Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
American Journalist Jill Carroll Released by Captors; Major League Baseball News Conference on Steroids Investigation; Senate Debating Proposals for Immigration Reform; Journey Across the Arizona Border
Aired March 30, 2006 - 14:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, she doesn't know why she was taken hostage, she doesn't know why she was even freed. Jill Carroll, though, is just happy to be free.
After almost three months as a captive of a shadowy group calling itself the Revenge Brigades, the American journalist was released on a Baghdad street today near the office of an Islamist political party. A short time later, she talked about her ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL CARROLL, FREED HOSTAGE: I was kidnapped January 7. I don't know why. Really, I don't know why. That's a question for the Mujahedin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, how did they -- did...
CARROLL: They were -- very good treatment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did they treat you -- yes?
CARROLL: Very good treatment. Very good treatment. I was kept in a very good, small, safe place. A safe room. Nice furniture.
They gave me clothing, plenty of food. I was allowed to take showers, go to the bathroom when I wanted. Very good. Never hit me. Never even threatened to hit me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't feel that you are in detention (ph)?
CARROLL: Well, I felt I was not free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not free.
CARROLL: You know, I -- it was -- it was difficult because I didn't know what would happen to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was TV there or radio?
CARROLL: You know, I can't really talk about it very much. I can't say...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't talk about TV or radio -- OK. CARROLL: But I did get some news of what was going on. Not -- sometimes some news but that's all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had the -- (INAUDIBLE) the condition that you were released to (INAUDIBLE)?
CARROLL: I don't know. I don't know what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know?
CARROLL: They just came to me and said, OK, we're letting you go now. That's all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You -- had you, in your knowledge, that there was negotiation to make you free?
CARROLL: I don't know. I don't know what was going on. They didn't tell me what was going on. They would come, bring me my food. I would eat. It was fine. I would go to the bathroom. But I was not allowed to, you know . . .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You felt that you are far distance from Baghdad or inside?
CARROLL: I really don't know where I was. The room had a window but the glass was, you know, can't see. And it's curtains. And couldn't hear any sound. So I would sit in the room. I had to take a shower. I walk two feet, you know, next -- to next door. Take a shower, go to the bathroom, come back. That's all. So I don't know what -- where I was or what was going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had the news -- world news come to you in our place and you watch any -- I told you, any TV, any media?
CARROLL: I once did watch television, but I didn't -- I didn't really know what was going on in the outside world. I got some news. Here and there I would get some news. One time they brought me a newspaper, so I got some news from a newspaper once but that was about it. I didn't really know what was going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, now, you are a journalist.
CARROLL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so could you view to us what will you say this time now?
CARROLL: About what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. Yes, about what happened, yes. But what do you want, what would you like to say?
CARROLL: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CARROLL: The only thing...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this to early to talk about this, Jill? I mean do you want us to (INAUDIBLE) stuff?
CARROLL: I do. All I can say right now is that I'm just happy to be free. I was treated very well. That's important people know that. That I was not harmed. They never said they would hit me. Never threatened me in any way. And I was -- and I'm just happy to be free and want to be with my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: President Bush said "Thank god" when he heard of Jill Carroll's release. And in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, her dad was just thrilled.
They're also celebrating up in Boston at the headquarters of the "Christian Science Monitor," where Jill Carroll worked. And that's where we find CNN's Alina Cho -- Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it a beautiful day here in Boston, Carol. And that certainly matches the mood here. At least the mood here at the headquarters of the "Christian Science Monitor." The editor called it "one of the most exciting days for all of us here."
Of course, everyone is thrilled here that Jill Carroll has finally been released, and they said for the first time in a long time they have cried tears of joy.
Now, as all of us wait to hear the details about Jill Carroll, when she will return to the United States, when she will be reunited with her family...
LIN: Alina -- I'm sorry. Alina Cho -- Alina, sorry to interrupt here. We've just got a breaking news story. We want to get back to your story to get that reaction from the "Christian Science Monitor," but right now, Bud Selig, baseball's commissioner, is making an announcement about an investigation of steroid abuse in Major League Baseball.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BUD SELIG, COMMISSIONER, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: ... including Charles Sheeler (ph), a former federal prosecutor, as well as by Jeffrey Collins (ph), a former United States attorney and now partner in the Detroit office of Foley & Lardner, and Thomas Carlucci (ph), a former assistant United States attorney and now a partner in the San Francisco office of the law -- of the same law firm.
