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CNN Live Saturday
Analysis of NFL Draft with Rick Horrow; A Look at Women in Combat in Iraq
Aired April 23, 2005 - 16:00 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 CORRESPONDENT: The video of the apparent shooting down of a helicopter in Iraq shocked much of the world. Suspects were detained today. What tipped off the U.S. military?
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are in combat, you know whether we like to say it like that or not, but we are. You know, there's really no frontline or rear in this kind of war, unfortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Women on the front lines and facing attacks in Iraq with special help overcoming devastating injuries.
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA CHIPMAN, WIDOW: I felt like I lost me. I lost him, and I lost me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ten years after the worst case of domestic terrorism in the U.S., how some of the survivors cope with their loss of the people most important in their lives.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after a look at the headlines.
Pope Benedict XVI promised to build on his predecessor's efforts to reach the world through media. The pontiff today thanked journalists for their coverage of events following the death of Pope John Paul II. The new pope's inauguration is tomorrow.
China and Japan appear to be trying to ease tensions that have recently erupted between them. China's president and Japan's prime minister shook hands and spoke positively about their talks this evening. They met during the Asian and African summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ecuador's ousted president is hold up in the Brazilian ambassador's residence in Kito (ph) for a fourth day. Protesters outside the walled compound want Lucio Guitierrez (ph) to stand trial for alleged corruption. He's waiting for the new government to let him leave for exile in Brazil.
And in Lakeport, California, a memorial service for the bay area activist killed last weekend in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka (ph) founded an organization to aid civilians wounded and to help families of those killed in conflict. A car bomb killed Ruzicka and two other people near Baghdad.
It was a crash Iraqi insurgents wanted the world to see, but they apparently didn't count on a local seeing them as well. Now thanks to the Iraqi civilian's tip, six people suspected of shooting down a helicopter near Baghdad have been detained. The U.S. military says the tipster knew where to find a pickup truck the terrorists apparently used during that attack. That information led soldiers to the suspects. Two groups have claimed responsibility for the attack two days ago. A video soon surfaced showing the chopper in flames. The 11 people on board, included U.S. contractors, Bulgarian crew members and Fijian security guards. Insurgents found the lone survivor when they arrived at the site. A chilling video shows them interrogating the man, then shooting him in death. Despite this and other recent attacks, the U.S. military says insurgents are getting desperate.
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COL. DAVID BISHOP, 3RD BRIGADE, 1ST ARMORED DIVISION: I think any rise that we've seen in recent weeks, it does not indicate a long-term trend. I think that, over time, we're still at norm or below in terms of the level of attacks. One of the trends that we've noticed is that Iraqi insurgent attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqi security forces are increasingly becoming more and more ineffective and unsuccessful. Although they are still scoring some lethal kills on their intended targets, they're becoming more and more difficult because the Iraqi security forces are becoming better and better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It was just about a year ago when Americans first saw the shocking photos, naked Iraqi prisoners posed in humiliating positions while American troops stood by smiling sometimes with the camera. The Abu Ghraib prison scandal happened during the command of Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. Now Pentagon sources say the Army has finished its probe into his alleged leadership failures. CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live from the Pentagon with more on that. Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Army believes that this was, indeed, an exhaustive investigation. It included a review of 10 of the major Pentagon investigations thus far into the Abu Ghraib prison abuse. And senior Pentagon officials tell CNN that Army Inspector Stanley Green (ph) has determined that the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, will not face any punishment, nor will any of his top deputies. The "Washington Post" is, however, reporting that only Brigadier General Janis Karpinski will be punished. She was if you recall, a commander of the 800th military police brigade that included the soldiers so far convicted of the abuse. And the paper reports she will receive an administrative reprimand for dereliction of duty. Critics, including General Karpinski's lawyer, though, take issue with the findings.
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NEAL PUCKETT, MILITARY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: It continues to seem that she has been singled out for, or targeted for responsibility for Abu Ghraib and she feels like it's a shared responsibility. She accepts her part, her part of the responsibility, but it's a shared responsibility throughout the chain of command, not just her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This just proves that the Army cannot investigate itself. If the United States is going to wipe away the stain of Abu Ghraib, there has to be an independent investigation that looks at the responsibility of all those people who ordered or who tolerated torture, no matter where they are in the chain of command.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: The White House reacted to the report. A spokesperson saying, quote, the U.S. does not tolerate wrongdoing when it comes to detainees. When we find it, we will act to hold those responsible to account and take steps to prevent it from happening again. Fredricka, this is far from over. Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is promising to hold a hearing looking at whether or not all of these very extensive investigations had actually really gone far enough in looking at the role that senior officers played in condoning or encouraging any of this abuse.
WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen, and what about the reputation of Lieutenant General Sanchez? While there's this report is showing no culpability of the incidents that took place, surely it seems that there is some damage that just simply might be associated with the abuses there in and of itself.
KOCH: Certainly. Well, currently, he is commanding U.S. forces in West Germany, but -- I mean Germany. He had been hoping to get a fourth star and move up in the military ranks, but right now, that's very uncertain. Though he has been cleared any of wrongdoing, it's just unclear whether or not he's been tainted by the brush of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon, thanks so much.
KOCH: You bet.
WHITFIELD: It's been an emotional day for the Lunde family in Ruskin, Florida. Friends and relatives gathered to remember Sarah Michelle Lunde. A memorial service and funeral were held for the slain 13-year-old today. Lunde, as you may recall, was the subject of a widespread search after disappearing from her home. Her body was later found in a pond at an abandoned fish farm. Lunde's disappearance and the subsequent search for her was the second headline grabbing missing girl case to grip that state in recent weeks. Convicted sex offender David Onstott is in custody for Lunde's death. He once dated Lunde's mother. Police say he choked the girl to death and dumped her body.
Florida lawmakers have passed a bill calling for tougher sentences for sex offenders convicted of crimes against children. It's called the Jennifer, the Jessica rather, Lunsford act. The 9- year-old girl was the other Florida girl police say was recently killed by a convicted sex offender. The act requires longer sentences for those convicted of molesting children under the age of 12. Convicted sex offenders would also be subject to electronic monitoring and lifetime probation after their release.
Florida authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of a convicted sex offender. The body of 38-year-old Clovis Ivan Claxton was found in Okala by his father. The sheriff's office says Claxton had threatened to commit suicide after neighbors posted signs calling him a child rapist. One of the signs was found beside his body. Claxton was convicted of exposing himself to a nine-year-old girl back in 1991.
What would prompt police to put a kindergartener in handcuffs? Authorities are investigating an incident caught on videotape last month, showing a five-year-old girl throwing a tantrum, then being handcuffed by police. Our Tony Harris shows us how the scene unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The camera was rolling as part of a self-improvement exercise for preschool children in St. Petersburg, Florida. You see a 5-year-old girl become disruptive.
We're not touching you. No ma'am, we're not touching you. You don't touch me.
HARRIS: First throwing objects on the floor and resisting the efforts of a teacher and assistant principal to calm her down. Eventually, the girl's mother is called but she's unable to come to the school. The girl begins hitting the assistant principal and the police are called.
The video is stopped soon after the girl's hands are fastened behind her. Now, no charges have been filed against the five-year-old girl, and she was released to her mother. But a lawyer for the girl's parents say that police went too far and that he plans unspecified legal actions against him. Police officials have launched an internal investigation. Tony Harris, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: He gave up fame and fortune on the football field to join a different team. Pat Tillman's military career and life ended when he was struck by a bullet fired by a fellow soldier. Coming up, friendly fire incidents and the technology that could help prevent them. And this...
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just loved each other. You know, and held each other's hands and we're still doing it today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: United in tragedy, the widows of the Oklahoma City bombing, how that horrible day 10 years ago created life-long friendships, when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A series of explosions rocked Iraq today. The deadliest attack happened as an Iraqi Army convoy was passing a village near Abu Ghraib prison. A bomb exploded, killing nine Iraqi soldiers and wounding at least 20. U.S. soldiers were also targeted today. A bomb struck a U.S. military convoy on the road to Baghdad's international airport. One Iraqi civilian was killed and five wounded.
