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CNN Live At Daybreak

Behind Bars; AIDS in Africa; Country Music Awards

Aired May 18, 2005 - 05:30   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

The fight over the filibuster could bust right open in the Senate anytime soon. Republican leaders are threatening to change Senate rules so that Democrats can't use the filibuster to stop some of President Bush's judicial nominations.

North and South Korea have agreed to hold at least one more day of talks. This, after South Korea failed to convince the North to rejoin six-nation negotiations on its nuclear ambitions.

A congressional subcommittee is set to hear from the heads of nearly every major professional sports organization over the next two days on a new federal steroids bill. Lawmakers want rules for steroid testing and penalties to be standard for all professional sports.

Apparently Utah hasn't gotten the message that spring has sprung. The Department of Transportation says only four of the eight Utah mountain passes will be open by Memorial Day. The rest, they're still snowed in -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and a lot of passes in Colorado and Utah, just as soon as Labor Day or a little after Labor Day, they just shut down. Independence Pass, for one, near Aspen, they don't even try to plow that because it's futile. As soon as the wind blows, it's all backed in again. And so, yes, it hasn't warmed up there much, but today it will.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, we'll be here. Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In our "Security Watch" this morning, he's been a legend in the Cuban exile community. To some he's a freedom fighter, to others he's a terrorist. But one thing is for sure, this morning he is behind bars.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weeks after sneaking across the border from Mexico and going into hiding in Miami, fugitive Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles was whisked away by U.S. Homeland Security agents.

The former CIA operative is wanted in Venezuela as a suspected terrorist. He was taken into custody not long after his supporters used cloak-and-dagger techniques to drive reporters to an apparently not-so-secret warehouse in Miami where Posada could explain his recent request for political asylum.

No, I am not a terrorist, he says. They would disappear me, get rid of me, Posada says.

Cuba and Venezuela have been after Posada for decades over his alleged role in blowing up a Cuban airliner in 1976, killing 73 people.

I had nothing to do with it, Posada said, again denying any part in the terrorist attack.

Yet, recently, declassified material from the National Security Archives raised doubts about Posada's denial.

"Some plans regarding the bombing of a Cubana Airlines were discussed in Caracas, Venezuela," says one FBI document. "Posada Carriles was present."

Posada refused to take any questions about his alleged role in a series of Havana tourist hotel bombings in 1997. One Italian tourist was killed. Posada told an American newspaper he planned the attacks, then later claimed he lied.

In 2000, Posada was convicted in Panama, with two others, of hatching an assassination plot against Fidel Castro. Panama's president pardoned Posada when she left office.

I'm not renouncing violence, I'm a soldier, Posada said.

Cuba's Fidel Castro staged massive demonstrations in Havana Tuesday, accused the U.S. of hypocrisy for harboring a terrorist and called Posada a monster.

Do I look like a monster?, Posada asks.

Many questions remain. Posada is said to be on a terror watch list. Why pick him up now weeks after he admitted crossing the border illegally and filing an asylum claim?

(on camera): If Posada's asylum claim is rejected or withdrawn, it's virtually assured he would not be sent back to Cuba. Officials say he might be allowed to leave for another country that would take him in. Homeland Security officials say they have two days to decide what to do with him.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: When you get on a flight, you get screened, along with your baggage, but what about cargo? More than 20 percent of air cargo in the United States is loaded onto passenger planes, but a lot of it does not get screened.

Now Congress wants to change that. Lawmakers are introducing two measures. One would order the inspection of all passenger plane cargo by 2008. Until then, the second measure would require airlines to notify passengers when unscreened cargo is onboard.

If you're planning on traveling to Saudi Arabia, be warned. The State Department says terrorists may still have their eyes on U.S. citizens, housing compounds or government offices, but there's no word of any specific threat.

You can stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest news about your security.

Sparks flew on Capitol Hill as British Parliament member George Galloway lambasted a Senate panel for alleging that he profited from the U.N.'s Oil-For-Food program.

We want to take you "Beyond the Soundbite" for more from a very fiery Galloway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one and neither has anybody on my behalf.

I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies. I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al Qaeda. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9-11-2001.

I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end but merely the end of the beginning.

Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,000 people have paid with their lives, 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies, 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.

Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth. Have a look at the real Oil- For-Food scandal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Galloway was accused by the committee last week of being rewarded by Saddam Hussein with the rights to 20 million barrels of oil for opposing economic sanctions.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, fighting a deadly pandemic in South Africa. In 10 minutes, we'll talk to a nurse who is battling AIDS on the front lines.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well that brought me back to the day.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

That filibuster showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees could hit the Senate floor this week. The Republican leader in the Senate is threatening to change the chamber's rules if Democrats force a confrontation.

