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CNN Sunday Morning
Christians Celebrate Easter; Key Iraqi Cities Convulsing From Armed Insurrections
Aired April 11, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Coming to you live from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is April 11. Thanks for sharing your morning. I'm Erica Hill.
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Holly Firfer. Thanks so much for being here. Well, Christians the world over are celebrating Easter this Sunday, the holiest day on the Christian calendar. Traditionally, it's a time of resurrection and hope, however, Pope John Paul II's annual Easter message at the Vatican just a short time ago was a sobering reminder that strife and bloodshed have not taken a holiday.
The news out of Iraq this Easter Sunday is especially disturbing. With the war, the grim reality for thousands of people. Key Iraqi cities are convulsing from armed insurrection. And hostages have become the latest pawns of ruthless gunmen.
We begin with the latest headlines at this hour.
HILL: A U.S. Army Apache helicopter was shot down this morning west of Baghdad. The military says the chopper was brought down by ground fire about four hours ago. There's no word yet on the two member crew.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a 12 hour cease-fire went into effect in Fallujah five hours ago, but it's not clear whether it is holding. U.S. Marines did halt their offensive there against insurgents two days ago.
Russian officials say the death toll from a methane explosion at a mine in Siberia rose to 40 today. Eight miners have been rescued. Seven remain missing.
Pope John Paul II celebrates Easter mass at St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope appealed again for world peace and an end to violence, specifically mentioning Iraq, the Mideast conflict and Africa. CNN's Delia Gallagher will have a live report from the Vatican just minutes from now.
FIRFER: Iraqi insurgents have turned to hostage taking in their war against the U.S. led coalition. One captive has been identified as Thomas Hammil of Mississippi. In a video shown on Al Jazeera TV, Hamill's captors warned of dire consequences for Hamill unless U.S. forces withdraw from Fallujah. There's still no word on the fate of three Japanese hostages, despite reports they would be released today. All told, at least six foreign nationals are now hostages. Six Americans and two Germans are officially listed as missing.
Well, Al Jazeera is also showing video of two bodies, who appear to be Westerners. The networks say they are U.S. intelligence officers killed in Fallujah. CNN, however, has not confirmed that report.
Those grim scenes from Al Jazeera not withstanding most of the guns have fallen silent now in Fallujah. The 12 hour cease-fire began today at 2:00 a.m. Eastern after the Iraqi governing council demanded that the week long siege of the city be lifted.
CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul reports from Baghdad on this and other late developments -- Karl?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Holly. Let me bring you up to date first with the downing of that U.S. Apache attack helicopter. A senior U.S. military source has told us that small arms fire brought down that $25 million helicopter just west of Baghdad, about four hours ago now.
That senior source has so far not given us any word on the fate of the crew, although it did tell us that a rapid deployment force was dispatched to the area to try and pick up the crew. There's a two man crew on board this, Holly. Very sophisticated helicopter armed with missiles, rockets, and machine guns. But it has proved in the past susceptible to ground fire, as seems to have been the case in this incident today.
Now a little further west, the flashpoint city of Fallujah, where they have been running battles between coalition forces and Iraqi insurgents for the last six days. Now members of the Iraqi governing council have, over the last 48 hours, been trying to broker a cease- fire between both sides there. But there are conflicting reports at the moment as to how that cease-fire may be holding. Eyewitnesses have told us this this morning that the city was echoing to the sound of 50 caliber heavy machine gun fire. There was also a series of loud explosions. But that eyewitness also tells us in the last few hours, the city has fallen relatively silent.
The Marines, though, that are controlling certainly the outskirts of the town say that they will not cede to any insurgent demands, and certainly not cede an inch in respect to the insurgents' demands that the Marines pull out of the city all together.
Now as you mentioned also, we're keeping a close watch on the fate of four hostages that we understand currently in insurgent hands. No word yet on three Japanese hostages, whom were expected to be released in the course of this morning. Japanese diplomats in Amman have said they have no word on those hostages, or their whereabouts, or when they may be released. We're also keeping an eye on the fourth hostage, an American, suspected American should we say, being held by another insurgent group we believe in the area of Fallujah. The insurgents have threatened to kill him if American forces don't pull out of that city.
But to date, no word on the fate of that person, who has been identified as Thomas Hamill. He, we understand, is a contractor for a U.S. company -- Holly?
FIRFER: Terrific reporting in Baghdad. Thank you, Karl Penhaul.
Well, tensions in Iraq, concerns about hostages, journalists will be quizzing the U.S. military and administration in Iraq at a briefing in just about a half an hour from now. And we will bring that briefing to you live from Baghdad.
HILL: More than a dozen foreigners are now missing or being held hostage in Iraq. Hostage taking is a classic terrorism tactic, but it is new to the Iraqi War. And joining us now to talk about it is our terrorism expert, CNN contributor Kelly McCann.
And this is different because this is not a traditional Iraqi tactic?
KELLY MCCANN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Exactly. And I mean, that's making a lot of the analysts look at the potential for Arab fighters actually promoting this as a valuable battlefield tactic. The problem is is that the Arab fighters who might be doing that, have never promoted this on a battlefield. They didn't use it against the Russians in Afghanistan. So again, it's unproven, untested. And of course the government wants to show that it is an ineffective tactic against us in warfare.
