Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Nancy Reagan Comes Out for Stem Cell Research; Helping Kids With Homework
Aired May 09, 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.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is May the 9th. Good morning again, everybody. I'm Thomas Roberts. Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely. And I'm Sophia Choi. Thanks so much for being with us.
Here's what's coming up this hour. The pictures that repulsed the world. The U.S. military's apparent use of sexual humiliation as an interrogation tool. How did it come to this? A "TIME" magazine correspondent joins us with new insight and a preview of tomorrow's cover story.
And former first lady Nancy Reagan says her husband's Alzheimer's has taken him to a distant place. Now she's determined to spare others the pain and suffering.
And later, helping your kids with homework. What do you do when the assignment is way over their heads and yours, too?
But first, it's a busy news morning. Here's this hour's headlines.
ROBERTS: Certainly is busy. A developing story we've been following this morning, an explosion in a crowded stadium in the troubled Russian province of Chechnya. And Russian President Vladimir Putin now confirms that one of those killed was Akhmad Kadyrov. He's the president of Chechnya. One other person was killed. 25 others were injured. The blast occurred right under the VIP stand.
At least four Iraqis were killed this morning in an explosion in the market in western Baghdad. 17 people were hurt by the blast. It occurred as police were trying to dismantle two bombs that were found in vendor stalls at the market.
Million Mom March organization is back in Washington today, but not all million moms, but some of them will be there. They're demonstrating at Capitol Hill this Mother's Day in a campaign to keep the ban on assault weapons and promote the Brady campaign to prevent gun violence.
CHOI: Our top story this morning, the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal. The hot topic of the TV talkers today. And the future of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, who spent Friday testifying about the scandal, will undoubtedly get some attention.
Reporter Seymour Hersh is wrapping up a new article for "The New Yorker," and it's believed to include at least one more prisoner abuse photo. Hersh will be Wolf Blitzer's guest today on "LATE EDITION" at noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
Meantime, senators from both parties are saying accountability should go much higher than a few MPs at a prison in Baghdad. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham says, "The culture that let to this outrageous conduct has to be addressed as much as the conduct itself."
And Democratic Senator Ben Nelson says, "We must...
(AUDIO GAP)
CHOI: ...a ringing endorsement though of Donald Rumsfeld this morning from Vice President Dick Cheney. The Vice President and other top officials met by teleconference with President Bush, who is spending the weekend at Camp David.
Then, Cheney issued a statement saying, "As a former Secretary of Defense, I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best Secretary of Defense the United States has ever had. People ought to let him to his job."
In about two hours, U.S. military officials will have a briefing on all of the latest developments in Iraq. And CNN plans live coverage beginning at 9:00 Eastern.
ROBERTS: The other major news story for you this morning, the president of Chechnya has been assassinated. Confirmation came from Moscow just moments ago, following an attack earlier today in the Chechen capital.
Amazing scene. Gunfire erupting moments after an explosion in Grozny. The Chechen president and top military officials were in a review stand for an annual victory day parade, when a blast ripped apart the VIP section.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote, he's joining us now with the very latest from Moscow. And Ryan, now the confirmation is coming from -- straight from the top?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The Russian President making this very dramatic announcement that Akhmad Kadyrov, the Russian backed leader of Chechnya, Chechnya of course a Russian Republican where Russian forces continue to battle Chechen rebels that Akhmad Kadyrov is dead. The Russian president saying that he is -- he was killed in this attack, but that he was not defeated by it.
Now Russian officials are also saying that at least four more people were killed in that blast. 44 people hospitalized, including a Russian general, who is the commander of all Russian forces in Chechnya and the caucus' General Valeriy Baranov. Russian officials saying that doctors right now are fighting for General Baranov's life.
Now this all took place about 4.5 hours ago in the Chechen capital of Grozny. The political and military leadership on hand in a stadium there to witness the 59th anniversary of Victory Day. Exactly 59 years ago, Stalin announced victory for the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan, why was there differing reports from the start about whether or not the president had actually been injured and died in this attack?
CHILCOTE: Well, you know, if you look at the video, you can see that he appears to still be alive immediately following the attack. There are some security guards that are helping him, pulling him out of there. It might just simply be an issue of who knew what, when, that he was not killed initially in the blast, but that he died from the injuries that he sustained in it.
There were similar -- there was similar confusion about the fate of General Baranov. Some officials saying that he was killed. Then the Russian government quickly coming out to say that he was severely critically injured, but not killed in the attack.
So perhaps what we're looking at is just a bit of confusion in the immediate chaos after this blast -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan, and also as we've seen on the scene there, so much security was right there at the time. What about a security sweep that was done before this parade started, especially right into the VIP stand? There was nothing done to protect the president?
