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CNN Sunday Morning
Tornadoes Hit Midwest; American Killed in Saudi Arabia
Aired June 13, 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.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is June 13. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Dramatic pictures are coming to us from Mulvane, Kansas this morning. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit another house. No! No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Goodness. One family loses their home in a matter of seconds. Luckily, no one was inside. Tornadoes in the southern part of the state left behind damaged houses, overturned cars, and downed power lines. There are more twisters in the forecast today And we'll have details in your weekend weather report a little later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Here's what's coming up at this hour. Westerners are targeted in Saudi Arabia. One American killed and another missing on Saturday. This, after another American was gunned down Tuesday. We'll have the latest straight ahead.
And like sending text messages from your cell phone? Well, you may want to pick up the phone and dial instead. Some of those pesky messages are staying around far longer than when you press delete. Typing out new legal issues on privacy. We'll put it all in context for you. That's just ahead.
And the first President Bush turns 80 years old. He's set to celebrate high in the sky. We'll tell you how.
Another government official is killed in Iraq. Education official Kamal al-Jarrah was gunned down this morning, outside his home in Baghdad. Yesterday, gunmen killed a deputy foreign minister in the Iraqi capital. On Wednesday, gunmen opened fired on a deputy health minister, but he escaped unharmed.
A car bomb explodes near a police patrol in southeastern Baghdad. Twelve Iraqis are dead. At least four of them, police officers. That blast this morning happened a few hundred feet from a U.S. military installation. An Iraqi police commander says it was a suicide attack. And a police vehicle was the target. More than 5,000 people turned out last night in Texas to help former President George Bush celebrate his 80th birthday. The guest list included world leaders, past and present, along with celebrities from sports and entertainment. The festivities are set to continue today with Bush making his sixth parachute jump.
Our top story now this morning, more violence directed at foreigners in Saudi Arabia. And this time, the victims are Americans. At least two American men have been killed since Tuesday. And a third American is missing.
Caroline Faraj, an editor at CNNArabic.com is in Dubai United Arab Emirates. And she joins us by telephone with the latest. Good morning.
CAROLINE FARAJ, CNNARABIC.COM: Good morning, Betty. Well, the situation that you just described that in less than a week, two Americans were killed and one American was missing. And according to the statements that we've read yesterday and issued on the Web site, Islamic Web site, they're confirming that he was kidnapped. And even asking -- saying that in the coming future, they will be publishing a videotape for him, talking to his family. And also, they would be putting their own demands, the muhajadeen demands.
The situation now is getting a bit complicated. The security is tightened in Saudi Arabia. And they're trying to figure out exactly who kidnapped the American citizen, and who also killed the other American citizen yesterday night.
And as you just mentioned, two Americans were killed. And on one of the Web sites as well, there was a video showing how they killed the American last week. And it shows that they entered the main gate of the villa and they killed him inside -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And on this videotape, I understand there is really not much information as to who these attackers are. There's no faces being shown?
FARAJ: Exactly. There were no faces. This is the usual thing, Betty, that they don't show their faces, because otherwise they will be immediately identified. Knowing that it is a tribal community in Saudi Arabia. And everybody almost know each other.
So they tend to cover their faces. And -- but they showed the way they basically followed him, entering his house. And they hold their guns in front of his face. And they killed him.
The -- it was so clear and so obvious. And we are trying to get more information from the Saudis if they have a clear hint who they are. However, they always say that they are wanted people. And they are connected to al Qaeda.
Even the statement issued on the Web site that they claimed that they are part of a branch for al Qaeda in the Arab peninsula, meaning Saudi Arabia -- Betty. NGUYEN: Caroline, quickly, on that video, and of course we haven't seen that yet, but there is some detail that perhaps maybe there was a beheading. None of that has been confirmed, though, correct?
FARAJ: Well, there was no beheading in that. And they -- because according to the officials in Saudi Arabia, they were saying that he was, you know, he was killed in full body. And it was so clear that he was the man.
Apparently, this case, the tape was not really so clear, because they were adding some shots for kids in Palestine and other places. But it was not really clear, you know, in detail. But the shooting took place. And that was the only part that was clear on the video -- Betty?
NGUYEN: OK, I'm glad we cleared that up. All right, Caroline Faraj, thank you for joining us this morning with that information.
Of course, we will be bringing you updates on this developing story all day right here on CNN.
Two and a half weeks to the June 30 transfer of power, and it's a violent weekend in Iraq. Another government official and a prominent Kurdish cleric having gunned down. And a suicide car bomb has killed a dozen Iraqis, some of them police officers.
CNN's Guy Raz is in Baghdad with the latest. Hi, Guy.
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. A particularly violent day here in the Iraqi capital. First beginning with a suicide car blast, killing at least 12 Iraqis, four of them Iraqi police officers.
Now that attack occurred only a few hundred feet from a U.S. military installation. Now according to eyewitnesses, that car was traveling in the opposite direction on a highway, when Iraqi police attempted to stop it. The car then detonated, killing at least a dozen people
Now that attack happened just a short time after assailants gunned down another senior Iraqi official. This time, he was the cultural affairs attache at the Ministry of Education. Kamal al- Jarrah was killed as he was leaving his home on his way to work.
Now it's the second attack in as many days on a senior Iraqi official. Just yesterday, the deputy foreign minister, Bassam Kubba, was gunned down in his car on his way to work. Kubba was just back from New York, where he had met with United Nations officials as part of Iraq's delegation to the U.N.
And Betty, these attacks really underline the instability that is increasingly characterizing the landscape, not only here in the Iraqi capital, but all over the country just weeks before interim administrative authority is handed over to an Iraqi government -- Betty. NGUYEN: All right, thank you for that information this morning.
News across America this Sunday. A crowd is expected tomorrow when the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library re-opens to the public in Simi Valley, California. Visitors can see the gravesite where Ronald Reagan's body was sealed in a tomb at the hilltop of the library.
Authorities in Irvine, California have killed a sniper who wounded three men in or around a recycling center, but they still have no clue to the gunmen's motive. The wounded include a worker at the recycling center, a sheriff's deputy, and a helicopter pilot.
Severe storms have raked part of Kentucky, damaging houses and mobile homes, and closing roads around the town of Hardensburn. The National Weather Service could not confirm reports of tornadoes. And no injuries were reported. The Red Cross is helping out, though. They have set up a temporary shelter for residents whose homes were damaged.
Alexandra Scott is an eight-year old Pennsylvania girl who suffers from cancer that doctors call incurable. When she was four, she started Alex's Lemonade Stand to raise money for cancer research. And the project is expected to spread all the way to all the 50 states.
Yesterday, the fifth annual Alex's Lemonade Stand was observed across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ SCOTT, ALEX'S MOTHER: It's beyond touching. I mean, it's overwhelming. It's incredible. Really what's most amazing is when kids take it to heart, and they go out and set up their lemonade stands and give something up. They're learning very young from Alex that you can give to others and that kids can make a difference in the world.
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NGUYEN: Yes, they can. And today, money raised by Alex's Lemonade Stand has help fund cancer research in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and California.
Time to fast forward, for a look at the week ahead. Tomorrow, music producer Phil Specter is scheduled to appear in court on misdemeanor battery charges. The charges stem from a fight Specter got into with his chauffeur, while on bail, awaiting trial for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House on Tuesday. The two are expected to discuss the upcoming Afghan elections.
