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Major Israeli Shipping Firm Endorses Dubai-Based DP World; Suicide Bombing in Karachi, Pakistan; War in Iraq

Aired March 02, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The port security matter divisive over the issue of the bidding company's Arab base and also unifying, putting cross-aisle lawmakers in agreement against the deal. And just today we've learned the company in question gets two thumbs up from what seems to be an unlikely trading partner.
Let's get details now from "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

Hello, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Fred.

CNN has learned the chairman of the board of Israel's largest shipping line is strongly endorsing the takeover of these six major U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World. In a letter to Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Idan Ofer, the chairman of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Ltd. says he wants to put his support for the deal on the record.

He says ZIM has been pleased to have DP world, in his words, "as our partner -- our business partner supporting our operations by providing services at key marine terminals around the world, including in the United Arab Emirates." And he goes on to right this -- let me quote to you from his letter to Senator Clinton.

"As an Israeli company, security is of the utmost importance to us, and we require rigorous security measures from terminal operators in every country in which we operate, but especially in Arab countries. And we are very comfortable calling at DP World's Dubai ports."

"During our long association with DP World, we have not experienced a single security issue in these ports or in any of the terminals operated by DP World and have received exemplary service that enhances our efficiency and the smooth running of our operations."

He goes on to say, "DP World has been an industry leader with regard to security and works closely with us on an ongoing basis to maintain the highest security standards in all its terminals around the world." And he adds, "We are proud to be associated with DP World and look forward to working with them into the future."

That letter from Idan Ofer, the chairman of ZIM.

After receiving a copy of that letter, I called Mr. Ofer in Tel Aviv earlier today. He confirmed the letter's authenticity and explained his motivation in sending the letter to Senator Clinton. He says he's also planning on writing a similar letter to Senator Chuck Schumer, also from New York. Both of them very critical of this deal.

He says he was anxious that both of them know of ZIM's longstanding relationship with DP world, and he had glowing words in the interview I conducted with him over the phone. He said, "These are first-class people, they are excellent, they are very good people to deal with." And he added, "I can't quite understand this upheaval in the U.S. At the end of the day, security and anti-terrorism are in the hands of homeland security and the security services."

In short, a glowing endorsement from what seemingly would be an unlikely source -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so, from the Bush White House point of view, how politically significant is this letter?

BLITZER: It's significant in the sense that many of the critics of the deal were citing the United Arab Emirates boycott of Israel, they were citing DP World as being owned by the United Arab Emirates, and why would the United States give access to these six major ports to a company owned by a country that boycotts Israel, does not have relations with Israel? And that's been one of the arguments, only one of the arguments that have been cited.

Here we have a case of Israel's largest shipping line, now privately owned, but for a long time a government-owned company, saying -- the chairman of the board saying, you know what, Israel's shipping company has extensive dealings with DP World, even through its subsidiaries going into Dubai, visiting that port and other Arab ports as well, and relying on the security of DP World.

So it's significant in dealing with that one issue. But there are a lot of other issues that have come forward by the critics in making the case against this deal.

WHITFIELD: And Wolf, you mentioned Senator Clinton as among those who received a letter. So any reaction from her folks or her?

BLITZER: Yes. In fact, I just got an e-mail from her press secretary who said, "The letter was received by staff, along with scores of letters on both sides of this issue. In any event, we would prefer to learn about the security impact of this deal through the full 45 day investigation mandated by law."

That was the reaction from Senator Clinton's office. They do confirm they received the letter, but they want this 45-day investigation to determine the security risks for the United States in letting this deal go forward.

WHITFIELD: All right. Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Thanks so much. And of course we'll be watching you again in "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 4:00 Eastern. Meantime, President Bush is enjoying a victory today, a nuclear agreement with India. But critics, and there are many, argue it sets a dangerous double standard.

Some troubling news, meanwhile, from the next stop on the president's South Asia tour. A deadly bomb attack outside a U.S. consulate in Pakistan.

