Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Tens of Thousands Await Viewing Pope's Body; Baby Sarah Expecting A Child; Homeland Security Conducts Mock Drill

Aired April 05, 2005 - 10:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: That does it for us. Want to get to the CNN Center. Daryn Kagan is there today.
Daryn, good morning back there.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Also, Rick Sanchez is here.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: As a matter fact, here I am.

HEMMER: Oh, I didn't know Rick was there, sorry. Thought it was just Daryn. Have a good day.

KAGAN: You have a great and historic day in Rome, Italy. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: And here's what's happening for you right now in the news.

Turning to stories now. Mourners continue to file, as you were just hearing Bill talking about, through the Vatican into St. Peter's Basilica to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. In order to accommodate the crowds, the thousands of people, St. Peter's is going to remain open 22 hours a day, until the pope's funeral, and that as you know is Friday.

More deadly violence in Iraq to report, as a car bomb west of Baghdad kills one U.S. soldier and an Iraqi police officer. Two other U.S. soldiers died in a firefight with insurgents. That was northeast of Baghdad. That happened Monday in the al Anbar Province, a Marine was killed in an explosion, that during combat.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is on Capitol Hill. He's defending the Patriot Act. Key provisions of the sweeping anti- terrorist law passed in the wake of 9/11 are slated to expire. and Gonzalez wants them renewed. Critics say some of the provisions, like those that allow sneak-and-peek warrants for businesses and personal records and papers, should be allowed to lapse.

About 100 people from two California neighborhoods were evacuated after a train derailment last night. The accident occurred near San Bernardino, it's about 65 miles east of Los Angeles. No injuries, no leaks were reported, but derailed cars carrying chlorine and chemicals.

And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez. KAGAN: And good morning, I'm Daryn Kagan.

The multitude comes to the Vatican. We're going to take a look at live pictures from St. Peter's Square in Rome. Thousands mourning Pope John Paul II. Authorities say they expect more than two million people to view the body of the pope, as it lies in state at St. Peter's Basilica.

Also, the Vatican announced today that no date has been set for the Conclave of Cardinals, which will elect a new pope. With leaders from around the world expected to attend the pope's funeral Friday, Italian police have been concentrating on security in and around the Vatican.

SANCHEZ: And with more on the security preparations themselves, let's go now to Diana Muriel. She's live at St. Peter's Square.

The interesting thing about this, Diana, I can't think of another time where more world leaders are going to be gathering in one place. That must be some serious security operation for this.

DIANA MURIELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, there will be. Of course, the funeral is set for Friday. And we understand that there will be a No-Fly Zone over Rome on that day. And there will be a NATO AWACS surveillance plane flying over and helicopters, of course, keeping surveillance over the city from the air.

Something like 10,000 police will be on duty here. There will be bomb disposal experts, and there will be snipers in the position around St. Peter's and also the roads leading away from it. Of course, those roads will be closed. The Roman people are getting ready for most of the city to be shut down and for there to be pedestrian access only. But of course, that will happen on Friday.

In the meantime, this crowd of people, tens of thousands strong Rick, are cuing to go into the basilica to say a final farewell to the pontiff. The people in this crowd have been waiting as much as six hours just to get to this point. It's another hour before they can get into the basilica itself, and then of course, once they get there, it's just a few seconds in front of the body of the pope lying in state there -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: What's the temperament for those folks who have been waiting in line? What's their mood? What are they saying? How are they acting?

MURIEL: Well, it's incredibly positive. You think about it, it's 4:00 in the afternoon here. It's very hot. And there are a lot of people here; some very elderly people, some children, and everyone seems extraordinarily happy. The local volunteers are handing out water.

And occasionally, there have been people who have collapsed in the crowd. There are ambulances standing by rush in. They stretcher them out and they've been getting first aid. Some have been taken to hospital. But it's very hot and some of the elderly are suffering from the affects of the heat, and simply the affects of standing for so long on these cobbled streets for five or six hours in some cases.

SANCHEZ: Wow! CNN's Diana Muriel filing that report from St. Peter's Square, we thank you.

Daryn, over to you.

KAGAN: The Catholic Church is steeped in more than 2,000 years of tradition. Like most of his 263 predecessors, the body of Pope John Paul II will be entombed beneath St. Peter's Basilica.