Senator Mitchell has had extensive investigative experience. As a United States attorney, he personally led numerous criminal investigations. At the request of the United States Olympic Committee, he led an investigation into allegations of improprieties in the selection of Salt Lake City as the site of the 2002 winter Olympic games. His recommendations were adopted in their entirety by the USCO, and as a result, the International Olympic Committee altered the process for the selection of host cities for both the summer and winter Olympic games.
In addition, at the request of the president of the United States, the prime minister of Israel, and the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Senator Mitchell chaired an international fact- finding committee on violence in the Middle East. The committee's report widely known as the Mitchell Report was endorsed by the Bush administration, the European Union and many other governments.
Senator Mitchell also brings an impeccable reputation for integrity to this task. He has served the public as the United States Senate majority leader and as a federal judge and a United States attorney.
In 1996, at the request of the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Senator Mitchell chaired peace negotiations in northern Ireland which resulted in an accord that ended decades of conflict. Senator Mitchell also served as the independent overseer of the Red Cross Liberty Disaster Fund following allegations of improprieties in the distribution of more than $1 billion to victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Senator Mitchell's leadership of this investigation ensures that will it will be both thorough and fair. I have asked Senator Mitchell to attempt to determine as a factual matter whether any major league players associated with BALCO or otherwise used steroids or other illegal performance-enhancing substances at any point after the substances were banned by the 2002-2006 collective bargaining agreement.
The goal here is to determine facts, not engage in is supposition, speculation, rumor or innuendo. It may be that conduct be for the effective date of the 2002 basic agreement will provide -- will prove helpful in reaching the necessary factual determinations. And if the senator so concludes, he will investigate such earlier conduct as well. Indeed, should Senator Mitchell uncover material suggesting that the scope of this investigation needs to be broader, he has my permission to expand the investigation and to follow the evidence wherever it may lead.
I am very troubled about the alleged depth of the relationship between certain players and those involved in the illegal distribution of performance-enhancing substances. BALCO is arguably the most notorious distributor of anabolic steroids in the history of American sports, and a number of players were customers or endorsers of that entity and its product.
Greg Anderson, a BALCO defendant, pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids in July of 2005. Mr. Anderson was a personal trainer to an at least one player and was allegedly acquainted with others.
Baseball is America's pastime because of the trust placed in this sport by its fans. As I said last year when we were able to implement our new tough steroid policy, this is a matter of integrity. When it comes to the integrity of this game, an impartial thorough review is called for and baseball must confront its problems head on.
I am confident that baseball's many millions of fans will agree that this great game can move forward with pride and honor as we also investigate those who might be implicated in these matters.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Commissioner.
Senator Mitchell?
GEORGE MITCHELL, FMR. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I accept the responsibility placed on me by the commissioner in full recognition of the seriousness of the many issues raised by the task. The allegations arising out of the BALCO investigation or otherwise that major league players have used steroids and other illegal performance- enhancing drugs have caused fans and observers to question the integrity of play at the highest level of our national game. Those allegations require close scrutiny.
At the same time, the individuals who are alleged to have used these illegal substances are entitled to a deliberate and unbiased examination of the facts that will comport with basic American values of fairness.
In this investigation, I and those working with me will approach our work bearing these important considerations in mind. We will strive to complete an investigation that is thorough, objective and fair.
Our mission will be to gather facts, not conjecture. We will provide those whose reputations have been or might be called into question by these allegations a fair opportunity to be heard.
I've been assured by the commissioner that I will have complete independence and discretion as to the manner in which this investigation will be conducted and that I will have unhindered authority to follow the evidence wherever it might lead.
We will begin the investigation immediately. I invite those who believe they have information relating to the use of steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players to come forward with that information so that it might be considered in the context of all of the evidence. I further request full cooperation from all those we contact who might have relevant information.
I'm grateful for the confidence placed in me by the commissioner and I will do my very best to justify that confidence in discharging this significant responsibility.
SELIG: Thank you, Senator. Copies of the statements will be available over on the table there. We'll take a few questions.
