that there ought to be expanded Secret Service protection or security details for, you know, people like this justice. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: No arrests have yet been made in this case. Souter is an avid jogger, one of the younger of the Supreme Court justices. Still, though, the court spokesman says it's uncertain whether or not he'll be back at court Monday to join in deliberations -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, do we know if he usually jogs alone?

KOCH: Apparently, the Supreme Court is not really certain of his normal jogging habits. They do believe that at this point he was jogging alone. But he's an avid jogger, known to jog three or four times a week. But apparently perhaps something he shouldn't any longer do alone.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch from Washington, thanks very much.

Well, let's update you on the latest developments in Iraq now.

Now, just two months from the coalition scheduled handover of power, an Iraqi security force is moving into positions in Fallujah. It's part of a plan to help U.S Marines establish order in the city ravaged by heavy fighting. The Marines will still have a presence in and around Fallujah.

Three non-Iraqis lost their lives today in two separate attacks outside Mosul. A Task Force Olympia soldier was killed when a roadside bomb exploded and two international security personnel were killed in another ambush.

In Najaf, the radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada Al Sadr, received a delegation of community and tribal leaders. His spokesman says it's part of an effort to solve the standoff there peacefully. U.S. forces are masked outside the city, but it's still under the control of Sadr and his militia.

Well, it was one year ago today, President Bush was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which showcased a banner saying, "Mission Accomplished." Since then, more than 400 U.S troops have been killed in action in Iraq. CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, reports on this pivotal one year mark.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One year ago, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush declared major combat over in Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

MALVEAUX: Since then, more than 600 Americans have died in Iraq with this past April being the bloodiest month ever. One hundred thirty-nine U.S. troops killed. But the president used his weekly radio address to make the case. Despite the violence, life for the Iraqis is better.

BUSH: One year later, despite many challenges, life for the Iraqi people is a world away from the cruelty and corruption of Saddam's regime.

MALVEAUX: But the speech given one year ago in front of a banner that stated "Mission Accomplished" signaled to some Americans a swift win in Iraq. For Bush's critics, the president's declarations that day have come to symbolize the administration's failures now.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE, ADVISER TO SEN. JOHN KERRY: No one can seriously believe that that speech is the speech the president, in retrospect, would have liked to have made. Major combat was not over.

MALVEAUX: While the president points to the improvements in Iraq, electric power, education and health care, Mr. Bush's critics point to the insurgencies in Fallujah and Najaf, which threaten to undermine the country's stability and a peaceful transfer of power to the Iraqis on June 30.

Paul Reichoff (ph), who served in Iraq for nearly a year, volunteered to deliver the Democrats' response to the president's weekly radio address.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that there are a lot of moving targets here that really haven't been nailed down enough for us to come out and feel comfortable with a statement like "Mission Accomplished."

MALVEAUX: What looked like the perfect photo-op for a potential Bush campaign ad one year ago is being used by the president's opponents. The Democrats Internet ad released on the one year anniversary bills Mr. Bush's speech as a $1 million publicity stunt.

(on camera): Since Mr. Bush's aircraft carrier speech, his chief political strategist, Karl Rove, and other top advisers have acknowledged they regret the "Mission Accomplished" banner overhead, but they say the president's message has been consistent that bringing democracy to Iraq is tough work.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, stay tuned to CNN. Tonight is the White House Correspondents Association dinner and we'll have highlights of President Bush and Jay Leno's opening comedy routine. That's coming up at 10:00 Eastern time.

Well, some stories across America now.

In St. Louis, Missouri, presidential candidate, John Kerry, says veterans should be out marching for their benefits. The Democrat had breakfast today with a dozen vets who are unhappy with their medical care and the war in Iraq. In Bakersfield, California, a grade school vice principal pleads not guilty to murdering five members of his family. Vincent Brothers has been under suspicion since the gruesome shooting and stabbing death of his wife, their three children and his mother-in-law last July. Police arrested him yesterday after deciding he was a flight risk.

In northern Texas, the known death toll from this weekend's flash flood is up to five. Searchers recovered the bodies of two toddlers from a swollen creek today. Heavy thunderstorms caused the flooding.

The Houston area was also hit by rough weather today. For more, we turn to meteorologist, Orelon Sidney -- hello Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, thanks a lot.

The Storm system moved through and did some minor damage in Houston earlier today. The storm system has now moved its way eastward, ahead of a cold front right across the southern portion of the Plains states.

You'll notice a pretty good squall line here and we have had some reports of severe thunderstorms. In fact, we have a severe thunderstorm watch now in effect for parts of Louisiana, all the way to the Florida panhandle and southwestern Alabama until 9:00 p.m. Central Time tonight.

Looking at some of these too, we have had tornado warnings. These have all been Doppler radar indicated. No reports if they are on the ground just yet. We'll certainly have to watch that throughout the evening. There's also a risk of large hail up to the north, across the northern plains, Ohio, northern portions of Kentucky, down into Tennessee. There's a chance some of these thunderstorms could become severe as well.

The good news is all of this pushes eastward on Sunday. We will see showers and thunderstorms. The bad news is potentially heavy rains do continue for the Great Lakes, parts of the southern Appalachians and the Gulf Coast.

Monday looks a heck of a lot better. Most of the storms have headed out to sea. They'll be some lingering showers perhaps behind that. Otherwise, look for a very nice day across much of the nation. Temperatures will be cool tomorrow in the Great Lakes, but you will see it warming on Monday. Minneapolis, 64 degrees. You'll be in the 50s, though, in the Windy City on Monday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot Orelon.

Well, first, offensive images involving American soldiers. Now, some British soldiers are in the hot seat. Coming up, more photos showing the apparent abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Plus, got milk? Well, if not, find out why it'll cost you more to get it. And jog your musical memory. What's the worst song of all time? Here's a hint. The votes are in. Find out which tunes are the 10 worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There are new questions about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of coalition troops. "The New Yorker" magazine says it has obtained an internal U.S. military report that cites -- quote -- "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" by soldiers at a prison outside Baghdad. There's already uproar over these images, first, broadcast by CBS News, and then aired on Arab Network. They showed Iraqi prisoners in humiliating positions. Six U.S. soldiers have been charged in the case.

Well, it may not be an isolated incident. British troops are now facing similar accusations of abuse. Robyn Curnow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On sale in newsstands across England, published in the "Daily Mirror," pictures they say of British soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners. The newspapers showing images of what appears to be British forces beating an Iraqi suspect and urinating on him, claims of torture for hours on end. The "Daily Mirror" saying it obtained the photographs from serving British soldiers. The U.K. Ministry of Defense launching an immediate investigation.

GEN. MICHAEL JACKSON, CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF: If proven, not only is such an appalling conduct, clearly unlawful, but it also contravenes the British army's high standards. The allegations are already under investigation.

CURNOW: Prime Minister Tony Blair's office condemned the acts and endorsed a military investigation, but Amnesty International calling for a wider independent inquiry.

NEIL DURKIN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: It's important that the public knows what the British army is doing in Iraq. It's important for Iraqis that they can trust the British army on the streets and feel that if their relatives have been taken into custody, they will be at least looked after and certainly not tortured.

CURNOW: All the British troops continue to try to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis and the wider Arab community.

HAROLD WALKER, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Politically, it's not good. All these photographs go around the Middle East and the Islamic world and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) through Al Jazerra and other TV stations and give a very poor image of our country.

CURNOW: Claims of British human rights violations coming a day after pictures aired on American television of alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.

Two sets of disturbing images in two days, seen against a volatile and violent backdrop.

(on camera): Many speculating on the backlash here in Britain. These images threaten to undermine public confidence in an already unpopular war. These claims of British misconduct coming at a time when the government is being urged to send more troops to Iraq because other coalition partners are scaling back their military commitments.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, the allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse have emerged during a particularly difficult month for the coalition. Let's go in depth with CNN military intelligence analyst, Ken Robinson. He joins us from Washington.

Good to see you, Ken.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, if ever there was little trust in the Arab community about the western influence, this is only now intensified. How do you see it?

ROBINSON: It's indescribable. The impact in terms of information warfare, information operations, the rage and the hate that exist on the Arab streets makes this even worse. Prior to this, there were images that were circulating on the web -- on the World Wide Web of Bosnian Serbs abusing Bosnian Muslim women and a lot of those images were being attributed to these soldiers. And so, that caused an enormous amount of problems on the Arab street because they believed that it was American soldiers.

But now having these allegations against the British and the Americans, it's causing an enormous problem on the Arab street not just in Iraq, but throughout the Arab world. And it's devastating.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. led coalition was just starting to really intensify its winning of the hearts and minds campaign in Iraq. Certainly, this is a major setback.