Police in Idaho want to find 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's being called a person of interest in the disappearance of two children from a house where three people were killed. The bodies of the children's mother, brother and an adult male were found in a house in Idaho.

In money news, did your car break down, do you need a rental, then be prepared to pay more for it. Online travel booking site Expedia reports auto rental prices are up 12 percent from a year ago.

In culture, have you heard Tim McGraw sing "Live Like You Were Dying?" A lot of people have. In fact, McGraw won the Country Music Awards top single and song honors for the tune last night.

And in sports, the Detroit Pistons have a three games to two lead over the Indiana Pacers in that Eastern Conference semifinal series. Ben Wallace had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in last night's 86-67 route.

The other games have been close, but not this one -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, not that one, not at all.

Hey, good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, it's time for our e-mail segment now -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I'm sure you've received a lot of e-mails this morning.

MYERS: I have.

COSTELLO: We're talking about the World Trade Center site and what to do with it, because of course there have been many problems with that site.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: In fact they designed this beautiful design to put up there and the New York City Police Department said no, you can't do that because it won't be protected from terrorists.

MYERS: It's just...

COSTELLO: So they're working on a redesign.

MYERS: Yes. It couldn't be far enough away from the street.

COSTELLO: Right.

MYERS: You know no matter what you did with all those barriers, those barrels and all those things that they put out to keep the trucks away from it, they still couldn't keep it far enough away that all the engineers were saying now if you get a big enough blast there, that building is going to come down.

COSTELLO: Right. And now Donald Trump has weighed in saying the design is a pile of junk designed by an egghead architect. And he's going to unveil this new plan at 10:30 Eastern this morning.

So we're asking people, what do you think should happen at the World Trade Center site?

MYERS: Dale (ph) says, will you just please tell someone that Donald Trump is fired.

And from William (ph), Trump's right, we need something that moves everyone, that's bigger and better. The Empire State Building is a moving sight, but what's going to stand out in the skyline? We need something that stands out.

And then this was a goody. I need -- this is going to require a little bit of (INAUDIBLE). We can rebuild them. Make them bigger, make them stronger, make them better than before. The $60 billion tower starring Donald Trump. It will make a heck of a TV series.

COSTELLO: You know that was my first thought after hearing about his plan, because he wants to rebuild the buildings as they were and make them bigger and stronger. And it sounded like he wanted to do a reality TV show along with that.

MYERS: The six-million-dollar man. That's right. COSTELLO: Yes. Thanks for your e-mails this morning.

MYERS: Keep them coming.

COSTELLO: We'll get to more because we're going to talk more about this in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well this is an alarming number, as many as 89,000 Americans still die each year because of medical mistakes. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" says significant improvements have been made in the five years since the problem was first revealed, but the report says the changes are slow, thus the death rate remains the same. Researchers blame the complexity of health care systems, plus the reluctance of doctors to admit mistakes, and an insurance system that rewards errors.

While world leaders focus on the Middle East, people warn that the region faced with the greatest crisis of our time, Africa, is getting very little notice. One of the continent's most pressing problems is its ongoing fight against AIDS. And for about 20 minutes, the battle took center stage at the White House in a meeting between President Bush and Nelson Mandela.

We wanted to find out more about the AIDS crisis in Africa. Lucy Pamment, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders, is just back from South Africa.

Good morning.

LUCY PAMMENT, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Hello there.

COSTELLO: You know we have statistics and they're so alarming and so high, almost 23 percent of those over 15 years old test positive for HIV. Why is the problem so extreme in Africa?

PAMMENT: Well I can comment from spending 15 months working in a township just east of Capetown. There seems to be an awful lot of young people testing HIV positive there. I was working in a youth center where we would diagnose a lot of young people. It's hard to know really why. We're just more important with encouraging people to come and get tested...

COSTELLO: What was it like, Lucy, working in that clinic in South Africa?

PAMMENT: It was extremely rewarding. It was very busy. There's a lot of people that need help and education about the epidemic. And by increasing awareness and offering treatment and support to those that are positive, it's really changing lives. COSTELLO: You mentioned education and education is so key. There are so many myths surrounding this disease. Tell us about some of them and what people believe about HIV and AIDS in Africa.

PAMMENT: OK, I'll talk about South Africa, specifically. There's a good base knowledge, I believe, in the township where I was working with regards to HIV and AIDS. There are very few people that aren't personally affected by the disease.

