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Army Recruiters Accused of Questionable Practices; Sighting of Missing Children False Alarm; Iraqis Face Blood Shortages
Aired May 20, 2005 - 15:00 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And we begin this hour with the uncovered cover shot, a former strongman stripped of his power, stripped of his dignity, just plain stripped, on a cover of a London tabloid.
It's yet another shocker for "The Sun," best known for its breast bearing page three girls. Saddam Hussein languishing in a cell, seemingly unaware he was being photographed.
The paper says the photos came from U.S., military sources, but the Pentagon on the war path claiming the release if not the shots themselves, violate Department of Defense rules, and very possibly the Geneva Conventions.
Earlier today, CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke with Saddam's attorney, who is peeved about the pictures but says the big picture is far worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIOVANNI DI STEFANO, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S ATTORNEY: Well, whether they're authentic or not is actually quite irrelevant. The important issue -- and it's regrettable that something like this has happened -- the important issue is the statement made that we've just heard from the Kuwaiti foreign minister. That he is expecting a fair trial.
The other important issue, of course, is the whole question of when is this man going to be charged? This is what the whole world wants.
Never mind about photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underpants. That will be dealt with by the Pentagon, and their aggressive inquiry, but I would suggest that Mr. Rumsfeld and President Bush's aggressive inquiry is into why no charges have still been laid against the president, Saddam Hussein, after 19 months in custody, and only two legal visits within that 19 months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now if you're counting back to Saddam Hussein's capture in December 2003, you would realize he's actually been held for 17 months, not 19. Keep that in mind as we hear more from his indignant defense counsel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DI STEFANO: He's not a happy man. No one likes to be in custody. To a certain extent he still considers himself to be the president of the country.
The whole question, Wolf, is this: 19 months and no charges. If there was evidence that this man had committed the crimes that the foreign minister had said from Kuwait, and that may or may not be so, why not bring charges?
The whole world is now beginning to have its doubts, not only on the legality of the war, but if the war was so legal why not charge this man? Where are the charges? Nineteen months, not a single charge, not one count. Why not charge him with murder? Rape? Genocide? War crimes? Let's have something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: As you saw in those pictures, the ex-dictator had a hearing under the now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority. But he has not yet appeared before the Iraqi tribunal investigating war crimes.
Moments ago, the Iraqi minister of planning was asked in Washington, beside -- right beside Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when Saddam's trial might start.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI MINISTER OF PLANNING: Last time I met with the chief justice for the special tribunal that is in charge of persecuting Saddam and the other people accused of war crimes. They were telling me that within next few months Saddam Hussein could be brought before the court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Also today, in Iraq, thousands of Shiites took to the streets of three large cities south of Baghdad after yesterday's arrest of 13 supporters of the radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Demonstrators marched with anti-American banners and walked across drawings of the American flag and the national flag of Israel.
Al-Sadr resurfaced this week after months of hiding underground.
And Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has announced he will visit neighboring Syria. Al-Jaafari says that he will raise the allegation that Syria harbors militants who crosses its border to harass Iraq.
Now, stateside, military recruiters are having a tough time signing up new troops. As a result, some recruiters allegedly have started playing by their own rules, so the Army is having them all stand down.
We have more now from CNN's Kelly Wallace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE0
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 7,500 Army recruiters around the country won't be recruiting Friday. Instead, they'll spend the day discussing what's right and what's wrong because of allegations like these: a Houston recruiter threatening a young man with arrest if he didn't sign up. And Denver area recruiters helping a student get a fake diploma and pass a drug test.
That student, 17-year-old David McSwane, he posed as a high school dropout with a drug problem for a story for his high school paper. He recently talked with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and shared audiotapes he says he made of conversations with the recruiters.
DAVID MCSWANE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: They accepted my diploma and all that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what they told me. So...
MCSWANE: All right, but they don't know it's fake or anything and I'm not going to get in trouble?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. You won't. No.
MCSWANE: All right. Cool.