To give us more on the funeral procession, we're joined by Vatican analyst Robert Moynihan Vatican analyst.

Good morning or good afternoon to you in Rome.

ROBERT MOYNIHAN, EDITOR, "INSIDE THE VATICAN": Yes, good morning to you in America.

KAGAN: Does it surprise you that this pope did not leave specific burial instructions, requesting what some people thought to be buried back in his homeland of Poland?

MOYNIHAN: No, it doesn't surprise me. It was the most logical thing to do. The pope's legacy will perhaps have a greater impact here than in Poland...

KAGAN: So what...

MOYNIHAN: ... if he's buried here in Rome.

KAGAN: Right. So what we will see, what we've been seeing, and what we'll continue to see through Friday has been the following of tradition, as has been done for so many centuries.

MOYNIHAN: Yes. Now, in that regard this funeral on Friday, I think, will be an event of historic proportions. But there's one element still missing which would make it an astonishing event. and that would be the participation of a man who is now in Moscow, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. He's of German origin.

And I'd like to say from the perspective of inside the Vatican, (SPEAKING GERMAN), "he is invited." (SPEAKING GERMAN) "We would be happy to see him here in Rome. We don't know if he's healthy enough to travel. And we know that he was not on good terms with Pope John Paul II. But John Paul II has passed away.

It was always stated in many declarations of the Russian Orthodox Church that upon his passing, things might change. It would be a courageous act if the patriot of the Russian Orthodox Church would choose this moment, and perhaps he can't do it, to come to Rome.

KAGAN: And what would that mean symbolically?

MOYNIHAN: It might mean the beginning of a thaw in a thousand- year rift that cut the heart out of Christianity: divided Rome from the East, from whole tradition of Greece, separated Rome from that mystical atmosphere which fills the Eastern liturgy. We need the East in the West. We've become too horizontal in our entire way of seeing the world.

KAGAN: Robert, I want to ask you a couple of questions, moving forward here. First of all, there's word this pope, Pope John Paul II, had named a secret cardinal. Any ideas on who that might be, and when that name might be revealed and why it was secret?

MOYNIHAN: Well, the pope can choose every so often a secret cardinal when he makes cardinals. And He usually makes them every three years. He takes a group. And those are bishops who have been particularly outstanding. If they're in a country where they might face danger, he won't name them. So he keeps their names secret, and they call it "impectore," in the breast, in the chest, secret.

If the name never is revealed and the pope dies that cardinal does no longer exist. He never existed. No one knows. And that's probably what happened to that cardinal. It may very well have been a Chinese bishop. But he's not a cardinal because the name was not revealed, unless the pope in some way revealed that name to his closest circle. And they know for sure that's the case. That may be one of the issues they'll be discussing in these meetings in the morning this week.

KAGAN: Still so much to learn and watch from there in Rome. Robert Moynihan, thank you for your insight this morning.

SANCHEZ: Catholics in one communist country are offering their prayers and their praise for a man that they called a friend. Monday, Cuban President Fidel Castro publicly mourned the pope, attending a Mass and writing in a condolence book, "Rest in peace tireless fighter for friendship amongst people," and calling the pope "The friend of the poor." The pope visited Cuba in 1998. Cuba says Castro will not attend the Friday funeral though.

KAGAN: Now we bring you up to date on the woman called the miracle baby that saved the pope's life. Twenty-four years ago, a would-be assassin aimed a gun at the pope and fired, as he was picking up a small girl and holding her.

CNN's Alessio Vinci introduces us to the woman who will forever be remembered Baby Sarah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands gathered to say good-bye to their spiritual leader in the very square where he was nearly killed more than two decades ago. It was May 13, 1981. The pope picked up a baby girl as he greeted worshipers in St. Peter's Square. A gunman aimed and fired. The pope was hit. The baby was not.

SARA BARTOLI, BABY SARAH (through translator): Spontaneously, I'd say I did save his life. But actually perhaps he saved mine. in a way he protected me a bit, like a father would. VINCI: Would-be-assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish militant would later say he couldn't aim properly because the baby was so close. They call her, "The baby that saved the pope's life." Today, Sarah Bartoli is 26 and remembers nothing of the incident, when she was just 18 months old. What she knows she learned from articles and letters her parents collected.

BARTOLI (through translator): Because you see me in the pope's arms and then suddenly he's fired upon and falls to the ground, people wrote to me. They were scared about what happened to me.