HILL: And so far, Japan, with the Japanese hostages, earlier in the week, have said we're not backing down. We haven't heard much. The deadline has passed. But if anyone had been killed, chances are we would know.
MCCANN: That's true. And they are holding the line. Let's not kid each other, there is always back channel communications going on. Traditionally, I think, in Iraq, you'd find that it's going on with the tribal elders, who typically have cooler heads and want a stability to prevail. They really do. It's better for their people.
So there's always a clear channel of communication, sometimes murky, but they are communicating.
HILL: Communication is one of the things that's difficult, especially in Iraq right now, and particularly in Fallujah. We're hearing that there was going to be a cease-fire today, which technically may have gone into effect, but nobody really knows. One of the big problems there is the communication and who to communicate with, correct?
MCCANN: Absolutely. With so many factions, I mean someone has to have the authority to tell people to stand down. And if they're not recognized in authority, they're going to act on their own last orders.
Now interestingly, you'll see that the Marines are positioning for greater combat. They've got two more battalions they brought in. They're holding right now. They have enough people on the ground to hold where they are, but they're also very decisively positioned so that if they have to take the rest of the city, they will. And I think that that also sends a message to the people that are in Fallujah.
HILL: And Fallujah, of course, not the only city where there is action happening. There's a lot else going on around the country. Kut, in the south. Talk to us a little bit about what else is happening right now?
MCCANN: Well, a lot of people have focused on the Sunni Triangle and have spent most of their time thinking about this. But what you'll know is that the battlefield is a dynamic thing. We're going to also see a lot of action from Kut, to Nasariya, Najaf, Karbala. This area down here south of the Sunni Triangle also we know has al- Sadr's forces, the Mehdi army. And they're moving around. And as you know, General Kimmitt has said they're going to crush the Mehdi army.
So I think that sometimes, it's the easiest reference point, the Sunni Triangle. But it is a dynamic place. And as forces move, the U.S. will have countermeasures.
HILL: All right, real quickly, about 15 seconds, what do we know right now about that Apache helicopter that went down? What would be happening at this hour?
MCCANN: Remember that they all go out with emitters. So that if they're shot down, they immediately can transmit their position. And there's always combat search and rescue on hand and on station. The Apache frame is survivable. So let's hope for the best.
HILL: And we will. Kelly McCann, thanks. We'll talk to you again in a little bit.
MCCANN: Thanks.
HILL: A new CNN/TIME magazine poll shows a close division of U.S. public opinion on current military policy in Iraq. 30 percent strongly approve of that policy. 18 percent somewhat approve. 33 percent strongly disapprove. 12 percent somewhat disapprove.
So was the U.S. right or wrong in going to war with Iraq? 53 percent said it was right. 41 percent said wrong. 6 percent are not sure.
And does the Bush administration have a clear, well thought out plan to deal with Iraq? 43 percent of respondents said yes. 51 percent said no.
And we'd like to know what you have to say this morning. Send us your thoughts and comments about the conflict in Iraq. That address, wam@cnn.com.
FIRFER: The White House releases the presidential briefing memo mentioned in the 9/11 hearings. The memo mentions al Qaeda's desire to attack inside the U.S., but the Bush administration says the warnings were not specific.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reports.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saturday, the White House declassified the president's top secret briefing he received at his Crawford ranch one month before the September 11 attacks. The August 6, 2001 presidential daily brief entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." lays out the al Qaeda leader's capability and determination to hit the United States. It warns the CIA and FBI were investigating a tip that a group of bin Laden supporters were in the U.S. in May, just months before 9/11 and were planning attacks using explosives.
It begins, "Bin Laden since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the U.S. After U.S. missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, bin Laden told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington. The Millennium plotting in Canada in 1999 may have been part of bin Laden's first serious attempt to implement a terror strike in the U.S."
The brief emphasizes the al Qaeda leader's resolve, recounting his 1998 attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that involved years of preparation.
The brief says bin Laden's followers are prevalent in the U.S. "Al Qaeda members including some who are U.S. citizens have resided in or traveled to the U.S. for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks."
A source specifically mentions a bin Laden cell in New York in 1998 that was recruiting young Muslim Americans to carry out strikes. The brief lays out bin Laden's plot. An uncorroborated report that in 1998, "Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft to win the release of his comrades in U.S. custody. Ongoing activity from the FBI of patterns of suspicious activity in this country, consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
The brief concludes that the FBI was conducting at least 70 investigations in 2001 regarding possible al Qaeda cells operating in the U.S. A senior White House official says releasing the brief should clear up any myth that the president was warned of the 9/11 attacks, adding that there is nothing in the brief pertaining to the 9/11 plot. He said all threats were aggressively pursued.