CNN's Elaine Quijano is in New Delhi with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is moving ahead with a planned visit to Pakistan, and White House officials now say that Mr. Bush will be overnighting there. That is a detail that officials did not release earlier. Officials citing security concerns as the reasons why they were so purposely vague about the president's trip to Pakistan.

Now, the president says that despite the bombing there, he will not be deterred from visiting that country.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's important to talk with President Musharraf about continuing our fight against terrorists. After all, he has had a direct stake in this fight four times the terrorists have tried to kill him.

QUIJANO: So President Bush trying to ensure that Pakistan remains a strong ally in the war on terrorism.

In the meantime, here in India, President Bush and the Indian prime minister announced a deal on civilian nuclear energy. Now, under this deal, the United States would share nuclear know-how and fuel with India, but critics say that this is something that rewards bad behavior, essentially.

That bad behavior, for a long time India has said it will not sign on to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Nevertheless, the Bush administration believes the deal is progress. The administration saying that it will bring India closer to where other countries are on the issue of nonproliferation.

At the same time, officials also saying that Americans can benefit from this deal. They believe that it will in fact relieve some of the global demand for oil and perhaps have an impact on some of those high energy prices that Americans have been facing.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, New Delhi, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. military is mounting new efforts to halt the slide toward chaos in Iraq. U.S. troops fought insurgents in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

A city official says three people have been killed and three wounded in the fighting. U.S. forces also fought battles today in Baghdad and Mosul. The Associated Press reports a U.S. brigade in Kuwait has been placed on standby in case it's needed in Iraq.

Bombs and shootings killed dozen across Iraq today. A blast went off at a vegetable market in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 11. Also in Baghdad, five people died when a bomb went off on a minibus, and a Sunni political leader fled his stricken car before gunmen shot it up. A Sunni cleric was gunned down in Basra.

When Iraq's simmering violence exploded last week, it first appeared the country's bickering politicians just might unite out of sheer necessity. But CNN's Aneesh Raman reports those hopes have now evaporated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If ever there was a time Iraq needed leadership, it is now. With a rash of attacks pitting Sunni against Shia on the streets of the capital, there's the growing prospect that sectarian strife could pull the country apart. And now things just got worse, with an all-out political war brewing over who should be the country's prime minister.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari holds the job now, and the ruling Shia Alliance once him to continue. But on Thursday, the Kurdish and Sunni blocs, along with Ayad Allawi's secular list, demanded al-Jaafari's candidacy be withdrawn. Jaafari has since canceled a meeting set to take place among all political groups, further widening a deepening political divide that could put the formation of the government back by months and leave Iraqis wondering who exactly is in charge.

Jaafari, in many respects, is a front man for the country's Shia religious leaders, owing his re-nomination to support from anti- American Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

On Wednesday, Sadr met the country's Shia spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, fueling concerns over Sadr's growing prominence given that he is control of one of the country's largest militias who are widely believed to have been behind a number of recent reprisal attacks against Sunnis.

ADNAN PACHACHI, IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: He's after power. And I think now that he has tasted power, he would like to build on that.

RAMAN: Until now, the most powerful political figure in the government was Abdel Aziz Hakim, head of the largest Shia religious party with close ties to Iran. Hakim is in charge of a large militia of his own, and the scene is now set for a battle for political control between rival religious clerics.

(on camera): All this means it could take the better part of this year for the government to form. And in the meantime, any hopes of unity among political leaders is now on hold.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Collisions in the air, plowing into fences, knocking competitors out like dominoes. Snowboard Cross was an Olympic event for the first time last month. And I'll talk with the men's gold medal winner, Seth Wescott, when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You've got to be a bit of a daredevil, don't you? It's compared to NASCAR, roller derby, motocross and TV wrestling all rolled into one. Snowboard Cross, it debuted at the winter Olympics in Italy and the men's gold went to American Seth Wescott, who was also the reigning world champion.

He joins us now from New York.

Good to see you, Seth. And congratulations.

SETH WESCOTT, SNOWBOARD CROSS OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: So what has beens the ride been like since the games for you?

