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CNN Live Today

The Politics of Gay Marriage; Troops On Border; Newborn Missing; Iraq Abductions; Military Misconduct in Iraq; Terror Plot Uncovered in Toronto

Aired June 05, 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.
Ahead this hour, there are abductions in Iraq. Dozens kidnapped by gunmen posing as police. We'll go there live with unfolding details.

And here in the states, vanished. Texas launches a state-wide search for this newborn baby girl. Police say she was snatched by a woman posing as a hospital nurse. We'll hear frantic calls from her mother ahead on LIVE TODAY. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

We begin this hour, though, with the topic of same-sex marriage. In the spotlight today at the White House and on Capitol Hill, the Senate is starting to debate on an amendment that would ban gay marriage. It's backed by President Bush and he's getting ready to speak out again today. The issue is fueled by election-year politics. To the White House now and CNN's Ed Henry.

Ed, why is the White House speaking out when the president doesn't have anything to do with a constitutional amendment?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the official reason from White House Spokesman Tony Snow is that with the Senate debate kicking off, the president wants to weigh in. And that with courts around the country weighing in, the president feels it's time for Congress to step in and settle this issue once and for all.

But let's face facts, there's also another reason the president is facing a political problem. Conservatives really feel burned. They feel like they helped deliver the president's re-election in 2004. They saw the president really stay mostly silent since he got re-elected on this issue of same-sex marriage. Instead, they saw the president spend a lot of political capital in 2005 on issues like social security reform, which went nowhere.

Now, they say, they want this issue at the forefront. And let's face it, Republicans are worried about the midterm elections. They're concerned that conservatives are going to sit on their hands and not turn out in those midterm elections. And if Republicans were to lose control of Congress, this president's agenda would be dead for the last two years of his presidency. He needs conservatives to turn out. Even though he's not on the ballot, this president has a lot at stake in this election.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, this is one of the few issues that we've heard the president and the vice president disagree on. Any chance we'll hear from Vice President Dick Cheney on this issue?

HENRY: I doubt it. I think he had a chance to speak out in the 2004 campaign. The vice president, in a rare example, split with the president, as you noted, and came out and said that he thinks this is an issue better left to the states rather than Congress stepping in with a constitutional amendment. In part, obviously, that was because his own daughter, Mary Cheney, is a lesbian and she had a book tour recently where she basically, you know, took some shots at this constitutional amendment and said she didn't like it.

I think that's another reason, in fact, that conservatives are concerned. They think they're getting mixed signals from this White House. The president says he's for the amendment. We've got the vice president's daughter against it. You also have the first lady, Laura Bush, recently weighed in and said she does not think this issue should be used as a campaign tool and she thinks there should be more sensitivity brought to this debate.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry at the White House. Ed, thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

KAGAN: Looking back, the year that everything kind of took a turn was 2004 as the nation watched gay couples exchanging vows in Massachusetts and California. For some, that was just too much and voters in several states went to the polls and overwhelmingly approved amendments to their state constitution limiting marriage only to heterosexuals. So here is the way the country looks today. Forty-two states now have what are called Defense of Marriage Statutes on the books. And this year, voters in seven states will decide on constitutional amendments to their state constitutions banning same- sex marriage.

Stay with CNN for President Bush's remarks on the proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Live coverage is coming at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. But even long before that, in the next hour we have guests on both sides of the issue. They see it in a very different way, but there is at least one thing that they do agree on and we'll get to that in the next hour.

But first, to the border and a new mission. The first National Guard troops are deploying as part of President Bush's crackdown on illegal immigration. They'll extend fencing and lights along the U.S.-Mexico border. And some are already voicing a few concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. TALON GREEFF, UTAH ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: We have concerns around just the weather. It's going to be a lot hotter than what we're used to in Utah. Not as hot as what we were used to in Iraq. So, you know, I'm concerned about heat casualties and that kind of thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: CNN's Kareen Wynter is in San Luis, Arizona, with the latest.