CHILCOTE: Absolutely. Well, very strange. Chechen officials are saying that they did a security sweep of the -- this morning before the ceremony, as well as last night. And they didn't find anything strange. And what they're now saying is that they believe that this explosive device was actually buried in some concrete blocks beneath that VIP stand. They've actually been doing some reconstruction work at that stadium. And they now believe that those -- that explosive device may have been buried underneath there, in those concrete blocks, as many as two or months ago -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan Chilcote, live in Moscow. Ryan, thanks so much.
CHOI: Turning now to Iraq, U.S. forces launched a major offensive to take control over parts of the city of Najaf. The operation's main goal is to capture or kill members of Muqtada al- Sadr's army.
CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with the troops and joins us now from Najaf via telephone.
Jane, what's been going on?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sophia. We've just -- Sophia, don't know if you can hear me, but we just ran out with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) extending their area of operations south of this base, this U.S. Army base in Najaf.
It came under the fire at several points. There were mortars fired, rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire. Now the colonel in charge of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that they found and detonated a large cache of weapons, small arms and rocket propelled grenades may have killed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) between five and six members, affected members of the Mehdi army that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) loyal to radical Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
Now this offensive is continuing, as the Army suddenly expands the area it operates in, in Najaf. But it is still staying well away from the holy shrines and from Kufa, the adjoining city where the Shia leader himself is based -- Sophia?
CHOI: Do they have plans, then the coalition troops, to go after Sadr himself?
ARRAF: It's a very interesting question. They have threatened to either kill or capture him, but it's not quite that easy. He's pulling a bit of a cat and mouse game. He knows the U.S. Army is in here force in Najaf at this base and at selected areas. There really are a lot of places they can't go into, can't even fire into if it is going to avoid totally inflaming population here.
This is one of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) holiest shrines to Shia Muslims all over this world. And what they are trying to do is at least erode, by capturing and killing these militia members and reducing this threat of weapons, erode the militia power. But it -- this is essentially unconventional warfare that we're in the middle of. We're in the middle of an armored personnel carrier in the city, surrounded by mortars landing rocket propelled grenades, flying -- and all these fired from civilian areas. It is very hard for the military to fire back in these circumstances -- Sophia?
CHOI: And because al-Sadr's militia is feeling pressure now from the U.S. military in their stronghold areas like Najaf, we are hearing that some of al-Sadr's militia are now going to other areas, like Basra and Amara to open up new fronts? Are you hearing that same thing on the ground there?
ARRAF: There's been a movement back and forth of militia members. Now as more of them are killed here and U.S. forces (UNINTELLIGIBLE) killed at least 100 of them in the past week or so. There have been reinforcements thought to be coming in from other places, from Sadr City and from other areas.
At the same time, the military is expanding into other cities. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) where they launched an offensive there. In Karbala, they've done the same thing. And in other cities that you've mentioned, where the militia is thought to have a presence, they have steadily gone in to try to make sure that it doesn't expand its presence.
Now so it's very tricky thing they are doing here. This is not a conventional army, which in many sense, it'd be a lot easier to fight if this -- if you will, a rag tag militia whose members specialize in ambush. And even though they are taking heavy casualties, they just do not appear to be giving up -- Sophia?
CHOI: Jane Arraf, embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq, thank you.
ROBERTS: Now to the recent train bombings in Madrid, the mother of the American lawyer arrested in connection with the blast, is in Portland today, hoping to visit her son in jail. Brendon Mayfield is being held as a material witness. Law enforcement authorities say his fingerprint was found on bags containing detonators like those used in the March 11 attack that killed 190 people.
Well, Mayfield's mother says the allegation is far-fetched.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVNELL MAYFIELD, MOTHER: He's just always been a very good family man, a good husband, excellent father. He's just -- he's been a wonderful son. And I'm just really proud of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The Spanish newspaper is reporting investigators now have serious doubts about whether the fingerprint tied to Mayfield is really his.
CHOI: Nancy Reagan makes a rare public appearance. She showed up last night to lend her support for embryonic stem cell research at a fund-raiser in California. Many experts believe stem cell research may help Alzheimer's patients. And that's an issue that weighs heavily on the mind of the former First Lady.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY REAGAN, FMR. FIRST LADY: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him where I can no longer reach him. We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together. And I think that's probably the hardest part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Nancy Reagan came out in favor of embryonic stem cell research many years ago at around the same time President Bush signed an executive order limiting that research.