WESCOTT: It's been extremely busy. Just, you know, lots of immediately over in Italy, kind of whirlwind tour there. And then coming home to an amazing welcome home.

A state holiday for me in Maine, getting to meet the governor. And the kickoff of -- the start of what I'm trying to do with this new platform of having the gold to bring snowboard cross back to the U.S. and create programs for kids here in the U.S.

So we had the first event of my ride with me tour up at Sugarloaf in Maine last weekend, and looking forward to getting more kids involved in this sport in the U.S.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And that had to be really impressive to see how many kids came out, you know, to do something of what you're doing. And what a thrill for them to be able to learn and ride with a gold medallist.

WESCOTT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, what was that feeling like for you?

WESCOTT: I mean, it was huge for me just to -- you know, there was about 3,500 people who showed up at home to welcome me back. And, you know, hundreds of those were kids. And so to see the smiles on their faces an see how excited they were to get to meet a gold medallist, it was just a really neat experience in coming hope.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, even though you were the reigning world champion going into the Olympic games, do you go in with that kind of confidence, or do you go in saying, you know what, I'll just be glad to, like, stay up on my board, because it really is like a derby. I mean, all this crashing into one another, and it's legal, can just simply knock you off, you know, the slopes.

WESCOTT: They can. It's, you know, one of those things. You go out there and you go with the confidence that you know you can go and win on any given day. But to actually, you know, have things go your way and not have any mistakes made, that -- it takes a lot of mental concentration. So I just -- I went out, I was really focused that day and put it together.

WHITFIELD: So is your strategy to try to stay out in front, you know, as best you can so that if, you know, there's any chance of colliding with the other snowboarders that perhaps, you know, that lessens the chance?

WESCOTT: It does. You know, usually, if you're getting the whole shot and getting out ahead of everyone, you can really control the race, and you don't have to worry about others having contact with you.

You know, in the finals, I had my worst start of the whole day. So I had some ground to make up. And was just rally patient and went about my race, and had the opportunity to pass, and made it happen when that opportunity opened up. So, you know, the tactics can play both ways, and it just worked well for me that day.

WHITFIELD: So for you there was a big "whew" kind of moment then, huh?

WESCOTT: Oh, yes. As soon as I got by him, I knew -- I knew I was pretty relaxed then.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, let's talk about what was kind of an awkward moment, not necessarily your race, because you here you won gold, then you went to go to the women's finals to cheer on both an American who was kind of everybody's favorite, Lindsey Jacobellis -- am I saying that right?

WESCOTT: Yes, you are.

WHITFIELD: But then come to find out in that same heat, the final heat, is your Swedish girlfriend, Tanja Frieden.

So who do you really root for in a situation like that?

WESCOTT: Well, I mean, I had gone back that day to watch Tanya (ph) ride. She and I had actually been broken up since December, but, you know, had spent the last three years of our lives kind of training together and preparing for this moment.

And she had been there to celebrate with me, and it was something that I couldn't miss for the world. And, you know, it was unfortunate for Lindsey. Lindsey will be back in four years, undoubtedly, to claim her gold finally in Vancouver, but it was an amazing moment for Tanja, and I was happy to be there to celebrate that with her.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So in the end, Lindsey gets silver, Tanja gets gold.

Meantime, for you, gold, still riding the wave. You are leading this campaign to get kids on board. But what do you do in the off season, especially since this was the first cross board -- or the first snowboard cross in the Olympics? Surely, you want to pursue Vancouver, right?

WESCOTT: Oh, of course. You know, I mean, the next four years for me and my career is actually a pretty small time window, so it's no problem.

I'm -- you know, we've got four more years of world cups. Every two years we have a world championship. So I've got to go back next year into Switzerland and defend that title.

And then, you know, X Games is a highlight every year. So there's a lot of -- a lot of thins to be working on in these three years in between. And then, you know, coming into 2010, I'll be preparing to go back and defend this one. So...

WHITFIELD: You seeing this Olympic games and perhaps the last one really helping to make snowboarding a lot more mainstream?