QUESTION: Commissioner?
SELIG: Yes, sir?
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
SELIG: I know that question has been around. I have to tell you, that played no role in this at all. That played absolutely no role in this at all.
That's -- that's a matter of history, but I believe the timing on this is proper given the charges, given the specificity of the charges for the first time. They're far more specific than they've been, and that's why I've chosen this as a time for the investigation.
LIN: Bud Selig, baseball commissioner, has announced that an independent investigation of steroid abuse in professional baseball will be run by former senator George Mitchell, a man who has -- whose fact-finding trip through the Middle East has paved the way for a plan for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a man who negotiated peace deals in Ireland, who is now going to say that he is going to have complete and total authority into looking into whether baseball players have been abusing steroids.
The authority of this investigation really only applies to steroid abuse after 2002, but it does begin just days before the official baseball season is to start. Barry Bonds and other players are going to be the focus of the investigation, although Barry Bonds will continue to play as he's going after Babe Ruth's homerun record this season.
More to come on this subject to be sure.
In the meantime, the streets aren't paved with gold, but the USA remains a land of opportunity that beckons thousands to cross its borders, or even to try every year. For those without papers it's a risky, dirty, costly trip.
You'll see for yourself when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Immigration is the big topic at the three-nation summit under way in Cancun, Mexico. It's also the talk of Washington. Senators are debating several reform proposals.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel is on Capitol Hill.
Andrea, so what are the biggest sticking points right now?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good afternoon.
This is the first full day, we should point out, the first full day that senators are having an opportunity now to debate what is clearly, no one is disputing, one of the hottest political debates of this election year. The two key sticking points as things stand right now have to do with basically, what do you do about future immigrants who want to come to the United States? How do you deal with them? It's known as the guest worker program.
The second issue has to do with the 11 to 12 million undocumented illegal immigrants who are living in this country right now.
What you're hearing -- and there really is a split within the Republican Party over this issue -- what you're hearing in this debate right now on the floor of the Senate -- there you see Senator Dianne Feinstein of California -- is the -- the use of the word "alien." It has really become sort of the figurative four-letter word of the debate right now as to whether or not, if you lay out a path to citizenship as those in -- as some are proposing, whether or not you are basically giving them amnesty.
Let's listen to John Vitter, who is a senator from Louisiana and to Senator -- David Vitter, rather, and to Arlen Specter, the senator from -- from Pennsylvania, two Republicans. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DAVID VITTER (R), LOUISIANA: Any measure that's tantamount to amnesty sends exactly the wrong message as we try to get our hands around this problem. We are a nation that believes in upholding the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It is not amnesty because the undocumented aliens will have to pay a fine, they will have to pay back taxes, they will undergo a thorough background investigation. They will have to learn English, they will have to work for six years, and they will have to earn the status of staying in the country and the status of moving toward -- toward citizenship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Senator Arlen Specter, we should point out, is one of the sponsors of the legislation that's on the floor of the Senate right now, Carol, that's being debated. And he says he would like to have this wrapped up by the end of next week when senators are supposed to be leaving for their spring break -- Carol.
LIN: But Andrea, if there is a plan, you know, if the president is talking about a guest worker program, there -- it's not a free pass. They're going to have to leave over a period of time. Maybe they can work in the United States for six years, according to the president.
What's so controversial about that? KOPPEL: What's controversial is that there are many people in the United States right now who believe that these immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens, that there are jobs, whether it's in the construction industry, whether it's in the food services industry, that Americans should get, as opposed to what the guest worker program is proposing, to bring in 400,000 immigrants into the country every year and to lay out a path that they would be able to achieve citizenship.
What you're seeing right now is both the president and some members of his own party and Democrats trying to appeal and to listen to the appeal of the business community with -- which says it desperately needs that cheap labor.
We just saw Senator Feinstein on the floor. She said in a press conference just a short time ago that within the state of California, just within the landscaping industry alone, 86 percent of all of their workers are illegal immigrants. She said they make no bones about it, these are illegal immigrants and their industry depends on it.
So, it is -- it's one of those thing, Carol, you've got people on one side who are saying you're taking jobs away from Americans, and others who are saying our businesses will go under without that cheap labor -- Carol.
LIN: Andrea, thank you.