Kareen, good morning.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

You heard about the concern from that captain regarding the very hot temperatures out here. It gets up into the triple digits at times during the day. They were briefed, these 55 troops from the Utah National Guard. They arrived here on Saturday and they were briefed on many things. Most importantly, the conditions out here which can be grueling at times. They're concerned about heat casualties, for example, possible dehydration. So they'll be looking out for that as they embarked on this all-important mission.

They'll be here for two weeks. That's how long their deployment lasts. And in a couple hours from now, well, we'll be seeing President Bush's new immigration plan to beef up border security at work. At that time, these troops will be out here along the border crossing.

And what they'll be doing first, Daryn, is working on building a new road system. A lot of what we see here along the border involves gravel roads. It can make it very, very difficult for border patrol agents to maneuver, especially when they're trying to catch someone quickly who may be trying to cross into the U.S. illegally.

That's not it. They'll also be working on building up the fence, fortifying the structures that exist and also installing lighting, high-tech lighting similar to what we're used to seeing at stadiums. So they have their work cut out for them here today.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So, Kareen, here we have National Guard troops. They're from Utah. They're working in Arizona and they're protecting a federal border. Who do they answer to?

WYNTER: Well, right now we're being told that it's a supportive role. They'll still answer to their captains or commanders who are in charge. They won't be assisting with law enforcement effort. That's strictly for border patrol agents who are trained in this matter.

One agent I spoke with just minutes ago said there's a lot of work for these troops to do in terms of electrical repairing. There's a lot of damage, they say, along the fence from people who tried to get through there. And, Daryn, they're telling me that they don't try to go underneath the fence or over it, they try to go through it. So they'll be working on a lot of that repair, alleviating some of the day-to-day responsibility that these border patrol agents have to handle normally.

KAGAN: Kareen Wynter along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, thank you.

Now to Texas. She is only five days old and for her family the last 20 hours have been agonizing. She's missing and she's sick. Texas has issued an Amber Alert for this newborn baby believed to have been snatched by a woman who was posing as a nurse. We get details now from reporter Mark Kennedy. He's with our affiliate KAMC in Lubbock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA YSASAGA, MOTHER OF MISSING BABY: She was concerned all the time about my baby, so I thought she was a nurse.

MARK KENNEDY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Erica Ysasaga says the lady even dressed the part of a nurse, in scrubs. She says the lady who went by Lisa Stewart (ph) would come check on her at University Medical Center bed on a daily basis. UMC spokesman Greg Bruce says Miss Stewart, which is believed to be an alias, isn't an employee.

GREG BRUCE, HOSPITAL SPOKESMAN: To the best of our knowledge, it's not an employee of our hospital. The description of what the employee was wearing, how the employee was acting while they visited with the mother in the hospital is not consistent with any of our staff.

KENNEDY: Sunday afternoon, Ysasaga says the same lady, who went by Lisa Stewart, showed up at her house on 46th Street.

YSASAGA: She told me about a baby pageant and that she wanted to put my baby in a baby pageant. And I said, no, my baby's sick, she can't be in public. And she said they would pay me $100 and that my baby would win stuff and I was, all, no, my baby can't be out in public.

KENNEDY: Little Priscilla has a bad case of jaundice and needs to be closely monitored. Ysasaga says Sunday afternoon, on doctor's orders, she had Priscilla outside in the sun. She says the lady was holding her.

YSASAGA: She said she had relatives that lived on the next block and that they have really (ph) moved there and that she had been telling them about my baby and that she wanted to show my baby to them. And then I said -- she left her keys and her ring and a piece of paper there. She said, oh, I'll leave this here and so I'll come back for it. She had my baby and I said, no, I'll just go with you.

KENNEDY: Ysasaga says they walked down the block. But before they got to a house, the lady said her relatives weren't home.