ROBERTS: Stay with us, everybody. Coming up for you, is President Bush in trouble? His approval rating is sitting some all- time lows, but some people think he can turn it around before November. Your morning dose of politics, that's coming up next, right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
CHOI: And later this hour, what went wrong in the infamous Iraqi prison? "TIME" magazine has uncovered some new revelations. We'll hear them in the next half hour.
ROBERTS: And want to be more helpful when your kid asks for help with their school work? We're going to tell you how to make that homework just a piece of cake. Back in a moment.
CHOI: And we are not done yet, Thomas. Here is assignment this morning.
ROBERTS: That's right.
CHOI: We're looking for a good caption for this picture, a snapshot from Nevada Roadways, where a six car pile up with this Dodge Neon in the back of this horse trailer. The horse, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) agent, by the way, remained unharmed. So what's this horse thinking? E-mail us your suggestions at wam@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SEC. OF DEFENSE: There has been a good deal of discussion about who bears responsibility for the terrible activities that took place at Abu Ghraib. These events occurred on my watch. As Secretary of Defense, I am accountable for them. And I take full responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, the pressure will be on again today, as the Sunday talk shows examine Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on Capitol Hill.
So how is the Iraq controversy actually affecting the presidential polls? You know, the outrage over photos showing the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners may be hurting the president in the polls. A Gallup poll taken after the photos surfaced, but before Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on Friday, is showing 55 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Bush is handling the war in Iraq. 42 percent are approving.
Now the poll also indicates likely voters are split between who they want for president. Bush and Kerry tied at 47 percent. Ralph Nader there with 3 percent.
So we're going to talk about this, other political news now with CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein.
Ron, good morning. Thanks for being here.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
ROBERTS: OK, so Ron, let's talk about these numbers. Some of these -- pretty much the lowest since the start of the Iraq, still solid in Bush terms, but break them down for us?
Well, you really see the weight of the turmoil in Iraq on the president on these numbers. You know, we had almost 300,000 jobs created in April. More than 300,000 jobs created in March. That should be an updraft for the president. And yet, his overall approval rating is at the lowest the CNN/Gallup poll has ever measured, 49 percent.
And that really is a reflection of the anxiety that you see really radiating through this and all the public polls over not only the prisoner scandal, but the overall course of events in Iraq.
ROBERTS: So when you talk about the economy being solid here at home in April, but also people in Iraq, that was the highest death toll for soldiers lost, 138. So will Americans continue to put up with this high casualty count and still approve of what the president's doing about Iraq?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, there's a myth that the American public won't accept casualties in war time. In fact, there is evidence in this war and earlier that the public is willing to accept casualties as long as they feel these lives are being sacrificed for a purpose, that we are accomplishing our mission.
The real danger to the president is the growing sense that events in Iraq are spinning out of our control. A fear that is obviously intensified by this scandal at the prison and the sense that it may further alienate the Iraqi people.
If the public feels that we are not moving towards a goal of pacifying and stabilizing Iraq, I think the evidence is their tolerance for the casualties will be greatly diminished. And that's where the real political danger to the president lies.
ROBERTS: Also out of this poll, people talking about their presidential picks. And Kerry and Bush each showing 47 percent with Ralph Nader getting 3 percent. So does he become a spoiler for both Kerry and Bush? Or is he still just a spoiler to Kerry?
BROWNSTEIN: More to Kerry. Look, you know, we are -- this is going to feel like this is where the movie began. I mean, President Bush came in on a 50/50 election that was one of the closest in American history, the second narrowest electoral college victory we've ever had. And here we are, 3.5 years later, and very little has changed.
President Bush has been a very polarizing figure as president. He's tended to reinforce, rather than realign the lines of division we saw in 2000. The result is that he has a solid floor. Given all the bad news, some people would be surprised at how strongly he continues to run, but he also has potentially a low ceiling. I mean, I think we're operating within a narrow boundary between the two men, Kerry and Bush, and one in which Nader and for that matter virtually other -- any other factor can tip the balance, because it is so precarious between the two men.
ROBERTS: Ron, only about 15 seconds left. Is this abuse scandal really a threat to the re-election campaign?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, if it convinces Americans that Iraq can't be won, I think it will become a threat to the president, because the public, as I say, will be less willing to accept the casualties they're seeing every day on their television.
ROBERTS: Ron, we appreciate your time. CNN political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
CHOI: I'll take it right here, Thomas. So how often do your children come to you seeking help with their homework? If trigonometry comes tougher than a brush stroke, we can help. Find out how to make homework simply, next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHOI: So what do you when your children cry out for help with their homework and present you with a trigonometry problem you haven't seen in 20 years, if ever? Or maybe they want some assistance with a term paper on the theory of relativity. Do you say go ask your father?