There are many myths surrounding it with regard to virgin rape, the virgin cure. People believe that your blood can be cleaned if you have sex with a virgin. Infant rape. There's also many myths with regards to government condoms containing worms, which once they're started, they're very difficult to eradicate.

But with education and I want to say a good community base, education programs, awareness, things can be overcome.

COSTELLO: And I know your organization is doing its part, but you know for people listening in our audience, what can we do and what needs to be done?

PAMMENT: Just being aware what is happening in Africa. You know one in nine South Africans is HIV positive. The numbers of 15 to 24 year olds are increasing with such speed there needs to be a huge investment by governments to realize that so much needs to be done to stop more infections. Prevention strategies are definitely the way forward.

COSTELLO: Lucy Pamment, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

PAMMENT: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: OK, so the Rolling Stones aren't country. Who cares?

We're going to talk about country music now. The 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were handed out last night.

CNN's Kim Hutcherson fills us in on who got to take what trophies home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM HUTCHERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gretchen Wilson was ready to party at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas Tuesday night. She took home awards for top new artist and top female vocalist.

Video of the year and vocal event of the year went to Brad Paisley for "Whisky Lullaby," featuring Alison Krauss.

BRAD PAISLEY, SINGER: Thank you guys so much. God bless you.

HUTCHERSON: Tim McGraw took home two awards for "Live Like You Were Dying," single record of the year and song of the year.

Keith Urban won album of the year with "Be Here" and top male vocalist.

KEITH URBAN, SINGER: I am blown away.

HUTCHERSON: Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year.

The award for top vocal group went to Rascal Flatts.

Brooks & Dunn won the honors for top vocal duo.

And Toby Keith helped pay tribute to troops serving in Iraq with a live performance via satellite from Baghdad.

I'm Kim Hutcherson reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: There you have it.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

An Amber Alert in Idaho, police search for two children missing from a scene of a triple homicide.

It's supposed to be a new beginning at Ground Zero, but rebuilding plans are stalled. And one notable New Yorker has some choice words to describe the proposed Freedom Tower. He calls it a pile of junk.

And does the new "Star Wars" film score some points about politicians and war?

It is Wednesday, May 18. You are watching DAYBREAK.

Good morning to you from the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News."

A showdown looms in the U.S. Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is expected to call for a debate today on one of President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats previously have used a filibuster to block the nomination of Priscilla Owen to a federal judgeship.

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


Aired May 18, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

The fight over the filibuster could bust right open in the Senate anytime soon. Republican leaders are threatening to change Senate rules so that Democrats can't use the filibuster to stop some of President Bush's judicial nominations.

North and South Korea have agreed to hold at least one more day of talks. This, after South Korea failed to convince the North to rejoin six-nation negotiations on its nuclear ambitions.

A congressional subcommittee is set to hear from the heads of nearly every major professional sports organization over the next two days on a new federal steroids bill. Lawmakers want rules for steroid testing and penalties to be standard for all professional sports.

Apparently Utah hasn't gotten the message that spring has sprung. The Department of Transportation says only four of the eight Utah mountain passes will be open by Memorial Day. The rest, they're still snowed in -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and a lot of passes in Colorado and Utah, just as soon as Labor Day or a little after Labor Day, they just shut down. Independence Pass, for one, near Aspen, they don't even try to plow that because it's futile. As soon as the wind blows, it's all backed in again. And so, yes, it hasn't warmed up there much, but today it will.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, we'll be here. Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In our "Security Watch" this morning, he's been a legend in the Cuban exile community. To some he's a freedom fighter, to others he's a terrorist. But one thing is for sure, this morning he is behind bars.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weeks after sneaking across the border from Mexico and going into hiding in Miami, fugitive Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles was whisked away by U.S. Homeland Security agents.

The former CIA operative is wanted in Venezuela as a suspected terrorist. He was taken into custody not long after his supporters used cloak-and-dagger techniques to drive reporters to an apparently not-so-secret warehouse in Miami where Posada could explain his recent request for political asylum.

No, I am not a terrorist, he says. They would disappear me, get rid of me, Posada says.

Cuba and Venezuela have been after Posada for decades over his alleged role in blowing up a Cuban airliner in 1976, killing 73 people.

I had nothing to do with it, Posada said, again denying any part in the terrorist attack.

Yet, recently, declassified material from the National Security Archives raised doubts about Posada's denial.

"Some plans regarding the bombing of a Cubana Airlines were discussed in Caracas, Venezuela," says one FBI document. "Posada Carriles was present."

Posada refused to take any questions about his alleged role in a series of Havana tourist hotel bombings in 1997. One Italian tourist was killed. Posada told an American newspaper he planned the attacks, then later claimed he lied.