YSASAGA: So we were walking back towards this way and my son ran ahead of me, so I tried to reach over and grab him. And when I did that, I turned around, just like that, my baby was gone.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: And we're going to find out more about this case in just a few minutes. I'll have a chance to talk with one of the hospital administrators coming up here on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Police commandos executing a well-planned raid on a busy Baghdad street. That's what it looked like. But the raiders were really kidnappers. Now dozens of people are being held. Our John Vause is in Baghdad with the latest on this kidnapping.

John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

This all happened in broad daylight in downtown Baghdad. A well- planned kidnapping. According to some witnesses, it took for over an hour for at least 50 people to be taken by these gunmen. A spokesperson for the interior ministry says that gunmen, who were dressed as Iraqi commandos, arrived in more than a dozen vehicles. Some had no license plates. Other had been painted to look like Iraqi police cars.

Now they were at these transportation companies, three of them in downtown Baghdad, as well as some travel agencies. It's where a lot of Iraqis go to book their travel to get out of the country.

Now what we're being told is that these gunmen seemed to grab just anybody who was nearby, drivers, office staff, as well as passengers. Also kidnapped during this was the owner of one of these transportation company, the largest one in Iraq. He's been taken, along with his two sons.

There were some conflicting reports earlier today that there may have been some kind of official raid underway by the Iraqi security forces. The prime minister's office has told us that there was no such operation underway. This appears to be a brazen mass kidnapping.

Daryn.

KAGAN: John Vause live from Baghdad, thank you.

And now we have breaking news here in the U.S. out of the Supreme Court. Betty Nguyen has that for us now.

Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn.

The Supreme Court has decided that it will hear a case on whether schools can use race as a deciding factor to let students into classes. For example, there are two cases, one in Seattle and one in Louisville, Kentucky.

Where in Seattle, for example, students, there are 30 students that can be allowed into a class. Well, say there are only 15 spots that are available. Can the school district use race as a tiebreaker to allow students in the class. If all these students who want to get into the class have this same exact grades and what not, will race be that tiebreaker, that determining factor?

Well, the Supreme Court said today that it will decide this case. Two cases that affect Seattle and Louisville and could have nationwide implications when it comes to students trying to get into certain courses in both elementary and secondary schools. So that's what the Supreme Court has decided so far this morning.

KAGAN: All right, Betty Nguyen. Betty, thank you.

Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, troops take aim and they shoot the war tapes. A view of the war through the eyes of soldiers on the front.

And an Internet Romeo had it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had the Marshall Ray (ph) jacket, the badge, the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: But love turns to revenge when the real truth comes out. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The latest now on those investigations into the killings of Iraqi civilians. The U.S. military has closed the books on one, but zeroing in on servicemen in another. Our Brian Todd is at the Pentagon with more.

Brian, what's the latest you can tell us about the investigations?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, we can tell you something about the investigation into the killing of an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamandiya, just west of Baghdad. This civilian was killed on April 26th. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman are currently being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, California. A source close to the investigation there tells CNN that murder charges are likely to be filed sometime in the next few days and that "somewhere around seven Marines are likely to be charged with murder in that case."

The civilian was killed, as we said, on April 26th in Hamandiya. If murder charges are filed, it would be the first time that Marines at Camp Pendleton are accused of intentionally killing an Iraqi civilian. That is a war crime under the Geneva Convention. As we say, seven Marines and one Navy corpsmen held in the brig. Four other Marines are being confined to base at Camp Pendleton. The lawyer for one Marine says a judge has refused to release his client, citing an alleged flight risk there.

But again, sources close to the investigation tell us that murder charges are likely to be filed within the next few days in that case.

KAGAN: Brian Todd live at the Pentagon. Brian, thank you. The critics say that the Haditha case is a symbol of bigger problems with the U.S. war effort. Retired Major General John Batiste is repeating a previous call for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): I, however, see a direct link between Haditha, the national embarrassment of Abu Ghraib, going on four years now of uncontrollable chaos in Iraq with the bad judgment, poor decisions of our secretary of defense back in late 2003 and 2004. I question his competency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Also, President Bush, of course, has continued to express his support for Donald Rumsfeld.

