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CNN Sunday Morning
American Killed in Saudi Arabia; Former President Bush Celebrates 80th Birthday by Skydiving
Aired June 13, 2004 - 09:00 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: Good morning. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your day with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tornado No. 2. It hit another house. It just hit another house. No. No. It just hit another house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That was a house. Look at that video. Wicked weather takes control in southern Kansas. This twister touched down yesterday afternoon, ripping through a house. We have the latest on it and other severe storms and also today's weather in just a few minutes.
Here's what's coming up right now.
Proving his guilt or innocence. Very soon, Saddam Hussein will get his day in court. We'll bring you an update on the case when one of the lead prosecutors joins us.
And tonight in Detroit, a basketball battle continues. But as the Pistons and Lakers match their wills and skills, another battle is brewing, this one over comments by legendary Larry Bird. We'll have the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: I have thoughts. I press the button. It goes into the studio and they air it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: What is the Donald up to now? We will tell you how he's the newest apprentice to be told you're hired.
But first, here's what's happening at this hour.
Insurgents on attack in Iraq. Gunmen killed an education ministry official this morning outside his home in Baghdad. This killing comes the day after a deputy foreign minister was gunned down outside his Baghdad home.
A car bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad kills a dozen Iraqis and wounds 13 others. Four of those killed were police officers. The bomb exploded near a U.S. Army forward operating base. This is a photo of the Saturn moon Phoebe -- hopefully we'll get you that photo; there you go -- taken from the space craft Cassini from 2,085 miles away. By space agency standards, that's a flyby, the closest approach ever.
Phoebe, as you can see, is heavily cratered, blasted by space debris for eons. Cassini is now being prepared to orbit Saturn for a four-year study of the ringed planet.
Back to our top story this morning from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where gunmen have killed another American, the second this week.
Kenneth Scroggs, who worked for a British and Saudi company, was shot to death as he was parking his car at his home in an upscale suburb of the capitol.
Katherine Jacob of ITN filed this report last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHERINE JACOB, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunned down in broad daylight as he parked his car.
Shocked neighbors huddle around the home of the Americans who today became the third westerner to be killed in Saudi Arabia in a week.
It happened here in Riyadh's al-Malaz suburb.
"He's around 55 years old," said this man. "I don't think he had any enemies. I don't know why he was killed. It seems pointless."
Hours later, Saudi police said they found a car rigged with explosives near two residential compounds. It's not yet clear if this was linked to the shooting.
Today's killing comes less than a week after a BBC cameraman was shot dead and a correspondent seriously wounded in Riyadh. Days later, an American contractor was killed outside his home.
This was the aftermath of last month's massacre at a residential compound in Khobar, where 22 foreigners died. Those responsible, extremists linked to al Qaeda.
But the latest spate of shootings appears to signal a new tactic, the militants targeting individuals in a bid to drive westerners out of Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: The British foreign office is allowing nonessential staff at the British embassy to leave Saudi Arabia if they want to. That's according to the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia is urging Americans to exercise the utmost caution if they choose to remain in the kingdom.
Also, a search is on in Saudi Arabia for yet another American, this one missing and possibly kidnapped. A report on that now from Caroline Faraj, an editor for CNNArabic.com. She's on the phone from Dubai.
What's the latest, Caroline?
CAROLINE FARAJ, EDITOR, CNNARABIC.COM: Well, Betty, as you just mentioned, right now the Saudi forces are looking all over the kingdom in order to find the missing -- as what the ambassador of the embassy in the U.S. Riyadh described him, while the statement issued yesterday night claiming responsibility from a group they call themselves al Fallujah Squadron and they are a branch of so-called al Qaeda, branch in the Arab Peninsula, which is Saudi Arabia.
They claim responsibility, that they kidnapped this American engineer, and they even published on the web site a copy of his passport, as well as his driving license from the U.S., as well as the other driving license used in Saudi Arabia.
So up until now the Saudis are on high alert in order to reach the people who kidnapped him, and the also to arrest the militants who killed the other American yesterday in Riyadh -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Caroline Faraj in Dubai. Thank you for that report.
Back here in the U.S., weather is making the news yet again. Storms across the area, and we saw that video earlier of that tornado just taking out a house.
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What was interesting about that is you couldn't -- there was nothing recognizable in the debris that was coming around.
NGUYEN: No. It was so small. It just ripped it apart. Here is a look at that video again. And this tornado doesn't look all that wide, but as you can see in this debris, look at that.
BROWN: There's the house, just spinning around.
Tiny little piece. You wonder if there's be anything for them go back and salvage from that house.
NGUYEN: I don't think so.
BROWN: Hopefully, you know, something.
NGUYEN: The good thing is they were not home at the time. They were off on vacation.
BROWN: Right. They were out of town, and we hope that they were out of town enjoying themselves somewhere, because coming home is going to be a nightmare for them to kind of get things back together.
This is it, replaying. And there's the house. And you just see the debris swirling around the tornado.
And we talked about this earlier, a thin tornado, a wide tornado, it doesn't really tell us how strong it is. And sometimes we -- it will be days before they go out and investigate and tell us if it was an F-1, F-2, or F-3 or whatever.
NGUYEN: So we don't know on that one yet.
BROWN: I don't know on that one. But it does not matter...
NGUYEN: Devastate that family's home.
BROWN: It doesn't matter, when it's your house, what, you know, the circumstances are. And it doesn't have to be, you know, 50 tornadoes across the country. It can just be one.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Time now to check some stories making news across America.
In Southern California, sheriff's deputies in a helicopter shot and killed a suspected sniper. The helicopter pilot was wounded during that shootout. Earlier, the suspect had opened fire at a recycling center, injuring one worker and one deputy that responded to the shots.
There was a different mood at this year's Boston pride gay and lesbian parade. It was the first major event for the gay community since same-sex marriages became legal in Massachusetts. More than 50,000 people crowded the streets of Boston for the 34th annual celebration.
Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is taking another shot at politics. Barry officially opened his campaign headquarters for a run at a seat on the District City Council. In 2002 his campaign was derailed before it began. Barry abandoned his attempt after police found marijuana and a small amount of crack cocaine in his car.
Politics and religion. A new "TIME" magazine poll this morning takes a look at how religion may play out in the presidential race.
Among Catholic voters, it's almost a dead heat. Forty-five percent support John Kerry, while 43 percent support the reelection of President Bush. But among those surveyed, only 33 percent knew that Kerry is a Catholic.
Meantime, John Kerry is calling on the Bush administration to allow more research on stem cells. President Bush restricted federal funding for stem cell research in 2001.
Kerry alluded to Nancy Reagan's long-time support of the research as a way to combat diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Shortly before former President Reagan's death, Kerry, along with 57 other Democratic and Republican senators, called for President Bush to relax the restrictions.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The medical discoveries that come from stem cell are crucial next steps in humanity's uphill climb. And part of this nation's greatness lies in the fact that we have led the world in great medical discoveries with our breakthroughs and our beliefs going hand in hand.
