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Paula Zahn Now
Moussaoui Gets Life in Prison; Preparing for Bird Flu Pandemic; 'Da Vinci' Boycott?; Breaking the Addiction to Work
Aired May 03, 2006 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Glad to have you with us tonight.
We start on the "Security Watch" and this hour's developing story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARIE LEMACK, DAUGHTER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: He's an al Qaeda wanna-be. And he does not deserve any credit for 9/11, because he was not part of it. And I'm so glad the jury recognized that and realized that he just wanted to kill Americans, but he wasn't even skilled enough to be able to do that.
ALEXANDER SANTORA, FATHER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: I thought they would sit there and say, Judge, we don't have to leave. He's guilty. Kill him. But that didn't happen.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Moussaoui got a fair trial. The jury convicted him to life in prison, where he will spend the rest of his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: There you have it, life in prison, but not the death penalty.
That was the jury's decision a few hours ago in the trial of al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. He pleaded guilty to six counts of terrorist conspiracy, and admitted he wanted to kill Americans. The jurors sat through weeks of dramatic testimony, heard Moussaoui's hate-filled ramblings, and even listened as the cockpit voice recordings from United Flight 93 were played in public for the very first time.
Let's turn to justice correspondent Kelli Arena, who has been in the courtroom throughout this emotional trial. She joins us now with the very latest -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Paula, we waited seven days for this verdict.
After about 40 hours behind closed doors, this jury finally made a decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARENA (voice-over): On his way out of the courtroom, Zacarias Moussaoui yelled, "America, you lost." Defiant until the end, he never expressed any remorse for 9/11. Still, the jury decided, Moussaoui will not be executed. The 37-year-old is expected to spend the rest of his life in a maximum-security prison.
Carie Lemack lost her mother on September 11.
CARIE LEMACK, DAUGHTER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: He's going to be in jail for the rest of his life, which is exactly what this man deserves.
Other 9/11 family members were disappointed.
MARGARET POTHIER, FAMILY MEMBER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: I think he deserved the death penalty, and I'm sorry he didn't get it.
ARENA: Three jurors said on the verdict form they believe, Moussaoui's role in the 9/11 conspiracy was minor and that he had limited knowledge of the attack plan.
The jury rejected the government's claim that Moussaoui's actions resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths on 9/11.
PAUL MCNULTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: We respect that, and we accept that. But accountability for the crimes committed has been achieved through the prosecution. There's no doubt about that.
ARENA: No jurors were swayed by the notion that executing Moussaoui would make him a martyr for al Qaeda. They also weren't convinced he was mentally ill, although the majority accepted the defense's argument Moussaoui came from a dysfunctional family with a violent father.
EDWARD MACMAHON, ATTORNEY FOR ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI: The court charged us with defending Mr. Moussaoui's constitutional rights, and we have done so to the best of our abilities.
ARENA: Even though the four-and-a-half year legal drama did not end with a death sentence, President Bush defended the outcome.
BUSH: And they spared his life, which is something that he evidently wasn't willing to do for innocent American citizens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: What remains to be seen is how this administration handles the al Qaeda higher-ups in U.S. custody who are more culpable for the September 11 attacks -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, Kelli, give us a little preview of what we can expect tomorrow during yet another hearing.
ARENA: Right.
Well, there will be a sentencing hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., and Moussaoui, we are told, is expected to get a chance to say something. We haven't heard that there are any restrictions from the judge on how long he will be able to speak, but those will be -- that will be the last time that the public hears from him.
ZAHN: We're all trying to understand what the jury was saying here.
Clearly, in your package, you made it clear they didn't buy the fact that he was mentally ill. A number of members of the jury didn't think he played a critical part in 9/11, nor do they think he was capable...
ARENA: That's right.
ZAHN: ... of pulling it off. What else, the bottom line here tonight, did they say?
ARENA: Well, I think the bottom line is that the government contended that he could be held personally responsible for 3,000 deaths. And the jury just did not buy that.
They checked no, that they did not feel that the government met that threshold. And, of course, he will be spending the rest of his life in a super-maximum security prison in Colorado, Paula. He will turn just 38 later this month.
ZAHN: Kelli Arena, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.
Now, after the judge officially sentences Moussaoui tomorrow, as Kelli was just describing, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons will decide where he will be locked up. Now, a lot of people are guessing he will be sent to the country's most secure prison, called Supermax, near Denver.
If so, he will have what you might say is some pretty interesting company. His fellow prisoners would include Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph, and Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber.
During his trial, Moussaoui claimed that he and Reid plotted to fly a hijacked plane into the White House. Reid denied it.
Joining me now is someone who had one of the toughest jobs any lawyer could ever take on. Anne Chapman was one of Moussaoui's defense attorneys. She joins me now. Thanks so much for being with us.