All right, after being tested by a deadly earthquake, children in Indonesia are back in class taking final exams. Most of the schools were destroyed, so they're taking the tests in tents. One teacher says it's important for the kids to stick to their normal routine. Last month's quake killed more than 5,700 people and flattened tense of thousands of home. Many survivors are living in makeshift shelters or even chicken coops. That has aid agencies on alert for possible disease outbreaks and fears that more people could come down with bird flu.

Concerns about terrorism in Toronto. Suspects are in custody and under scrutiny. Should we be nervous on this side of the boarder? A closer look ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Rough morning on Wall Street. Look at that. A sell-off. The Dow is down 71 points. The markets haven't even been open an hour. The Nasdaq also taking a hit. Right now it is down 12 points.

Sweeping counterterrorism operation in Canada. New worries here in the U.S. Seventeen people are in custody in Canada this morning suspected of plotting to blow up major buildings in the Toronto area. There is shock in Canada and new concerns here at home about border security. Not to the south, but to the north. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a wake-up call for sure.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): If many Canadians were floored at the prospect of terrorists targeting their country, a few were not. Kim Bastarache says she had suspicions about her neighbor, Kium Abdul Jamal, who was among those arrested.

KIM BASTARACHE, NEIGHBOR: No, I knew they were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew they were what?

BASTARACHE: Terrorists. He seemed like he was a terrorist person from the day one he moved in.

MESERVE: Jamal was said by some Muslims in the Toronto suburb of Misasaga (ph) to have taken control of a local mosque.

TAREK FATAH, MUSLIM CANADIAN CONGRESS: He throws the old guard (ph) out and takes it over and turns a very moderate mosque into a very conservative, radical place which excluded a whole lot of other Muslims, including those who had funded it.

MESERVE: Another Toronto mosque was vandalized over the weekend leading the chief of police to appear with Muslim leaders and plead for calm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice will be done. And in the interim, I hope that we can all work together to maintain the respect and trust and peace of our communities.

MESERVE: The 17 suspects are being held under tight security after being rounded up Friday night. Canadian authorities say they had acquired three tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate and had what appeared to be detonators. The alleged targets, all in Ontario. An attorney for two of the suspects called the charges vague.

ROCCO GALATI, LAWYER: His family's well established, well long- standing residents and citizens of Canada for the past 50 years.

MESERVE: But U.S. lawmakers are concerned.

SEN. CARL LEVIN, (D) MICHIGAN: We've got a longer boarder with Canada than we do with Mexico. We've got thousands of trucks that come in every day, many of them -- most of them not inspected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was our Jeanne Meserve reporting. Some members of Congress are criticizing Canadian immigration and asylum policies which they say allows terrorism to flourish. But Canadian officials say Americans, as well as Canadians, should be relieved that the alleged plot was stopped before it became a tragedy.

CNN security watch keeps you up-to-date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Twenty-three minutes past the hour. You might feel safe in your car unless you're in Rhode Island. Ahead, why drivers there might want to brush up on some road rules. This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

And Alice and Trixie join Ralph and Norton. The new honeymooners? Who knows. It's a shark's tale ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: President Bush making a speech later today supporting a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. You'll see that live here on CNN.

First, though, we want to focus on a story that is developing out of Texas. It is about a baby girl only five days old and each hour may be pushing her deeper into danger. Police in Lubbock, Texas, say that a newborn was snatched by a woman posing as a hospital nurse. There's the baby. The family says the little girl is suffering from jaundice and needs medical care. Joining us by phone is Greg Bruce. He's the vice president of University Medical Center where the baby was born on Friday.

Mr. Bruce, good morning.

GREG BRUCE, UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Good morning, Daryn. How are you?

KAGAN: Fine.

We should say that the baby was not taken from your hospital and yet there definitely appears to be -- there was contact between the woman police believe took the baby and the mother and the baby inside your hospital.

BRUCE: That's right. The mom is reporting that an individual dressed in scrubs came into her room at least on two occasions while she was in the hospital, visited with her at length about her baby and developed some sort of a relationship with her, a friendship, asked for the mother's address and then apparently made contact with the mom after she got home.