Meanwhile, in southern Iraq, a car bomb exploded near a school outside of Basra. Police say two Iraqi civilians were wounded.
And then to the north, an Associated Press TV news cameraman was killed and an A.P. photographer wounded in Mosul. It happened when they were caught in the crossfire between U.S. forces and insurgents.
The American death toll also grew today. The U.S. military says a soldier assigned to the 2nd marine expeditionary force was killed in a roadside bombing. That brings the number of U.S. fatalities in the war to 1,568. More than 12,000 Americans have been wounded.
More than 170 U.S. troops have also died in Afghanistan. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the death of one of them, Pat Tillman. The football player gave up his NFL career to serve as an Army ranger. It was a quiet, private decision but his death changed all of that. The Pentagon determined he was accidentally shot by his fellow soldiers, a case of friendly fire. Now, new technology may prevent such tragic misunderstandings and help troops determine who is friend and who is foe. Let's talk about it with retired Army Lt. Colonel Robert Maginnis. Good to see you.
LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET): Good seeing you Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well, before we get to the technology now at hand, let's talk about whether you believe that the rate of friendly fire incidents is on the rise, as it pertains to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MAGINNIS: Well, juxtapose what happened in '91 in Desert Storm where we lost 34, 35 people, and during -- that was the 100-hour war and then during the 45 days of "operation Iraqi freedom," the march to Baghdad we lost about 9 percent of the total force to fratricide, fratricide being really friendly fire is what the military calls it. And so you could argue that technology and our ability to train and many of the precautions we take have improved. That doesn't, of course, you know, really excuse some of the mistakes that we make. For the most part, we're doing much better. During OIF, for instance, Fredricka, we employed seven systems that are known as blue force tracking. In other words, that helps us to track people to know where they are on the battlefield so that we don't accidentally kill friendlies.
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk a little bit more about this blue force tracking. How does it work?
MAGINNIS: Well, basically, you have a transponder and it's using a tactical Internet. So basically you know where every vehicle is on the friendly side and you're using your sensors, you know where the enemy is. In your tank or in your Bradley fighting vehicle you engage the enemy and if everything is working properly, you're not going to assault your other people in spite of smoke or fog of war or night or whatever the conditions are. We take other precautions as well. It's an incredibly expensive system and as I indicated moments ago, there were seven different systems which weren't highly compatible and we're trying to resolve those differences now.
WHITFIELD: So because it's so expensive, does that mean it's not necessarily available to every unit, every type of forces from special forces to rangers, et cetera, or for night duty or day duty?
MAGINNIS: It's not universally accessible or available yet, and there is a price tag associated with it. And also, you have to carry the equipment, which makes it a little more difficult especially if you're a ranger.
WHITFIELD: Is it cumbersome and heavy?
MAGINNIS: It can be heavy if you consider tactical Internet, just like you have a PC at home or a laptop, somebody has to be able to orchestrate the battle. You can do that here in the United States, even though they're on the ground in Afghanistan but it's much better if you have the tactical commanders that are kind of watching what's going on. It's especially good in a buildup area where from one building to the next, you don't know where your people are.
WHITFIELD: Do you see in the future a greater investment in this kind of blue force technology?
MAGINNIS: No, we're just charging forward with it. We clearly see the advantages, especially in dismounted urban operations and we're going to do everything we can. The Jessica Lynch incident in Nasiriyah at the beginning of March, 2003, when she was captured and we went in there, you saw some of the video of our going in there. Well, we knew exactly where all the people on the ground were during, actually conducting that hostage rescue. That technology allowed us not only to save lives, but to rescue our people.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis, thanks so much for joining us.
MAGINNIS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Women are increasingly finding themselves under fire. They're not supposed to be in the heat of battle, but there is no getting away from the front lines in Iraq at least. A look at the wounded and those who didn't come home, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
The only person in the U.S. charged in the September 11th attacks says he'll fight to escape the death penalty. Zacarias Moussaoui, a 36-year-old French citizen, pleaded guilty yesterday to all six terrorism conspiracy charges against him. He told the court he had no role in those attacks, but that he was hand-picked by Osama bin Laden to crash a jetliner into the White House in a different conspiracy.
Before September 11th, 2001, there was April 19th, 1995. Ten years ago this week, Timothy McVeigh brought terrorism into America's back yard with a truck full of explosives. The Oklahoma City bombing remains the worst episode of domestic terrorism in the U.S. For those who lost loved ones in the blast, things have moved forward, but the past will never be forgotten. CNN's Aaron Brown looks at one group of women who came together in grief and found lasting friendship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA CHIPMAN, WIDOW: He was my soul mate. You know? We walked side by side in life.
AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gloria Chipman still smiles as she remembers the little ordinary details of that last morning.
CHIPMAN: He comes out in this very nice suit that we had purchased for him, and he goes, "Gloria, does this tie look good with this suit?" and I said," Bob you're handsome. Yes, you look wonderful in that suit."
BROWN: Robert Chipman worked across the street from the Murrah Federal building. He died two days after the explosion.
CHIPMAN: When the bombing occurred, I didn't know where I went. I felt like I lost me. I lost him, and I lost me. I couldn't think. I couldn't remember. I couldn't spell. I -- I -- I was a basket case.
BROWN: Gloria was many things in those days, but one thing she wasn't was alone. There were many, far too many like her, and she joined them.
CHIPMAN: The counseling sessions were so intense, so emotional, that as we were walking out, as a group, from the session, somebody would say, "Wow!, I need something to eat. Do you guys want to go?" And so we all started going to dinner.
BROWN: Ten years later, the core group still meets once a month. They share a meal and a conversation. They are better now, if still scarred.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Father, we love each other so much. We have so much in common, and thank you so much for keeping this group together and watching over us.
BROWN: All of the women have dated some. None has remarried. There are always photos of children and grandchildren to show and talk about, family dominates the conversation. Two still have kids living at home, all have grandchildren now. Jeanne Steward is raising her 7- year-old granddaughter, Alana. The natural problems seem a common concern.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to have just a day go by that we can just, you know, think happy thoughts of the past, instead of just focusing on trying to get by in the day.
BROWN: Ten years is a long time, sometimes. Each of the women has changed. None is exactly what they once were, but whatever they are, whatever they've become, is in no small part due to each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just love each other, you know, and held each other's hands, and we're still doing it today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've come a long ways, but I still don't have all the confidence that I would really like to have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But where you were to where you are now, it's huge. It's huge. I mean, you couldn't even make your own coffee. You couldn't even --
CHIPMAN: There's a lot of things I couldn't do. Yeah, I think we've all come a long way, and it's, you know, it's a -- to me it's been a blessing to have you in my life and it's a terrible way to have to have met everyone, but, because I know I have you guys, I don't feel alone. And if I call and say some dumb thing -- we know it's Gloria!
BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: For a closer look back at the Oklahoma City bombings, tune in to CNN tonight, "CNN presents: day of terror, remembering Oklahoma City." That airs at 8:00 Eastern.
The U.S. military rounds up suspects in the downing of a commercial helicopter in Iraq. That tops our check of the headline right after this.
Also, caught between a rock and a rock. A would-be burglar does his best Santa Claus impersonation but wasn't as jolly in the end.
And analyzing the first round of the NFL draft, the selections, the rumors and even a trade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, here are the latest developments.
The U.S. Military detained six people suspected of shooting down a civilian chopper north of Baghdad Thursday. Eleven people were killed, including six American contractors. Video of the apparent shootdown surfaced yesterday. It shows the chopper crash, and then a survivor being shot dead.
President Bush is urging Congress to wrap up work on a bill that would pay for combat and reconstruction costs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Bush says the House and Senate need to quickly work out their differences over the $81 billion measure. The Pentagon says it needs the money by the first week of May.
