Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Los Angeles Elects Hispanic Mayor; Star Wars Blitz

Aired May 18, 2005 - 11:30   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And John Negroponte is already on the job. Now the formal swearing-in ceremony. President Bush will take part in that today. Negroponte is the nation's first director of national intelligence. The position was created at the urging of the 9/11 Commission.
Keeping you informed, CNN the most trusted name in news.

They made history, so what happens now? That's the question residents of Los Angeles are waking up to after electing city councilman Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor. It makes him the first Hispanic to lead the city in over 100 years.

Eric Spillman of our affiliate KTLA joins us with more. Eric, good morning.

ERIC SPILLMAN, KTLA REPORTER: Good morning, Daryn. Yes, and you pronounced his name right. A lot of people can't do that. Good for you.

KAGAN: I'm an Angelino.

SPILLMAN: There you go. People may not be able to pronounce his name or spell it properly, but he won by a big margin here yesterday, Villaraigosa defeating the incumbent L.A. mayor Jim Hahn overwhelmingly. And Hahn had been accused of corruption in his administration. People had said things that you needed to contribute to his campaign in order to get influence at city hall.

That hurt him with voters yesterday. Villaraigosa was able to put together a coalition of Hispanic voters, African-American votes, in south Los Angeles and suburban white voters in the San Fernando Valley. That carried him to victory. Not a whole lot of people turned out to vote here yesterday, maybe 30 percent. Politics is not as big in Los Angeles as it is in other cities. But the people who did vote voted for Villaraigosa.

KAGAN: All right, Eric. OK. I thought maybe we were going to have a sound byte there. A question about how L.A. city government is set up. It's really much more of a strong city council and the mayor's office isn't as strong as in some other cities.

SPILLMAN: That's right. And the thing about that for Villaraigosa makes his job so much more difficult, because people have this expectation that he's going to come in, he's this new guy, he's going to solve our traffic problems, which are huge. He's going to fix our schools, which are really suffering. He doesn't even have control. Unlike in other cities, the mayor here has no control over the school system. So it's going to be a real challenge for him. .

KAGAN: And is this a man who has ambitions for a larger office than just the mayor of Los Angeles?

SPILLMAN: Well, it's possible. He certainly becomes kind of a national symbol of growing Latino political power. His story is very inspiring. He was born on the east side of Los Angeles, born in a barrio neighborhood, came from a broken family, dropped out of high school, went to law school, became a successful state politician. You know, at one point in his life he had a tattoo that said, "Born to Raise Hell." He's gotten rid of that tattoo and he's going to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.

KAGAN: Well, maybe there are some people here hoping that he still goes after that and makes some changes in the City of Angels. Eric Spillman, thank you.

SPILLMAN: OK.

KAGAN: Michael Jackson's teenage cousin will be back on the witness stand today, pointing fingers at Jackson's accuser. On Tuesday -- the singer's child molestation trial -- the girl said she saw the accuser and his younger brother steal wine from the kitchen at the Neverland Ranch. Jurors also heard from a social worker who claims that she met with the accuser and the family at the same time they claim they were held captive at Jackson's ranch.

Police in Idaho have identified what they're calling a person of interest in their search for two children missing from a home where three people were killed. Investigators say Robert Roy Lutner's vehicle was seen at the home during the time the killings took place. An alert has been issued for the missing children. Here they are. 9- year-old Dylan Groene and his 8-year-old sister Shasta. The case has shocked the community of Coeur d'Alene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROCKY WATSON, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: It is a small community, and there's great concerns, because this touches every corner of a community. This is very unusual for us. We don't deal with this type of thing.

KAGAN: The mother and brother of the missing children were among the three people killed.

There's a bill to impose tighter restrictions on sex offenders. It's going to be introduced in Washington this hour. It would require sex offenders to register with authorities before they're released from prison. And it would force two-time offenders to wear electronic tracking devices for the rest of their life. The measure would also make the use of the Internet for sex crimes a federal offense.

To New Jersey now, where a township is establishing a pedophile- free zone. The Hamilton Township ordinance bars convicted child sex offenders from living near school, parks and playgrounds. That law is sure to face a court challenge. Hamilton Township began -- actually, was home to Megan Kanka (ph). That girl's murder in 1994 led police to create sex offender registries nationwide.