(on camera): But some commissioners believe that the administration was given at least enough information about bin Laden's intentions and capabilities to warn the public about the possibility of an attack.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HILL: "The New York Times" is reporting that the CIA and FBI came close to uncovering the 9/11 plot, while investigating the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. The paper says that the Cole investigation led to two of the 9/11 hijackers being put on a watch list, banning them from entering the U.S. But that order was not given until after they had already entered the country.
The report says miscommunication and laws against the sharing of evidence between the agencies led to the failure.
CIA and FBI officials will be at the center of this week's 9/11 Commission hearings, but the man who made headlines in front of the commission two weeks ago may have his story told by Hollywood. Sony Pictures has optioned Richard Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" with plans to turn the bestseller into a major motion picture.
A propane tank explodes in Mexico just across the river from Texas, killing eight people and injuring a dozen. As many as 15 people may be trapped in the rubble of a restaurant and another building.
CNN correspondent Alina Cho is live at Progreso, Texas, just across the border. Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good morning to you. As you might imagine, this is front page news in the local paper here in "The Monitor." "Six dead in border blast" is the headline. Of course, this was printed before the update. We do know now that eight people are confirmed dead.
The major development overnight is that rescuers temporarily halted the search for survivors, due to the bad weather. It is rainy and stormy here. We should also mention overnight that officials changed the status from rescue to recovery, meaning they no longer believe that there are any survivors.
We can tell you also that last night, rescuers were using heavy equipment, shovels, even their bare hands to clear out the debris. Let us go back to the beginning and tell you what happened. About 2200 hours ago, a propane tank exploded at a restaurant, leveling the three story building, including the restaurant and the building next to it, which housed a tortilla factory. Several other buildings and vehicles were damaged. And the damage is said to be bigger than the area of a football field. We should tell you the victims are all believed to be Mexican nationals.
Joining us now to talk a bit more about this is George Garrett. He is the emergency manager with the city of Weslaco, Texas, one of the many communities assisting in the search.
Mr. Garrett, thank you for joining us. We last spoke about nine hours ago. The search has since been halted. Might you resume it today?
GEORGE GARRETT, WESLACO EMERGENCY MGR.: We will be resuming our search earlier this morning or later this morning. We had a meeting last evening, discussed with the Mexican officials the probability the survival in the event. And we have changed our mode of operation, as you stated, from a search to a recovery effort. We will be brining in additional heavy equipment this morning. It will be a long and tedious process.
CHO: Certainly will be. The damage is quite extensive. I mentioned that it was reported larger than the size of a football field. Talk a little bit about the damage.
GARRETT: Actually, the damage is an entire city block. Right now, one of the buildings adjacent to the explosion was an apartment building. So we might expect to find victims as a result of this explosion yesterday morning.
CHO: All right, Mr. George Garrett with Emergency Management in Weslaco, Texas, we thank you for joining us. Once again, just to recap, a propane tank exploded at a restaurant in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, just across the border yesterday morning. About 22 hours ago, leveling two buildings, killing at least eight people. We are now waiting for the search for bodies to resume. That could happen later today.
That is the very latest for now. Erica, back to you.
HILL: All right, thanks, Alina. Alina Cho live for us this morning.
FIRFER: Well, it's Easter Sunday and the message from the Pope this morning is a call for peace. We're going to take you live to Rome next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HILL: And a little later on, Nic Robertson takes a journey back to Iraq one year after the war started. Is the country closer to democracy or civil war? Find out for the eyes of a woman who lost her husband and her home. Now it's up to her and her six kids to find a new life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel -- look like tree without any roots. If I get the roots, maybe I can grab again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FIRFER: Tens of thousands packed St. Peter's Square this morning to hear Pope John Paul II give the traditional Easter mass. In his address, the Pope called for an end to bloody conflicts in Iraq and elsewhere, and a peaceful world order.
For more on this scene and the Pope's message, we turn to CNN's Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher, who joins us from Rome. And talking about that message, Delia, I would imagine that what's going on in the Middle East was the topic of conversation? DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, that's right. That message is called the urbi at orbi message. The Pope gives is at Christmas and at Easter time. And this year, like last year, his main concern was for peace in war torn regions, particularly mentioning Africa, Iraq, and the holy land.
Now the Pope has had a grueling few days. The holy week schedule is always a tough one for him. And he will be 84 next month. So all things considered, he's managed quite well. The Easter Sunday ceremony has just finished a few hours ago. And he has been going since last Wednesday, sometimes doing up to three ceremonies a day, for two to three hours each time. So it's now finished here just a few moments ago with that message for world peace -- Holly?
FIRFER: Delia, you spoke of the hectic schedule that the Pope has had for the past few days. And he does have Parkinson's Disease. He has problems with his hip. He has been in ill health. How is he doing now? He looked a little tired during the services today.
GALLAGHER: Well, he looked a little tired, but I tell you, if you watch him everyday, he looked pretty good, because his schedule is such that, for example, on Good Friday at noon, he was down hearing confessions in the Basilica. At 5:00, he was back down at the church to give a liturgy. At 9:00, he was over at the coliseum, about 10 minutes away in the rain, to do those stations of the cross, which lasts about two hours. Last night, he was doing a three hour Easter vigil.