If we pursue the limitless potential of our science, and trust that we can use it wisely, we will save millions of lives and earn the gratitude of future generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Bush returns to the White House today after helping his dad celebrate his 80th birthday in a big way.
More than 5,000 people attended a bash last night in Texas. The guest list included several current and past political leaders, entertainers as well as athletes.
The festivities continue today with the former president parachuting twice -- not once but twice -- out of a perfectly good plane.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us from College Station with the latest.
Good morning, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
Well, the party moved from Houston north here to College Station. And after a week of somber reflection honoring the life of Ronald Reagan, it's been a festive weekend here in the southeast Texas area as President Bush in Houston last night celebrating his birthday with friends and his children.
The party here moves to College Station. In the few hours in the field you see behind me, George Bush Senior will be landing after parachuting from 13,000 feet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (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, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was heaven. It was just exhilarating. This is kind of a euphoric high. You end up landing safely, and you just feel -- 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 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 Ft. 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, FORMER FIRST LADY: I think when he's 80 he'll probably jump again. I'll announce it right now. He's going to jump when he's 80.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With you?
B. BUSH: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: After today's jump, which is supposed to happen here in a few hours, the president will answer some questions. And we'll get around to the 85th birthday question when we get to that point.
But also, the president has been going through training. We mentioned in the piece there that in early May he had gone through some training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to prepare for this event.
We understand he's also been going through some hours of training here in College Station just preparing, making sure he knows all the correct body movements and everything.
And everyone here says that the doctors say that President Bush has a clean bill of health -- clean bill of health, and he is ready to make this jump.
NGUYEN: No doubt he's ready for it. How exciting is that? I get nervous just thinking about it.
All right. Ed Lavandera in College Station, Texas, thank you.
Less than two weeks before the handover of power in Iraq, growing instability and violence. We'll get the latest from there a bit later in the show.
Plus talk -- we'll talk with the U.S. attorney who's adding his expertise towards building a case against Saddam Hussein. And from the world of sports, one basketball legend is making waves about the color of the NBA game. We'll take a closer look when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, you've got to admit it sounds tempting. Hitting the road in an R.V. to see the sights and find a new place to live.
Meet the Spry family from everywhere, USA. That's what they did. And we finally catch up with America's traveling family when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: If you're a regular CNN SUNDAY MORNING viewer, you may recognize this California family. We're traveling along on their journey to find a new place to live.
Steven, Colleen and Ryan, as you see there, they're the Sprys. And they've had enough of the Silicon Valley rat race. So they sold the house, put their belongings in storage, bought an R.V. and took off across the country, chasing that American dream.
We caught up with them this past week when they stopped by to check out Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN SPRY, FATHER: What we left behind was a past way of thinking as far as both in terms of our jobs, the whole housing dynamic.
NGUYEN (voice-over): Leaving behind the fast-paced life in Silicon Valley, a luxurious house, family and friends, these guys decided to take a chance of a lifetime.
And so their quest began over 30 days ago. A search for a new place to call home.
COLLEEN SPRY, MOTHER: A better place to live. Slower pace. You know, somewhere where we can have some land, have community around us.
NGUYEN: So far they've covered the southern part of the country, starting in Senora, California, driving through Vegas, Phoenix, Sedona, Austin, New Orleans, and Atlanta.
This weekend they're in Disney World, heading to Tampa and the Florida Keys before it gets too hot.
The family that loves to have fun for now is having fun in their temporary home on wheels.
S. SPRY: It's very important to get this thing level. Little things like coffee makers that dribble, you know, and when you're not level, things go on the floor. RYAN SPRY, SON: I sleep here.
C. SPRY: Sometimes.
R. SPRY: I sleep here.
C. SPRY: Yes. What do we do? We put the table down? Turn the cushions over for you, right? Yes.
R. SPRY: Back like that.
C. SPRY: Yes. And where do we keep your toys?
R. SPRY: Inside there.
NGUYEN: The Sprys' R.V. is fully equipped with microwave, refrigerator, washer and drier, two televisions and plenty of storage space.
So what's the toughest thing to get used to after a Silicon Valley house?
S. SPRY: This corner right here. So if you get up from here, and you go erect too soon, that will always get you every time.
C. SPRY: One thing that I miss is water pressure. And, you know, having space.
NGUYEN: But look at the bright side.
S. SPRY: Taking this special moment in time, it really, as far as really getting closer to a 4-year-old, a 4-year-old's needs and what he's trying to tell you, and taking that time that you probably would never get, living in your average every day setting, you know, it has really, you know, made us grow closer.
NGUYEN: Four-year-old Ryan is not being home schooled just yet. But he is learning every day.
R. SPRY: Do it hurt you?
C. SPRY: No, they can. They can bite you.
S. SPY: You don't want to get too close.
C. SPRY: Not too close.
R. SPRY: They can get close to me?
NGUYEN: The Sprys keep an online journal and post pictures from their trip on their web site, LovetoHaveFun.com.
So far, Steve has taken about 2,000 shots with his digital camera. One day he hopes to write a book about living an American dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: How fun is that? Here are a few pictures from the Sprys' web site.
This is their Stone Mountain campsite when they were here in Georgia. They also managed to get to a Braves game while here. There's Ryan there. The Braves beat Philadelphia that day.
Then it was off to Florida and, of course, Disney World. Here are a couple classic shots. I've got that in my photo album, as well. The family at the front gate. And the Disney castle, beautifully lit up at night.
They ran into some good old southern storms, though, in Florida. In fact, the downpours were so bad on Thursday some of the Disneyland rides were affected by power outages. There's the haunted mansion. Visitors got stuck inside because nothing was moving.
Buzz Lightyear even had some problems.
We, of course, will have another installment from the Sprys on tour next week as they discover parts unknown while looking for a new home.
And this morning we are asking you why should the Sprys pick up and move to your hometown for a new start? We got some e-mail answer from Pat.
She says, "Southeast Oklahoma, just north of Broken Bow in a community called Hochatown is the place for the Sprys. "This is the most beautiful area of Oklahoma with forests and one of the cleanest and prettiest lakes around.
Also Ron writes, "You've got to move to Delaware. Low taxes, near the beach, great area, many small towns on the outskirts of the resort area like mine, Frankford, Delaware, where you can live near the beach for under $200,000."
We appreciate all your e-mails. And keep them coming to CNN -- or WAM@CNN.com. Of course we have an e-mail question of the day every weekend. So stay tuned.
Well, Donald Trump has traveled the world. But nothing seems to slow him down. From real estate to television to radio? Find out what's next for the Donald.
And, in about 10 minutes, we'll talk with one of the people building the case against Saddam Hussein.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Checking our top stories now.
More attacks on westerners in Saudi Arabia. A group linked to al Qaeda says it's behind the killing of an American at his Riyadh home. That same group says it kidnapped an American reported missing yesterday. U.S. and Saudi authorities are searching for him today.
It's clean-up day in several Midwestern states hit by tornadoes and thunderstorms yesterday. These pictures from Mulvane, Kansas, are ominous. Check it out. Six tornadoes hit southern Kansas yesterday, this one taking out a home. It also downed several power lines. No injuries were reported.