And now here's a look at what's making news overseas this morning. The late Terri Schiavo's family is at the Vatican today, thanking officials for their support. They met briefly with Pope Benedict XVI after his Wednesday audience. The church condemned the removal of the brain-damaged women's feeding tube. Terri Schiavo died on March 31st.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is in Mexico this morning for a sit-down with President Vicente Fox. Here, he is with the Mexican foreign minister. Fox angered African-Americans when he said Mexicans are taking U.S. jobs that even blacks don't want. Fox has already issued a formal public apology through his spokeswoman.

And the piano man may be a French street musician named Steven Masson. Media reports identified him through an acquaintance. The man was found soaking wet in formal attire on an English beach six weeks ago. He hasn't spoken a single word, but calms himself by masterfully playing the piano. Authorities are investigating different leads in the case.

Faith and the American soldier. How they coexist, especially during the war. How long are people willing to stand in line to see the last "Star Wars" movie? Some are already waiting, if you can believe that. We're going to talk to a few of them, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Our spirit segment today focuses on the war in Iraq. My next guest believes there are no atheists fighting on the front lawns -- on the front lines. Let's make that. He is Stephen Mansfield, author of a new book "Faith and the American Soldier." In it, he argues that though some soldiers may go to war without religion, most come home as believers. Stephen Mansfield, joining me from New York. Good morning. Good to have you here with us.

STEPHEN MANSFIELD, AUTHOR, "FAITH AND THE AMERICAN SOLDIER": Hello. How you doing?

KAGAN: You actually traveled to New York and talked to the young men and women who were serving. Tell us what you found.

MANSFIELD: I was at Iraq just after Christmas of this last year, and while I was there, I found that the soldiers are, like many soldiers throughout history, moving towards faith. You know, they have to have a moral rationale for killing the other side. They face their own deaths. And so as a result, they begin to reach for faith in a way that's pretty common among soldiers throughout history.

KAGAN: You also said that you believe that you believe the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was actually a religious crisis?

MANSFIELD: Well, religion played a role in it. The chapel of that unit at the time the Abu Ghraib crisis happened was told not to be very present, not to be very involved with the soldiers. And as a result, there was no moral presence, as they later said. But when the new unit came in, the chaplains were told by Colonel Taylor, who as their commander, I want you to be there when prisoners are interrogated, I want you to be there at shift changes, and the moral environment at Abu Ghraib dramatically improved. And now it's a model prison over there.

KAGAN: Let me ask you about this, when you're talking about faith and the American soldier, are you only talking about Christianity?

MANSFIELD: No, about 85 percent of the American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are Christians. But in the book, I also talk about Buddhists. I talk about people of other faiths. The majority are Christian, but not at all are we limiting this discussion to the issue of Christianity. What we're really saying, what I'm saying in the book is that our move towards secularism in our society leaves our soldiers in a bit of a lurch when it comes to the religious questions that their war presses upon them. And all the faiths ought to be able to respond and integrate faith into military culture in a way that's meaningful for the soldiers.

KAGAN: And so you say that it's gone so far that you believe that the soldiers are not being served?

MANSFIELD: The chaplains over there are some of the finest people I've ever met, but they're limited. They're not allowed to cross the wire in many cases, and put themselves in harm's way. Even when they are allowed to be in the forefront of the battle, they're not allowed to address the spiritual issues, or sometimes the religious issues in the war. So this leaves these Gen-X soldiers, these millennials, having to fashion their own warrior code, and that's really what I deal with in the book.

KAGAN: And so sounds like you are calling for change on that.

MANSFIELD: I am. I think that if we're going to have a military chaplain, they ought to be free to address the moral issues of the war as a whole. I think we ought to realize that all throughout our history, wars have pressed religious questions into the lives of those who fight them, and that faith is always forefront in the mind of a soldier, and so these young millenials are fashioning their own warrior code over there to fill the vacuum of what we're not providing as a society and from official religion, so to speak.

KAGAN: And what about in situations where some people say it goes too far. There have been complaints at the Air Force Academy that if you're not an evangelical Christian, that you're not allowed to practice your own faith, and there are investigations taking place into those charges.

KAGAN: Well, we have that on the one side. On the other side, we have ACLU lawsuits against the Citadel and threatened lawsuits against the Naval Academy for traditional prayers on campus.

MANSFIELD: And so part of what's going on is that our society is religiously in conflict with itself over the role of religion in public life, the First Amendment in public life. And this conflict is leaving our soldiers in a conflict of their own when it comes to faith. In fact we're just not serving them well when it comes to their faith in the battlefield.

KAGAN: Interesting. Well, you went to the front lines to find for yourself.

MANSFIELD: I did.