WESCOTT: Yes. I mean, you know, '98, snowboarding got really overshadowed, you know, only to the negative side because of the Canadian Ross Rebagliati's positive drug test. And that was more or less the only thing people knew about snowboarding from '98.

In 2002, you know, the men's and women's pipe teams came out, put on an amazing show. You know, the guys making history, sweeping the podium for the first time since the '56 Olympics. And Kelly taking home gold there.

So we went over there with a great crew this time. Knew -- you know, we were really expecting great things, and everyone pulled it together and brought home a lot of medals. So it was awesome as a group to be able to go in there and, you know, pull a lot of weight and, you know, almost a majority of the weight for the whole U.S. Olympic team. So it was a great -- great games for snowboarding.

WHITFIELD: And it really ended up being probably one of the highest watched, the most popular event to watch on the television for folks who weren't as lucky enough to get tickets to see it up close and personal in Italy.

Well, Seth Wescott, thanks so much and congratulations to you.

WESCOTT: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: And the gold looks good on you.

WESCOTT: Right on. I like it, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Take care.

WESCOTT: You too. WHITFIELD: Well, straight ahead, he is the only survivor of the Sago Mine disaster, and Randy McCloy is still making progress. We'll hear what his wife has to say about his recovery, and we'll have an update on mine safety hearings under way right now in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Familiar faces could be off the gridiron this fall. National Football League owners are trying to work out a deal with the players union by midnight. Without it, a cap on salaries could force teams to release veteran players who make a lot of money. The league and the players association have been meeting this week but have not been able to come to terms on adding $10 million to $15 million to the salary cap.

And if you are following the exploits of autistic teen basketball sensation Jason McElwain, known to all of us as J-Mac, you will be pleased to know that his team is heading to the state finals. The now infamous (INAUDIBLE) New York high school team advanced after a big win in the semis this week.

Alas, high scoring J-Mac won't be on the championship court since he only played in the one game during the regular season. But what a game it was as he scored 20 points in four minutes to thrill his cheering classmates.

The J-Mac may score off the court. His parents are fielding offers from several movie studios interested in Jason's story.

Well, "Consumer Reports" is out with its list of best cars. And it's not good news for U.S. automakers. Susan Lisovicz has the list live from the New York Stock Exchange.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The disaster at West Virginia's Sago Mine has pushed mine safety issues on to the Washington agenda. A Senate committee is holding a safety hearing today on the heels of a House hearing yesterday.

Meanwhile, "The New York Times" reports that major fines against mining companies for safety violation have been dropped since 2001 and almost half have gone uncollected. Critics say safety has suffered because the Bush administration has emphasized cooperation with the mining industry.

A government spokesman, however, defends the cooperative approach. He says safety is improving overall, noting that mining deaths fell to their lowest point in history just last year.

Well, encouraging news today about the only miner to survive the Sago tragedy. On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," doctors treating Randy McCloy described his recovery as way ahead of schedule. McCloy's wife Anna talked about how the accident has affected her and her family. She said her husband hasn't said much about what happened inside the mine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA MCCLOY, RANDY MCCLOY'S WIFE: Just basically that, you know, he just told me that it comes to him in bits and pieces. He doesn't remember everything. And he just talks about that it was tragic and about how he couldn't breathe. Very hard. Just sitting by his bedside just waiting for him to talk and to see something from him and finally I have that.

I have him talking. I have his personality coming, and that's what my main goal was and I'm getting that. The kids are doing very well, especially now that he can talk and he recognizes them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, Anna McCloy says her husband knows he was hurt in a mine explosion but she has not told him that his 12 fellow miners were killed.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but in the case of a newly released FEMA video, it's clear that hurricane experts were issuing dire predictions before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. That includes explicit concern about possible levee failures in New Orleans. CNN's Bob Franken has more from the tapes and reaction to them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared.

FRANKEN (voice-over): The president's reassurances as Hurricane Katrina roared closer to shore were in sharp contrast to the warnings he was getting.

MAX MAYFIELD, NATL. HURRICANE CENTER: I don't think anyone can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very grave concern.