After the verdict...
ANNE CHAPMAN, MOUSSAOUI ATTORNEY: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: ... was read, your client said -- quote -- "America, you lost. I won."
Did Moussaoui win here? CHAPMAN: You know, Paula, I think that Judge Brinkema said it best after the verdict was read, that the prosecution and the defense win when justice is served. And I think that's what happened in this case.
So, I think, especially in light of our greatest enemies, that, when Mr. Moussaoui came here, got a fair trial, and the jury returned the verdict that they did, I -- I think justice was won, and I -- and I we all win...
ZAHN: And yet...
CHAPMAN: ... given that situation.
ZAHN: You know better than anybody the prosecution wanted the death penalty here. They didn't get it.
CHAPMAN: That's right.
They -- they didn't get the death penalty, but again, I think that, you know, Mr. Moussaoui had a fair trial. The jury obviously considered this matter at great length. They -- they deliberated for around 40 hours and -- and reached a verdict that -- that was their collective decision. And that's how the process is supposed to work. And it's -- it's how it worked here, even in this incredibly challenging case.
ZAHN: I know that you had to fulfill your responsibilities to represent this man, a man you never met, a man who basically cut himself off from the whole defense team, a man who continued to rant vile anti-American ramblings throughout the trial. What was is like representing this man?
CHAPMAN: Well, I think I saw our role as representing him, as, you know, being appointed by the court to protect his constitutional rights. And that's what we did, to the best of our ability.
And, you know, frankly, I feel proud to be a part of this process and -- and to have done the work that we did on behalf of Mr. Moussaoui, and, frankly, proud of the court, and of the prosecution as well. I think everybody came forward. They did the best that they could do. And the jury reached a decision. And that's exactly how the process is supposed to work. So, I -- I was proud to be a part of that process.
ZAHN: Anne Chapman, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We appreciate it.
Now, just minutes ago, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who testified for the prosecution at Moussaoui's death penalty trial, had this reaction to the jury's verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK: To me, he helped to carry out the conspiracy and helped to protect the conspiracy, and, therefore, helped it to go forward. And, therefore, he should have been held -- he was held responsible. And the appropriate penalty would have been death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So, the question tonight is, did the jury do the right thing?
Joining me now are two people who lost family members on 9/11. Alice Hoagland lost her son, Mark Bingham. He was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, after the passengers attacked the hijackers. Also with me tonight, Mike Low. His daughter, Sara, was a flight attendant on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center.
Thank you both for joining us tonight.
Mike, I am going to start with you.
I just asked the defense attorney this question. After the verdict was read, Mr. Moussaoui said ;"America, you lost. I won."
She said, and repeated what the judge has said, that it was a win for both sides, because justice was served here. How do you look at that? Did -- did Moussaoui win?
MIKE LOW, FATHER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: I think, in a sense, he did win.
I preferred the death penalty and am disappointed in the verdict, but we also won, in the sense that perhaps this trial will lead to prosecutions of the other al Qaeda people, the -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh and the others. So, perhaps -- perhaps we win also, even though I'm disappointed with the verdict.
ZAHN: And you are not personally opposed to the death penalty. In fact, you testified for the defense, because you rather would want to see this guy spend his life in prison. You -- you must be satisfied here tonight.
LOW: Well, I -- I -- I would prefer the death penalty. That...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: No, I understand. I -- I meant Alice.
LOW: Oh, excuse me.
ZAHN: No problem.
ALICE HOAGLAND, MOTHER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM: Yes, I -- I did, oddly, testify as a witness for the defense.
And, yet, I was one of the 2,000 families that also received updates on the prosecution side. So, I was, you know, in a strange position. I was glad to see that there were about 15 families who lost loved ones on September 11 who came forward and expressed their hope that Zacarias Moussaoui would be spared the death penalty.
I have profound respect for Mr. Low's opinion. My own family feels also that Moussaoui should have been put to death. I -- I spent a long time agonizing over this. I'm not anti-death penalty particularly, but since my son Mark was among the dead on that day, I really had to search my soul to figure out what should be done. I think that Moussaoui is rightly condemned to spend the rest of his life behind bars, because I don't want him made a martyr, which is what he seems to want.
And we have a responsibility and a mandate in the United States to express that we have more reverence and respect for life than Moussaoui has, and we can operate by a higher standard, and we can meet a higher call. We are sparing his life, even though he chose to try to take ours by the dozens and hundreds.
ZAHN: And, Mike, you expressed earlier you were disappointed that he didn't get the death penalty. Do you understand why his life was spared by this jury?
LOW: Well, sure. I accept our system.