Mega money for one one winner of the Mega Millions Lottery. Officials say one winning ticket was sold in Port Huron, Michigan. It's worth about $205 million before taxes. We'll go to the store where the winning ticket was sold in about 20 minutes from now, and we'll be talking to the store manager there.
The best in college football hit a different jackpot today. Students turned into millionaires as the NFL draft got under way. The first election belonged to the San Francisco 49ers. And for the fifth year in a row, the number one pick was a quarterback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First selection in the 2005 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Alex Smith, quarterback, Utah.
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WHITFIELD: Smith led Utah to an unbeaten season as a junior, passing for nearly 3, 000 yards and 32 touchdowns. Joining us is the author of "When the Game is on the Line" Rick Horrow.
Rick Horrow, also is CNN's sports business analyst and joins us live from West Palm Beach, Florida. Good to see you, Rick.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: How are you?
I want the number of that store manager for the lottery. I'm going pay him a visit for my income over (INAUDIBLE).
WHITFIELD: Yes, no kidding.
HORROW: Yes. But Alex Smith to get to your next question, he hit the lottery as well, first pick, San Francisco 49ers and he's a guy that many will hope will make people forget or remember the likeness of Joe Montana and Steve Young, and forget some of the quarterbacks they've had in between.
WHITFIELD: He was like a headgates Trophy finalist, wasn't he?
HORROW: Well, Alex Smith certainly was. And when you look at the top picks in the draft it went pretty much as expected. Ronnie Brown, Auburn University, drafted by the Miami Dolphins. They want the fans in Miami to forget the Ricky Williams debacle.
The Cleveland Browns drafted Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards, an All-American. Everybody's excited about their new offense in Cleveland, as they enter into a new era, post Butch Davis.
The Chicago Bears drafted Texas running back, Cedric Benson. And of course he's a big deal, shifty, elusive and people are counting on him to carry the day.
And in the top five picks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a running back as well, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams from Auburn. Two running backs from Auburn in the top five, hoping to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to greatness. The important thing to remember in the top five, it's about $100 million in contracts as they're signed. So it's big business for the NFL as well.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So, any surprises in that mix, however?
HORROW: Yes, well it's one surprise, Mike Williams, the wide receiver from Southern California who sat out last year because of a dispute over signing an agent, was drafted in the number 10 position by the Detroit Lions. So, he's starting his career very well.
And then a player who hadn't been drafted, California Quarterback Aaron Rogers, kind of tells you what the media does and doesn't know. Everybody's predicting him as number one or number two and it's two- thirds through the draft right now, by the way, and the guy hasn't been drafted yet. Teams really make the first pick of the draft as a very important part of their future. And he can't fool around because the average value of an NFL franchise, by the way, is about $630 million. So, he can't afford to make a mistake.
WHITFIELD: No kidding. Well, you're alluding to the business of the NFL. And you have to wonder, what do you read into these drafts, and walk away with some kind of conclusion about where the NFL is going financially?
HORROW: Here's what I want to walk away with. I wish I had the speed to become an NFL player today, because there's a two half billion dollars in salaries. Salaries have been up about up 25 percent. There is a twin deal in the NFL, which is important. Revenue sharing among all the teams, television and tickets and a salary cap. That keeps growing. $45 million cap 1994, $85 million cap this last year. And by the way, there's a new TV deal, as we know, Monday Night Football moves to ESPN, NBC's in the mix. $3.7 billion a year in TV revenue, that's more than basketball, baseball, hockey, Olympics and NASCAR combined. That means more money for the players, more money for the teams, and a healthier National Football League.
WHITFIELD: Wow! The tradition of Monday Night Football still there, but just different -- at least in the coming season.
All right, Rick Horrow, thanks so much. HORROW: There -- but you got to go there, but you got to go to cable and you're more than welcome.
WHITFIELD: All right, very good.
Elsewhere, across America this weekend, an alleged burglar in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, is no doubt finding jail less confining than the scene of this arrest. Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of screams from a house. Well, they pulled a man from the chimney, where he had been lodged for apparently about two hours.
The FBI and local police are investigating hate mail, three minority students received at a small Christian college north of Chicago. A physical threat in one of the letters prompted Trinity International University to evacuate minority students Thursday. The campus is back to normal operations under heavy police and security patrol.
And police in Jeffersonville, Indiana, report finding the bodies of a pregnant woman and 11-month-old boy in an apartment. Investigators are looking for the woman's husband. They're calling him a person of interest.
Well, female American soldiers are not technically in combat positions on the ground in Iraq, but constantly shifting insurgent tactics can turn any part of the country into a war zone and at any time, putting women under fire.
Our Maria Hinojosa profiles some of these courageous female soldiers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carrie (ph) Gasiewicz was supposed to be on this plane headed back. Marching into her family's open arms, after a year of intelligence work in Iraq. It was going to be care ye's big welcome home. Instead, her parents got hugs and tears of sympathy from her military intelligence battalion. Her unit was hit by rocketfire, nearly every week in Iraq, two weeks before their return Carrie's armored vehicle was destroyed. And Carrie became one of 309 females to die in the war.
KATHLEEN GASIEWICZ, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: Didn't turn out she come home the way we wanted her to.
HINOJOSA: A lot of American women serve over there like Carrie did or on other military missions worldwide. Nearly 230,000 of them, about 15 percent of the million plus fighting force. They ride atop tanks and conduct house-to-house searches, move armored vehicles through dangerous streets. More women have died in Iraq than in any other American war since World War II.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attention!
HINOJOSA: President Bush said recently the no women in combat policy still stands, meaning women are still banned from infantry and armored brigades. In Iraq, where insurgent where insurgents have changed combat are on the ground and under fire.
Melissa Stockwell (ph) was guarding supply transport vehicles when a roadside bomb exploded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is different, because before I was stuck on the floor with my left one. My left one was actually outside the vehicle, in a better position in order to fire (INAUDIBLE) because my leg was outside the vehicle, that's why it's not here.
HINOJOSA: Captain Dawn Hathbaker (ph) is an M.P. She was out on patrol when a rocket propelled grenade struck her convoy and took off her right arm. Her life was changed forever, but her support of women as combat soldiers has remained unshaken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are in combat, whether we like to say it like that or not, but we are. You know, there's really no front line or rear in this kind of war, unfortunately. But in being a woman, I think people respond to me a little bit differently, you know, around the hospital. There's less of us, so I guess you get a little bit more attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foul!
HINOJOSA: More than 250 women have been wounded in the war in Iraq. A few have ended up at Walter Reed, an army hospital near Washington, learning to walk again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was a good one.
HINOJOSA: Despite her disabilities, Lieutenant Stockwell (ph) competed in an arm-powered bike with other war amputees.
BOB BARR, WALTER REED ARM HOSPITAL: It's a trait that you see in many of the soldiers that come through, whether man or women. They all seem to be very positive and very upbeat as far as what they have done in Iraq, and many of them would like to go back if they could.
HINOJOSA: Even the women who served with Sergeant Gasiewitz when she died. Elizabeth suffered a leg and mouth injury in the same attack.
SGT. ELIZABETH LEBEL, U.S. ARMY: I don't see it so much though as a women combat. This is what I signed up to do. I'm a United States soldier. When I signed on that dotted line when I joined the army, I was aware of the risks. I was aware of the consequences, and life happens. This is what I signed up to do.
HINOJOSA: At Fort Gordon in Georgia, Paul and Kathy Gasiewitz accepted a few of Carrie's belongings.
GASIEWITZ: She's always made us proud of everything she's ever done. But I think making the ultimate sacrifice for her country that she absolutely loved is probably right up there.
HINOJOSA: Maria Hinojosa, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The United Nations warns Angola must step up its drive to bring the Marburg virus under control. Under control, U.N. world health organizations teams are working with Angola and health workers to contain the outbreak that has killed nearly 250 people. The Marburg virus is very rare, but there many potential health you should be aware of is you're planning a trip abroad.