FRANKEN: In the months of recrimination, the administration insisted it had insufficient warning. There was, as the homeland security director has since put it, "the fog of war obscuring chaos on the ground."

MICHAEL BROWN, FMR. FEMA DIR.: Kind of gross here, but I'm concerned about MDMS and medical and demort assets and their response to a catastrophe within a catastrophe.

BROWN: I don't buy the fog of war defense. In fact, if anything, it was a fog of bureaucracy.

FRANKEN: The president's defenders insists these tapes, that have been seen before, demonstrate that he was not, as often depicted, out of the loop, but "fully engaged at all times," as a White House spokesman put.

Others, however, see and hear something quite different.

MYR. RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: Well, the realization that there was full awareness prior to the storm, and that there was a promise to do whatever it took, and I did not see that executed.

FRANKEN (on camera): As these tapes recirculate, they are a reminder that there were plenty of warnings that Hurricane Katrina would overwhelm. It did, and it still does.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, let's go to the north lawn where White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy is responding to this FEMA tape story. Good to see you, Trent.

TRENT DUFFY, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: Thanks for having me, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: So what is -- I'm good. So what is the explanation, why is it that immediately after Katrina we heard from Mr. Bush and many others on down that they didn't expect it to be this bad when come to find out the tape reveals everyone was on board that their there might be a levee breach?

DUFFY: Well, again, I have to reject this notion that the president wasn't aware of the warning. He absolutely was.

WHITFIELD: He was part of that conference though, right?

DUFFY: That's right. That was pre-landfall. But let's remember what he did before landfall, Fredricka. He took the extraordinary step of signing emergency disaster declarations ahead of landfall. It's only been done once since in the 1990s.

He also took part in ordering and asking public officials to order a mandatory evacuation. He also, on August 28th, before landfall, told the American people and CNN cameras -- and I don't see a lot of that tape running -- that he personally knew that the storm was going to be devastating and dangerous, and he urged the people on the Gulf Coast to obey the mandatory evacuation order. So the president was well aware that this was a very devastating and dangerous hurricane.

As to Mr. Mayfield's comments about the levees, the White House was very well aware and concerned about the integrity of the levees. The video teleconference on August 29th has White House deputy chief of staff Joseph Hagin asking specifically that question.

How are the levees? Are they holding up? And Governor Blanco, on the same video teleconference, said we don't have confirmation that the levees have, in fact, been breached.

WHITFIELD: So where is the disconnect then, because clearly this still underscores the fact that there were a lot of agencies and leaders in concert who were not all in concert as to what to do, when to do it and how to respond?

DUFFY: Well, I think the disconnect really is the fact that this was a huge storm. And, remember the president said he was not satisfied with the federal response effort, but on the other hand, we have to remember that for Katrina, we prepositioned more manpower and material and federal troops in that region than we have ever before.

WHITFIELD: But it didn't all get into those locations at the time that it was needed. It came days later, didn't it?

DUFFY: That's exactly right, and I'm not ...

WHITFIELD: So what happened?

DUFFY: I'm not arguing that fact. What happened was that this was a massive storm that wrecked the ability of the federal government and state and local officials, as Bob Franken, said were overwhelmed. And we have just finished a very comprehensive review of what went wrong and we have 125 new recommendations to do what's going on right. And that's one of the things we're going to be implementing before next hurricane season.

And the bottom line in all of this, Fredricka, we can look back on this, you know, 15 million more times, but there are people right now in the Gulf Coast that need our help.

There's $100 billion headed their way from the federal taxpayer. That's the right thing to do, and we need to help rebuild and help the Gulf Coast recover, and that's what the president is focused on.

WHITFIELD: So if we're talking about helping those many people who are -- whether it's people who are living in their cars, in tents, in trailers or in other temporary conditions, and you're looking at hurricane season just a few months away from beginning, what do you say to some of these folks while the White House and everyone else has recognized there were some huge gaps, a lot of problems, things that didn't necessarily go right.

How do you assure these people that things will go right this time around with just a few months away? And that help is certainly on the way?

