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CNN Live Today

American Journalist Jill Carroll Released From Captors in Iraq; New Test for Fertility; 25th Anniversary of Assassination Attempt on Ronald Reagan

Aired March 30, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. We top our hour with news of possible severe weather in the Midwest. Chad Myers has that -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Definitely, Daryn. A lot of severe weather possible today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Chad. Thank you for that.

Other stories today.

Words of joy and images of relief, video of American journalist Jill Carroll. This is Jill just after her captors released her this morning. She had been held for nearly three months, but she says she was treated well and was never abused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL CARROLL, FREED HOSTAGE: All I can say right now is that I'm just happy to be free. I was treated very well. It's important people know that, that I was not harmed.

They never said they would hit me, never threatened me in any way. And I'm just happy to be free and I want to be with my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Right now Jill Carroll is awaiting that reunion with her family.

Meanwhile, our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is live from Baghdad.

Nic, still unclear about exactly who was holding Jill Carroll and how her release came to be.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We've been learning a few details about that, Daryn, but it's still exactly -- she was in a room held captive, the next indication we have, that she walked into an office of a Sunni political party on the outskirts of Baghdad about 12:15. They called up their head office, their op politician came over, picked her up, took Jill to his office. She did an interview there. And with a couple of hour she was being handed over to officials at the U.S. embassy. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said when he met Jill she was in splendid spirits. And he said the first he'd heard of her freedom was getting a call from this Iraqi Sunni politician around about lunchtime today.

So, from what we can see so far, it appears as if U.S. forces weren't actually involved in Jill getting her freedom. And we still don't where she was being held.

She described being held in a relatively small room, able to take a shower, use a bathroom. She said one time during her captivity of almost three months she was able to watch TV. She once got to read a newspaper, she said. But she really had no idea what was happening in the outside world and didn't know where she was actually being held, although her freedom does seem to have come on the western side of Baghdad -- Daryn.

KAGAN: She was abducted back on January 7, and almost from the beginning we heard the demands that her captors wanted Iraqi women prisoners freed. What is the status of those women?

ROBERTSON: Well, within a few weeks a number of female prisoners in Iraq were freed. Exactly how many others have subsequently been taken into detention is unclear at this time. And it's certainly not clear if they were all released in advance of Jill being freed.

We just don't know at this time exactly how Jill came to be free. The best account we've had so far is from that political party and from Ambassador Khalilzad himself saying that she walked into this political party office in the afternoon just after lunchtime today. But how did she -- how was she able to get out of the place she was being held and able to do that? I suspect, Daryn, we're going to hear this later from Jill at some point.

KAGAN: This, of course, is huge news here in the states, Nic. What kind of reaction and coverage is it getting there in Iraq?

ROBERTSON: You know, the people here in Baghdad are very pleased to see this. We've been talking to them about Jill over the last few months. They've always been very consistent, saying that Jill was a reporter, she was here to help show the plight of the Iraqi people, that she was doing a good job, that they wanted to see her freedom.

When we talked to people today, they said they were overjoyed about hearing about her freedom. We talked to one lady, and she said this -- this essentially is what should have happened a long time ago, that they were very pleased to see it. So a tremendous reception here. And among the journalist Baghdad that knew her, of course, it is a day of huge, huge joy -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson live from Baghdad.

Thank you. Since the war, about 250 citizens of other countries have been kidnapped in Iraq. About 50 have been killed. And the fates of many American hostages are still unknown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Jeffrey Ake of Indiana was kidnapped from a Baghdad construction site on April 11 of last year. He was last seen two days later on video.

Dean Sadek was kidnapped in Baghdad on November 1, 2004. And Aban Elias, an Iraqi-American businessman was captured on May 3rd of 2004 by a group calling itself the Islamic Rage Brigade. He was last seen in a video three days later on an Arab news channel.

And truck driver Timothy Bell is still accounted for after his convoy was attacked near Baghdad international airport on April 9th of 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: I want to show you live pictures. Once again, this is Cancun, Mexico. President Bush is there for meetings with leaders of Mexico, and Canada as well. This is the fun tourist part of it there at Chechen Itza, the Mayan ruins, learning about these ancient ruins.