Time now to fast forward for a look at 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 out on bail awaiting trial for the murder of actress Lana Carson.
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 the global relay. Stops are planned in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta and New York.
Well, coming up, the latest from Iraq. Another Iraqi official is killed and a car bomb kills several others.
Plus, prosecuting Saddam Hussein. One prominent U.S. attorney is among the many lawyers building a case against the ousted dictator. We'll talk with him from Baghdad when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Race and the NBA. An NBA legend raises some eyebrows with his latest views on the state of that game.
Welcome back. That story is coming up. First, though, here's a look at headlines at this hour.
We have new information on the American kidnapped in Saudi Arabia. A man in central Florida says the missing person is his father. Last night Paul Johnson made those statements to CNN affiliate WESH. The U.S. government and Lockheed Martin, where the missing person worked, have yet to identify the abducted man. Johnson says he's now waiting for official word. And just minutes ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell talked about developments in Saudi Arabia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're very sad over the loss of American life. And we're worried about the individual who was kidnapped. And we are working with the Saudi officials to recover him safely. And it's a troubling time in Saudi Arabia. I know the Saudis are doing everything they can to deal with this terrorist threat. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We, of course, will continue to follow that story.
Voters in 19 of the 25 countries that make up the European Union are choosing candidates for the EU parliament today. It's the block's first election since the historic expansion in May. The six other countries, including Britain, had already cast ballots in the four-day election. That election is seen as a report card for voters' national governments.
In eastern Arizona, fighters have the Three Forks wildfire about 40 percent contained. The blaze has grown to 7,900 acres, but officials say it's of little threat to the tiny mountain town Nutrioso.
And in southern Arizona, the Mudd fire charred about 100 acres in the Coronado National Forest.
In Texas, as we speak, George H.W. Bush is getting ready to jump out of a plane on purpose. The former president is celebrating his 80th birthday with two sky dives -- this is file footage -- landing at his presidential library in College Station, Texas. We, of course, will keep you updated on that jump.
More violence today in Iraq, and officials there hope for tighter security as the June 30 transfer of power approaches. CNN's Aneesh Raman has the latest now from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A coffin containing the body of a murdered government official carried through the streets of Baghdad. It's an increasingly familiar scene here in the Iraqi capital.
Kamal al-Jarrah, high-ranking officer in the Education Ministry, was gunned down outside his home, as he left for work Sunday morning. It is the second assassination of an Iraqi government official in as many days. Saturday, Deputy Foreign Minister Bassam Kubba was also targeted while leaving his house.
Deputy Minister of Health Ammar Al-Saffar was attacked on Wednesday, barely escaping with his life.
AMMAR AL-SAFFAR, IRAQI DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER: The terrorists are targeting soft targets, lower levels of administrations and ministries, just to create an atmosphere of terrorism.
RAMAN: At a briefing on Saturday, the CPA said it is working with the interim government to provide better security.
DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: We are to provide security ourselves or we provide training and funding for security for the Iraqi officials to administer security.
RAMAN: But Saffar wants to see more, particularly in the days leading up to June 30.
AL-SAFFAR: The measures are not tough enough. The security issue and then the responsibility, of course, is still in the hands of the coalition forces.
RAMAN: Also Sunday, another suicide car bomb exploding near a U.S. military installation in Baghdad. A now familiar insurgent tactic, it left a dozen Iraqis killed and numerous others wounded. A senior coalition official says there have been 12 to 15 car bombs in Iraq already this month.
RAMAN (on camera): These incidents are daily reminders of how prominent a role security will be for the interim Iraqi government and both they and the coalition expect no let-up in the weeks to come.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Another challenge facing Iraq is, of course, the trial of Saddam Hussein. Evidence is still being gathered in preparation for the war crimes trial of the former dictator. Aiding the prosecution will be an American lawyer with some experience on the international stage. Greg Kehoe is preparing for his role in what may be one of the most watched and scrutinized trials in history. He joins us now from Baghdad.
Thanks for being with us.
GREG KEHOE, ATTORNEY: Good morning.
NGUYEN: Good morning to you. This, obviously, is going to be a very historic trial. How did you get involved?
KEHOE: I was asked by the attorney general of the United States, his office, if I would participate, and if I would get involved, and I accepted.
NGUYEN: Now, your role is described as a regime crimes adviser. Exactly what does that mean?
KEHOE: Actually, I'm the regime crimes liaison. I run the regime crimes liaison office, and what we are is direct support for the Iraqi special tribunal. The Iraqi special tribunal is the special court set up to try Saddam and the rest of the regime members and Baathist leaders.
We are collecting evidence. We will interview witnesses. We will get involved in exhumations throughout the country, essentially, do everything we possibly can to support the prosecutions that are currently being investigated.
NGUYEN: Now, this is an assisting role because essentially this is an Iraqi case, correct?
KEHOE: It is officially and absolutely an Iraqi case. The decisions, any ultimate decisions on who is charged, what that person is charged with and how the proceedings are conducted are issues that are going to be decided by the Iraqis themselves.
NGUYEN: Can you give us some insight on what grounds Saddam will be put to trial on? Grounds of genocide, war crimes? What are you thinking?
KEHOE: I think that the crimes that have taken place here in Iraq speak for themselves. And I think there are any number of crimes that Saddam Hussein could be investigated on and ultimately charged with.
Again, I don't want to speak for any investigative judge who has to make that decision. But certainly there are many crime basis here in Iraq that we are currently investigating that Saddam Hussein could be held responsible for. Not just Saddam Hussein alone, also other individuals as well.
NGUYEN: There's talk those other individuals will be tried first, just to build up evidence against Saddam?
KEHOE: Again, that's a decision that will be up to the Iraqi special tribunal and investigative judges. Who they want to charge first and in what order will be entirely up to those judges. I can't speak for them at this point. Again, we are just in an advisory role and assisting in putting those cases together.
NGUYEN: OK. Let's talk about your role. How much evidence is there? We are hearing talk about mass graves that you will be exhuming?
KEHOE: Yes, that's right.
NGUYEN: Tell us a little bit about that.
KEHOE: There are mass graves all over the country. And some of those graves have thousands of people in them. Some of them have as few as possibly 30. And you can just imagine any number in between. The amount of graves we have is somewhere between 60 and 75. And they stretch from the far north to the far south. Various ethnic groups are buried in those graves.
Obviously, we need to do forensic work on a variety of the graves to determine who, in fact, is in those graves, where those people came from, the manner of death and possibly tie it back to where they came from.
NGUYEN: With that kind of evidence, do you expect this will be a slam-dunk case?
KEHOE: No case is a slam-dunk case. No case -- I have been doing this 25 years, and no case I've been involved in is a slam-dunk case. You have to do the work. And by that I mean you have to prove the crime base here. You have to prove these crimes took place throughout Iraq during the 25 years of Saddam Hussein's regime. In addition to that, you have to prove who is responsible. This is a command responsibility case, and you have to take it up the line to determine who is responsible. Who gave the orders that these people be executed, that this ethnic cleansing takes place, that the tortures took place? That takes work. That takes a tremendous amount of work. It means you have to get involved in the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that we currently have in custody.