Well, it's easy to get lost in the back and forth on immigration politics, so we decided to talk to someone who knows what it's like to start life in America the hard way, and some might say the illegal way.
Raoul Magdaleno crossed the border from Mexico with his family without papers in 1983. He was just three years old. Well, today he is a U.S. citizen and he joins me right now from Dallas.
Raoul, good to have you.
RAOUL MAGDALENO, FMR. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: Thank you for -- thank you for having me.
LIN: Because this a story that really needs to be explored, I want to share with everybody your family picture, all right? And you're one of the littlest ones, and -- right there, right there, look down, right in the middle. It almost looks like a salute that you're giving.
So 1983, as a toddler, do you remember that trip?
MAGDALENO: I very vaguely remember that trip, but my mom re- encounters that trip, Carol. And it was -- even today as she speaks to me about the situation, it was -- tears just flow down her eyes because it was a very difficult trip crossing the desert in hope for a better future.
LIN: With a family, kids in tow, and you just a toddler, $10,500 is what I calculate at $1,500 a head that she had to pay. How did she get that money? She was just a poor farm worker.
MAGDALENO: That is -- my mom received about 50 cents a day working as a farm worker. And it was my sister and my father that -- their struggles. They actually came before we did, and they worked labor jobs trying to raise that money, and that's how we were able to come to America.
LIN: And you gained permanent residency status because your mother eventually -- your mother passed away and your mother remarried to an American citizen. Is that right?
MAGDALENO: That is correct. That was -- I was 3 years old when my father passed away and my mother was left to raise 10 (ph) children on her own. But the message is very clear, Carol, that despite the disappointments and all the things that you go through your life, that education is one of the key points that we have to combat poverty.
LIN: Why couldn't your family stay in Mexico?
MAGDALENO: We -- the living conditions in Mexico are horrifying. It's a third-world country in many places. And most of the people -- I would dare to say that most of the people that come to the United States come because of the extreme poverty in Mexico, and that they typically will not have the opportunity of an education, opportunity for any type of advancement.
LIN: Because at one point you were 11 years old here in the United States and you became by circumstances virtually the bread winner in your family.
MAGDALENO: That's correct. At 11 years old, I was -- I was forced to become an adult, and I had to raise my mentally disabled sister, Sylvia (ph).
LIN: And what did you do to make a living? How did you support the family?
MAGDALENO: Well, when I was 11 years old, you find any kind of way to survive. And so we would pick up cans from the trash can and I would organize community -- I would go knock on people's -- people's doors and ask them to -- if I could collect their cans. So every Tuesday after school, my sister Sylvia (ph) and I would just knock on people's doors and ask them to -- if we could have their cans if they don't need it.
LIN: And it's amazing you could eat on that income.
Raoul, the contention is that -- by critics of illegal immigration -- is that illegal immigrants are taking American jobs away. Were there -- were there Americans that you and your mother working in the United States, were you taking people's jobs away?
MAGDALENO: We were not taking people's jobs away. I believe that the jobs that most of the -- most of the jobs that are held right now by illegal immigrants or undocumented workers are jobs that many people would not want, working in farms. I would even dare to say that it's kind of modern-day slavery. They have jobs that really most people would not want.
LIN: If there were a guest worker program when your mother was preparing to cross the border, if the president of the United States said, come, fill out these papers, we need to track you, but you can stay for six years and work in the United States, what would your mother have done?
MAGDALENO: I believe my mother would have done what anybody -- what any American family would do living in the circumstance, is if that's the only thing that's available to you, you would go. But I believe it's greater than a six-year program. I believe that during the six-year program, people should be empowered through education, because regardless of whether they decide to stay in America or go back to their home country, that education is something that they can take wherever they go anywhere in the world.
LIN: But that's a contentious point, too, Raoul, because critics would say illegal immigrants come to the United States and they get educated at taxpayers' expense. What is the obligation that you are describing that you think that the United States has to people like your family?
MAGDALENO: Well, Carol, going back to the tax-paying issue, any time that someone goes to the store, any time -- I mean, you can -- unfortunately, you cannot avoid not paying taxes.
LIN: Because you pay sales tax. But if you could answer that question specifically, what obligation do you think the United States to people like your family?