VINCI: All the media attention about what happened eventually took its toll. And Sarah's devotion to the pontiff waned, until she saw his frail condition on Easter Sunday.

BARTOLI (through translator): I realized that, after 24 years, something opened up and I cried. And only a few days later, he died, and all of my emotions overflowed.

VINCI: Years later, the pope visited the gunman in jail so tell him he was forgiven. Now, Ali Agca says the death of the man he once tried to kill brings him great sadness.

Sarah is now married and nine months pregnant. The death of John Paul II and the eminent birth of her child have her reflecting on the cycle of life.

BARTOLI (through translator): It's an immense coincidence, especially if you look at all of the newspapers announcing his death. Many showed photos of the pope with the child in his arms, a symbol of death, but also a symbol of life and the future.

VINCI: Sarah says she is deeply saddened by John Paul's death, but is looking forward to telling her child how she became the baby that saved the pope.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And she keeps the picture there.

KAGAN: Yes, amazing. I thought that was a fascinating story.

SANCHEZ: Much more from Rome and the pope. And there's also other news that we're following on this day like this.

KAGAN: It's the largest Homeland Security exercise to date. See how some of the drills have turned out.

SANCHEZ: Also, the so the called Minutemen take to the border. Armed citizens patrolling for illegal aliens. There is a full report coming your way from there.

KAGAN: And college sports fans take victory celebrations to the extreme. You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A terror strike that leaves hundreds of people dead, thousands injured and a city in chaos. Hang on! It is not real. Today, the U.S. government is staging day two of the biggest mock terrorist attack ever in the U.S.

Our Jeanne Meserve is in New London, Connecticut following the developments.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. This is Day 2 of this very serious game playing. In the field behind me, there is search and rescue going on this morning. There are dummies that have been hidden in that rubble that rescuers are supposed to find.

In addition, this has now become an FBI crime scene, as authorities try to figure out who it was that set off the bomb that detonated here yesterday afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(EXPLOSIONS)

MESERVE (voice-over): There is a flash, a bang, and then 500 actors with latex wounds step onto the field to portray the dead and wounded. First Responders arrive cautiously. Drill-related intelligence has informed them a chemical agent may have been dispersed.

LINDA KLEINSCHMIDT, ROLE PLAYER: A lot of us watch television, and we always see the firemen come rushing in, go over, triage somebody, and then taking you out on stretchers. And that's not exactly what happens.

MESERVE: An estimated 10,000 people will eventually take part in Top Off 3, the largest counterterrorism drill ever staged.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECY. NOMINEE: The point is actually to drive at the areas where we think there are potential questions or weaknesses, and really push those areas to learn more lessons.

MESERVE: A control center near Washington is running the game, which involves an outbreak of disease in New Jersey, as well as the explosion in Connecticut. Though parts of the scenarios are known in advance, unexpected twists and turns are injected into the game.

GOV. M. JODI RELL (R), CONNECTICUT: We've had many curveballs thrown at us today. They were planned curveballs. but none the else, we keep finding that we have to stay on our toes even more.

MESERVE: Even the masters of the game are thrown off course by the weather.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, SECURITY ANALYST: My understanding is that they had planned to do a live decon of all of the fake victims, the fake victims. That would involve getting them -- stripping them down and getting them wet. And it's a very cold day, and so they decided for safety reasons not to do that.

MESERVE: For CNN's America bureau, Jeanne Meserve, New London, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: And authorities have figured out now that it was mustard gas here in Connecticut. The death toll, fake death toll stands at six, 297 people wounded. This game will go on for several more days. When it's over, authorities will be going over what happened here trying to draw out lessons, disseminate them to the rest of the country.

However, state and local officials in other localities say what they learn is limited by the fact that the report after this is over is so highly classified.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: And Jeanne, they want things to go wrong here. The idea is to push the system to its limits. It's not to make sure everything goes well?

MESERVE: That's what they say, that they do want to find out where there are weaknesses, where there are gaps, so those can be addressed. However, I'll also tell you, nobody wants to look bad. They're doing their very best to do what they can.