KAGAN: And as far as you can tell, this woman would have no relationship with your hospital? She's not an employee or a volunteer or anything else?

BRUCE: She was not. And the important thing is, our goal is the safety and well-being of our patients and staff. We have a partnership with our patients on security. And one of the things that we tell our patients is that all hospital staff are wearing hospital- issued scrubs, have hospital-issued picture I.D.s. In this instance, the suspect did not have either.

KAGAN: Are you able to review any security camera tapes?

BRUCE: We are working with law enforcement officials right now. We have a number of security cameras throughout our facility. We're reviewing those tapes. Unfortunately, there's a fairly large window when the woman could have been in the building. We have, at this point, not identified her yet.

KAGAN: Even though, as we pointed out, the baby wasn't taken from your hospital, are you reviewing security policies that could prevent this kind of contact from taking place?

BRUCE: We are looking at that. And I think that all hospitals are probably taking a step back in looking at the visitation policy on the postpartum floors. That's probably one of our highest traffic areas for visitors. And I think it is for most hospitals because the birth of a baby is a very exiling event and you want to have your friends and family there. I think that what people need to go away with is understanding that if an individual reports to be a hospital employee and they're not wearing hospital scrubs, they don't have a hospital I.D., they need to alert their nurse as quickly as possible.

KAGAN: And how sick is this little baby?

BRUCE: The baby has jaundice and was actually in our hospital yesterday morning for bloodwork. The baby is sick. The baby is ill and needs continual monitoring to make sure that the jaundice is being addressed. So we would just urge anyone with any information about Priscilla to please take her to a hospital or to a physician's office as quickly as possible.

KAGAN: Greg Bruce, vice president of the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas. Thank you...

BRUCE: Thank you. Bye-bye.

KAGAN: ... for your time and good luck with that search.

Still ahead, we are watching two live events as President Bush speaks out supporting a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. On the left side of your screen, you have an organization, Alliance for Marriage, that supports that, as well. On your right side, somebody that -- a group that believes that, as the sign says, all families deserve respect and there should not be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

A debate, a discussion about that topic, is still ahead, as well as President Bush's speech from the Rose Garden later today.

Well, you might think that the president's plate might be full with the war in Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Ira, and immigration battles, as well. So why has the president chosen to tackle same-sex marriage now?

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining me from New York with more on that. Bill, what about the timing?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The timing is really being driven by Republicans in Congress. They're facing midterm election this year. They're worried about preserving the Republican majority. They're getting very desperate because they see the base, the conservative base of the Republican party, eroding. President Bush is doing what he can to help them, but it's really being driven by them, trying to conserve the Republican base and rally those conservatives in a low turnout, mid-term election.

KAGAN: But there are risks in taking this tactic.

SCHNEIDER: There are big risks. One of is that this is not going pass. It's certainly not going to pass in the Senate. Unlikely to even pass the House of Representatives. It requires a two-thirds majority in each house to pass, and then it has to go to the states, where three-quarters of the states have to ratify it.

Well, if it doesn't pass the House and Senate, that could disillusion those very social issue conservatives that are trying to rally. They could say, well, this is hopeless. We voted for a Republican Congress and president and they still can't deliver.

But even more important, it reinforces the image of Congress as out of touch. When you ask voters, what are the most important issues, they'll talk about immigration, they'll talk about Iraq, they'll talk about gas prices, the deficit, terrorism, the economy, Iran, but they don't usually mention social issues. They're not very prominent, except to a small group of social issue moral conservatives. So this could reinforce an image of a Congress that's debating things that are not high priority to most Americans.

KAGAN: A civics lesson here. We're hearing President Bush speak out, but the president, the role of the president, doesn't have anything to do with the constitutional amendment.

