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CNN Live Saturday

Interview with Bruce Weinstein; Congress Continue Fight For Terri Schiavo; Brother Reunited After 60 Years

Aired March 19, 2005 - 12:00 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.

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN ANCHOR: It is 12:00 p.m. on the East coast, 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Hello everyone, I'm Rudi Bakhtiar here at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour:
Iraq, two years to the day after the start of the war: Saddam is out, but there are no signs of coalition troops leaving. Our CNN senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is here to talk about what may lie ahead for that nation in change.

The effects of a war many decades ago: The holocaust tore families apart, but 60 years later, a reunion. How two brothers separated as children found each other.

And they call themselves the "Twister Sisters." While most people, some would say, sane people, try to get away from tornadoes, well, these women are heading straight for them. What makes them put their lives on the line? -- coming up ahead this hour, but first a look at the top stories in the news, right now.

Hours after a feeding tube was removed, Terri Schiavo remains at the center of a life and death battle. The severely brain damaged parents backed by some republican in Congress are vowing to keep up their efforts to have the tube reinserted.

Let's go to Bob Franken, standing by in Clearwater with the latest -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we're outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo is now resting without the feeding tube in her. We're waiting for the mother of her, Mary Schindler, who is about to make an appearance. Of course, Mary Schindler is now somebody who is going to be visiting her daughter, something that she was not able to do for a long time. We're waiting for her to speak, as a matter of fact. It is a situation where there has been -- as the second day has begun, with Terri Schiavo without the tube. In any case, the -- this is a day where there have been quiet demonstrations, virtually no other incidents. And now, as we see, the family is coming up and I'm going to turn this over to Terry Randall (SIC).

RANDALL TERRY, ACTIVIST: Hi, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, Terri has been without food and water for almost 24 hours, now. The first time this happened, it was six days and there was intervention. We've been here before and Terri's life was sustained, and we believe that her life will be sustained again. Mary Schindler, Terri's mom, is here. She is under enormous stress, as you can imagine, it has been a time of just convulsive emotions. She is going to give a statement to you, and then at this time, she is not going to take questions. She's going to go in and visit her daughter.

At 2:00 p.m., I am going to update you, here, on Terri's status, on activities in Tallahassee, and on activities in Washington, D.C. That is 2:00 p.m., right here. But now, I would like to introduce Terri's mom, Mary Schindler.

MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: My daughter is in the building behind me, starving to death. We laugh together. We cry together. We smile together. We talk together. She is my life. I am begging Governor Bush and the politicians in Tallahassee, President Bush, and the politicians in Washington, please, please, please save my little girl.

FRANKEN: That was Mary Schindler, who's the mother of Terri Schiavo. We were able, of course, to, forcefully (ph) find out.

Now, she was speaking about the politicians and actions that are going on. There is, in fact, a bunch of activity in Washington, in particular, that's going on behind the scenes. As members of the House and Senate have said, they have given up on the Supreme Court appeals and the like, but what they've also they'll try and come up with some -- with some sort of legislation over the weekend that will change the situation for Terri Schiavo. A word we got from the House majority leader, Tom DeLay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: We're working as hard as we can. We have lawyers looking at all aspects and avenues we could take, and while that's going on, we're negotiating with the Senate so that we can have a bill on the floor, Monday, to pass and give Terri the opportunity to go to a federal court and let that federal court review what's been going on down in Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And as a result, the supporters of Terri Schiavo are saying that they do not want to have any incidents, here. They have canceled a little confrontation they were going to try to get past police to provide water for Terri Schiavo, but they said they're going wait until Tuesday to see if action at the state capitol in Tallahassee and action in Washington might make their efforts unnecessary -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right, Bob Franken in Clearwater, thank you for that report.

Now, earlier this morning, here on CNN, Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, was emotional, as he raged against Congress saying that the legislative body should keep out of his business. He also said he wants to be by his wife's side and hold her hand. Here's that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI'S HUSBAND: I have a sense of relief for Terri. I feel that this is -- this is her time. This is -- this is going to work for Terri. She's going to finally be at peace, and I spent the entire day with her, yesterday, besides doing some interviews, but I spent the morning with her also. I will stay by her side, I will love her, and I will hold her hand.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Michael, I know you have talked about this case a lot and you've done a lot of interviews over the last couple of days. Can I ask you what -- why you're doing them? What's the case you're trying to state as clearly as possible, from your point of view?

SCHIAVO: I should be with my wife right now, holding her hand, but I felt the importance to get out there and talk about what the Congress, this government is doing. They're stepping in to my personal life and they're getting in the middle of something they know nothing about. They don't have the facts, and it's sad. It's sad what this government is doing. If they can do it to me, they'll do it to everybody in this country. If they don't like the decisions, they're going to step right in. It's sad.

HARRIS: Yeah. George. Yeah. George, let me get your response. How surreal a moment was it for you, yesterday, when you received the subpoena from the House of Representatives?

GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: It was an absolute outrage to have a federal marshal serve, upon us, that bogus subpoena requiring that Terri Schiavo be tube fed against her will and against a court order. The U.S. House of Representatives has no more authority to step into a bedroom and order medical treatment than a person on a street. That was pure political strong arming, it was an outrage. And people -- people should be outraged at what the United States Congress has done, without any committee hearings, without any thought passing unconstitutional bills to step into a personal case. You ought to right -- the people ought to write their senators and congressmen and tell them, "Let Terri die in peace. This poor woman, who expressed her wishes, has a constitutional right to have her wishes carried out. And these politicians, for their own gain, should not be trampling over her death bed.

HARRIS: Michael, when's the last time...

SCHIAVO: Just leave her alone.

HARRIS: Michael, when is the last time you talked to the Schindlers'?

SCHIAVO: I haven't talked to the Schindlers' in years.

HARRIS: In years? When did that relationship turn -- I don't want to characterize it -- when did you become estranged from Terri's side of the family?

SCHIAVO: In 1993.

HARRIS: Bob Schindler...

SCHIAVO: Valentine's day.

HARRIS: Valentine's day?

SCHIAVO: Yeah, 1993. That's when Mr. Schindler got angry, because he didn't receive any money.

HARRIS: Because he didn't receive any money? Would you elaborate, please?

SCHIAVO: Right.

HARRIS: What does that mean? We don't...

SCHIAVO: Well he took -- he, he wanted money. He wanted money from the settlement, and he was angry about that. And he testified to that, that he was angry that he didn't receive any money. He wanted money from Terri.

HARRIS: So, you're alluding to a motive for all of the conflict over the years. You understand that?

SCHIAVO: Oh yeah. I understand that fully. I mean, it's in the testimony.

FELOS: It's not only in the testimony it's in the conclusion of the court that the breakup of that family relationship was because Mr. Schindler didn't get money. And this case has never been about money. To the courts, to Michael, it's always been about Terri's wishes. This is a young woman who said "No feeding tubes for me. I don't want to be kept alive artificially. Please let me go when the time comes." She said this to her best friend, to Michael, to her brother-in-law and that's why the court has ordered this, because they found these are her wishes. And it's just simply horrific that people want to step in, as Michael said, who know nothing about this case and want to trample on her freedom of choice.

People really need to understand if this can happen to Terri Schiavo, it can happen to you and your family member. And you need to be vigilant to protect your constitutional rights and let those politicians, up there in Washington, know that they can't do this and that you won't stand for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: Very emotional story, there.

And we turn now to other big stories of this hour. Earlier today, authorities recovered the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Police say a convicted child molester confessed to killing the girl. CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us now in Homosassa Springs.

