Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Iraq: Three Years Later; Ten Missing In California Snowstorm; Yates Retrial Delayed

Aired March 20, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll go ahead and get started. We do have a lot to tell you about here on CNN LIVE TODAY.
Weather, a big problem for many of you out there on this, it is the first day of spring. A snowstorm bringing hazardous conditions to the heartland. We are tracking that storm.

We're also marking a major milestone in Iraq as U.S. forces begin a fourth year of the fight there. We'll get to that in a moment.

But first, let's start a little closer to home with what may be going on just outside your door.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

KAGAN: Yes, if you look at the calendar, spring arrives today. You might have a hard time believing that if you look at some of these pictures we have for you. First, to Omaha, Nebraska, a weekend snowstorm and hours from now parts of the region could be knee-deep in snow. Do we have the pictures from Omaha? There we go.

There's Omaha behind all that white stuff. Another major storm is moving across Nebraska and other parts of the Great Plains. Ahead of the storm, officials in Nebraska shut down more than 400 schools. Chad Myers is tracking that and also some difficult weather that's headed for the southeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: We're going to go from fires to the floods. A lot of Texans having a tough time right now. Chad was mentioning this rain. In north Texas, dramatic scenes as flash floods swamped parts of Dallas/Fort Worth in that area. Emergency work had to move fast after more than five inches of rain fell across the region. The high water stranded motorists and authorities issued some evacuation orders. In Dallas, a man risked his life to save a girl caught in the swirling waters of a flooded creek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LOVVORN, RESCUER: When I heard that there was a girl down in that creek holding on to a tree, I have a young daughter and, you know, I really didn't have to think about it. I took the coat and tie off and jumped in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, good for him. At least one flood-related death is reported in the Dallas area.

You know, there's been a lot that's been said about the political milestones in Iraq since the three years since the U.S.-led invasion. But for Iraqis, their biggest concern is no different from your, the safety and security of their families.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Power stations have been built, politicians elected, de-selected, reelected, democracy put into action. Around it all, concrete barriers have grown higher, bigger, longer, security tighter, progress is being fenced in. Innocent Iraqis are being killed by insurgents, sectarian death squads, even accidentally by the U.S. troops who liberated them from Saddam Hussein's tyranny.

It is a confusing time this father of five, who doesn't want to be identified, explains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I wish that we go back to the old days in regards to security. People didn't have any mental stress. Now we are living in a turbulence. We don't know what could happen tomorrow.

ROBERTSON: I've been invited into his middle-class home. They are trying to understand what's happening in Iraq. They live in fear of insurgents, but they also live with anger. The sister blames U.S. soldiers for killing her brother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Of course, the situation got worse. We lost many people that are dear to us. One of which is our brother. We are losing many people. Paying a high price and for what?

ROBERTSON: Later, she told me financially, the family is now better off. Billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars financing rebuilding and security projects have helped boost the economy. Earnings are up, but, so, too, is the cost of living. Cooking oil, 500 dinars before the war, 15,000 now, up 30 times. And gas for cars, up more than tenfold and still in short supply.

Removing Saddam was good, this factory worker explains, but now we have explosions and economic crisis and basic services like electricity and fuel are hurting.

Three years ago this is where I was on the roof of the ministry of information. After the war, it was looted and burned out. Now it's still a gutted shell. And just across the road over here is where the government supermarket was. It was also looted, burned out, reduced to ruble. Indeed, this downtown neighborhood of Baghdad looks the worst I've seen it in the 15 years I've been coming to Iraq.

Hope of a better future is what Iraqis were dreaming of three years ago. So far, hope is proving only a limited defense against the forces that would drag the country into chaos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And Nic Robertson . . .

ROBERTSON: And each day there's a reality check . . .

KAGAN: Go ahead, Nic.

ROBERTSON: I'm sorry, Daryn. I was going to say, each day there's a reality check here and today the government announced that 3,700 families have been forced out of their homes by the latest sectarian violence. It's things like this that the families we talked to here are really concerned about.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, I was surprised by that family in your piece, how you said they're financially better off. How is that so when we talk about that gasoline is so expensive and everyday cooking supplies?