NGUYEN: Greg, give us some insight. You are playing a major role. The world will be watching. How are you preparing? And what will you be thinking once you come face to face with Saddam Hussein?
KEHOE: To be perfectly honest with you, I'm conducting this investigation with the rest of my office the same way we conduct every investigation. In a methodical manner, building the crime base, and then going to the documentation to determine who, in fact, ordered these crimes. Who, in fact, is involved? It's nothing new that we haven't done over the many years that the people on my team have been doing these investigations. And for us, while this investigation is on a very large scale, in many respects it's similar to those we have done in other locales in the United States and throughout the world.
With regard to seeing Saddam Hussein himself, to be perfectly honest with you, I have been in this business for a long time. So it's just another potential defendant to me.
NGUYEN: Just another case, but this time the world will be watching.
KEHOE: It's not another case...
NGUYEN: Go ahead.
KEHOE: It's not another case, but in many respects it is just another individual that's being investigated by this office.
NGUYEN: All right. Attorney Greg Kehoe, we thank you for your time.
KEHOE: Thank you.
NGUYEN: This program note now, CNN's Wolf Blitzer will have an exclusive interview with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice today on CNN's "LATE EDITION." Tune in at noon eastern.
It's a red-letter day for two of baseball's biggest hitters. A rare feat performed by two members of the 500 club. Explanations ahead.
And one of the NBA greatest players speaks out about the state of the game. Did he cross the line with his comments? A closer look when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A pair of home run heroes in Baltimore. Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro combine for a rare feat when each homered in their match-up yesterday. It marked only the third time in history that a pair of 500 homer men hit home runs in the same game. The last time was in 1971, when both Hank Aaron and Willie Mays connected.
The NBA is back in action tonight, and Detroit plays game four of the finals. The Pistons beat the Lakers by 20 points on Thursday to take a two games to one lead in the series. Former Lakers great and current part owner Magic Johnson says he's angry with the level of effort put forth by his former team.
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are crediting with putting the NBA back on the map in the early 1980s. Their epic match-ups in the finals are now part of history. So it's not surprising that everyone took notice when Bird brought up the issue of race in the NBA. Larry Smith reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Larry Bird retired 12 years ago, as the NBA's last bona fide white superstar. As a player he never backed down from a challenge. As a former player he never backs down from a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Does the NBA lack enough white superstars in your opinion?
LARRY BIRD, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I think so. When I played, we had me and Kevin and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base. As we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple white guys in there, might get them started.
It is a black man's game. It will be, and forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I don't think it's racial or anything like that. And also, you ask Larry Bird a question, he's going to answer it. And he's going to answer it truthfully.
BILLY HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: What it demonstrates and what it illustrates to me is that if Larry says it, a whole lot of people are thinking it.
SMITH: What Bird was thinking is open to different interpretations. Bird himself has refused further comment on the subject.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first thought was that I can't believe he went there. Because it's just the kind of argument that I think it was racial, but it was really not racist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not talking about taking the job of -- giving that job to someone who isn't as good as maybe an African- American is, he just wished there were more white superstars.
HUNTER: I respect Larry for making the comment, and I support his right to do so, because I think the issue needs to go on the table.
SMITH: The NBA does not keep statistics on race. Instead, it categorizes players by their nationality. Roughly 75 percent of the players in the league are black. The NBA appeals to its predominately white fan base by marketing its superstars. These players are all black.
BOB LANIER, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME: Our fans connect with our players, not because of any certain colors, but it's about how hard they work and what they give and what they leave on the floor.
PETER STERN, PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC SPORTS GROUP: I think the NBA cares about great players doing great things. And that transcends not just on the court but off the court as well. I think that's what the NBA is concerned about. And what fans are concerned about.
By and large where the NBA cities are, I don't think it matters. I think people embrace their superstars whether they are black or white.
SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Auburn Hills, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: This just in, we have an update on that missing American in Saudi Arabia. A man in Florida who claims to be his son has this to say about the kidnapping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL JOHNSON III, CLAIMS TO BE SON OF MISSING MAN: I'm waiting on the State Department to give me an answer, his company. This should not have happened. This could have been very preventable. On Lockheed Martin's part, and -- I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Little information is known about that kidnapping, but of course we will continue to follow it and bring it to you as it becomes available to us.
In other news, will it be another day of rough weather for the Midwest and southern states? Yesterday was no picnic for southern Kansas. We'll look ahead to today's forecast.
And good morning Seattle. The complete weather forecast in a few minutes. "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Every week last season about 20 million people tuned in to watch Donald Trump get rid of a potential protege on the hit reality TV program "The Apprentice." That show brought new fame to the already popular New York billionaire. And as if he wasn't already rich enough, Trump now has a radio deal that puts even more money in his pocket, and it could increase his already rising popularity. Starting tomorrow, Clear Channel Communications plans to syndicate "the Donald" five days a week in a segment called "Trumped." The billionaire talks about the new project in an exclusive interview with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: Every radio company approached me and they wanted me to do a show. I'm a fan of Paul Harvey, I always have been a fan of the great Paul Harvey, and I said, you know, I could do a show like Paul Harvey, where I do 60 to 90 seconds of commentary, whether it's the war in Iraq or prenuptial agreements or something else, one of the subjects, Michael Jackson's problems. I said, you know, I think that would be really fun to do. It would be great.
They set up a very delicate system on my desk, so when I have thoughts I press the button. It goes right into the studio. And they air it. And I think it's going to be great.
The thing I'm most happy about in the history of radio, I'm told, this is the largest opening of a show. So, that's pretty impressive.
Clear Channel came to me; they're the largest in the United States and possibly the largest in the world at what they do. They very much wanted to do this. And it's 60 to 90 seconds of commentary on a daily basis, Monday through Friday. And I look forward to it. It starts on June 14th, which happens also, unfortunately, to be my birthday. I don't like birthdays anymore, but it's my birthday. And I think it'll be terrific. It'll be a lot of fun.
"The Apprentice" has been an amazing phenomenon. It finished out the season at number one. And I am really honored by what happened there. And you know the real estate has been through the roof. Things are good. Miss Universe won the ratings the other night. It's been a terrific period.
We're going to have topics really covering everything. We're going to be discussing Michael Jackson. We will discuss even "The Apprentice," and also much more important things such as the war in Iraq, lots of other wars and problems. The presidential race, just about everything. We will be discussing everything. And it's something I very much look forward to doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The radio segment "Trumped" debuts tomorrow in about 300 markets nationwide including New York, Los Angeles, Tampa and Baltimore. Premiere Radio Network is calling it the biggest launch in broadcast history. That's why he's called, "the Donald." "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" will continue in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Seattle. Nice morning, because right at the moment it is not raining out there. 54 degrees. Warming up to about 64 for a high. You may see a few more showers, and then it's dry and slightly warmer weather. Very nice week to come.
It's actually pretty pleasant out across the country at the moment. We have the threat of severe thunderstorms again in the midsection of the country by later this afternoon. It'll be a little bit on the hot side and sticky in the southeast. Temperatures really warming up in the southwest.