Sarah, what can you tell us?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rudi, the search for the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford is over. After three weeks of exhaustive searches all across this area, her body was found across the street from her home behind the house that John Couey shared with family members. An openly, understandably upset Mark Lunsford, Jessica's dad, told us it's over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I just want to say to everybody, to my community, to everyone that's seen Jessie's picture that everyone heard me say time after time that she would be home. She's home now. And it's over. And now we have a new struggle. And I need more people to support, now, the efforts that we try to make to change things. I love everybody for helping, for supporting, for even talking about it. But, Jessie's home now and she is right here with me. And she knows -- she knows it all. And all the parents out there, I know everybody does, but do it more often. Make sure you get that hug and kiss every day before you leave that house. I did. I got mine. You just make sure you get yours. And, remember, love your children this much and no one or nothing will come between you and them. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: John Couey, yesterday, confessed to killing Jessica and told authorities where they could find her body. Couey is now under suicide watch and is in the process, we are told, of being brought back to Florida. Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, the gentleman heading up that three-week search, had some choice words to say about Couey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: This guy is not a quality person, by any means, and you know, he is also, to my knowledge, a crackhead and I don't think we're actually ever going to be able to get a valid timeline about him. He's truly a piece of trash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Three people are charged with obstructing justice in this case. The sheriff said Couey told each of them that investigators were looking for him and none of them bothered to call authorities -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Sara Dorsey, in Homosassa Springs, thank you so much for that report.

When we get back to the news here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, two years of war in Iraq and it's still hard to tell who the bad guys are. U.S. troops mistakenly open fire on Iraqi police, today.

And a little later, you might think it's crazy, but they say it's fun: Two women who choice tornadoes. Why do they do it?

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't remember my parents. I don't remember anything from my childhood. I don't remember him at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: Separated by hate, reunited by fate. Two brothers find each other 60 years after World War II -- John Vause's report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Protesters are on the march, across Europe today, to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. This anti-war demonstration in London drew tens of thousands of protesters. Security was heavy as the group marched past the U.S. Embassy. Two years after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq's road to democracy is a bumpy one. There's no let up, this weekend, in the attacks by insurgents, and for American troops in Iraq, there's still much work to be done. CNN's Aneesh Raman is with us now from Baghdad.

Hello, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you. I just returned from spending some time with members of the 3rd I.D., as well as the 1st I.D. out in Taji, that's North of the capitol city. And you really get a sense there're of two minds.

On one hand, they feel a little bit of burnout. They have had six to eight months, some of them, between these two tours, one-month vacation and then they had to start training to come back. They've also come back to a country that is still seeing sustained violence, and a lot of the projects that they began have virtually stalled.

But, at the same time, you really get a sense from talking to them that they feel invested. These are some of the guys that saw it from the beginning, and now they really talk of President Bush's notion of setting up a democracy, here, so that it can have regional implications. They see this as something they want to do for future generations.

In a more practical sense, they're training a lot more Iraqis. We visited a lot more checkpoints and traffic patrols that are now manned fully by Iraqis that have been trained by these troops and they see that as an incredible step forward, something they hope will continue.

Now, in terms of the legacy that they leave, I spoke to one, Major Clark Taylor. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR CLARK TAYLOR, U.S. ARMY: I had no problem coming back this time. I have no problem coming back if I have to again, because if we don't finish this now, our children are going to have to do it 20 years from now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, he's actually one of a few of them that fought in the first Gulf War, and they see that -- the people that saw Baghdad fall really do not want to leave here, do not want to finish this job until democracy has risen.

BAKHTIAR: Thank you, Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thank you.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving right now in an area along the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops and she's on the phone, right now, from Husayba. I'm sorry, it seems like we've just lost our connection with her. We will try to get Jane Arraf back on the phone and speak to her soon.

Moving on now, CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has witnessed some key events that have taken place in Iraq since the start of the war, there. Straight ahead, he's going to join us to talk about this anniversary.

Also coming up...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Finally, spring arrives next week and that trumpets the start of tornado season. Storm watchers counted 1,500 twisters in the year 2004. The two women you're about to meet chased tornadoes for a living. Their story is told in the "Tornado Hunters," a documentary airing now, on National Geographic's channel. CNN's Heidi Collins takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the Twister Sisters, this is just another day on the job. For the past four years, Peggy Wallenberg and Melanie Metz, not actually sisters, leave their families behind and team up tracking down tornadoes, driving across the country in their tricked-out truck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shape is looking fairly nice.

BAKHTIAR: Two, among dozens, who get their thrills forecasting, then finding, the perfect storm, documenting the destruction, then selling the footage to the media. But, why would two seemingly reasonable women risk their lives chasing tornadoes?

MELANIE METZ, STORM CHASER: Just a sense of fascination and a little bit of fear, and combined; it makes it a very exhilarating experience to watch this powerful force.

COLLINS: Especially exhilarating when it works out just right and they see the storm from the very start.

PEGGY WALLENBERG, STORM CHASER: This tornado formed right in front of us, if you want to call it the birth of a tornado. However, now we are about 30 seconds into it and let's watch what happens. It became a very large, powerful tornado.

COLLINS: That power was most apparent for the Twister Sisters in 2004. They were tracking a tornado in Nebraska that took out an entire town, flattening farmhouses, totaling trucks, leaving a 52-mile path of destruction in its wake. That day, the Twister Sisters helped save three lives.

WALLENBERG: It was nothing recognizable as a house, but yet we knew there were three people under that pile of debris, so that was our goal, to get those people out of there before the house blew up.

COLLINS: There are an average of 800 tornadoes in the United States every season, resulting in around 80 deaths. But, these intrepid hunters say despite the destruction, they are still astonished every time they see a twister's terrible beauty.

WALLENBERG: It's the geometry, the perfection, how much has to happen to create this, just, brief moment of perfection, and it's a -- just a power -- something you can't put your hands around. It's awesome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Some stories in the news right now for you. Police in Citrus County, Florida, have recovered the body of missing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, buried in her neighborhood. Police say convicted sex offender, John Couey, has confessed to killing her. Sheriff John Dawsy is calling the suspect, quote, "truly a piece of trash."

A lawyer for Terri Schiavo's parents says he's still working in the courts to keep the brain damaged woman alive. After more than a decade, her feeding tube was removed by doctors yesterday. Her husband says that's what she would have wanted.

And weather experts say a late winter storm got stuck over Minnesota, dropping as much as 21 inches of snow, there. The heaviest snow is in the southern part of the state where roads are reopening, but still treacherous. The snow forced cancellation of 260 flights at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving, right now, in an area along the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops and she's on the phone now from Husayba.

Hello Jane. What can you tell us?

Jane, can you hear me?

All right. We've been trying to get Jane Arraf, for you, out of Iraq. We'll try yet again, but let's turn now to a different angle of that story.

Two years ago today, Iraq came under fierce attack by U.S. and coalition forces. Saddam Hussein fell and insurgency rose and now 24- months later, a democratic Iraq is forming a new government. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has covered Iraq for CNN. He's joining us now, in Atlanta, today.

What a treat for us to have you right here, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pleasure for me.

BAKHTIAR: After, you know, covering this, in Iraq for so long. Big, big change there for me, who grew up in the Middle East. I understand it in a visceral sense. After two years of what's been going on there, tell us where Iraq is heading now.