And on Wednesday, the Olympic torch arrives for the U.S. portion of its global relay. Stops are planned in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, and New York. But before the torch arrives here in the U.S., a symbolic stop in South Africa. Former President Nelson Mandela carried the torch on Robin Island Saturday. In the background, you could see the prison where Mandela was held for nearly 30 years during his fight against apartheid. The torch heads next to Brazil, before it stopped here in the U.S.
Well, will the events of the past week change the outcome of the November elections? We are talking politics next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Later this hour, text messaging is quick and easy, but are others reading your messages, too? What you need to know before clicking the send button on your phone.
And take a look at this. When it gets too hot, why look for an air conditioner when you can actually wear one?
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NGUYEN: Politics is full of questions. Will John Kerry be hurt by John McCain's refusal as a running mate? Did President Bush really make any progress at the G-8 Summit? And will the Ronald Reagan remembrances change the race?
For all those answers, we turn to NPR Congressional reporter Andrea Seabrook, who joins us this morning from Washington. Thanks for being here.
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good morning.
NGUYEN: There's a lot going on, especially today. There is a new poll out that we want to put up on the screen to show you, dealing with Kerry and Bush. And now this poll talks about the very religious. And among Americans who are very religious, President Bush leads Kerry by 59 percent to 35 percent. Are you surprised by that?
SEABROOK: You know what? I'm not really surprised by it. I mean, we've known for a long time that President Bush is the president of evangelical Christians, of orthodox Christians, of those who are conservative in their religious beliefs, as well as their social beliefs.
They -- these are people who believe that the president should follow clear, moral authority. They are not relativists. They are absolutists in their thinking. And so, it makes sense to me.
At the same time, you'll note that the numbers for Kerry, among those who say they are not religious are also doing well.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
SEABROOK: Very, very good.
NGUYEN: We wanted to talk about that because we're looking at 69 percent to Bush's 22 percent for Americans who are non-religious. Now how important is a poll like this right now, as we lead up to the election? What does it say about America's attitude?
SEABROOK: Well, what this says, I think, that the numbers there for non-religious Americans are so much more weighted heavily towards Kerry, I think it is a show that Mr. Bush has alienated himself among people who consider the president sort of a rule of law kind of person, somebody who doesn't have to necessarily pay homage to a higher power, people who may not feel so strongly about their religious beliefs.
So I believe that Kerry has done -- what you see in these numbers is Kerry doing a slightly better job at non alienating himself with the other side of the argument, in other words.
And I think that these numbers are pretty important going out. We're getting a lot closer to the election now. And I think that you'll see that these sort of trends -- this kind of trend will stay put throughout the election.
NGUYEN: You expect it to stay. Well, this past week, of course, there was a lot of focus on the Reagan remembrances. And Kerry kind of stayed out of the limelight for that. Do you expect what has happened, the passing of Ronald Reagan, to affect the dynamics of this race?
SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think for a short time, that's possible. I think Mr. President's eulogy on Friday for Mr. Reagan was in a way, not a political speech, but it was certainly a speech in which President Bush managed to highlight a lot of policies in a very laudatory way, that he himself continues to put forward.
And I think that's certainly interesting. But I think for the most part, this is going to die down now. I think for the most part, we're going to back to a normal campaign season. And you know, we'll see things sort of flatten out now.
NGUYEN: And speaking of back on the campaign trail, we heard that Senator John McCain has said he is not going to run as Kerry's running mate for the vice presidency. What does that say about the Kerry campaign?
SEABROOK: Well, I think it says that it's a Democratic campaign. These are hardcore Democrats. And I think probably McCain felt that. You know, in order to take that position, we all thought it would have been interesting, but he would have had to buck his entire party.
I think it's -- what else does it say about the Kerry campaign specifically is that they're going to have to look for somebody who is equally as exciting. And I think that's going to be hard for them.
NGUYEN: And quickly, we mentioned this in the intro, talk to us about the G-8 Summit. How much progress was really made there?
SEABROOK: You know, a good amount of progress. The only problem was I think President Bush could've taken a coup from that. But you know, it was overshadowed by the death of former President Reagan. And I think that, you know, in a news cycle, that's the way it goes. NGUYEN: All right, Andrea Seabrook, National Public Radio Congressional reporter, we thank you for your insight.
SEABROOK: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is back. He officially opened his campaign headquarters for another run, a city council seat in D.C. Barry served two separate stints as mayor of Washington. The first ended with his arrest on drug charges in 1990, but he ran and won again in 1994. He was considering a run for a city council seat back in 2002, but that attempt ended after he was found in a city park with a small amount of marijuana and crack.
We do have some incredible pictures coming out of Kansas this morning. Take a look at it. A touchdown and a house is up in the air. That is the remnants of a house. Well, luckily, no one was inside during this tornado. Is your area under a tornado watch today? Well, Jill Brown has the forecast. That is next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Plus, how long would you wait for a hybrid? And how much would you pay on top of MSRP?
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NGUYEN: Well, do you remember the Sprys? They're the family that got fed up with living in Silicon Valley, so they sold their house, bought an RV, and took off in search of the American dream and a new place to call home. Steven, Colleen, and their four-year old son, Ryan, you see here, at Disneyworld today. Lucky folks. Earlier this week, though, they did stop by to check out Atlanta. You want to turn in at 9:00 Eastern to hear from the Sprys and get a glimpse of life on the road.
Meanwhile, do you think they should pick your hometown as a place to settle down in? Tell us why. Our e-mail address is wam@cnn.com.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Now for a check of the headlines. Security has been tightened around Westerners and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after an al Qaeda group to have claimed an American. The alleged kidnapping comes after two other U.S. citizens were killed in Saudi Arabia last week. Twelve Iraqis are dead, following a suicide car bomb attack. That blast came near a U.S. base in southeastern Baghdad. But Iraqi police officials say police were the target of that attack. At least four Iraqi police officers were killed.
Driving mad over the cost of gas? Well, many people are getting around that by buying gas and electric powered hybrid cars by the thousands.
That as Ross Palumbo, of our affiliate KRON reports, all of the high powered interest in these cars is leaving would-be buyers waiting for their ride.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the hybrid battery, that's where it gets a lot of its power from.
ROSS PALUMBO, KRON CORRESPONDENT: Tampa resident Thea Moore parked in a San Francisco dealership tonight.
THEA MOORE, CAR SHOPPER: I liked it.
PALUMBO: Because her hometown 3,000 miles away couldn't keep a Prius parked long enough for her to see one.
MOORE: They didn't have any that I could look at even, or any on the showroom floor.
PALUMBO: Even in this showroom, not a single Prius is ready to drive off the lot.
MOORE: But you have a wait list, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PALUMBO: Twenty two thousand customers across the country are tonight on that list, waiting more than six months to get one.
MOORE: I think that's a long time to wait for a car.
PALUMBO: But on the Internet, fast lane delivery is available for fast paced pricing. At least one dealer is offering this car for more than $36,000, roughly $10,000 local dealers say, above average.
LINDA SHERRY, CONSUMER ACTION: That seems an unfair manipulation of the market place.
PALUMBO: Unfair, but Consumer Action says perfectly legal. But even though the Prius is highly rated and in high demand, it recommends putting purchases on idle.
SHERRY: I would wait an extra year, perhaps, and see. The market will probably be flooded with these.
PALUMBO: Dealers say Toyota is shifting production into high gear, and trying to stop jacked up pricing.
RUSS MOBLEY, SF TOYOTA: They can put some form of pressure on the dealer is what I've heard, but I think that in general, the dealers know when they're doing the right thing and the wrong thing.
PALUMBO: Even if they don't, customers certainly do. Thea Moore says she'll wait for her car later, rather than be taken for a ride now.