KAGAN: Interesting discussion. Stephen Mansfield. The book is called "The Faith of the American Soldier." Thank you for stopping by today.

MANSFIELD: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, we move on to the movies. If you have seen them but want to experience Star Wars for yourself, that was a long time ago, far far away, in a galaxy far, far away. But we do have the next best thing. We're going to show you how you can participate, with Daniel Sieberg, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It appears there was a violent end to a crazy alleged bank-robbery scheme in Olathe, Kansas today, Overland Park, Kansas, not too far from Kansas City. A suspect shot and wounded during an attempted bank robbery in Olathe. Several people inside the bank were taken hostage. The suspect was actually shot near Johnson County Executive Airport. They think he might have been trying to get to a getaway plane. But they believe that they had an airplane on the tarmac waiting for them to leave. Officers, though, shot the gunman before waiting to take him into custody at the airport.

So an end to the bank robbery attempt near Kansas City today.

Our Wolf Blitzer, I think he made it back to Washington D.C. today?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm here in Washington D.C., a lovely place, Daryn. Thanks very much.

A busy hour coming up on NEWS FROM CNN. A political showdown unfolding in the United States Senate, even as we speak. At stake, President Bush's judicial nominees and potentially historic changes to the political system. And that could mean major implications for you and me. We will break it all down.

Also, a small town triple murder. Two children missing, and police searching for what they call a person of interest. We are live on the search for answers.

All those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour on "NEWS FROM CNN." Daryn, in the meantime, back to you.

KAGAN: All right, Wolf, thank you.

The end is near. Actually it's the middle. The final "Star Wars" movie opens at midnight, with midnight showings in theaters tonight. The saga made George Lucas a legendary filmmaker and the marketing master of a Jedi empire.

Our Chris Huntington joins me from New York City this morning. Good morning.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, of course the new "Star Wars" film coming to a theater (INAUDIBLE). You have to live in a galaxy far, far away to avoid the marketing promotional blitz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The force is with you, young Skywalker.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): And apparently with all of us. The marketing force, that is. Prepare to be bombarded by the ultimate "Star Wars" merchandising blitz. Who knew Yoda cared about calories?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your drink desire you not.

HUNTINGTON: The little guy is fronting a million dollar "Star Wars" sweepstakes for Pepsi. 7-11 is pumping out Darth Dew Slurpees. Kellog's is packing light-up saber spoons into cereal boxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With new light-up saber spoons.

HUNTINGTON: You can get M & M's from the dark side, "Star Wars" ring tones from Cingular wireless, "Star Wars" scratch-off games at Burger King and, of course, action figures, toys and gadgets from the likes of Hasbro and Lego.

CNN's corporate cousins, AOL and Moviefone, are in on the action as official online promoters. There is even a "Star Wars" video game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't like the video game, you can always read the novel.

HUNTINGTON: While there's nothing novel about movie merchandising, George Lucas, the creator, producer and master of the "Star Wars" universe has, by all accounts and any accounting measure, raised the stakes of the game. Total box office, home video and merchandise sales for the six "Star Wars" films is expected to easily top $20 billion, far more than any other film series has ever made and greater than the gross domestic product of several European countries. Marketing from earlier "Star Wars" films was so aggressive, it became a joke. Literally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.

HUNTINGTON: But with "Revenge of the Sith" billed as the last "Star Wars" film, Lucas has pulled out all the stops.

ANDREW GREENBERG, GREENBERG BRAND STRATEGY: For the last hurrah, I think he has opened the door to a lot of merchandising opportunities. It is a feeding frenzy.

HUNTINGTON: A frenzy feeding on the "Star Wars" faithful, most of whom grew up with the films and many who still shell out astronomical sums of money to collect memorabilia or dress the part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With everything ever related to "Star Wars," probably at least $50,000, easily.

HUNTINGTON: Still, none of the fans we spoke to seemed concerned that Yoda was hawking diet soda. Evidently, even a 900-year-old Jedi master is entitled to cash in for his retirement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, it's not all commercialism. The folks in these tents behind me here outside the Ziegfeld Theater are conducting what they're calling a "Star Wars" stand-a-thon. That's to benefit the Star Light Star Bright Foundation (INAUDIBLE) entertainment kiosks into hospitals for sick children -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, good for them. Chris Huntington in midtown Manhattan. Thank you for that. Well, you heard in Chris's piece, they mentioned the "Star Wars" video games. We've got our Daniel Sieberg here. He's our video game, tech "Star Wars" guy.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: We'll lump it all together.