Joining us now to talk about some online help that's out there is Ford Cochran, director of Mission Programs Online for the National Geographic Society. Thanks for joining us.
FORD COCHRAN, DIR., MISSION PROGRAMS ONLINE, NATL. GEOGRAPHIC: My pleasure, Sophia. Glad to be here.
CHOI: So what do you do if you're clueless and your child comes to you with a problem besides telling them to go to the other parent? What can you do?
COCHRAN: Well, the good news is you don't have to do what our parents, which is make something up. We have the benefit of the most powerful research and communication tool that's ever existed and are able to tap that to help our students, our kids to answer questions when they come to us with challenging questions.
Just about everything you might want to know is out there on the Internet. And there are tools accessible to all of us that can help us go and find some answers.
CHOI: Yes, in the olden days, the encyclopedia was where you ran to for answers. And now it's the Internet. Just ogle search anything.
COCHRAN: That's right. You can use the search engines like Google. And you can use tools that a number of Web sites have created to help students to find what they need right away.
National Geographic's mission is to motivate students to learn about the world of young people, to learn about the world and care about it, given them the tools they need to do it. We've created a tool called One Stop, where you can come and enter a search term and get maps, get photographs, get articles, get information all organization so that you can almost instantly go to whatever it is you might want to learn about and learn more.
CHOI: Well, so should parents ever just give their child the answer to a question?
COCHRAN: They don't need to do that. I mean, one of the big goals of education is to teach kids the information. But really, the most important goal is to give kids the tools to go and find answers for themselves. And what parents can do is they can coach. They can go and they can find the information together with their kids, help point them in the right direction, and give those kids the tools they need so that they can find answers on their own.
CHOI: All right, so how much parental involvement is too much?
COCHRAN: Well, obviously is a parent's writing papers for their kids or cutting and pasting answers for them, that's not really going to help them to learn.
But I'd say that sitting -- surfing with them, teaching them how to surf responsibly and how to find things, being right there engaged with them at the computer, that's very important.
Many young people today spend as much time or more on the Internet, as they do say watching television. And if it's that big a part of young person's life, it's important for parents to be involved.
CHOI: Yes, but what if you don't have a computer at home? What then?
COCHRAN: Well, the good news as well is that the Internet is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Access to it is available at virtually every library now. At most schools in many work places. So even if you don't have the Internet at home, you can get some place where you can go online and help your kids define what they need.
CHOI: All right, walk us through some of your favorite sites for homework help. I understand your favorite probably, NationalGeoraphic.com. But any others?
COCHRAN: Absolutely. There are some terrific sites available. In fact, right there's an award called the Webby Award. And a number of the Webby nominees for best education site are terrific resources that parents and kids can use to learn about the world together.
There is a site at the BBC has created on the human body, which is one of the nominees. It's a fantastic site. It uses the technology to full advantage so that kids are able to basically take bones and assemble the human body. Out of those bones, there is another site in which -- which Cable in the Classroom has created on Shakespeare in which folios are created and kids are able to learn how very, very different the different folia, Shakespeare's great classics actually are.
We assume that what's been handed down to us is gospel, but in fact, that's not the case than a few changes made by printers. It can often be very important
And then we, for our part, we've created a site at National Geographic called Our Expeditions Atlas, that has outline maps of the world, every continent, every country, every U.S. state, Mexican state, and Canadian province and different versions. The kids can download, put right in their papers or study for their exams. CHOI: That's terrific. Ford Cochran, National Geographic director of Mission Programs Online. We thank you so much. And I'm sure the parents out there thank you, too. Take care.
COCHRAN: Glad to be here. Thank you.
CHOI: Thomas?
ROBERTS: All right, Sophia, thanks. Now we'll talk about the weather. Rob Marciano is here to tell us how Sunday, Mother's Day, is shaping up for everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: All right, we're going to get a quick check of the headlines for you now if they're done making fun of me.
In a more serious note for you this morning, Chechnya's president was killed this morning in an explosion at a Victory Day rally in the republic's capitol. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the death. Four others were killed, 44 wounded from the blast which occurred beneath the VIP section of the city stadium.
The U.S. military has begun an offensive in Najaf. The troops hope to capture or kill members of Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and confiscate weapons. The operation is taking place away from the holy sites in the city.
CHOI: Is Abu Ghraib the only tip of the iceberg?