WALLACE: The U.S. Army's top recruiting commander.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL ROCHELLE, U.S. ARMY RECRUITING COMMAND: The actions of a few have reflected very, very badly on many of us, myself included. And we're all injured by that.
WALLACE: The stakes couldn't be higher with the war in Iraq making Army recruiting increasingly difficult. The Army missed its monthly recruiting goals for February, March and April.
Part of the problem? Parents discouraging their sons and daughters from enlisting.
Nineteen-year-old Andree Sajous, a freshman at City College of New York, says her mom would never let her join the military.
ANDREE SAJOUS, COLLEGE FRESHMAN: She was like, "No." She was like, "You could get killed." The -- her main concern is you could get killed.
WALLACE: With wary parents in mind, the Army recently rolled out some new television ads. Other ammunition: offering sign-up bonuses of up to $20,000, and adding nearly 1,500 recruiters since last year.
(on camera) A review of Army recruiting procedures clearly coming at a tough time for this branch of the military. It has set a goal of enlisting 80,000 new recruits this year. So far, it's about 15 percent below its year to date goal.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Authorities are following word of a possible sighting of two children missing and believed in danger in Idaho. Ben Wolfinger is a sheriff's captain in Kootenai County where the children disappeared.
Captain, good to have you with us. I know you're busy. Thank you for taking some time with us. First of all, I know you've had so many tips. This one particular tip, north of where you are, do you think it might be the real thing?
CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Well, it's about 100 miles north of where we're at. And just within the last hour, I spoke to officials from Boundary County. They wanted to clarify what exactly Dylan Groene looked like.
And they talked to the investigators involved and confirmed that Dylan Groene had blond crew cut hair. The child spotted, that was suspected to be Dylan, had brown shoulder length hair or collar length hair. So we're able to rule this out as a valid sighting, unfortunately.
O'BRIEN: So the van story we should forget about. Where does that leave you right now?
WOLFINGER: Well, I know that the investigators, when I talked to the investigative supervisors a little while ago, says they've got lots of leads they're work on. They're still processing evidence. Things are moving forward. People are calling in. We're getting hundreds and hundreds of tips in our tip line. And they're able to follow up on -- on all of those.
They've got a team of investigators. Multiple agency sheriff's offices, state police and the FBI all working, following up those leads.
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the ground search right now. Are you searching the immediate area, going over some ground you've been over, to make sure you haven't missed anything?
WOLFINGER: No. We've completed the ground search. We had about 200 volunteers from all the neighboring countries come here to the site at the sheriff's request to do another search, to redo it again. And that's exactly what they did.
They completely canvassed the entire 400 plus or minus acres out here. They -- they found nothing.
Today, the divers finished their search. They also found nothing in the area.
O'BRIEN: All right, tell us now, yesterday we heard that Robert Lutner, who was known to be at the household the night of the occurrence of this crime on Sunday, when you finally got a chance to talk to him, it turns out, first of all, he's been excluded. He was called a person of interest, no longer.
But what he did tell about was this party, this barbecue. And do we know, Captain, right now, how many people were there, and why -- do you have any guess as to why you're not hearing from them?
WOLFINGER: Well, we don't know how many people were there. The investigators may, but that information hasn't -- isn't coming back out to the media center and probably isn't exactly germane to the whole issue here.
I was just on the phone with a supervisor and they said yes, we are getting phone calls. Yes, people are contacting us. But they need that invitation and we thank the media for providing that invitation.
O'BRIEN: All right. So people are finally dialing in, based on pleas for some assistance here?
WOLFINGER: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: All right. Quick final thought here. Do you have the sense -- and I know you can't divulge the full case here for obvious reasons, investigatory reasons. Does this have the hallmarks of a premeditated, planned out murder?
WOLFINGER: I don't know if we're at stage when we can talk about it as premeditated or if it was spur of the moment. That's -- that's going take a total analysis of the evidence and all the circumstances of the case.
As these people follow those leads, they'll start to build that case, and they can -- when they get on that conclusion and get a suspect, they'll be able to tell us whether it was premeditated or if it was spur of the moment.