ROBERTSON: I think for a lot of people, f you talk to Iraqis, they definitely see the election as a positive moment. It gave them an opportunity, not only to vote, but a chance to believe in their new government. The political process was transparent; they never had that under Saddam Hussein. So, I think that sort of switched on the light at the end of the tunnel, if you will, with the insurgency that's going on. And of course, they're very aware that the insurgents threatened a huge amount of violence and it didn't materialize, and that's encouraged them. The insurgency has a limitation.

But, there's been a lot on Iraqi television, from the government, talking about promoting their own security services, promoting the police, promoting the army, putting on insurgents who have been captured who are confessing to their crimes. So, they -- I think the Iraqis, on one level, certainly have a lot more to believe in. They are still very worried about the level of insecurity, the fact they can be kidnapped and held to ransom, maybe just for maybe a few hundred dollars or a few thousand, because there's a lack of security on the streets, or being caught up in the random violence. But, the real thing that we're seeing there, now, is people getting on with their lives despite the violence in a way they weren't before, and when you look at that, you can see that slowly, despite the violence there are positive steps emerging.

BAKHTIAR: Let's talk about some of those positive steps, specifically. I mean, just the election alone that happened a few months ago, was huge.

ROBERTSON: It was, and you can't underestimate the impact that that has on the psychology of people. I mean, the real concern for Iraqis as they -- as they look at the violence is why is this happening? What's causing it? What's creating it? Who are the countries that are behind this in the region or outside the region? What's the United States' interest in Iraq? They've seen on the television, as well, in these confessions of -- confessions of insurgents, Syrians put up by the Iraqi government who have confessed, OK, well, Syria has a responsibility. So, they look -- they have a better understanding, now, than perhaps they did three or four months ago, about what's happening in the country. But, they can look around themselves, as well, and see some of the projects that are going on.

I think one of the things that happened after the war, Iraqis had a huge expectation the United States would come in and fix electricity right away, and fix the poor water supplies. That didn't happen. That gave space for the insurgency to grow.

But, last year was a year when all the money we've heard about being funded into Iraq, that was sort of sitting in the bank and the plans were being worked out for the power plants and new water plants, the new hospitals -- where they going to go? Plans were being, sort of, drawn up unauthorized.

Now, this year is the year it's being implemented, and the Iraqis can see the power stations literally rising up out of the ground. In Baghdad alone we'll give electricity to another million more people, so they can see, finally, some of these positive these things happening.

BAKHTIAR: It's something that we take for granted here every day, but power was such a big issue for Iraqis. So, it was a big deal for them.

Let's talk a little bit about the Sunnis. They didn't really get a chance, many of them, to vote in January. How are they going to play a role in the forming government?

ROBERTSON: That's really interesting at the moment. It really is the critical question. We've heard the politicians, the Shia politicians from that large religious party, saying, OK, we need to get the Sunnis involved, and we've even heard some of the Sunni politicians who did feel that they missed the opportunity in the elections because they didn't encourage people to go and vote, saying, yes, we should get involved in the political process.

The key thing now is, having heard this good talk over the last few months, I think the key thing in Iraq is to see it actually happen. There's talk now of the speaker in the parliament being a Sunni. I think that's very important to Iraqis, to the political process, that there is a real involvement of these politicians. If that happens in the next few months, then the political process, now, the drafting of the constitution, more elections at the end of the year, will see a greater participation of Sunnis believing it, of Sunnis, and that really, if that happens by the end of the year, you can really measure quite some very successful Democratic steps happening in the country. There are still a lot of ifs. The big one is getting the Sunnis involved, with all the good words before, but actually having the Sunni population get behind it. And there is every indication now that really, that is the likely scenario, but it hasn't happened yet.

BAKHTIAR: Hasn't happened yet.

All right, let's talk about the U.S. troops, their presence there. Italy has pulled out. Bulgaria, Poland pulling out. When do you see U.S. troops pulling out?

ROBERTSON: Well, it's really interesting because the Iraqi politicians at the moment are not talking about a timetable. What they're talking about is, when we can provide security in certain areas of the country, then we'll allow -- then we'll say, OK, we'll take over those areas and the U.S. and other troops who are there can leave.

And I think if we look at the big Shia religious festival about a month ago, Ashura, when last year a huge number of people were killed, some very devastating attacks in the city of Karbala in the south, that didn't happen this year. There were attacks in Baghdad, but not in those southern cities. Those southern cities were protected with Iraqi security forces.

And it's an indication, if you look at it from that perspective, that they're beginning to realize the threat that they're up against and manage the threat they're up against, and they have a long way to go, but it's an indication that in those areas at least, yes, maybe it won't be long before the U.S. troops can pull out of that area. And that will be important for these Iraqi politicians because they need to show that they're independent from the United States, so they're going to need to see some draw backs somewhere. That's likely where we'll see it.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson. You've been doing a brilliant job, putting your life in jeopardy all the time and bringing these amazing stories to us. Thank you for all you do.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving right now in an area along the Syrian border. We've been telling you CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops, and we're hoping she's on the phone now from Husayba.

Jane, can you hear me?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, I can. We're back.

Rudi, for anyone who thinks the war might be over, they only have to look here in the western Al Anbar province where the insurgency is still raging. We're just a few hundred meters from the Syrian border, and Marines are here in this camp fighting that insurgency.

We have with us one of the Marines who fought the first time around in 2003. It's Corporal Tim Arnold from Magnolia, Ohio. Thanks very much for joining us.

Tell us, what was it like then, and how is it different from now?

CPL. TIM ARNOLD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We moved a lot the first time, constantly on the go. Now we're stationary here, and trying to do the best we can out here.

ARRAF: What was your first day like here as you rolled into this place? This is said to be more dangerous than Falluja. What was it like?

ARNOLD: I don't know about more dangerous, but first day here, the anticipation was crazy. We got off the trucks, and they were yelling, hey, we got to hurry, we got to hurry, mortars may be coming in. We didn't know, so everybody was kind of running around, got all of our gear, got inside the Escos (ph) and there we were. ARRAF: Now, you were telling me you want to be a recruiter. That's got to be a tough job these days. How are you going to sell this job?

ARNOLD: All my experience. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Collected quite a bit of memorabilia throughout the three years I've been in. Hopefully, it will pay off.

ARRAF: Do you think the Marines are going to be here for a long time?

ARNOLD: It's hard to say. I don't know. I know I'm not coming back for a while.

ARAFF: Thanks very much.

That was Corporal Tim Arnold, one of the many serving his second, some of them even their third deployments in Iraq, something no one would have dreamed of two years ago -- Rudi?

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our Jane Arraf reporting from Husayba in Iraq.

Thank you.

Well, do you tell the bank if the ATM gives you too much money? What do you do if a friend's spouse makes a pass at you? Those are all questions we're posing to the ethics guy right after the break. Stay tuned for those answers.

Also ahead, a reunion 60 years in the making. Torn apart by the holocaust, two brothers have nothing in common except a bond that has never been broken.

But first on this second anniversary of the war in Iraq, one family remembers a loved one. Staff Sergeant Darren Vankoman was killed during a suicide attack on a dining facility in Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was pretty shy in school. I remember one time he bought a motorcycle from one of my friends and instead of riding it he tore it all apart and decided to clean it all up and put it back together. He was always doing that sort of stuff.