While severe weather will be our number one story, there is something else on the back burner we want to tell you about. And that's down here in the tropics. It is hurricane season again, by the way, in case you forgot. There's an area of disturbed weather here in the Gulf of Mexico, down towards Cozumel and Cancun. Rain, rain, lots of rain. Hurricane center is watching it. Possibility of slow development. If you live along the Gulf Coast think about that. Otherwise, we'll be watching severe weather for the rest of this afternoon.
Betty, back to you.
NGUYEN: All right, we want to keep an eye on that. Thank you. Now a quick recap of our top stories. U.S. and Saudi authorities are searching today for an American missing in Saudi Arabia. A group linked to Al Qaeda says it kidnapped the man. That same group claims responsibility for killing an American at his Riyadh home yesterday.
CNN affiliate station WESH-TV reports a Floridian says the man pictured on a Web site is his father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: You know, I'm waiting on the State Department to give me an answer, his company. This should not have happened. This could have been very preventable. On Lockheed Martin's part, and -- I don't know. That's all I've got to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with, you know, the recent concerns about security over there, had your father said he wanted to come back, or had he mentioned any of that in your recent correspondence with him?
JOHNSON: No, he said everything's normal, you know? He hasn't mentioned nothing like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And, at this point, you just finding this out, I mean -- I guess right now it's just uncertain to you.
JOHNSON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your day with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tornado No. 2. It hit another house. It just hit another house. No. No. It just hit another house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That was a house. Look at that video. Wicked weather takes control in southern Kansas. This twister touched down yesterday afternoon, ripping through a house. We have the latest on it and other severe storms and also today's weather in just a few minutes.
Here's what's coming up right now.
Proving his guilt or innocence. Very soon, Saddam Hussein will get his day in court. We'll bring you an update on the case when one of the lead prosecutors joins us.
And tonight in Detroit, a basketball battle continues. But as the Pistons and Lakers match their wills and skills, another battle is brewing, this one over comments by legendary Larry Bird. We'll have the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: I have thoughts. I press the button. It goes into the studio and they air it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: What is the Donald up to now? We will tell you how he's the newest apprentice to be told you're hired.
But first, here's what's happening at this hour.
Insurgents on attack in Iraq. Gunmen killed an education ministry official this morning outside his home in Baghdad. This killing comes the day after a deputy foreign minister was gunned down outside his Baghdad home.
A car bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad kills a dozen Iraqis and wounds 13 others. Four of those killed were police officers. The bomb exploded near a U.S. Army forward operating base. This is a photo of the Saturn moon Phoebe -- hopefully we'll get you that photo; there you go -- taken from the space craft Cassini from 2,085 miles away. By space agency standards, that's a flyby, the closest approach ever.
Phoebe, as you can see, is heavily cratered, blasted by space debris for eons. Cassini is now being prepared to orbit Saturn for a four-year study of the ringed planet.
Back to our top story this morning from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where gunmen have killed another American, the second this week.
Kenneth Scroggs, who worked for a British and Saudi company, was shot to death as he was parking his car at his home in an upscale suburb of the capitol.
Katherine Jacob of ITN filed this report last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHERINE JACOB, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunned down in broad daylight as he parked his car.
Shocked neighbors huddle around the home of the Americans who today became the third westerner to be killed in Saudi Arabia in a week.
It happened here in Riyadh's al-Malaz suburb.
"He's around 55 years old," said this man. "I don't think he had any enemies. I don't know why he was killed. It seems pointless."
Hours later, Saudi police said they found a car rigged with explosives near two residential compounds. It's not yet clear if this was linked to the shooting.
Today's killing comes less than a week after a BBC cameraman was shot dead and a correspondent seriously wounded in Riyadh. Days later, an American contractor was killed outside his home.
This was the aftermath of last month's massacre at a residential compound in Khobar, where 22 foreigners died. Those responsible, extremists linked to al Qaeda.
But the latest spate of shootings appears to signal a new tactic, the militants targeting individuals in a bid to drive westerners out of Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: The British foreign office is allowing nonessential staff at the British embassy to leave Saudi Arabia if they want to. That's according to the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia is urging Americans to exercise the utmost caution if they choose to remain in the kingdom.
Also, a search is on in Saudi Arabia for yet another American, this one missing and possibly kidnapped. A report on that now from Caroline Faraj, an editor for CNNArabic.com. She's on the phone from Dubai.
What's the latest, Caroline?
CAROLINE FARAJ, EDITOR, CNNARABIC.COM: Well, Betty, as you just mentioned, right now the Saudi forces are looking all over the kingdom in order to find the missing -- as what the ambassador of the embassy in the U.S. Riyadh described him, while the statement issued yesterday night claiming responsibility from a group they call themselves al Fallujah Squadron and they are a branch of so-called al Qaeda, branch in the Arab Peninsula, which is Saudi Arabia.
They claim responsibility, that they kidnapped this American engineer, and they even published on the web site a copy of his passport, as well as his driving license from the U.S., as well as the other driving license used in Saudi Arabia.
So up until now the Saudis are on high alert in order to reach the people who kidnapped him, and the also to arrest the militants who killed the other American yesterday in Riyadh -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Caroline Faraj in Dubai. Thank you for that report.
Back here in the U.S., weather is making the news yet again. Storms across the area, and we saw that video earlier of that tornado just taking out a house.
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What was interesting about that is you couldn't -- there was nothing recognizable in the debris that was coming around.
NGUYEN: No. It was so small. It just ripped it apart. Here is a look at that video again. And this tornado doesn't look all that wide, but as you can see in this debris, look at that.
BROWN: There's the house, just spinning around.
Tiny little piece. You wonder if there's be anything for them go back and salvage from that house.
NGUYEN: I don't think so.
BROWN: Hopefully, you know, something.
NGUYEN: The good thing is they were not home at the time. They were off on vacation.
BROWN: Right. They were out of town, and we hope that they were out of town enjoying themselves somewhere, because coming home is going to be a nightmare for them to kind of get things back together.
This is it, replaying. And there's the house. And you just see the debris swirling around the tornado.
And we talked about this earlier, a thin tornado, a wide tornado, it doesn't really tell us how strong it is. And sometimes we -- it will be days before they go out and investigate and tell us if it was an F-1, F-2, or F-3 or whatever.
NGUYEN: So we don't know on that one yet.
BROWN: I don't know on that one. But it does not matter...
NGUYEN: Devastate that family's home.
BROWN: It doesn't matter, when it's your house, what, you know, the circumstances are. And it doesn't have to be, you know, 50 tornadoes across the country. It can just be one.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Time now to check some stories making news across America.
In Southern California, sheriff's deputies in a helicopter shot and killed a suspected sniper. The helicopter pilot was wounded during that shootout. Earlier, the suspect had opened fire at a recycling center, injuring one worker and one deputy that responded to the shots.
There was a different mood at this year's Boston pride gay and lesbian parade. It was the first major event for the gay community since same-sex marriages became legal in Massachusetts. More than 50,000 people crowded the streets of Boston for the 34th annual celebration.
Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is taking another shot at politics. Barry officially opened his campaign headquarters for a run at a seat on the District City Council. In 2002 his campaign was derailed before it began. Barry abandoned his attempt after police found marijuana and a small amount of crack cocaine in his car.
Politics and religion. A new "TIME" magazine poll this morning takes a look at how religion may play out in the presidential race.
Among Catholic voters, it's almost a dead heat. Forty-five percent support John Kerry, while 43 percent support the reelection of President Bush. But among those surveyed, only 33 percent knew that Kerry is a Catholic.
Meantime, John Kerry is calling on the Bush administration to allow more research on stem cells. President Bush restricted federal funding for stem cell research in 2001.
Kerry alluded to Nancy Reagan's long-time support of the research as a way to combat diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Shortly before former President Reagan's death, Kerry, along with 57 other Democratic and Republican senators, called for President Bush to relax the restrictions.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The medical discoveries that come from stem cell are crucial next steps in humanity's uphill climb. And part of this nation's greatness lies in the fact that we have led the world in great medical discoveries with our breakthroughs and our beliefs going hand in hand.
If we pursue the limitless potential of our science, and trust that we can use it wisely, we will save millions of lives and earn the gratitude of future generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Bush returns to the White House today after helping his dad celebrate his 80th birthday in a big way.
More than 5,000 people attended a bash last night in Texas. The guest list included several current and past political leaders, entertainers as well as athletes.
The festivities continue today with the former president parachuting twice -- not once but twice -- out of a perfectly good plane.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us from College Station with the latest.
Good morning, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
Well, the party moved from Houston north here to College Station. And after a week of somber reflection honoring the life of Ronald Reagan, it's been a festive weekend here in the southeast Texas area as President Bush in Houston last night celebrating his birthday with friends and his children.
The party here moves to College Station. In the few hours in the field you see behind me, George Bush Senior will be landing after parachuting from 13,000 feet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (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, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was heaven. It was just exhilarating. This is kind of a euphoric high. You end up landing safely, and you just feel -- 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 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 Ft. 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, FORMER FIRST LADY: I think when he's 80 he'll probably jump again. I'll announce it right now. He's going to jump when he's 80.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With you?
B. BUSH: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: After today's jump, which is supposed to happen here in a few hours, the president will answer some questions. And we'll get around to the 85th birthday question when we get to that point.
But also, the president has been going through training. We mentioned in the piece there that in early May he had gone through some training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to prepare for this event.
We understand he's also been going through some hours of training here in College Station just preparing, making sure he knows all the correct body movements and everything.
And everyone here says that the doctors say that President Bush has a clean bill of health -- clean bill of health, and he is ready to make this jump.
NGUYEN: No doubt he's ready for it. How exciting is that? I get nervous just thinking about it.
All right. Ed Lavandera in College Station, Texas, thank you.
Less than two weeks before the handover of power in Iraq, growing instability and violence. We'll get the latest from there a bit later in the show.
Plus talk -- we'll talk with the U.S. attorney who's adding his expertise towards building a case against Saddam Hussein. And from the world of sports, one basketball legend is making waves about the color of the NBA game. We'll take a closer look when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, you've got to admit it sounds tempting. Hitting the road in an R.V. to see the sights and find a new place to live.
Meet the Spry family from everywhere, USA. That's what they did. And we finally catch up with America's traveling family when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: If you're a regular CNN SUNDAY MORNING viewer, you may recognize this California family. We're traveling along on their journey to find a new place to live.
Steven, Colleen and Ryan, as you see there, they're the Sprys. And they've had enough of the Silicon Valley rat race. So they sold the house, put their belongings in storage, bought an R.V. and took off across the country, chasing that American dream.
We caught up with them this past week when they stopped by to check out Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN SPRY, FATHER: What we left behind was a past way of thinking as far as both in terms of our jobs, the whole housing dynamic.
NGUYEN (voice-over): Leaving behind the fast-paced life in Silicon Valley, a luxurious house, family and friends, these guys decided to take a chance of a lifetime.
And so their quest began over 30 days ago. A search for a new place to call home.
COLLEEN SPRY, MOTHER: A better place to live. Slower pace. You know, somewhere where we can have some land, have community around us.
NGUYEN: So far they've covered the southern part of the country, starting in Senora, California, driving through Vegas, Phoenix, Sedona, Austin, New Orleans, and Atlanta.
This weekend they're in Disney World, heading to Tampa and the Florida Keys before it gets too hot.
The family that loves to have fun for now is having fun in their temporary home on wheels.
S. SPRY: It's very important to get this thing level. Little things like coffee makers that dribble, you know, and when you're not level, things go on the floor. RYAN SPRY, SON: I sleep here.
C. SPRY: Sometimes.
R. SPRY: I sleep here.
C. SPRY: Yes. What do we do? We put the table down? Turn the cushions over for you, right? Yes.
R. SPRY: Back like that.
C. SPRY: Yes. And where do we keep your toys?
R. SPRY: Inside there.
NGUYEN: The Sprys' R.V. is fully equipped with microwave, refrigerator, washer and drier, two televisions and plenty of storage space.
So what's the toughest thing to get used to after a Silicon Valley house?
S. SPRY: This corner right here. So if you get up from here, and you go erect too soon, that will always get you every time.
C. SPRY: One thing that I miss is water pressure. And, you know, having space.
NGUYEN: But look at the bright side.
S. SPRY: Taking this special moment in time, it really, as far as really getting closer to a 4-year-old, a 4-year-old's needs and what he's trying to tell you, and taking that time that you probably would never get, living in your average every day setting, you know, it has really, you know, made us grow closer.
NGUYEN: Four-year-old Ryan is not being home schooled just yet. But he is learning every day.
R. SPRY: Do it hurt you?
C. SPRY: No, they can. They can bite you.
S. SPY: You don't want to get too close.
C. SPRY: Not too close.
R. SPRY: They can get close to me?
NGUYEN: The Sprys keep an online journal and post pictures from their trip on their web site, LovetoHaveFun.com.
So far, Steve has taken about 2,000 shots with his digital camera. One day he hopes to write a book about living an American dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: How fun is that? Here are a few pictures from the Sprys' web site.
This is their Stone Mountain campsite when they were here in Georgia. They also managed to get to a Braves game while here. There's Ryan there. The Braves beat Philadelphia that day.
Then it was off to Florida and, of course, Disney World. Here are a couple classic shots. I've got that in my photo album, as well. The family at the front gate. And the Disney castle, beautifully lit up at night.
They ran into some good old southern storms, though, in Florida. In fact, the downpours were so bad on Thursday some of the Disneyland rides were affected by power outages. There's the haunted mansion. Visitors got stuck inside because nothing was moving.
Buzz Lightyear even had some problems.
We, of course, will have another installment from the Sprys on tour next week as they discover parts unknown while looking for a new home.
And this morning we are asking you why should the Sprys pick up and move to your hometown for a new start? We got some e-mail answer from Pat.