ROBERTS: Well, what the chances that this could be going on in other facilities in Iraq? "TIME" magazine has uncovered some new information. I'm going to talk to one of the correspondents from "TIME" magazine about this next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 9, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is May the 9th. Good morning again, everybody. I'm Thomas Roberts. Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely. And I'm Sophia Choi. Thanks so much for being with us.
Here's what's coming up this hour. The pictures that repulsed the world. The U.S. military's apparent use of sexual humiliation as an interrogation tool. How did it come to this? A "TIME" magazine correspondent joins us with new insight and a preview of tomorrow's cover story.
And former first lady Nancy Reagan says her husband's Alzheimer's has taken him to a distant place. Now she's determined to spare others the pain and suffering.
And later, helping your kids with homework. What do you do when the assignment is way over their heads and yours, too?
But first, it's a busy news morning. Here's this hour's headlines.
ROBERTS: Certainly is busy. A developing story we've been following this morning, an explosion in a crowded stadium in the troubled Russian province of Chechnya. And Russian President Vladimir Putin now confirms that one of those killed was Akhmad Kadyrov. He's the president of Chechnya. One other person was killed. 25 others were injured. The blast occurred right under the VIP stand.
At least four Iraqis were killed this morning in an explosion in the market in western Baghdad. 17 people were hurt by the blast. It occurred as police were trying to dismantle two bombs that were found in vendor stalls at the market.
Million Mom March organization is back in Washington today, but not all million moms, but some of them will be there. They're demonstrating at Capitol Hill this Mother's Day in a campaign to keep the ban on assault weapons and promote the Brady campaign to prevent gun violence.
CHOI: Our top story this morning, the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal. The hot topic of the TV talkers today. And the future of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, who spent Friday testifying about the scandal, will undoubtedly get some attention.
Reporter Seymour Hersh is wrapping up a new article for "The New Yorker," and it's believed to include at least one more prisoner abuse photo. Hersh will be Wolf Blitzer's guest today on "LATE EDITION" at noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
Meantime, senators from both parties are saying accountability should go much higher than a few MPs at a prison in Baghdad. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham says, "The culture that let to this outrageous conduct has to be addressed as much as the conduct itself."
And Democratic Senator Ben Nelson says, "We must...
(AUDIO GAP)
CHOI: ...a ringing endorsement though of Donald Rumsfeld this morning from Vice President Dick Cheney. The Vice President and other top officials met by teleconference with President Bush, who is spending the weekend at Camp David.
Then, Cheney issued a statement saying, "As a former Secretary of Defense, I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best Secretary of Defense the United States has ever had. People ought to let him to his job."
In about two hours, U.S. military officials will have a briefing on all of the latest developments in Iraq. And CNN plans live coverage beginning at 9:00 Eastern.
ROBERTS: The other major news story for you this morning, the president of Chechnya has been assassinated. Confirmation came from Moscow just moments ago, following an attack earlier today in the Chechen capital.
Amazing scene. Gunfire erupting moments after an explosion in Grozny. The Chechen president and top military officials were in a review stand for an annual victory day parade, when a blast ripped apart the VIP section.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote, he's joining us now with the very latest from Moscow. And Ryan, now the confirmation is coming from -- straight from the top?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The Russian President making this very dramatic announcement that Akhmad Kadyrov, the Russian backed leader of Chechnya, Chechnya of course a Russian Republican where Russian forces continue to battle Chechen rebels that Akhmad Kadyrov is dead. The Russian president saying that he is -- he was killed in this attack, but that he was not defeated by it.
Now Russian officials are also saying that at least four more people were killed in that blast. 44 people hospitalized, including a Russian general, who is the commander of all Russian forces in Chechnya and the caucus' General Valeriy Baranov. Russian officials saying that doctors right now are fighting for General Baranov's life.
Now this all took place about 4.5 hours ago in the Chechen capital of Grozny. The political and military leadership on hand in a stadium there to witness the 59th anniversary of Victory Day. Exactly 59 years ago, Stalin announced victory for the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan, why was there differing reports from the start about whether or not the president had actually been injured and died in this attack?
CHILCOTE: Well, you know, if you look at the video, you can see that he appears to still be alive immediately following the attack. There are some security guards that are helping him, pulling him out of there. It might just simply be an issue of who knew what, when, that he was not killed initially in the blast, but that he died from the injuries that he sustained in it.
There were similar -- there was similar confusion about the fate of General Baranov. Some officials saying that he was killed. Then the Russian government quickly coming out to say that he was severely critically injured, but not killed in the attack.
So perhaps what we're looking at is just a bit of confusion in the immediate chaos after this blast -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan, and also as we've seen on the scene there, so much security was right there at the time. What about a security sweep that was done before this parade started, especially right into the VIP stand? There was nothing done to protect the president?