And that's one reason some people say why that After Action Report is so carefully gone over, that they don't want to embarrass anybody with the outcome. But hopefully, the people at the very top who are setting policy for the country do take a careful look at the unvarnished truth and learn everything that happened here and learn from it.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in New London, Connecticut. Jeanne, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk now about the controversial Minutemen Border Volunteers. They made their first patrols along Arizona's border with Mexico. Although some of the volunteers were armed, there was no violence.

And as CNN's Casey Wian reports, the Minutemen actually helped the Border Patrol prevent some illegal immigrants from getting into the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Border Patrol are out there ready and waiting for us.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After six months of planning it's finally time for the Minutemen to patrol the border. Project organizer Chris Simcox speaks to volunteers before they head out for the first time.

CHRIS SIMCOX, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: The world will see finally who we really are. and they'll stop branding us with all of these negative labels.

WIAN: As they move into position, the Minutemen are under instructions to report any illegal aliens they see to the Border Patrol.

RON MILLS, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: I'm going to call Border Patrol right a way and just try to assist them in the best way I can. Homeland security begins right here at this border.

WIAN: Though many are armed, they say won't detain anyone.

(on camera): This is an example of some of the dessert terrain the Minutemen will be patrolling, miles and miles of border, unguarded except for a barbed wire fence. And in many places that fence is little more than an inconvenience. Sneaking into the United States is as easy as this.

(voice-over): And that's what brings the Minutemen here. On Day 2, these volunteers found five illegal aliens hiding under a cement culvert three miles from the border. They called the Border Patrol and began to shoot this video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While I was doing this one guy left the culvert right here.

WIAN (on camera): Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Took off back toward the mountains. He wasn't gone for very long and here he comes back.

WIAN (voice-over): The Border Patrol arrived and took the five men away. It's exactly how the Minutemen Project is intended to work.

DIANE HEADRICK, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: We have so many illegals at home in Georgia that I'm just glad to see that there's five less that aren't going to make it to the interior of the country.

WIAN: The Minutemen say they helped apprehend more than 100 illegal aliens in two days. Welcome news for this local family who often encounter alien and drug smugglers near the home.

(on camera): Do you support the Minutemen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You bet I do. I'm glad they're here. It's about time.

WIAN (voice-over): Though there were fears of violent confrontations between Minutemen, illegal alien smugglers, even the Mexican law enforcement officers who watch from across the border, the weekend was peaceful.

SIMCOX: ACLU observers, great. Now we know everyone's rights will be protected, including ours.

LARRY DEVER, SHERIFF, COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA: I think people just in general are wanting this to be a positive atmosphere and environment, so they're not reflected badly upon the message that they're trying to deliver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the message is sent to the White House, all well and good. Those elected representatives, and they need to understand that we're serious about this issue and we want it taken care of.

WIAN: Or they will help take care of it themselves. Though many are now returning home, others will stay throughout the month, helping to secure this stretch of the southern border.

Casey Wian, CNN, Naco, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We have some weather to check on coming up. Unrelenting waters in the northeast, massive flooding in some states. We're going to have your forecast comes up next.

SANCHEZ: A picture tells the story. Also, thousands of mourners pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. We are back live from Rome with pictures like these that we'll be sharing with you. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: These pictures coming to us from New Jersey. These streets usually filled with cars. Today, some people are using canoes to get around. Parts of the state are still under water today, after weekend rains pushed rivers and streams over their banks. Floodwaters are starting to recede but it will be delays before thousands of residents will be allowed to return to their homes. Property damage estimated at $30 million. New Jersey's acting governor is asking for federal relief assistance.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that amazing? Got to go to your neighbor's house in canoe.

KAGAN: Canoe?

SANCHEZ: Do you canoe? Jacqui Jeras canoes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: More than two million people are expected to pay their respects to the pope. That's just this week.

KAGAN: Our Anderson Cooper talked with some of the mourners. Hear what they have to say when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The government says nearly 90,000 Americans are waiting to receive organ transplants. But a new survey finds that many Americans who want to become donors just don't know how.

The Coalition on Donation, a nonprofit alliance of national organizations, surveyed 4,500 Americans about their willingness to donate organs after they die. They found that while more than half of those surveyed were willing to donate, only a third of those people knew how to sign up.

There are more than 35 million children live with a parent who abuses illegal drugs or alcohol, says a new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The report found 13 percent of children live with a parent who uses illegal drugs, and 24 percent live with adults who drink heavily. The study says alcohol and drug- abusing parents are three times more likely to abuse their children and four times more likely to neglect them.