After the fun comes the hard talk, trade talks, and more talks about North American unity. That is still ahead as we look at those live pictures from Cancun.

The sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster goes home. Randy McCloy, Jr. has been called the miracle miner. Earlier this morning he was discharged from a hospital in West Virginia nearly three months after 12 of his fellow miners died in the Sago Mine. McCloy's wife spoke of their joy and also their sorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA MCCLOY, RANDY'S WIFE: Our family is glad to be going home. Today is another part of our miracle just three months after the accident.

However, there are 12 families who are in our thoughts and prayers today and every day. The families of Randy's co-workers and friends are celebrating with us today just as we continue to mourn with them. Please keep all of those in your thoughts and prayers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And then came comments from the man himself who had survived more than 40 hours trapped underground with only poisoned air to breathe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY MCCLOY, SAGO MINE DISASTER SURVIVOR: I'd just like to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers. I believe that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That says it all. A few words, but his appearance before the cameras tells that story.

You saw it live here on CNN. A Tennessee preacher's wife accused of gunning down her husband was in court just a short time ago. Mary Winkler waived her right to a preliminary hearing. She was ordered held without bail.

Police say she has confessed to killing her husband, but she hasn't entered a plea yet. Winkler's lawyer says he's concerned about her client's mental state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLIE BALLIN, WINKLER'S ATTORNEY: I'm concerned about her emotional state. One of those concerns is whether or not she would harm herself.

Now, suicide watch in different detention facilities means different things. From what I have seen this morning, I am not concerned that she could get to things that she could harm herself with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The case now goes to a grand jury, which will determine if there was enough evidence to support the murder charge against Winkler. So far, no word on a possible motive.

Nuclear concerns and diplomatic options. Iran's nuclear program is the focus of more international attention today. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with key members of the United Nations Security Council. The U.N. is giving Tehran 30 days to clear up suspicions over its nuclear program.

Today in Berlin, Rice and other leaders will discuss what happens next if Iran refuses to go along. China and Russia are urging patience. The U.S., France and Great Britain are calling for continued pressure.

Once a feared warlord and head of state, former Liberian president Charles Taylor will face judgment before an international court on war crimes charges. He was flown to Sierra Leone after spending a day on the run in his exile home of Nigeria. His case may be moved to The Hague in the Netherlands. Taylor is accused of helping rebels in Sierra Leone carrying out killings, rapes and mutilations.

Forty, it's not fatal, but if you're thinking about a baby, time is not on your side. I'm going to show you a new test that could help answer that age-old question, career or family?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Notorious BIG, who shot him to death? The crime was never solved, but the family's beef with Los Angeles has been. The city will pay $1 million for police negligence. That negligence didn't happen during their investigation. Rather, a detective withheld documents during the family's wrongful death lawsuit.

Notorious BIG, whose real crime -- his real name, actually, was Christopher Wallace, was killed nine years ago.

The Federal Reserve boosted interest rates earlier this week. That means that borrowing money will likely get expensive. But there's some good news as well for you savers out there.

Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with details on that.

Hello. What are we talking for savers?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're talking about some much better returns, Daryn. Unfortunately, there's a lot more spenders in the United States than there are savers. But in recent years, savings rates have been so low it's hardly been worth your while.

Now banks are boosting yields on certificates of deposit to their highest levels in five years. So if you're looking to stash some cash, a CD might be a much more attractive option than it used to be.

Among the most aggressive offers, online banks. Many of them like NetBank, E Trade Financial and Virtual Bank are offering one-year CDs paying 5 percent or more for the first time since 2001. Mind you, that's really competitive with the stock market.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Living large in Las Vegas. An ambulance company is making room for overweight patients.

This is the new ambulance that we're looking at here. It can handle loads up to 1,600 pounds. The extra-wide vehicle is equipped with a special ramp and a large gurney. In recent months the ambulance company says it has handled dozens of calls from patients that weigh more than 600 pounds.

Women who delay motherhood for a career, well, you hear it a lot, tick, tick, tick. That's your biological clock. Now a test can predict when the clock will run out. It's on sale in Britain and it may be available in the U.S. by the end of the year. With more on that, here's CNN's Paula Newton.

