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CNN Live Saturday

Inside the Crisis in Darfur; Prince Harry Backs AIDS Charity; New Orleans Celebrates Jazz Fest

Aired April 29, 2006 - 12:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories.
Planes tossed around like toys. This damage at an airport in Gainesville, Texas, shows just how powerful the winds were. Heavy rain, hail, and possibly a tornado also hit the area. More bad weather is expected today.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is preparing to step down. His resignation is expected to happen on Tuesday. Mr. Berlusconi has bitterly contested the recent election victory of Romano Prodi and his union coalition.

A new twist in the nuclear stand-off with Iran. An official there says his country is ready to allow snap inspections again, but only if the issue is removed from the United Nations Security Council. The official says Iran wants to deal solely with the U.N.'s nuclear inspection agency.

A new videotaped message from al Qaeda's number two. In it, Ayman al Zawahiri praises insurgents attacking coalition forces in Iraq, and he says the U.S. and its allies have achieved nothing but losses, disaster and misfortune since the invasion. The tape is posted on Islamist Web sites.

The images are heartbreaking. Tens of thousands of people caught in a humanitarian crisis in Africa. The United States calls the situation in Sudan's Darfur region "genocide." Actor George Clooney has seen the crisis firsthand, and he's calling for international action.

Earlier this week, Clooney discussed the situation in Darfur with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: What do you want President Bush to do?

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: Well, there's -- immediately we want to try and get security. That's the first thing. Security...

BLITZER: Send in U.S. troops? You want to send in the marines?

CLOONEY: No.

BLITZER: What do you want to see happen? Militarily get involved? CLOONEY: I think through NATO, if we can get a bridging force through NATO while we put together something in the U.N., I think that that's our best bet. I don't think that that -- I don't think anyone wants that to be or thinks that's going to be American troops. It means that we, who -- America, who usually is very good at coordinating these things, can be the leader in coordinating these things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fighting in Darfur has killed tens of thousands of people, while a campaign of arson, looting and rape has driven more than two million from their homes.

More now from CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Though there's been fighting in Sudan for many years, the battle in Darfur is relatively young. It started in 2003. A fight between black Africans and an Arab militia group known as the Janjaweed, recruited, many believe, by the Arab-Sudanese government -- although the government denies it.

It is, in part, a fight for resources, access to land and water, control of the region's rich oil reserves, but it's already being called the world's worst humanitarian crisis by the United Nations and labeled a genocide by the U.S. government.

If the conflict is new, it's also been incredibly deadly. Depending on the source, between 180,000 and 300,000 people have died, many from starvation and disease; the rest from horrific and relentlessly violent attacks. The main weapons of the Janjaweed, slaughter and rape.

This woman told CNN that like many in her camp, she's been repeatedly raped simply because she's black.

She says, sometimes if you go to collect grass or firewood, you'll be beaten or chased away or sometimes they'll just take turns raping you, leaving you for dead.

NICHOLAS KRISTOF, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: When you ask these people in these refugee camps, why do the women go out when they know that they're vulnerable to being raped?

COOPER (on camera): Right.

KRISTOF: And they say, look, when the women go out, they're raped and beaten up. But when the men go out, they're killed.

COOPER (voice-over): "New York Times" Reporter Nicholas Kristof has made several visits to the region and talked to many who have witnessed the horror firsthand. KRISTOF: One of the stories that just I think affected me the most, was talking to this woman called Fatina (ph), who was in a village that I visited. And early one morning, the Janjaweed came. She heard the gunfire, she ran out of her hut with her youngest child, a 2-year-old daughter on her back. The Janjaweed grabbed the baby from her back, threw it to the ground, and beat it to death in front of her.

COOPER: Darfur is a region in western Sudan. It's more than half the size of Texas. But the people caught up in the conflict say the Sudanese government's support for the Janjaweed leaves them helpless to fight back. And so they're forced to flee; 200,000 have crossed over the border into neighboring Chad. Now facing its own fight with rebels determined to stop upcoming elections.

JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR: There is a relation between the situation in Darfur and the situation in Chad. Those rebels were coming from Darfur.

COOPER: But apart from a few hundred peacekeepers from the African union, there's been little outside help to end the bloodshed and save people possibly facing extinction.

Anderson Cooper, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And join "A.C. 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Protesters are gathering in several American cities this weekend to call for more action on the crisis in Darfur. A big rally takes place tomorrow in Washington, and, of course, CNN will be there with the very latest.

Going global now. Soon, it may not be a crime to smoke pot, snort coke or shoot heroin in Mexico. Lawmakers have passed a bill there that would allow possession of small amounts of drugs for personal consumption. And President Vicente Fox's office suggests he'll sign it. Officials say the move will allow police to focus on large-scale trafficking operations rather than minor drug busts.

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was injured in Fiji. A band spokesman said Richards suffered a mild concussion while vacationing on the island this week. Local media report he fell out of a palm tree, but that has not yet been confirmed.