MOORE: I think I'm going to get one. I think I'm going to wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: So if you decide to wait in line for one of these cars, experts say buyer beware. Some dealerships can add surcharges of between $5,000 and $8,000. That will hit you in the pocketbook.
Well, check your cell phone text messages and hit delete thinking no one else will ever read it? You better think again. The courts take on text messages right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a Marine. If Marines are out fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching on TV. I want to be there. I want to be with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He's already lost an eye and his hearing in battle. Meet a soldier who is willing to give up even more. That's coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Former President Bush is getting ready to take another big leap. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen. That story in a minute, but first, here's a look at headlines at this hour.
U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are searching for a missing American. That's after a militant group claimed responsibility for kidnapping an American contractor in Riyadh. The disappearance comes after two other Americans were killed in separate incidents in Saudi Arabia last week. Security has been stepped up in areas surrounding housing or housing for international workers.
Now the U.S. military is set to release 650 Iraqi inmates tomorrow from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. This will be the fifth large scale release from Abu Ghraib since the prison abuse scandal became public.
People across the Midwest, they are cleaning up this morning. Since Friday, nearly two dozen tornadoes have pounded parts of the Midwest, from Minnesota, all the way to Kansas. A twister hit near Mulvane, Kansas Saturday. Or this twister did. And many homes, barns, and businesses were damaged by the tornadoes. But there have been no reports of injuries.
President Bush is in Texas this weekend, helping his dad celebrate his 80th birthday in a big way. More than 5,000 people attended a bash last night. The guest list included former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
At the gala, President Bush couldn't pass up the opportunity to poke fun at dear old dad and his plans to celebrate by jumping out of a plane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some are here to see the 80-year old dude who tomorrow will strap on a helmet, zip up a suit, and launch forth from a perfectly safe aerospace vehicle. Arms spread, back arched, yelling at Father Time, "Take this, you old man!"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Only he could call the former president a dude. Well, the $200 per head party was a fund-raiser for George Bush, 41 Endowment.
As you heard, the president say his father will take the plunge today. And he just can't wait. It's not the first time since leaving the White House that the former president has made his birthday jump.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Bush says falling through the sky makes him feel like a spring colt. That's why he jumped at age 72, then again on his 75th birthday.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.: It was heaven. It was just exhilarating. This is kind of a euphoric high. You end up landing safely. And you just feel wonderful.
LAVANDERA: Bush's first jump wasn't wonderful. It was during World War II in the Pacific Ocean. As a Navy pilot, his plane was going down. He bailed out before it crashed into the water. Shortly after, he was rescued. Bush says he wanted to parachute again, but he vowed it would only be for fun.
BUSH: If no -- somebody doesn't like that, or they think it's frivolous, my answer to that is old guys can still do stuff. And you might as well go for it.
LAVANDERA: Now on his 80th birthday, the 41st president is set to jump again. In early May, he went through a refresher training course in the Fort Bragg wind tunnel. All this shouldn't come as a surprise. He had his wife's blessing for this year's jump five years ago.
But just don't expect Barbara Bush to join in the fun.
BARBARA BUSH, FMR. FIRST LADY: I think when he's 80, he'll probably jump again. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right now. He's going to jump when he's 80.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you?
B. BUSH: Oh, no!
LAVANDERA: Mrs. Bush will keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. And after this jump, we'll wonder if the former president will try again on his 85th birthday.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, each week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, we bring you stories of people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Today, we spotlight a Marine who is not letting his battlefield injuries get him down.
CNN's Casey Wian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunney Nick Popaditch is doing what he loves best, showing off an M-1, A-1 battle tank, the kind he's commanded through two Gulf Wars.
SGT. NICK POPADITCH, MARINE CORPS: There is no weapon system in Iraq currently employed by the anti-coalition forces that can take this thing off the battlefield.
WIAN: Popaditch rolled into Baghdad's Ferdos (ph) Square on a tank he named Carnivore. He and his fellow marines helped the Iraqis take down the now infamous statute of Saddam Hussein.
POPADITCH: We really felt, at that time, you were seeing these people liberate, these people were being freed. And they certainly were reacting that way. It was an incredible moment to be part of.
WIAN: Popaditch completed the deployment and came home but just a few months later volunteered to go back with another unit.
POPADITCH: I'm a Marine. If Marines are off fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching it on TV. I want to be there, I want to be with them, I want to be part of it.
WIAN: This time he found himself in Fallujah in a tough fire fight with insurgents. A rocket-propelled grenade almost cost him his life.
POPADITCH: The other one came from straight down above me and hit me right on top the head, right about here, I guess my head was...
WIAN: The explosion took out Popaditch's right eye, left him partially blind in his left eye and deaf.
POPADITCH: There's like a cap in there. I don't know if this is gross or not. It's not gross to me or anybody but there's just a cap in there.
WIAN: Popaditch can't read yet but says his sight gets better every day and can hear with one ear and hopes a hearing aid will help the other. In spite of the ordeal, he feels lucky.
POPADITCH: It never struck me as a tragedy or anything like that because, you know, you've got to -- you know, I was perfectly fine from the neck down. Perfectly healthy.
WIAN: While he recovers Popaditch hangs out with fellow marines in the tank maintenance yard anxious to go back to work.
POPADITCH: I'd go back in a minute. As soon as I can see again, that's my plan.
WIAN: And he hopes his 15-year military career will continue.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Well, it causes brain damage and can make its victims senile. More than four million people suffer from Alzheimer's in this country today. Most notably, the late Ronald Reagan. Next hour on "House Call," a look at the ongoing search for a cure.
And then at 9:00 Eastern, a family's hunt for the American dream. We catch up with the Sprys as they cross the country looking for that perfect place to live.
Also at 9:00 Eastern, the Donald, he has a new gig. You can hear the Manhattan mogul's musing on world affairs every day if you want. And that starts tomorrow. Trump tells us all about it only on CNN.
But first, be careful what you type into your cellphone. Somebody just might be watching. Text messaging makes its courtroom debut. That's next.
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NGUYEN: The family that left behind their Silicon Valley life in search of a new place to call home, that's right, we are talking about the Sprys. Get a glimpse of what it's like to live on the road driving across America. That is at 9:00 Eastern on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Meanwhile, send your suggestions to wam@cnn.com. Do you think the Sprys should pick up and land in your hometown? That's the question of the day. E-mail us your answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, if you're one of the millions now using your cellphone to send text messages, beware. Just because you hit the delete button doesn't mean your note is gone forever. There's a new focus on text messages because they could play a role in the Kobe Bryant case. And we want to talk about what happens after you type a message on your cellphone and hit send.
Here with me is telecom analyst Jeff Kagan. Thanks for being with us. JEFFREY KAGAN, TELECOM ANALYST: Good morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: Now this is playing out in the Kobe Bryant case or could play out. Tell us how?
KAGAN: Text messages, e-mails, electronic messaging live forever. We think we hit the delete button and it's gone, but really what happens is it either sits on the server, or it can sit in archive farms. And the judge in this particular case is subpoenaing the text messages from the cellphone. Apparently there were messages that were sent by the accuser. And these messages don't go away when you hit the delete button.
NGUYEN: Some four months later, they're asking for them.
KAGAN: Right.
NGUYEN: And those are still there. How long do these servers and these telephone companies keep these messages?
KAGAN: Well, we've seen a lot of cases in the last couple of years with corporate fraud, with stock brokers who are pushing a stock, you know, in front. But behind the scenes on e-mail, they're trashing it. And what we found is that they can subpoena these things for many, many years. And in fact, e-mail, there's no law telling us how long we should hang on to e-mail, but e-mail for the most part is kept forever in big archive farms and big server farms that might be buried inside of mountains.