We'll get to Paula's story in a moment because I know a lot of you are interested in that. But first, here's tape -- here's President Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico in Cancun.

Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Very important meetings at this very significant historical site. And I congratulate our guide, and I want to thank those who have worked hard to make sure this important part of history is accessible and is available for people to understand the past so we can better understand the future.

So, Mr. President, thank you for having us.

KAGAN: OK. You've got the French, you've got the Spanish and you've got the English. The leaders of Canada, Mexico, and President Bush there in Cancun, Mexico, for the North American summit today. They're doing the touristy (ph) thing. It's the Mayan ruins. Then they get down to the harder work of the talks.

Immigration will be a topic, as well as North American unity. More on that from Cancun. Our Elaine Quijano is traveling with the president.

Now back to that story that I'm sure got the attention of a lot of women out there. You know there's already kits and tests out there to tell you if you're pregnant, when you're ovulating. Well, now in Britain there's a test to tell you how far along you are in your biological clock.

That story now from Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For every woman ever told you can't have it all, there are millions still trying. And Georgina Wickenden is one of them. She has a great family, a 1-year- old son, and a thriving pool business in England.

At 34, it seems a cruel irony that just as her career picks up so does her biological clock.

GEORGINA WICKENDEN, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Most women want to have children, most women want to have a career. If you're going to decide between the two and get the best out of life, then you need some tools to make you -- to help you decide what you're going to do.

NEWTON: One of those tools, a new fertility test developed in Britain. The Plan Ahead test measures your ovarian reserve, literally how many eggs a woman has. Its results are valid for two years.

DR. BILL LEDGER, INVENTOR, "PLAN AHEAD": And what the test can do is give early warning to people whose biological clock might be ticking quicker or possibly reassurance to people whose biological clock is going along at a slower rate.

WICKENDEN: It's not going to answer all questions about fertility. And they never did promise me that that would be the case. But at least now I know that my ovarian reserve is OK.

NEWTON: It's the kind of reassurance women are willing to pay for. The mail order test costs about $320. When you receive the kit, you take a simple blood test, mail it in, a lab measures three hormone levels, and then in a matter of weeks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is my result.

NEWTON: Dominique Edwards (ph) had the answer she was looking for, an above-average egg count.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is one of the biggest advancement since the pill. Sort of the unknown. You don't know if you can or not. And the test, the Plan Ahead test takes all the guesswork out of it, really.

NEWTON (on camera): Predictably, the idea of all this has really taken off, but it's also opened up a minefield of ethical questions.

(voice over): Dr. Patricia McShane is a practicing fertility specialist in the U.S. who worries some women will be falsely reassured.

DR. PATRICIA MCSHANE, FERTILITY SPECIALIST: I would be very reluctant for people to just try to rely upon this as a predictor of their fertility.

LEDGER: It is better to know the truth and have an understanding of what your own body's biology is doing than live on in blissful ignorance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, (INAUDIBLE).

NEWTON: The Plan Ahead test could be available in the U.S. as early as this year. Its inventors hope it will, in fact, lower the rate of infertility by telling women exactly when their biological clock is about to stop.

Paula Newton, CNN, Chippenham, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: If nothing else, it's information, and we enjoy information.

To get your daily dose of health news online, just go to our Web site, cnn.com/health. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, once again, cnn.com/health.

So, do you remember this? Can you believe 25 years ago today the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan? It's ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. This is one of those of do you remember where you were when, when President Ronald Reagan was shot? Can you believe it was 25 years ago today? We're going to rewind and take you back to the chaotic moments as they unfolded her on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We interrupt -- there's been a late development. Shots reported fired outside the hotel where President Reagan spoke a short time ago.

Here's Bernard Shaw in our Washington bureau.

BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Bob, as you can understand, details are very sketchy. We don't know precisely what happened.

Pardon me. OK. My apology.

Details are very sketchy at this moment. We don't know precisely what happened. We don't know the sequence.

First of all, the president is safe. We are told that shots were fired at his -- at his party as he left the hotel.

The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police report that at least one police officer and one Secret Service agent have been injured. They were shot down. Their condition we do not know. We are checking both with the Secret Service and with people up at the hotel.

We can report that shots were fired as President Reagan left the Washington Hilton hotel following that address we carried live here on CNN. The president did not appear to be hurt, according to United Press International.