ROBINSON: It's devastating because they are not going to believe what the United States government, the coalition says. They're going major them by what they do because all politics is local. And so, if the coalition cannot provide improvement in the lives of the average Iraqi on the ground, in their own cities and their own streets, then they're not going to be effective. And that's what the insurgents are attempting to do by separating them, by bombing convoys, by preventing infrastructure from being rebuilt. And that's why the coalition is refocused on Fallujah.

WHITFIELD: And there are parallels that are being drawn from the Iraqis who are expressing that the U.S. led coalition seems to be behaving no differently than this Saddam Hussein regime that was one of humiliation and intimidation. ROBINSON: Well, these are isolated incidents involving personal failures of individuals. The chain of command is being looked at right now. So far, only individual soldiers, six, have been charged with personal failure in this regard, at least of the Americans. And it's yet to be seen how far up the chain-of-command that goes. But it...

WHITFIELD: Do you think those charges are seriously damaging the credibility of the U.S.?

ROBINSON: They absolutely damage the -- they take away from all the great work that is being done on the ground in Iraq right now. It diminishes it.

WHITFIELD: There's also some expressed outrage from the Iraqis who are now upset about the Iraqi former major general who is being brought back to now lead the Iraqi army, that of Major General Yasin Muhammad Saleh (ph). And many of the Iraqis are expressing that they feel like the fact that he came even in his old uniform, that this is, you know, deja vu all over again. Is this a resurgency of the old regime?

ROBINSON: I don't think it's the resurgency of the old regime. But the Islamic party that Saleh (ph) comes from, has been proposing solutions and the coalition listened to them. And this was one solution that they thought might be effective because Saleh (ph) is from Fallujah. His soldiers who work for him and are loyal to him are from Fallujah.

So it's actually Fallujahens going in to try to deal with the tribal and community leaders. They're not negotiating with the insurgents. Right now, they've been placed in charge of about four checkpoints and of a sector that hasn't been heavily in combat, and they're trying to prop them up for success to start patrols, to be able to route out the insurgency that's there.

WHITFIELD: But hasn't -- hasn't part of the problem been that -- the insurgents at least in Fallujah, they have not been clearly defined whether they're foreigners, whether they are loyalists to the Saddam Hussein regime or whether, in fact, they are some disgruntled people living in Fallujah. So why would this major general's presence make a difference?

ROBINSON: You're exactly right. There are multiple groups there. But an Arab and a Sunni Arab going against Sunnis is more palatable than an American oppressive presence, in their mind, on their streets. And so, they believe that it might be the solution.

WHITFIELD: Ken Robinson, thanks very much for joining us from Washington.

ROBINSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: The pains of war are hitting hard for one infantry brigade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SGT. DERRICK SMITH, 39TH SUPPORT BATTALION: It hurts. It just feels like it rips your guts out, you know. It's that bad. It hurts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Still to come, a brigade sent on active duty just weeks ago and now, seven of its members will not be coming home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Unbelievably, this was the week that the weather finally got to the New Orleans Jazz Festival for the first time in its 35 year history. Organizers had to cancel the events. Tomorrow is the final day of this year's performances.

Well next, we have a musical story that strikes a different chord. What if you had a chance to name the 50 worst songs ever recorded? Well, our next guest did just that. Clark Collis, with a little help from his friends, gave it some thought and came up with a jukebox junkyard of sorts. And Clark is the editor-in-chief of "Blender" magazine. The 50 worst songs appear in this month's edition of the magazine. And he joins us from New York.

All right. Good to see you, Clark.

CLARK COLLIS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "BLENDER" MAGAZINE: Well, thanks very much for having me.

WHITFIELD: I'm looking at your list, and I'm seeing that some of these, in fact, most of them were actually hits. So what makes them so bad in your view?

COLLIS: Well, that's the problem with a lot of them, that if they were just songs that people didn't remember, it would be fine. But a lot of these songs combine being very bad with, you know, the fact that they just go round and round in your head, you know.

WHITFIELD: It's the -- those tunes that stick in your mind. You keep whistling the tunes all day long.

COLLIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, I notice one common denominator. If any -- if in any of the song titles, there's a rock or a roll or both, it's on this list I noticed.

COLLIS: I think it's one of those things that if you have to say -- you know if people say they're cool, they're probably not. If people say they, you know, are going to build a city on rock 'n' roll, or, you know, where the heart of rock 'n' roll is or anything like that, they probably don't know what they're talking about.

WHITFIELD: OK. "The Heart of Rock 'N' Roll" is no. 6 on your list. "Ebony and Ivory" no. 10. I think that's quite a surprise. I thought that was a huge hit and people liked that. No. 9, "American Life," Madonna?

COLLIS: That's a terrible song. That's absolutely terrible. She raps on that quite appallingly. The thing about Madonna is that, you know, she is known for chameleon-like changes and fair play to her. What people forget is that half the changes are simply terrible and she changes into things that she doesn't want to be changing into.

WHITFIELD: You are cruel, my man.

COLLIS: Not at all. We, you know, -- we support -- we spend 99 percent of our time saying how great music is. But every so often, we take time out, you know, to say who the guilty parties are.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of chameleons or people who are always trying to change, at least we saw that Eddie Murphy at some point went from comedian to actor back to comedian and then even tried to sing a tune or two. In fact, we've got a lovely music video here of what was his No. 8 tune, "Party All The Time." Let's listen for a second just in case you forgot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE MURPHY, ACTOR/COMEDIAN/SINGER: My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time. My girl wants to party all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, Clark, explain that one. I think everyone though, is in agreement. That was not a catchy tune.

COLLIS: No, that is not a catchy tune. It's also -- we wanted to include, you know, at least one actor. I mean actors are always trying to sing.

You know I wanted to include Russell Crowe. Russell Crowe's band really, really terrible, but actually they've never really sang songs that anybody has ever heard so we couldn't really have that, so we had Eddie Murphy instead.

WHITFIELD: I forget that Rick James -- you know, he had a little cameo appearance in there. Maybe they thought that would put it over the mark.

COLLIS: Well, I think Eddie -- yes, it was collaboration with Rick James. And I think Eddie hoped that some of Rick James' funk would, you know, come off on him. But it singularly failed to do so.

WHITFIELD: OK. We mentioned no. 6 was Huey Lewis, "The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll." You already explained why you dissed that one.

Now, the next top five, Vanilla Ice, "Ice, Ice, Baby." Wasn't that kind of the beginning of a whole new genre of music?

COLLIS: Well, I think...

WHITFIELD: Why is it on the list?

COLLIS: I think it was almost the end of -- it was almost the end of rap music. I don't -- you know. The terrible thing about that song is actually because it samples so heavily the famous queen and David Bowie, you know, track. It's actually -- he's actually managed to slur not one person, but two people.

WHITFIELD: OK. Limp Bizkit, again, I mentioned the whole rock 'n' roll theme. If it had the name "roll" in it, in this case, "Rollin", it was on the list. And then Wang Chung, "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight." Who could forget that? In fact, you know, I think we even have their first music video. Equally scary.

So, Clark, were you also looking for those that had just bad music videos, too?

COLLIS: It's partly that because that really sticks in the memory. What was a good thing about Wang Chung, if you -- I mean he says, "Everybody Wang Chung tonight, everybody have fun tonight" -- if there's one guarantee, you're not going to have fun, that's if Wang Chung is involved.

WHITFIELD: All right. No. 2, Billy Ray Cyrus, "Achy Breaky Heart." I'm sure his heart if breaking right now knowing that he's no. 2 on the list. And "We Built This City", that, too, was a catchy tune, but you say Starship blew it.

COLLIS: Again, we built this city, we built this city, we built this city on rock 'n' roll. No, you didn't. You didn't. It's a terrible, terrible song. The thing was that Jefferson Airplane, which is how Starship began, you know, were a really great band and they changed into absolutely terrible.

WHITFIELD: All right. And just in case all of you are wondering what are the other top 40, well, you're going to have to pick up "Blender" magazine.

Clark Collis, thank you very much for joining us, and thanks for letting us have fun looking back a little bit.

COLLIS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, stay with us. We'll be right back right after a short break. Oh, and just in case, you really wanted to see more of Starship, here they are again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: An Iraqi security force is moving into positions in Fallujah. It's part of a plan to help U.S. Marines establish order in that city. But some Iraqis see the move as a great victory over U.S. forces. CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the developments from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Who won the battle for Fallujah? Just ask those battling the U.S. led coalition.

"There is no comparing our weapons and their weapons," says this insurgent. "We have only machine guns and they have tanks and jets. But we have the power of God."