MAGDALENO: I would -- I would -- I'm sorry, it was a very -- I had a hard time hearing you, Carol. Can you repeat that again, please.
LIN: Well, because I'm asking why you think the United States should have a financial obligation to educate people like your family, who come to the United States illegally. You want -- you're saying, OK, have a guest worker program, but do these things for my people. Because shouldn't the conversation also be on the side of Mexico?
What would you like to see President Vicente Fox do with the president of the United States? What does President Bush need to say to President Fox in Mexico?
MAGDALENO: Well, one of the things that I would suggest is it is both for the well-being of the immigrants crossing the border and for the people -- for the well-being of Americans, is that when you deal with -- when you deal with people crossing over to the United States, it is very, very dangerous. And sometimes many of the workers are -- many of the undocumented people crossing over are exploited. And so I would definitely -- I would definitely work on improving the border issue.
LIN: Raul...
MAGDALENO: Yes? LIN: ... there's a story about you when you crossed the border that for some reason your family had you take off your pants and they put it on a pole, waving it like a flag.
What was that about?
MAGDALENO: Well, I was hoping they wouldn't share that story, but -- well, it is a belief for people that are helping cross -- people that are helping cross -- helping undocumented people cross the borders as a sign of good luck. So basically I arrived to America with nothing, no clothes, and came just as God brought me into this world, so.
LIN: You know what, it turned out, Raoul, you were a blessing to your family. You got an education, you worked hard and you're helping Americans understand the desperation on the other side of the border and what can happen for immigrants when they come to America. Appreciate the story.
MAGDALENO: Thank you, Carol.
LIN: CNN is covering all sides of the immigration battle. Our Lou Dobbs, for example, is in Mexico for this week's summit. He's going to join us in the next hour of LIVE FROM. And be sure to watch "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" from Cancun at 6:00 Eastern.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: The news keeps coming. We're going to bring it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Jill Carroll. Months as a hostage without knowing why she was kidnapped or where she was even being held. Her ordeal is similar to Roy Hallums. Months as a hostage, kept literally in the dark. Hallums is happily home today in Memphis, but he endured ten grueling months in Iraqi captivity, thinking each day was his last.
CNN's Randi Kaye has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Roy Hallums, it may remain a mystery forever. He may never learn all the secrets, who kidnapped him, held him for 10 months, and why. This is how most of us learned about Hallums' role in the horrible story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROY HALLUMS, HOSTAGE: My name is Roy Hallums. I'm an American national. Please help me in this situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: It was two years ago, three weeks before Thanksgiving. Hallums, at his computer, working as a contractor in Iraq, was snatched and grabbed. Four masked gunmen burst in, heavily armed. Any resistance, they said, they would kill him.
(on camera): Were you scared?
HALLUMS: Oh, yes, certainly, because, I mean, I had seen the videos before of other people who had been kidnapped and what had happened to them. And I thought, you know, am I going to live the rest of the day or is this it?
KAYE (voice-over): They blindfolded Hallums, drove him to a dark, filthy underground cell. We now know it was in one of the most dangerous areas of Baghdad, known as the Triangle of Death.
And, for three months, it was as if Roy Hallums had simply vanished. For those who love him, it was unimaginably painful. Where was he? What had happened? But there was nothing. His captors remained silent, until this last January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALLUMS: I'm please asking for help, because my life is in danger, because it has been proved that I work for American forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HALLUMS: They said that they wanted me to be emotional and look upset in the video. And, so, they said, to make me look that way and to help me, they were going to beat me before the video.
KAYE (on camera): And did they?
HALLUMS: And they did, you know? So, yes, it -- you know, it wasn't a good experience to -- to do that, you know?
KAYE (voice-over): Now, precisely one year after he was forced to make that videotape, Roy Hallums is home in Memphis, Tennessee. He invited us here to share the secrets of months as a hostage and the amazing story of his rescue, the fear, the isolation, the abuse, beatings and torture Hallums can't barely bring himself to talk about today. Hallums passed the time underground by planning travel adventures in his mind.
HALLUMS: It would take me one day or two days to plan a trip.
(LAUGHTER)
HALLUMS: And then I would start another one, because, when you stop, then you start having all these negative thoughts.