Mr. Reagan was pushed inside his waiting presidential limousine by several Secret Service men immediately after the shots rang out. They were just to his right and behind him. The shots, according to United Press International, were fired just to the president's right and behind him by an unknown male.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Of course, you know by now the shooter turned out to be John Hinckley, Jr. He still is being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Washington. One of those hit by the shots, White House press secretary James Brady, was left permanently disabled.

Well, the current president, President Bush, is in Cancun, Mexico. But as Mr. Bush promised, even though it's spring break, you're not going to see him in a Speedo. He is there for a summit.

This morning he's playing tourist, visiting the ruins at Chechen Itza. Later today it is down to business. Mr. Bush will meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox to talk immigration, border security and trade. Afterwards, he'll get together with Canada's new prime minister, Stephen Harper.

CNN's Lou Dobbs is there. He's been focusing on broken borders for nearly two years. Join "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" live from the Cancun summit beginning at 6:00 Eastern.

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." That's the last line of a Jack Nicholson movie. It could also apply to the real Chinatown. Illegal immigrants, if they dare raise their voices to complain, they could be kicked out of the country.

Our Randi Kaye has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Lower East Side of Manhattan. But it feels like another country. As we make our way through Chinatown's crowded streets, Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian studies at Hunter College gives us the real story on illegal immigrants who came here in search of a dream.

PETER KWONG, HUNTER COLLEGE: They are willing to, you know work hard. But this is a very, very bad kind of exploitation. And they don't deserve that.

KAYE (on camera): Hard to know exactly how many illegal immigrants are living here in Chinatown simply because it's tough to keep track. Most are smuggled in by plane. Very few by ship. But no matter how they get here, they do so without being detected.

(voice-over): This man, who calls himself Mr. Chung, tells us he's been living here illegally for two years.

KWONG: "We don't have legal status. Always afraid of being catched. Always worried about police coming and check on our identities."

KAYE: He paid a pilot $60,000 to smuggle him in. Many illegals who aren't students apply for student visas to getting access to the United States.

KWONG: "I love China. I want to be in the United States free in this country. That's why I'm willing to pay that much money."

One of the problem in this community is that they -- they illegal, they don't speak English, they have no normal skills, marketable skills.

KAYE (on camera): So they take advantage of them.

KWONG: Take advantage of them.

KAYE: They pay them nothing.

KWONG: Pay them nothing.

KAYE (voice-over): Still, $3.75 an hour is far better than 10 cents an hour they earned at home. At this employment agency Mr. Chung and countless other illegals search for work posted on paper slips and then wait.

KWONG: Employers will give a call to this office saying, you know, I need three dishwashers. Could you send me?

KAYE: Oftentimes the working conditions are deplorable. Inside this unmarked building we find a sweatshop. Men and well, mostly illegal, according to our guide, sewing clothes. They're caged in. The stench is stifling.

KWONG: These people literally work from 7:00 until 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening.

KAYE (on camera): And do they get any insurance or anything like that for a job like this?

KWONG: No, nothing. If you get injured, that's your tough luck.

KAYE (voice-over): And after a long day's work, they don't have much to go home to.

KWONG: Six people live in same room. They may share a bathroom as well as a kitchen. Even more desperate, some of the people will share beds, rotating beds.

KAYE (on camera): If the immigration bill passes, will life change for these people?

KWONG: In some degrees, because if you're citizens, you could go to complain openly. And hopefully they will be addressed. But right now, you can't because if you complain, you might get yourself deported.

KAYE (voice-over): So the illegals choose to remain invisible. Trading dignity to avoid deportation.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: This weekend marks a year since the death of Pope John Paul II. Earlier this week, the Vatican revealed detail of his final sermon, one he never delivered. In it, he wrote that humanity at times seems dominated by evil, selfishness and fear. Here's from a "CNN PRESENTS" special. It's called "The Last Days of Pope John Paul II."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Once you actually got to the mass, it was as if all of that energy, you know, all of that need to grieve, and to pray and to quietly reflect, all of that was somehow unleashed, in one final round of applause, so to speak, for the amazing gift that these people believed that, you know, John Paul II had been to the church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It was a moment of joy, because his journey through life was wonderful. He kept the faith, and he was rewarded. It was a triumph. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I believed that he left the church and the world his love. How else can you explain that even after his death, all the people came to be with him?