So I think for the best of people that would be exhausting. And as you say, considering his ailments, considering the fact that he will be 84 next month, Pope watchers say that he's doing just fine.
FIRFER: OK, Delia Gallagher, live from Vatican City. Thank you.
HILL: Well, speaking of Easter, animals are getting their paws on some Easter treats. We'll have details on that for you when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: It wouldn't be Easter, of course, without pictures of animals eating colored eggs. This group comes to us from the Columbus Zoo, where they actually had to search their enclosures for the eggs and egg hunt, of course. No freebies there. And what -- a smaller animals got eggs to hunt. Some elephants were given a few melons to squash, but it doesn't look like they got colored melons.
FIRFER: We got nothing here.
HILL: We didn't get -- we got Rob Marciano.
FIRFER: We have Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm far from the Easter bunny.
FIRFER: I understand it's raining out. We've been here since oh dark hundred.
MARCIANO: Yes.
FIRFER: So we would have no idea, but...
MARCIANO: And it's raining across actually about the Eastern half, southeastern half of the country, a lot of rain this morning. So...
HILL: Good day to stay in any day.
MARCIANO: Yes. Eat the eggs, or at least find them first, maybe wash them, cook them, and then eat them.
HILL: You're no fun for Easter.
MARCIANO: Sorry. Hey, we want to spot out a few spots where it's going to be raining and where it's not going to be raining. Let's take you to this map. And throw up a few lightning bolts down around the deep south. And there are spots where it'll be, not only raining, but raining heavily.
Cool across the northern tier. Maybe some flurries or sprinkles up this way, but really, the best weather to be had is out west. And where it was dry along the Eastern seaboard yesterday, most likely will be starting to fill in as far as rainfall is concerned today.
So a wet Easter for many. We do have some fresh Colorado powder up there in the mountains west of Denver. Up to 10 to 12 inches of fresh now in places like Beaver Creek and Vail. So a lot of folks enjoying their Easter out west in the form of taking the boars down the hill.
Warm and dry out across the West coast, including places like Seattle and Portland, where they typically would get rain showers this time of year. Record breaking high temperatures out that way.
But where it is raining, places like New Orleans. It is coming down right now. We've got a couple of severe thunderstorm warnings. You can see it just lit up down there across the Mississippi Delta. Atlanta, mostly north and west of Atlanta, August is dry at least for now. Probably later on, they'll start to get some rainfall. And then D.C. and New York and Philly, although dry right now, the rain will be encroaching that area.
Cool across the northern tier and the Upper Midwest. And mostly dry, I believe. And there's your warm and dry weather across much of the West coast.
Daytime highs today, you see the blues, the purples, the greens, in the middle part of the country. That pretty much means kind of cool for this time of year. And the red out west, 69 San Fran, 70 in Los Angeles, 70 here in Atlanta.
So I mean, if you look at that map, it looks like it's pretty nice here in Atlanta. HILL: Except for the rain, of course.
MARCIANO: Except for the rain.
FIRFER: Isn't that a song, don't rain on my Easter parade or something around that?
MARCIANO: Let's here it, Firf. Come on, give us a few tunes here.
FIRFER: I think I'll spare everybody this morning, but thanks for asking.
MARCIANO: Good morning Philadelphia. Not quite raining yet, but to your south in D.C. and Baltimore, that rain's about to move up to your area. So enjoy your Easter, nonetheless. We'll up -- talk more about the Augusta forecast. Final round of the Masters today in about a half an hour.
HILL: Big day.
FIRFER: And it's raining?
MARCIANO: Not quite, not yet.
FIRFER: All right.
HILL: Not yet. Probably just in time for when they tee off.
MARCIANO: Oh, we'll try to squeeze it in.
FIRFER: Thanks, Rob.
HILL: Thanks, Rob.
FIRFER: Well, it's time now for a quick check of the headlines. A U.S. Army Apache helicopter is down west of Baghdad after taking gunfire from the ground. There's no immediate word on the condition of the helicopter's two man crew.
The White House releases a classified briefing memo that mentions al Qaeda's desire to strike inside the U.S., but the administration says the memo did not provide a specific warning of possible attacks.
HILL: We've been asking you this morning what you think about the conflict in Iraq. You can e-mail us your comments at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading some of your replies later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We received from them just promises, nothing yet. And this is the result of their promises.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: One year later, is there progress toward freedom in Iraq? A story of a woman who lost everything but her kids, struggling to find her roots again. Plus, insights from our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He joins us live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): For years, doctors have been telling their patients with hypertension to avoid alcohol. Now with new findings, they may reverse that advice and actually prescribe a few drinks.
According to a recent study by Brigham and Woman's Hospital, moderate drinking can actually help reduce the risk of hypertension by increasing levels of lipoprotein, also called good cholesterol. For women, moderate is one to 1.5 alcoholic beverages a day.
According to a similar study, consuming three drinks a week brought the risk of hypertension in women down 15 percent. Too much alcohol, however, can give just the opposite effect. Women having two drinks a day or more increased their risk by 30 percent.
It's a good idea to check with your doctor. You should not, however, drink any alcoholic beverage if you are pregnant, have liver disease, heart failure, or a family history of alcoholism.