In 2000, Posada was convicted in Panama, with two others, of hatching an assassination plot against Fidel Castro. Panama's president pardoned Posada when she left office.

I'm not renouncing violence, I'm a soldier, Posada said.

Cuba's Fidel Castro staged massive demonstrations in Havana Tuesday, accused the U.S. of hypocrisy for harboring a terrorist and called Posada a monster.

Do I look like a monster?, Posada asks.

Many questions remain. Posada is said to be on a terror watch list. Why pick him up now weeks after he admitted crossing the border illegally and filing an asylum claim?

(on camera): If Posada's asylum claim is rejected or withdrawn, it's virtually assured he would not be sent back to Cuba. Officials say he might be allowed to leave for another country that would take him in. Homeland Security officials say they have two days to decide what to do with him.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: When you get on a flight, you get screened, along with your baggage, but what about cargo? More than 20 percent of air cargo in the United States is loaded onto passenger planes, but a lot of it does not get screened.

Now Congress wants to change that. Lawmakers are introducing two measures. One would order the inspection of all passenger plane cargo by 2008. Until then, the second measure would require airlines to notify passengers when unscreened cargo is onboard.

If you're planning on traveling to Saudi Arabia, be warned. The State Department says terrorists may still have their eyes on U.S. citizens, housing compounds or government offices, but there's no word of any specific threat.

You can stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest news about your security.

Sparks flew on Capitol Hill as British Parliament member George Galloway lambasted a Senate panel for alleging that he profited from the U.N.'s Oil-For-Food program.

We want to take you "Beyond the Soundbite" for more from a very fiery Galloway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one and neither has anybody on my behalf.

I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies. I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al Qaeda. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9-11-2001.

I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end but merely the end of the beginning.

Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,000 people have paid with their lives, 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies, 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.

Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth. Have a look at the real Oil- For-Food scandal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Galloway was accused by the committee last week of being rewarded by Saddam Hussein with the rights to 20 million barrels of oil for opposing economic sanctions.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, fighting a deadly pandemic in South Africa. In 10 minutes, we'll talk to a nurse who is battling AIDS on the front lines.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well that brought me back to the day.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

That filibuster showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees could hit the Senate floor this week. The Republican leader in the Senate is threatening to change the chamber's rules if Democrats force a confrontation.

Police in Idaho want to find 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's being called a person of interest in the disappearance of two children from a house where three people were killed. The bodies of the children's mother, brother and an adult male were found in a house in Idaho.

In money news, did your car break down, do you need a rental, then be prepared to pay more for it. Online travel booking site Expedia reports auto rental prices are up 12 percent from a year ago.

In culture, have you heard Tim McGraw sing "Live Like You Were Dying?" A lot of people have. In fact, McGraw won the Country Music Awards top single and song honors for the tune last night.

And in sports, the Detroit Pistons have a three games to two lead over the Indiana Pacers in that Eastern Conference semifinal series. Ben Wallace had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in last night's 86-67 route.

The other games have been close, but not this one -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, not that one, not at all.

Hey, good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, it's time for our e-mail segment now -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I'm sure you've received a lot of e-mails this morning.

MYERS: I have.

COSTELLO: We're talking about the World Trade Center site and what to do with it, because of course there have been many problems with that site.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: In fact they designed this beautiful design to put up there and the New York City Police Department said no, you can't do that because it won't be protected from terrorists.

MYERS: It's just...

COSTELLO: So they're working on a redesign.

MYERS: Yes. It couldn't be far enough away from the street.

COSTELLO: Right.

MYERS: You know no matter what you did with all those barriers, those barrels and all those things that they put out to keep the trucks away from it, they still couldn't keep it far enough away that all the engineers were saying now if you get a big enough blast there, that building is going to come down.

COSTELLO: Right. And now Donald Trump has weighed in saying the design is a pile of junk designed by an egghead architect. And he's going to unveil this new plan at 10:30 Eastern this morning.

So we're asking people, what do you think should happen at the World Trade Center site?

MYERS: Dale (ph) says, will you just please tell someone that Donald Trump is fired.

And from William (ph), Trump's right, we need something that moves everyone, that's bigger and better. The Empire State Building is a moving sight, but what's going to stand out in the skyline? We need something that stands out.

And then this was a goody. I need -- this is going to require a little bit of (INAUDIBLE). We can rebuild them. Make them bigger, make them stronger, make them better than before. The $60 billion tower starring Donald Trump. It will make a heck of a TV series.