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): At the very end, of course, the last thing that one saw is the papal gentlemen elevating the coffin, carrying the body of John Paul II and then taking it toward the central in St. Peter's, and then turning it around, you know, for one final salute to the crowd before they headed in to go down to the grotto for burial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in, and we were ahead of it waiting for him to pass by, and so once they slammed those doors, it was utter silence in St. Peter's Basilica. All you could hear is the pallbearers bringing the coffin through. We were, on either side, about six feet between us, of the long aisle leading up to the altar, because they had to bring the body down to the crypt where it was to be buried. There was no music. There was no sound. We just watched him pass for the last time.

When cardinals greet the pope, they always take off the skettles (ph), the red skull cap, you know, out of respect and then you put it back on to talk to him. It was quite spontaneously one by one we took them off our skettles as he went by. And then they took him down.

He was a great man.

I want to ask you a lot about this special because you worked so hard on it. We're going to get to that in just a moment.

But Jill Carroll's father, Jill Carroll, the American hostage, now former American hostage, speaking live from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JIM CARROLL, JILL CARROLL'S FATHER: ... in Iraq, who were trying to help her.

We certainly want to say a special thank you to "The Christian Science Monitor." The people in that paper did an incredible job, devoted themselves for three months to getting Jill released. They worked with doing investigative reporting in Baghdad. They worked on setting up the media statements, the video statements we made. They created public service announcements in Baghdad to keep her face alive and her image there so that people understood what her condition was.

We got the call this morning, I got the call a little before 6:00. Jill called me directly. And it was quite a wakeup call, to say the least. And she was -- she's doing well. I was glad to see her on TV this morning. She's apparently in good health, and mentally strong, and we're all very pleased about that.

We don't have any plans yet for when we're going to meet her. The transportation hasn't been arranged. Whether we're going there or she's coming here, we don't know yet. But at least for now that's the information. We won't be making any further public statements until after we've met with Jill and had our reunion. That's the most important thing on our mind right now. So that's probably it.

QUESTION: Can you describe the conversation? Can you share what you...

CARROLL: I'm not prepared to take any questions, because I know that will never end. So just -- it was a fantastic conversation, obviously. We're feeling ecstatic. It's been a long haul, and we're done with it now.

And I want to make sure all of us thank the people that helped, and also make sure all of you, in the media particularly, don't forget that the other American hostages, and other hostages of all nationalities, still being held in Iraq. There's several of them. Jeff Ache (ph) comes to mind, who's been there almost a year now. Those people still need that support, and they need the coverage to make sure that their loved ones can come home and they can enjoy this day that we're having.

QUESTION: What did her voice sound like. How did she sound. Can you tell us that at least, what her voice sounded like?

CARROLL: She was great. That's all I've got to say. There won't be any more until after we meet Jill whenever that takes place, tomorrow or the next day. We're not sure. OK.

QUESTION: Thank you very much.

CARROLL: Thank you very much, guys. Bye-bye.

KAGAN: Well, Jim Carroll has been dealing with the media since January 7th. He knows how it works. He knows to say no to questions. This, though, the day he has dreamed off since January 7th, when his daughter, Jill Carroll, working as a journalist in Iraq was abducted. We got word this morning she had been released. The details of her release still unclear at this point, but she was able to give an interview and say that said that over the time since January that she has been treated well, she was never abused in any way.

Jim Carroll saying that he got that phone call from his daughter today about 6:00 a.m. North Carolina time. And the family will not be talking to the media until they get back together.

And Jill Carroll in that interview also said, that was her number-one priority, seeing her family once again.

That family giving thanks for a miracle this morning. Talking miracles with Delia Gallagher, our faith and values correspondent.