Christy Feig, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(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


Aired April 5, 2005 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: That does it for us. Want to get to the CNN Center. Daryn Kagan is there today.
Daryn, good morning back there.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Also, Rick Sanchez is here.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: As a matter fact, here I am.

HEMMER: Oh, I didn't know Rick was there, sorry. Thought it was just Daryn. Have a good day.

KAGAN: You have a great and historic day in Rome, Italy. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: And here's what's happening for you right now in the news.

Turning to stories now. Mourners continue to file, as you were just hearing Bill talking about, through the Vatican into St. Peter's Basilica to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. In order to accommodate the crowds, the thousands of people, St. Peter's is going to remain open 22 hours a day, until the pope's funeral, and that as you know is Friday.

More deadly violence in Iraq to report, as a car bomb west of Baghdad kills one U.S. soldier and an Iraqi police officer. Two other U.S. soldiers died in a firefight with insurgents. That was northeast of Baghdad. That happened Monday in the al Anbar Province, a Marine was killed in an explosion, that during combat.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is on Capitol Hill. He's defending the Patriot Act. Key provisions of the sweeping anti- terrorist law passed in the wake of 9/11 are slated to expire. and Gonzalez wants them renewed. Critics say some of the provisions, like those that allow sneak-and-peek warrants for businesses and personal records and papers, should be allowed to lapse.

About 100 people from two California neighborhoods were evacuated after a train derailment last night. The accident occurred near San Bernardino, it's about 65 miles east of Los Angeles. No injuries, no leaks were reported, but derailed cars carrying chlorine and chemicals.

And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez. KAGAN: And good morning, I'm Daryn Kagan.

The multitude comes to the Vatican. We're going to take a look at live pictures from St. Peter's Square in Rome. Thousands mourning Pope John Paul II. Authorities say they expect more than two million people to view the body of the pope, as it lies in state at St. Peter's Basilica.

Also, the Vatican announced today that no date has been set for the Conclave of Cardinals, which will elect a new pope. With leaders from around the world expected to attend the pope's funeral Friday, Italian police have been concentrating on security in and around the Vatican.

SANCHEZ: And with more on the security preparations themselves, let's go now to Diana Muriel. She's live at St. Peter's Square.

The interesting thing about this, Diana, I can't think of another time where more world leaders are going to be gathering in one place. That must be some serious security operation for this.

DIANA MURIELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, there will be. Of course, the funeral is set for Friday. And we understand that there will be a No-Fly Zone over Rome on that day. And there will be a NATO AWACS surveillance plane flying over and helicopters, of course, keeping surveillance over the city from the air.

Something like 10,000 police will be on duty here. There will be bomb disposal experts, and there will be snipers in the position around St. Peter's and also the roads leading away from it. Of course, those roads will be closed. The Roman people are getting ready for most of the city to be shut down and for there to be pedestrian access only. But of course, that will happen on Friday.

In the meantime, this crowd of people, tens of thousands strong Rick, are cuing to go into the basilica to say a final farewell to the pontiff. The people in this crowd have been waiting as much as six hours just to get to this point. It's another hour before they can get into the basilica itself, and then of course, once they get there, it's just a few seconds in front of the body of the pope lying in state there -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: What's the temperament for those folks who have been waiting in line? What's their mood? What are they saying? How are they acting?

MURIEL: Well, it's incredibly positive. You think about it, it's 4:00 in the afternoon here. It's very hot. And there are a lot of people here; some very elderly people, some children, and everyone seems extraordinarily happy. The local volunteers are handing out water.

And occasionally, there have been people who have collapsed in the crowd. There are ambulances standing by rush in. They stretcher them out and they've been getting first aid. Some have been taken to hospital. But it's very hot and some of the elderly are suffering from the affects of the heat, and simply the affects of standing for so long on these cobbled streets for five or six hours in some cases.

SANCHEZ: Wow! CNN's Diana Muriel filing that report from St. Peter's Square, we thank you.

Daryn, over to you.

KAGAN: The Catholic Church is steeped in more than 2,000 years of tradition. Like most of his 263 predecessors, the body of Pope John Paul II will be entombed beneath St. Peter's Basilica.

To give us more on the funeral procession, we're joined by Vatican analyst Robert Moynihan Vatican analyst.

Good morning or good afternoon to you in Rome.