ROBERTSON: You know, when I talked to this family, they were so concerned about their identities. But I can say about this -- the father of the family, that he is working in connection with the government and that his job now is more secure than he felt it was in the past and he gets more money than he used to get in the past. And his family members. One of them works in a market in Baghdad is managing to make a living on the constraints that Saddam Hussein's government used to put on them, rules and regulations that really tied people down. So that's where they see their sort of financial situation a bit better off, if you will.

KAGAN: And then, Nic, I'm interested in kind of a reporter's notebook. We hear how dangerous it is, how difficult it is for reporters to get out and report stories. Logistically, what kind of obstacles and challenge do you face just on a daily basis just trying to get out to report stories?

ROBERTSON: You know, it's very interesting because actually in that family, the son in the family asked me how it was for us to get out? They had so many questions for me, too, as they sort of struggled to understand the situation here.

The reality for us is, it is a tough environment to work in and we do have to take a lot of care about our security and we do have to know where we're going and who we're going to meet. And you make a lot more judgments about when it's worth going out, when it's not worth going out. Where are you going, what's been happening in that area of the city, perhaps just a few hours before.

For example, you know, we've been considering an interview in one part of Baghdad. Well, today there was a roadside bomb in that area. Well, if the interview had come up, we certainly wouldn't have gone there today. So there are things like that, real considerations. And if you want to travel a distance outside Baghdad, forget going by car. We have to do that by embedding with the military here.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So you have days when you and your crews just say, sorry, it's not happening. We're staying put.

ROBERTSON: Yes. There can be days like that. And you just have to live with it. It's not what we want. It's not the ideal situation. But it's the reality. And no story is worth dying for. So you take precautions. Of course there are a lot of days when we can get out and we go and talk to, you know, families, politicians, other people who have something relevant to say, we go and do it. But you just have to be much more cautious than you would in many other parts of the world.

KAGAN: Well, we hope you keep that caution at the top of your list for you and our crews as well. Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson live from Baghdad.

President Bush, by the way, will talk about Iraq and the war in just a couple of hours. You can watch the president's address from Cleveland. You'll see it live here on CNN. It's scheduled to begin around 12:20 Eastern.

Eleven minutes past the hour. The death penalty trial for confessed al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui has resumed this morning. It comes after an extraordinary chain of events triggered by a woman, this woman, in fact, government lawyer Carla Martin. The presiding judge says that she improperly used trial transcripts to coach prosecution witnesses. That judge considered removing the death penalty option, but instead only eliminated aviation-related testimony that she says was tainted by Martin. The government lawyer could face charges in this case.

On to Texas, where Andrea Yates gets another chance. Yates' second trial in the 2001 bathtub drowning of her children is set to begin today in Houston. A state appeals court threw out her 2002 conviction and life sentence last year. It cited false testimony from a psychiatrist. This time around Yates' lawyers again planned to use the insanity defense. They blamed the deaths of her five children on Yates' postpartum depression and psychiatric problems. Another thing for you. The judge is expected to hear a request to postpone the trial until summer before today's proceedings begin.

Meanwhile, this related story. Yates' ex-husband, Rusty, married Laura Arnold on Saturday. It was a private ceremony at a Houston church where they met. It's the same church where funerals were held for Yates' children. After the wedding, the couple left in a red Corvette.

So think about this, you're a pilot ready to take off from a major airport. Instead of hearing communications from the control tower, you hear songs by Ludacris or Nelly. Happening sometimes at Miami International Airport, pilots say hip-hop tunes from a pirate radio station sometimes mix in with control tower conversations. Authority traced the signals to a radio antenna at a nearby warehouse and a station that calls itself The Streets. They confiscated equipment but they didn't find the disk jockey. The warehouse owner says he didn't realize the building was being use as an illegal radio station.

Depending on your point of view, you might find our next story a blessing or a curse. Just ahead, how your cell phone can allow authorities to track your every move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Cell phones. They help us stay in touch with loved ones and friends, but they can also, you might not know this, be used to track our every movement.

Our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg takes a look at this brewing legal controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Consider your cell phone your own personal tracking device, like it or not.

BRUCE SCHNEIER, SECURITY EXPERT, COUNTERPANE: The cell phone network is tracking you whenever your phone is on. Whether there's a human being receiving some data saying where your phone is, you have no idea because the phone company has that data and it's what they're doing with it afterwards.