You have been pouring your heart and soul into this special. I can't believe it's been a year since Pope John Paul II died. And before we saw the live picture from North Carolina, we were looking at a clip of some of the people you interviewed. You have incredible access at the Vatican to put this together.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we were very fortunate to get to talk to these five cardinals, the man who was closest to the pope for 40 years, his private secretary, Cardinal Stanislav Dziwisz. He's now in Poland. We went to Krakow to meet him. And you know, over the 40 years that he served with the pope, he never spoke on record. He was somebody who was very reticent. His main job was the pope. His life became the pope. And when he agreed to talk to us, I just thought great. And he was able to tell us from, you know, the timeline, from the time the pope fell ill what was happening. He was the one calling the people to come to the pope's bedside to say their final goodbyes to him. And we went to find those people as well, and we got to hear their stories of being at the pope's bedside. What did the pope say, what did they say, and what happened?

So fabulous stories from these people. And of course, we also got to talk to the pope's doctor, and that was another big coup, because this was another man who really never spoke on record. And he was in charge of the medical team that took care of the pope twice at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, and the times previous. And you know, just imagine being the pope's doctor, being a doctor sort of looking down and making these life and death decisions, and your patient is the pope.

KAGAN: And not just any pope, but one of the most popular of all time.

GALLAGHER: Absolutely. So, again, great inside stories from him and everybody that participated in this really, shared very, very personal stories with us about those last days.

KAGAN: So here we are a year later. And I got to say, when I still, a year later, see pictures of the new pope, Benedict XVI, I have a moment where I stop and I go, wait, what's he doing wearing the pope's clothes? He still does not look like the pope to me. Which -- basically Pope John Paul II has got to be one of the toughest acts in history to follow.

GALLAGHER: Absolutely. And that is what they all told us. These cardinals who spoke to us said, you know, when they were in the conclave voting, we realized that these were big shoes to fill. And they all sort of concurred on the fact that there was one man who was head and shoulders above the others in terms of his personality, and that was certainly Cardinal Ratzinger.

And I think that, you know, looking back, everybody can say well, yes, he was the obvious choice. Because you needed somebody who had that force of personality, who had the strength to at least deflect the attention somewhat and bring it onto him and he has done that.

I think, very interestingly, what the cardinals told me was that now that, you know, that he's made new cardinals last week -- it's his first time that he's made these new cardinals -- he's brought them all together and they had a full day together to discuss church issues. And that was one of the main concerns of some of the more progressive cardinals and bishops in the church, that they be heard. And it was one of the main concerns by people when they saw that it was Cardinal Ratzinger elected pope, that perhaps he wasn't going to be the listening pope that John Paul II was. And by all accounts, they suggest that he is actually doing that. So that's one positive thing for...

KAGAN: Meanwhile, the movement very much under way to make Pope John Paul II a saint.

GALLAGHER: Yes. And one of the great things that we got to do in this special was find the man who's in charge of that whole process.

KAGAN: That is somebody's job?

GALLAGHER: That is somebody's job at the Vatican. And very interestingly, I think, he's a Polish priest who does -- his full-time job is doing marriage annulments. And so he does this on a part-time basis, he does it unpaid, and he is responsible for gathering all of what they call testimonials about the pope.

And that's good and bad. People write to him also to criticize the pope and say I don't think he should be a saint. But of course, the majority of the letters are people who say I received this grace, I received this miracle, after I prayed to the pope. And his main job is to find those miracles.

And speaking of Jill Carroll and miracles, you know, I think that he has been doing these investigations into what can be considered a miracle and what can't. He has found somebody, a nun in France who suffered from Parkinson's, which was the disease that the pope suffered from. And two months after the pope died, when her order of nuns prayed to the pope for her healing, this happened in a sort of instantaneous way. So he is going through the documentation now, whether that can be medically explained or not. But he tells us that that is going to be the miracle that they propose for the beatification of the pope.

KAGAN: Fascinating stuff. We're looking forward to seeing the whole special. Tell us again -- actually, I have that information. We can watch Delia's report, "The Last Days of Pope John Paul II," "CNN PRESENTS," a two hour special, Saturday and Sunday, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Delia Gallagher, thank you.

GALLAGHER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Look forward to seeing it.

They are ear buds, not a boom box. Apple hears your complaints about the iPod loud and clear. The fix is in, and it's ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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KAGAN: The big and happy news this morning is that American hostage Jill Carroll has been released in Iraq. This, of course, not just big news across the states, but especially good news for her family.