KAGAN: Yes.

SIEBERG: And Daryn, many "Star Wars" video games there are, in sort of Yoda speak there, if you will.

KAGAN: Very well done.

SIEBERG: There are a lot of "Star Wars" video games out there. You've heard of all the main "Star Wars" characters, like Luke and Hahn and Chewy, Obi Wan, all those guys. But you probably haven't heard of Karth (ph) or Reven (ph) or Bastil (ph). That's because they're part of the "Star Wars" video game universe. We got a chance to tag along with the folks at Lucas Arts to see what it's all about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIDEO GAME VOICE: We've captured a commander.

PETER HERSHMANN, V.P., LUCASARTS: Getting paid to make video games for George Lucas is not a bad way to make a living. The "Star Wars" universe has been around for almost 30 years and, you know, we're now on our third and fourth generation of people who have come to it. All the things that he puts into his movies he wanted to put into games, as well. We've got to have the iconic things that people associate with "Star Wars." Light sabers, X-wings, tie fighters, Jedi, crazy aliens, lots of different planets. We don't want to exploit the license. We don't want to slap on, you know, hey, it's "Star Wars" golf or something like that. CHRIS WILLIAMS, PRODUCER, LUCASARTS: The "Star Wars: Knights of the Republic" franchise is set about 4,000 years before the time of the movies. It's set in a time period that's very different, in terms of what the structure of the universe is and who rules. We are not dealing with the same heroes and villains we are at the movies. We have a product that people can sit down and enjoy for 40 or 50 hours. And that's far different than, you know, two-and-a-half hour, two hour movie experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: And speaking of the movie experience, you know, a lot of fans of the "Star Wars" franchise actually bought into games like "Knights of the Old Republic." They said it captured the spirit of "Star Wars" a little bit better than the last two movies, Episode I and Episode II. What you're seeing here is actually "Knights of the Old Republic II." So they've continued on this franchise. And you know, there are lots of games to mention here, Daryn, but certainly "Knights of the Old Republic," or KOTOR, as its known a lot of gaming fans, is one of the most popular.

KAGAN: Looks a little bit violent. Are these games for kids?

SIEBERG: They are rated differently than the movies. You know, there's a gaming system. That would E for Everyone, T for Teens. A lot of these games are T for Teens. Those are to be meant for teenagers or a little bit of an older crowd, maybe, than some of the movies.

There are games, though, that really bring people online into an online community. And those are really more an adult-based game. I would say they're for older gamers. One of them's called "Galaxies," and in that game, you really are existing in the game, you're flying around spaceships, you're trying to become a Jedi. They've put a lot of the "Star Wars" mythology in the game, but you're on in virtual -- in realtime with all of these people playing at once.

And of course, they've got all the traditional games, where you can play, tying into the movies like "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." That is based directly on the movie, so if you want to try to get into the movie itself.

The video games have been around for almost as long as the movies, if you can believe that. More than 20 years since the arcade games came out. You might remember those. And of course, the graphics have come a long way since then.

KAGAN: Back in the day, as we like to say here.

SIEBERG: Back in the day. Exactly.

KAGAN: Very good. All right, Daniel...

SIEBERG: In a galaxy far, far away.

KAGAN: Yes. You had to get your little cliche in there. SIEBERG: Yes.

KAGAN: OK, thank you. We're going to check business news, just ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Couple of developing stories we want to share with you. First of all, we go to Iraq, where al Qaeda's leader in Iraq appears to be defending suicide bombings and the killings of innocent Muslims. He says it's necessary. Abu Musab al Zarqawi saying it is necessary in order to protect religion, saying protecting religion is more important than protecting Muslim lives, honor and wealth.

Looking at the number of people dead -- more than 400 people have been killed in an escalating cycle of violence and suicide attacks since the new Iraqi government was named last month. Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for most of those deaths and most of those attacks. And this coming on a tape that's been posted on a Muslim Web site.

Switching gears and going to Overland Park, Kansas. Looking at live pictures. Still a lot of police activity on the ground. This apparently is a bank robbery gone wrong. A suspect shot and wounded during this attempted bank robbery in Olathe, Kansas. Several people inside this bank were taken hostage. The alleged bank robber takes off, heads towards a local airport. Police believe he might have had a small plane standing by waiting as the getaway vehicle. More on that from Kansas just ahead.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: So a lot of stories we're leaving with some loose ends here. But I feel OK about that, because Wolf Blitzer, taking over from Washington D.C. I'll be on assignment tomorrow, but back here on Friday -- Wolf, back to you.