CHILCOTE: Absolutely. Well, very strange. Chechen officials are saying that they did a security sweep of the -- this morning before the ceremony, as well as last night. And they didn't find anything strange. And what they're now saying is that they believe that this explosive device was actually buried in some concrete blocks beneath that VIP stand. They've actually been doing some reconstruction work at that stadium. And they now believe that those -- that explosive device may have been buried underneath there, in those concrete blocks, as many as two or months ago -- Thomas?
ROBERTS: Ryan Chilcote, live in Moscow. Ryan, thanks so much.
CHOI: Turning now to Iraq, U.S. forces launched a major offensive to take control over parts of the city of Najaf. The operation's main goal is to capture or kill members of Muqtada al- Sadr's army.
CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with the troops and joins us now from Najaf via telephone.
Jane, what's been going on?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sophia. We've just -- Sophia, don't know if you can hear me, but we just ran out with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) extending their area of operations south of this base, this U.S. Army base in Najaf.
It came under the fire at several points. There were mortars fired, rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire. Now the colonel in charge of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that they found and detonated a large cache of weapons, small arms and rocket propelled grenades may have killed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) between five and six members, affected members of the Mehdi army that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) loyal to radical Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
Now this offensive is continuing, as the Army suddenly expands the area it operates in, in Najaf. But it is still staying well away from the holy shrines and from Kufa, the adjoining city where the Shia leader himself is based -- Sophia?
CHOI: Do they have plans, then the coalition troops, to go after Sadr himself?
ARRAF: It's a very interesting question. They have threatened to either kill or capture him, but it's not quite that easy. He's pulling a bit of a cat and mouse game. He knows the U.S. Army is in here force in Najaf at this base and at selected areas. There really are a lot of places they can't go into, can't even fire into if it is going to avoid totally inflaming population here.
This is one of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) holiest shrines to Shia Muslims all over this world. And what they are trying to do is at least erode, by capturing and killing these militia members and reducing this threat of weapons, erode the militia power. But it -- this is essentially unconventional warfare that we're in the middle of. We're in the middle of an armored personnel carrier in the city, surrounded by mortars landing rocket propelled grenades, flying -- and all these fired from civilian areas. It is very hard for the military to fire back in these circumstances -- Sophia?
CHOI: And because al-Sadr's militia is feeling pressure now from the U.S. military in their stronghold areas like Najaf, we are hearing that some of al-Sadr's militia are now going to other areas, like Basra and Amara to open up new fronts? Are you hearing that same thing on the ground there?
ARRAF: There's been a movement back and forth of militia members. Now as more of them are killed here and U.S. forces (UNINTELLIGIBLE) killed at least 100 of them in the past week or so. There have been reinforcements thought to be coming in from other places, from Sadr City and from other areas.
At the same time, the military is expanding into other cities. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) where they launched an offensive there. In Karbala, they've done the same thing. And in other cities that you've mentioned, where the militia is thought to have a presence, they have steadily gone in to try to make sure that it doesn't expand its presence.
Now so it's very tricky thing they are doing here. This is not a conventional army, which in many sense, it'd be a lot easier to fight if this -- if you will, a rag tag militia whose members specialize in ambush. And even though they are taking heavy casualties, they just do not appear to be giving up -- Sophia?
CHOI: Jane Arraf, embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq, thank you.
ROBERTS: Now to the recent train bombings in Madrid, the mother of the American lawyer arrested in connection with the blast, is in Portland today, hoping to visit her son in jail. Brendon Mayfield is being held as a material witness. Law enforcement authorities say his fingerprint was found on bags containing detonators like those used in the March 11 attack that killed 190 people.
Well, Mayfield's mother says the allegation is far-fetched.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVNELL MAYFIELD, MOTHER: He's just always been a very good family man, a good husband, excellent father. He's just -- he's been a wonderful son. And I'm just really proud of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The Spanish newspaper is reporting investigators now have serious doubts about whether the fingerprint tied to Mayfield is really his.
CHOI: Nancy Reagan makes a rare public appearance. She showed up last night to lend her support for embryonic stem cell research at a fund-raiser in California. Many experts believe stem cell research may help Alzheimer's patients. And that's an issue that weighs heavily on the mind of the former First Lady.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY REAGAN, FMR. FIRST LADY: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him where I can no longer reach him. We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together. And I think that's probably the hardest part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Nancy Reagan came out in favor of embryonic stem cell research many years ago at around the same time President Bush signed an executive order limiting that research.