SCHNEIDER: That's correct. Procedurally, he doesn't. A constitutional amendment -- there are a couple of procedures, but the standard procedure, if there is no constitutional convention, which there hasn't been since the 18th century -- but the standard procedure is it has to pass both houses of Congress without the president's signature. He doesn't have to sign anything. Then it goes to the states and it has to be ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures. The president's job in this can be to rally voters to help drive up support and use the bully pulpit, but he has no actual legal role in the procedure.

KAGAN: Bill Schneider, live from New York City today. Bill, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAGAN: Ahead, a story about an Internet Romeo who looked like he had it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had the marshal raid jacket, the badge, the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: But love turns to revenge when the real truth comes out. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

And speaking of love, we're hoping some love takes place over at the Georgia Aquarium. Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. What you're alluding to is the arrival of two female whale sharks. Late Saturday night, a 30-hour trip from Taiwan. And they're in the tank behind me, hopefully at some point, to hook up with two males. We'll talk about that possibility, live from the Georgia Aquarium, when LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: You can call it a case of some marine matchmaking in the world's biggest fish tank. Alice and Trixie, meet Ralph and Norton. They're named from the 1950s TV show and some are hoping that these sharks will become real honeymooners.

Our Rob Marciano has the story from the Georgia Aquarium. Hey, Rob.

MARCIANO: Hi, Daryn.

Just down the road, you know, some would accuse us of being Homers here, CNN being so close to the aquarium. But it's big news and a huge buzz in the aquatic community. As you mentioned, two whale sharks, two female whale sharks, being brought into the two males that were -- have been here for a year now. And they're all housed up in this tank. There you see one just kind of cruising across the top.

I believe that's one of the females. The females are four or five feet or more shorter than the males. They're much younger. They're, you know, the equivalent of maybe a 10 or 12-year-old versus, you know, some guys that are in high school. So they have a couple of years and probably four to five feet of growth yet before they're actually eligible to mate.

But they cruise around amongst those yellow trivali (ph) fish, very pleasant fish that just kind of get a free ride off the bow of their mouth. They don't eat those kind of fish. They eat very small krill and they're fed throughout the day. They're just trying to get some meat on the bones, so to speak, so that these animals grow large enough to potentially mate and potentially give birth to little baby shark whales -- or whale sharks right here in the Georgia Aquarium. That's never been done or even witnessed. So that would be just a huge coup.

You kind of see the yellow ropes or lines that are kind of dropped down across this window. That's so the new whale sharks don't ram into the viewing window itself. Kind of give them some perspective while they get used to their new home.

KAGAN: That's interesting.

MARCIANO: You know, I've been -- I know you've been down here, Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, I have.

MARCIANO: This is my second -- it's just such an amazing sight. Even if you don't see the whales. You see those I think they're called cow-faced rays. They kind of travel in schools and these huge groupers. It's really amazing to see this. But we're going to see what happens over the months. So they're just really jazzed here, the curator and the executive director and everybody that works down here in the Georgia Aquarium, to have these two whale sharks, which by the way, if left in Taiwan in the state that they were 48 hours ago, they would have eventually have became food.

KAGAN: Someone's dinner.

MARCIANO: On the table and someone's dinner in an Asian restaurant. So literally these sharks, whale sharks, rescued from being slaughtered and sold to the market. So, you know, it's kind of a good story all the way around and we like to share those with you from time to time.

KAGAN: We do. The only problem with showing this on television is you can't even begin to appreciate the scale of how big that wall is that you're standing in front of or even how big the whale shark is.

MARCIANO: Well, the females are -- they're about 12, 15 feet and they've got to get to about 20 feet. The males are already 20, 25 feet, and they grow I think to something like 40 feet. Earlier today, there were actually divers in the tank. They do that every day and they go down with cloth diapers and they actually hand wipe the viewing tank so it's clean. And they do that so it doesn't get scratched up. And then when you saw the whale shark cruise by the diver, that's when you really got to see some of the perspective there.

And you can kind of still see him through the tank there. I actually -- a few times, the females have swam with, crossed the path of, very closely with the males. So everybody seems to be getting along or at least tolerating each other and that's got everybody smiling here at the Georgia Aquarium.