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


Aired May 18, 2005 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And John Negroponte is already on the job. Now the formal swearing-in ceremony. President Bush will take part in that today. Negroponte is the nation's first director of national intelligence. The position was created at the urging of the 9/11 Commission.
Keeping you informed, CNN the most trusted name in news.

They made history, so what happens now? That's the question residents of Los Angeles are waking up to after electing city councilman Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor. It makes him the first Hispanic to lead the city in over 100 years.

Eric Spillman of our affiliate KTLA joins us with more. Eric, good morning.

ERIC SPILLMAN, KTLA REPORTER: Good morning, Daryn. Yes, and you pronounced his name right. A lot of people can't do that. Good for you.

KAGAN: I'm an Angelino.

SPILLMAN: There you go. People may not be able to pronounce his name or spell it properly, but he won by a big margin here yesterday, Villaraigosa defeating the incumbent L.A. mayor Jim Hahn overwhelmingly. And Hahn had been accused of corruption in his administration. People had said things that you needed to contribute to his campaign in order to get influence at city hall.

That hurt him with voters yesterday. Villaraigosa was able to put together a coalition of Hispanic voters, African-American votes, in south Los Angeles and suburban white voters in the San Fernando Valley. That carried him to victory. Not a whole lot of people turned out to vote here yesterday, maybe 30 percent. Politics is not as big in Los Angeles as it is in other cities. But the people who did vote voted for Villaraigosa.

KAGAN: All right, Eric. OK. I thought maybe we were going to have a sound byte there. A question about how L.A. city government is set up. It's really much more of a strong city council and the mayor's office isn't as strong as in some other cities.

SPILLMAN: That's right. And the thing about that for Villaraigosa makes his job so much more difficult, because people have this expectation that he's going to come in, he's this new guy, he's going to solve our traffic problems, which are huge. He's going to fix our schools, which are really suffering. He doesn't even have control. Unlike in other cities, the mayor here has no control over the school system. So it's going to be a real challenge for him. .

KAGAN: And is this a man who has ambitions for a larger office than just the mayor of Los Angeles?

SPILLMAN: Well, it's possible. He certainly becomes kind of a national symbol of growing Latino political power. His story is very inspiring. He was born on the east side of Los Angeles, born in a barrio neighborhood, came from a broken family, dropped out of high school, went to law school, became a successful state politician. You know, at one point in his life he had a tattoo that said, "Born to Raise Hell." He's gotten rid of that tattoo and he's going to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.

KAGAN: Well, maybe there are some people here hoping that he still goes after that and makes some changes in the City of Angels. Eric Spillman, thank you.

SPILLMAN: OK.

KAGAN: Michael Jackson's teenage cousin will be back on the witness stand today, pointing fingers at Jackson's accuser. On Tuesday -- the singer's child molestation trial -- the girl said she saw the accuser and his younger brother steal wine from the kitchen at the Neverland Ranch. Jurors also heard from a social worker who claims that she met with the accuser and the family at the same time they claim they were held captive at Jackson's ranch.

Police in Idaho have identified what they're calling a person of interest in their search for two children missing from a home where three people were killed. Investigators say Robert Roy Lutner's vehicle was seen at the home during the time the killings took place. An alert has been issued for the missing children. Here they are. 9- year-old Dylan Groene and his 8-year-old sister Shasta. The case has shocked the community of Coeur d'Alene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROCKY WATSON, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: It is a small community, and there's great concerns, because this touches every corner of a community. This is very unusual for us. We don't deal with this type of thing.

KAGAN: The mother and brother of the missing children were among the three people killed.

There's a bill to impose tighter restrictions on sex offenders. It's going to be introduced in Washington this hour. It would require sex offenders to register with authorities before they're released from prison. And it would force two-time offenders to wear electronic tracking devices for the rest of their life. The measure would also make the use of the Internet for sex crimes a federal offense.

To New Jersey now, where a township is establishing a pedophile- free zone. The Hamilton Township ordinance bars convicted child sex offenders from living near school, parks and playgrounds. That law is sure to face a court challenge. Hamilton Township began -- actually, was home to Megan Kanka (ph). That girl's murder in 1994 led police to create sex offender registries nationwide.