Dr. Bill Lloyd joins from us Sacramento, California to talk all about it. Good to see you Dr. Lloyd.
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Fredricka, so good to see your smiling face again.
WHITFIELD: Well, thank you. So often when we go abroad, people are more consumes with passports, money, tickets. You say don't forget about your health.
LLOYD: Two things to think about, your own personal health conditions, for example, if you have a breathing problem, you might not want to go to Quito, Ecuador and be at altitude. Or health concerns directly at the area you plan to visit. For example, if you're going to southeast Asia, stay away from poultry dishes because you might contract that dangerous avian flu.
WHITFIELD: And don't underestimate the need for immunizations. Sometimes people try to figure out away to get around immunizations when they're going to certain destinations. You say don't do that.
LLOYD: They've tightened the controls on immunizations. And if you don't have the right shots, not only will you not be able to get into the country, you won't even be able to get on the plane to go to the country. So, your whole vacation could be ruined for the sake of getting a simple vaccination. So, you can ask your doctor what shots will I need? You can even go to the CDC Web site which is cdc.gov. And click on traveler's health and they'll tell you everything you need to know about the health concerns of the country you plan to visit.
WHITFIELD: And you really need to do some research, don't you, to find out what kind of health measures will be available to you when you go to this destination, what kind of hospitals do they have, care in general?
LLOYD: Well, it's very important, because as you travel different parts of the world there's many different kinds of risks, Fredricka. If you're going to a tropical climate, you'd want to know about malaria. You know, malaria kills hundreds of millions of people every year. Every 20 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria, for example. You're going to want to take the right medication, we call it prophylaxis (ph), weeks before you begin your journey. So that when you arrive in an area where malaria is a problem, you won't be able contract the disease.
WHITFIELD: Now, what about health insurance? A lot of folks carry their health insurance cards. Is it applicable when you go abroad?
LLOYD: Oh, people get ruptured appendixes and heart attacks all the time, Fredricka. You ought to check with your health plan before you go, to find out what kind of overages are available? Are there health systems that match up with the plan that you're in? If not talk to the travel agent, maybe your credit card company or another insurer to find out about health insurance. And the biggest expense may not be a hospitalization, it may be the air trip back home if you have special needs and need to be evacuated.
WHITFIELD: Now, you talked about malaria, immunizations or even pills. Now, what if you are on medication on a regular basis, what do you need to do? What do you advise to folks?
LLOYD: Good advice for over-the-counter medicines and prescription medicines. You know, sunblock is cheap at home but can be very expensive on a Caribbean beach. So, bring plenty of over-the- counter remedies with you, things like pain relievers, medications for diarrhea, for example. If you're taking prescription medications, make sure you have two supplies, one in your purse on your person, and one in your luggage. And bring a hand copied written prescription in case both of the pills get lost. And the same thing applies for contact lenses. You wouldn't want to lose your contacts, and be groping around Europe not being able to see.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that would be a drag. And you say really to be safe, go ahead and get your dental and medical checkups before you do anything.
LLOYD: Well, certainly. Regarding your health and your dental care as well. you wouldn't want to be in Budapest on a Sunday morning needing root canal. SO, a quick check with your dentist to make sure that your teeth are in good order. Well, ensure that you have a comfortable and memorable trip when you travel overseas.
WHITFIELD: All right, good advice as always. Thanks so much, Bill Lloyd.
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
WHITFIELD: All righty.
All right, Carol Lin is here with a preview of what's to come in about an hour and 50 minutes from now. How are you?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, Fredricka's back from maternity leave. Welcome back. Great to see you. You look wonderful.
WHITFIELD: Thank you. Thanks so much.
LIN: Excited to have you back. Coming up at 6:00 Eastern tonight, I'm going to be talking with a family attorney of the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed after having a fit at school. So we want to find out what the plans are by the family and how they're going to react.
WHITFIELD: Some rumblings of a lawsuit?
LIN: I imagine. I think, we're really going to be exploring the use of force in this particular case, with a 5-year-old girl.
Coming up at 10:00 tonight in our prime time show we are going to have an "Only on CNN" segment. We have a piece on whether the Aryan Nation here in the United States is trying successfully to hook up with al Qaeda.
So, Rick Sanchez has an exclusive report only on CNN, 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
We'll be looking for all of that. Thanks so much, Carol.
LIN: That's, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, the weekend is a little more special for one person in particular in Michigan. All right, make it a lot more special. One person is the single winner of the $200 million plus Mega Millions Jackpot. Who is it? We'll try to get some clues next on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, come Monday morning, at least one person in Michigan will be able to roll over and go right back to sleep when that alarm clock goes off. The winner of the latest Mega Millions Lottery drawing can afford to take a few days off, in fact, now that he or she is $205 million richer. Of course, taxes will take a huge bite out of that figure, but who's counting the pennies?
Think you might hold that lucky ticket? Well, perhaps, if you're in Michigan or was in Michigan passing through the winning numbers are 23-25-43-46-49 and the Megaball Number was 26. It was sold just yesterday evening at the River District Supermarket in Port Huron.
And the manager of that store, Jerrod Abro joins us now on the phone. Jerrod, hello.
JERROD ABRO, RIVER DISTRICT SUPERMARKET: How are you doing today.
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. This must be exciting to know you have sold that winning ticket.
ABRO: This is probably one of the most unbelievable things that could ever happen in this town. It's just been insane. I'm so happy for these people, I can't even explain it.
WHITFIELD: Describe what the day has been like for you. ABRO: It's been a frenzy.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ABRO: We were on our way to work this morning, like we always, listening to the news on the local radio station. And driving up the highway, and hear, you know, the winning ticket for the lottery big game has been sold in Port Huron, Michigan...
WHITFIELD: That's how you learned of it?
ABRO: That's how -- we didn't even know. We had no idea. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
WHITFIELD: At what point did you learn it was your store?
ABRO: On the radio. We were not even contacted at all.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And so, in some states, the store stands to gain some change when selling the winning ticket. Does that apply to you?
ABRO: I don't know how it applies. I don't know what they do or how it works. I'm not sure what the state has in store for that.
WHITFIELD: And so tell me a little bit about your customers there that come in and buy these lottery tickets. Do they usually try to get random pick numbers or do they generally craft their own numbers? Give a sense as to what -- what the buyers are like.
ABRO: You know what, it's very, very rare for customers to come in and pick their own numbers. They usually go off the easy picks. I believe the winner of this ticket was like a $5 easy pick. And the winning number was on the last line of the ticket.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
ABRO: Um-hum.
WHITFIELD: And so what are your expectations about when this person may decide to come in?
ABRO: I don't know. I'm thinking maybe -- maybe they might -- may pop in on Monday or something. They might maybe just want to hide away from the media a little bit. I'd love to meet them.
WHITFIELD: Have you had any fakers?
ABRO: What's that?
WHITFIELD: Have you had any fakers, anyone who's come in to claim that they've got the winning ticket but don't or they call?
ABRO: Yes, a couple of people have come in with a little bit of humor, trying to pretend like they've got the winning ticket and things like that. It's been funny. It's just been a great day. I'm so happy for these people. I can't even explain it.
WHITFIELD: Well, how fun. It will be great to hear who has the winning ticket, if only they would step forward. Jerrod Abro, thanks so much for joining us. And good luck to you guys, as you try to manage the crowds there at your store. Suddenly you all are very popular.
ABRO: Absolutely. Absolutely. You have a great day, too.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you.
Well that's all for us, for now, this hour on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
Straight ahead "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" profiling actress Nicole Kidman, starring in a new movie thriller out this weekend called "The Interpreter."
Then at 6:00 Eastern, Carol Lin with a tribute to Pat Tillman.
He's the former NFL star who gave up a multimillion-dollar contract and was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.
And then at 7:00 eastern "The Capital Gang" troubles for embattled Congressman Tom DeLay and what may happen next.