She says, "Southeast Oklahoma, just north of Broken Bow in a community called Hochatown is the place for the Sprys. "This is the most beautiful area of Oklahoma with forests and one of the cleanest and prettiest lakes around.
Also Ron writes, "You've got to move to Delaware. Low taxes, near the beach, great area, many small towns on the outskirts of the resort area like mine, Frankford, Delaware, where you can live near the beach for under $200,000."
We appreciate all your e-mails. And keep them coming to CNN -- or WAM@CNN.com. Of course we have an e-mail question of the day every weekend. So stay tuned.
Well, Donald Trump has traveled the world. But nothing seems to slow him down. From real estate to television to radio? Find out what's next for the Donald.
And, in about 10 minutes, we'll talk with one of the people building the case against Saddam Hussein.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Checking our top stories now.
More attacks on westerners in Saudi Arabia. A group linked to al Qaeda says it's behind the killing of an American at his Riyadh home. That same group says it kidnapped an American reported missing yesterday. U.S. and Saudi authorities are searching for him today.
It's clean-up day in several Midwestern states hit by tornadoes and thunderstorms yesterday. These pictures from Mulvane, Kansas, are ominous. Check it out. Six tornadoes hit southern Kansas yesterday, this one taking out a home. It also downed several power lines. No injuries were reported.
Time now to fast forward for a look at 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 out on bail awaiting trial for the murder of actress Lana Carson.
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 the global relay. Stops are planned in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta and New York.
Well, coming up, the latest from Iraq. Another Iraqi official is killed and a car bomb kills several others.
Plus, prosecuting Saddam Hussein. One prominent U.S. attorney is among the many lawyers building a case against the ousted dictator. We'll talk with him from Baghdad when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Race and the NBA. An NBA legend raises some eyebrows with his latest views on the state of that game.
Welcome back. That story is coming up. First, though, here's a look at headlines at this hour.
We have new information on the American kidnapped in Saudi Arabia. A man in central Florida says the missing person is his father. Last night Paul Johnson made those statements to CNN affiliate WESH. The U.S. government and Lockheed Martin, where the missing person worked, have yet to identify the abducted man. Johnson says he's now waiting for official word. And just minutes ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell talked about developments in Saudi Arabia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're very sad over the loss of American life. And we're worried about the individual who was kidnapped. And we are working with the Saudi officials to recover him safely. And it's a troubling time in Saudi Arabia. I know the Saudis are doing everything they can to deal with this terrorist threat. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We, of course, will continue to follow that story.
Voters in 19 of the 25 countries that make up the European Union are choosing candidates for the EU parliament today. It's the block's first election since the historic expansion in May. The six other countries, including Britain, had already cast ballots in the four-day election. That election is seen as a report card for voters' national governments.
In eastern Arizona, fighters have the Three Forks wildfire about 40 percent contained. The blaze has grown to 7,900 acres, but officials say it's of little threat to the tiny mountain town Nutrioso.
And in southern Arizona, the Mudd fire charred about 100 acres in the Coronado National Forest.
In Texas, as we speak, George H.W. Bush is getting ready to jump out of a plane on purpose. The former president is celebrating his 80th birthday with two sky dives -- this is file footage -- landing at his presidential library in College Station, Texas. We, of course, will keep you updated on that jump.
More violence today in Iraq, and officials there hope for tighter security as the June 30 transfer of power approaches. CNN's Aneesh Raman has the latest now from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A coffin containing the body of a murdered government official carried through the streets of Baghdad. It's an increasingly familiar scene here in the Iraqi capital.
Kamal al-Jarrah, high-ranking officer in the Education Ministry, was gunned down outside his home, as he left for work Sunday morning. It is the second assassination of an Iraqi government official in as many days. Saturday, Deputy Foreign Minister Bassam Kubba was also targeted while leaving his house.
Deputy Minister of Health Ammar Al-Saffar was attacked on Wednesday, barely escaping with his life.
AMMAR AL-SAFFAR, IRAQI DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER: The terrorists are targeting soft targets, lower levels of administrations and ministries, just to create an atmosphere of terrorism.
RAMAN: At a briefing on Saturday, the CPA said it is working with the interim government to provide better security.
DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: We are to provide security ourselves or we provide training and funding for security for the Iraqi officials to administer security.
RAMAN: But Saffar wants to see more, particularly in the days leading up to June 30.
AL-SAFFAR: The measures are not tough enough. The security issue and then the responsibility, of course, is still in the hands of the coalition forces.
RAMAN: Also Sunday, another suicide car bomb exploding near a U.S. military installation in Baghdad. A now familiar insurgent tactic, it left a dozen Iraqis killed and numerous others wounded. A senior coalition official says there have been 12 to 15 car bombs in Iraq already this month.
RAMAN (on camera): These incidents are daily reminders of how prominent a role security will be for the interim Iraqi government and both they and the coalition expect no let-up in the weeks to come.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Another challenge facing Iraq is, of course, the trial of Saddam Hussein. Evidence is still being gathered in preparation for the war crimes trial of the former dictator. Aiding the prosecution will be an American lawyer with some experience on the international stage. Greg Kehoe is preparing for his role in what may be one of the most watched and scrutinized trials in history. He joins us now from Baghdad.
Thanks for being with us.
GREG KEHOE, ATTORNEY: Good morning.
NGUYEN: Good morning to you. This, obviously, is going to be a very historic trial. How did you get involved?
KEHOE: I was asked by the attorney general of the United States, his office, if I would participate, and if I would get involved, and I accepted.
NGUYEN: Now, your role is described as a regime crimes adviser. Exactly what does that mean?
KEHOE: Actually, I'm the regime crimes liaison. I run the regime crimes liaison office, and what we are is direct support for the Iraqi special tribunal. The Iraqi special tribunal is the special court set up to try Saddam and the rest of the regime members and Baathist leaders.
We are collecting evidence. We will interview witnesses. We will get involved in exhumations throughout the country, essentially, do everything we possibly can to support the prosecutions that are currently being investigated.
NGUYEN: Now, this is an assisting role because essentially this is an Iraqi case, correct?
KEHOE: It is officially and absolutely an Iraqi case. The decisions, any ultimate decisions on who is charged, what that person is charged with and how the proceedings are conducted are issues that are going to be decided by the Iraqis themselves.
NGUYEN: Can you give us some insight on what grounds Saddam will be put to trial on? Grounds of genocide, war crimes? What are you thinking?
KEHOE: I think that the crimes that have taken place here in Iraq speak for themselves. And I think there are any number of crimes that Saddam Hussein could be investigated on and ultimately charged with.
Again, I don't want to speak for any investigative judge who has to make that decision. But certainly there are many crime basis here in Iraq that we are currently investigating that Saddam Hussein could be held responsible for. Not just Saddam Hussein alone, also other individuals as well.
NGUYEN: There's talk those other individuals will be tried first, just to build up evidence against Saddam?
KEHOE: Again, that's a decision that will be up to the Iraqi special tribunal and investigative judges. Who they want to charge first and in what order will be entirely up to those judges. I can't speak for them at this point. Again, we are just in an advisory role and assisting in putting those cases together.