O'BRIEN: All right. And just to button this up, because that was an important piece of news you gave us at the top. Just clearly state for us, for viewers who might just be tuning in, the van, that information that you had earlier about a possible sighting, that is not to be believed as a real sighting, right?
WOLFINGER: That's correct. According to the Boundary County officials, they verified what Dylan Groene -- his hair was the key. Dylan Groene has short blond crew cut hair, and the boy seen who was thought to be Dylan had collar, more of a brown length hair.
O'BRIEN: So this is not to the Groene children.
WOLFINGER: That's correct.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Captain Wolfinger. And we'll let you get back to your investigation. Thank for spending a little bit of time with us and bringing us up to date -- Betty.
NGUYEN: This just into CNN from Frisco, Colorado. One person is dead in a huge avalanche at the Arapahoe Basin there. We understand that rescue crews are searching for other possible victims.
Now, workers tried to revive the man for about a half hour before pronouncing him dead on the mountain.
We have learned a little more about this avalanche. It's about 1,000 feet wide when it happened and roughly 800 feet down, so a pretty big avalanche. Want to give you, if we could, some pictures of a web cam of the area.
This happened, again, in the Arapahoe Basin ski area near Frisco, Colorado. So far one person is dead. Rescue crews are looking for more possible victims in the avalanche that is reported there. We will have more on this and bring it available with it becomes available to us -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In a country torn by war, it's the most precious commodity.
NGUYEN: And now, Iraqis are rolling up their sleeves to make sure they don't run out. That story is just ahead right here on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: CNN's newest business feature, the show called "TURNAROUND." Ali Velshi and crew take smaller troubled companies and give them a shot of big name advice every weekend. Here's how the last episode looked.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, HOST, "TURNAROUND": This week's "TURNAROUND" found us in Walnut Creek, California, where Denise Vickers runs a small bakery, but she's getting burned by financial concerns.
DENISE VICKERS, OWNER, WALNUT CREEK BANKING COMPANY: We are in the situation where we have a line of credit that is being called due. We are trying to get them to extend it and not to close it so that we still have that line of credit available.
VELSHI (voice-over): Denise, like many business owners, needs the right ingredients to help her with money matters. Mentor Gary Rogers, CEO of Breyer's brand ice cream, had some ideas.
GARY ROGERS, CEO, BREYER'S ICE CREAM: You not only need to become profitable, but you need to become profitable enough that you can pay off that debt.
VELSHI: Here's what Gary suggested. Figure out cash your flow. Update bankers on a regular basis and talk to others who have succeed in a similar business.
(on camera) Running a small business is no piece of cake, but Denise took Gary's advice and she's on her way to a turn around.
I'm Ali Velshi. See next time around. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's that cafeteria up at Time-Warner. It's quite good. It's quite good. Check it out.
All right. Ali Velshi, who there needs a turnaround for his clothing choice.
NGUYEN: Miles.
O'BRIEN: But we've already discussed this. We don't think it works, the checks and the stripes. But that's OK. We still love Ali, and we love "THE TURNAROUND," tomorrow and every Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Please join us then.
Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The resurgence of violence in Iraq recently has created a desperate need for blood. CNN's Ryan Chilcote looks at those who are opening their hearts and rolling up their sleeves to save others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men are lending a helping hand to a growing number of their fellow Iraqis. At the Baghdad blood bank, the ebb and flow of violence is measured in pints of blood.
The explosion of car bombings is bleeding the bank's reserves dry. Violence accounts for 60 percent of demand.
Under Saddam, the bank got by on 125 donors a day.
(on camera) The blood bank now processes 500 donors a day. Still, the doctors say that's only half the number of donors they need. Blood in Iraq is in demand like never before.
(voice-over) Hospitals will provide you with a blood transfusion but only if you have a life-threatening emergency. And that's if they have the blood at all. Short of that, you need to either provide your own blood or have someone, like a relative, provide it for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's giving because his ankle need blood, because he infected by terrorists and he has a fracture in his leg and his arm and his shoulder.