DUFFY: Well, again, the president is going to be traveling again to the region. We have lots of funds. People have individual assistance. General Honore, who really was one of the superstars in the reaction and the response to Hurricane Katrina, participated in the White House review and gave us 11 specific items that we can do before June 1st to make sure that we're better prepared.

WHITFIELD: But then how do you assure people that even those funds will be allocated properly just as we saw that the resources that you spoke of weren't necessarily distributed or allocated in time for Katrina to help everybody?

DUFFY: Well, we're doing our best. And in the other hurricanes that followed Katrina, Wilma and Rita, we did apply some of the lessons learned like having more communications capability and doing a different prepositioning of medicine and assets beforehand.

So we already have applied some of our lessons, and we're confident that going forward, that we'll have a better capability to help people in the event of another disaster. Let's not forget, this was a huge disaster.

And one thing we all learned was that the best thing you can do when there's a huge disaster like this is to move to safe ground and the president knew that. He begged state and local officials to order a mandatory evacuation and for -- you know, then our first and top priority during the landfall and the immediate aftermath was search and rescue.

And you have lots of footage of the Coast Guard going and helping those people who, for whatever reason, could not obey or ignored did not -- or ignored the evacuation. That was the right thing to do.

WHITFIELD: Do you think that the revealing now, the public revealing of this tape in any way kind of vindicates Michael Brown in that perhaps when he said there was a fog of bureaucracy, that perhaps he was right?

DUFFY: Well, that was one of the lessons learned. I know Michael Brown on August 29th was actually praising the president for being engaged an being very hands on and making sure that things were getting where they needed to go.

But there is a bureaucracy and, unfortunately, you know, government is pretty good at red tape. And in a crisis like Katrina or something of that sort, red tape is inexcusable. And that's why the president has people like General Honore and his homeland security officials going right now, trying to cut through all that red tape.

WHITFIELD: And, Trent, meantime the acting director of FEMA is David Paulison. Will he be named the official director by hurricane season or is there a search ongoing right now in which to name a permanent director?

DUFFY: Well, there will be a permanent director of FEMA, and part of the ...

WHITFIELD: In time for the start of hurricane season, June 1st?

DUFFY: I'm sure that we'll have someone in place as soon as we can. What's most important is getting the functions and the capabilities that FEMA offers in helping people and getting resource where they need to be ahead of the storm.

WHITFIELD: Trent Duffy, deputy press secretary at the White House, Thanks so much for being with us this hour.

DUFFY: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, the news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, it happened to him, perhaps it could happen to anyone. Court papers filed in case involving a family fortune allege a famous neuroscientist fell prey to an Internet scam. Dr. Louis Gottschalk acknowledges losing some $900,000 to bad investments. His son says the losses are closer to $3 million, to a racket run in Nigeria. The younger Gottschalk is suing for control of the family's holdings. He says he wants to prevent his 89-year-old father from being further victimized.

Well, another potential reversal of fortune for 15 would-be immigrants from Cuba. The group is applying for passports and has scheduled a meeting Monday at the U.S. intrasection in Havana. As we told you yesterday, a judge's ruling has given the group new hope of becoming American citizens.

Just weeks after the U.S. Coast Guard sent them back, CNN's John Zarrella has an update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Junior Blanco Medeo and his family say they never gave up hope, never stopped believing that one day they would live their dream, a dream of freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are overjoyed. Everyone is in town is congratulating us.

ZARRELLA: After a federal judge in Miami took the extraordinary step of ordering the U.S. government to try and get them and a dozen others out of Cuba, Blanco, his wife Elizabeth and nephew Alexis spoke with us from their hometown of Matanzas on Cuba's north coast. It is place that two months they thought they had seen for perhaps the last time.

ALEXIS GONZALEZ BLANCO, REPATRIATED CUBAN (through translator): Our family is happy for us. We earned this. We earned this and a lot more.

ZARRELLA: Back on January 4, 15 Cubans were found by the Coast Guard clinging to this old bridge in the Florida Keys. But instead of being brought ashore, Blanco, his family and the others were returned to Cuba. We first caught up with them two weeks ago.