ROBERT MOYNIHAN, EDITOR, "INSIDE THE VATICAN": Yes, good morning to you in America.

KAGAN: Does it surprise you that this pope did not leave specific burial instructions, requesting what some people thought to be buried back in his homeland of Poland?

MOYNIHAN: No, it doesn't surprise me. It was the most logical thing to do. The pope's legacy will perhaps have a greater impact here than in Poland...

KAGAN: So what...

MOYNIHAN: ... if he's buried here in Rome.

KAGAN: Right. So what we will see, what we've been seeing, and what we'll continue to see through Friday has been the following of tradition, as has been done for so many centuries.

MOYNIHAN: Yes. Now, in that regard this funeral on Friday, I think, will be an event of historic proportions. But there's one element still missing which would make it an astonishing event. and that would be the participation of a man who is now in Moscow, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. He's of German origin.

And I'd like to say from the perspective of inside the Vatican, (SPEAKING GERMAN), "he is invited." (SPEAKING GERMAN) "We would be happy to see him here in Rome. We don't know if he's healthy enough to travel. And we know that he was not on good terms with Pope John Paul II. But John Paul II has passed away.

It was always stated in many declarations of the Russian Orthodox Church that upon his passing, things might change. It would be a courageous act if the patriot of the Russian Orthodox Church would choose this moment, and perhaps he can't do it, to come to Rome.

KAGAN: And what would that mean symbolically?

MOYNIHAN: It might mean the beginning of a thaw in a thousand- year rift that cut the heart out of Christianity: divided Rome from the East, from whole tradition of Greece, separated Rome from that mystical atmosphere which fills the Eastern liturgy. We need the East in the West. We've become too horizontal in our entire way of seeing the world.

KAGAN: Robert, I want to ask you a couple of questions, moving forward here. First of all, there's word this pope, Pope John Paul II, had named a secret cardinal. Any ideas on who that might be, and when that name might be revealed and why it was secret?

MOYNIHAN: Well, the pope can choose every so often a secret cardinal when he makes cardinals. And He usually makes them every three years. He takes a group. And those are bishops who have been particularly outstanding. If they're in a country where they might face danger, he won't name them. So he keeps their names secret, and they call it "impectore," in the breast, in the chest, secret.

If the name never is revealed and the pope dies that cardinal does no longer exist. He never existed. No one knows. And that's probably what happened to that cardinal. It may very well have been a Chinese bishop. But he's not a cardinal because the name was not revealed, unless the pope in some way revealed that name to his closest circle. And they know for sure that's the case. That may be one of the issues they'll be discussing in these meetings in the morning this week.

KAGAN: Still so much to learn and watch from there in Rome. Robert Moynihan, thank you for your insight this morning.

SANCHEZ: Catholics in one communist country are offering their prayers and their praise for a man that they called a friend. Monday, Cuban President Fidel Castro publicly mourned the pope, attending a Mass and writing in a condolence book, "Rest in peace tireless fighter for friendship amongst people," and calling the pope "The friend of the poor." The pope visited Cuba in 1998. Cuba says Castro will not attend the Friday funeral though.

KAGAN: Now we bring you up to date on the woman called the miracle baby that saved the pope's life. Twenty-four years ago, a would-be assassin aimed a gun at the pope and fired, as he was picking up a small girl and holding her.

CNN's Alessio Vinci introduces us to the woman who will forever be remembered Baby Sarah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands gathered to say good-bye to their spiritual leader in the very square where he was nearly killed more than two decades ago. It was May 13, 1981. The pope picked up a baby girl as he greeted worshipers in St. Peter's Square. A gunman aimed and fired. The pope was hit. The baby was not.

SARA BARTOLI, BABY SARAH (through translator): Spontaneously, I'd say I did save his life. But actually perhaps he saved mine. in a way he protected me a bit, like a father would. VINCI: Would-be-assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish militant would later say he couldn't aim properly because the baby was so close. They call her, "The baby that saved the pope's life." Today, Sarah Bartoli is 26 and remembers nothing of the incident, when she was just 18 months old. What she knows she learned from articles and letters her parents collected.

BARTOLI (through translator): Because you see me in the pope's arms and then suddenly he's fired upon and falls to the ground, people wrote to me. They were scared about what happened to me.