CHILCOTE: Baghdad's young and old crowd the lobby to meet the need or look for others who can.
If you don't have a donor with the right blood type, the blood bank allows you to trade, but that means waiting. It's the luck of the draw here.
Mohammed Khalifa is AB positive, one of the rarest blood types. He's getting anxious.
MOHAMMED KHALIFA, PATIENT (through translator): I came looking for a bottle of blood, and I haven't found anyone to donate. I was shot in the leg. Tomorrow, I'm going to have an operation on it. I've got my container with me for when I find it. I prayed maybe somebody would help me.
CHILCOTE: He's not the only one with a cooler.
People wait outside to help, but only for a price. These men will sell you half a pint of their blood for anywhere from $25 to $35, depending on the blood type. It's against the rules yet tolerated.
But not everyone outside is as cold-blooded as the merchants. Haydar Jaffar is a taxi driver.
HAYDAR JAFFAR, BLOOD DONOR (through translator): I'm here to give blood today. One of my passengers came here to get blood for his daughter. I told him I'd do it for free. He just had to pay me the taxi fare. I told him we're all wounded in today's Iraq.
CHILCOTE: Some of the hardest hit by the shortage of blood are those like 6-year-old Salam (ph), who suffers from leukemia. He and his father spend much of their time visiting the blood bank, but there is hope, they found a donor today.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: From a galaxy far, far away, "Star Wars: The Return (sic) of the Sith" opened in nearly 3,700 theaters across the nation.
CNN.com takes a look at the long awaited feature as well as what's on tap for this summer's attractions.
The latest "Star Wars" episode brings the saga full circle. The original was the highest grossing film until "E.T." came along in 1982.
How versed are you when it comes to the characters in this ever thickening plot? This guide connects the dots in an intergalactic story of love and war.
And if you think you're the ultimate "Star Wars" fan, you can test your knowledge with this online quiz. Use the force for all the answers.
The movie industry makes more than half its money between now and Labor Day weekend. With "Star Wars: Return (ph) of the Sith" leading the pack, what else is out there? From "Batman: The Beginning" to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," browse this gallery to get the scoop.
Plot your summer diversions with CNN.com's entertainment calendar. Get release dates for books, movies, DVDs and CDs, and find out when and where your favorite bands are on tour. Just log onto CNN.com/coming attractions.
Also, don't miss CNN's entertainment special "Hot Ticket to Fun." That's this Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
From the dot com news desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The photo of the day.
O'BRIEN: Pictures of the day. Look at this young lad, 8-year- old Eric Jiang (ph). Irvine, California, is where he calls home. He's greeting his significantly more aged opponent at the H.P. Global Chess Challenge in Minneapolis. There are 2,000 of the world's top chess players there. Fifty-thousand dollar top prize, and boy, I sure hope -- I sure hope Eric gets it. Wouldn't be that great?
NGUYEN: I know, look that.
O'BRIEN: He is -- I'm sure he is a formidable foe.
NGUYEN: Fifty -- 50 grand masters in that tournament. That's serious business with some money on the line.
O'BRIEN: All right. We wish Eric and the others well.
It's a first for a major automaker. Ford is warning customers to replace older tires.
NGUYEN: Kathleen Hays is here to talk about all that.
Hi, Kathleen.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Same to you, Kathleen. Appreciate it.
And that's about all the time we have this week. You're just getting started on your week.
NGUYEN: It's my Monday.
O'BRIEN: But the force will be with me tonight and the young lad.
NGUYEN: You going to the movies?
O'BRIEN: Judy, have you seen Star Wars yet?
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": I have not, so you'll have to tell us about it.
O'BRIEN: I'll give you a full report on Monday, OK?
NGUYEN: See you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Betty, Miles, thank you both. Have a good weekend.
As the White House expresses concern over human cloning research in South Korea, we'll have the latest on President Bush's threat to veto new legislation expanding embryonic stem cell research.
Plus the debate that we've been hearing about for weeks rages on in the Senate. We will update the ongoing battle over the president's judicial nominees.