SIEBERG: Authorities must have a court's permission to track anyone through cell phone locations. But once that access is granted, it's nearly fool-proof.

SIEBERG: So how exactly does it work? Well, here's the easiest way to think of cell phone tracking. In order to make or receive a call on your cell phone, your wireless provider has to know where you are. You see this flashing little light up here? You can think of that as your personal locator beacon. In a sense, it's communicating with the cell towers that are all around you all the time as you move around and they can find you a few different ways.

SCHNEIER: Well the cell phone always has to know what cell its in, otherwise it can't send phone calls. Your average phone, when it's walking around, is in view of two or three different cells. And what the phone company can do is, it's very easy, is to compare relative signal strengths and figure out where the phone is probably to a couple of hundred feet. They triangulate from the radio signal. The third thing is satellite positioning system and phones that are equipped with that system can be pinpointed within a few feet.

SIEBERG: It's that ability to be so exact that's made it such an invaluable tool for law enforcement. Following last year's failed suicide bombings in London, British investigators used cell phone tracking to find a suspect who'd fled to Italy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simpson, the passenger in the car, has a gun at his head.

SIEBERG: It was used to track O.J. Simpson's car phone while he was avoiding police along the L.A. freeways. And it was even used as far back as 1993 when police shot and killed drug lord Pablo Escobar in Colombia. But as productive as cell phone tracking can be, privacy advocates are concerned about how all this data is accessed.

KEVIN BANKSTON, ELECTRONIC FREEDOM FOUNDATION: I think there's a substantial worry that location information about cell phone users is being released without a court order. This is actually an open legal controversy.

SIEBERG: If you don't like the idea of being tracked with your cell phone, well, you really only have a few choices. If you use Verizon or Sprint phones, in some cases you can set the GPS chip so it only works when you use 911. If you use Cingular or TMobil, you're out of luck, because they use the triangulation system. Or you could just turn your phone off.

Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's get the latest on a search going on in southern California in the mountains above Palm Springs. For that let's go to Tony Harris.

Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Daryn, good morning to you.

Yes, we've been following that story of the eight people stranded in a snowstorm, as you mentioned, west of Palm Springs, California. Now earlier we told you that those eight, the eight people had been rescued and they appeared to be just fine. But here's the thing. In the course of the search for eight, two family members who joined in the search went missing. Corporal Charles Mungle of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is on the line with us.

And, Corporal, good to talk to you this morning.

CPL CHARLES MUNGLE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

HARRIS: What can you tell us about the search? And we understand that the two family members have now been rescued.

MUNGLE: Yes, everyone's been rescued and they're all on the way home now.

HARRIS: And everyone's on their way home. Where did you find the two family members?

MUNGLE: They were found off some control road in that area of Transtion (ph) Station and Highway 74.

HARRIS: And, Corporal, take us back. I understand that the eight members of this family who were stranded, they'd gone up into the mountains yesterday just to play and have some fun in the snow. Is that correct?

MUNGLE: Yes, that's true.

HARRIS: And what happened? Were they able to tell you exactly what happened on the way back down?

MUNGLE: Well, didn't speak to the people that were recovered. But they went up there, like you said, just to have some good times in the snow and they got stuck and lost at the same time.

HARRIS: How much of a search was required here in terms of manpower and hours?

MUNGLE: I don't know how many deputies were out there, but we had deputies from the Riverside Sheriff's Department that were out there. We also had Riverside Search and Rescue that was out there. And we also had a helicopter from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

HARRIS: And it ended just the way you'd always hoped it would, it sounds like?

MUNGLE: Absolutely.

HARRIS: OK. Corporal, we appreciate your time. We appreciate it. Corporal Charles Mungle of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

And, Daryn, it looks like everyone's safe and sound and all persons accounted for.

KAGAN: All right, a happy ending to that one.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

KAGAN: Tony, thank you.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE).

KAGAN: You spend tens of thousands of dollars on the new car, how much are you going to spend to protect it from car thieves? Gerri Willis is just ahead with that.

Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn.