And I'll be back in a few moments with this hour's headlines.
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Aired April 23, 2005 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The video of the apparent shooting down of a helicopter in Iraq shocked much of the world. Suspects were detained today. What tipped off the U.S. military?
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are in combat, you know whether we like to say it like that or not, but we are. You know, there's really no frontline or rear in this kind of war, unfortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Women on the front lines and facing attacks in Iraq with special help overcoming devastating injuries.
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA CHIPMAN, WIDOW: I felt like I lost me. I lost him, and I lost me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ten years after the worst case of domestic terrorism in the U.S., how some of the survivors cope with their loss of the people most important in their lives.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after a look at the headlines.
Pope Benedict XVI promised to build on his predecessor's efforts to reach the world through media. The pontiff today thanked journalists for their coverage of events following the death of Pope John Paul II. The new pope's inauguration is tomorrow.
China and Japan appear to be trying to ease tensions that have recently erupted between them. China's president and Japan's prime minister shook hands and spoke positively about their talks this evening. They met during the Asian and African summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ecuador's ousted president is hold up in the Brazilian ambassador's residence in Kito (ph) for a fourth day. Protesters outside the walled compound want Lucio Guitierrez (ph) to stand trial for alleged corruption. He's waiting for the new government to let him leave for exile in Brazil.
And in Lakeport, California, a memorial service for the bay area activist killed last weekend in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka (ph) founded an organization to aid civilians wounded and to help families of those killed in conflict. A car bomb killed Ruzicka and two other people near Baghdad.
It was a crash Iraqi insurgents wanted the world to see, but they apparently didn't count on a local seeing them as well. Now thanks to the Iraqi civilian's tip, six people suspected of shooting down a helicopter near Baghdad have been detained. The U.S. military says the tipster knew where to find a pickup truck the terrorists apparently used during that attack. That information led soldiers to the suspects. Two groups have claimed responsibility for the attack two days ago. A video soon surfaced showing the chopper in flames. The 11 people on board, included U.S. contractors, Bulgarian crew members and Fijian security guards. Insurgents found the lone survivor when they arrived at the site. A chilling video shows them interrogating the man, then shooting him in death. Despite this and other recent attacks, the U.S. military says insurgents are getting desperate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. DAVID BISHOP, 3RD BRIGADE, 1ST ARMORED DIVISION: I think any rise that we've seen in recent weeks, it does not indicate a long-term trend. I think that, over time, we're still at norm or below in terms of the level of attacks. One of the trends that we've noticed is that Iraqi insurgent attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqi security forces are increasingly becoming more and more ineffective and unsuccessful. Although they are still scoring some lethal kills on their intended targets, they're becoming more and more difficult because the Iraqi security forces are becoming better and better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It was just about a year ago when Americans first saw the shocking photos, naked Iraqi prisoners posed in humiliating positions while American troops stood by smiling sometimes with the camera. The Abu Ghraib prison scandal happened during the command of Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. Now Pentagon sources say the Army has finished its probe into his alleged leadership failures. CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live from the Pentagon with more on that. Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Army believes that this was, indeed, an exhaustive investigation. It included a review of 10 of the major Pentagon investigations thus far into the Abu Ghraib prison abuse. And senior Pentagon officials tell CNN that Army Inspector Stanley Green (ph) has determined that the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, will not face any punishment, nor will any of his top deputies. The "Washington Post" is, however, reporting that only Brigadier General Janis Karpinski will be punished. She was if you recall, a commander of the 800th military police brigade that included the soldiers so far convicted of the abuse. And the paper reports she will receive an administrative reprimand for dereliction of duty. Critics, including General Karpinski's lawyer, though, take issue with the findings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEAL PUCKETT, MILITARY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: It continues to seem that she has been singled out for, or targeted for responsibility for Abu Ghraib and she feels like it's a shared responsibility. She accepts her part, her part of the responsibility, but it's a shared responsibility throughout the chain of command, not just her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This just proves that the Army cannot investigate itself. If the United States is going to wipe away the stain of Abu Ghraib, there has to be an independent investigation that looks at the responsibility of all those people who ordered or who tolerated torture, no matter where they are in the chain of command.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: The White House reacted to the report. A spokesperson saying, quote, the U.S. does not tolerate wrongdoing when it comes to detainees. When we find it, we will act to hold those responsible to account and take steps to prevent it from happening again. Fredricka, this is far from over. Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is promising to hold a hearing looking at whether or not all of these very extensive investigations had actually really gone far enough in looking at the role that senior officers played in condoning or encouraging any of this abuse.
WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen, and what about the reputation of Lieutenant General Sanchez? While there's this report is showing no culpability of the incidents that took place, surely it seems that there is some damage that just simply might be associated with the abuses there in and of itself.
KOCH: Certainly. Well, currently, he is commanding U.S. forces in West Germany, but -- I mean Germany. He had been hoping to get a fourth star and move up in the military ranks, but right now, that's very uncertain. Though he has been cleared any of wrongdoing, it's just unclear whether or not he's been tainted by the brush of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon, thanks so much.
KOCH: You bet.
WHITFIELD: It's been an emotional day for the Lunde family in Ruskin, Florida. Friends and relatives gathered to remember Sarah Michelle Lunde. A memorial service and funeral were held for the slain 13-year-old today. Lunde, as you may recall, was the subject of a widespread search after disappearing from her home. Her body was later found in a pond at an abandoned fish farm. Lunde's disappearance and the subsequent search for her was the second headline grabbing missing girl case to grip that state in recent weeks. Convicted sex offender David Onstott is in custody for Lunde's death. He once dated Lunde's mother. Police say he choked the girl to death and dumped her body.
Florida lawmakers have passed a bill calling for tougher sentences for sex offenders convicted of crimes against children. It's called the Jennifer, the Jessica rather, Lunsford act. The 9- year-old girl was the other Florida girl police say was recently killed by a convicted sex offender. The act requires longer sentences for those convicted of molesting children under the age of 12. Convicted sex offenders would also be subject to electronic monitoring and lifetime probation after their release.
Florida authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of a convicted sex offender. The body of 38-year-old Clovis Ivan Claxton was found in Okala by his father. The sheriff's office says Claxton had threatened to commit suicide after neighbors posted signs calling him a child rapist. One of the signs was found beside his body. Claxton was convicted of exposing himself to a nine-year-old girl back in 1991.
What would prompt police to put a kindergartener in handcuffs? Authorities are investigating an incident caught on videotape last month, showing a five-year-old girl throwing a tantrum, then being handcuffed by police. Our Tony Harris shows us how the scene unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The camera was rolling as part of a self-improvement exercise for preschool children in St. Petersburg, Florida. You see a 5-year-old girl become disruptive.
We're not touching you. No ma'am, we're not touching you. You don't touch me.
HARRIS: First throwing objects on the floor and resisting the efforts of a teacher and assistant principal to calm her down. Eventually, the girl's mother is called but she's unable to come to the school. The girl begins hitting the assistant principal and the police are called.
The video is stopped soon after the girl's hands are fastened behind her. Now, no charges have been filed against the five-year-old girl, and she was released to her mother. But a lawyer for the girl's parents say that police went too far and that he plans unspecified legal actions against him. Police officials have launched an internal investigation. Tony Harris, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: He gave up fame and fortune on the football field to join a different team. Pat Tillman's military career and life ended when he was struck by a bullet fired by a fellow soldier. Coming up, friendly fire incidents and the technology that could help prevent them. And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just loved each other. You know, and held each other's hands and we're still doing it today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: United in tragedy, the widows of the Oklahoma City bombing, how that horrible day 10 years ago created life-long friendships, when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A series of explosions rocked Iraq today. The deadliest attack happened as an Iraqi Army convoy was passing a village near Abu Ghraib prison. A bomb exploded, killing nine Iraqi soldiers and wounding at least 20. U.S. soldiers were also targeted today. A bomb struck a U.S. military convoy on the road to Baghdad's international airport. One Iraqi civilian was killed and five wounded.