Something you saw only here on CNN, her father, Jim Carroll, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, came outside and had a few things to say just in the last moments. And we thought it would be a good idea to listen in once again to what Jill Carroll's father, Jim Carroll, had to say about his daughter finally being free.

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CARROLL: ... obviously, to the question how do you feel is excellent. We've had an arduous three months. It's been very, very difficult on the family and all of the friends. And obviously, all the people around the world. The media coverage for Jill has been amazing. I couldn't believe it. And we certainly appreciate that. The thoughts and the prayers of people from around the world, including many people in Iraq, who were trying to help her.

We certainly want to say a special thank you to "The Christian Science Monitor." The people in that paper did an incredible job, devoted themselves for three months to getting Jill released. They worked with doing investigative reporting in Baghdad. They worked on setting up the media statements, the video statements we made. They created public service announcements in Baghdad to keep her face alive and her image there so that people understood what her condition was.

We got the call this morning. I got the call a little before 6:00. Jill called me directly. And it was quite a wake-up call, to say the least. And she was -- she's doing well. I was glad to see her on TV this morning. She's apparently in good health, and mentally strong, and we're all very pleased about that.

We don't have any plans yet for when we're going to meet her. The transportation hasn't been arranged. Whether we're going there or she's coming here, we don't know yet. But at least for now that's the information. We won't be making any further public statements until after we've met with Jill and had our reunion. That's the most important thing on our mind right now. So that's probably it.

QUESTION: Can you describe the conversation? Can you share what you...

CARROLL: I'm not prepared to take any questions, because I know that will never end. So just -- it was a fantastic conversation, obviously. We're feeling ecstatic. It's been a long haul, and we're done with it now.

And I want to make sure all of us thank the people that helped, and also make sure all of you, in the media particularly, don't forget that the other American hostages, and other hostages of all nationalities, still being held in Iraq. There's several of them. Jeff Ake comes to mind, who's been there almost a year now. Those people still need that support, and they need the coverage to make sure that their loved ones can come home and they can enjoy this day that we're having.

QUESTION: What did her voice sound like. How did she sound. Can you tell us that at least, what her voice sounded like?

CARROLL: She was great. That's all I've got to say. There won't be any more until after we meet Jill whenever that takes place, tomorrow or the next day. We're not sure. OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that is Jim Carroll just a few minutes ago, something you saw only here on CNN, as he speaks to the media talking about the release of his daughter.

Our Jason Carroll is here and also had a chance to talk with Jim Carroll. Probably, what, the happiest dad in America today, would you say?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He has got to be one of the happiest dads in America. As you heard him there say, ecstatic. When I spoke to Jim very early this morning, I really wanted to hear about what Jill had said to him during that phone conversation. As you heard during the impromptu press conference that he held just a few moments ago. He wasn't taking any questions.

But a little earlier, he did describe for me, in some brief detail, in terms of what Jill said to him on the phone. He said it was just before 6:00 a.m. He was fast asleep. Phone rang, and he picked it up and he heard his daughter's voice. He said for a few moments he couldn't believe it was her on the other end. And she simply said to him, "Hi, Dad, this is Jill. I'm released." It was really just as simple as that. He told me -- he said it took a few seconds for it really to sink in that it was really Jill on the other end of the phone. He said it was amazing to hear her voice. You heard him there say in a press conference that she sounded like he was in good spirits. I asked him a little earlier how he knew that. He said he could tell just from the tone of her voice that she sounded good -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And like you said, the plans aren't completely shored up if they're going to go over top Iraq, or perhaps Europe somewhere, or if she's going to come here, how they're going to meet up?

JASON CARROLL: Right. A little of that is unclear. Earlier, Jim, I think, had spoken to another CNN producer and had said that the family had no immediate plans to go to Baghdad, but that doesn't mean that they're not making arrangements to meet her someplace else overseas or if they might perhaps meet her here stateside. Those details still being worked out.

KAGAN: You know, they're going to figure it out, because they've waited a long time for this to place.

Jason Carroll, thank you.

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KAGAN: There is word of severe weather that could hit the Midwest today. We'll check in with Chad Myers in just a bit on that. For now, though, a quick break.

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KAGAN: That's going to do it for me. I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'll be back with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

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