Your car is one of the most expensive investments you make. How can you protect it from car thieves? We have tips coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Wall Street's been open about 55 minutes. A little movement on the Dow. You can see it is up 17 points, almost 18. The Nasdaq moving up just a little bit as well. It is up seven points.

Your car may be your biggest purchase, second only to your home. But don't fool yourself, the more average your car, the more likely a thief wants to take it away from you. Incredible. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us with her "Top Five Tips" on protecting your car.

Hey, Ger.

WILLIS: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

You know, you've got it right. Look, you may think you're safe because you don't own the Lamborghini, but the opposite is true. Professional thieves, they want to seal the Camry, the Toyotas, the Honda Civics. You bet, the cars that are cheaper, those are the cars they want to steal. And, Daryn, there's a list right there of the most stolen cars.

And, Daryn, listen up for this. Seven of the 10 most frequent places for stolen cars are located in the state of California, your home state. So Californians beware, there are a lot of professional thieves out there that are trying to take your car.

KAGAN: The only place I've had my car stolen is here in Georgia.

WILLIS: Really?

KAGAN: Yes. I did get it back, however, should I say.

WILLIS: Well, that's good news.

KAGAN: What about this idea of etching in your vin number?

WILLIS: Well, your vehicle identification number is sort of the thumb print for your car and you can see it in the dash. There's typically a little decal there with the vin number. But if you etch it on the windows, you could make sure that your car doesn't get stolen. Look, professional thieves want to take only 10 minutes to steal your car. If you can delay them even 10 minutes or 10 seconds, they're going to move on to the next car. A vin etching is a great way to do it.

KAGAN: All right, Gerri, we're going to have to get back to your other tips in just a moment because we're getting some videotape in. President Bush appearing with the NATO Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, this in advance of President Bush speaking later today in Cleveland. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Which is what you would expect when allies and friends come together. We discussed Iraq and I want to thank NATO for its involvement in helping train Iraqi security forces so they can end up protecting the Iraqi people from those who want to kill innocent life in order to affect the outcome of that democracy.

I want to thank you very much for your strong involvement in Afghanistan. NATO presence in Afghanistan is really important. I learned that firsthand when I went to Afghanistan and talked to the President Karzai and his government. They were very supportive of the mission and thankful for the mission. NATO was effective and that's one of the things that's really important for our citizens to understand, that our relationship with NATO is an important part of helping us to win the war on terror.

We also talked about Darfur in the Sudan. I had called Secretary-General earlier this year. I talked to him about a strategy that would enable NATO to take the lead in Darfur. However, some things have to happen prior to that happening. And the first thing is that the African union must request from the United Nations a U.N. mission to convert the AU mission to a U.N. mission, at which point, if that's done, NATO can move in with the United States help inside of NATO to make it clear to the Sudanese government that we're intent upon providing security for the people there and intent upon helping work toward a lasting peace agreement.

And so I appreciate your understanding of that. The first time I made the phone call to the secretary-general, he fully understood the challenge, fully understood the need and it was great to work with a friend in peace to devise a strategy on how to move forward. So thanks for coming. We're looking forward to the meeting later on this year, big NATO summit, and I'm convinced that like the last summit we had, you'll led that meeting with the efficiency and professionalism that you're known for.

JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Let me echo what the president has been saying about NATO delivering, about NATO making the difference in Afghanistan. The fight against terrorists is an extremely important element there. NATO indeed assisting the African union in Darfur and I'm quite sure, as I told the president, that when the U.N. comes, the NATO allies will be ready to do more in enabling the United Nations forces in Darfur.

NATO after Hurricane Katrina. NATO had a major humanitarian operation in Pakistan. NATO is in The Balkans. Al 26 NATO allies participate in one way or the other in the training mission in Iraq. And I want to see NATO-trained Iraqi officers taking their responsibility in fighting the terrorists in their own country.

In other words, NATO is delivering. And in the run-up to the NATO summit in Riga, at the end of the year, as the president mentioned, we'll make sure and NATO will make sure that this will be an important event. In NATO's outreach, we mentioned the Middle East and all that (INAUDIBLE), Israel, Jordan, the nations of the Gulf, NATO's contacts with other nations who share our values. Be it Australia, Japan, South Korea. In other words, we'll see to it that the military agenda of NATO and the political agenda of NATO will be very seriously addressed, in Riga. And I'm very glad with the support, the dominant support and the friendship, of our most important ally, the United States and its leader, President Bush.