There are businesses that do that.
NGUYEN: Because some companies say they only keep them for a couple of weeks, a couple of months. That's not true?
KAGAN: Right. Typically, there are no set standards. Every company is different. Typically e-mail has been kept forever. Text messaging is something new. It gets delivered over your cellphone. And it's very easy to send. It uses a slightly different technology, but they hang on to the information for text messages to know who to bill.
And as far as the actual text message themselves, there are only a couple of words. So it's very easy just to store the message. There's no reason for them to store just the date and the time and who to send it to, and not the couple of words.
And if the judge is able to get this information after four months, four months is not just a couple of days, like we -- like the carriers say.
NGUYEN: Right.
KAGAN: They can hold it for four months. They hold it forever. So we really don't know. So bottom line is you never say anything on a message service that you wouldn't want to show up on the front pages of "The New York Times." NGUYEN: Exactly, because not only are they keeping these messages, but do you expect or suspect people could be reading them as well within these companies?
KAGAN: Well, that's true. I mean, there's no privacy. We have this illusion of privacy. But the message goes from your cellphone. And it copy of it stays on your cellphone. Goes through the servers. It could be read through the servers at anybody in your -- who administers your communication software.
And then, it shows up on the other phone. And it can stay there, unless the person deletes it. But then it stays on the server and can be -- the thing can be archived.
And it can be read at any point along the way. So it's not just you who's reading it. It's very easy to be scanned and read, especially if it's your employer, who pays for your cellphone, and gets this off on records. That's a big no-no. You've got to be very careful.
NGUYEN: Oh, absolutely. Now there is no way to completely without a doubt delete these messages? You cannot do that?
KAGAN: You can delete it from your cellphone. You can delete it from the other person's cellphone, but you can't -- you don't have any control over the server.
NGUYEN: What they do.
KAGAN: Right. So the actual network itself that it travels over, it stays there. And it can stay there for days and weeks and months, 'til finally it gets -- they build up so much that they go to an archive.
NGUYEN: Listen to that. Guess who's getting a message? Getting a text message right now, of course. Everyone wants to be a comedian around here. Telling me to wrap this segment up. And I'm getting this from my producer Karina. And Karina, you know, this stays on the server possibly forever. So be careful what you send to me.
KAGAN: Be careful what you send. You'd never want to send anything that you'd be embarrassed about.
NGUYEN: That's the point of all of this. All right. Thank you very much, Jeff Kagan.
KAGAN: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, is it time to lighten up and start spending some money? We'll tell you what most people are doing with their hard earned cash, that is if they have any left over after buying gas for the family car.
And has the summer heat got you hot under the collar? We'll tell you how to beat the heat and look good while doing it. That's when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: There's been some upbeat news on the economic front. Nearly a million new jobs are created from March to May, but not everybody's rushing out to spend their hard earned bucks.
CNN's Kathleen Hays takes a look at consumer confidence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel a little bit of uneasiness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the economy as it is now, I find myself shopping a little less, trying to hold on to my pennies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a steady pace. It's flat. I don't see it going up or down.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blame this insecurity on gas prices that have risen too quickly and paychecks that haven't risen quickly enough.
JARED BERNSTEIN, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: There is a disconnect between some of the economic cheerleading that's going on and the way many working families are experiencing the recovery. We see the latter in some of the consumer confidence reports, which have been quite negative lately.
HAYS: The consumer comfort index has fallen for the last three weeks and is nearing the lows of the year. And in May, when nearly a quarter of a million new jobs were created, more than 30 percent of those surveyed by the Conference Board said jobs were still hard to get.
But this may not be as bad as it looks. After all, consumers are still shopping.
JAY BRYSON, WACHOVIA SECURITIES: What's really more important is not what consumers say. It's what they do. And if you look at, you know, weekly chain store sales, look at overall retail spending, car sales, things of that nature, that all remains very, very solid right now.
HAYES (on camera): Economists saw this same disconnect coming out of the recession of the early 1990s. Job growth was accelerating by 1993, but confidence didn't really pick up until well into 1994.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm encouraged. I think things are improving. The stock value is going up. And my investments are gaining value.
HAYS: But many lower income families, whose budgets are hit hardest by rising gas prices, may continue to swim against the tide for a while.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could take as much as another few quarters of solid job growth before the real sense of confidence in the economy returns.
HAYS: Kathleen Hays, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Has the summer heat got you sizzling? Don't sweat it. A Japanese company is selling some cool new clothes literally. Want to take a look at it. This is the air conditioned shirt. It runs on four batteries. And when worn, strategically plans create wind within the clothes, keeping the body cool for nearly 10 hours. Sounds good in the summer heat.
A company called PC 2-B is selling them over the Internet, offering a shirt and two types of jacket. Now they cost around $90 each. While many Japanese men just love these clothes, many women say, well, the popped out apparel makes them look too fat.
This shirt would probably be handy for the Spry family these days. Their RV is a little hot, but they are traveling around. And so, what is your suggestion for their new hometown? They're looking for one. We'll be reading your e-mails next. Our address is wam@cnn.com. Keep those e-mails coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK to be different. Isn't that a good message?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He's blind and autistic, but nothing can stop him when it comes to music. A story of an incredible talent. That's next on CNN's SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Say hello to Angel. The one month old lion cub is off to the races in her new set of wheels. She was born without a hip socket in her back left leg, but a local vet stepped up to donate the new wheels. Little Angel is scheduled to meet surgeons from Oklahoma State University this week. And hopefully, they can get her back on her own four paws. What a cute little animal there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Time now for a check of our top stories. U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are searching for a missing American. A militant group is claiming to have kidnapped the missing person and American contractor in Riyadh.
And at least two others have been killed in Saudi Arabia since Tuesday. The State Department has issued a travel warning, urging Americans to leave the country and for others not to travel there.
Across the Midwest, the clean-up continues after whirling winds damage homes, turn over cars, and down power lines from Minnesota to Kansas. At least two dozen twisters touched down in the region. And there are more in the forecast today, as you just heard Jill mention. There have been no reports of injuries.
Well, we have been asking our e-mail question of the day, should the Sprys move to your hometown? And we're getting lots of answers.
Bob writes, "They are welcome as the flowers here in Sajima, Japan. We can eat rice and fishheads and watch CNN together."
Interesting, Bob.
And Cindy writes, "We love Toledo. It's a good sized city with a smaller feeling town. We have affordable housing, a wonderful zoo, and a fine arm museum. I think these folks will be very surprised at how affordable a home is here. Having come from California, nice parts too. Come on by."
Keep e-mailing your answers to us at wam@cnn.com. Again the question of the day is why should the Sprys move to your hometown?
Well, we all need idols, from our parents, to sports heroes, and even American idols. For Anthony Debloise, his idol was the late Ray Charles. Now he's hoping to inspire others with his own music and message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
ANTHONY DEBLOISE, MUSICIAN: I started playing the piano at the age of two. I like to feel the keys and started professionally when I was nine. Classical, rock, Broadway show tunes. I do a show -- I do Broadway musicals. And I play 20 musical instruments.
My message is it's OK to be different. Isn't that a good message? Believe in yourself. Always keep trying new things. Don't give up on your dreams. Have high hopes. And practice.
Thank you, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Wow, just amazing. Anthony Debloise didn't learn to speak until after his 16th birthday. He now speaks and sings in six different languages. And his musical repertoire includes more than 8,000 songs.