It's an exceptional system, and these people are trained to take advantage of it. Moussaoui is a perverted monster. He celebrated the death of my daughter Sara. I think there's no reason for him to stay in jail, and give him the right and the forum to spew his poison for years.
And I always am concerned about the possibility he might be released, like the Munich terrorists might be, some changed administration or something. I think he should be exterminated.
ZAHN: Well, Mike Low, clearly, there are a lot of other 9/11 family members who feel the way you do, and, Alice, others who share your opinion as well.
We appreciate both of you being so candid about your reaction to this verdict. Thanks for your time.
HOAGLAND: Thank you very much.
LOW: You're welcome.
ZAHN: Now, more than 17 million of you visited our Web site today.
And let's move on to our countdown of the top 10 stories on CNN.com.
At number 10 -- day two of the hearings into the Sago Mine disaster. Today, a West Virginia inspector revealed that his shouting may have led to the miscommunication that 12 trapped miners had survived the explosion. As you probably all remember, only one miner made it out alive.
Number nine, near Saint Louis, a high school teacher is under arrest, charged with kidnapping and trying to kill a 17-year-old girl. Ashley Reeves was found early Saturday, clinging to life. Police say she had been left for dead in the woods with her neck broken. Tonight, she's in serious condition.
Numbers eight and seven straight ahead, along with a startling vision of things to come.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): "Vital Signs" -- what you should know if the worst does happen, a deadly disease that could kill millions of Americans. The White House puts out an urgent warning to get ready.
Also, the "Eye Opener" -- is someone in your family hooked on work, always tied to the office, and never to the family? Can work really be a physical addiction? -- all that and more when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Well, it could be the most controversial movie of the year. Coming up, should Catholics or anyone else boycott "The Da Vinci Code" when it comes out?
In tonight's "Vital Signs" -- an urgent warning from the White House for you, me, everybody out there to prepare for a serious worldwide flu outbreak, a pandemic. If it happens, the government says it could kill two million Americans and infect 50 million. And the economic implications are enormous. Forty percent of the work force could be out of commission.
So, the White House says, more vaccines will have to be made and admits the U.S. doesn't have enough right now for every American. And, once the major strain of flu begins to spread, a new vaccine will be needed. But much of the burden is on states, cities, even small towns. Hospitals are being warned to stock up on face masks, ventilators and drugs to treat a sudden rush of emergency patients.
Schools must begin emergency planning to cancel classes and sporting events if there's a pandemic. And businesses would have to separate workers and give up face-to-face meetings for phone conferences. As for you and me, we would all be expected to cancel trips and stay out of public places.
The most obvious threat right now is bird flu, of course, but just how likely is it to become a true disaster?
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen takes us "Beyond the Headlines" tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks awful scary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Twenty million dead.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: It's the tip of the iceberg.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: We are all going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: This is fiction, a made-for-TV movie about bird flu airing next week on ABC. The fact is, a deadly virus is sweeping across the world, killing millions of birds, and it could mutate and kill millions of people. So, why shouldn't we all be scared out of our wits?
DR. MARC SIEGEL, AUTHOR, "BIRD FLU: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEXT PANDEMIC: H5N1 is a very remote risk.
COHEN: Dr. Marc Siegel is author of "Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic." His point? H5N1 -- that's the scientific name for bird flu -- probably will never kill huge numbers of humans.
Reason number one? Person-to-person transmission of H5N1 is extremely rare, if it happens at all. In fact, only 113 people have died from H5N1 over the past four years. Almost all of them got it directly from birds.
SIEGEL: H5N1 would have to go through multiple mutations -- and they would have to be exact right ones -- before it could become a massive pandemic killer of humans.
COHEN: Reason number two? Most animal viruses never get to the stage where they pass easily from human to human.
SIEGEL: There's thousands of avian influenzas that never make that jump.
COHEN: And reason number three, if people do get sick, it won't be like in 1918, when the flu killed 50 million people.
SIEGEL: They didn't have antiviral drugs in 1918. We have antibiotics now, which we didn't have in 1918.
COHEN: Of course, there are plenty of scientists, like Dr. Michael Osterholm, who vehemently disagree with Dr. Siegel and others like him.
DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH: This one does keep me up at night. And I would not be honest if I didn't say that. At this point, I have some Tamiflu at home. I have bought some (INAUDIBLE) And I have stockpiled some food.
COHEN: Doctor Irwin Redlener, an expert in disaster preparedness, says, because the virus has infected so many animals, it has that many more opportunities to mutate into something more powerful. And, he says, while some things are better now than they were in 1918, others are worse.
DR. IRWIN REDLENER, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS EXPERT: International travel is so vastly much more extensive than it was in 1918, that the actual spread of the virus will be much more rapid.