Toria Talley (ph), CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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Aired April 11, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Coming to you live from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is April 11. Thanks for sharing your morning. I'm Erica Hill.
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Holly Firfer. Thanks so much for being here. Well, Christians the world over are celebrating Easter this Sunday, the holiest day on the Christian calendar. Traditionally, it's a time of resurrection and hope, however, Pope John Paul II's annual Easter message at the Vatican just a short time ago was a sobering reminder that strife and bloodshed have not taken a holiday.
The news out of Iraq this Easter Sunday is especially disturbing. With the war, the grim reality for thousands of people. Key Iraqi cities are convulsing from armed insurrection. And hostages have become the latest pawns of ruthless gunmen.
We begin with the latest headlines at this hour.
HILL: A U.S. Army Apache helicopter was shot down this morning west of Baghdad. The military says the chopper was brought down by ground fire about four hours ago. There's no word yet on the two member crew.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a 12 hour cease-fire went into effect in Fallujah five hours ago, but it's not clear whether it is holding. U.S. Marines did halt their offensive there against insurgents two days ago.
Russian officials say the death toll from a methane explosion at a mine in Siberia rose to 40 today. Eight miners have been rescued. Seven remain missing.
Pope John Paul II celebrates Easter mass at St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope appealed again for world peace and an end to violence, specifically mentioning Iraq, the Mideast conflict and Africa. CNN's Delia Gallagher will have a live report from the Vatican just minutes from now.
FIRFER: Iraqi insurgents have turned to hostage taking in their war against the U.S. led coalition. One captive has been identified as Thomas Hammil of Mississippi. In a video shown on Al Jazeera TV, Hamill's captors warned of dire consequences for Hamill unless U.S. forces withdraw from Fallujah. There's still no word on the fate of three Japanese hostages, despite reports they would be released today. All told, at least six foreign nationals are now hostages. Six Americans and two Germans are officially listed as missing.
Well, Al Jazeera is also showing video of two bodies, who appear to be Westerners. The networks say they are U.S. intelligence officers killed in Fallujah. CNN, however, has not confirmed that report.
Those grim scenes from Al Jazeera not withstanding most of the guns have fallen silent now in Fallujah. The 12 hour cease-fire began today at 2:00 a.m. Eastern after the Iraqi governing council demanded that the week long siege of the city be lifted.
CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul reports from Baghdad on this and other late developments -- Karl?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Holly. Let me bring you up to date first with the downing of that U.S. Apache attack helicopter. A senior U.S. military source has told us that small arms fire brought down that $25 million helicopter just west of Baghdad, about four hours ago now.
That senior source has so far not given us any word on the fate of the crew, although it did tell us that a rapid deployment force was dispatched to the area to try and pick up the crew. There's a two man crew on board this, Holly. Very sophisticated helicopter armed with missiles, rockets, and machine guns. But it has proved in the past susceptible to ground fire, as seems to have been the case in this incident today.
Now a little further west, the flashpoint city of Fallujah, where they have been running battles between coalition forces and Iraqi insurgents for the last six days. Now members of the Iraqi governing council have, over the last 48 hours, been trying to broker a cease- fire between both sides there. But there are conflicting reports at the moment as to how that cease-fire may be holding. Eyewitnesses have told us this this morning that the city was echoing to the sound of 50 caliber heavy machine gun fire. There was also a series of loud explosions. But that eyewitness also tells us in the last few hours, the city has fallen relatively silent.
The Marines, though, that are controlling certainly the outskirts of the town say that they will not cede to any insurgent demands, and certainly not cede an inch in respect to the insurgents' demands that the Marines pull out of the city all together.
Now as you mentioned also, we're keeping a close watch on the fate of four hostages that we understand currently in insurgent hands. No word yet on three Japanese hostages, whom were expected to be released in the course of this morning. Japanese diplomats in Amman have said they have no word on those hostages, or their whereabouts, or when they may be released. We're also keeping an eye on the fourth hostage, an American, suspected American should we say, being held by another insurgent group we believe in the area of Fallujah. The insurgents have threatened to kill him if American forces don't pull out of that city.
But to date, no word on the fate of that person, who has been identified as Thomas Hamill. He, we understand, is a contractor for a U.S. company -- Holly?
FIRFER: Terrific reporting in Baghdad. Thank you, Karl Penhaul.
Well, tensions in Iraq, concerns about hostages, journalists will be quizzing the U.S. military and administration in Iraq at a briefing in just about a half an hour from now. And we will bring that briefing to you live from Baghdad.
HILL: More than a dozen foreigners are now missing or being held hostage in Iraq. Hostage taking is a classic terrorism tactic, but it is new to the Iraqi War. And joining us now to talk about it is our terrorism expert, CNN contributor Kelly McCann.
And this is different because this is not a traditional Iraqi tactic?
KELLY MCCANN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Exactly. And I mean, that's making a lot of the analysts look at the potential for Arab fighters actually promoting this as a valuable battlefield tactic. The problem is is that the Arab fighters who might be doing that, have never promoted this on a battlefield. They didn't use it against the Russians in Afghanistan. So again, it's unproven, untested. And of course the government wants to show that it is an ineffective tactic against us in warfare.