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 June 13, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is June 13. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Dramatic pictures are coming to us from Mulvane, Kansas this morning. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit another house. No! No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Goodness. One family loses their home in a matter of seconds. Luckily, no one was inside. Tornadoes in the southern part of the state left behind damaged houses, overturned cars, and downed power lines. There are more twisters in the forecast today And we'll have details in your weekend weather report a little later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Here's what's coming up at this hour. Westerners are targeted in Saudi Arabia. One American killed and another missing on Saturday. This, after another American was gunned down Tuesday. We'll have the latest straight ahead.
And like sending text messages from your cell phone? Well, you may want to pick up the phone and dial instead. Some of those pesky messages are staying around far longer than when you press delete. Typing out new legal issues on privacy. We'll put it all in context for you. That's just ahead.
And the first President Bush turns 80 years old. He's set to celebrate high in the sky. We'll tell you how.
Another government official is killed in Iraq. Education official Kamal al-Jarrah was gunned down this morning, outside his home in Baghdad. Yesterday, gunmen killed a deputy foreign minister in the Iraqi capital. On Wednesday, gunmen opened fired on a deputy health minister, but he escaped unharmed.
A car bomb explodes near a police patrol in southeastern Baghdad. Twelve Iraqis are dead. At least four of them, police officers. That blast this morning happened a few hundred feet from a U.S. military installation. An Iraqi police commander says it was a suicide attack. And a police vehicle was the target. More than 5,000 people turned out last night in Texas to help former President George Bush celebrate his 80th birthday. The guest list included world leaders, past and present, along with celebrities from sports and entertainment. The festivities are set to continue today with Bush making his sixth parachute jump.
Our top story now this morning, more violence directed at foreigners in Saudi Arabia. And this time, the victims are Americans. At least two American men have been killed since Tuesday. And a third American is missing.
Caroline Faraj, an editor at CNNArabic.com is in Dubai United Arab Emirates. And she joins us by telephone with the latest. Good morning.
CAROLINE FARAJ, CNNARABIC.COM: Good morning, Betty. Well, the situation that you just described that in less than a week, two Americans were killed and one American was missing. And according to the statements that we've read yesterday and issued on the Web site, Islamic Web site, they're confirming that he was kidnapped. And even asking -- saying that in the coming future, they will be publishing a videotape for him, talking to his family. And also, they would be putting their own demands, the muhajadeen demands.
The situation now is getting a bit complicated. The security is tightened in Saudi Arabia. And they're trying to figure out exactly who kidnapped the American citizen, and who also killed the other American citizen yesterday night.
And as you just mentioned, two Americans were killed. And on one of the Web sites as well, there was a video showing how they killed the American last week. And it shows that they entered the main gate of the villa and they killed him inside -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And on this videotape, I understand there is really not much information as to who these attackers are. There's no faces being shown?
FARAJ: Exactly. There were no faces. This is the usual thing, Betty, that they don't show their faces, because otherwise they will be immediately identified. Knowing that it is a tribal community in Saudi Arabia. And everybody almost know each other.
So they tend to cover their faces. And -- but they showed the way they basically followed him, entering his house. And they hold their guns in front of his face. And they killed him.
The -- it was so clear and so obvious. And we are trying to get more information from the Saudis if they have a clear hint who they are. However, they always say that they are wanted people. And they are connected to al Qaeda.
Even the statement issued on the Web site that they claimed that they are part of a branch for al Qaeda in the Arab peninsula, meaning Saudi Arabia -- Betty. NGUYEN: Caroline, quickly, on that video, and of course we haven't seen that yet, but there is some detail that perhaps maybe there was a beheading. None of that has been confirmed, though, correct?
FARAJ: Well, there was no beheading in that. And they -- because according to the officials in Saudi Arabia, they were saying that he was, you know, he was killed in full body. And it was so clear that he was the man.
Apparently, this case, the tape was not really so clear, because they were adding some shots for kids in Palestine and other places. But it was not really clear, you know, in detail. But the shooting took place. And that was the only part that was clear on the video -- Betty?
NGUYEN: OK, I'm glad we cleared that up. All right, Caroline Faraj, thank you for joining us this morning with that information.
Of course, we will be bringing you updates on this developing story all day right here on CNN.
Two and a half weeks to the June 30 transfer of power, and it's a violent weekend in Iraq. Another government official and a prominent Kurdish cleric having gunned down. And a suicide car bomb has killed a dozen Iraqis, some of them police officers.
CNN's Guy Raz is in Baghdad with the latest. Hi, Guy.
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. A particularly violent day here in the Iraqi capital. First beginning with a suicide car blast, killing at least 12 Iraqis, four of them Iraqi police officers.
Now that attack occurred only a few hundred feet from a U.S. military installation. Now according to eyewitnesses, that car was traveling in the opposite direction on a highway, when Iraqi police attempted to stop it. The car then detonated, killing at least a dozen people
Now that attack happened just a short time after assailants gunned down another senior Iraqi official. This time, he was the cultural affairs attache at the Ministry of Education. Kamal al- Jarrah was killed as he was leaving his home on his way to work.
Now it's the second attack in as many days on a senior Iraqi official. Just yesterday, the deputy foreign minister, Bassam Kubba, was gunned down in his car on his way to work. Kubba was just back from New York, where he had met with United Nations officials as part of Iraq's delegation to the U.N.
And Betty, these attacks really underline the instability that is increasingly characterizing the landscape, not only here in the Iraqi capital, but all over the country just weeks before interim administrative authority is handed over to an Iraqi government -- Betty. NGUYEN: All right, thank you for that information this morning.
News across America this Sunday. A crowd is expected tomorrow when the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library re-opens to the public in Simi Valley, California. Visitors can see the gravesite where Ronald Reagan's body was sealed in a tomb at the hilltop of the library.
Authorities in Irvine, California have killed a sniper who wounded three men in or around a recycling center, but they still have no clue to the gunmen's motive. The wounded include a worker at the recycling center, a sheriff's deputy, and a helicopter pilot.
Severe storms have raked part of Kentucky, damaging houses and mobile homes, and closing roads around the town of Hardensburn. The National Weather Service could not confirm reports of tornadoes. And no injuries were reported. The Red Cross is helping out, though. They have set up a temporary shelter for residents whose homes were damaged.
Alexandra Scott is an eight-year old Pennsylvania girl who suffers from cancer that doctors call incurable. When she was four, she started Alex's Lemonade Stand to raise money for cancer research. And the project is expected to spread all the way to all the 50 states.
Yesterday, the fifth annual Alex's Lemonade Stand was observed across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ SCOTT, ALEX'S MOTHER: It's beyond touching. I mean, it's overwhelming. It's incredible. Really what's most amazing is when kids take it to heart, and they go out and set up their lemonade stands and give something up. They're learning very young from Alex that you can give to others and that kids can make a difference in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, they can. And today, money raised by Alex's Lemonade Stand has help fund cancer research in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and California.
Time to fast forward, for a look at the week ahead. Tomorrow, music producer Phil Specter is scheduled to appear in court on misdemeanor battery charges. The charges stem from a fight Specter got into with his chauffeur, while on bail, awaiting trial for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House on Tuesday. The two are expected to discuss the upcoming Afghan elections.
And on Wednesday, the Olympic torch arrives for the U.S. portion of its global relay. Stops are planned in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, and New York. But before the torch arrives here in the U.S., a symbolic stop in South Africa. Former President Nelson Mandela carried the torch on Robin Island Saturday. In the background, you could see the prison where Mandela was held for nearly 30 years during his fight against apartheid. The torch heads next to Brazil, before it stopped here in the U.S.