"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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Aired May 20, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And we begin this hour with the uncovered cover shot, a former strongman stripped of his power, stripped of his dignity, just plain stripped, on a cover of a London tabloid.
It's yet another shocker for "The Sun," best known for its breast bearing page three girls. Saddam Hussein languishing in a cell, seemingly unaware he was being photographed.
The paper says the photos came from U.S., military sources, but the Pentagon on the war path claiming the release if not the shots themselves, violate Department of Defense rules, and very possibly the Geneva Conventions.
Earlier today, CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke with Saddam's attorney, who is peeved about the pictures but says the big picture is far worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIOVANNI DI STEFANO, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S ATTORNEY: Well, whether they're authentic or not is actually quite irrelevant. The important issue -- and it's regrettable that something like this has happened -- the important issue is the statement made that we've just heard from the Kuwaiti foreign minister. That he is expecting a fair trial.
The other important issue, of course, is the whole question of when is this man going to be charged? This is what the whole world wants.
Never mind about photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underpants. That will be dealt with by the Pentagon, and their aggressive inquiry, but I would suggest that Mr. Rumsfeld and President Bush's aggressive inquiry is into why no charges have still been laid against the president, Saddam Hussein, after 19 months in custody, and only two legal visits within that 19 months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now if you're counting back to Saddam Hussein's capture in December 2003, you would realize he's actually been held for 17 months, not 19. Keep that in mind as we hear more from his indignant defense counsel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DI STEFANO: He's not a happy man. No one likes to be in custody. To a certain extent he still considers himself to be the president of the country.
The whole question, Wolf, is this: 19 months and no charges. If there was evidence that this man had committed the crimes that the foreign minister had said from Kuwait, and that may or may not be so, why not bring charges?
The whole world is now beginning to have its doubts, not only on the legality of the war, but if the war was so legal why not charge this man? Where are the charges? Nineteen months, not a single charge, not one count. Why not charge him with murder? Rape? Genocide? War crimes? Let's have something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: As you saw in those pictures, the ex-dictator had a hearing under the now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority. But he has not yet appeared before the Iraqi tribunal investigating war crimes.
Moments ago, the Iraqi minister of planning was asked in Washington, beside -- right beside Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when Saddam's trial might start.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI MINISTER OF PLANNING: Last time I met with the chief justice for the special tribunal that is in charge of persecuting Saddam and the other people accused of war crimes. They were telling me that within next few months Saddam Hussein could be brought before the court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Also today, in Iraq, thousands of Shiites took to the streets of three large cities south of Baghdad after yesterday's arrest of 13 supporters of the radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Demonstrators marched with anti-American banners and walked across drawings of the American flag and the national flag of Israel.
Al-Sadr resurfaced this week after months of hiding underground.
And Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has announced he will visit neighboring Syria. Al-Jaafari says that he will raise the allegation that Syria harbors militants who crosses its border to harass Iraq.
Now, stateside, military recruiters are having a tough time signing up new troops. As a result, some recruiters allegedly have started playing by their own rules, so the Army is having them all stand down.
We have more now from CNN's Kelly Wallace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE0
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 7,500 Army recruiters around the country won't be recruiting Friday. Instead, they'll spend the day discussing what's right and what's wrong because of allegations like these: a Houston recruiter threatening a young man with arrest if he didn't sign up. And Denver area recruiters helping a student get a fake diploma and pass a drug test.
That student, 17-year-old David McSwane, he posed as a high school dropout with a drug problem for a story for his high school paper. He recently talked with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and shared audiotapes he says he made of conversations with the recruiters.
DAVID MCSWANE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: They accepted my diploma and all that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what they told me. So...
MCSWANE: All right, but they don't know it's fake or anything and I'm not going to get in trouble?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. You won't. No.
MCSWANE: All right. Cool.
WALLACE: The U.S. Army's top recruiting commander.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL ROCHELLE, U.S. ARMY RECRUITING COMMAND: The actions of a few have reflected very, very badly on many of us, myself included. And we're all injured by that.