Pakistan today test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile. Officials say the missile is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads with high accuracy, and it has a potential range of more than 1,200 miles. Pakistan is determined to maintain the balance of power with nuclear neighbor India.

In Africa, scientists are trying to determine what killed at least 400 bottle-nosed dolphins. The animals washed up along the coast in Tanzania. A marine biologist says the animals did not starve to death, nor were poisoned. Fighting the spread of AIDS in Africa. That's the goal of Prince Harry's new charity in Lesotho. We'll take you there, right after the break.

And still ahead, we'll meet Trombone Shorty. He's a jazz musician, and ready to celebrate at this year's New Orleans Jazz Fest. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, they are just wild about Harry, not only in the U.K., but now Prince Harry is showing some royal compassion that would make his mother proud. CNN's Jeff Koinange reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prince Harry has traveled the world and met tens of thousands of people, some very important. But he has not forgotten the children he met at this tiny mountain kingdom nearly two years ago, children like six-year-old Mutsu Potsane (ph), who lived in the AIDS orphanage in the country's capital Maseru.

PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: It's really good to see him. I think he remembers me. His English is still as good or as bad as it used to be. But to see so many new kids here -- it's nice, in a way, to know that they're being looked after. But, at the same time, more kids are coming in, which is a problem.

KOINANGE: Lesotho has one of the highest HIV rates in the world: 29 percent of the adults in a country with just over two million people. The young prince has teamed up with Lesotho's prince, Seeiso Bereng Seeiso. Their message? AIDS is real and does not discriminate. Together they hope to prevent the spread of a disease that's decimated entire households in Lesotho.

PRINCE SEEISO BERENG SEEISO, LESOTHO: Parents are dying. Both spouses are dying. We have so many double orphans in this country. And a 14-year-olds, a 13-year-olds, you wouldn't be surprised to be heading a household.

KOINANGE: In 2004, the two princes worked with the British Red Cross to set up a fund that has since raised nearly $2 million. Now, in an effort to call more attention to the pandemic in Lesotho, they've formed a new charity this week, Sentebale, a local Lesotho word meaning forget-me-not. It's going to take a concerted effort to help stamp out the scourge in a nation where one in three are said to be HIV positive.

PRINCE HARRY: As far as I'm concerned, I'll be here, come do visits as much as I can to come and see my good friends Seeiso, to come and see all the kids.

KOINANGE (on camera): AIDS in Africa was an important issue for the late Princess Diana. Looking every bit like an officer and a gentlemen, the recent military school graduate seems to be picking up where his mother left off.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Former President Bill Clinton says countries facing AIDS epidemics should start testing everyone for the virus. In the past, many AIDS activists have opposed universal HIV tests, saying those testing positive could face persecution. Mr. Clinton says times have changed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ninety percent of the people who have this infection do not know it. That means we have to test more people. Now, we have always been against mandatory testing, thinking it would run people away because of the existence of stigma. And in the '80s, there was no medicine. In every society where you can prove to people you're fighting the stigma and they will live, I think there should be more testing.

Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana and Brazil have the most aggressive testing programs. And they are not mandatory, but like in the Lesotho case, they're opt out. If you're 12 years old or older, they're going to bring you in this year and say, and say you don't have to do this, but we think you should. You will not be discriminated against, and you will live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And join us this weekend for "The End of AIDS: A Global Summit," with former President Bill Clinton. It airs tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and 8:00 p.m. Pacific.

Hurricane Katrina can't stop Jazz Fest. The music, the food, and did I say the music and the food? There's a lot of it there. We'll be right back with a trip to New Orleans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In New Orleans, Jazz Fest is in full swing. This weekend and next weekend, a half million people are enjoying music, food and crafts. Jazz Fest has been around since 1970, and this year's event takes on added importance as the city recovers from Hurricane Katrina.

Here's a taste of the sights and sounds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUINT DAVIS, JAZZ FEST PRODUCER: Everybody in the music community knows the depth that American music plays to New Orleans. To the birth, not just of jazz, but the whole rhythm of the world. I mean, the whole rhythm of popular music.

In New Orleans, we don't separate between blues and gospel and jazz and funk and rhythm and blues. When I say we, the people don't, because the feeling is there, but neither do the musicians. New Orleans' musicians, they play everything.

We have ten stages this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crawfish bread!

DAVIS: Fifty-restaurants, three craft villages. And that's a little less than we had last year, actually. But we're about 98 percent back, but we're not 100 percent back in this Katrina year.

We were losing $15 million a day in tourism. We lost a few billion dollars in conventions. And it just was going to fall at a time when a lot of the resources and functions of the city would be back, and back up to, you know, a scale the size of a world-class event. We kind of call it in New Orleans "The Funk Olympics."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, so glad to be home!

DAVIS: For the first time, all these bands and all this music is coming back to New Orleans. And then that's the thing we keep, you know, trying to let the world know, that there really is something vital and unique here about America that's very much worth saving and worth fighting far.