KAGAN: So it's not so much that they don't think that they're not going to get along, it's just that they're kind of the equivalent of let's say, fourth grade, when the girls don't think the boys are cool and the boys don't think the girls are cool. But come high school...

MARCIANO: Yes, or the boys are looking -- or the boys are looking at them, and going, you know, it's an investment. Or something like that.

KAGAN: All right, Rob.

MARCIANO: So yes, they're kind of disinterested that this point.

KAGAN: Good luck to them. Well, we're very interested. Thank you, Rob Marciano at Georgia Aquarium.

MARCIANO: Yes, see you later.

KAGAN: A second look at stolen records. Even more members of the U.S. military at risk for identity theft.

And if you have used hotels.com, we have a warning for you -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. When in doubt, leave it out. That is especially true when it comes to company e-mail. I'll have details when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KAGAN: Well, ahead, a story of a woman who thought that he was the light of her life, but she was really in the dark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not only did she tell me he was married, but when I said -- I had asked her, he's a U.S. marshal and he works in an office out on Plum Island, she says, no. She says he works out on Plum Island, but he's not a U.S. marshal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: How a woman got her revenge when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Their affair made headlines across America. Tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Mary Kay LeTourneau and her husband speak out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Do you regret anything?

MARY KAY LETOURNEAU: I regret not having -- I regret not knowing more about the criminal justice system. I regret not getting the -- well, I know that I did everything that I could have done once things laid themselves out, and that's how I went to slip every night, because every day I made sure I did everything either to help my children or to educate myself.

KING: No regret over anything concerning Vili?

LETOURNEAU: My gosh. No, we're so happy to be together.

KING: Do you have any?

VILI FUALAAU: No.

KING: None?

FUALAAU: None.

KING: Do it again?

FUALAAU: I'd do it again. Probably just next time if I did I wouldn't get caught.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Hear more of what the couple has to say coming up on 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

His stories of busting crooks, charming, but they were all lies. So a woman plotted revenge against her ex-boyfriend and discovered he was more than a two-timer.

CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police with a warrant. We're coming in.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men are real U.S. marshals with government-issued jackets and badges. This man, Richard Kudlik is not. He was arrested by U.S. marshals for being a fraud, possibly identifying himself as a U.S. marshal and being in possession of a phony U.S. marshal's badge. He was arraigned, pled not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail.

But that's just the beginning of the story. Pam Brown said she's known Kudlik for years, even dated him for eight months, all along thinking he was a U.S. marshal. Then, she found out his real identity through an anonymous e-mail, later confirmed, she says, by a woman she believes is Kudlik's wife of 17 years.

PAM BROWN, ALLEGES ONLINE DECEPTION: Not only did she tell me he was married, but when I said I had asked her, he's a U.S. marshal and works in an office out on Plum Island, she says no, he works out on Plum Island, but he's not a U.S. marshal.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. marshal's office confirms Kudlik was working on Plum Island, but as a maintenance worker. Brown says she was in shock.

BROWN: The lies, disbelief. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe any of it.

WHITFIELD: Frustrated and furious, Brown, a web designer, created the Web site www.off2hunt.com, named after Kudlik's license plate number. Her mission, exposing married liars and cheaters. Brown posted pictures of Kudlik on her site. She claims the pictures caught the attention of other women allegedly duped by him, too.

She says they told her that he had been using the same sexy U.S. marshal story going back as many as 10 years ago. Shortly after arresting Kudlik, the U.S. marshal's office issued a statement saying quote, the possession and misuse of counterfeit government identification will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. For now, Brown uses her Web site to cope with what she says has been a devastating ordeal.

BROWN: It's therapeutic, because maybe other guys who are out there lying and deceiving women are going to see this and know that some of us aren't going to stand for it.

WHITFIELD: Call it revenge, Internet style.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was our Fredricka Whitfield reporting.