He went through Ft. Bragg at first, stayed there a little while. He met his wife, Stephanie, and he tried to be closer at home so he got stationed over here in Ft. Lewis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needed to serve. He was ready to go to Iraq, told his wife that he wanted to go. He told his mom before he left that if he died, that was God's will and he didn't have any hesitation about it at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he just wanted to make a difference. ANDREA YANKOMEN, DARREN'S SISTER-IN_LAW: The biggest ambition I think he had was to make sure that his wife knew how much he loved her, and his daughter as well. You know, he just absolutely adored the ground that those two walked on. They meant the world to him.

I think that that was his biggest motivation in life, you know. I think that that was part of why he went to Iraq. He wanted to get it done so he didn't have to go back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loved Stephanie and Chelsea a lot. He'd always run to Idaho to visit family on the weekends just so that Chelsea would get a chance to see the cousins and all that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's old Darren. He snuck down here, he come down here, and just surprised the heck out of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Darren was a Dale Earnhardt fan. He'd go strutting around in the morning with that jacket on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Dale Earnhardt. Woo-wee.

UNDIENTIFIED MALE: We miss our brother a lot. Wish he was here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Darren, what's your plans now?

DARREN YANKOMEN: I don't know; I go with the wind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go with the wind, huh?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone.

An overly generous ATM and a friend's overly affectionate husband: it's all a question of ethics as we explore personal dilemmas with nationally syndicated columnist, Bruce Weinstein, author of soon- to-be released -- Weinstein, excuse me -- author of soon-to-be- released "Life Principles."

Bruce is joining us from New York. Bruce, thank you so much for joining us.

BRUCE WEINSTEIN, THE ETHICS GUY AND AUTHOR, "LIFE PRINCIPLES": Thanks for inviting me, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Let's get to our first question, Burt -- it is from Burt, who writes this: "Dear Dr. Weinstein, several years ago, I withdrew $100 in cash from my bank's ATM. Instead of five 20s, I received four 20s and a 50, giving me an extra $30. I inquired as to what would happen if I received four 20s and a 10. Would they makeup the additional $10? The reply to that was no, they wouldn't. Under the circumstances, I felt justified in keeping the money. What do you think, Mr. Weinstein?"

WEINSTEIN: Well, Rudi, feeling justified and being justified are two different things. This is definitely a dilemma, it's just not an ethical dilemma because that $30 is, as Gomer Pyle's grandmother would put it, ill-gotten gains. It doesn't belong to Burt, so he ought to return it to the vender or at least the bank directly, and ask them to return it to the vendor.

BAKHTIAR: Pretty cut and dry for you?

WEINSTEIN: Well, psychologically, it's hard, because who wants to give up $30 extra, but it doesn't belong to him, so, give it back.

BAKHTIAR: Yeah, but the flip side of that -- if you only get, you know, less money, well, then, what do you do about that?

WEINSTEIN: Then you raise a stink and a human (ph) cry.

BAKHTIAR: There you go.

WEINSTEING: But that's a separate issue.

BAKHTIAR: Totally.

Let's get to our next question. It comes from a woman who asked this: "What do you do when a dear friend's husband has made a few passes at you and, after being spurned, you became concerned and then to either take revenge or cover himself, told his wife that it was you who made the pass at him? What would be the ethical thing to do, because it seems like a lose-lose situation to me." It sure does. What do you think, Bruce?

WEINSTEIN: Well, this would be a harder dilemma if it stopped right at the point where the man makes a pass at his wife's best friend, because then, you know, one can wrestle with, do I tell or not tell? Do I protect her from harm or do I avoid scaring her? But here, there's only one reasonable solution and that's to tell her, because your own reputation is at stake. Your own integrity is at stake, and you see, this cat is going to cheat again. So, I think, again, it's a psychological dilemma, but ethically, pretty straightforward.

BAKHTIAR: Tell your friend?

WEINSTEIN: Absolutely.

BAKHTIAR: And if anybody has any questions for the ethics guy, e-mail your dilemma to ethics@CNN.com. Bruce Weinstein, thank you so much for joining us.

WEINSTEIN: It's a pleasure, Rudi. Thank you.

BAKHTIAR: Thank you very much.

All right. Coming up, children taken from their homes and quite often taken from their families. The story of two brothers, hand in hand, after being separated for decades. What brought these two victims back together? Coming up right after this.

GREG DITRINCO, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, SKI MAGAZINE: One of the best- kept secrets at winter resorts these days is that dining in the mountains is as good as it is in the big cities. Successful chefs are being drawn to the mountains because of the serene setting, beautiful scenery and low-stress lifestyle.

So why the sudden popularity in sophisticated dining in the mountains? the higher the altitude, the lower the attitude. The dress is casual, the setting is serene and the service is attentive without being snobby. High mountain dining also tends to be relatively inexpensive. The cost of the menu reflects the local cost of doing business. And the coolest part of high mountain dining, you can be on vacation at a winter resort, call the hottest restaurant in town and get a reservation that night. Try that in New York or L.A.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: Earlier today, authorities recovered the body of 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford, and her very emotional father told reporters that a little later on he was going to take a bike ride with all of his friends who helped the Lunsford family look for Jessica, and that is a picture there shot moments ago of, I assume, somewhere in that group is Jessica's father riding with his friends, possibly as a tribute to jessica.

Again, the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was recovered earlier today. Police say that the convicted child molester, Couey, confessed to killing the girl. We have been covering that story for you all day.

To another story now. Two brothers are celebrating their reunion in Israel, more than six decades after they were separated during the Holocaust. CNN's John Vause has the emotional story of their separate lives and how they were brought together again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brothers and almost total strangers. Holding hands now when they walk, refusing to let go. Not again. The last time Ervin and Avraham Paskes were together was 61 years ago in Budapest in 1944.

Avraham is the oldest. He was six at the time, the memories vague and painful. Ervin was only four.

TRANSLATOR: Our mother went out looking for food. She closed the door and then we were left alone. I don't know how long she was gone, but it seemed somebody heard us crying.

TRANSLATOR: I don't remember my parents. I don't remember anything from my childhood. I don't remember him at all.

VAUSE: Germany's defeat was less than a year away, but the Nazis were still killing Hungarian Jews and the boys' mother never came back. Their father was killed. They don't know how. Ervin was sent to an orphanage in Hungary. Avraham to a camp in Germany. TRANSLATOR: He was blonde and beautiful. I was just ordinary. So, it was easier for him to be adopted.

VAUSE: Avraham eventually made his way to Israel when he was nine. Ervin was adopted by a non-Jewish family and stayed in Hungary. A dying grandmother gave him six precious family photos. Uncles and aunts, their mother with Avraham, faces he had forgotten. But when the two met for the first time, they knew they were brothers.

Avraham says he recognized his brother's smile, the same as his mother. But still, it was awkward. Nothing in common, not even language. Avraham had forced himself to forget Hungarian. Ervin doesn't speak Hebrew.

TRANSLATOR: He speaks a little broken Hungarian. We are talking to each other slowly, but unsurely.

VAUSE: They found each other through sheer luck. In old age, both decided to apply for Holocaust compensation. The researcher recognized their unusual last name.

They'll spend a few days together, but will Ervin will return to Hungary, Avraham will stay in Israel. Both live on small pensions; there will only be letters and phone calls. For now, though, they are still holding hands. After 61 years, it will be hard to let go.

John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

BAKHTIAR: Well, there's much more ahead here on CNN Saturday. In a few moments, "IN THE MONEY". Then at 2:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," does Congress have the right to intervene in the Terri Shiavo case? Some stimulating opinions from our legal roundtable about that.