WALLACE: The stakes couldn't be higher with the war in Iraq making Army recruiting increasingly difficult. The Army missed its monthly recruiting goals for February, March and April.
Part of the problem? Parents discouraging their sons and daughters from enlisting.
Nineteen-year-old Andree Sajous, a freshman at City College of New York, says her mom would never let her join the military.
ANDREE SAJOUS, COLLEGE FRESHMAN: She was like, "No." She was like, "You could get killed." The -- her main concern is you could get killed.
WALLACE: With wary parents in mind, the Army recently rolled out some new television ads. Other ammunition: offering sign-up bonuses of up to $20,000, and adding nearly 1,500 recruiters since last year.
(on camera) A review of Army recruiting procedures clearly coming at a tough time for this branch of the military. It has set a goal of enlisting 80,000 new recruits this year. So far, it's about 15 percent below its year to date goal.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Authorities are following word of a possible sighting of two children missing and believed in danger in Idaho. Ben Wolfinger is a sheriff's captain in Kootenai County where the children disappeared.
Captain, good to have you with us. I know you're busy. Thank you for taking some time with us. First of all, I know you've had so many tips. This one particular tip, north of where you are, do you think it might be the real thing?
CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Well, it's about 100 miles north of where we're at. And just within the last hour, I spoke to officials from Boundary County. They wanted to clarify what exactly Dylan Groene looked like.
And they talked to the investigators involved and confirmed that Dylan Groene had blond crew cut hair. The child spotted, that was suspected to be Dylan, had brown shoulder length hair or collar length hair. So we're able to rule this out as a valid sighting, unfortunately.
O'BRIEN: So the van story we should forget about. Where does that leave you right now?
WOLFINGER: Well, I know that the investigators, when I talked to the investigative supervisors a little while ago, says they've got lots of leads they're work on. They're still processing evidence. Things are moving forward. People are calling in. We're getting hundreds and hundreds of tips in our tip line. And they're able to follow up on -- on all of those.
They've got a team of investigators. Multiple agency sheriff's offices, state police and the FBI all working, following up those leads.
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the ground search right now. Are you searching the immediate area, going over some ground you've been over, to make sure you haven't missed anything?
WOLFINGER: No. We've completed the ground search. We had about 200 volunteers from all the neighboring countries come here to the site at the sheriff's request to do another search, to redo it again. And that's exactly what they did.
They completely canvassed the entire 400 plus or minus acres out here. They -- they found nothing.
Today, the divers finished their search. They also found nothing in the area.
O'BRIEN: All right, tell us now, yesterday we heard that Robert Lutner, who was known to be at the household the night of the occurrence of this crime on Sunday, when you finally got a chance to talk to him, it turns out, first of all, he's been excluded. He was called a person of interest, no longer.
But what he did tell about was this party, this barbecue. And do we know, Captain, right now, how many people were there, and why -- do you have any guess as to why you're not hearing from them?
WOLFINGER: Well, we don't know how many people were there. The investigators may, but that information hasn't -- isn't coming back out to the media center and probably isn't exactly germane to the whole issue here.
I was just on the phone with a supervisor and they said yes, we are getting phone calls. Yes, people are contacting us. But they need that invitation and we thank the media for providing that invitation.
O'BRIEN: All right. So people are finally dialing in, based on pleas for some assistance here?
WOLFINGER: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: All right. Quick final thought here. Do you have the sense -- and I know you can't divulge the full case here for obvious reasons, investigatory reasons. Does this have the hallmarks of a premeditated, planned out murder?
WOLFINGER: I don't know if we're at stage when we can talk about it as premeditated or if it was spur of the moment. That's -- that's going take a total analysis of the evidence and all the circumstances of the case.
As these people follow those leads, they'll start to build that case, and they can -- when they get on that conclusion and get a suspect, they'll be able to tell us whether it was premeditated or if it was spur of the moment.
O'BRIEN: All right. And just to button this up, because that was an important piece of news you gave us at the top. Just clearly state for us, for viewers who might just be tuning in, the van, that information that you had earlier about a possible sighting, that is not to be believed as a real sighting, right?