And now here's a look at what's making news overseas this morning. The late Terri Schiavo's family is at the Vatican today, thanking officials for their support. They met briefly with Pope Benedict XVI after his Wednesday audience. The church condemned the removal of the brain-damaged women's feeding tube. Terri Schiavo died on March 31st.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is in Mexico this morning for a sit-down with President Vicente Fox. Here, he is with the Mexican foreign minister. Fox angered African-Americans when he said Mexicans are taking U.S. jobs that even blacks don't want. Fox has already issued a formal public apology through his spokeswoman.

And the piano man may be a French street musician named Steven Masson. Media reports identified him through an acquaintance. The man was found soaking wet in formal attire on an English beach six weeks ago. He hasn't spoken a single word, but calms himself by masterfully playing the piano. Authorities are investigating different leads in the case.

Faith and the American soldier. How they coexist, especially during the war. How long are people willing to stand in line to see the last "Star Wars" movie? Some are already waiting, if you can believe that. We're going to talk to a few of them, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Our spirit segment today focuses on the war in Iraq. My next guest believes there are no atheists fighting on the front lawns -- on the front lines. Let's make that. He is Stephen Mansfield, author of a new book "Faith and the American Soldier." In it, he argues that though some soldiers may go to war without religion, most come home as believers. Stephen Mansfield, joining me from New York. Good morning. Good to have you here with us.

STEPHEN MANSFIELD, AUTHOR, "FAITH AND THE AMERICAN SOLDIER": Hello. How you doing?

KAGAN: You actually traveled to New York and talked to the young men and women who were serving. Tell us what you found.

MANSFIELD: I was at Iraq just after Christmas of this last year, and while I was there, I found that the soldiers are, like many soldiers throughout history, moving towards faith. You know, they have to have a moral rationale for killing the other side. They face their own deaths. And so as a result, they begin to reach for faith in a way that's pretty common among soldiers throughout history.

KAGAN: You also said that you believe that you believe the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was actually a religious crisis?

MANSFIELD: Well, religion played a role in it. The chapel of that unit at the time the Abu Ghraib crisis happened was told not to be very present, not to be very involved with the soldiers. And as a result, there was no moral presence, as they later said. But when the new unit came in, the chaplains were told by Colonel Taylor, who as their commander, I want you to be there when prisoners are interrogated, I want you to be there at shift changes, and the moral environment at Abu Ghraib dramatically improved. And now it's a model prison over there.

KAGAN: Let me ask you about this, when you're talking about faith and the American soldier, are you only talking about Christianity?

MANSFIELD: No, about 85 percent of the American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are Christians. But in the book, I also talk about Buddhists. I talk about people of other faiths. The majority are Christian, but not at all are we limiting this discussion to the issue of Christianity. What we're really saying, what I'm saying in the book is that our move towards secularism in our society leaves our soldiers in a bit of a lurch when it comes to the religious questions that their war presses upon them. And all the faiths ought to be able to respond and integrate faith into military culture in a way that's meaningful for the soldiers.

KAGAN: And so you say that it's gone so far that you believe that the soldiers are not being served?

MANSFIELD: The chaplains over there are some of the finest people I've ever met, but they're limited. They're not allowed to cross the wire in many cases, and put themselves in harm's way. Even when they are allowed to be in the forefront of the battle, they're not allowed to address the spiritual issues, or sometimes the religious issues in the war. So this leaves these Gen-X soldiers, these millennials, having to fashion their own warrior code, and that's really what I deal with in the book.

KAGAN: And so sounds like you are calling for change on that.

MANSFIELD: I am. I think that if we're going to have a military chaplain, they ought to be free to address the moral issues of the war as a whole. I think we ought to realize that all throughout our history, wars have pressed religious questions into the lives of those who fight them, and that faith is always forefront in the mind of a soldier, and so these young millenials are fashioning their own warrior code over there to fill the vacuum of what we're not providing as a society and from official religion, so to speak.

KAGAN: And what about in situations where some people say it goes too far. There have been complaints at the Air Force Academy that if you're not an evangelical Christian, that you're not allowed to practice your own faith, and there are investigations taking place into those charges.

KAGAN: Well, we have that on the one side. On the other side, we have ACLU lawsuits against the Citadel and threatened lawsuits against the Naval Academy for traditional prayers on campus.

MANSFIELD: And so part of what's going on is that our society is religiously in conflict with itself over the role of religion in public life, the First Amendment in public life. And this conflict is leaving our soldiers in a conflict of their own when it comes to faith. In fact we're just not serving them well when it comes to their faith in the battlefield.

KAGAN: Interesting. Well, you went to the front lines to find for yourself.

MANSFIELD: I did.

KAGAN: Interesting discussion. Stephen Mansfield. The book is called "The Faith of the American Soldier." Thank you for stopping by today.