ROBERTS: Stay with us, everybody. Coming up for you, is President Bush in trouble? His approval rating is sitting some all- time lows, but some people think he can turn it around before November. Your morning dose of politics, that's coming up next, right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
CHOI: And later this hour, what went wrong in the infamous Iraqi prison? "TIME" magazine has uncovered some new revelations. We'll hear them in the next half hour.
ROBERTS: And want to be more helpful when your kid asks for help with their school work? We're going to tell you how to make that homework just a piece of cake. Back in a moment.
CHOI: And we are not done yet, Thomas. Here is assignment this morning.
ROBERTS: That's right.
CHOI: We're looking for a good caption for this picture, a snapshot from Nevada Roadways, where a six car pile up with this Dodge Neon in the back of this horse trailer. The horse, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) agent, by the way, remained unharmed. So what's this horse thinking? E-mail us your suggestions at wam@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SEC. OF DEFENSE: There has been a good deal of discussion about who bears responsibility for the terrible activities that took place at Abu Ghraib. These events occurred on my watch. As Secretary of Defense, I am accountable for them. And I take full responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, the pressure will be on again today, as the Sunday talk shows examine Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on Capitol Hill.
So how is the Iraq controversy actually affecting the presidential polls? You know, the outrage over photos showing the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners may be hurting the president in the polls. A Gallup poll taken after the photos surfaced, but before Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on Friday, is showing 55 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Bush is handling the war in Iraq. 42 percent are approving.
Now the poll also indicates likely voters are split between who they want for president. Bush and Kerry tied at 47 percent. Ralph Nader there with 3 percent.
So we're going to talk about this, other political news now with CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein.
Ron, good morning. Thanks for being here.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
ROBERTS: OK, so Ron, let's talk about these numbers. Some of these -- pretty much the lowest since the start of the Iraq, still solid in Bush terms, but break them down for us?
Well, you really see the weight of the turmoil in Iraq on the president on these numbers. You know, we had almost 300,000 jobs created in April. More than 300,000 jobs created in March. That should be an updraft for the president. And yet, his overall approval rating is at the lowest the CNN/Gallup poll has ever measured, 49 percent.
And that really is a reflection of the anxiety that you see really radiating through this and all the public polls over not only the prisoner scandal, but the overall course of events in Iraq.
ROBERTS: So when you talk about the economy being solid here at home in April, but also people in Iraq, that was the highest death toll for soldiers lost, 138. So will Americans continue to put up with this high casualty count and still approve of what the president's doing about Iraq?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, there's a myth that the American public won't accept casualties in war time. In fact, there is evidence in this war and earlier that the public is willing to accept casualties as long as they feel these lives are being sacrificed for a purpose, that we are accomplishing our mission.
The real danger to the president is the growing sense that events in Iraq are spinning out of our control. A fear that is obviously intensified by this scandal at the prison and the sense that it may further alienate the Iraqi people.
If the public feels that we are not moving towards a goal of pacifying and stabilizing Iraq, I think the evidence is their tolerance for the casualties will be greatly diminished. And that's where the real political danger to the president lies.
ROBERTS: Also out of this poll, people talking about their presidential picks. And Kerry and Bush each showing 47 percent with Ralph Nader getting 3 percent. So does he become a spoiler for both Kerry and Bush? Or is he still just a spoiler to Kerry?
BROWNSTEIN: More to Kerry. Look, you know, we are -- this is going to feel like this is where the movie began. I mean, President Bush came in on a 50/50 election that was one of the closest in American history, the second narrowest electoral college victory we've ever had. And here we are, 3.5 years later, and very little has changed.
President Bush has been a very polarizing figure as president. He's tended to reinforce, rather than realign the lines of division we saw in 2000. The result is that he has a solid floor. Given all the bad news, some people would be surprised at how strongly he continues to run, but he also has potentially a low ceiling. I mean, I think we're operating within a narrow boundary between the two men, Kerry and Bush, and one in which Nader and for that matter virtually other -- any other factor can tip the balance, because it is so precarious between the two men.
ROBERTS: Ron, only about 15 seconds left. Is this abuse scandal really a threat to the re-election campaign?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, if it convinces Americans that Iraq can't be won, I think it will become a threat to the president, because the public, as I say, will be less willing to accept the casualties they're seeing every day on their television.
ROBERTS: Ron, we appreciate your time. CNN political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
CHOI: I'll take it right here, Thomas. So how often do your children come to you seeking help with their homework? If trigonometry comes tougher than a brush stroke, we can help. Find out how to make homework simply, next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHOI: So what do you when your children cry out for help with their homework and present you with a trigonometry problem you haven't seen in 20 years, if ever? Or maybe they want some assistance with a term paper on the theory of relativity. Do you say go ask your father?