Thank you very much.

BUSH: Yes, good. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We've been listening in to videotape that was just shot at the White House. President Bush meeting with the NATO secretary- general, talking about Iraq and Sudan and Afghanistan as well. President Bush on his way to Cleveland, where he'll give a speech later today, about 12:30 Eastern. You'll see that live here on CNN.

Let's get back to the topic of keeping your car from being stolen. Gerri, you have three more tips to keep our car safe.

WILLIS: That's right, Daryn.

You know, sometimes the most inexpensive remedies are the best. Just simply buying a decal that says you have a car alarm in your car may dissuade thieves from targeting your car. You'll spend just a couple of dollars at an auto parts store to pick up one of those.

More expensive, but possibly more effective, a wheel lock for about $30 bucks. An armored collar can cost you as much as $80 to $100. Those two remedies will also delay your car from being stolen by car thieves.

And finally, the uber solution, Daryn, is the kill switch. It costs $125. It's the high end solution. Now, you have to have this thing installed, and every time you get into the car, you've got to reactivate it when you get in and out of the car. But, really, it disrupts the flow of electricity through your car so it's almost impossible to steal. But be sure to check the warranty on your car, because you may not have a warranty if you have a kill switch. But that is the uber solution if you're really afraid that your car is going to be stolen.

KAGAN: All right, Gerri. Very good practical tips. Thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Coming up, a story, you're not going believe that this is still around. Laws have been erased. The convictions have not. Just ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, one Southern state considering pardoning these civil rights activists who challenged the courts. We'll explain ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An update to pass along to you about three college students accused to setting fire to several Alabama churches. Attorneys for the three men say they will not seek release on bond, even though a federal judge has approved such a move. The attorney for one of the suspects, 19-year-old Benjamin Moseley, says his client wants to remain behind bars in hopes of promoting healing within the community. The men are suspected in nine church fires across Alabama.

Speaking of Alabama, to millions of Americans, Rosa Parks was a hero. But in the cold, unflinching eyes of the law, the civil rights icon died a convicted criminal. That's why Alabama lawmakers are considering the Rosa Parks Act. It would pardon anyone arrested under the state's outdated segregation laws.

Joining us to discuss that is Horace Huntley. He is of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Mr. Huntley, good morning.

HORACE HUNTLEY, BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE: Thank you. Good morning.

KAGAN: We're not just talking about Rosa Parks here, are we? We're talking about many people who still have those convictions on the books. It's incredible.

HUNTLEY: Absolutely. There are thousands of people. In fact, there were nearly 3,000 children who were arrested, and what they're talking about really is expunging those records, which is very necessary. Well, it may be sense of more symbol than substance at this point, although many people have been negatively impacted upon, because there have been many of those who were children at the time who have applied for jobs and who you do -- when you go out and do an evaluation of them, then it comes up that they have a record and many of them probably have lost jobs in that regard.

KAGAN: So why has it taken so long to fix the record like this?

HUNTLEY: Well, I'm not sure why it's taken so long, but understand that the Alabama that was responsible for this is not the same Alabama that we have now. At that point in time, black people were not a part of the body politics. Now, we are part of the body politick. And of course, this comes from a black legislator. So that Alabama is changing and it's continuing to change, but we also must still understand there's still a racial divide in the state of Alabama, as there is in America.

KAGAN: Do you think it was the death of Rosa Parks that spurned legislators to finally look at this and take care of it?

HUNTLEY: Well, I wouldn't stay that it was just one incident. The death of Rose Parks, that probably would have something to do with it. But I would think it would be a combination of things, because we're talking about 40 years.

What we're really talking about is a hundred years, because we go back to 1901, the 1901 constitution, which had a real devastating effect upon voting rights around this state, which is very, very necessary -- it's in the news today, is the need to redo that constitution. KAGAN: Any opposition in the state legislature to seeing this go through? To see these convictions removed from the books?