Meanwhile, in southern Iraq, a car bomb exploded near a school outside of Basra. Police say two Iraqi civilians were wounded.
And then to the north, an Associated Press TV news cameraman was killed and an A.P. photographer wounded in Mosul. It happened when they were caught in the crossfire between U.S. forces and insurgents.
The American death toll also grew today. The U.S. military says a soldier assigned to the 2nd marine expeditionary force was killed in a roadside bombing. That brings the number of U.S. fatalities in the war to 1,568. More than 12,000 Americans have been wounded.
More than 170 U.S. troops have also died in Afghanistan. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the death of one of them, Pat Tillman. The football player gave up his NFL career to serve as an Army ranger. It was a quiet, private decision but his death changed all of that. The Pentagon determined he was accidentally shot by his fellow soldiers, a case of friendly fire. Now, new technology may prevent such tragic misunderstandings and help troops determine who is friend and who is foe. Let's talk about it with retired Army Lt. Colonel Robert Maginnis. Good to see you.
LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET): Good seeing you Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well, before we get to the technology now at hand, let's talk about whether you believe that the rate of friendly fire incidents is on the rise, as it pertains to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MAGINNIS: Well, juxtapose what happened in '91 in Desert Storm where we lost 34, 35 people, and during -- that was the 100-hour war and then during the 45 days of "operation Iraqi freedom," the march to Baghdad we lost about 9 percent of the total force to fratricide, fratricide being really friendly fire is what the military calls it. And so you could argue that technology and our ability to train and many of the precautions we take have improved. That doesn't, of course, you know, really excuse some of the mistakes that we make. For the most part, we're doing much better. During OIF, for instance, Fredricka, we employed seven systems that are known as blue force tracking. In other words, that helps us to track people to know where they are on the battlefield so that we don't accidentally kill friendlies.
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk a little bit more about this blue force tracking. How does it work?
MAGINNIS: Well, basically, you have a transponder and it's using a tactical Internet. So basically you know where every vehicle is on the friendly side and you're using your sensors, you know where the enemy is. In your tank or in your Bradley fighting vehicle you engage the enemy and if everything is working properly, you're not going to assault your other people in spite of smoke or fog of war or night or whatever the conditions are. We take other precautions as well. It's an incredibly expensive system and as I indicated moments ago, there were seven different systems which weren't highly compatible and we're trying to resolve those differences now.
WHITFIELD: So because it's so expensive, does that mean it's not necessarily available to every unit, every type of forces from special forces to rangers, et cetera, or for night duty or day duty?
MAGINNIS: It's not universally accessible or available yet, and there is a price tag associated with it. And also, you have to carry the equipment, which makes it a little more difficult especially if you're a ranger.
WHITFIELD: Is it cumbersome and heavy?
MAGINNIS: It can be heavy if you consider tactical Internet, just like you have a PC at home or a laptop, somebody has to be able to orchestrate the battle. You can do that here in the United States, even though they're on the ground in Afghanistan but it's much better if you have the tactical commanders that are kind of watching what's going on. It's especially good in a buildup area where from one building to the next, you don't know where your people are.
WHITFIELD: Do you see in the future a greater investment in this kind of blue force technology?
MAGINNIS: No, we're just charging forward with it. We clearly see the advantages, especially in dismounted urban operations and we're going to do everything we can. The Jessica Lynch incident in Nasiriyah at the beginning of March, 2003, when she was captured and we went in there, you saw some of the video of our going in there. Well, we knew exactly where all the people on the ground were during, actually conducting that hostage rescue. That technology allowed us not only to save lives, but to rescue our people.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis, thanks so much for joining us.
MAGINNIS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Women are increasingly finding themselves under fire. They're not supposed to be in the heat of battle, but there is no getting away from the front lines in Iraq at least. A look at the wounded and those who didn't come home, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
The only person in the U.S. charged in the September 11th attacks says he'll fight to escape the death penalty. Zacarias Moussaoui, a 36-year-old French citizen, pleaded guilty yesterday to all six terrorism conspiracy charges against him. He told the court he had no role in those attacks, but that he was hand-picked by Osama bin Laden to crash a jetliner into the White House in a different conspiracy.
Before September 11th, 2001, there was April 19th, 1995. Ten years ago this week, Timothy McVeigh brought terrorism into America's back yard with a truck full of explosives. The Oklahoma City bombing remains the worst episode of domestic terrorism in the U.S. For those who lost loved ones in the blast, things have moved forward, but the past will never be forgotten. CNN's Aaron Brown looks at one group of women who came together in grief and found lasting friendship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA CHIPMAN, WIDOW: He was my soul mate. You know? We walked side by side in life.
AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gloria Chipman still smiles as she remembers the little ordinary details of that last morning.
CHIPMAN: He comes out in this very nice suit that we had purchased for him, and he goes, "Gloria, does this tie look good with this suit?" and I said," Bob you're handsome. Yes, you look wonderful in that suit."
BROWN: Robert Chipman worked across the street from the Murrah Federal building. He died two days after the explosion.
CHIPMAN: When the bombing occurred, I didn't know where I went. I felt like I lost me. I lost him, and I lost me. I couldn't think. I couldn't remember. I couldn't spell. I -- I -- I was a basket case.
BROWN: Gloria was many things in those days, but one thing she wasn't was alone. There were many, far too many like her, and she joined them.
CHIPMAN: The counseling sessions were so intense, so emotional, that as we were walking out, as a group, from the session, somebody would say, "Wow!, I need something to eat. Do you guys want to go?" And so we all started going to dinner.
BROWN: Ten years later, the core group still meets once a month. They share a meal and a conversation. They are better now, if still scarred.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Father, we love each other so much. We have so much in common, and thank you so much for keeping this group together and watching over us.
BROWN: All of the women have dated some. None has remarried. There are always photos of children and grandchildren to show and talk about, family dominates the conversation. Two still have kids living at home, all have grandchildren now. Jeanne Steward is raising her 7- year-old granddaughter, Alana. The natural problems seem a common concern.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to have just a day go by that we can just, you know, think happy thoughts of the past, instead of just focusing on trying to get by in the day.
BROWN: Ten years is a long time, sometimes. Each of the women has changed. None is exactly what they once were, but whatever they are, whatever they've become, is in no small part due to each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just love each other, you know, and held each other's hands, and we're still doing it today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've come a long ways, but I still don't have all the confidence that I would really like to have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But where you were to where you are now, it's huge. It's huge. I mean, you couldn't even make your own coffee. You couldn't even --
CHIPMAN: There's a lot of things I couldn't do. Yeah, I think we've all come a long way, and it's, you know, it's a -- to me it's been a blessing to have you in my life and it's a terrible way to have to have met everyone, but, because I know I have you guys, I don't feel alone. And if I call and say some dumb thing -- we know it's Gloria!
BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: For a closer look back at the Oklahoma City bombings, tune in to CNN tonight, "CNN presents: day of terror, remembering Oklahoma City." That airs at 8:00 Eastern.
The U.S. military rounds up suspects in the downing of a commercial helicopter in Iraq. That tops our check of the headline right after this.
Also, caught between a rock and a rock. A would-be burglar does his best Santa Claus impersonation but wasn't as jolly in the end.
And analyzing the first round of the NFL draft, the selections, the rumors and even a trade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, here are the latest developments.
The U.S. Military detained six people suspected of shooting down a civilian chopper north of Baghdad Thursday. Eleven people were killed, including six American contractors. Video of the apparent shootdown surfaced yesterday. It shows the chopper crash, and then a survivor being shot dead.
President Bush is urging Congress to wrap up work on a bill that would pay for combat and reconstruction costs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Bush says the House and Senate need to quickly work out their differences over the $81 billion measure. The Pentagon says it needs the money by the first week of May.