The bad news gets worse for military personnel worried about the theft of their -- excuse me, personal information. The Department of Veteran's Affairs says that even more people are at risk than previously thought. As you may remember, last month, a V.A. employee had taken home a laptop that included the personal data. The computer and the information were stolen in an apparently random burglary of the employee's home. The V.A. now says the computer also included data on active duty personnel. That includes 20,000 National Guard troops and reservists and up to 30,000 Navy personnel.

Another computer full of personal information goes missing. And if you're ever signed up at hotels.com, you could be vulnerable to identity theft. A laptop was stole from the trunk of a car belonging to an employee at Ernst & Young, and that's the Web site's accounting firm. The computer contains the names and credit card numbers of about 243,000 hotels.com customers. This is the third time Ernst & Young has lost a computer loaded with customer information.

Well, honk if you are from Rhode Island. Beep, beep! The nation's smallest state has the least knowledgeable drivers. For the second year in a row, a GMAC Insurance Company study ranks ocean state drivers as knowing the least about basic driving rules. Overall, drivers in the northeast are most likely to fail state driving tests. Oregon, by the way, the drivers there made it tops in the GMAC study, a second straight win.

Speaking of driving, rising gas prices, they are hitting farmers especially hard. Ahead, paying the price in the heartland. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And now let's get the latest on this newborn baby. Only five days old, each hour may be pushing her deeper into danger. Police in Lubbock, Texas, say this newborn was snatched by a woman who was posing as a hospital nurse. The family says the little girl is suffering from jaundice and needs medical care.

Joining us on the phone right now is Lieutenant Roy Bassett of the Lubbock Police Department. Lieutenant, good morning.

LT. ROY BASSETT, LUBBOCK CO. POLICE: Good morning.

KAGAN: What's the latest you can tell us about this search, please?

BASSETT: Obviously, we've had a lot of calls coming in. We've got investigators that have been out all night and new ones coming on this morning, tracking down leads. Continue to work with the family, continue to work with the local hospital to try to come up with a better identity for this woman.

I hope to have a composite out hopefully some time today. We've got investigators and hospital personnel going through security footage there from the hospital, hoping to come up with an actual picture. So we'll -- we're hoping both of those pan out. And our best resource continues to be the people that may know something about this.

KAGAN: So this is a woman who made contact with the family and the mother in the hospital, but then was able to get personal information so that she could visit the family at home, and that's where the abduction took place?

BASSETT: It -- that's -- it appears that she took advantage of deception on both sides. The people at the hospital -- the personnel at the hospital believed that she was a friend of the family, and the family, because of the way she was dressed, believed that she was a hospital employee. And she was able to gain the confidence of the family that way in order to obtain enough information to then go to the residence where she took the baby.

KAGAN: Do you have reason to believe that they might still be in the area?

BASSETT: At this point we just really don't know where she might be. That's something, obviously, that we would like to track down.

KAGAN: And they're saying that baby is jaundiced. How sick is this child?

BASSETT: Well, I'm obviously not a medical professional, but jaundice is something that can lead to some pretty significant problems if left untreated, and it's my understanding that she was already at the point when she was taken that she was in need of treatment for this jaundice. So it's very important that we get this baby back and at the very least, if the suspect will take this baby to a clinic.

KAGAN: And you have issued an Amber Alert. How is that working for you?

BASSETT: It's working very well. We've been very successful as far as getting a significant number of calls, what we feel like is some good information. Obviously, we haven't come up with the actual suspect yet, but it's been very good as far as getting people to step up and do the right thing.

KAGAN: If people have information, they should contact the Lubbock Police Department?

BASSETT: That's exactly correct. Our number is 806-775-2816, is the police desk. 806-741-1000 is our crime line number.

KAGAN: Lieutenant Roy Bassett with the Lubbock Police Department. Thank you, Lieutenant, and good luck with your search for baby Priscilla. BASSETT: You're very welcome. Thanks for the help.

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan. This is the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. On this Monday morning, we top the hour with an emotional issue getting a lot of attention today in Washington. The Senate is starting debate on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. President Bush supports the ban. He's getting read to tell Americans why. There are a lot of questions about the politics behind today's push for the ban.

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