JUNIOR BLANCO MEDEO, REPATRIATED CUBAN (through translator): I think it's an injustice what happened to us, that we were returned after we went through so much to get there.

ZARRELLA: But the Coast Guard determined that the old bridge doesn't connect to land on either end, so the Cubans did not touch U.S. soil. The judge's ruling late Tuesday was clear. Quote: "Coming ashore on the old bridge pier should be sufficient contact with the United States to constitute a landing on United States territory." End quote.

In Miami, relatives celebrated on the phone with their loved ones in Cuba.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They're going to let you come! Elizabeth says it's the happiest day of her life.

ZARRELLA: But the joy is tempered by reality. The Cuban government must still allow them to leave.

KENDALL COFFEY, ATTORNEY FOR REPATRIATED CUBAN: Talking about Castro doing the right thing is an oxymoron. He'll do whatever he thinks is best for Castro. But in this case, he's already come out and said one way or another that, hey, these are folks that he doesn't want anymore.

ZARRELLA: The U.S. government has not said whether it will appeal.

(on camera): Coast Guard officials would not comment on camera, but told us they followed policy, a policy that Junior Blanco and his family say has left them on a two-month roller coaster ride that they still hope will stop here in Miami.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, a Maryland man may be facing a moral dilemma today. His life was literally saved by a state politician this week. The least he could do is vote for him, right? Well, that's probably not going to happen. This is why. Maryland Senator John Giannetti didn't know the man he saved from choking in a restaurant is a rival who's running a pretty harsh campaign against him. The candidate, Jim Rosapepe, says he's grateful, very grateful, but he still wants Giannetti's job.

Well, many of the movies nominated for Oscars this year aren't big hits.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Oscars are for the people of California. I don't think anybody else really cares.

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WHITFIELD: Hollywood and the heartland seeing eye to eye, or is the former making movies the latter doesn't want to see?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Hollywood honors its own on Sunday, with the Academy Awards. This year's nominated movies deal with gay cowboys, McCarthyism, racism, terrorism. Not feel good films and certainly not box office blockbusters.

CNN's Brooke Anderson is at the site of the Oscars with a look at whether the favorites appeal to middle America.

Hi, Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fred. Well, as you said, this isn't the year of blockbusters at the Oscars. It's the year of smaller, more independent films that are being recognized, politically-themed films, films with controversial themes such as gay or transgender characters. And the question is, outside of Hollywood, are the Oscars and the films they are honoring -- are they relevant to middle America?

Hollywood has been accused of pandering to an elite agenda with no regards to what middle America wants so I took a trip to the middle of America in Kansas to find out how the folks there feel about all of it.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood lies Lebanon, Kansas, population 250 people, median age, 52. A place where three houses recently sold for a grand total of $11,000 on eBay.

(on camera): Many have asked the question, is Hollywood out of touch with middle America? What better place to find out than the middle of America. This is the geographic center of the continental United States in Lebanon, Kansas.

RANDY MAUS, LEBANON RESIDENT: Out here at least in rural America, where it's the Bible belt, we're still looking for movies that have creative substance and a story line.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Randy Maus is a Lebanon transplant from the Boston area. He along with other Lebanon residents including the ladies of the Methodist Church Bell Choir aren't exactly thrilled with the films the Oscars are honoring.

(on camera): Has anybody seen "Brokeback Mountain?"

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ANDERSON: Anybody want to see it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just not interested in all the sex and scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just not my style of life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I knew how to quit you.

ANDERSON: What kind of movies do you want Hollywood to make?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about "Sound of Music" and some of those.

(SINGING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): We stopped by the Lebanon hot spot, ladow's Market, where one local told us Hollywood just can't relate to a farming way of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've never been back in here to know what it's like to actually have to make a living doing this.

ANDERSON: The closest theater is 12 miles away in Smith Center, Kansas. One movie theater, one film shown per week and none of the movies nominated for best picture have played here.