Mega money for one one winner of the Mega Millions Lottery. Officials say one winning ticket was sold in Port Huron, Michigan. It's worth about $205 million before taxes. We'll go to the store where the winning ticket was sold in about 20 minutes from now, and we'll be talking to the store manager there.
The best in college football hit a different jackpot today. Students turned into millionaires as the NFL draft got under way. The first election belonged to the San Francisco 49ers. And for the fifth year in a row, the number one pick was a quarterback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First selection in the 2005 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Alex Smith, quarterback, Utah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Smith led Utah to an unbeaten season as a junior, passing for nearly 3, 000 yards and 32 touchdowns. Joining us is the author of "When the Game is on the Line" Rick Horrow.
Rick Horrow, also is CNN's sports business analyst and joins us live from West Palm Beach, Florida. Good to see you, Rick.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: How are you?
I want the number of that store manager for the lottery. I'm going pay him a visit for my income over (INAUDIBLE).
WHITFIELD: Yes, no kidding.
HORROW: Yes. But Alex Smith to get to your next question, he hit the lottery as well, first pick, San Francisco 49ers and he's a guy that many will hope will make people forget or remember the likeness of Joe Montana and Steve Young, and forget some of the quarterbacks they've had in between.
WHITFIELD: He was like a headgates Trophy finalist, wasn't he?
HORROW: Well, Alex Smith certainly was. And when you look at the top picks in the draft it went pretty much as expected. Ronnie Brown, Auburn University, drafted by the Miami Dolphins. They want the fans in Miami to forget the Ricky Williams debacle.
The Cleveland Browns drafted Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards, an All-American. Everybody's excited about their new offense in Cleveland, as they enter into a new era, post Butch Davis.
The Chicago Bears drafted Texas running back, Cedric Benson. And of course he's a big deal, shifty, elusive and people are counting on him to carry the day.
And in the top five picks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a running back as well, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams from Auburn. Two running backs from Auburn in the top five, hoping to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to greatness. The important thing to remember in the top five, it's about $100 million in contracts as they're signed. So it's big business for the NFL as well.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So, any surprises in that mix, however?
HORROW: Yes, well it's one surprise, Mike Williams, the wide receiver from Southern California who sat out last year because of a dispute over signing an agent, was drafted in the number 10 position by the Detroit Lions. So, he's starting his career very well.
And then a player who hadn't been drafted, California Quarterback Aaron Rogers, kind of tells you what the media does and doesn't know. Everybody's predicting him as number one or number two and it's two- thirds through the draft right now, by the way, and the guy hasn't been drafted yet. Teams really make the first pick of the draft as a very important part of their future. And he can't fool around because the average value of an NFL franchise, by the way, is about $630 million. So, he can't afford to make a mistake.
WHITFIELD: No kidding. Well, you're alluding to the business of the NFL. And you have to wonder, what do you read into these drafts, and walk away with some kind of conclusion about where the NFL is going financially?
HORROW: Here's what I want to walk away with. I wish I had the speed to become an NFL player today, because there's a two half billion dollars in salaries. Salaries have been up about up 25 percent. There is a twin deal in the NFL, which is important. Revenue sharing among all the teams, television and tickets and a salary cap. That keeps growing. $45 million cap 1994, $85 million cap this last year. And by the way, there's a new TV deal, as we know, Monday Night Football moves to ESPN, NBC's in the mix. $3.7 billion a year in TV revenue, that's more than basketball, baseball, hockey, Olympics and NASCAR combined. That means more money for the players, more money for the teams, and a healthier National Football League.
WHITFIELD: Wow! The tradition of Monday Night Football still there, but just different -- at least in the coming season.
All right, Rick Horrow, thanks so much. HORROW: There -- but you got to go there, but you got to go to cable and you're more than welcome.
WHITFIELD: All right, very good.
Elsewhere, across America this weekend, an alleged burglar in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, is no doubt finding jail less confining than the scene of this arrest. Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of screams from a house. Well, they pulled a man from the chimney, where he had been lodged for apparently about two hours.
The FBI and local police are investigating hate mail, three minority students received at a small Christian college north of Chicago. A physical threat in one of the letters prompted Trinity International University to evacuate minority students Thursday. The campus is back to normal operations under heavy police and security patrol.
And police in Jeffersonville, Indiana, report finding the bodies of a pregnant woman and 11-month-old boy in an apartment. Investigators are looking for the woman's husband. They're calling him a person of interest.
Well, female American soldiers are not technically in combat positions on the ground in Iraq, but constantly shifting insurgent tactics can turn any part of the country into a war zone and at any time, putting women under fire.
Our Maria Hinojosa profiles some of these courageous female soldiers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carrie (ph) Gasiewicz was supposed to be on this plane headed back. Marching into her family's open arms, after a year of intelligence work in Iraq. It was going to be care ye's big welcome home. Instead, her parents got hugs and tears of sympathy from her military intelligence battalion. Her unit was hit by rocketfire, nearly every week in Iraq, two weeks before their return Carrie's armored vehicle was destroyed. And Carrie became one of 309 females to die in the war.
KATHLEEN GASIEWICZ, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: Didn't turn out she come home the way we wanted her to.
HINOJOSA: A lot of American women serve over there like Carrie did or on other military missions worldwide. Nearly 230,000 of them, about 15 percent of the million plus fighting force. They ride atop tanks and conduct house-to-house searches, move armored vehicles through dangerous streets. More women have died in Iraq than in any other American war since World War II.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attention!
HINOJOSA: President Bush said recently the no women in combat policy still stands, meaning women are still banned from infantry and armored brigades. In Iraq, where insurgent where insurgents have changed combat are on the ground and under fire.
Melissa Stockwell (ph) was guarding supply transport vehicles when a roadside bomb exploded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is different, because before I was stuck on the floor with my left one. My left one was actually outside the vehicle, in a better position in order to fire (INAUDIBLE) because my leg was outside the vehicle, that's why it's not here.
HINOJOSA: Captain Dawn Hathbaker (ph) is an M.P. She was out on patrol when a rocket propelled grenade struck her convoy and took off her right arm. Her life was changed forever, but her support of women as combat soldiers has remained unshaken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are in combat, whether we like to say it like that or not, but we are. You know, there's really no front line or rear in this kind of war, unfortunately. But in being a woman, I think people respond to me a little bit differently, you know, around the hospital. There's less of us, so I guess you get a little bit more attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foul!
HINOJOSA: More than 250 women have been wounded in the war in Iraq. A few have ended up at Walter Reed, an army hospital near Washington, learning to walk again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was a good one.
HINOJOSA: Despite her disabilities, Lieutenant Stockwell (ph) competed in an arm-powered bike with other war amputees.
BOB BARR, WALTER REED ARM HOSPITAL: It's a trait that you see in many of the soldiers that come through, whether man or women. They all seem to be very positive and very upbeat as far as what they have done in Iraq, and many of them would like to go back if they could.
HINOJOSA: Even the women who served with Sergeant Gasiewitz when she died. Elizabeth suffered a leg and mouth injury in the same attack.
SGT. ELIZABETH LEBEL, U.S. ARMY: I don't see it so much though as a women combat. This is what I signed up to do. I'm a United States soldier. When I signed on that dotted line when I joined the army, I was aware of the risks. I was aware of the consequences, and life happens. This is what I signed up to do.
HINOJOSA: At Fort Gordon in Georgia, Paul and Kathy Gasiewitz accepted a few of Carrie's belongings.
GASIEWITZ: She's always made us proud of everything she's ever done. But I think making the ultimate sacrifice for her country that she absolutely loved is probably right up there.
HINOJOSA: Maria Hinojosa, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The United Nations warns Angola must step up its drive to bring the Marburg virus under control. Under control, U.N. world health organizations teams are working with Angola and health workers to contain the outbreak that has killed nearly 250 people. The Marburg virus is very rare, but there many potential health you should be aware of is you're planning a trip abroad.