The Marines are pulling back, or in the words of one Marine commander in Fallujah, "transitioning forces" with a newly assembled Iraqi force, composed largely of former members of the Iraqi army led by this man, Major General Yasin Saleh (ph), formerly of Saddam's Republican Guard, now described by American officials in Baghdad, as a coalition partner. Some Marines are distressful of their new Iraqi partner. But the senior commander seems impressed by the general.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: And if I had to guess at this point, when we have this brigade fully formed, you're right, he demonstrates a level of leadership that tells me that he could become that brigade commander.

WEDEMAN: This war makes strange bed fellows.

If the insurgents think it was a victory, for many residents of Fallujah, it was a hollow one at best. Hundreds were killed in the fighting and thousands fled their homes. Destruction is extensive. Outside the city, thousands wait for the Marines to let them return home.

In a Baghdad camp, for those who escaped Fallujah, bitterness.

"We don't trust America," says refugee, Allah Hedi (ph). "America has no credibility. America gives promises but always reneges."

Marine commanders say they expect the new Iraqi force composed of soldiers once loyal to Saddam Hussein to carry on the battle against anti-coalition insurgents. Many of whom coalition officials describe as Saddam loyalists.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An infantry unit of the Arkansas National Guard has been in Iraq only six weeks now and already seven of its soldiers have been killed on the front lines. In Little Rock, CNN's Ed Lavandera talked with some of the family members.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was a sense of honor and pride when the soldiers of Arkansas's 39th Infantry Brigade shipped out for Iraq in March. It's the first time this entire brigade has been called into active duty. For many soldiers like Sergeant First Class William Labade (ph), this was the mission of a lifetime. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came out of retirement to do this.

LAVANDERA: But that excitement has quickly dulled. Days after arriving in Iraq, Labade (ph) was killed in combat. And in the six weeks since then, six other soldiers from this brigade have also been killed.

SMITH: It hurts. It just feels like it rips your guts out, you know. It's that bad. It hurts.

Because of my son's illness, sir.

LAVANDERA: Derrick Smith is a supply sergeant in his unit, but he never made it to Iraq. He was sent back to Arkansas earlier this month on emergency leave because his son is suffering from a rare blood disease. He can't stand the thought of being so far away from his comrades when he knows they're hurting.

SMITH: It's just a sad place to be right now. And I can imagine, in the minds of some of the soldiers, you know, hey, I want to get out of here.

LAVANDERA: Four of the soldiers killed were from Smith's unit. They died in a mortar attack on an Army compound last Saturday. One of the victims was Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Kordsmeier. His son and daughter are confident that the soldiers left behind will perceiver.

JASON KORSMEIER, SOLDIER'S SON: They're devastated and so are we. And we are just pulling for them so much. I just wish -- I just want them to know that we are praying for them.

LAVANDERA: Jason Kordsmeier and Jennifer Legate say their father never complained about anything. So they knew life in Iraq must have been tough when he wrote home about how much he hated being there yet he would have expected his soldiers to carry on.

JENNIFER LEGATE, SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER: My dad wouldn't want them to stop what they're doing by any means. And so, you just have to do what -- the soldiers that were lost, you have to do what they would want you to do.

LAVANDERA: With the 39th Infantry still facing another 11 months in Iraq, retired soldier, Virgil Miller has some words of encouragement for buddies in his old unit.

VIRGIL MILLER, U.S. ARMY (RET): Tough times don't last. People do. And we're tough. We know we're going to have some hard knocks, but life is like that. Now, we're going to make it.

LAVANDERA: Four of the seven soldiers from the 39th Infantry Brigade, who have been killed in action, come from the National Guard post in Hazen, Arkansas. This small town hasn't seen one of their own die in combat since World War II. More than half a century later, the time has come again to etch the names of patriots into the stone of immortality. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Little Rock, Arkansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Other stories around the world now.

In Rome, an American and two Canadians are dead after a fire sweeps through a luxury hotel where dozens of tennis players were staying. U.S. Open champion, Andy Roddick, and other tennis stars fled unharmed. Some guests made bed sheet ropes to escape. The athletes were in the city for next week's Rome Open Tennis Masters.

In Dublin, Ireland, the joyful, final meltdown of the Iron Curtain. Europe's leaders ceremoniously welcomed 10 countries into the European Union today. Eight are former members of the communist East Block. Ireland currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.

Meanwhile, in Havana, Cuba celebrates still being communist. Authorities say more than a million people crowded Revolution Square for today's May Day celebration. President Fidel Castro vowed to continue building a socialist society at the U.S. doorstep.

Well, get out your big hats and pour yourself a mint julep and saddle up. Still to come, a day at the Derby. Find out which runner takes home the roses.

And later, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. What could happen in the event of a dairy drought?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, soaring gas prices may be putting a dent in your monthly budget. And you won't find any relief when you head to the grocery store either and check out the dairy section. Skyrocketing dairy prices are nearing record highs. And as CNN financial correspondent, Kathleen Hays, reports, it could climb even higher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ice cream lovers, beware. Milk drinkers, watch out. Dairy prices are hitting record highs because milk is suddenly in short supply. And it's hitting families and businesses across the country.

DAN BASSE, PRESIDENT, AGRESOURCE COMPANY: When you go buy the ice cream cone at your local custard stand, you're going to find it's about twice the price it was last year.

HAYS: The price of milk is climbing to $3 a gallon nationwide. In some states, even higher. And milk products from yogurt to mozzarella are getting a lot more costly too.

NICK KLEINE, CHICAGO MERCANTILE TRADE: Prices have never been this high in the cheese market before. They've been this high in the milk market. But it's been about eight years since that happened.

HAYS: Hard to believe that just a year ago the price of milk hit a 25-year record low and forced some money-losing dairy farmers to send their cows to slaughter. That helped cause a shortage of milk- producing heifers. Add to that, the ripple effect of mad cow disease, which led to a ban on cows coming from Canada. There are 150,000 fewer cows producing milk than this time last year. And the cows that are left are producing less milling due to a shortage of BST, a hormone that boosts milk production, and due to problems with the feed supply.

KLEINE: Feed is expensive. So it's -- the farmers have to get more money in order to put more animals on feed and the cycle is so long for milk that you can't just throw another bunch on like you can with chicken. It takes three months. With cows, it's close to two years.

HAYS: Meanwhile, the popularity of high protein Atkins-type diets had kept milk products in demand even as their prices move up. This is sweet for dairy farmers whose profits are spurting higher again.

BASSE: They are making more money now than they have, that I know of, looking back over the past 40 or 50 years. So on a per cow basis, the dairy business is very good to be in at the moment.

HAYS: And prices may stay high for a while, especially if this summer is exceptionally hot because dairy cows don't like extreme heat and their milk production falls dramatically just when ice cream lovers are looking to scoop up a cooling treat.

Kathleen Hays, CNN financial news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, calcium in milk might help build strong bones, but can dairy products including ice cream actually help people lose weight? That's a claim of a new medical study. And registered dietitian, Lisa Drayer, joins us to help explain all of this.

So what's the proof that eating more dairy can help us shed the pounds?

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Well, actually, Fredricka, there was a study published in this month's "Obesity Research" and what the researchers did was they put individuals on a calorie restricted diet. But those who consumed three to four servings of dairy foods each day as part of their diet lost the most amount of weight. So they lost about 24 pounds over a period of six months or 11 percent of their body weight. Now, those who also restricted calories but consumed a calcium supplement of 800 milligrams, lost less weight. They didn't lose as much. And those who restricted calories but had a diet very low in calcium, only about 400 milligrams. So that's the least amount of weight, 15 pounds or about six percent of their body weight, about half the rate of weight loss that's compared to the high dairy group. WHITFIELD: So all this time it's been drilled into our heads that certain dairy products, particularly milk and even some yogurts, are high in fat.

DRAYER: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: And so, these are not really good diet foods. There seems to be a gray area here.

DRAYER: Exactly. And it's the type of fat that's bad for the heart. Dairy foods are high in saturated fat, which can raise LDL cholesterol levels.

But I do want to make a few points about the study. First, the National Dairy Council did help to fund the study. Also, if we look at the research very carefully, the study involved only 32 individuals and all of them were obese on calorie restricted diets.

Now, I spoke to Amy Lynu (ph). She's the nutrition director at the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. That's a vegetarian group. And she points to research that reveals that when you put non-obese individuals on non-calorie restricted diets but add calcium rich foods, they don't necessarily experience weight loss.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, this is awfully confusing. So clearly, we're saying this is the kind of diet that wouldn't be for everyone.

DRAYER: Exactly. You certainly don't want to add excess dairy foods to your diet, certainly, not in excess of your calorie needs. And I also want to point out that the high dairy group was consuming 1200 milligrams of calcium per day. That's a little more than what we should be getting on a daily basis. So you don't necessarily want to go overboard with dairy. You do have to watch total calories.

WHITFIELD: So does it also mean that for someone who may decide to take in more dairy that they can start eliminating the calcium supplements?

DRAYER: Well, if...

WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they may be getting more calcium by eating more dairy or consuming more dairy?

DRAYER: Exactly. If you are getting enough calcium rich foods in your diet, especially calcium rich foods that contain vitamin D, like milk, that's important to add calcium in the body, then you would not necessarily need extra calcium from a supplement. But that's something you can talk to your doctor before, especially if you are at high risk for osteoporosis.

And I do want to make that point, Fredricka, because even though we need to see more studies on calcium's role on weight loss, we do know that calcium is so important in order to help protect our bones. And if we don't get enough, our bones will suffer because we do need calcium in different parts of our body for its different functions. WHITFIELD: All right. Lisa Drayer, thanks very much. And we always love to hear about a diet that we can eat ice cream. But still, there are limitations and ice cream has a lot of sugar in it too.

DRAYER: Exactly. The ice cream diet was based on this calcium and diet theory. It was from the editors of "Prevention" magazine. But total calories are controlled in that diet as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lisa, thanks very much.

DRAYERY: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of diets, coming up tonight at 10:00 Eastern, his diet book and cookbook are selling like hotcakes. OK, maybe that's not the best term to use since you can't eat too many hotcakes on this diet. Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the South Beach Diet, will join me to talk about the popularity and the controversy surrounding his diet. That's on "CNN SATURDAY" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well, things are wrapping up at Churchill Downs. Still to come, find out which horse is taking home the win from the Kentucky Derby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More now on why so many Delta airlines planes were grounded today at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. One of our affiliate reporters, Bernard Watson of WAGA, is there with the latest --Bernard.

BERNARD WATSON, WAGA CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, still a bit of confusion here at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport concerning the delays of flights coming in here. We talked to some people waiting to pick up loved ones just a short time ago, and many of them were unaware of any problems with the planes coming in. Apparently, they said that Delta officials had, at that point, not explained to them what the problem was.

So some people are concerned that their flights that were supposed to come in have not done so yet. And at this point, it's not clear what flights and how many of them have been affected by this delay. So the best advice for people looking to come down here to the airport is to call ahead and check on that flight that their loved one is expected to arrive on.

That's the latest here at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: And Bernard, the very loose explanation, computer glitch. What can that mean exactly?

WATSON: Well, at this point, it's not clear. Delta has not released what exactly the problem was. But one of the things released originally that they said was that it was a computer glitch that prevented the flights from filing plans for taking off -- flight plans, excuse me. But at this point it's not really clear. I think they're still trying to work that problem out.

WHITFIELD: And how about the passengers, many who have been inconvenienced. How are people handling this news?

WATSON: Well, at this point, there aren't as many people as you might expect. There is, certainly, probably about 50 or more. But we expected to see a lot more considering the original statement by Delta that all planes nationwide had been affected by this computer glitch. But right now, it seems to be pretty calm inside, but people are getting a little agitated as they find out what the problem is.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bernard Watson of WAGA in Atlanta. Thanks very much.

Well, some happy news coming out of Kentucky. It was the 130th Kentucky Derby. It was muddy. There was no overwhelming favorite at post time, but you know what, there is a winner. We're glad to report. Sports reporter, Matt Morrison, joins us with more on this story.

This really was an interesting race, wasn't it?

MATT MORRISON, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was. For just the fourth time in the 130-year history of the Kentucky Derby, they had the track listed as sloppy for the start of the Kentucky Derby. That means a rainstorm about two hours before post time as 18 horses went to the gate, were running in about ankle deep mud. And off the final turn, down the home stretch, you see the rider in the blue silks and the outside horse, that pony is Smarty Jones taking it all the way to the wire for a two-and-a-half length victory as Smarty Jones -- with owners Roy and Pat Chapman celebrating and first time Derby rider, Stewart Elliott, making history as well as Smarty Jones wins the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby and with it, a $5 million bonus. That's on top of the $854,000 purse.

The $5 million bonus because Smarty Jones is undefeated on the season so far. The 3-year-old is now 6-0, just the fourth horse in history, 130 years of it, to go into the Kentucky Derby undefeated and come out of it with a winning record as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow! An incredibly happy moment as we saw the videotape of the owner and trainer there, all supporters of Smarty Jones, Smarty Pants, who now crossed the finish line. But you know what, this really is -- really, rather potentially dangerous, isn't it, to have ankle deep mud for these horses to race? Is there ever a time where there are conditions where they say, "You know what, this will not be a good day for it to happen?"

MORRISON: Only when the rain is coming down to the point that there will be, you know, hazards on the track. They run in mud every day, to be honest with you. But the fact of the matter is they won't postpone a race unless there is a threat of lightning or if the rain is coming down to the point that it's a hazard to the jockeys where they can't see in such.

And in this race, which was a terrific race from start to finish by Stewart Elliott, who rode his horse in perfect position all the way through, trailing Lion Heart, who led the first three quarters of this race. Lion Heart, the only jockey out there on the track without any mud splattered on his goggles, and then Stewart Elliott came off the final turn and took it to the outside. He certainly had the horse to go all the way.

A very interesting tale of this horse. I mentioned Roy and Pat Chapman, the owners of this pony. Just getting into the race game about 10 years ago with the idea that they were going to have fun. This is a Philadelphia-bred horse. Not many horses out of Pennsylvania come on string to win the Kentucky Derby. So it's a great story all around. It's now 6-0, the winner is, and a $5 million bonus for improving to 6-0.

WHITFIELD: Wow! That's incredible. Interesting names and interesting history of the breeding behind these horses.

MORRISON: Right. The sport of kings and in a sense, Smarty Jones winning it, sort of a pauper coming out of nowhere to get it done. Not out of nowhere because again it was 5-0 going in. The great thing now is that we turn to the thoroughbred season and look forward to a potential Triple Crown, something we haven't had since 1978, although we've had a lot of close calls in recent years. Funny Cide last year as well as War Emblem the year before, both won the Kentucky Derby and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Stakes, which will be the next one coming up in two weeks at (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and looking forward to maybe the first Triple Crown winner for the first time since 1978.

WHITFIELD: OK. Imperialism, obviously, not a contender for the Triple Crown. That horse was really a favorite, you know, visually challenged because, in particular, it was trained by 21-year-old girl.

MORRISON: Yes, a lot of sentimental going -- it did well. It was the show horse. Yes, a 21-year-old woman. Imperialism was one of the early favorites in this race showing well, as I said. Third place finish in this one. It was, as I said, Smarty Jones followed by Lion Heart, which was -- ran a great race but just did not enough gas at the end. And along the line, it was Cliff's Edge, which was the morning line favorite horse, faded in this one. And again, Smarty Jones, your thoroughbred out of Philadelphia, comes on to win the 130th Kentucky Derby.

WHITFIELD: I love these names. That makes it so fun.

MORRISON: It's a lot of fun to follow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Morrison, thanks very much.

MORRISON: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's all we have time for at this hour.

Coming up next at 7:00 Eastern, the politics of war, the battle of Fallujah and Bush and Cheney behind closed doors with the 9/11 Commission, all on "CAPTIAL GANG." Then, at 8:00 Eastern on "CNN PRESENTS," the extreme medical procedures used to keep us looking young, the fountain of youth. And at 9:00, it's "The Apprentice" cast reunion. Winner Bill Rancic joins Larry along with runner-up Kwame Jackson and Donald Trump. And at 10:00 Eastern, concerns that the scandal involving alleged abuse of Iraqi war prisoners by coalition forces will lead to more violence against American G.I.s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the problem is, again, just as we see with what we're dealing at Guantanamo Bay, Fredricka, that 10 years from now, we will be looked at as having created a precedent that may come back to haunt our own servicemen, our own people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A former top military lawyer shares his insight. But right now, Mark Shields is with us to tell us what the gang has -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, "CAPITAL GANG": Fredricka, we'll debate the one- year anniversary of President Bush's victory in Iraq statement, look at Dick Cheney's very busy week, and consider a dispute involving John Kerry inside the Catholic Church. All that and much more right here next on CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 1, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Coming up, the latest as a severe storm system heads east. In its path, flooding and destruction from Texas to Louisiana. Rescue efforts continue. Orelon Sidney joins with us the forecast.
Also, move over Atkins, another diet is grabbing some attention and it might be right up alley. You can still eat ice cream. Details straight ahead.

But first, a look at our top story this evening. U.S. Supreme Court justice, David Souter, was assaulted last night on a Washington, D.C. street while jogging. Justice Souter is said to be all right. CNN's Kathleen Koch has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The apparently random attack occurred around 9:00 p.m. Friday while Supreme Court Justice David Souter was out jogging on a city street. Court spokeswoman, Kathy Arberg, says several young men assaulted 64-year- old Souter, who then contacted Supreme Court police. Officers took the justice to Washington Hospital Center where doctors found he had minor injuries and released him early Saturday morning.