MANSFIELD: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, we move on to the movies. If you have seen them but want to experience Star Wars for yourself, that was a long time ago, far far away, in a galaxy far, far away. But we do have the next best thing. We're going to show you how you can participate, with Daniel Sieberg, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It appears there was a violent end to a crazy alleged bank-robbery scheme in Olathe, Kansas today, Overland Park, Kansas, not too far from Kansas City. A suspect shot and wounded during an attempted bank robbery in Olathe. Several people inside the bank were taken hostage. The suspect was actually shot near Johnson County Executive Airport. They think he might have been trying to get to a getaway plane. But they believe that they had an airplane on the tarmac waiting for them to leave. Officers, though, shot the gunman before waiting to take him into custody at the airport.

So an end to the bank robbery attempt near Kansas City today.

Our Wolf Blitzer, I think he made it back to Washington D.C. today?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm here in Washington D.C., a lovely place, Daryn. Thanks very much.

A busy hour coming up on NEWS FROM CNN. A political showdown unfolding in the United States Senate, even as we speak. At stake, President Bush's judicial nominees and potentially historic changes to the political system. And that could mean major implications for you and me. We will break it all down.

Also, a small town triple murder. Two children missing, and police searching for what they call a person of interest. We are live on the search for answers.

All those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour on "NEWS FROM CNN." Daryn, in the meantime, back to you.

KAGAN: All right, Wolf, thank you.

The end is near. Actually it's the middle. The final "Star Wars" movie opens at midnight, with midnight showings in theaters tonight. The saga made George Lucas a legendary filmmaker and the marketing master of a Jedi empire.

Our Chris Huntington joins me from New York City this morning. Good morning.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, of course the new "Star Wars" film coming to a theater (INAUDIBLE). You have to live in a galaxy far, far away to avoid the marketing promotional blitz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The force is with you, young Skywalker.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): And apparently with all of us. The marketing force, that is. Prepare to be bombarded by the ultimate "Star Wars" merchandising blitz. Who knew Yoda cared about calories?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your drink desire you not.

HUNTINGTON: The little guy is fronting a million dollar "Star Wars" sweepstakes for Pepsi. 7-11 is pumping out Darth Dew Slurpees. Kellog's is packing light-up saber spoons into cereal boxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With new light-up saber spoons.

HUNTINGTON: You can get M & M's from the dark side, "Star Wars" ring tones from Cingular wireless, "Star Wars" scratch-off games at Burger King and, of course, action figures, toys and gadgets from the likes of Hasbro and Lego.

CNN's corporate cousins, AOL and Moviefone, are in on the action as official online promoters. There is even a "Star Wars" video game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't like the video game, you can always read the novel.

HUNTINGTON: While there's nothing novel about movie merchandising, George Lucas, the creator, producer and master of the "Star Wars" universe has, by all accounts and any accounting measure, raised the stakes of the game. Total box office, home video and merchandise sales for the six "Star Wars" films is expected to easily top $20 billion, far more than any other film series has ever made and greater than the gross domestic product of several European countries. Marketing from earlier "Star Wars" films was so aggressive, it became a joke. Literally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.

HUNTINGTON: But with "Revenge of the Sith" billed as the last "Star Wars" film, Lucas has pulled out all the stops.

ANDREW GREENBERG, GREENBERG BRAND STRATEGY: For the last hurrah, I think he has opened the door to a lot of merchandising opportunities. It is a feeding frenzy.

HUNTINGTON: A frenzy feeding on the "Star Wars" faithful, most of whom grew up with the films and many who still shell out astronomical sums of money to collect memorabilia or dress the part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With everything ever related to "Star Wars," probably at least $50,000, easily.

HUNTINGTON: Still, none of the fans we spoke to seemed concerned that Yoda was hawking diet soda. Evidently, even a 900-year-old Jedi master is entitled to cash in for his retirement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, it's not all commercialism. The folks in these tents behind me here outside the Ziegfeld Theater are conducting what they're calling a "Star Wars" stand-a-thon. That's to benefit the Star Light Star Bright Foundation (INAUDIBLE) entertainment kiosks into hospitals for sick children -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, good for them. Chris Huntington in midtown Manhattan. Thank you for that. Well, you heard in Chris's piece, they mentioned the "Star Wars" video games. We've got our Daniel Sieberg here. He's our video game, tech "Star Wars" guy.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: We'll lump it all together.

KAGAN: Yes.