COHEN: But there is one thing experts do agree on: Being prepared is a good idea, because, even if this flu virus doesn't cause a pandemic, another one very well might.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And voila. She joins us live, Elizabeth Cohen, from Atlanta.
So, we hear so much about these preparation plans, but are we really ready for a pandemic?
COHEN: You know what, Paula? Most experts say -- would say that we are not ready, that there are so many things that need to be done. For example, there is -- the vaccine-making process in this country is very, very slow.
And, right now, there is no vaccine for bird flu, because they don't know exactly what the virus will be, so they can't make it yet. Also, once people start getting sick -- I was talking to one person today, a public health official, who said, once people start getting sick with pandemic flu, within 24 to 36 hours, hospitals will be overwhelmed.
They won't be able to handle all of the patients who are coming to see them. So, those are just some of the ways that this country is not yet ready to handle a pandemic flu.
ZAHN: So, what is the most common criticism, then, of the government's plan, other than some of the things you have just gone over in your piece?
COHEN: The most common criticism that I have been hearing from public health experts is that the details aren't all there.
Just take one example. Let's say there's a plane that is coming from a country where there's pandemic flu, and they get a call from the pilot, saying, you know what, there's someone here who appears to have a fever, appears to be sick. What do you do? The plane lands in the United States. If that person just has a fever, do you isolate them? How do you really know if they have pandemic flu? Maybe they have something that is much more innocent.
Where do you put them? Airports really at this point aren't set up to handle isolation -- isolation patients. And, then, what do you do with the other, say, 300 people who are on the plane? They -- they need to be quarantined. If you really think it's a pandemic flu, they need to be quarantined. Where are you going to put them? Airports definitely can't handle them. You don't want to say, just go home to stay there, because, to get home, they have to get on a train or a bus. So, all of those questions really haven't been answered yet.
ZAHN: A lot of scary questions that we need to have answered, and we hope will be some day.
Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ZAHN: A young Marine gave his life for his country, but why can't his grieving mother collect the money he left behind? Who has it right now? The answer to that is sparking outrage.
And are you a workaholic, and do you even know the warning signs? What could happen if you ignore them? You will meet a man that will be honest about that.
But, now, number eight on our countdown of the top stories on CNN.com, a story we brought you yesterday -- the Connecticut woman who wrote this song.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): ... driving her SUV, talking on her cell phone.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ZAHN: Well, she's talking about teeny, tiny women driving huge SUVs. You can see, hear -- and more at our Web site than you have just heard on CNN.com.
Number seven, Louis Rukeyser, who hosted "Wall Street Week" on PBS for decades, has died of cancer at the age of 73. He was a pioneer in TV coverage of finance and economics -- numbers six and five straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: We all hear stories from time to time that make us outraged. And we have one of those for you now, tonight, a grieving mother still fighting for justice, mourning her son, and trying to fight City Hall. He was a young Marine who lost his life serving his country, but just listen to what happened to the money he left behind.
John Ferrugia of our affiliate KMGH in Denver has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIS SEPULVEDA, JASON SEPULVEDA'S MOTHER: My son died instantly and the other Marine died approximately two weeks after.
JOHN FERRUGIA, KMGH REPORTER (voice over): Jason Sepulveda, a Marine, was training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, preparing to go to Iraq, when, in an evening off base, he was killed in a car accident.
SEPULVEDA: This was the last picture of him leaving home.
FERRUGIA: His parents, who spoke with him weekly, knew he had been saving his money for a long weekend, when they would all be together.
SEPULVEDA: We were going on vacation for the Fourth of July to visit him. And I know he had been sacrificing, because they don't get paid very much.
FERRUGIA: Jason's body was returned to Colorado for burial, and records show the funeral was paid for in full by the Marines. But after closing out her son's account, Jason's mother realized the probate court had sent the proceeds of Jason's savings account to the funeral home, run by this man, Jim Bostick.
SEPULVEDA: And I called Mr. Bostick. He just kind of really blew me off a lot.
FERRUGIA (on camera): Did he give you any other receipts or bills?
SEPULVEDA: Never.
FERRUGIA: He just kept the money?
SEPULVEDA: He just kept the money.
FERRUGIA (voice over): Jim Bostick not only owns two funeral homes. He is also mayor of Fort Lupton and heads the city council. In that role, he is heavily involved in overseeing the finances of the town.
SEPULVEDA: You know, I told Mr. Bostick, well, that's my son's money.
FERRUGIA: Now, Elis Sepulveda took Bostick to court over the money he wouldn't return to her family, and the judge's order in the case was final.
SEPULVEDA: She gave damages, interest, court fines, everything. And I assumed that, if you go to court, that you're just supposed -- you know, you pay it.