HUNTLEY: Well, I doubt it. It would not be politically correct for anyone to do this, because it's really harmless and it's symbolic and I doubt very seriously if there will be many -- there will possibly be some, but I doubt that there will be many. I think it will pass.

KAGAN: I understand there might be kind of a housekeeping problem in that the time left in the state legislator session is short. So they might not get it through in time.

HUNTLEY: That's always a problem, and it depends also upon what ones seen as being an important. And black legislators will see that, some white legislators would see it. But there will be others that probably would not see the value into it.

KAGAN: Well, I think to a lot of people across the country hearing this news that Rosa Parks passed away with still a conviction on the records, it will be news to them and interesting to the other many people who it affects as well. Horace Huntley, thank you for your time....

HUNTLEY: Thank you.

KAGAN: ... this morning. Good to have you with us live from Birmingham.

Next hour -- wait until you hear this next topic -- we're going to talk about HIV education for your kids. New York revising its approach for kindergarteners today. Is that too young an age for such an adult topic? Our e-mail question this morning, HIV education in schools, when should it start? Send your comments to livetoday@CNN.com. We'll share some e-mail next hour as we talk to guests on both sides of the issue.

And just ahead, a soldier's story. We'll travel with a sergeant on his second tour of duty in Iraq and see how his mission has changed since the invasion three years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

And now to CNN's continuing look into the future, your future. This month's focus is technology, and one man shares his age-old goal of achieving a better balance between work and living with his family.

Our Miles O'Brien offers this "Welcome to the Future."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do get to work from home, but then I wind up leaving for days at a time.

I work in a virtual company. Sure, it's cool that I'm always talking to my coworkers on the computer and being able to just shoot instant messages out, but at the same time, there's something lacking about that. To be able to effectively communicate, you need to be able to see people's reactions. So it would be wonderful if I could just spin my chair around and suddenly be seeing everybody that I'm trying to communicate with. So if I can do that without traveling, then that would be fantastic.

MILES O'BRIEN (on camera): So what if Phillip (ph) could beam himself to a meeting instead of having to travel to it? Is this the future, or has Phillip seen one too many movies?

(voice-over): Hollywood has taken the hologram out of this world, like this scene from "Star Wars Episode 3." But how close is this to reality?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vision of "Star Wars" is something that can be achieved, but the means by which to achieve it will not be what's represented in the movies.

O'BRIEN: MIT grant and cofounder of Zebra Imaging, Michael Klug, has mastered the art of creating these larger than life holographic images. Boiled down, they are three-dimensional pictures perfected with a pair of lasers. But Klug says interacting with these 3-D figures still presents a challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hologram is not something that can occupy space without having some piece of film somewhere between your eye and the holographic image.

O'BRIEN: However Klug believes we could still see a version of holographic virtual meetings come to life within the next decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we get those basic technologies out and demonstrate it, the sky's the limit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And for travel-weary workers everywhere, here's a bit of a comforting tidbit from the present. One poll shows that nearly half of all employee say they travel for work less frequently compared to five years ago.

And this news from the stork, Donald Trump is the new proud papa again. His wife, Melania, gave birth to a baby boy. It's a boy! It's her first child. It's his fifth. Word is the couple hasn't decided on a name yet.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Coming up, it is a 24/7 world, and that means people can pretty much do what they want when they want, but they're not always going do what they need do. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story on the dangers of sleep deprivation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A lot of U.S. troops who took part in the invasion of Iraq have gone back for more tours of duty, but instead of fighting Iraqi troops, they are now alive with them against an unseen enemy.

CNN's Arwa Damon looks at how one American soldier is dealing with those changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 26, Staff Sergeant Jesse Sample is on his second tour of duty in Iraq, and reflects on his first tour back in 2003.

SGT. JESSE SAMPLE, U.S. ARMY: We didn't think that we'd be in the country for more than maybe six months. And I don't think that we would have thought how complex this was going to be.

DAMON: Now he's fighting an even more complicated battle, on an increasingly delicate battlefield; and fighting to break old habits from his first tour, when humvees weren't armored.

SAMPLE: If I get hit by an IED, I'll still throw my weight -- throw my body weight forward so shrapnel won't hit me. But these guys are all nice and calm, and know that their armor's going protect them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little bit farther down.