Then at 3:00, it's "NEXT@CNN" and we're back with this hour's top stories right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 March 19, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN ANCHOR: It is 12:00 p.m. on the East coast, 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Hello everyone, I'm Rudi Bakhtiar here at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour:
Iraq, two years to the day after the start of the war: Saddam is out, but there are no signs of coalition troops leaving. Our CNN senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is here to talk about what may lie ahead for that nation in change.

The effects of a war many decades ago: The holocaust tore families apart, but 60 years later, a reunion. How two brothers separated as children found each other.

And they call themselves the "Twister Sisters." While most people, some would say, sane people, try to get away from tornadoes, well, these women are heading straight for them. What makes them put their lives on the line? -- coming up ahead this hour, but first a look at the top stories in the news, right now.

Hours after a feeding tube was removed, Terri Schiavo remains at the center of a life and death battle. The severely brain damaged parents backed by some republican in Congress are vowing to keep up their efforts to have the tube reinserted.

Let's go to Bob Franken, standing by in Clearwater with the latest -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we're outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo is now resting without the feeding tube in her. We're waiting for the mother of her, Mary Schindler, who is about to make an appearance. Of course, Mary Schindler is now somebody who is going to be visiting her daughter, something that she was not able to do for a long time. We're waiting for her to speak, as a matter of fact. It is a situation where there has been -- as the second day has begun, with Terri Schiavo without the tube. In any case, the -- this is a day where there have been quiet demonstrations, virtually no other incidents. And now, as we see, the family is coming up and I'm going to turn this over to Terry Randall (SIC).

RANDALL TERRY, ACTIVIST: Hi, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, Terri has been without food and water for almost 24 hours, now. The first time this happened, it was six days and there was intervention. We've been here before and Terri's life was sustained, and we believe that her life will be sustained again. Mary Schindler, Terri's mom, is here. She is under enormous stress, as you can imagine, it has been a time of just convulsive emotions. She is going to give a statement to you, and then at this time, she is not going to take questions. She's going to go in and visit her daughter.

At 2:00 p.m., I am going to update you, here, on Terri's status, on activities in Tallahassee, and on activities in Washington, D.C. That is 2:00 p.m., right here. But now, I would like to introduce Terri's mom, Mary Schindler.

MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: My daughter is in the building behind me, starving to death. We laugh together. We cry together. We smile together. We talk together. She is my life. I am begging Governor Bush and the politicians in Tallahassee, President Bush, and the politicians in Washington, please, please, please save my little girl.

FRANKEN: That was Mary Schindler, who's the mother of Terri Schiavo. We were able, of course, to, forcefully (ph) find out.

Now, she was speaking about the politicians and actions that are going on. There is, in fact, a bunch of activity in Washington, in particular, that's going on behind the scenes. As members of the House and Senate have said, they have given up on the Supreme Court appeals and the like, but what they've also they'll try and come up with some -- with some sort of legislation over the weekend that will change the situation for Terri Schiavo. A word we got from the House majority leader, Tom DeLay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: We're working as hard as we can. We have lawyers looking at all aspects and avenues we could take, and while that's going on, we're negotiating with the Senate so that we can have a bill on the floor, Monday, to pass and give Terri the opportunity to go to a federal court and let that federal court review what's been going on down in Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And as a result, the supporters of Terri Schiavo are saying that they do not want to have any incidents, here. They have canceled a little confrontation they were going to try to get past police to provide water for Terri Schiavo, but they said they're going wait until Tuesday to see if action at the state capitol in Tallahassee and action in Washington might make their efforts unnecessary -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right, Bob Franken in Clearwater, thank you for that report.

Now, earlier this morning, here on CNN, Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, was emotional, as he raged against Congress saying that the legislative body should keep out of his business. He also said he wants to be by his wife's side and hold her hand. Here's that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI'S HUSBAND: I have a sense of relief for Terri. I feel that this is -- this is her time. This is -- this is going to work for Terri. She's going to finally be at peace, and I spent the entire day with her, yesterday, besides doing some interviews, but I spent the morning with her also. I will stay by her side, I will love her, and I will hold her hand.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Michael, I know you have talked about this case a lot and you've done a lot of interviews over the last couple of days. Can I ask you what -- why you're doing them? What's the case you're trying to state as clearly as possible, from your point of view?

SCHIAVO: I should be with my wife right now, holding her hand, but I felt the importance to get out there and talk about what the Congress, this government is doing. They're stepping in to my personal life and they're getting in the middle of something they know nothing about. They don't have the facts, and it's sad. It's sad what this government is doing. If they can do it to me, they'll do it to everybody in this country. If they don't like the decisions, they're going to step right in. It's sad.

HARRIS: Yeah. George. Yeah. George, let me get your response. How surreal a moment was it for you, yesterday, when you received the subpoena from the House of Representatives?

GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: It was an absolute outrage to have a federal marshal serve, upon us, that bogus subpoena requiring that Terri Schiavo be tube fed against her will and against a court order. The U.S. House of Representatives has no more authority to step into a bedroom and order medical treatment than a person on a street. That was pure political strong arming, it was an outrage. And people -- people should be outraged at what the United States Congress has done, without any committee hearings, without any thought passing unconstitutional bills to step into a personal case. You ought to right -- the people ought to write their senators and congressmen and tell them, "Let Terri die in peace. This poor woman, who expressed her wishes, has a constitutional right to have her wishes carried out. And these politicians, for their own gain, should not be trampling over her death bed.

HARRIS: Michael, when's the last time...

SCHIAVO: Just leave her alone.

HARRIS: Michael, when is the last time you talked to the Schindlers'?

SCHIAVO: I haven't talked to the Schindlers' in years.

HARRIS: In years? When did that relationship turn -- I don't want to characterize it -- when did you become estranged from Terri's side of the family?

SCHIAVO: In 1993.

HARRIS: Bob Schindler...

SCHIAVO: Valentine's day.

HARRIS: Valentine's day?

SCHIAVO: Yeah, 1993. That's when Mr. Schindler got angry, because he didn't receive any money.

HARRIS: Because he didn't receive any money? Would you elaborate, please?

SCHIAVO: Right.

HARRIS: What does that mean? We don't...

SCHIAVO: Well he took -- he, he wanted money. He wanted money from the settlement, and he was angry about that. And he testified to that, that he was angry that he didn't receive any money. He wanted money from Terri.

HARRIS: So, you're alluding to a motive for all of the conflict over the years. You understand that?

SCHIAVO: Oh yeah. I understand that fully. I mean, it's in the testimony.

FELOS: It's not only in the testimony it's in the conclusion of the court that the breakup of that family relationship was because Mr. Schindler didn't get money. And this case has never been about money. To the courts, to Michael, it's always been about Terri's wishes. This is a young woman who said "No feeding tubes for me. I don't want to be kept alive artificially. Please let me go when the time comes." She said this to her best friend, to Michael, to her brother-in-law and that's why the court has ordered this, because they found these are her wishes. And it's just simply horrific that people want to step in, as Michael said, who know nothing about this case and want to trample on her freedom of choice.

People really need to understand if this can happen to Terri Schiavo, it can happen to you and your family member. And you need to be vigilant to protect your constitutional rights and let those politicians, up there in Washington, know that they can't do this and that you won't stand for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: Very emotional story, there.

And we turn now to other big stories of this hour. Earlier today, authorities recovered the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Police say a convicted child molester confessed to killing the girl. CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us now in Homosassa Springs.