Dr. Bill Lloyd joins from us Sacramento, California to talk all about it. Good to see you Dr. Lloyd.
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Fredricka, so good to see your smiling face again.
WHITFIELD: Well, thank you. So often when we go abroad, people are more consumes with passports, money, tickets. You say don't forget about your health.
LLOYD: Two things to think about, your own personal health conditions, for example, if you have a breathing problem, you might not want to go to Quito, Ecuador and be at altitude. Or health concerns directly at the area you plan to visit. For example, if you're going to southeast Asia, stay away from poultry dishes because you might contract that dangerous avian flu.
WHITFIELD: And don't underestimate the need for immunizations. Sometimes people try to figure out away to get around immunizations when they're going to certain destinations. You say don't do that.
LLOYD: They've tightened the controls on immunizations. And if you don't have the right shots, not only will you not be able to get into the country, you won't even be able to get on the plane to go to the country. So, your whole vacation could be ruined for the sake of getting a simple vaccination. So, you can ask your doctor what shots will I need? You can even go to the CDC Web site which is cdc.gov. And click on traveler's health and they'll tell you everything you need to know about the health concerns of the country you plan to visit.
WHITFIELD: And you really need to do some research, don't you, to find out what kind of health measures will be available to you when you go to this destination, what kind of hospitals do they have, care in general?
LLOYD: Well, it's very important, because as you travel different parts of the world there's many different kinds of risks, Fredricka. If you're going to a tropical climate, you'd want to know about malaria. You know, malaria kills hundreds of millions of people every year. Every 20 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria, for example. You're going to want to take the right medication, we call it prophylaxis (ph), weeks before you begin your journey. So that when you arrive in an area where malaria is a problem, you won't be able contract the disease.
WHITFIELD: Now, what about health insurance? A lot of folks carry their health insurance cards. Is it applicable when you go abroad?
LLOYD: Oh, people get ruptured appendixes and heart attacks all the time, Fredricka. You ought to check with your health plan before you go, to find out what kind of overages are available? Are there health systems that match up with the plan that you're in? If not talk to the travel agent, maybe your credit card company or another insurer to find out about health insurance. And the biggest expense may not be a hospitalization, it may be the air trip back home if you have special needs and need to be evacuated.
WHITFIELD: Now, you talked about malaria, immunizations or even pills. Now, what if you are on medication on a regular basis, what do you need to do? What do you advise to folks?
LLOYD: Good advice for over-the-counter medicines and prescription medicines. You know, sunblock is cheap at home but can be very expensive on a Caribbean beach. So, bring plenty of over-the- counter remedies with you, things like pain relievers, medications for diarrhea, for example. If you're taking prescription medications, make sure you have two supplies, one in your purse on your person, and one in your luggage. And bring a hand copied written prescription in case both of the pills get lost. And the same thing applies for contact lenses. You wouldn't want to lose your contacts, and be groping around Europe not being able to see.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that would be a drag. And you say really to be safe, go ahead and get your dental and medical checkups before you do anything.
LLOYD: Well, certainly. Regarding your health and your dental care as well. you wouldn't want to be in Budapest on a Sunday morning needing root canal. SO, a quick check with your dentist to make sure that your teeth are in good order. Well, ensure that you have a comfortable and memorable trip when you travel overseas.
WHITFIELD: All right, good advice as always. Thanks so much, Bill Lloyd.
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
WHITFIELD: All righty.
All right, Carol Lin is here with a preview of what's to come in about an hour and 50 minutes from now. How are you?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, Fredricka's back from maternity leave. Welcome back. Great to see you. You look wonderful.
WHITFIELD: Thank you. Thanks so much.
LIN: Excited to have you back. Coming up at 6:00 Eastern tonight, I'm going to be talking with a family attorney of the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed after having a fit at school. So we want to find out what the plans are by the family and how they're going to react.
WHITFIELD: Some rumblings of a lawsuit?
LIN: I imagine. I think, we're really going to be exploring the use of force in this particular case, with a 5-year-old girl.
Coming up at 10:00 tonight in our prime time show we are going to have an "Only on CNN" segment. We have a piece on whether the Aryan Nation here in the United States is trying successfully to hook up with al Qaeda.
So, Rick Sanchez has an exclusive report only on CNN, 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
We'll be looking for all of that. Thanks so much, Carol.
LIN: That's, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, the weekend is a little more special for one person in particular in Michigan. All right, make it a lot more special. One person is the single winner of the $200 million plus Mega Millions Jackpot. Who is it? We'll try to get some clues next on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, come Monday morning, at least one person in Michigan will be able to roll over and go right back to sleep when that alarm clock goes off. The winner of the latest Mega Millions Lottery drawing can afford to take a few days off, in fact, now that he or she is $205 million richer. Of course, taxes will take a huge bite out of that figure, but who's counting the pennies?
Think you might hold that lucky ticket? Well, perhaps, if you're in Michigan or was in Michigan passing through the winning numbers are 23-25-43-46-49 and the Megaball Number was 26. It was sold just yesterday evening at the River District Supermarket in Port Huron.
And the manager of that store, Jerrod Abro joins us now on the phone. Jerrod, hello.
JERROD ABRO, RIVER DISTRICT SUPERMARKET: How are you doing today.
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. This must be exciting to know you have sold that winning ticket.
ABRO: This is probably one of the most unbelievable things that could ever happen in this town. It's just been insane. I'm so happy for these people, I can't even explain it.
WHITFIELD: Describe what the day has been like for you. ABRO: It's been a frenzy.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ABRO: We were on our way to work this morning, like we always, listening to the news on the local radio station. And driving up the highway, and hear, you know, the winning ticket for the lottery big game has been sold in Port Huron, Michigan...
WHITFIELD: That's how you learned of it?
ABRO: That's how -- we didn't even know. We had no idea. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
WHITFIELD: At what point did you learn it was your store?
ABRO: On the radio. We were not even contacted at all.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And so, in some states, the store stands to gain some change when selling the winning ticket. Does that apply to you?
ABRO: I don't know how it applies. I don't know what they do or how it works. I'm not sure what the state has in store for that.
WHITFIELD: And so tell me a little bit about your customers there that come in and buy these lottery tickets. Do they usually try to get random pick numbers or do they generally craft their own numbers? Give a sense as to what -- what the buyers are like.
ABRO: You know what, it's very, very rare for customers to come in and pick their own numbers. They usually go off the easy picks. I believe the winner of this ticket was like a $5 easy pick. And the winning number was on the last line of the ticket.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
ABRO: Um-hum.
WHITFIELD: And so what are your expectations about when this person may decide to come in?
ABRO: I don't know. I'm thinking maybe -- maybe they might -- may pop in on Monday or something. They might maybe just want to hide away from the media a little bit. I'd love to meet them.
WHITFIELD: Have you had any fakers?
ABRO: What's that?
WHITFIELD: Have you had any fakers, anyone who's come in to claim that they've got the winning ticket but don't or they call?
ABRO: Yes, a couple of people have come in with a little bit of humor, trying to pretend like they've got the winning ticket and things like that. It's been funny. It's just been a great day. I'm so happy for these people. I can't even explain it.
WHITFIELD: Well, how fun. It will be great to hear who has the winning ticket, if only they would step forward. Jerrod Abro, thanks so much for joining us. And good luck to you guys, as you try to manage the crowds there at your store. Suddenly you all are very popular.
ABRO: Absolutely. Absolutely. You have a great day, too.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you.
Well that's all for us, for now, this hour on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
Straight ahead "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" profiling actress Nicole Kidman, starring in a new movie thriller out this weekend called "The Interpreter."
Then at 6:00 Eastern, Carol Lin with a tribute to Pat Tillman.
He's the former NFL star who gave up a multimillion-dollar contract and was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.
And then at 7:00 eastern "The Capital Gang" troubles for embattled Congressman Tom DeLay and what may happen next.
And I'll be back in a few moments with this hour's headlines.
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