KAYE: He slept on a concrete slab, always blindfolded and bound with this plastic handcuff. Hallums spent much of his time laying down in the four-foot deep hole. They give him small amounts of cheese and goat meat. Whatever hope he had came from the fact they hadn't killed him yet.
(on camera): What did you go through, not knowing what they might do to you or what might happen to you?
HALLUMS: The first month was the most difficult, because everything, every movement, you don't know what might happen. And you're still thinking that, well, you know, they could do away with me any time.
You sort of become numb after a while. You know, you worry about your life every second of every day. And it just, you know, starts to wear you out.
KAYE (voice-over): The hostage-takers only watched cartoons on their satellite TV. He heard no news, no word of his family, no way to know they were working so hard to find him, that they had set up a Web site and had made public pleas on both Al-Jazeera network and CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he -- when he mentioned that, you know, about his life, them ending his life, I don't know. We're -- we are just all devastated.
Please, President Bush, he needs your help.
KAYE: Hallums kept track of the days in his head. He knew weeks had turned into months. He listened as his captors poured fresh concrete over his hole to seal it. Hallums thought for sure he would die here.
HALLUMS: After six months, I was starting to question, you know, how long is this going to go on? You know, are they going to keep me a year or -- or two years? There -- there was no way to know. I just know, OK, I have been here six months. There's no end in sight.
KAYE: Then, by pure luck, coalition forces interviewing an Iraqi prisoner were told where Hallums was being held. He will never forget the pounding at the door. Freedom was not far away.
HALLUMS: Because I thought, well, maybe somebody's here to rescue me, but, you know, it's been 311 days. That would be too good to be true. That can't possibly be what it is. But they kept pounding on the door. And, finally, the door fell down. And a soldier comes in. He's got his fatigues on and everything. And he says, are you Roy? And I said, yes. And he said, come on, we're getting out of here.
KAYE (on camera): You hug him?
HALLUMS: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HALLUMS: Definitely. Definitely.
KAYE (voice-over): By the time he was rescued, September of last year, Hallums had lost 38 pounds. He has gained much of the weight back, but, more importantly, he has gained his freedom, still today, never too far away, this patch given to Hallums by the soldier, then a stranger, today a friend who pulled him out of the darkness, the hole that had become his private hell.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Memphis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: With former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor behind bars, the question becomes where to hold his trial. High-level negotiations are underway in Sierra Leone, where at least for the moment Taylor is under lock and key. He was brought there yesterday after trying to escape Nigeria.
Taylor faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, accused of waging war across West Africa. Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, says that she experts the United Nations to move Taylor's trial out of Africa, perhaps to the international court at The Hague.
The Dutch government approves on three conditions: that a resolution to hold the trial in the Netherlands be passed by the U.N. Security Council, that Taylor leaves the Netherlands after his trial, and that Sierra Leone negotiate with The Hague to ensure the facilities are available.
Now, remember this? That harrowing afternoon. We're going to take you back to the assassination attempt on President Reagan a quarter century ago today. It's ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Do you remember where you were when Ronald Reagan was shot? It was 25 years ago today, a good time to rewind and take you back to the chaotic moments right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB CAIN, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: We interrupt, there's been a late development. Shots reported fired outside the hotel where President Reagan spoke a short while ago. Here's Bernard Shaw in our Washington bureau.
BERNARD SHAW, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: Bob, as you can understand, details are very sketchy, we don't know precisely what happened nor -- pardon me. OK. My apology. Details are very sketchy at this moment. We don't know precisely what happened, we don't know the sequence.
First of all, the president is safe. We are told that shots were fired at his party as he left the hotel. The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police report that at least one police officer and one Secret Service agent have been injured. They were shot down, their condition we do not know.
We are checking both with the Secret Service and with people up at the hotel. We can report that shots were fired as President Reagan left the Washington Hilton hotel following that address we carried live here on CNN. The president did not appear to be hurt, according to United Press International. Mr. Reagan was pushed inside his waiting presidential limousine by several Secret Service men immediately after the shots rang out. They were just to his right and behind him. The shots, according to United Press International, were fired just to the president's right and behind him by an unknown male.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, of course, now you know that the shooter was John Hinckley, Jr. He's still at a psychiatric hospital in Washington. One of those he wounded, White House Press Secretary James Brady, is permanently disabled.