Well, will the events of the past week change the outcome of the November elections? We are talking politics next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Later this hour, text messaging is quick and easy, but are others reading your messages, too? What you need to know before clicking the send button on your phone.
And take a look at this. When it gets too hot, why look for an air conditioner when you can actually wear one?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Politics is full of questions. Will John Kerry be hurt by John McCain's refusal as a running mate? Did President Bush really make any progress at the G-8 Summit? And will the Ronald Reagan remembrances change the race?
For all those answers, we turn to NPR Congressional reporter Andrea Seabrook, who joins us this morning from Washington. Thanks for being here.
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Good morning.
NGUYEN: There's a lot going on, especially today. There is a new poll out that we want to put up on the screen to show you, dealing with Kerry and Bush. And now this poll talks about the very religious. And among Americans who are very religious, President Bush leads Kerry by 59 percent to 35 percent. Are you surprised by that?
SEABROOK: You know what? I'm not really surprised by it. I mean, we've known for a long time that President Bush is the president of evangelical Christians, of orthodox Christians, of those who are conservative in their religious beliefs, as well as their social beliefs.
They -- these are people who believe that the president should follow clear, moral authority. They are not relativists. They are absolutists in their thinking. And so, it makes sense to me.
At the same time, you'll note that the numbers for Kerry, among those who say they are not religious are also doing well.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
SEABROOK: Very, very good.
NGUYEN: We wanted to talk about that because we're looking at 69 percent to Bush's 22 percent for Americans who are non-religious. Now how important is a poll like this right now, as we lead up to the election? What does it say about America's attitude?
SEABROOK: Well, what this says, I think, that the numbers there for non-religious Americans are so much more weighted heavily towards Kerry, I think it is a show that Mr. Bush has alienated himself among people who consider the president sort of a rule of law kind of person, somebody who doesn't have to necessarily pay homage to a higher power, people who may not feel so strongly about their religious beliefs.
So I believe that Kerry has done -- what you see in these numbers is Kerry doing a slightly better job at non alienating himself with the other side of the argument, in other words.
And I think that these numbers are pretty important going out. We're getting a lot closer to the election now. And I think that you'll see that these sort of trends -- this kind of trend will stay put throughout the election.
NGUYEN: You expect it to stay. Well, this past week, of course, there was a lot of focus on the Reagan remembrances. And Kerry kind of stayed out of the limelight for that. Do you expect what has happened, the passing of Ronald Reagan, to affect the dynamics of this race?
SEABROOK: Well, you know, I think for a short time, that's possible. I think Mr. President's eulogy on Friday for Mr. Reagan was in a way, not a political speech, but it was certainly a speech in which President Bush managed to highlight a lot of policies in a very laudatory way, that he himself continues to put forward.
And I think that's certainly interesting. But I think for the most part, this is going to die down now. I think for the most part, we're going to back to a normal campaign season. And you know, we'll see things sort of flatten out now.
NGUYEN: And speaking of back on the campaign trail, we heard that Senator John McCain has said he is not going to run as Kerry's running mate for the vice presidency. What does that say about the Kerry campaign?
SEABROOK: Well, I think it says that it's a Democratic campaign. These are hardcore Democrats. And I think probably McCain felt that. You know, in order to take that position, we all thought it would have been interesting, but he would have had to buck his entire party.
I think it's -- what else does it say about the Kerry campaign specifically is that they're going to have to look for somebody who is equally as exciting. And I think that's going to be hard for them.
NGUYEN: And quickly, we mentioned this in the intro, talk to us about the G-8 Summit. How much progress was really made there?
SEABROOK: You know, a good amount of progress. The only problem was I think President Bush could've taken a coup from that. But you know, it was overshadowed by the death of former President Reagan. And I think that, you know, in a news cycle, that's the way it goes. NGUYEN: All right, Andrea Seabrook, National Public Radio Congressional reporter, we thank you for your insight.
SEABROOK: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is back. He officially opened his campaign headquarters for another run, a city council seat in D.C. Barry served two separate stints as mayor of Washington. The first ended with his arrest on drug charges in 1990, but he ran and won again in 1994. He was considering a run for a city council seat back in 2002, but that attempt ended after he was found in a city park with a small amount of marijuana and crack.
We do have some incredible pictures coming out of Kansas this morning. Take a look at it. A touchdown and a house is up in the air. That is the remnants of a house. Well, luckily, no one was inside during this tornado. Is your area under a tornado watch today? Well, Jill Brown has the forecast. That is next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Plus, how long would you wait for a hybrid? And how much would you pay on top of MSRP?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, do you remember the Sprys? They're the family that got fed up with living in Silicon Valley, so they sold their house, bought an RV, and took off in search of the American dream and a new place to call home. Steven, Colleen, and their four-year old son, Ryan, you see here, at Disneyworld today. Lucky folks. Earlier this week, though, they did stop by to check out Atlanta. You want to turn in at 9:00 Eastern to hear from the Sprys and get a glimpse of life on the road.
Meanwhile, do you think they should pick your hometown as a place to settle down in? Tell us why. Our e-mail address is wam@cnn.com.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Now for a check of the headlines. Security has been tightened around Westerners and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after an al Qaeda group to have claimed an American. The alleged kidnapping comes after two other U.S. citizens were killed in Saudi Arabia last week. Twelve Iraqis are dead, following a suicide car bomb attack. That blast came near a U.S. base in southeastern Baghdad. But Iraqi police officials say police were the target of that attack. At least four Iraqi police officers were killed.
Driving mad over the cost of gas? Well, many people are getting around that by buying gas and electric powered hybrid cars by the thousands.
That as Ross Palumbo, of our affiliate KRON reports, all of the high powered interest in these cars is leaving would-be buyers waiting for their ride.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the hybrid battery, that's where it gets a lot of its power from.
ROSS PALUMBO, KRON CORRESPONDENT: Tampa resident Thea Moore parked in a San Francisco dealership tonight.
THEA MOORE, CAR SHOPPER: I liked it.
PALUMBO: Because her hometown 3,000 miles away couldn't keep a Prius parked long enough for her to see one.
MOORE: They didn't have any that I could look at even, or any on the showroom floor.
PALUMBO: Even in this showroom, not a single Prius is ready to drive off the lot.
MOORE: But you have a wait list, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PALUMBO: Twenty two thousand customers across the country are tonight on that list, waiting more than six months to get one.
MOORE: I think that's a long time to wait for a car.
PALUMBO: But on the Internet, fast lane delivery is available for fast paced pricing. At least one dealer is offering this car for more than $36,000, roughly $10,000 local dealers say, above average.
LINDA SHERRY, CONSUMER ACTION: That seems an unfair manipulation of the market place.
PALUMBO: Unfair, but Consumer Action says perfectly legal. But even though the Prius is highly rated and in high demand, it recommends putting purchases on idle.
SHERRY: I would wait an extra year, perhaps, and see. The market will probably be flooded with these.
PALUMBO: Dealers say Toyota is shifting production into high gear, and trying to stop jacked up pricing.
RUSS MOBLEY, SF TOYOTA: They can put some form of pressure on the dealer is what I've heard, but I think that in general, the dealers know when they're doing the right thing and the wrong thing.
PALUMBO: Even if they don't, customers certainly do. Thea Moore says she'll wait for her car later, rather than be taken for a ride now.
MOORE: I think I'm going to get one. I think I'm going to wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: So if you decide to wait in line for one of these cars, experts say buyer beware. Some dealerships can add surcharges of between $5,000 and $8,000. That will hit you in the pocketbook.