Joining us now to talk about some online help that's out there is Ford Cochran, director of Mission Programs Online for the National Geographic Society. Thanks for joining us.
FORD COCHRAN, DIR., MISSION PROGRAMS ONLINE, NATL. GEOGRAPHIC: My pleasure, Sophia. Glad to be here.
CHOI: So what do you do if you're clueless and your child comes to you with a problem besides telling them to go to the other parent? What can you do?
COCHRAN: Well, the good news is you don't have to do what our parents, which is make something up. We have the benefit of the most powerful research and communication tool that's ever existed and are able to tap that to help our students, our kids to answer questions when they come to us with challenging questions.
Just about everything you might want to know is out there on the Internet. And there are tools accessible to all of us that can help us go and find some answers.
CHOI: Yes, in the olden days, the encyclopedia was where you ran to for answers. And now it's the Internet. Just ogle search anything.
COCHRAN: That's right. You can use the search engines like Google. And you can use tools that a number of Web sites have created to help students to find what they need right away.
National Geographic's mission is to motivate students to learn about the world of young people, to learn about the world and care about it, given them the tools they need to do it. We've created a tool called One Stop, where you can come and enter a search term and get maps, get photographs, get articles, get information all organization so that you can almost instantly go to whatever it is you might want to learn about and learn more.
CHOI: Well, so should parents ever just give their child the answer to a question?
COCHRAN: They don't need to do that. I mean, one of the big goals of education is to teach kids the information. But really, the most important goal is to give kids the tools to go and find answers for themselves. And what parents can do is they can coach. They can go and they can find the information together with their kids, help point them in the right direction, and give those kids the tools they need so that they can find answers on their own.
CHOI: All right, so how much parental involvement is too much?
COCHRAN: Well, obviously is a parent's writing papers for their kids or cutting and pasting answers for them, that's not really going to help them to learn.
But I'd say that sitting -- surfing with them, teaching them how to surf responsibly and how to find things, being right there engaged with them at the computer, that's very important.
Many young people today spend as much time or more on the Internet, as they do say watching television. And if it's that big a part of young person's life, it's important for parents to be involved.
CHOI: Yes, but what if you don't have a computer at home? What then?
COCHRAN: Well, the good news as well is that the Internet is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Access to it is available at virtually every library now. At most schools in many work places. So even if you don't have the Internet at home, you can get some place where you can go online and help your kids define what they need.
CHOI: All right, walk us through some of your favorite sites for homework help. I understand your favorite probably, NationalGeoraphic.com. But any others?
COCHRAN: Absolutely. There are some terrific sites available. In fact, right there's an award called the Webby Award. And a number of the Webby nominees for best education site are terrific resources that parents and kids can use to learn about the world together.
There is a site at the BBC has created on the human body, which is one of the nominees. It's a fantastic site. It uses the technology to full advantage so that kids are able to basically take bones and assemble the human body. Out of those bones, there is another site in which -- which Cable in the Classroom has created on Shakespeare in which folios are created and kids are able to learn how very, very different the different folia, Shakespeare's great classics actually are.
We assume that what's been handed down to us is gospel, but in fact, that's not the case than a few changes made by printers. It can often be very important
And then we, for our part, we've created a site at National Geographic called Our Expeditions Atlas, that has outline maps of the world, every continent, every country, every U.S. state, Mexican state, and Canadian province and different versions. The kids can download, put right in their papers or study for their exams. CHOI: That's terrific. Ford Cochran, National Geographic director of Mission Programs Online. We thank you so much. And I'm sure the parents out there thank you, too. Take care.
COCHRAN: Glad to be here. Thank you.
CHOI: Thomas?
ROBERTS: All right, Sophia, thanks. Now we'll talk about the weather. Rob Marciano is here to tell us how Sunday, Mother's Day, is shaping up for everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: All right, we're going to get a quick check of the headlines for you now if they're done making fun of me.
In a more serious note for you this morning, Chechnya's president was killed this morning in an explosion at a Victory Day rally in the republic's capitol. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the death. Four others were killed, 44 wounded from the blast which occurred beneath the VIP section of the city stadium.
The U.S. military has begun an offensive in Najaf. The troops hope to capture or kill members of Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and confiscate weapons. The operation is taking place away from the holy sites in the city.
CHOI: Is Abu Ghraib the only tip of the iceberg?
ROBERTS: Well, what the chances that this could be going on in other facilities in Iraq? "TIME" magazine has uncovered some new information. I'm going to talk to one of the correspondents from "TIME" magazine about this next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