DAMON: Lieutenant Colonel John Gentile commands Sample's squadron. Here, revisiting the site of an attack that killed a child.

LT. JOHN GENTILE, U.S. ARMY: I think this IED was probably -- was placed by insurgents who were attacking governmental forces. I think this is the case of that.

You saw a car?

DAMON: He's trying to gather information about the insurgents, a process much more complex than it may seem.

GENTILE: People are still afraid to come out and tell who's doing it. Because they're worried about getting killed.

DAMON: These men know that this is no longer a battle that is going to be won by force.

GENTILE: The challenge right now is for the Iraqi people to establish trust with the Iraqi security forces. By doing a combined patrol, the Iraqi people here, especially Sunnis at this mosque, can see us together, that it's a team effort.

DAMON: They're implementing lessons learned and realize that a simple action can have significant consequences.

GENTILE: We don't haul ass anymore. We don't shoot at people that are verging into traffic. And I think that's actually made us look better in the long run and it's made the Iraqi people trust us more.

DAMON: In a battlefield where there is little room for error, U.S. troops had to adjust fast.

SAMPLE: It was the hardest thing we had to do, was coming from a very aggressive posture into more of a peaceful posture. It's hard -- the two different situations from 2003 to here are completely different.

(on camera): For the veterans of OIF-1, it's a completely different battlefield. Back then, they were fighting an identifiable enemy and focusing their efforts on driving a wedge between the insurgents and THE Iraqi people. Now they're fighting an unseen enemy and focusing their efforts on building up Iraq's security forces to drive that wedge.

(voice-over): The question for these troops is, will they be back again?

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: President Bush will talk about the Iraq war in just a couple of hours. You can watch the president's address from Cleveland. It will be live right here on CNN, scheduled to begin around 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

Coming up: one war, two vastly different ways of thinking of it. From parents whose sons never came home. We'll hear from that mother and father just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN from Houston, Texas. Andrea Yates and her retrial. The murder retrial will be postponed until summertime.

Our Ed Lavandera was in the courtroom earlier today, just moments ago when this decision was made and announced. Ed, what can you tell us? Why delay the retrial?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, Andrea Yates' attorney George Parnham says that two of the defense's star witnesses, two of the medical experts that will testify in Andrea Yates' behalf, are just simply not available. Scheduling conflicts. And because of that, the judge says that they will push back the start of this trial to June 22nd. Jury selection starts on that day. June 26th is when the trial is expected to start again.

And, of course, both sides here have been negotiating for several months on trying to reach some sort of plea agreement, but that does not appear to be happening at all, so they are moving forward with this retrial and expected to start some time this summer. And, of course, the medical testimony and the expert testimony from Andrea Yates' side is what they will be counting on heavily to prove their insanity defense in Andrea's case.

KAGAN: And we have had her defense attorney, George Parnham, on with us a number of times, Ed. And he was trying to do everything he could not to have this retrial. You were talking about the plea agreements. What looks tends to -- what looks like is the holding point here, the sticking point on coming to a plea agreement?

LAVANDERA: Well, from what we've been able to gather -- and a lot of this is stuff that's been -- information that's been reported over the last couple of months. Not everyone is speaking publicly about exactly what exactly is going on in these negotiations. But from what we've been able to skim from the little that has come out, one of the sticking points seems to be is that the prosecution wants a guilty plea that is not something that Andrea Yates' attorney is comfortable with doing.

So there's a lot of kind of legal wrangling going on back and forth. But that seems to be one of the bigger issues. Of course, you know, if you were found not guilty by reason of insanity in Texas, you are sent to a mental institution until a judge sees that you have been cured. And essentially, you walk away with no crime on your record. And so that is one thing the prosecution does not feel is just in this case.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, this trial was supposed to start again just days after Rusty Yates, her ex-husband, remarried again?

LAVANDERA: He did. He was remarried over the weekend. Actually, the service took place in the same church where the memorial services were held for his five children almost five years ago. He was not in the courtroom today. Andrea Yates' mother and several of her brothers were in the courthouse today. Russell Yates was not here, but her family was.

KAGAN: Ed Lavandera, on the phone, live from Houston. Thank you. So once again, so the retrial for Andrea Yates postponed until at least June.

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