HILL: And so far, Japan, with the Japanese hostages, earlier in the week, have said we're not backing down. We haven't heard much. The deadline has passed. But if anyone had been killed, chances are we would know.
MCCANN: That's true. And they are holding the line. Let's not kid each other, there is always back channel communications going on. Traditionally, I think, in Iraq, you'd find that it's going on with the tribal elders, who typically have cooler heads and want a stability to prevail. They really do. It's better for their people.
So there's always a clear channel of communication, sometimes murky, but they are communicating.
HILL: Communication is one of the things that's difficult, especially in Iraq right now, and particularly in Fallujah. We're hearing that there was going to be a cease-fire today, which technically may have gone into effect, but nobody really knows. One of the big problems there is the communication and who to communicate with, correct?
MCCANN: Absolutely. With so many factions, I mean someone has to have the authority to tell people to stand down. And if they're not recognized in authority, they're going to act on their own last orders.
Now interestingly, you'll see that the Marines are positioning for greater combat. They've got two more battalions they brought in. They're holding right now. They have enough people on the ground to hold where they are, but they're also very decisively positioned so that if they have to take the rest of the city, they will. And I think that that also sends a message to the people that are in Fallujah.
HILL: And Fallujah, of course, not the only city where there is action happening. There's a lot else going on around the country. Kut, in the south. Talk to us a little bit about what else is happening right now?
MCCANN: Well, a lot of people have focused on the Sunni Triangle and have spent most of their time thinking about this. But what you'll know is that the battlefield is a dynamic thing. We're going to also see a lot of action from Kut, to Nasariya, Najaf, Karbala. This area down here south of the Sunni Triangle also we know has al- Sadr's forces, the Mehdi army. And they're moving around. And as you know, General Kimmitt has said they're going to crush the Mehdi army.
So I think that sometimes, it's the easiest reference point, the Sunni Triangle. But it is a dynamic place. And as forces move, the U.S. will have countermeasures.
HILL: All right, real quickly, about 15 seconds, what do we know right now about that Apache helicopter that went down? What would be happening at this hour?
MCCANN: Remember that they all go out with emitters. So that if they're shot down, they immediately can transmit their position. And there's always combat search and rescue on hand and on station. The Apache frame is survivable. So let's hope for the best.
HILL: And we will. Kelly McCann, thanks. We'll talk to you again in a little bit.
MCCANN: Thanks.
HILL: A new CNN/TIME magazine poll shows a close division of U.S. public opinion on current military policy in Iraq. 30 percent strongly approve of that policy. 18 percent somewhat approve. 33 percent strongly disapprove. 12 percent somewhat disapprove.
So was the U.S. right or wrong in going to war with Iraq? 53 percent said it was right. 41 percent said wrong. 6 percent are not sure.
And does the Bush administration have a clear, well thought out plan to deal with Iraq? 43 percent of respondents said yes. 51 percent said no.
And we'd like to know what you have to say this morning. Send us your thoughts and comments about the conflict in Iraq. That address, wam@cnn.com.
FIRFER: The White House releases the presidential briefing memo mentioned in the 9/11 hearings. The memo mentions al Qaeda's desire to attack inside the U.S., but the Bush administration says the warnings were not specific.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reports.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saturday, the White House declassified the president's top secret briefing he received at his Crawford ranch one month before the September 11 attacks. The August 6, 2001 presidential daily brief entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." lays out the al Qaeda leader's capability and determination to hit the United States. It warns the CIA and FBI were investigating a tip that a group of bin Laden supporters were in the U.S. in May, just months before 9/11 and were planning attacks using explosives.
It begins, "Bin Laden since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the U.S. After U.S. missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, bin Laden told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington. The Millennium plotting in Canada in 1999 may have been part of bin Laden's first serious attempt to implement a terror strike in the U.S."
The brief emphasizes the al Qaeda leader's resolve, recounting his 1998 attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that involved years of preparation.
The brief says bin Laden's followers are prevalent in the U.S. "Al Qaeda members including some who are U.S. citizens have resided in or traveled to the U.S. for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks."
A source specifically mentions a bin Laden cell in New York in 1998 that was recruiting young Muslim Americans to carry out strikes. The brief lays out bin Laden's plot. An uncorroborated report that in 1998, "Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft to win the release of his comrades in U.S. custody. Ongoing activity from the FBI of patterns of suspicious activity in this country, consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
The brief concludes that the FBI was conducting at least 70 investigations in 2001 regarding possible al Qaeda cells operating in the U.S. A senior White House official says releasing the brief should clear up any myth that the president was warned of the 9/11 attacks, adding that there is nothing in the brief pertaining to the 9/11 plot. He said all threats were aggressively pursued.
(on camera): But some commissioners believe that the administration was given at least enough information about bin Laden's intentions and capabilities to warn the public about the possibility of an attack.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HILL: "The New York Times" is reporting that the CIA and FBI came close to uncovering the 9/11 plot, while investigating the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. The paper says that the Cole investigation led to two of the 9/11 hijackers being put on a watch list, banning them from entering the U.S. But that order was not given until after they had already entered the country.