Arberg wouldn't characterize the motive for the attack but did say Souter had not been robbed. Experts say Supreme Court justices are not required to have constant security. And court scholars point out that the justices generally attract little negative attention.

PAUL ROTHSTEIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSTITY LAW SCHOOL: Well, the abortion decision engendered a fairly high degree of threats for judges. But in general the Supreme Court judges are probably less often threatened than most other public officials.

KOCH: Eight years ago, another justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, was a victim of crime on Washington's streets. Ginsburg's purse was snatched from her while walking with her family near the Kennedy Center. Security experts say it often takes a series attack before agencies opt for stepped up protection.

LARRY JOHNSON, SECURITY EXPERT: It is just -- we have not invested in that up until this point. Now, once you start having -- if you start having attacks like this, it's going to raise the question that there ought to be expanded Secret Service protection or security details for, you know, people like this justice. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: No arrests have yet been made in this case. Souter is an avid jogger, one of the younger of the Supreme Court justices. Still, though, the court spokesman says it's uncertain whether or not he'll be back at court Monday to join in deliberations -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, do we know if he usually jogs alone?

KOCH: Apparently, the Supreme Court is not really certain of his normal jogging habits. They do believe that at this point he was jogging alone. But he's an avid jogger, known to jog three or four times a week. But apparently perhaps something he shouldn't any longer do alone.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch from Washington, thanks very much.

Well, let's update you on the latest developments in Iraq now.

Now, just two months from the coalition scheduled handover of power, an Iraqi security force is moving into positions in Fallujah. It's part of a plan to help U.S Marines establish order in the city ravaged by heavy fighting. The Marines will still have a presence in and around Fallujah.

Three non-Iraqis lost their lives today in two separate attacks outside Mosul. A Task Force Olympia soldier was killed when a roadside bomb exploded and two international security personnel were killed in another ambush.

In Najaf, the radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada Al Sadr, received a delegation of community and tribal leaders. His spokesman says it's part of an effort to solve the standoff there peacefully. U.S. forces are masked outside the city, but it's still under the control of Sadr and his militia.

Well, it was one year ago today, President Bush was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which showcased a banner saying, "Mission Accomplished." Since then, more than 400 U.S troops have been killed in action in Iraq. CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, reports on this pivotal one year mark.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One year ago, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush declared major combat over in Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

MALVEAUX: Since then, more than 600 Americans have died in Iraq with this past April being the bloodiest month ever. One hundred thirty-nine U.S. troops killed. But the president used his weekly radio address to make the case. Despite the violence, life for the Iraqis is better.

BUSH: One year later, despite many challenges, life for the Iraqi people is a world away from the cruelty and corruption of Saddam's regime.

MALVEAUX: But the speech given one year ago in front of a banner that stated "Mission Accomplished" signaled to some Americans a swift win in Iraq. For Bush's critics, the president's declarations that day have come to symbolize the administration's failures now.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE, ADVISER TO SEN. JOHN KERRY: No one can seriously believe that that speech is the speech the president, in retrospect, would have liked to have made. Major combat was not over.

MALVEAUX: While the president points to the improvements in Iraq, electric power, education and health care, Mr. Bush's critics point to the insurgencies in Fallujah and Najaf, which threaten to undermine the country's stability and a peaceful transfer of power to the Iraqis on June 30.

Paul Reichoff (ph), who served in Iraq for nearly a year, volunteered to deliver the Democrats' response to the president's weekly radio address.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that there are a lot of moving targets here that really haven't been nailed down enough for us to come out and feel comfortable with a statement like "Mission Accomplished."

MALVEAUX: What looked like the perfect photo-op for a potential Bush campaign ad one year ago is being used by the president's opponents. The Democrats Internet ad released on the one year anniversary bills Mr. Bush's speech as a $1 million publicity stunt.

(on camera): Since Mr. Bush's aircraft carrier speech, his chief political strategist, Karl Rove, and other top advisers have acknowledged they regret the "Mission Accomplished" banner overhead, but they say the president's message has been consistent that bringing democracy to Iraq is tough work.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, stay tuned to CNN. Tonight is the White House Correspondents Association dinner and we'll have highlights of President Bush and Jay Leno's opening comedy routine. That's coming up at 10:00 Eastern time.

Well, some stories across America now.

In St. Louis, Missouri, presidential candidate, John Kerry, says veterans should be out marching for their benefits. The Democrat had breakfast today with a dozen vets who are unhappy with their medical care and the war in Iraq. In Bakersfield, California, a grade school vice principal pleads not guilty to murdering five members of his family. Vincent Brothers has been under suspicion since the gruesome shooting and stabbing death of his wife, their three children and his mother-in-law last July. Police arrested him yesterday after deciding he was a flight risk.

In northern Texas, the known death toll from this weekend's flash flood is up to five. Searchers recovered the bodies of two toddlers from a swollen creek today. Heavy thunderstorms caused the flooding.

The Houston area was also hit by rough weather today. For more, we turn to meteorologist, Orelon Sidney -- hello Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, thanks a lot.

The Storm system moved through and did some minor damage in Houston earlier today. The storm system has now moved its way eastward, ahead of a cold front right across the southern portion of the Plains states.

You'll notice a pretty good squall line here and we have had some reports of severe thunderstorms. In fact, we have a severe thunderstorm watch now in effect for parts of Louisiana, all the way to the Florida panhandle and southwestern Alabama until 9:00 p.m. Central Time tonight.

Looking at some of these too, we have had tornado warnings. These have all been Doppler radar indicated. No reports if they are on the ground just yet. We'll certainly have to watch that throughout the evening. There's also a risk of large hail up to the north, across the northern plains, Ohio, northern portions of Kentucky, down into Tennessee. There's a chance some of these thunderstorms could become severe as well.

The good news is all of this pushes eastward on Sunday. We will see showers and thunderstorms. The bad news is potentially heavy rains do continue for the Great Lakes, parts of the southern Appalachians and the Gulf Coast.

Monday looks a heck of a lot better. Most of the storms have headed out to sea. They'll be some lingering showers perhaps behind that. Otherwise, look for a very nice day across much of the nation. Temperatures will be cool tomorrow in the Great Lakes, but you will see it warming on Monday. Minneapolis, 64 degrees. You'll be in the 50s, though, in the Windy City on Monday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot Orelon.

Well, first, offensive images involving American soldiers. Now, some British soldiers are in the hot seat. Coming up, more photos showing the apparent abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Plus, got milk? Well, if not, find out why it'll cost you more to get it. And jog your musical memory. What's the worst song of all time? Here's a hint. The votes are in. Find out which tunes are the 10 worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There are new questions about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of coalition troops. "The New Yorker" magazine says it has obtained an internal U.S. military report that cites -- quote -- "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" by soldiers at a prison outside Baghdad. There's already uproar over these images, first, broadcast by CBS News, and then aired on Arab Network. They showed Iraqi prisoners in humiliating positions. Six U.S. soldiers have been charged in the case.

Well, it may not be an isolated incident. British troops are now facing similar accusations of abuse. Robyn Curnow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On sale in newsstands across England, published in the "Daily Mirror," pictures they say of British soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners. The newspapers showing images of what appears to be British forces beating an Iraqi suspect and urinating on him, claims of torture for hours on end. The "Daily Mirror" saying it obtained the photographs from serving British soldiers. The U.K. Ministry of Defense launching an immediate investigation.

GEN. MICHAEL JACKSON, CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF: If proven, not only is such an appalling conduct, clearly unlawful, but it also contravenes the British army's high standards. The allegations are already under investigation.

CURNOW: Prime Minister Tony Blair's office condemned the acts and endorsed a military investigation, but Amnesty International calling for a wider independent inquiry.

NEIL DURKIN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: It's important that the public knows what the British army is doing in Iraq. It's important for Iraqis that they can trust the British army on the streets and feel that if their relatives have been taken into custody, they will be at least looked after and certainly not tortured.

CURNOW: All the British troops continue to try to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis and the wider Arab community.

HAROLD WALKER, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Politically, it's not good. All these photographs go around the Middle East and the Islamic world and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) through Al Jazerra and other TV stations and give a very poor image of our country.

CURNOW: Claims of British human rights violations coming a day after pictures aired on American television of alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.

Two sets of disturbing images in two days, seen against a volatile and violent backdrop.

(on camera): Many speculating on the backlash here in Britain. These images threaten to undermine public confidence in an already unpopular war. These claims of British misconduct coming at a time when the government is being urged to send more troops to Iraq because other coalition partners are scaling back their military commitments.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, the allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse have emerged during a particularly difficult month for the coalition. Let's go in depth with CNN military intelligence analyst, Ken Robinson. He joins us from Washington.