MIKE HUGHES, CENTER THEATER: We have a large senior citizen base so we gear a lot of our movies towards that and our children's pictures do really well.

ANDERSON (on camera): So say you put "Brokeback Mountain" on the screen?

HUGHES: I feel, I feel it would not play very well. It wouldn't be profitable for us.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Dave Karger, a senior writer for "Entertainment Weekly" says profits aren't the driving force behind the Academy Awards.

DAVE KARGER, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: They're about recognizing the five best movies of the year, not the five most profitable movies of the year.

ANDERSON: Here in the middle of America in Lebanon, the Oscars are as far from their minds as they seem to be from the minds of those in Hollywood.

(on camera): Does anyone plan to watch the Academy Awards?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the Oscars are for the people in California. I don't think anybody else really cares.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why waste your time? We'll come to bell choir practice.

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ANDERSON: And they played those bells just beautifully. And in addition to "Brokeback Mountain," many of the residents there told me they hadn't heard of the other best picture nominees, "Capote," "Crash," "Munich," "Good Night, and Good Luck." And they said even if they had or if it were playing, they wouldn't be interested in seeing it. Fred, you can bet millions will be watching the Oscars this Sunday, but the viewer numbers will be few and far between from Lebanon, Kansas.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so something tells me they don't want to see any movies at all then. Even out of all the movies that you mentioned, even though they only have the one movie theater, it doesn't sound like there's really anything.

ANDERSON: A lot of the -- especially the women there told me that they see maybe one a film a year at the theater and as I said in the piece, the closest movie theater is 12 miles away. They have no control over what films go into that theater. "Big Momma's House 2" is playing there now.

WHITFIELD: I don't see them flooding the theater for that one either.

ANDERSON: They are hard-working people, right, they're hard- working people in this town and a lot of them told me they just don't have time and they don't want to make time.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, understood. Well, a good part of the rest of America will be watching on Sunday, I have a feeling. All right, thanks a lot, Brooke.

ANDERSON: That's right, thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, well desperate time slots call for desperate measures. As a measures as a housewife's world falls apart, the producers decide to kick it up a notch.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would be nice if somebody would wish me a merry Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, merry Christmas

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WHITFIELD: But something tells me that's not exactly what you're going to be seeing on "Desperate Housewives," but this crowned princess of comedy, when she guest stars on an upcoming episode of "Desperate Housewives," it will be another look at Carol Burnett.

She will become the queen of mean. She'll play Eleanor Mason, the evil stepmother of the tightly-wound Bree Van De Kamp. And Burnett told writers to really amp up that evil part that we can hardly wait to see. She's only down for one episode, but something tells me Carol Burnett will be back many times over.

Well it was a crime that shocked the world. Now almost 25 years after Pope John Paul II was almost murdered, an Italian parliamentary commission says it knows who gave the orders. Details coming up on LIVE FROM.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a trade off between being safe and being efficient. What's missing right now is a consistent security system in all airports. And the ideal state for me would be an all- in-one system, whether it puffs you, X-Rays you, puts you on a conveyor belt. But you're moving the whole time. I have nothing to hide, I travel every week, I just want to be as efficient as possible.

As for the future of security, I'm not sure what direction we're headed. I would like to know, where are we heading for my safety?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Garry's wish is shared by many, to feel secure when flying, but not to waste time on inefficient screening systems. So how close are we to getting the best of both worlds?

(voice-over): The future of airport security is this man's mission, chief technology officer for the Transportation Security Administration, Randy Null.

RANDY NULL, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Since 9/11, there is a lot more research and development. The portals (ph) are the newest equipment that we've had.

O'BRIEN: As passengers walk through these so-called puffer machines, quick bursts of air dislodge and collect tiny particles from the person and test them for explosive materials, all within eight to 10 seconds.

Also in the works, a machine that captures images like these. It's an X-Ray device with the power of Superman. The machines may make security types happy, but many passengers may feel violated.

NULL: We need things that will allow us to replace equipment rather than add equipment. We'll actually be doing better things, but doing them less intrusively and faster.

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