WOLFINGER: That's correct. According to the Boundary County officials, they verified what Dylan Groene -- his hair was the key. Dylan Groene has short blond crew cut hair, and the boy seen who was thought to be Dylan had collar, more of a brown length hair.
O'BRIEN: So this is not to the Groene children.
WOLFINGER: That's correct.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Captain Wolfinger. And we'll let you get back to your investigation. Thank for spending a little bit of time with us and bringing us up to date -- Betty.
NGUYEN: This just into CNN from Frisco, Colorado. One person is dead in a huge avalanche at the Arapahoe Basin there. We understand that rescue crews are searching for other possible victims.
Now, workers tried to revive the man for about a half hour before pronouncing him dead on the mountain.
We have learned a little more about this avalanche. It's about 1,000 feet wide when it happened and roughly 800 feet down, so a pretty big avalanche. Want to give you, if we could, some pictures of a web cam of the area.
This happened, again, in the Arapahoe Basin ski area near Frisco, Colorado. So far one person is dead. Rescue crews are looking for more possible victims in the avalanche that is reported there. We will have more on this and bring it available with it becomes available to us -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In a country torn by war, it's the most precious commodity.
NGUYEN: And now, Iraqis are rolling up their sleeves to make sure they don't run out. That story is just ahead right here on LIVE FROM.
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O'BRIEN: CNN's newest business feature, the show called "TURNAROUND." Ali Velshi and crew take smaller troubled companies and give them a shot of big name advice every weekend. Here's how the last episode looked.
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ALI VELSHI, HOST, "TURNAROUND": This week's "TURNAROUND" found us in Walnut Creek, California, where Denise Vickers runs a small bakery, but she's getting burned by financial concerns.
DENISE VICKERS, OWNER, WALNUT CREEK BANKING COMPANY: We are in the situation where we have a line of credit that is being called due. We are trying to get them to extend it and not to close it so that we still have that line of credit available.
VELSHI (voice-over): Denise, like many business owners, needs the right ingredients to help her with money matters. Mentor Gary Rogers, CEO of Breyer's brand ice cream, had some ideas.
GARY ROGERS, CEO, BREYER'S ICE CREAM: You not only need to become profitable, but you need to become profitable enough that you can pay off that debt.
VELSHI: Here's what Gary suggested. Figure out cash your flow. Update bankers on a regular basis and talk to others who have succeed in a similar business.
(on camera) Running a small business is no piece of cake, but Denise took Gary's advice and she's on her way to a turn around.
I'm Ali Velshi. See next time around. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's that cafeteria up at Time-Warner. It's quite good. It's quite good. Check it out.
All right. Ali Velshi, who there needs a turnaround for his clothing choice.
NGUYEN: Miles.
O'BRIEN: But we've already discussed this. We don't think it works, the checks and the stripes. But that's OK. We still love Ali, and we love "THE TURNAROUND," tomorrow and every Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Please join us then.
Back with more in a moment.
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NGUYEN: The resurgence of violence in Iraq recently has created a desperate need for blood. CNN's Ryan Chilcote looks at those who are opening their hearts and rolling up their sleeves to save others.
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RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men are lending a helping hand to a growing number of their fellow Iraqis. At the Baghdad blood bank, the ebb and flow of violence is measured in pints of blood.
The explosion of car bombings is bleeding the bank's reserves dry. Violence accounts for 60 percent of demand.
Under Saddam, the bank got by on 125 donors a day.
(on camera) The blood bank now processes 500 donors a day. Still, the doctors say that's only half the number of donors they need. Blood in Iraq is in demand like never before.
(voice-over) Hospitals will provide you with a blood transfusion but only if you have a life-threatening emergency. And that's if they have the blood at all. Short of that, you need to either provide your own blood or have someone, like a relative, provide it for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's giving because his ankle need blood, because he infected by terrorists and he has a fracture in his leg and his arm and his shoulder.
CHILCOTE: Baghdad's young and old crowd the lobby to meet the need or look for others who can.