The report says miscommunication and laws against the sharing of evidence between the agencies led to the failure.
CIA and FBI officials will be at the center of this week's 9/11 Commission hearings, but the man who made headlines in front of the commission two weeks ago may have his story told by Hollywood. Sony Pictures has optioned Richard Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" with plans to turn the bestseller into a major motion picture.
A propane tank explodes in Mexico just across the river from Texas, killing eight people and injuring a dozen. As many as 15 people may be trapped in the rubble of a restaurant and another building.
CNN correspondent Alina Cho is live at Progreso, Texas, just across the border. Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good morning to you. As you might imagine, this is front page news in the local paper here in "The Monitor." "Six dead in border blast" is the headline. Of course, this was printed before the update. We do know now that eight people are confirmed dead.
The major development overnight is that rescuers temporarily halted the search for survivors, due to the bad weather. It is rainy and stormy here. We should also mention overnight that officials changed the status from rescue to recovery, meaning they no longer believe that there are any survivors.
We can tell you also that last night, rescuers were using heavy equipment, shovels, even their bare hands to clear out the debris. Let us go back to the beginning and tell you what happened. About 2200 hours ago, a propane tank exploded at a restaurant, leveling the three story building, including the restaurant and the building next to it, which housed a tortilla factory. Several other buildings and vehicles were damaged. And the damage is said to be bigger than the area of a football field. We should tell you the victims are all believed to be Mexican nationals.
Joining us now to talk a bit more about this is George Garrett. He is the emergency manager with the city of Weslaco, Texas, one of the many communities assisting in the search.
Mr. Garrett, thank you for joining us. We last spoke about nine hours ago. The search has since been halted. Might you resume it today?
GEORGE GARRETT, WESLACO EMERGENCY MGR.: We will be resuming our search earlier this morning or later this morning. We had a meeting last evening, discussed with the Mexican officials the probability the survival in the event. And we have changed our mode of operation, as you stated, from a search to a recovery effort. We will be brining in additional heavy equipment this morning. It will be a long and tedious process.
CHO: Certainly will be. The damage is quite extensive. I mentioned that it was reported larger than the size of a football field. Talk a little bit about the damage.
GARRETT: Actually, the damage is an entire city block. Right now, one of the buildings adjacent to the explosion was an apartment building. So we might expect to find victims as a result of this explosion yesterday morning.
CHO: All right, Mr. George Garrett with Emergency Management in Weslaco, Texas, we thank you for joining us. Once again, just to recap, a propane tank exploded at a restaurant in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, just across the border yesterday morning. About 22 hours ago, leveling two buildings, killing at least eight people. We are now waiting for the search for bodies to resume. That could happen later today.
That is the very latest for now. Erica, back to you.
HILL: All right, thanks, Alina. Alina Cho live for us this morning.
FIRFER: Well, it's Easter Sunday and the message from the Pope this morning is a call for peace. We're going to take you live to Rome next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HILL: And a little later on, Nic Robertson takes a journey back to Iraq one year after the war started. Is the country closer to democracy or civil war? Find out for the eyes of a woman who lost her husband and her home. Now it's up to her and her six kids to find a new life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel -- look like tree without any roots. If I get the roots, maybe I can grab again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FIRFER: Tens of thousands packed St. Peter's Square this morning to hear Pope John Paul II give the traditional Easter mass. In his address, the Pope called for an end to bloody conflicts in Iraq and elsewhere, and a peaceful world order.
For more on this scene and the Pope's message, we turn to CNN's Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher, who joins us from Rome. And talking about that message, Delia, I would imagine that what's going on in the Middle East was the topic of conversation? DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, that's right. That message is called the urbi at orbi message. The Pope gives is at Christmas and at Easter time. And this year, like last year, his main concern was for peace in war torn regions, particularly mentioning Africa, Iraq, and the holy land.
Now the Pope has had a grueling few days. The holy week schedule is always a tough one for him. And he will be 84 next month. So all things considered, he's managed quite well. The Easter Sunday ceremony has just finished a few hours ago. And he has been going since last Wednesday, sometimes doing up to three ceremonies a day, for two to three hours each time. So it's now finished here just a few moments ago with that message for world peace -- Holly?
FIRFER: Delia, you spoke of the hectic schedule that the Pope has had for the past few days. And he does have Parkinson's Disease. He has problems with his hip. He has been in ill health. How is he doing now? He looked a little tired during the services today.
GALLAGHER: Well, he looked a little tired, but I tell you, if you watch him everyday, he looked pretty good, because his schedule is such that, for example, on Good Friday at noon, he was down hearing confessions in the Basilica. At 5:00, he was back down at the church to give a liturgy. At 9:00, he was over at the coliseum, about 10 minutes away in the rain, to do those stations of the cross, which lasts about two hours. Last night, he was doing a three hour Easter vigil.
So I think for the best of people that would be exhausting. And as you say, considering his ailments, considering the fact that he will be 84 next month, Pope watchers say that he's doing just fine.