SIEBERG: And Daryn, many "Star Wars" video games there are, in sort of Yoda speak there, if you will.

KAGAN: Very well done.

SIEBERG: There are a lot of "Star Wars" video games out there. You've heard of all the main "Star Wars" characters, like Luke and Hahn and Chewy, Obi Wan, all those guys. But you probably haven't heard of Karth (ph) or Reven (ph) or Bastil (ph). That's because they're part of the "Star Wars" video game universe. We got a chance to tag along with the folks at Lucas Arts to see what it's all about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIDEO GAME VOICE: We've captured a commander.

PETER HERSHMANN, V.P., LUCASARTS: Getting paid to make video games for George Lucas is not a bad way to make a living. The "Star Wars" universe has been around for almost 30 years and, you know, we're now on our third and fourth generation of people who have come to it. All the things that he puts into his movies he wanted to put into games, as well. We've got to have the iconic things that people associate with "Star Wars." Light sabers, X-wings, tie fighters, Jedi, crazy aliens, lots of different planets. We don't want to exploit the license. We don't want to slap on, you know, hey, it's "Star Wars" golf or something like that. CHRIS WILLIAMS, PRODUCER, LUCASARTS: The "Star Wars: Knights of the Republic" franchise is set about 4,000 years before the time of the movies. It's set in a time period that's very different, in terms of what the structure of the universe is and who rules. We are not dealing with the same heroes and villains we are at the movies. We have a product that people can sit down and enjoy for 40 or 50 hours. And that's far different than, you know, two-and-a-half hour, two hour movie experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: And speaking of the movie experience, you know, a lot of fans of the "Star Wars" franchise actually bought into games like "Knights of the Old Republic." They said it captured the spirit of "Star Wars" a little bit better than the last two movies, Episode I and Episode II. What you're seeing here is actually "Knights of the Old Republic II." So they've continued on this franchise. And you know, there are lots of games to mention here, Daryn, but certainly "Knights of the Old Republic," or KOTOR, as its known a lot of gaming fans, is one of the most popular.

KAGAN: Looks a little bit violent. Are these games for kids?

SIEBERG: They are rated differently than the movies. You know, there's a gaming system. That would E for Everyone, T for Teens. A lot of these games are T for Teens. Those are to be meant for teenagers or a little bit of an older crowd, maybe, than some of the movies.

There are games, though, that really bring people online into an online community. And those are really more an adult-based game. I would say they're for older gamers. One of them's called "Galaxies," and in that game, you really are existing in the game, you're flying around spaceships, you're trying to become a Jedi. They've put a lot of the "Star Wars" mythology in the game, but you're on in virtual -- in realtime with all of these people playing at once.

And of course, they've got all the traditional games, where you can play, tying into the movies like "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." That is based directly on the movie, so if you want to try to get into the movie itself.

The video games have been around for almost as long as the movies, if you can believe that. More than 20 years since the arcade games came out. You might remember those. And of course, the graphics have come a long way since then.

KAGAN: Back in the day, as we like to say here.

SIEBERG: Back in the day. Exactly.

KAGAN: Very good. All right, Daniel...

SIEBERG: In a galaxy far, far away.

KAGAN: Yes. You had to get your little cliche in there. SIEBERG: Yes.

KAGAN: OK, thank you. We're going to check business news, just ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Couple of developing stories we want to share with you. First of all, we go to Iraq, where al Qaeda's leader in Iraq appears to be defending suicide bombings and the killings of innocent Muslims. He says it's necessary. Abu Musab al Zarqawi saying it is necessary in order to protect religion, saying protecting religion is more important than protecting Muslim lives, honor and wealth.

Looking at the number of people dead -- more than 400 people have been killed in an escalating cycle of violence and suicide attacks since the new Iraqi government was named last month. Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for most of those deaths and most of those attacks. And this coming on a tape that's been posted on a Muslim Web site.

Switching gears and going to Overland Park, Kansas. Looking at live pictures. Still a lot of police activity on the ground. This apparently is a bank robbery gone wrong. A suspect shot and wounded during this attempted bank robbery in Olathe, Kansas. Several people inside this bank were taken hostage. The alleged bank robber takes off, heads towards a local airport. Police believe he might have had a small plane standing by waiting as the getaway vehicle. More on that from Kansas just ahead.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: So a lot of stories we're leaving with some loose ends here. But I feel OK about that, because Wolf Blitzer, taking over from Washington D.C. I'll be on assignment tomorrow, but back here on Friday -- Wolf, back to you.

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