COSTELLO: You know that was my first thought after hearing about his plan, because he wants to rebuild the buildings as they were and make them bigger and stronger. And it sounded like he wanted to do a reality TV show along with that.

MYERS: The six-million-dollar man. That's right. COSTELLO: Yes. Thanks for your e-mails this morning.

MYERS: Keep them coming.

COSTELLO: We'll get to more because we're going to talk more about this in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well this is an alarming number, as many as 89,000 Americans still die each year because of medical mistakes. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" says significant improvements have been made in the five years since the problem was first revealed, but the report says the changes are slow, thus the death rate remains the same. Researchers blame the complexity of health care systems, plus the reluctance of doctors to admit mistakes, and an insurance system that rewards errors.

While world leaders focus on the Middle East, people warn that the region faced with the greatest crisis of our time, Africa, is getting very little notice. One of the continent's most pressing problems is its ongoing fight against AIDS. And for about 20 minutes, the battle took center stage at the White House in a meeting between President Bush and Nelson Mandela.

We wanted to find out more about the AIDS crisis in Africa. Lucy Pamment, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders, is just back from South Africa.

Good morning.

LUCY PAMMENT, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Hello there.

COSTELLO: You know we have statistics and they're so alarming and so high, almost 23 percent of those over 15 years old test positive for HIV. Why is the problem so extreme in Africa?

PAMMENT: Well I can comment from spending 15 months working in a township just east of Capetown. There seems to be an awful lot of young people testing HIV positive there. I was working in a youth center where we would diagnose a lot of young people. It's hard to know really why. We're just more important with encouraging people to come and get tested...

COSTELLO: What was it like, Lucy, working in that clinic in South Africa?

PAMMENT: It was extremely rewarding. It was very busy. There's a lot of people that need help and education about the epidemic. And by increasing awareness and offering treatment and support to those that are positive, it's really changing lives. COSTELLO: You mentioned education and education is so key. There are so many myths surrounding this disease. Tell us about some of them and what people believe about HIV and AIDS in Africa.

PAMMENT: OK, I'll talk about South Africa, specifically. There's a good base knowledge, I believe, in the township where I was working with regards to HIV and AIDS. There are very few people that aren't personally affected by the disease.

There are many myths surrounding it with regard to virgin rape, the virgin cure. People believe that your blood can be cleaned if you have sex with a virgin. Infant rape. There's also many myths with regards to government condoms containing worms, which once they're started, they're very difficult to eradicate.

But with education and I want to say a good community base, education programs, awareness, things can be overcome.

COSTELLO: And I know your organization is doing its part, but you know for people listening in our audience, what can we do and what needs to be done?

PAMMENT: Just being aware what is happening in Africa. You know one in nine South Africans is HIV positive. The numbers of 15 to 24 year olds are increasing with such speed there needs to be a huge investment by governments to realize that so much needs to be done to stop more infections. Prevention strategies are definitely the way forward.

COSTELLO: Lucy Pamment, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

PAMMENT: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: OK, so the Rolling Stones aren't country. Who cares?

We're going to talk about country music now. The 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were handed out last night.

CNN's Kim Hutcherson fills us in on who got to take what trophies home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM HUTCHERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gretchen Wilson was ready to party at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas Tuesday night. She took home awards for top new artist and top female vocalist.

Video of the year and vocal event of the year went to Brad Paisley for "Whisky Lullaby," featuring Alison Krauss.

BRAD PAISLEY, SINGER: Thank you guys so much. God bless you.

HUTCHERSON: Tim McGraw took home two awards for "Live Like You Were Dying," single record of the year and song of the year.

Keith Urban won album of the year with "Be Here" and top male vocalist.

KEITH URBAN, SINGER: I am blown away.

HUTCHERSON: Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year.

The award for top vocal group went to Rascal Flatts.

Brooks & Dunn won the honors for top vocal duo.

And Toby Keith helped pay tribute to troops serving in Iraq with a live performance via satellite from Baghdad.

I'm Kim Hutcherson reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: There you have it.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

An Amber Alert in Idaho, police search for two children missing from a scene of a triple homicide.

It's supposed to be a new beginning at Ground Zero, but rebuilding plans are stalled. And one notable New Yorker has some choice words to describe the proposed Freedom Tower. He calls it a pile of junk.

And does the new "Star Wars" film score some points about politicians and war?

It is Wednesday, May 18. You are watching DAYBREAK.

Good morning to you from the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News."

A showdown looms in the U.S. Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is expected to call for a debate today on one of President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats previously have used a filibuster to block the nomination of Priscilla Owen to a federal judgeship.

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