Good to see you, Ken.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, if ever there was little trust in the Arab community about the western influence, this is only now intensified. How do you see it?

ROBINSON: It's indescribable. The impact in terms of information warfare, information operations, the rage and the hate that exist on the Arab streets makes this even worse. Prior to this, there were images that were circulating on the web -- on the World Wide Web of Bosnian Serbs abusing Bosnian Muslim women and a lot of those images were being attributed to these soldiers. And so, that caused an enormous amount of problems on the Arab street because they believed that it was American soldiers.

But now having these allegations against the British and the Americans, it's causing an enormous problem on the Arab street not just in Iraq, but throughout the Arab world. And it's devastating.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. led coalition was just starting to really intensify its winning of the hearts and minds campaign in Iraq. Certainly, this is a major setback.

ROBINSON: It's devastating because they are not going to believe what the United States government, the coalition says. They're going major them by what they do because all politics is local. And so, if the coalition cannot provide improvement in the lives of the average Iraqi on the ground, in their own cities and their own streets, then they're not going to be effective. And that's what the insurgents are attempting to do by separating them, by bombing convoys, by preventing infrastructure from being rebuilt. And that's why the coalition is refocused on Fallujah.

WHITFIELD: And there are parallels that are being drawn from the Iraqis who are expressing that the U.S. led coalition seems to be behaving no differently than this Saddam Hussein regime that was one of humiliation and intimidation. ROBINSON: Well, these are isolated incidents involving personal failures of individuals. The chain of command is being looked at right now. So far, only individual soldiers, six, have been charged with personal failure in this regard, at least of the Americans. And it's yet to be seen how far up the chain-of-command that goes. But it...

WHITFIELD: Do you think those charges are seriously damaging the credibility of the U.S.?

ROBINSON: They absolutely damage the -- they take away from all the great work that is being done on the ground in Iraq right now. It diminishes it.

WHITFIELD: There's also some expressed outrage from the Iraqis who are now upset about the Iraqi former major general who is being brought back to now lead the Iraqi army, that of Major General Yasin Muhammad Saleh (ph). And many of the Iraqis are expressing that they feel like the fact that he came even in his old uniform, that this is, you know, deja vu all over again. Is this a resurgency of the old regime?

ROBINSON: I don't think it's the resurgency of the old regime. But the Islamic party that Saleh (ph) comes from, has been proposing solutions and the coalition listened to them. And this was one solution that they thought might be effective because Saleh (ph) is from Fallujah. His soldiers who work for him and are loyal to him are from Fallujah.

So it's actually Fallujahens going in to try to deal with the tribal and community leaders. They're not negotiating with the insurgents. Right now, they've been placed in charge of about four checkpoints and of a sector that hasn't been heavily in combat, and they're trying to prop them up for success to start patrols, to be able to route out the insurgency that's there.

WHITFIELD: But hasn't -- hasn't part of the problem been that -- the insurgents at least in Fallujah, they have not been clearly defined whether they're foreigners, whether they are loyalists to the Saddam Hussein regime or whether, in fact, they are some disgruntled people living in Fallujah. So why would this major general's presence make a difference?

ROBINSON: You're exactly right. There are multiple groups there. But an Arab and a Sunni Arab going against Sunnis is more palatable than an American oppressive presence, in their mind, on their streets. And so, they believe that it might be the solution.

WHITFIELD: Ken Robinson, thanks very much for joining us from Washington.

ROBINSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: The pains of war are hitting hard for one infantry brigade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SGT. DERRICK SMITH, 39TH SUPPORT BATTALION: It hurts. It just feels like it rips your guts out, you know. It's that bad. It hurts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Still to come, a brigade sent on active duty just weeks ago and now, seven of its members will not be coming home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Unbelievably, this was the week that the weather finally got to the New Orleans Jazz Festival for the first time in its 35 year history. Organizers had to cancel the events. Tomorrow is the final day of this year's performances.

Well next, we have a musical story that strikes a different chord. What if you had a chance to name the 50 worst songs ever recorded? Well, our next guest did just that. Clark Collis, with a little help from his friends, gave it some thought and came up with a jukebox junkyard of sorts. And Clark is the editor-in-chief of "Blender" magazine. The 50 worst songs appear in this month's edition of the magazine. And he joins us from New York.

All right. Good to see you, Clark.

CLARK COLLIS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "BLENDER" MAGAZINE: Well, thanks very much for having me.

WHITFIELD: I'm looking at your list, and I'm seeing that some of these, in fact, most of them were actually hits. So what makes them so bad in your view?

COLLIS: Well, that's the problem with a lot of them, that if they were just songs that people didn't remember, it would be fine. But a lot of these songs combine being very bad with, you know, the fact that they just go round and round in your head, you know.

WHITFIELD: It's the -- those tunes that stick in your mind. You keep whistling the tunes all day long.

COLLIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, I notice one common denominator. If any -- if in any of the song titles, there's a rock or a roll or both, it's on this list I noticed.

COLLIS: I think it's one of those things that if you have to say -- you know if people say they're cool, they're probably not. If people say they, you know, are going to build a city on rock 'n' roll, or, you know, where the heart of rock 'n' roll is or anything like that, they probably don't know what they're talking about.

WHITFIELD: OK. "The Heart of Rock 'N' Roll" is no. 6 on your list. "Ebony and Ivory" no. 10. I think that's quite a surprise. I thought that was a huge hit and people liked that. No. 9, "American Life," Madonna?

COLLIS: That's a terrible song. That's absolutely terrible. She raps on that quite appallingly. The thing about Madonna is that, you know, she is known for chameleon-like changes and fair play to her. What people forget is that half the changes are simply terrible and she changes into things that she doesn't want to be changing into.

WHITFIELD: You are cruel, my man.

COLLIS: Not at all. We, you know, -- we support -- we spend 99 percent of our time saying how great music is. But every so often, we take time out, you know, to say who the guilty parties are.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of chameleons or people who are always trying to change, at least we saw that Eddie Murphy at some point went from comedian to actor back to comedian and then even tried to sing a tune or two. In fact, we've got a lovely music video here of what was his No. 8 tune, "Party All The Time." Let's listen for a second just in case you forgot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE MURPHY, ACTOR/COMEDIAN/SINGER: My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time. My girl wants to party all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, Clark, explain that one. I think everyone though, is in agreement. That was not a catchy tune.

COLLIS: No, that is not a catchy tune. It's also -- we wanted to include, you know, at least one actor. I mean actors are always trying to sing.

You know I wanted to include Russell Crowe. Russell Crowe's band really, really terrible, but actually they've never really sang songs that anybody has ever heard so we couldn't really have that, so we had Eddie Murphy instead.

WHITFIELD: I forget that Rick James -- you know, he had a little cameo appearance in there. Maybe they thought that would put it over the mark.

COLLIS: Well, I think Eddie -- yes, it was collaboration with Rick James. And I think Eddie hoped that some of Rick James' funk would, you know, come off on him. But it singularly failed to do so.

WHITFIELD: OK. We mentioned no. 6 was Huey Lewis, "The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll." You already explained why you dissed that one.

Now, the next top five, Vanilla Ice, "Ice, Ice, Baby." Wasn't that kind of the beginning of a whole new genre of music?

COLLIS: Well, I think...

WHITFIELD: Why is it on the list?

COLLIS: I think it was almost the end of -- it was almost the end of rap music. I don't -- you know. The terrible thing about that song is actually because it samples so heavily the famous queen and David Bowie, you know, track. It's actually -- he's actually managed to slur not one person, but two people.

WHITFIELD: OK. Limp Bizkit, again, I mentioned the whole rock 'n' roll theme. If it had the name "roll" in it, in this case, "Rollin", it was on the list. And then Wang Chung, "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight." Who could forget that? In fact, you know, I think we even have their first music video. Equally scary.

So, Clark, were you also looking for those that had just bad music videos, too?

COLLIS: It's partly that because that really sticks in the memory. What was a good thing about Wang Chung, if you -- I mean he says, "Everybody Wang Chung tonight, everybody have fun tonight" -- if there's one guarantee, you're not going to have fun, that's if Wang Chung is involved.

WHITFIELD: All right. No. 2, Billy Ray Cyrus, "Achy Breaky Heart." I'm sure his heart if breaking right now knowing that he's no. 2 on the list. And "We Built This City", that, too, was a catchy tune, but you say Starship blew it.

COLLIS: Again, we built this city, we built this city, we built this city on rock 'n' roll. No, you didn't. You didn't. It's a terrible, terrible song. The thing was that Jefferson Airplane, which is how Starship began, you know, were a really great band and they changed into absolutely terrible.

WHITFIELD: All right. And just in case all of you are wondering what are the other top 40, well, you're going to have to pick up "Blender" magazine.

Clark Collis, thank you very much for joining us, and thanks for letting us have fun looking back a little bit.