FERRUGIA (on camera): I'm John Ferrugia. I'm from over at Channel 7.
(voice over): But, despite the judgment of more than $7,500, Jim Bostick has refused to pay.
(on camera): Why are you still holding the money for this Marine family? JAMES BOSTICK, MAYOR OF FORT LUPTON, COLORADO: Well, I'm not holding the money for them. You know, and I don't want to be on camera right now.
FERRUGIA: Clearly, Bostick was not happy to see us.
(on camera): These aren't the only people you owe money. You owe people -- other people money. You have got other judgments out there. You want to talk to me about that?
BOSTICK: No, I don't.
(voice over): In fact, court records show Bostick has several current unsatisfied debts to creditors from Greeley to Montana, and that doesn't include money he owed when he took bankruptcy in 2001.
(on camera): This is a city building.
BOSTICK: I know, sir. I just don't want to be on camera.
FERRUGIA (voice over): He claims he's trying to repay the money. But he didn't want to talk about the money he owes to the Marine family, or whether, given his personal financial problems, he should be making fiscal decisions for the town of Fort Lupton.
(on camera): I want to know if you think it's appropriate for the mayor, who has fiduciary responsibility, to owe this kind of money?
(voice over): We have obtained letters written by Bostick to the family, saying he would resolve the issue. But...
SEPULVEDA: It got to a point where he would just not even accept our phone calls and just say, I can't hear you. I can't hear you.
FERRUGIA (on camera): You wrote them letters and you said, I want to settle this. And you never have. Why not?
BOSTICK: I don't recall ever writing letters to no one.
FERRUGIA: Do you want to see them?
BOSTICK: Well, I don't recall that.
FERRUGIA: You don't recall the letters?
BOSTICK: No.
FERRUGIA (voice over): Finally, using the same apparent double- talk that has frustrated the Sepulvedas, Bostick seemed to make clear he has no intention of settling the claim.
BOSTICK: It will be worked out with them.
FERRUGIA (on camera): Worked out? You have been saying that for how many years? How many years you have been telling them that? BOSTICK: I can't even remember when it happened.
FERRUGIA: It's not a real top priority, is it?
BOSTICK: Yes, it is a priority.
FERRUGIA: It's a priority to them.
BOSTICK: But I feel that it's money that I do not owe them.
SEPULVEDA: You know, my son was in the Marines. And he went there to do what was right for his country, you know? And I know for a fact that for -- you know, for somebody to actually steal from him is not right. This is -- me, as a mother, I need to do this. This was my son's money, and I'm -- and I -- and I'm not going to go away.
John Ferrugia for CNN, Denver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And we are going to change our focus when we come back. A lot of people joke about being workaholics, but what is it like living with the real thing? We have a story that could save your family, even your life.
Later, the movie that's raising disturbing questions -- could "The Da Vinci Code" shake your faith? Why is the Vatican asking Catholics to boycott it?
And Jeanne Moos is looking for some honest answers. All right, let's see if you can find this for us. Iraq on a map? How about Ohio? How about New York? How about New Orleans? Well, you are going to be shocked at how many of us can't find any of these.
First, though, number six on the CNN.com countdown -- Russian officials blame bad weather for the crash of a jetliner into the Black Sea. One hundred and thirteen people died when the Airbus A-320 went down.
Number five, a 1,200 pound Mexican man hopes to travel to Italy so doctors can perform a gastric bypass on him. Italian doctors have offered to perform the operation at no charge.
Stay with us, number four on our list is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Here is what's happening at this moment. The U.S. and Germany see eye-to-eye on Iran's nuclear ambitions. The president welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel who says she agrees on the need for U.N. sanctions against Iran.
A cross-country caravan is heading for Washington tonight. The Minuteman Project got a send off from supporters and protesters as it left L.A. for D.C. to press for tougher immigration controls and a border fence to keep out the illegal immigrants. And we continue to track our crude awakening. The states with today's highest gasoline prices are in red, the lowest gas prices in green. Check this out. The average today for unleaded regular $2.92. So far this week, it's been rising about a penny every day.
Now, we all know that too much of a good thing is a bad thing, but even if that good thing is work, well you probably have known your share of people who eat, sleep and breathe work, and proudly proclaim I'm a workaholic even though it may be destroying their family.
Well, tonight, Dan Simon takes us inside a program to help people break their addiction to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB SILVERSTEIN, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD": OK. Adjusted copy is in.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There may be no busier guy in Hollywood than Rob Silverstein, the executive producer of "Access Hollywood."
SILVERSTEIN: Nice shot.
SIMON: And on this day there's big celebrity news. There are reports Britney Spears is pregnant, again. Silverstein knows it's not life and death kind of stuff.
SILVERSTEIN: We understand where we fit in the grand scheme of things.