Sarah, what can you tell us?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rudi, the search for the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford is over. After three weeks of exhaustive searches all across this area, her body was found across the street from her home behind the house that John Couey shared with family members. An openly, understandably upset Mark Lunsford, Jessica's dad, told us it's over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I just want to say to everybody, to my community, to everyone that's seen Jessie's picture that everyone heard me say time after time that she would be home. She's home now. And it's over. And now we have a new struggle. And I need more people to support, now, the efforts that we try to make to change things. I love everybody for helping, for supporting, for even talking about it. But, Jessie's home now and she is right here with me. And she knows -- she knows it all. And all the parents out there, I know everybody does, but do it more often. Make sure you get that hug and kiss every day before you leave that house. I did. I got mine. You just make sure you get yours. And, remember, love your children this much and no one or nothing will come between you and them. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: John Couey, yesterday, confessed to killing Jessica and told authorities where they could find her body. Couey is now under suicide watch and is in the process, we are told, of being brought back to Florida. Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, the gentleman heading up that three-week search, had some choice words to say about Couey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: This guy is not a quality person, by any means, and you know, he is also, to my knowledge, a crackhead and I don't think we're actually ever going to be able to get a valid timeline about him. He's truly a piece of trash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Three people are charged with obstructing justice in this case. The sheriff said Couey told each of them that investigators were looking for him and none of them bothered to call authorities -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Sara Dorsey, in Homosassa Springs, thank you so much for that report.

When we get back to the news here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, two years of war in Iraq and it's still hard to tell who the bad guys are. U.S. troops mistakenly open fire on Iraqi police, today.

And a little later, you might think it's crazy, but they say it's fun: Two women who choice tornadoes. Why do they do it?

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't remember my parents. I don't remember anything from my childhood. I don't remember him at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIAR: Separated by hate, reunited by fate. Two brothers find each other 60 years after World War II -- John Vause's report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Protesters are on the march, across Europe today, to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. This anti-war demonstration in London drew tens of thousands of protesters. Security was heavy as the group marched past the U.S. Embassy. Two years after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq's road to democracy is a bumpy one. There's no let up, this weekend, in the attacks by insurgents, and for American troops in Iraq, there's still much work to be done. CNN's Aneesh Raman is with us now from Baghdad.

Hello, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you. I just returned from spending some time with members of the 3rd I.D., as well as the 1st I.D. out in Taji, that's North of the capitol city. And you really get a sense there're of two minds.

On one hand, they feel a little bit of burnout. They have had six to eight months, some of them, between these two tours, one-month vacation and then they had to start training to come back. They've also come back to a country that is still seeing sustained violence, and a lot of the projects that they began have virtually stalled.

But, at the same time, you really get a sense from talking to them that they feel invested. These are some of the guys that saw it from the beginning, and now they really talk of President Bush's notion of setting up a democracy, here, so that it can have regional implications. They see this as something they want to do for future generations.

In a more practical sense, they're training a lot more Iraqis. We visited a lot more checkpoints and traffic patrols that are now manned fully by Iraqis that have been trained by these troops and they see that as an incredible step forward, something they hope will continue.

Now, in terms of the legacy that they leave, I spoke to one, Major Clark Taylor. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR CLARK TAYLOR, U.S. ARMY: I had no problem coming back this time. I have no problem coming back if I have to again, because if we don't finish this now, our children are going to have to do it 20 years from now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, he's actually one of a few of them that fought in the first Gulf War, and they see that -- the people that saw Baghdad fall really do not want to leave here, do not want to finish this job until democracy has risen.

BAKHTIAR: Thank you, Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thank you.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving right now in an area along the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops and she's on the phone, right now, from Husayba. I'm sorry, it seems like we've just lost our connection with her. We will try to get Jane Arraf back on the phone and speak to her soon.

Moving on now, CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has witnessed some key events that have taken place in Iraq since the start of the war, there. Straight ahead, he's going to join us to talk about this anniversary.

Also coming up...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAKHTIAR: Finally, spring arrives next week and that trumpets the start of tornado season. Storm watchers counted 1,500 twisters in the year 2004. The two women you're about to meet chased tornadoes for a living. Their story is told in the "Tornado Hunters," a documentary airing now, on National Geographic's channel. CNN's Heidi Collins takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the Twister Sisters, this is just another day on the job. For the past four years, Peggy Wallenberg and Melanie Metz, not actually sisters, leave their families behind and team up tracking down tornadoes, driving across the country in their tricked-out truck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shape is looking fairly nice.

BAKHTIAR: Two, among dozens, who get their thrills forecasting, then finding, the perfect storm, documenting the destruction, then selling the footage to the media. But, why would two seemingly reasonable women risk their lives chasing tornadoes?

MELANIE METZ, STORM CHASER: Just a sense of fascination and a little bit of fear, and combined; it makes it a very exhilarating experience to watch this powerful force.

COLLINS: Especially exhilarating when it works out just right and they see the storm from the very start.

PEGGY WALLENBERG, STORM CHASER: This tornado formed right in front of us, if you want to call it the birth of a tornado. However, now we are about 30 seconds into it and let's watch what happens. It became a very large, powerful tornado.

COLLINS: That power was most apparent for the Twister Sisters in 2004. They were tracking a tornado in Nebraska that took out an entire town, flattening farmhouses, totaling trucks, leaving a 52-mile path of destruction in its wake. That day, the Twister Sisters helped save three lives.

WALLENBERG: It was nothing recognizable as a house, but yet we knew there were three people under that pile of debris, so that was our goal, to get those people out of there before the house blew up.

COLLINS: There are an average of 800 tornadoes in the United States every season, resulting in around 80 deaths. But, these intrepid hunters say despite the destruction, they are still astonished every time they see a twister's terrible beauty.

WALLENBERG: It's the geometry, the perfection, how much has to happen to create this, just, brief moment of perfection, and it's a -- just a power -- something you can't put your hands around. It's awesome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Some stories in the news right now for you. Police in Citrus County, Florida, have recovered the body of missing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, buried in her neighborhood. Police say convicted sex offender, John Couey, has confessed to killing her. Sheriff John Dawsy is calling the suspect, quote, "truly a piece of trash."

A lawyer for Terri Schiavo's parents says he's still working in the courts to keep the brain damaged woman alive. After more than a decade, her feeding tube was removed by doctors yesterday. Her husband says that's what she would have wanted.

And weather experts say a late winter storm got stuck over Minnesota, dropping as much as 21 inches of snow, there. The heaviest snow is in the southern part of the state where roads are reopening, but still treacherous. The snow forced cancellation of 260 flights at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving, right now, in an area along the Syrian border. CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops and she's on the phone now from Husayba.

Hello Jane. What can you tell us?

Jane, can you hear me?

All right. We've been trying to get Jane Arraf, for you, out of Iraq. We'll try yet again, but let's turn now to a different angle of that story.

Two years ago today, Iraq came under fierce attack by U.S. and coalition forces. Saddam Hussein fell and insurgency rose and now 24- months later, a democratic Iraq is forming a new government. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has covered Iraq for CNN. He's joining us now, in Atlanta, today.

What a treat for us to have you right here, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pleasure for me.

BAKHTIAR: After, you know, covering this, in Iraq for so long. Big, big change there for me, who grew up in the Middle East. I understand it in a visceral sense. After two years of what's been going on there, tell us where Iraq is heading now.

ROBERTSON: I think for a lot of people, f you talk to Iraqis, they definitely see the election as a positive moment. It gave them an opportunity, not only to vote, but a chance to believe in their new government. The political process was transparent; they never had that under Saddam Hussein. So, I think that sort of switched on the light at the end of the tunnel, if you will, with the insurgency that's going on. And of course, they're very aware that the insurgents threatened a huge amount of violence and it didn't materialize, and that's encouraged them. The insurgency has a limitation.