Well, check your cell phone text messages and hit delete thinking no one else will ever read it? You better think again. The courts take on text messages right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a Marine. If Marines are out fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching on TV. I want to be there. I want to be with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He's already lost an eye and his hearing in battle. Meet a soldier who is willing to give up even more. That's coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Former President Bush is getting ready to take another big leap. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen. That story in a minute, but first, here's a look at headlines at this hour.
U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are searching for a missing American. That's after a militant group claimed responsibility for kidnapping an American contractor in Riyadh. The disappearance comes after two other Americans were killed in separate incidents in Saudi Arabia last week. Security has been stepped up in areas surrounding housing or housing for international workers.
Now the U.S. military is set to release 650 Iraqi inmates tomorrow from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. This will be the fifth large scale release from Abu Ghraib since the prison abuse scandal became public.
People across the Midwest, they are cleaning up this morning. Since Friday, nearly two dozen tornadoes have pounded parts of the Midwest, from Minnesota, all the way to Kansas. A twister hit near Mulvane, Kansas Saturday. Or this twister did. And many homes, barns, and businesses were damaged by the tornadoes. But there have been no reports of injuries.
President Bush is in Texas this weekend, helping his dad celebrate his 80th birthday in a big way. More than 5,000 people attended a bash last night. The guest list included former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
At the gala, President Bush couldn't pass up the opportunity to poke fun at dear old dad and his plans to celebrate by jumping out of a plane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some are here to see the 80-year old dude who tomorrow will strap on a helmet, zip up a suit, and launch forth from a perfectly safe aerospace vehicle. Arms spread, back arched, yelling at Father Time, "Take this, you old man!"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Only he could call the former president a dude. Well, the $200 per head party was a fund-raiser for George Bush, 41 Endowment.
As you heard, the president say his father will take the plunge today. And he just can't wait. It's not the first time since leaving the White House that the former president has made his birthday jump.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Bush says falling through the sky makes him feel like a spring colt. That's why he jumped at age 72, then again on his 75th birthday.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.: It was heaven. It was just exhilarating. This is kind of a euphoric high. You end up landing safely. And you just feel wonderful.
LAVANDERA: Bush's first jump wasn't wonderful. It was during World War II in the Pacific Ocean. As a Navy pilot, his plane was going down. He bailed out before it crashed into the water. Shortly after, he was rescued. Bush says he wanted to parachute again, but he vowed it would only be for fun.
BUSH: If no -- somebody doesn't like that, or they think it's frivolous, my answer to that is old guys can still do stuff. And you might as well go for it.
LAVANDERA: Now on his 80th birthday, the 41st president is set to jump again. In early May, he went through a refresher training course in the Fort Bragg wind tunnel. All this shouldn't come as a surprise. He had his wife's blessing for this year's jump five years ago.
But just don't expect Barbara Bush to join in the fun.
BARBARA BUSH, FMR. FIRST LADY: I think when he's 80, he'll probably jump again. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right now. He's going to jump when he's 80.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you?
B. BUSH: Oh, no!
LAVANDERA: Mrs. Bush will keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. And after this jump, we'll wonder if the former president will try again on his 85th birthday.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, each week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, we bring you stories of people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Today, we spotlight a Marine who is not letting his battlefield injuries get him down.
CNN's Casey Wian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunney Nick Popaditch is doing what he loves best, showing off an M-1, A-1 battle tank, the kind he's commanded through two Gulf Wars.
SGT. NICK POPADITCH, MARINE CORPS: There is no weapon system in Iraq currently employed by the anti-coalition forces that can take this thing off the battlefield.
WIAN: Popaditch rolled into Baghdad's Ferdos (ph) Square on a tank he named Carnivore. He and his fellow marines helped the Iraqis take down the now infamous statute of Saddam Hussein.
POPADITCH: We really felt, at that time, you were seeing these people liberate, these people were being freed. And they certainly were reacting that way. It was an incredible moment to be part of.
WIAN: Popaditch completed the deployment and came home but just a few months later volunteered to go back with another unit.
POPADITCH: I'm a Marine. If Marines are off fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching it on TV. I want to be there, I want to be with them, I want to be part of it.
WIAN: This time he found himself in Fallujah in a tough fire fight with insurgents. A rocket-propelled grenade almost cost him his life.
POPADITCH: The other one came from straight down above me and hit me right on top the head, right about here, I guess my head was...
WIAN: The explosion took out Popaditch's right eye, left him partially blind in his left eye and deaf.
POPADITCH: There's like a cap in there. I don't know if this is gross or not. It's not gross to me or anybody but there's just a cap in there.
WIAN: Popaditch can't read yet but says his sight gets better every day and can hear with one ear and hopes a hearing aid will help the other. In spite of the ordeal, he feels lucky.
POPADITCH: It never struck me as a tragedy or anything like that because, you know, you've got to -- you know, I was perfectly fine from the neck down. Perfectly healthy.
WIAN: While he recovers Popaditch hangs out with fellow marines in the tank maintenance yard anxious to go back to work.
POPADITCH: I'd go back in a minute. As soon as I can see again, that's my plan.
WIAN: And he hopes his 15-year military career will continue.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Well, it causes brain damage and can make its victims senile. More than four million people suffer from Alzheimer's in this country today. Most notably, the late Ronald Reagan. Next hour on "House Call," a look at the ongoing search for a cure.
And then at 9:00 Eastern, a family's hunt for the American dream. We catch up with the Sprys as they cross the country looking for that perfect place to live.
Also at 9:00 Eastern, the Donald, he has a new gig. You can hear the Manhattan mogul's musing on world affairs every day if you want. And that starts tomorrow. Trump tells us all about it only on CNN.
But first, be careful what you type into your cellphone. Somebody just might be watching. Text messaging makes its courtroom debut. That's next.
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NGUYEN: The family that left behind their Silicon Valley life in search of a new place to call home, that's right, we are talking about the Sprys. Get a glimpse of what it's like to live on the road driving across America. That is at 9:00 Eastern on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Meanwhile, send your suggestions to wam@cnn.com. Do you think the Sprys should pick up and land in your hometown? That's the question of the day. E-mail us your answers.
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NGUYEN: Well, if you're one of the millions now using your cellphone to send text messages, beware. Just because you hit the delete button doesn't mean your note is gone forever. There's a new focus on text messages because they could play a role in the Kobe Bryant case. And we want to talk about what happens after you type a message on your cellphone and hit send.
Here with me is telecom analyst Jeff Kagan. Thanks for being with us. JEFFREY KAGAN, TELECOM ANALYST: Good morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: Now this is playing out in the Kobe Bryant case or could play out. Tell us how?
KAGAN: Text messages, e-mails, electronic messaging live forever. We think we hit the delete button and it's gone, but really what happens is it either sits on the server, or it can sit in archive farms. And the judge in this particular case is subpoenaing the text messages from the cellphone. Apparently there were messages that were sent by the accuser. And these messages don't go away when you hit the delete button.
NGUYEN: Some four months later, they're asking for them.
KAGAN: Right.
NGUYEN: And those are still there. How long do these servers and these telephone companies keep these messages?
KAGAN: Well, we've seen a lot of cases in the last couple of years with corporate fraud, with stock brokers who are pushing a stock, you know, in front. But behind the scenes on e-mail, they're trashing it. And what we found is that they can subpoena these things for many, many years. And in fact, e-mail, there's no law telling us how long we should hang on to e-mail, but e-mail for the most part is kept forever in big archive farms and big server farms that might be buried inside of mountains.
There are businesses that do that.