VINCI: All the media attention about what happened eventually took its toll. And Sarah's devotion to the pontiff waned, until she saw his frail condition on Easter Sunday.

BARTOLI (through translator): I realized that, after 24 years, something opened up and I cried. And only a few days later, he died, and all of my emotions overflowed.

VINCI: Years later, the pope visited the gunman in jail so tell him he was forgiven. Now, Ali Agca says the death of the man he once tried to kill brings him great sadness.

Sarah is now married and nine months pregnant. The death of John Paul II and the eminent birth of her child have her reflecting on the cycle of life.

BARTOLI (through translator): It's an immense coincidence, especially if you look at all of the newspapers announcing his death. Many showed photos of the pope with the child in his arms, a symbol of death, but also a symbol of life and the future.

VINCI: Sarah says she is deeply saddened by John Paul's death, but is looking forward to telling her child how she became the baby that saved the pope.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And she keeps the picture there.

KAGAN: Yes, amazing. I thought that was a fascinating story.

SANCHEZ: Much more from Rome and the pope. And there's also other news that we're following on this day like this.

KAGAN: It's the largest Homeland Security exercise to date. See how some of the drills have turned out.

SANCHEZ: Also, the so the called Minutemen take to the border. Armed citizens patrolling for illegal aliens. There is a full report coming your way from there.

KAGAN: And college sports fans take victory celebrations to the extreme. You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A terror strike that leaves hundreds of people dead, thousands injured and a city in chaos. Hang on! It is not real. Today, the U.S. government is staging day two of the biggest mock terrorist attack ever in the U.S.

Our Jeanne Meserve is in New London, Connecticut following the developments.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. This is Day 2 of this very serious game playing. In the field behind me, there is search and rescue going on this morning. There are dummies that have been hidden in that rubble that rescuers are supposed to find.

In addition, this has now become an FBI crime scene, as authorities try to figure out who it was that set off the bomb that detonated here yesterday afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(EXPLOSIONS)

MESERVE (voice-over): There is a flash, a bang, and then 500 actors with latex wounds step onto the field to portray the dead and wounded. First Responders arrive cautiously. Drill-related intelligence has informed them a chemical agent may have been dispersed.

LINDA KLEINSCHMIDT, ROLE PLAYER: A lot of us watch television, and we always see the firemen come rushing in, go over, triage somebody, and then taking you out on stretchers. And that's not exactly what happens.

MESERVE: An estimated 10,000 people will eventually take part in Top Off 3, the largest counterterrorism drill ever staged.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECY. NOMINEE: The point is actually to drive at the areas where we think there are potential questions or weaknesses, and really push those areas to learn more lessons.

MESERVE: A control center near Washington is running the game, which involves an outbreak of disease in New Jersey, as well as the explosion in Connecticut. Though parts of the scenarios are known in advance, unexpected twists and turns are injected into the game.

GOV. M. JODI RELL (R), CONNECTICUT: We've had many curveballs thrown at us today. They were planned curveballs. but none the else, we keep finding that we have to stay on our toes even more.

MESERVE: Even the masters of the game are thrown off course by the weather.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, SECURITY ANALYST: My understanding is that they had planned to do a live decon of all of the fake victims, the fake victims. That would involve getting them -- stripping them down and getting them wet. And it's a very cold day, and so they decided for safety reasons not to do that.

MESERVE: For CNN's America bureau, Jeanne Meserve, New London, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: And authorities have figured out now that it was mustard gas here in Connecticut. The death toll, fake death toll stands at six, 297 people wounded. This game will go on for several more days. When it's over, authorities will be going over what happened here trying to draw out lessons, disseminate them to the rest of the country.

However, state and local officials in other localities say what they learn is limited by the fact that the report after this is over is so highly classified.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: And Jeanne, they want things to go wrong here. The idea is to push the system to its limits. It's not to make sure everything goes well?

MESERVE: That's what they say, that they do want to find out where there are weaknesses, where there are gaps, so those can be addressed. However, I'll also tell you, nobody wants to look bad. They're doing their very best to do what they can.

And that's one reason some people say why that After Action Report is so carefully gone over, that they don't want to embarrass anybody with the outcome. But hopefully, the people at the very top who are setting policy for the country do take a careful look at the unvarnished truth and learn everything that happened here and learn from it.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in New London, Connecticut. Jeanne, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk now about the controversial Minutemen Border Volunteers. They made their first patrols along Arizona's border with Mexico. Although some of the volunteers were armed, there was no violence.