But, there's been a lot on Iraqi television, from the government, talking about promoting their own security services, promoting the police, promoting the army, putting on insurgents who have been captured who are confessing to their crimes. So, they -- I think the Iraqis, on one level, certainly have a lot more to believe in. They are still very worried about the level of insecurity, the fact they can be kidnapped and held to ransom, maybe just for maybe a few hundred dollars or a few thousand, because there's a lack of security on the streets, or being caught up in the random violence. But, the real thing that we're seeing there, now, is people getting on with their lives despite the violence in a way they weren't before, and when you look at that, you can see that slowly, despite the violence there are positive steps emerging.

BAKHTIAR: Let's talk about some of those positive steps, specifically. I mean, just the election alone that happened a few months ago, was huge.

ROBERTSON: It was, and you can't underestimate the impact that that has on the psychology of people. I mean, the real concern for Iraqis as they -- as they look at the violence is why is this happening? What's causing it? What's creating it? Who are the countries that are behind this in the region or outside the region? What's the United States' interest in Iraq? They've seen on the television, as well, in these confessions of -- confessions of insurgents, Syrians put up by the Iraqi government who have confessed, OK, well, Syria has a responsibility. So, they look -- they have a better understanding, now, than perhaps they did three or four months ago, about what's happening in the country. But, they can look around themselves, as well, and see some of the projects that are going on.

I think one of the things that happened after the war, Iraqis had a huge expectation the United States would come in and fix electricity right away, and fix the poor water supplies. That didn't happen. That gave space for the insurgency to grow.

But, last year was a year when all the money we've heard about being funded into Iraq, that was sort of sitting in the bank and the plans were being worked out for the power plants and new water plants, the new hospitals -- where they going to go? Plans were being, sort of, drawn up unauthorized.

Now, this year is the year it's being implemented, and the Iraqis can see the power stations literally rising up out of the ground. In Baghdad alone we'll give electricity to another million more people, so they can see, finally, some of these positive these things happening.

BAKHTIAR: It's something that we take for granted here every day, but power was such a big issue for Iraqis. So, it was a big deal for them.

Let's talk a little bit about the Sunnis. They didn't really get a chance, many of them, to vote in January. How are they going to play a role in the forming government?

ROBERTSON: That's really interesting at the moment. It really is the critical question. We've heard the politicians, the Shia politicians from that large religious party, saying, OK, we need to get the Sunnis involved, and we've even heard some of the Sunni politicians who did feel that they missed the opportunity in the elections because they didn't encourage people to go and vote, saying, yes, we should get involved in the political process.

The key thing now is, having heard this good talk over the last few months, I think the key thing in Iraq is to see it actually happen. There's talk now of the speaker in the parliament being a Sunni. I think that's very important to Iraqis, to the political process, that there is a real involvement of these politicians. If that happens in the next few months, then the political process, now, the drafting of the constitution, more elections at the end of the year, will see a greater participation of Sunnis believing it, of Sunnis, and that really, if that happens by the end of the year, you can really measure quite some very successful Democratic steps happening in the country. There are still a lot of ifs. The big one is getting the Sunnis involved, with all the good words before, but actually having the Sunni population get behind it. And there is every indication now that really, that is the likely scenario, but it hasn't happened yet.

BAKHTIAR: Hasn't happened yet.

All right, let's talk about the U.S. troops, their presence there. Italy has pulled out. Bulgaria, Poland pulling out. When do you see U.S. troops pulling out?

ROBERTSON: Well, it's really interesting because the Iraqi politicians at the moment are not talking about a timetable. What they're talking about is, when we can provide security in certain areas of the country, then we'll allow -- then we'll say, OK, we'll take over those areas and the U.S. and other troops who are there can leave.

And I think if we look at the big Shia religious festival about a month ago, Ashura, when last year a huge number of people were killed, some very devastating attacks in the city of Karbala in the south, that didn't happen this year. There were attacks in Baghdad, but not in those southern cities. Those southern cities were protected with Iraqi security forces.

And it's an indication, if you look at it from that perspective, that they're beginning to realize the threat that they're up against and manage the threat they're up against, and they have a long way to go, but it's an indication that in those areas at least, yes, maybe it won't be long before the U.S. troops can pull out of that area. And that will be important for these Iraqi politicians because they need to show that they're independent from the United States, so they're going to need to see some draw backs somewhere. That's likely where we'll see it.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson. You've been doing a brilliant job, putting your life in jeopardy all the time and bringing these amazing stories to us. Thank you for all you do.

Some U.S. Marines are also on their second tour of duty in Iraq and they're serving right now in an area along the Syrian border. We've been telling you CNN's Jane Arraf is with those troops, and we're hoping she's on the phone now from Husayba.

Jane, can you hear me?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudi, I can. We're back.

Rudi, for anyone who thinks the war might be over, they only have to look here in the western Al Anbar province where the insurgency is still raging. We're just a few hundred meters from the Syrian border, and Marines are here in this camp fighting that insurgency.

We have with us one of the Marines who fought the first time around in 2003. It's Corporal Tim Arnold from Magnolia, Ohio. Thanks very much for joining us.

Tell us, what was it like then, and how is it different from now?

CPL. TIM ARNOLD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We moved a lot the first time, constantly on the go. Now we're stationary here, and trying to do the best we can out here.

ARRAF: What was your first day like here as you rolled into this place? This is said to be more dangerous than Falluja. What was it like?

ARNOLD: I don't know about more dangerous, but first day here, the anticipation was crazy. We got off the trucks, and they were yelling, hey, we got to hurry, we got to hurry, mortars may be coming in. We didn't know, so everybody was kind of running around, got all of our gear, got inside the Escos (ph) and there we were. ARRAF: Now, you were telling me you want to be a recruiter. That's got to be a tough job these days. How are you going to sell this job?

ARNOLD: All my experience. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Collected quite a bit of memorabilia throughout the three years I've been in. Hopefully, it will pay off.

ARRAF: Do you think the Marines are going to be here for a long time?

ARNOLD: It's hard to say. I don't know. I know I'm not coming back for a while.

ARAFF: Thanks very much.

That was Corporal Tim Arnold, one of the many serving his second, some of them even their third deployments in Iraq, something no one would have dreamed of two years ago -- Rudi?

BAKHTIAR: All right. Our Jane Arraf reporting from Husayba in Iraq.

Thank you.

Well, do you tell the bank if the ATM gives you too much money? What do you do if a friend's spouse makes a pass at you? Those are all questions we're posing to the ethics guy right after the break. Stay tuned for those answers.

Also ahead, a reunion 60 years in the making. Torn apart by the holocaust, two brothers have nothing in common except a bond that has never been broken.

But first on this second anniversary of the war in Iraq, one family remembers a loved one. Staff Sergeant Darren Vankoman was killed during a suicide attack on a dining facility in Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was pretty shy in school. I remember one time he bought a motorcycle from one of my friends and instead of riding it he tore it all apart and decided to clean it all up and put it back together. He was always doing that sort of stuff.

He went through Ft. Bragg at first, stayed there a little while. He met his wife, Stephanie, and he tried to be closer at home so he got stationed over here in Ft. Lewis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needed to serve. He was ready to go to Iraq, told his wife that he wanted to go. He told his mom before he left that if he died, that was God's will and he didn't have any hesitation about it at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he just wanted to make a difference. ANDREA YANKOMEN, DARREN'S SISTER-IN_LAW: The biggest ambition I think he had was to make sure that his wife knew how much he loved her, and his daughter as well. You know, he just absolutely adored the ground that those two walked on. They meant the world to him.