Dangerous dreams, illegal immigrants making the costly, often deadly, journey into the United States. You'll see for yourself straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We're following the journeys millions of illegal immigrants from Latin America take to the U.S. All are dangerous and few are cheap, none is guaranteed. CNN's Rick Sanchez reports from just across the Arizona border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called the brickyard, a place only four and a half miles from the Arizona border where would-be immigrants gather for a chance to sneak into the United States.
Jose (ph) is from Veracruz, Mexico.
(on camera): What are you going to do when you get it the other side of the border?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): He says he'll find a job. A brick yard is what this used to be, but now amid the bricks and hogs, a cottage industry has developed. This is now a transit post, if you will, where immigrants are shuttled in and shuttled out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's become this way because we basically shifted traffic by the policies we've enacted. We've had a policy of militarizing the border, sealing down urban areas, shifting traffic, migrant traffic into more isolated desert, desolate terrain.
SANCHEZ: Kat Rodriguez (ph) is a human rights organizer who's monitored the shift in undocumented immigration away from urban border towns like Nogales to more rural areas like Altar, Mexico.
They arrive there from throughout Central Mexico and from there, they're shuttled 60 miles to the brickyard. And from there, another four and a half miles to the border town of Sasabe. (on camera): We're in Mexico, and that is the U.S. point of entry. Undocumented immigrants can't get through there, so they're dispersed instead, either to the right or to the left through the desert.
(voice-over): And through the desert we saw vans, shuttling immigrant immigrants, like Benjamin (ph) from Guatemala, who left home more than a month ago with nothing but this bag.
(on camera): You have some shoes, (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), another pair of jeans, (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), some apples, some crackers. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE). This is all you have in your entire life.
(voice-over): What he can't show us is his money, that's hidden from lurking coyotes and bandits who take advantage of desperate immigrants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The majority of migrants that I've talked to often expect to get robbed.
SANCHEZ: And there's the desert, with its cactus, snakes, scorpions and scorching sun. It's a journey that kills dozens every month, yet many of these immigrants keep crossing, some repeatedly.
Elizabeth Madril (ph) lives in Tucson and helps newly-arrived immigrants.
(on camera): You've seen some of your clients arrive, get deported and they're back the next day by dinnertime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly, exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an absolutely ridiculous idea that you can seal the border.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): So what is the better option? Human rights workers like Rodriguez (ph) say there should be a screening process to allow immigrants to enter the U.S. legally. If need be, charging them the $2,000 they now pay to coyotes to get across.
(on camera): If you could pay that $2,000 legally and be allowed in the United States, (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), would you pay it? You would pay it, yes.
(voice-over): They say the backlog in immigration makes it impossible for them to wait, so they keep coming along this newest route along the Arizona-Mexico border. Rick Sanchez, CNN, Sonora, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Our Lou Dobbs is in Mexico for this week's summit. He's going to join us in the next hour of LIVE FROM and be sure to watch "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" from Cancun at 6:00 Eastern. Lowering fuel emissions has become a major goal for the big automakers. It's not just a problem for trucks and SUVs. Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange to explain. Susan?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, and there are 52 million of these gas-guzzling vehicles, not coming out of Detroit that are causing air pollution. They are lawnmowers that do it as well.
So now the Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly planning new emission standards for lawn equipment. The new rules would effect all lawnmowers, both the ones you push and at ones you ride. The EPA says the typical push mower emits as much hourly pollution as, get this, 11 cars and a riding knower is the equivalent to 34 cars.
But the manufacturers such as John Deere and Toro are opposing the regulations. They say that control emissions, the mowers would need catalytic converters, devices similar to those used in cars and they claim that could increase the risk of fires and burns, the EPA disputes that. Carol?
LIN: Well Susan, it's not just air pollution you have to worry about from lawnmowers, how about noise pollution?
LISOVICZ: Absolutely. I mean that's why there's so many communities, Carol, that have banned Sunday mowing or gardening for big industrial places. A lawnmower produces about 107 decibels, that's louder than a subway train. Just for comparison, loud noise starts to cause pain at 125 decibels and rock concerts can produce sounds of 150 decibels.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LISOVICZ: Stay tuned, LIVE FROM will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