SIMON: Still, heading up a daily entertainment TV show requires a 24-7 mentality.
SILVERSTEIN: I get up at about 4:50 every morning and I check the BlackBerry before like 4:51. I do 50 pushups -- that's just to get going -- and that's when the day starts.
SIMON: But Silverstein is somehow able to keep it all in check, striking the right balance between work and family, a wife and four kids, thanks to some self-imposed rules.
SILVERSTEIN: I will never have a BlackBerry at the table, I won't take cell phone calls during dinner.
SIMON (on camera): But not everyone can successfully manage the juggle. For some, work can become such an obsession that it becomes a real addiction like drugs and alcohol and the damage can be just as severe.
(voice-over): Bob is what you call a true workaholic. As the owner of a successful real estate and mortgage business, he's not just someone who works a gazillion hours, always checking the PDA. You see, what makes a real workaholic are statements like this when Bob talks about his 11-year-old son.
BOB, WORKAHOLIC: We're not close and so I -- you know, we're not -- we don't have a strained relationship, but he's much closer to his mother than he is to me.
CORRINE, WORKAHOLIC'S WIFE: He said to me, mom, sometimes I don't feel like I have a dad because he works so much.
SIMON: There were other signs like the time when wife Corrine woke up at 4:00 in the morning and discovered Bob wasn't there. Some might be suspicious their man is cheating, but not her.
CORRINE: Well, I knew that he was at the office.
SIMON: He was. Late, late work sessions were common. He says he felt more at home at the office.
BOB: I love business, and my mind is always thinking about business stuff.
SIMON: His family life in crisis, few friends to speak of, Bob's life in disarray. This kind of work compulsion is fueling a growing international support group called -- that's right -- Workaholics Anonymous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, my name's Doug. I'm a workaholic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Doug.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Doug.
SIMON: This meeting in Portland, Oregon, where workaholics confess their addiction to work. Like Bob, the members asked that we not use their last names and also cover their face.
SANDY, WORKAHOLIC: I'm completely unbalanced. All I want to do is work.
SIMON: Sandy says owning her own retail store caused an unhealthy addiction to make money and succeed.
SANDY: I would stay and do things that somebody could have done the next day, but I felt like I had to do them, my -- I felt like I had to work enough to justify and to earn some time to sleep at night, when I got home. I never thought that I could just leave work and be with my family.
SIMON: It's a 12-step program much like Alcoholics Anonymous and gaining more attention due to increasing demands at the workplace.
MICHAEL: I really upset people.
SIMON: Michael says being a workaholic almost killed him and others, literally, because he was a danger behind the wheel, speeding to get from place to place.
MICHAEL: I still speed a lot and cut people off and, you know, I'm just not in a flow when I drive. And it affects hundreds of people in a trip.
SIMON: Psychologist Debra Condren says there's usually a hidden reason why people become workaholics.
DR. DEBRA CONDREN, PSYCHOLOGIST: Are you working so hard because you have a fear that you're going to lose your job? Are you working so hard because you are avoiding a marriage that's in trouble?
SIMON: Bob is now getting counseling and starting to his own Workaholics Anonymous group in San Diego, after his wife threatened to walk out.
CORRINE: A friend of mine said to me, why are you bringing this chaos into your life?
BOB: She meant business and it scared the dickens out of me, the thought of losing my family, of not having the relationship, the love with my wife and my children, my boys.
SIMON: He says things are slowly getting better. The late night work sessions are less frequent, but it's tough.
BOB: The office is not the best place in the world for me to be, but that's where I found myself most comfortable, and have a hard time leaving.
SIMON: As for Hollywood television producer Rob Silverstein, news flash. He just got word that his kid's baseball game that Rosie O'Donnell is taking over at "The View."
SILVERSTEIN: Just on the BlackBerry. That's why you need the BlackBerry.
SIMON: But now it's time to concentrate on the game.
SILVERSTEIN: I'm on the phone.
SIMON: Well at least for the most part.
SILVERSTEIN: Oh, yes, I know. Rosie O'Donnell -- I know all about it.
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: But did his son's team win or not? Stay tuned.
Is this summer's must-see movie really an attack on the Catholic Church? Coming up, "The Da Vinci Code" -- guilty pleasure or a sin?
And the war in Iraq is in the news every day, but Jeanne Moos wants to know, can you find Iraq on a map? Her exploration, I must say, is a little sad.
First, number four on our CNN.com countdown. It's one of our top stories. White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend releases the administration road map for dealing with a deadly outbreak of a disease like bird flu. The worst case scenario, two million Americans dead, 50 million infected. Number three on the list is still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: So here we are just two weeks away from the premiere of this year's most hyped movie and easily the most controversial. "The Da Vinci Code" is raising all kinds of provocative questions. Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married? Does Da Vinci's famous painting of the last supper actually show them sitting together? Has the Catholic church been covering up for nearly 2,000 years?