COLLIS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, stay with us. We'll be right back right after a short break. Oh, and just in case, you really wanted to see more of Starship, here they are again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: An Iraqi security force is moving into positions in Fallujah. It's part of a plan to help U.S. Marines establish order in that city. But some Iraqis see the move as a great victory over U.S. forces. CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the developments from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Who won the battle for Fallujah? Just ask those battling the U.S. led coalition.

"There is no comparing our weapons and their weapons," says this insurgent. "We have only machine guns and they have tanks and jets. But we have the power of God."

The Marines are pulling back, or in the words of one Marine commander in Fallujah, "transitioning forces" with a newly assembled Iraqi force, composed largely of former members of the Iraqi army led by this man, Major General Yasin Saleh (ph), formerly of Saddam's Republican Guard, now described by American officials in Baghdad, as a coalition partner. Some Marines are distressful of their new Iraqi partner. But the senior commander seems impressed by the general.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: And if I had to guess at this point, when we have this brigade fully formed, you're right, he demonstrates a level of leadership that tells me that he could become that brigade commander.

WEDEMAN: This war makes strange bed fellows.

If the insurgents think it was a victory, for many residents of Fallujah, it was a hollow one at best. Hundreds were killed in the fighting and thousands fled their homes. Destruction is extensive. Outside the city, thousands wait for the Marines to let them return home.

In a Baghdad camp, for those who escaped Fallujah, bitterness.

"We don't trust America," says refugee, Allah Hedi (ph). "America has no credibility. America gives promises but always reneges."

Marine commanders say they expect the new Iraqi force composed of soldiers once loyal to Saddam Hussein to carry on the battle against anti-coalition insurgents. Many of whom coalition officials describe as Saddam loyalists.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An infantry unit of the Arkansas National Guard has been in Iraq only six weeks now and already seven of its soldiers have been killed on the front lines. In Little Rock, CNN's Ed Lavandera talked with some of the family members.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was a sense of honor and pride when the soldiers of Arkansas's 39th Infantry Brigade shipped out for Iraq in March. It's the first time this entire brigade has been called into active duty. For many soldiers like Sergeant First Class William Labade (ph), this was the mission of a lifetime. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came out of retirement to do this.

LAVANDERA: But that excitement has quickly dulled. Days after arriving in Iraq, Labade (ph) was killed in combat. And in the six weeks since then, six other soldiers from this brigade have also been killed.

SMITH: It hurts. It just feels like it rips your guts out, you know. It's that bad. It hurts.

Because of my son's illness, sir.

LAVANDERA: Derrick Smith is a supply sergeant in his unit, but he never made it to Iraq. He was sent back to Arkansas earlier this month on emergency leave because his son is suffering from a rare blood disease. He can't stand the thought of being so far away from his comrades when he knows they're hurting.

SMITH: It's just a sad place to be right now. And I can imagine, in the minds of some of the soldiers, you know, hey, I want to get out of here.

LAVANDERA: Four of the soldiers killed were from Smith's unit. They died in a mortar attack on an Army compound last Saturday. One of the victims was Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Kordsmeier. His son and daughter are confident that the soldiers left behind will perceiver.

JASON KORSMEIER, SOLDIER'S SON: They're devastated and so are we. And we are just pulling for them so much. I just wish -- I just want them to know that we are praying for them.

LAVANDERA: Jason Kordsmeier and Jennifer Legate say their father never complained about anything. So they knew life in Iraq must have been tough when he wrote home about how much he hated being there yet he would have expected his soldiers to carry on.

JENNIFER LEGATE, SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER: My dad wouldn't want them to stop what they're doing by any means. And so, you just have to do what -- the soldiers that were lost, you have to do what they would want you to do.

LAVANDERA: With the 39th Infantry still facing another 11 months in Iraq, retired soldier, Virgil Miller has some words of encouragement for buddies in his old unit.

VIRGIL MILLER, U.S. ARMY (RET): Tough times don't last. People do. And we're tough. We know we're going to have some hard knocks, but life is like that. Now, we're going to make it.

LAVANDERA: Four of the seven soldiers from the 39th Infantry Brigade, who have been killed in action, come from the National Guard post in Hazen, Arkansas. This small town hasn't seen one of their own die in combat since World War II. More than half a century later, the time has come again to etch the names of patriots into the stone of immortality. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Little Rock, Arkansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Other stories around the world now.

In Rome, an American and two Canadians are dead after a fire sweeps through a luxury hotel where dozens of tennis players were staying. U.S. Open champion, Andy Roddick, and other tennis stars fled unharmed. Some guests made bed sheet ropes to escape. The athletes were in the city for next week's Rome Open Tennis Masters.

In Dublin, Ireland, the joyful, final meltdown of the Iron Curtain. Europe's leaders ceremoniously welcomed 10 countries into the European Union today. Eight are former members of the communist East Block. Ireland currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.

Meanwhile, in Havana, Cuba celebrates still being communist. Authorities say more than a million people crowded Revolution Square for today's May Day celebration. President Fidel Castro vowed to continue building a socialist society at the U.S. doorstep.

Well, get out your big hats and pour yourself a mint julep and saddle up. Still to come, a day at the Derby. Find out which runner takes home the roses.

And later, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. What could happen in the event of a dairy drought?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, soaring gas prices may be putting a dent in your monthly budget. And you won't find any relief when you head to the grocery store either and check out the dairy section. Skyrocketing dairy prices are nearing record highs. And as CNN financial correspondent, Kathleen Hays, reports, it could climb even higher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ice cream lovers, beware. Milk drinkers, watch out. Dairy prices are hitting record highs because milk is suddenly in short supply. And it's hitting families and businesses across the country.

DAN BASSE, PRESIDENT, AGRESOURCE COMPANY: When you go buy the ice cream cone at your local custard stand, you're going to find it's about twice the price it was last year.

HAYS: The price of milk is climbing to $3 a gallon nationwide. In some states, even higher. And milk products from yogurt to mozzarella are getting a lot more costly too.

NICK KLEINE, CHICAGO MERCANTILE TRADE: Prices have never been this high in the cheese market before. They've been this high in the milk market. But it's been about eight years since that happened.

HAYS: Hard to believe that just a year ago the price of milk hit a 25-year record low and forced some money-losing dairy farmers to send their cows to slaughter. That helped cause a shortage of milk- producing heifers. Add to that, the ripple effect of mad cow disease, which led to a ban on cows coming from Canada. There are 150,000 fewer cows producing milk than this time last year. And the cows that are left are producing less milling due to a shortage of BST, a hormone that boosts milk production, and due to problems with the feed supply.

KLEINE: Feed is expensive. So it's -- the farmers have to get more money in order to put more animals on feed and the cycle is so long for milk that you can't just throw another bunch on like you can with chicken. It takes three months. With cows, it's close to two years.

HAYS: Meanwhile, the popularity of high protein Atkins-type diets had kept milk products in demand even as their prices move up. This is sweet for dairy farmers whose profits are spurting higher again.

BASSE: They are making more money now than they have, that I know of, looking back over the past 40 or 50 years. So on a per cow basis, the dairy business is very good to be in at the moment.

HAYS: And prices may stay high for a while, especially if this summer is exceptionally hot because dairy cows don't like extreme heat and their milk production falls dramatically just when ice cream lovers are looking to scoop up a cooling treat.

Kathleen Hays, CNN financial news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, calcium in milk might help build strong bones, but can dairy products including ice cream actually help people lose weight? That's a claim of a new medical study. And registered dietitian, Lisa Drayer, joins us to help explain all of this.

So what's the proof that eating more dairy can help us shed the pounds?

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Well, actually, Fredricka, there was a study published in this month's "Obesity Research" and what the researchers did was they put individuals on a calorie restricted diet. But those who consumed three to four servings of dairy foods each day as part of their diet lost the most amount of weight. So they lost about 24 pounds over a period of six months or 11 percent of their body weight. Now, those who also restricted calories but consumed a calcium supplement of 800 milligrams, lost less weight. They didn't lose as much. And those who restricted calories but had a diet very low in calcium, only about 400 milligrams. So that's the least amount of weight, 15 pounds or about six percent of their body weight, about half the rate of weight loss that's compared to the high dairy group. WHITFIELD: So all this time it's been drilled into our heads that certain dairy products, particularly milk and even some yogurts, are high in fat.

DRAYER: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: And so, these are not really good diet foods. There seems to be a gray area here.

DRAYER: Exactly. And it's the type of fat that's bad for the heart. Dairy foods are high in saturated fat, which can raise LDL cholesterol levels.

But I do want to make a few points about the study. First, the National Dairy Council did help to fund the study. Also, if we look at the research very carefully, the study involved only 32 individuals and all of them were obese on calorie restricted diets.