I think that that was his biggest motivation in life, you know. I think that that was part of why he went to Iraq. He wanted to get it done so he didn't have to go back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loved Stephanie and Chelsea a lot. He'd always run to Idaho to visit family on the weekends just so that Chelsea would get a chance to see the cousins and all that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's old Darren. He snuck down here, he come down here, and just surprised the heck out of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Darren was a Dale Earnhardt fan. He'd go strutting around in the morning with that jacket on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Dale Earnhardt. Woo-wee.

UNDIENTIFIED MALE: We miss our brother a lot. Wish he was here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Darren, what's your plans now?

DARREN YANKOMEN: I don't know; I go with the wind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go with the wind, huh?

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BAKHTIAR: Welcome back, everyone.

An overly generous ATM and a friend's overly affectionate husband: it's all a question of ethics as we explore personal dilemmas with nationally syndicated columnist, Bruce Weinstein, author of soon- to-be released -- Weinstein, excuse me -- author of soon-to-be- released "Life Principles."

Bruce is joining us from New York. Bruce, thank you so much for joining us.

BRUCE WEINSTEIN, THE ETHICS GUY AND AUTHOR, "LIFE PRINCIPLES": Thanks for inviting me, Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: All right. Let's get to our first question, Burt -- it is from Burt, who writes this: "Dear Dr. Weinstein, several years ago, I withdrew $100 in cash from my bank's ATM. Instead of five 20s, I received four 20s and a 50, giving me an extra $30. I inquired as to what would happen if I received four 20s and a 10. Would they makeup the additional $10? The reply to that was no, they wouldn't. Under the circumstances, I felt justified in keeping the money. What do you think, Mr. Weinstein?"

WEINSTEIN: Well, Rudi, feeling justified and being justified are two different things. This is definitely a dilemma, it's just not an ethical dilemma because that $30 is, as Gomer Pyle's grandmother would put it, ill-gotten gains. It doesn't belong to Burt, so he ought to return it to the vender or at least the bank directly, and ask them to return it to the vendor.

BAKHTIAR: Pretty cut and dry for you?

WEINSTEIN: Well, psychologically, it's hard, because who wants to give up $30 extra, but it doesn't belong to him, so, give it back.

BAKHTIAR: Yeah, but the flip side of that -- if you only get, you know, less money, well, then, what do you do about that?

WEINSTEIN: Then you raise a stink and a human (ph) cry.

BAKHTIAR: There you go.

WEINSTEING: But that's a separate issue.

BAKHTIAR: Totally.

Let's get to our next question. It comes from a woman who asked this: "What do you do when a dear friend's husband has made a few passes at you and, after being spurned, you became concerned and then to either take revenge or cover himself, told his wife that it was you who made the pass at him? What would be the ethical thing to do, because it seems like a lose-lose situation to me." It sure does. What do you think, Bruce?

WEINSTEIN: Well, this would be a harder dilemma if it stopped right at the point where the man makes a pass at his wife's best friend, because then, you know, one can wrestle with, do I tell or not tell? Do I protect her from harm or do I avoid scaring her? But here, there's only one reasonable solution and that's to tell her, because your own reputation is at stake. Your own integrity is at stake, and you see, this cat is going to cheat again. So, I think, again, it's a psychological dilemma, but ethically, pretty straightforward.

BAKHTIAR: Tell your friend?

WEINSTEIN: Absolutely.

BAKHTIAR: And if anybody has any questions for the ethics guy, e-mail your dilemma to ethics@CNN.com. Bruce Weinstein, thank you so much for joining us.

WEINSTEIN: It's a pleasure, Rudi. Thank you.

BAKHTIAR: Thank you very much.

All right. Coming up, children taken from their homes and quite often taken from their families. The story of two brothers, hand in hand, after being separated for decades. What brought these two victims back together? Coming up right after this.

GREG DITRINCO, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, SKI MAGAZINE: One of the best- kept secrets at winter resorts these days is that dining in the mountains is as good as it is in the big cities. Successful chefs are being drawn to the mountains because of the serene setting, beautiful scenery and low-stress lifestyle.

So why the sudden popularity in sophisticated dining in the mountains? the higher the altitude, the lower the attitude. The dress is casual, the setting is serene and the service is attentive without being snobby. High mountain dining also tends to be relatively inexpensive. The cost of the menu reflects the local cost of doing business. And the coolest part of high mountain dining, you can be on vacation at a winter resort, call the hottest restaurant in town and get a reservation that night. Try that in New York or L.A.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

BAKHTIAR: Earlier today, authorities recovered the body of 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford, and her very emotional father told reporters that a little later on he was going to take a bike ride with all of his friends who helped the Lunsford family look for Jessica, and that is a picture there shot moments ago of, I assume, somewhere in that group is Jessica's father riding with his friends, possibly as a tribute to jessica.

Again, the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was recovered earlier today. Police say that the convicted child molester, Couey, confessed to killing the girl. We have been covering that story for you all day.

To another story now. Two brothers are celebrating their reunion in Israel, more than six decades after they were separated during the Holocaust. CNN's John Vause has the emotional story of their separate lives and how they were brought together again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brothers and almost total strangers. Holding hands now when they walk, refusing to let go. Not again. The last time Ervin and Avraham Paskes were together was 61 years ago in Budapest in 1944.

Avraham is the oldest. He was six at the time, the memories vague and painful. Ervin was only four.

TRANSLATOR: Our mother went out looking for food. She closed the door and then we were left alone. I don't know how long she was gone, but it seemed somebody heard us crying.

TRANSLATOR: I don't remember my parents. I don't remember anything from my childhood. I don't remember him at all.

VAUSE: Germany's defeat was less than a year away, but the Nazis were still killing Hungarian Jews and the boys' mother never came back. Their father was killed. They don't know how. Ervin was sent to an orphanage in Hungary. Avraham to a camp in Germany. TRANSLATOR: He was blonde and beautiful. I was just ordinary. So, it was easier for him to be adopted.

VAUSE: Avraham eventually made his way to Israel when he was nine. Ervin was adopted by a non-Jewish family and stayed in Hungary. A dying grandmother gave him six precious family photos. Uncles and aunts, their mother with Avraham, faces he had forgotten. But when the two met for the first time, they knew they were brothers.

Avraham says he recognized his brother's smile, the same as his mother. But still, it was awkward. Nothing in common, not even language. Avraham had forced himself to forget Hungarian. Ervin doesn't speak Hebrew.

TRANSLATOR: He speaks a little broken Hungarian. We are talking to each other slowly, but unsurely.

VAUSE: They found each other through sheer luck. In old age, both decided to apply for Holocaust compensation. The researcher recognized their unusual last name.

They'll spend a few days together, but will Ervin will return to Hungary, Avraham will stay in Israel. Both live on small pensions; there will only be letters and phone calls. For now, though, they are still holding hands. After 61 years, it will be hard to let go.

John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

BAKHTIAR: Well, there's much more ahead here on CNN Saturday. In a few moments, "IN THE MONEY". Then at 2:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," does Congress have the right to intervene in the Terri Shiavo case? Some stimulating opinions from our legal roundtable about that.

Then at 3:00, it's "NEXT@CNN" and we're back with this hour's top stories right after the break.

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