Well, like it or not, the movie has put all of those questions and more on the table. As Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci reports, the Vatican isn't amused.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It would take more than a film to shake the foundations of the Catholic church. But "The Da Vinci Code," with its mix of fiction, fact and faith, has caused at least a few small tremors.
One senior church official is calling on Catholics to boycott the movie. Another is harshly critical.
CARDINAL GEORGE PELL, ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY: I think "The Da Vinci Code" is a load of nonsense.
VINCI: The reason? "The Da Vinci Code's" claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers and that a powerful organization linked to the church conspired to commit murder to keep it a secret. While some of the Vatican believe the story is blasphemous, the pope has said nothing on the matter.
(on-camera): There isn't a plot inside the Vatican to counteract prepare a counter plot to what Dan Brown is saying?
REV. JOSEPH DI NOIA, VATICAN OFFICIAL: No, I would say that people are talking about it casually and concerned about it, but there is no concerted effort to address the problem of "The Da Vinci Code," no. There's just a sense. Many people who have read it are, as I am mystified, by the popularity of it.
VINCI (voice over): Vatican officials fear the success of "The Da Vinci Code" will blur the line between fact and fiction.
DI NOIA: It has to do with the harm that it does to people's faith, not the harm that it does to the public image. You know, it's not a question of image or spin. It's something much more important.
VINCI: The problem with the movie, Vatican officials say is the claim that the story is based on historical facts.
MSGR. ROBERT SARNO, VATICAN OFFICIAL: I didn't see it as an attack on the church. I just think that it's been given a lot more truth value and faith value than it has. I just read it as a novel, as an entertaining novel. VINCI: In Rome, as elsewhere around the world, the movie promotion is well underway. However, some church officials here took issue with this particular poster, hanging on a church that is being renovated.
(on-camera): Several local clergymen expressed outrage that what they considered blatant provocation. And as a sign of how much power the Vatican can at times wield in this country, local church officials managed to convince Italian authorities, who actually owned this particular church, to cover it up.
(voice over): The Vatican's dilemma is evident among the thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me think a lot. I just wonder how much is fiction, how much is real, and I poured into a lot of it. I really want to investigate it further.
VINCI: Vatican officials are likely to remain low key. They know that controversy generates publicity. But a few officials admit privately that they do intend to see "The Da Vinci Code."
Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Joining me now, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Always good to see you.
BILL DONOHUE, THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE: Thank you for having me.
ZAHN: So do you think Catholics should boycott this film?
DONOHUE: No, I don't think so. And a matter of fact, I hope they go to see it and with an educated mind that is to say they read books like "The Da Vinci Deception," that they understand that there's a book out "The Da Vinci Hoax" and the like. Get an education about it. I mean, we shouldn't be afraid of the movie. But we should be...
ZAHN: But hang on a minute. Because we know that some of those Vatican officials that we have heard speak on the record and off the record seem to be very concerned it will shake the faith of their followers.
DONOHUE: Well, but you are not the senior citizen there in St. Peter's Square, and he said I read the book and I believe some of it. See, we do live in a post modern culture, where people are willing to believe there's no such thing as truth.
So the pernicious thing about the book is that Dan Brown has tried to sell the idea that it is part fact, it is part fiction. In fact, it is all fiction. Now, it depends on what Ron Howard wants to do and how he wants to sell it.
ZAHN: Well, we know that the majority of the folks associated with the film are saying that it is fiction, so your concern is that they run a disclaimer? Are you endorsing that?
DONOHUE: Yes, as a matter of fact, if the people at Sony, who for the most part have been very responsible, and Ron Howard, who is a stellar guy, all they have to do is to accede to the request to put a disclaimer there. After all, if they are saying it's fiction, then why do they have any difficulty saying that in the beginning of the movie?
Because so many people have read this book, and Dan Brown starts the book with three facts, all of which are historically inaccurate. He goes on certain shows and say, oh, yes, this is historically true.
But I am pleased, though, there's a lot of work being done by Catholics and Protestants with books, with tapes, with DVDS, with sessions and educational sessions, people are beginning to understand that this book is a fraud. If you want to enjoy it as a fun spin, suspense novel, go ahead.
ZAHN: All right. You keep on saying spin, spin, spin, fable, fable, fable, what is not true very briefly in this book? Because you have read it cover to cover.
DONOHUE: The most malicious thing that he said was that the divinity of Christ was made up the Vatican in the fourth century. First of all, there was no Vatican in the 4th century. The Vatican didn't even exist until the 14th century.