If you don't have a donor with the right blood type, the blood bank allows you to trade, but that means waiting. It's the luck of the draw here.
Mohammed Khalifa is AB positive, one of the rarest blood types. He's getting anxious.
MOHAMMED KHALIFA, PATIENT (through translator): I came looking for a bottle of blood, and I haven't found anyone to donate. I was shot in the leg. Tomorrow, I'm going to have an operation on it. I've got my container with me for when I find it. I prayed maybe somebody would help me.
CHILCOTE: He's not the only one with a cooler.
People wait outside to help, but only for a price. These men will sell you half a pint of their blood for anywhere from $25 to $35, depending on the blood type. It's against the rules yet tolerated.
But not everyone outside is as cold-blooded as the merchants. Haydar Jaffar is a taxi driver.
HAYDAR JAFFAR, BLOOD DONOR (through translator): I'm here to give blood today. One of my passengers came here to get blood for his daughter. I told him I'd do it for free. He just had to pay me the taxi fare. I told him we're all wounded in today's Iraq.
CHILCOTE: Some of the hardest hit by the shortage of blood are those like 6-year-old Salam (ph), who suffers from leukemia. He and his father spend much of their time visiting the blood bank, but there is hope, they found a donor today.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.
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VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: From a galaxy far, far away, "Star Wars: The Return (sic) of the Sith" opened in nearly 3,700 theaters across the nation.
CNN.com takes a look at the long awaited feature as well as what's on tap for this summer's attractions.
The latest "Star Wars" episode brings the saga full circle. The original was the highest grossing film until "E.T." came along in 1982.
How versed are you when it comes to the characters in this ever thickening plot? This guide connects the dots in an intergalactic story of love and war.
And if you think you're the ultimate "Star Wars" fan, you can test your knowledge with this online quiz. Use the force for all the answers.
The movie industry makes more than half its money between now and Labor Day weekend. With "Star Wars: Return (ph) of the Sith" leading the pack, what else is out there? From "Batman: The Beginning" to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," browse this gallery to get the scoop.
Plot your summer diversions with CNN.com's entertainment calendar. Get release dates for books, movies, DVDs and CDs, and find out when and where your favorite bands are on tour. Just log onto CNN.com/coming attractions.
Also, don't miss CNN's entertainment special "Hot Ticket to Fun." That's this Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
From the dot com news desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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NGUYEN: The photo of the day.
O'BRIEN: Pictures of the day. Look at this young lad, 8-year- old Eric Jiang (ph). Irvine, California, is where he calls home. He's greeting his significantly more aged opponent at the H.P. Global Chess Challenge in Minneapolis. There are 2,000 of the world's top chess players there. Fifty-thousand dollar top prize, and boy, I sure hope -- I sure hope Eric gets it. Wouldn't be that great?
NGUYEN: I know, look that.
O'BRIEN: He is -- I'm sure he is a formidable foe.
NGUYEN: Fifty -- 50 grand masters in that tournament. That's serious business with some money on the line.
O'BRIEN: All right. We wish Eric and the others well.
It's a first for a major automaker. Ford is warning customers to replace older tires.
NGUYEN: Kathleen Hays is here to talk about all that.
Hi, Kathleen.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Same to you, Kathleen. Appreciate it.
And that's about all the time we have this week. You're just getting started on your week.
NGUYEN: It's my Monday.
O'BRIEN: But the force will be with me tonight and the young lad.
NGUYEN: You going to the movies?
O'BRIEN: Judy, have you seen Star Wars yet?
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": I have not, so you'll have to tell us about it.
O'BRIEN: I'll give you a full report on Monday, OK?
NGUYEN: See you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Betty, Miles, thank you both. Have a good weekend.
As the White House expresses concern over human cloning research in South Korea, we'll have the latest on President Bush's threat to veto new legislation expanding embryonic stem cell research.
Plus the debate that we've been hearing about for weeks rages on in the Senate. We will update the ongoing battle over the president's judicial nominees.
"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.
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END
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