FIRFER: OK, Delia Gallagher, live from Vatican City. Thank you.
HILL: Well, speaking of Easter, animals are getting their paws on some Easter treats. We'll have details on that for you when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: It wouldn't be Easter, of course, without pictures of animals eating colored eggs. This group comes to us from the Columbus Zoo, where they actually had to search their enclosures for the eggs and egg hunt, of course. No freebies there. And what -- a smaller animals got eggs to hunt. Some elephants were given a few melons to squash, but it doesn't look like they got colored melons.
FIRFER: We got nothing here.
HILL: We didn't get -- we got Rob Marciano.
FIRFER: We have Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm far from the Easter bunny.
FIRFER: I understand it's raining out. We've been here since oh dark hundred.
MARCIANO: Yes.
FIRFER: So we would have no idea, but...
MARCIANO: And it's raining across actually about the Eastern half, southeastern half of the country, a lot of rain this morning. So...
HILL: Good day to stay in any day.
MARCIANO: Yes. Eat the eggs, or at least find them first, maybe wash them, cook them, and then eat them.
HILL: You're no fun for Easter.
MARCIANO: Sorry. Hey, we want to spot out a few spots where it's going to be raining and where it's not going to be raining. Let's take you to this map. And throw up a few lightning bolts down around the deep south. And there are spots where it'll be, not only raining, but raining heavily.
Cool across the northern tier. Maybe some flurries or sprinkles up this way, but really, the best weather to be had is out west. And where it was dry along the Eastern seaboard yesterday, most likely will be starting to fill in as far as rainfall is concerned today.
So a wet Easter for many. We do have some fresh Colorado powder up there in the mountains west of Denver. Up to 10 to 12 inches of fresh now in places like Beaver Creek and Vail. So a lot of folks enjoying their Easter out west in the form of taking the boars down the hill.
Warm and dry out across the West coast, including places like Seattle and Portland, where they typically would get rain showers this time of year. Record breaking high temperatures out that way.
But where it is raining, places like New Orleans. It is coming down right now. We've got a couple of severe thunderstorm warnings. You can see it just lit up down there across the Mississippi Delta. Atlanta, mostly north and west of Atlanta, August is dry at least for now. Probably later on, they'll start to get some rainfall. And then D.C. and New York and Philly, although dry right now, the rain will be encroaching that area.
Cool across the northern tier and the Upper Midwest. And mostly dry, I believe. And there's your warm and dry weather across much of the West coast.
Daytime highs today, you see the blues, the purples, the greens, in the middle part of the country. That pretty much means kind of cool for this time of year. And the red out west, 69 San Fran, 70 in Los Angeles, 70 here in Atlanta.
So I mean, if you look at that map, it looks like it's pretty nice here in Atlanta. HILL: Except for the rain, of course.
MARCIANO: Except for the rain.
FIRFER: Isn't that a song, don't rain on my Easter parade or something around that?
MARCIANO: Let's here it, Firf. Come on, give us a few tunes here.
FIRFER: I think I'll spare everybody this morning, but thanks for asking.
MARCIANO: Good morning Philadelphia. Not quite raining yet, but to your south in D.C. and Baltimore, that rain's about to move up to your area. So enjoy your Easter, nonetheless. We'll up -- talk more about the Augusta forecast. Final round of the Masters today in about a half an hour.
HILL: Big day.
FIRFER: And it's raining?
MARCIANO: Not quite, not yet.
FIRFER: All right.
HILL: Not yet. Probably just in time for when they tee off.
MARCIANO: Oh, we'll try to squeeze it in.
FIRFER: Thanks, Rob.
HILL: Thanks, Rob.
FIRFER: Well, it's time now for a quick check of the headlines. A U.S. Army Apache helicopter is down west of Baghdad after taking gunfire from the ground. There's no immediate word on the condition of the helicopter's two man crew.
The White House releases a classified briefing memo that mentions al Qaeda's desire to strike inside the U.S., but the administration says the memo did not provide a specific warning of possible attacks.
HILL: We've been asking you this morning what you think about the conflict in Iraq. You can e-mail us your comments at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading some of your replies later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We received from them just promises, nothing yet. And this is the result of their promises.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: One year later, is there progress toward freedom in Iraq? A story of a woman who lost everything but her kids, struggling to find her roots again. Plus, insights from our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He joins us live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): For years, doctors have been telling their patients with hypertension to avoid alcohol. Now with new findings, they may reverse that advice and actually prescribe a few drinks.
According to a recent study by Brigham and Woman's Hospital, moderate drinking can actually help reduce the risk of hypertension by increasing levels of lipoprotein, also called good cholesterol. For women, moderate is one to 1.5 alcoholic beverages a day.
According to a similar study, consuming three drinks a week brought the risk of hypertension in women down 15 percent. Too much alcohol, however, can give just the opposite effect. Women having two drinks a day or more increased their risk by 30 percent.
It's a good idea to check with your doctor. You should not, however, drink any alcoholic beverage if you are pregnant, have liver disease, heart failure, or a family history of alcoholism.
Toria Talley (ph), CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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