Secondly, the Council of Nicaea, in 325 was about whether Jesus was begotten or made. There was nobody who went to the Council of Nicaea thinking let's make up this idea about Jesus being the son of God. We have the New Testament. We have Gospels. We have the Letters of Paul. We have the Apostle's Creed. We have all of the martyrs.
So we know in fact that there was no idea of a conspiracy around in 325. See the thing is built on a lie, but a lot of the scholars, not just Catholics, a lot of people who were not Catholic or have no religion at all, have looked into this and they know that the book is a fraud.
ZAHN: Well, nevertheless, you know you got those anti-"Da Vinci Code" folks who are urging people to go to web sites and go to other movies that day. So we will see, bottom line, what the fallout is from this.
Always good to see you.
DONOHUE: Thank you for having me.
ZAHN: Never lacking passion here when you come to talk to us. Bill Donohue, thanks.
DONOHUE: Thank you. Thank you.
ZAHN: Always good to have you. Still ahead, we all remember the old punchline, you can't get there from here. For many people, the whole world seems to be a mystery of the mind. Where in the world -- remember that game -- with Carmen Sandiego, whatever the name of that was. The bottom line is we don't know where anything is in this country.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
ZAHN: Now onto No. 3 on the CNN.com countdown. Disappointment for the fans of Geena Davis and the T.V. show "Commander in Chief." ABC confirms it's pulling it off the schedule for the rest of the T.V. season because of low ratings. You'll have to wait for the summer to see the remaining three new episodes.
No. 2 on the countdown, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: So can Americans possibly be as ignorant about geography as a new survey suggests? Well hold onto your Rand McNally and take a look at what Jeanne Moos found, one of the more unbelievable "Mysteries of the Mind."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know that country where the U.S. fought a war, the one you've heard about oh, say just about every day for the past three years or so?
(on camera): Tell me where Iraq is on this map.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
MOOS: Well, you can, you know, kind of guess. Sort of, Iraq. Wrong. That's Africa.
Iraq?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iraq is right around in there somewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Asia, right?
MOOS (voice-over): The only risk in this game is of embarrassment. Many young Americans might as well toss the dice to pinpoint countries on the map.
(on camera): Show me Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, god, don't ask me.
MOOS (voice-over): We've hidden her face to protect her from mortification. The study for National Geographic showed that six out of 10 Americans ages 18-to-24 can't find Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess it's around here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran, Iraq.
MOOS (on camera): Iraq -- Iraq, Iran.
(voice-over): Seventy-five percent can't find Israel.
(on camera): Come on, that's South America -- Israel.
(voice-over): Nine out of 10 can't find Afghanistan. He's the exception.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This state right here.
MOOS: But who wants to watch correct answers?
(on camera): On the map, the current day Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't know, because I don't believe in one-dimensional surfaces.
MOOS: All I want is Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wouldn't be on this map, according to the actual topography, it would somewhere just around there.
MOOS (voice-over): If you don't like that map, why not try another?
(on camera): Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oooh, Ohio.
MOOS: That's not Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iowa.
MOOS: Fewer than 50 percent of people know where Ohio is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I know where it's is. That's where my sister is.
MOOS: Can you point at it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why oh why oh why oh did I ever leave Ohio?
MOOS (voice-over): This girl opted to use a lifeline.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to come help me find countries.
MOOS: But her rescuer missed a few, couldn't even take a hint when it came to Ohio. Same color as my jacket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here?
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This blue is the United States, if I remember correctly, right?
MOOS (on camera): That is South America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the United States right here.
MOOS (voice-over): We had just about as much luck testing the geographical skills of chihuahuas.
(on camera): Mexico?
(voice-over): But what really took us aback was that 50 percent of young Americans couldn't locate ...
(on camera): New York state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK< it's got to be between here and here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is New York, tight?
MOOS: That's Pennsylvania.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's New York right here.
MOOS: No, that's New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's New York here.
MOOS: No. Let me put it this way, where is New York?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're you're standing there, aren't you?
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: He got that right. Jeanne catches up with some wild people out there. We're just a few minutes away from "LARRY KING LIVE." At the top of the hour, Dr. Phil weighs in on everything thing from finding love to escaping abuse.
On to No. 2 now on our CNN.com countdown. A judge orders a suburban Detroit woman to stand trial on polygamy charges. Police say Kyle McConnell has a habit of marrying men and running off with their money. No. 1 in the countdown takes us to the Pacific Islands, do you know where they are on a map? Find out more, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: No. 1 on the CNN.com countdown, today's 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific, 95 miles off the coast of the island of Tonga. It caused tsunami alerts throughout the southwestern Pacific Islands. Never reached Tonga.
That wraps it up for all of us here, thanks so much for joining us, have a good night.
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