NGUYEN: Because some companies say they only keep them for a couple of weeks, a couple of months. That's not true?
KAGAN: Right. Typically, there are no set standards. Every company is different. Typically e-mail has been kept forever. Text messaging is something new. It gets delivered over your cellphone. And it's very easy to send. It uses a slightly different technology, but they hang on to the information for text messages to know who to bill.
And as far as the actual text message themselves, there are only a couple of words. So it's very easy just to store the message. There's no reason for them to store just the date and the time and who to send it to, and not the couple of words.
And if the judge is able to get this information after four months, four months is not just a couple of days, like we -- like the carriers say.
NGUYEN: Right.
KAGAN: They can hold it for four months. They hold it forever. So we really don't know. So bottom line is you never say anything on a message service that you wouldn't want to show up on the front pages of "The New York Times." NGUYEN: Exactly, because not only are they keeping these messages, but do you expect or suspect people could be reading them as well within these companies?
KAGAN: Well, that's true. I mean, there's no privacy. We have this illusion of privacy. But the message goes from your cellphone. And it copy of it stays on your cellphone. Goes through the servers. It could be read through the servers at anybody in your -- who administers your communication software.
And then, it shows up on the other phone. And it can stay there, unless the person deletes it. But then it stays on the server and can be -- the thing can be archived.
And it can be read at any point along the way. So it's not just you who's reading it. It's very easy to be scanned and read, especially if it's your employer, who pays for your cellphone, and gets this off on records. That's a big no-no. You've got to be very careful.
NGUYEN: Oh, absolutely. Now there is no way to completely without a doubt delete these messages? You cannot do that?
KAGAN: You can delete it from your cellphone. You can delete it from the other person's cellphone, but you can't -- you don't have any control over the server.
NGUYEN: What they do.
KAGAN: Right. So the actual network itself that it travels over, it stays there. And it can stay there for days and weeks and months, 'til finally it gets -- they build up so much that they go to an archive.
NGUYEN: Listen to that. Guess who's getting a message? Getting a text message right now, of course. Everyone wants to be a comedian around here. Telling me to wrap this segment up. And I'm getting this from my producer Karina. And Karina, you know, this stays on the server possibly forever. So be careful what you send to me.
KAGAN: Be careful what you send. You'd never want to send anything that you'd be embarrassed about.
NGUYEN: That's the point of all of this. All right. Thank you very much, Jeff Kagan.
KAGAN: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, is it time to lighten up and start spending some money? We'll tell you what most people are doing with their hard earned cash, that is if they have any left over after buying gas for the family car.
And has the summer heat got you hot under the collar? We'll tell you how to beat the heat and look good while doing it. That's when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: There's been some upbeat news on the economic front. Nearly a million new jobs are created from March to May, but not everybody's rushing out to spend their hard earned bucks.
CNN's Kathleen Hays takes a look at consumer confidence.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel a little bit of uneasiness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the economy as it is now, I find myself shopping a little less, trying to hold on to my pennies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a steady pace. It's flat. I don't see it going up or down.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blame this insecurity on gas prices that have risen too quickly and paychecks that haven't risen quickly enough.
JARED BERNSTEIN, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: There is a disconnect between some of the economic cheerleading that's going on and the way many working families are experiencing the recovery. We see the latter in some of the consumer confidence reports, which have been quite negative lately.
HAYS: The consumer comfort index has fallen for the last three weeks and is nearing the lows of the year. And in May, when nearly a quarter of a million new jobs were created, more than 30 percent of those surveyed by the Conference Board said jobs were still hard to get.
But this may not be as bad as it looks. After all, consumers are still shopping.
JAY BRYSON, WACHOVIA SECURITIES: What's really more important is not what consumers say. It's what they do. And if you look at, you know, weekly chain store sales, look at overall retail spending, car sales, things of that nature, that all remains very, very solid right now.
HAYES (on camera): Economists saw this same disconnect coming out of the recession of the early 1990s. Job growth was accelerating by 1993, but confidence didn't really pick up until well into 1994.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm encouraged. I think things are improving. The stock value is going up. And my investments are gaining value.
HAYS: But many lower income families, whose budgets are hit hardest by rising gas prices, may continue to swim against the tide for a while.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could take as much as another few quarters of solid job growth before the real sense of confidence in the economy returns.
HAYS: Kathleen Hays, CNN Financial News, New York.
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NGUYEN: Has the summer heat got you sizzling? Don't sweat it. A Japanese company is selling some cool new clothes literally. Want to take a look at it. This is the air conditioned shirt. It runs on four batteries. And when worn, strategically plans create wind within the clothes, keeping the body cool for nearly 10 hours. Sounds good in the summer heat.
A company called PC 2-B is selling them over the Internet, offering a shirt and two types of jacket. Now they cost around $90 each. While many Japanese men just love these clothes, many women say, well, the popped out apparel makes them look too fat.
This shirt would probably be handy for the Spry family these days. Their RV is a little hot, but they are traveling around. And so, what is your suggestion for their new hometown? They're looking for one. We'll be reading your e-mails next. Our address is wam@cnn.com. Keep those e-mails coming.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK to be different. Isn't that a good message?
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NGUYEN: He's blind and autistic, but nothing can stop him when it comes to music. A story of an incredible talent. That's next on CNN's SUNDAY MORNING.
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NGUYEN: Say hello to Angel. The one month old lion cub is off to the races in her new set of wheels. She was born without a hip socket in her back left leg, but a local vet stepped up to donate the new wheels. Little Angel is scheduled to meet surgeons from Oklahoma State University this week. And hopefully, they can get her back on her own four paws. What a cute little animal there.
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NGUYEN: Time now for a check of our top stories. U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are searching for a missing American. A militant group is claiming to have kidnapped the missing person and American contractor in Riyadh.
And at least two others have been killed in Saudi Arabia since Tuesday. The State Department has issued a travel warning, urging Americans to leave the country and for others not to travel there.
Across the Midwest, the clean-up continues after whirling winds damage homes, turn over cars, and down power lines from Minnesota to Kansas. At least two dozen twisters touched down in the region. And there are more in the forecast today, as you just heard Jill mention. There have been no reports of injuries.
Well, we have been asking our e-mail question of the day, should the Sprys move to your hometown? And we're getting lots of answers.
Bob writes, "They are welcome as the flowers here in Sajima, Japan. We can eat rice and fishheads and watch CNN together."
Interesting, Bob.
And Cindy writes, "We love Toledo. It's a good sized city with a smaller feeling town. We have affordable housing, a wonderful zoo, and a fine arm museum. I think these folks will be very surprised at how affordable a home is here. Having come from California, nice parts too. Come on by."
Keep e-mailing your answers to us at wam@cnn.com. Again the question of the day is why should the Sprys move to your hometown?
Well, we all need idols, from our parents, to sports heroes, and even American idols. For Anthony Debloise, his idol was the late Ray Charles. Now he's hoping to inspire others with his own music and message.
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(SINGING)
ANTHONY DEBLOISE, MUSICIAN: I started playing the piano at the age of two. I like to feel the keys and started professionally when I was nine. Classical, rock, Broadway show tunes. I do a show -- I do Broadway musicals. And I play 20 musical instruments.
My message is it's OK to be different. Isn't that a good message? Believe in yourself. Always keep trying new things. Don't give up on your dreams. Have high hopes. And practice.
Thank you, everybody.
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NGUYEN: Wow, just amazing. Anthony Debloise didn't learn to speak until after his 16th birthday. He now speaks and sings in six different languages. And his musical repertoire includes more than 8,000 songs.
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