Now, I spoke to Amy Lynu (ph). She's the nutrition director at the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. That's a vegetarian group. And she points to research that reveals that when you put non-obese individuals on non-calorie restricted diets but add calcium rich foods, they don't necessarily experience weight loss.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, this is awfully confusing. So clearly, we're saying this is the kind of diet that wouldn't be for everyone.

DRAYER: Exactly. You certainly don't want to add excess dairy foods to your diet, certainly, not in excess of your calorie needs. And I also want to point out that the high dairy group was consuming 1200 milligrams of calcium per day. That's a little more than what we should be getting on a daily basis. So you don't necessarily want to go overboard with dairy. You do have to watch total calories.

WHITFIELD: So does it also mean that for someone who may decide to take in more dairy that they can start eliminating the calcium supplements?

DRAYER: Well, if...

WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they may be getting more calcium by eating more dairy or consuming more dairy?

DRAYER: Exactly. If you are getting enough calcium rich foods in your diet, especially calcium rich foods that contain vitamin D, like milk, that's important to add calcium in the body, then you would not necessarily need extra calcium from a supplement. But that's something you can talk to your doctor before, especially if you are at high risk for osteoporosis.

And I do want to make that point, Fredricka, because even though we need to see more studies on calcium's role on weight loss, we do know that calcium is so important in order to help protect our bones. And if we don't get enough, our bones will suffer because we do need calcium in different parts of our body for its different functions. WHITFIELD: All right. Lisa Drayer, thanks very much. And we always love to hear about a diet that we can eat ice cream. But still, there are limitations and ice cream has a lot of sugar in it too.

DRAYER: Exactly. The ice cream diet was based on this calcium and diet theory. It was from the editors of "Prevention" magazine. But total calories are controlled in that diet as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lisa, thanks very much.

DRAYERY: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of diets, coming up tonight at 10:00 Eastern, his diet book and cookbook are selling like hotcakes. OK, maybe that's not the best term to use since you can't eat too many hotcakes on this diet. Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the South Beach Diet, will join me to talk about the popularity and the controversy surrounding his diet. That's on "CNN SATURDAY" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well, things are wrapping up at Churchill Downs. Still to come, find out which horse is taking home the win from the Kentucky Derby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More now on why so many Delta airlines planes were grounded today at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. One of our affiliate reporters, Bernard Watson of WAGA, is there with the latest --Bernard.

BERNARD WATSON, WAGA CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, still a bit of confusion here at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport concerning the delays of flights coming in here. We talked to some people waiting to pick up loved ones just a short time ago, and many of them were unaware of any problems with the planes coming in. Apparently, they said that Delta officials had, at that point, not explained to them what the problem was.

So some people are concerned that their flights that were supposed to come in have not done so yet. And at this point, it's not clear what flights and how many of them have been affected by this delay. So the best advice for people looking to come down here to the airport is to call ahead and check on that flight that their loved one is expected to arrive on.

That's the latest here at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: And Bernard, the very loose explanation, computer glitch. What can that mean exactly?

WATSON: Well, at this point, it's not clear. Delta has not released what exactly the problem was. But one of the things released originally that they said was that it was a computer glitch that prevented the flights from filing plans for taking off -- flight plans, excuse me. But at this point it's not really clear. I think they're still trying to work that problem out.

WHITFIELD: And how about the passengers, many who have been inconvenienced. How are people handling this news?

WATSON: Well, at this point, there aren't as many people as you might expect. There is, certainly, probably about 50 or more. But we expected to see a lot more considering the original statement by Delta that all planes nationwide had been affected by this computer glitch. But right now, it seems to be pretty calm inside, but people are getting a little agitated as they find out what the problem is.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bernard Watson of WAGA in Atlanta. Thanks very much.

Well, some happy news coming out of Kentucky. It was the 130th Kentucky Derby. It was muddy. There was no overwhelming favorite at post time, but you know what, there is a winner. We're glad to report. Sports reporter, Matt Morrison, joins us with more on this story.

This really was an interesting race, wasn't it?

MATT MORRISON, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was. For just the fourth time in the 130-year history of the Kentucky Derby, they had the track listed as sloppy for the start of the Kentucky Derby. That means a rainstorm about two hours before post time as 18 horses went to the gate, were running in about ankle deep mud. And off the final turn, down the home stretch, you see the rider in the blue silks and the outside horse, that pony is Smarty Jones taking it all the way to the wire for a two-and-a-half length victory as Smarty Jones -- with owners Roy and Pat Chapman celebrating and first time Derby rider, Stewart Elliott, making history as well as Smarty Jones wins the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby and with it, a $5 million bonus. That's on top of the $854,000 purse.

The $5 million bonus because Smarty Jones is undefeated on the season so far. The 3-year-old is now 6-0, just the fourth horse in history, 130 years of it, to go into the Kentucky Derby undefeated and come out of it with a winning record as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow! An incredibly happy moment as we saw the videotape of the owner and trainer there, all supporters of Smarty Jones, Smarty Pants, who now crossed the finish line. But you know what, this really is -- really, rather potentially dangerous, isn't it, to have ankle deep mud for these horses to race? Is there ever a time where there are conditions where they say, "You know what, this will not be a good day for it to happen?"

MORRISON: Only when the rain is coming down to the point that there will be, you know, hazards on the track. They run in mud every day, to be honest with you. But the fact of the matter is they won't postpone a race unless there is a threat of lightning or if the rain is coming down to the point that it's a hazard to the jockeys where they can't see in such.

And in this race, which was a terrific race from start to finish by Stewart Elliott, who rode his horse in perfect position all the way through, trailing Lion Heart, who led the first three quarters of this race. Lion Heart, the only jockey out there on the track without any mud splattered on his goggles, and then Stewart Elliott came off the final turn and took it to the outside. He certainly had the horse to go all the way.

A very interesting tale of this horse. I mentioned Roy and Pat Chapman, the owners of this pony. Just getting into the race game about 10 years ago with the idea that they were going to have fun. This is a Philadelphia-bred horse. Not many horses out of Pennsylvania come on string to win the Kentucky Derby. So it's a great story all around. It's now 6-0, the winner is, and a $5 million bonus for improving to 6-0.

WHITFIELD: Wow! That's incredible. Interesting names and interesting history of the breeding behind these horses.

MORRISON: Right. The sport of kings and in a sense, Smarty Jones winning it, sort of a pauper coming out of nowhere to get it done. Not out of nowhere because again it was 5-0 going in. The great thing now is that we turn to the thoroughbred season and look forward to a potential Triple Crown, something we haven't had since 1978, although we've had a lot of close calls in recent years. Funny Cide last year as well as War Emblem the year before, both won the Kentucky Derby and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Stakes, which will be the next one coming up in two weeks at (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and looking forward to maybe the first Triple Crown winner for the first time since 1978.

WHITFIELD: OK. Imperialism, obviously, not a contender for the Triple Crown. That horse was really a favorite, you know, visually challenged because, in particular, it was trained by 21-year-old girl.

MORRISON: Yes, a lot of sentimental going -- it did well. It was the show horse. Yes, a 21-year-old woman. Imperialism was one of the early favorites in this race showing well, as I said. Third place finish in this one. It was, as I said, Smarty Jones followed by Lion Heart, which was -- ran a great race but just did not enough gas at the end. And along the line, it was Cliff's Edge, which was the morning line favorite horse, faded in this one. And again, Smarty Jones, your thoroughbred out of Philadelphia, comes on to win the 130th Kentucky Derby.

WHITFIELD: I love these names. That makes it so fun.

MORRISON: It's a lot of fun to follow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Morrison, thanks very much.

MORRISON: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's all we have time for at this hour.

Coming up next at 7:00 Eastern, the politics of war, the battle of Fallujah and Bush and Cheney behind closed doors with the 9/11 Commission, all on "CAPTIAL GANG." Then, at 8:00 Eastern on "CNN PRESENTS," the extreme medical procedures used to keep us looking young, the fountain of youth. And at 9:00, it's "The Apprentice" cast reunion. Winner Bill Rancic joins Larry along with runner-up Kwame Jackson and Donald Trump. And at 10:00 Eastern, concerns that the scandal involving alleged abuse of Iraqi war prisoners by coalition forces will lead to more violence against American G.I.s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the problem is, again, just as we see with what we're dealing at Guantanamo Bay, Fredricka, that 10 years from now, we will be looked at as having created a precedent that may come back to haunt our own servicemen, our own people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A former top military lawyer shares his insight. But right now, Mark Shields is with us to tell us what the gang has -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, "CAPITAL GANG": Fredricka, we'll debate the one- year anniversary of President Bush's victory in Iraq statement, look at Dick Cheney's very busy week, and consider a dispute involving John Kerry inside the Catholic Church. All that and much more right here next on CNN.

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