And as CNN's Casey Wian reports, the Minutemen actually helped the Border Patrol prevent some illegal immigrants from getting into the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Border Patrol are out there ready and waiting for us.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After six months of planning it's finally time for the Minutemen to patrol the border. Project organizer Chris Simcox speaks to volunteers before they head out for the first time.

CHRIS SIMCOX, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: The world will see finally who we really are. and they'll stop branding us with all of these negative labels.

WIAN: As they move into position, the Minutemen are under instructions to report any illegal aliens they see to the Border Patrol.

RON MILLS, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: I'm going to call Border Patrol right a way and just try to assist them in the best way I can. Homeland security begins right here at this border.

WIAN: Though many are armed, they say won't detain anyone.

(on camera): This is an example of some of the dessert terrain the Minutemen will be patrolling, miles and miles of border, unguarded except for a barbed wire fence. And in many places that fence is little more than an inconvenience. Sneaking into the United States is as easy as this.

(voice-over): And that's what brings the Minutemen here. On Day 2, these volunteers found five illegal aliens hiding under a cement culvert three miles from the border. They called the Border Patrol and began to shoot this video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While I was doing this one guy left the culvert right here.

WIAN (on camera): Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Took off back toward the mountains. He wasn't gone for very long and here he comes back.

WIAN (voice-over): The Border Patrol arrived and took the five men away. It's exactly how the Minutemen Project is intended to work.

DIANE HEADRICK, MINUTEMAN VOLUNTEER: We have so many illegals at home in Georgia that I'm just glad to see that there's five less that aren't going to make it to the interior of the country.

WIAN: The Minutemen say they helped apprehend more than 100 illegal aliens in two days. Welcome news for this local family who often encounter alien and drug smugglers near the home.

(on camera): Do you support the Minutemen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You bet I do. I'm glad they're here. It's about time.

WIAN (voice-over): Though there were fears of violent confrontations between Minutemen, illegal alien smugglers, even the Mexican law enforcement officers who watch from across the border, the weekend was peaceful.

SIMCOX: ACLU observers, great. Now we know everyone's rights will be protected, including ours.

LARRY DEVER, SHERIFF, COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA: I think people just in general are wanting this to be a positive atmosphere and environment, so they're not reflected badly upon the message that they're trying to deliver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the message is sent to the White House, all well and good. Those elected representatives, and they need to understand that we're serious about this issue and we want it taken care of.

WIAN: Or they will help take care of it themselves. Though many are now returning home, others will stay throughout the month, helping to secure this stretch of the southern border.

Casey Wian, CNN, Naco, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We have some weather to check on coming up. Unrelenting waters in the northeast, massive flooding in some states. We're going to have your forecast comes up next.

SANCHEZ: A picture tells the story. Also, thousands of mourners pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. We are back live from Rome with pictures like these that we'll be sharing with you. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: These pictures coming to us from New Jersey. These streets usually filled with cars. Today, some people are using canoes to get around. Parts of the state are still under water today, after weekend rains pushed rivers and streams over their banks. Floodwaters are starting to recede but it will be delays before thousands of residents will be allowed to return to their homes. Property damage estimated at $30 million. New Jersey's acting governor is asking for federal relief assistance.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that amazing? Got to go to your neighbor's house in canoe.

KAGAN: Canoe?

SANCHEZ: Do you canoe? Jacqui Jeras canoes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: More than two million people are expected to pay their respects to the pope. That's just this week.

KAGAN: Our Anderson Cooper talked with some of the mourners. Hear what they have to say when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The government says nearly 90,000 Americans are waiting to receive organ transplants. But a new survey finds that many Americans who want to become donors just don't know how.

The Coalition on Donation, a nonprofit alliance of national organizations, surveyed 4,500 Americans about their willingness to donate organs after they die. They found that while more than half of those surveyed were willing to donate, only a third of those people knew how to sign up.

There are more than 35 million children live with a parent who abuses illegal drugs or alcohol, says a new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The report found 13 percent of children live with a parent who uses illegal drugs, and 24 percent live with adults who drink heavily. The study says alcohol and drug- abusing parents are three times more likely to abuse their children and four times more likely to neglect them.

Christy Feig, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(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