This festival normally is a really spirit-filled, special place to be. But this year, it's just going to be, you know, once in a lifetime.

CROWD: Whoo!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you were listening there to the producer of Jazz Fest, Quint Davis.

And now joining us from Jazz Fest is Trombone Shorty, also known as Troy Andrews, a native of New Orleans, a celebrated trombonist since he was just wee high. He, like many, were forced to evacuate after Katrina but he's back now and scheduled to perform tomorrow at the fairgrounds.

And Troy, or Trombone or Shorty, what should I call you?

TROY "TROMBONE SHORTY" ANDREWS, NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSICIAN: Whatever you like. Call me whatever you like.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, great. We're so glad that you're with us, then, Troy. I know it's tough to hear because it's awfully loud out there, but that's a good thing. So, tell me, what does it feel like to finally be home after having to live somewhere else so long after Katrina?

ANDREWS: Well, it just feels great to be back in New Orleans. You know, when the storm hit, I had to evacuate to Dallas, and I had to go to right on tour with Lenny Kravitz and finish out a world tour with him. And it was very hard for me. But now that I have some of my family back and all of my band members are back, it's just great to feel -- to be able to be back in New Orleans, and it feels wonderful. Even though we got hit by Katrina, the soul of the city still lives.

WHITFIELD: You know, you talk about the soul of the city, and the soul of the city really is made up of the performing artists, visual artists of that city. So tell me how important it is that the music community there has gotten together, banned together, even after being separated for so long because of this hurricane.

ANDREWS: Well, I think the music community here, I think it made us stronger, because right now, since Katrina, you know, a lot of musicians left. And we have -- we have to use people that we wouldn't normally play together with, from rock bands in New Orleans, jazz bands. And they all made -- it made the community stronger and we all got together as a family to be able to play.

And everybody here is so happy to be back. And I think I just had to come back and help out the city and give back as much as I can. And it just feels wonderful to be able to play with Kermit Ruffins and The Rebirth. I play with Dr. John and Allan Cuespan (ph) or whoever it is. And everybody in the music community are really having fun, and they really want to help and keep the music alive. Because without the music, New Orleans wouldn't be the same. It's one of the heartbeats that keep the city going.

WHITFIELD: Was there ever a point where you thought Jazz Fest is not going to happen this year? Even though it has been there traditionally for 37 years, this is going to be the year that it doesn't happen?

ANDREWS: I really thought that that would be the problem this year, but I want to thank Quint Davis for working really, really hard for making it possible for us. And, you know, when it hit, that was one of the first things that I thought about, what about the Jazz Fest? Because in New Orleans, the Jazz Fest is like a holiday, and everybody lives for this day.

So people were taking off, and I was really getting a bit worried, because I didn't know whether it was going to happen or not. But I'm very, very happy that it happened. I want to thank Quint Davis for that.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, just on a personal note for and you and your meteoric rise in the music industry, you know, you are a young musician who is receiving an awful lot of praise from some real veteran musicians. Wynton Marsalis, who is someone we talked to last weekend, says that he is one of your biggest fans. You know, and you are someone who started out and got national recognition when you were just 16 years old. Does this mean that, Troy, you are also one of those kids that was in downtown New Orleans playing your trombone and just sweeping people off their feet?

ANDREWS: What did you say?

WHITFIELD: Did you -- did part of your breakthrough come in playing music on the downtown streets of New Orleans?

ANDREWS: Oh, yes, well, you know, I played in the French Quarter for a bunch of years, hustling on the street, (INAUDIBLE) once I was eight years old. I played on the street, hustling in the street and making money on tips and everything, and learning all the old traditional songs. And then I was playing jazz funerals, and then it moved along and I got to play on stage with the Neville Brothers and join the stage with Wynton Marsalis. And now I'm playing with Lenny Kravitz.

You know, a lot of people came through the French Quarter and they recognized me. And I've been playing the festival since I was three years old. And my first big stage that I played on, I think it was 1990, I played with Bo Diddley. The Jazz Festival has helped me out to be able to be recognized by a lot of people, and New Orleans helped me out.

WHITFIELD: Incredible company. Well, you, indeed, are a standout alone. Troy Andrews, Trombone Shorty. Folks can enjoy you tomorrow at Jazz Fest. And thanks so much for taking the time out.

All right, and as I coin a new phrase of continuing to sweep people off their feets. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: A look at the stories straight ahead, but first a peek at "IN THE MONEY."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks. Coming up on "IN THE MONEY," a trip to the woodshed. We'll connect the dots between rising gas prices, finger pointing in Washington and the mid-term elections.

Plus, selling trouble. We'll look at the tricky business of marketing a film about a national disaster.

And Little Caesar's. Find out about the paralells between ancient Rome and a modern-day multinational corporation.

All that and more coming up right after a quick check of the headlines.

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