NGUYEN: OK. Let's talk about your role. How much evidence is there? We are hearing talk about mass graves that you will be exhuming?
KEHOE: Yes, that's right.
NGUYEN: Tell us a little bit about that.
KEHOE: There are mass graves all over the country. And some of those graves have thousands of people in them. Some of them have as few as possibly 30. And you can just imagine any number in between. The amount of graves we have is somewhere between 60 and 75. And they stretch from the far north to the far south. Various ethnic groups are buried in those graves.
Obviously, we need to do forensic work on a variety of the graves to determine who, in fact, is in those graves, where those people came from, the manner of death and possibly tie it back to where they came from.
NGUYEN: With that kind of evidence, do you expect this will be a slam-dunk case?
KEHOE: No case is a slam-dunk case. No case -- I have been doing this 25 years, and no case I've been involved in is a slam-dunk case. You have to do the work. And by that I mean you have to prove the crime base here. You have to prove these crimes took place throughout Iraq during the 25 years of Saddam Hussein's regime. In addition to that, you have to prove who is responsible. This is a command responsibility case, and you have to take it up the line to determine who is responsible. Who gave the orders that these people be executed, that this ethnic cleansing takes place, that the tortures took place? That takes work. That takes a tremendous amount of work. It means you have to get involved in the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that we currently have in custody.
NGUYEN: Greg, give us some insight. You are playing a major role. The world will be watching. How are you preparing? And what will you be thinking once you come face to face with Saddam Hussein?
KEHOE: To be perfectly honest with you, I'm conducting this investigation with the rest of my office the same way we conduct every investigation. In a methodical manner, building the crime base, and then going to the documentation to determine who, in fact, ordered these crimes. Who, in fact, is involved? It's nothing new that we haven't done over the many years that the people on my team have been doing these investigations. And for us, while this investigation is on a very large scale, in many respects it's similar to those we have done in other locales in the United States and throughout the world.
With regard to seeing Saddam Hussein himself, to be perfectly honest with you, I have been in this business for a long time. So it's just another potential defendant to me.
NGUYEN: Just another case, but this time the world will be watching.
KEHOE: It's not another case...
NGUYEN: Go ahead.
KEHOE: It's not another case, but in many respects it is just another individual that's being investigated by this office.
NGUYEN: All right. Attorney Greg Kehoe, we thank you for your time.
KEHOE: Thank you.
NGUYEN: This program note now, CNN's Wolf Blitzer will have an exclusive interview with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice today on CNN's "LATE EDITION." Tune in at noon eastern.
It's a red-letter day for two of baseball's biggest hitters. A rare feat performed by two members of the 500 club. Explanations ahead.
And one of the NBA greatest players speaks out about the state of the game. Did he cross the line with his comments? A closer look when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A pair of home run heroes in Baltimore. Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro combine for a rare feat when each homered in their match-up yesterday. It marked only the third time in history that a pair of 500 homer men hit home runs in the same game. The last time was in 1971, when both Hank Aaron and Willie Mays connected.
The NBA is back in action tonight, and Detroit plays game four of the finals. The Pistons beat the Lakers by 20 points on Thursday to take a two games to one lead in the series. Former Lakers great and current part owner Magic Johnson says he's angry with the level of effort put forth by his former team.
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are crediting with putting the NBA back on the map in the early 1980s. Their epic match-ups in the finals are now part of history. So it's not surprising that everyone took notice when Bird brought up the issue of race in the NBA. Larry Smith reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Larry Bird retired 12 years ago, as the NBA's last bona fide white superstar. As a player he never backed down from a challenge. As a former player he never backs down from a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Does the NBA lack enough white superstars in your opinion?
LARRY BIRD, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I think so. When I played, we had me and Kevin and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base. As we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple white guys in there, might get them started.
It is a black man's game. It will be, and forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I don't think it's racial or anything like that. And also, you ask Larry Bird a question, he's going to answer it. And he's going to answer it truthfully.
BILLY HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: What it demonstrates and what it illustrates to me is that if Larry says it, a whole lot of people are thinking it.
SMITH: What Bird was thinking is open to different interpretations. Bird himself has refused further comment on the subject.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first thought was that I can't believe he went there. Because it's just the kind of argument that I think it was racial, but it was really not racist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not talking about taking the job of -- giving that job to someone who isn't as good as maybe an African- American is, he just wished there were more white superstars.
HUNTER: I respect Larry for making the comment, and I support his right to do so, because I think the issue needs to go on the table.
SMITH: The NBA does not keep statistics on race. Instead, it categorizes players by their nationality. Roughly 75 percent of the players in the league are black. The NBA appeals to its predominately white fan base by marketing its superstars. These players are all black.
BOB LANIER, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME: Our fans connect with our players, not because of any certain colors, but it's about how hard they work and what they give and what they leave on the floor.
PETER STERN, PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC SPORTS GROUP: I think the NBA cares about great players doing great things. And that transcends not just on the court but off the court as well. I think that's what the NBA is concerned about. And what fans are concerned about.
By and large where the NBA cities are, I don't think it matters. I think people embrace their superstars whether they are black or white.
SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Auburn Hills, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: This just in, we have an update on that missing American in Saudi Arabia. A man in Florida who claims to be his son has this to say about the kidnapping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL JOHNSON III, CLAIMS TO BE SON OF MISSING MAN: I'm waiting on the State Department to give me an answer, his company. This should not have happened. This could have been very preventable. On Lockheed Martin's part, and -- I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Little information is known about that kidnapping, but of course we will continue to follow it and bring it to you as it becomes available to us.
In other news, will it be another day of rough weather for the Midwest and southern states? Yesterday was no picnic for southern Kansas. We'll look ahead to today's forecast.
And good morning Seattle. The complete weather forecast in a few minutes. "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Every week last season about 20 million people tuned in to watch Donald Trump get rid of a potential protege on the hit reality TV program "The Apprentice." That show brought new fame to the already popular New York billionaire. And as if he wasn't already rich enough, Trump now has a radio deal that puts even more money in his pocket, and it could increase his already rising popularity. Starting tomorrow, Clear Channel Communications plans to syndicate "the Donald" five days a week in a segment called "Trumped." The billionaire talks about the new project in an exclusive interview with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: Every radio company approached me and they wanted me to do a show. I'm a fan of Paul Harvey, I always have been a fan of the great Paul Harvey, and I said, you know, I could do a show like Paul Harvey, where I do 60 to 90 seconds of commentary, whether it's the war in Iraq or prenuptial agreements or something else, one of the subjects, Michael Jackson's problems. I said, you know, I think that would be really fun to do. It would be great.
They set up a very delicate system on my desk, so when I have thoughts I press the button. It goes right into the studio. And they air it. And I think it's going to be great.
The thing I'm most happy about in the history of radio, I'm told, this is the largest opening of a show. So, that's pretty impressive.
Clear Channel came to me; they're the largest in the United States and possibly the largest in the world at what they do. They very much wanted to do this. And it's 60 to 90 seconds of commentary on a daily basis, Monday through Friday. And I look forward to it. It starts on June 14th, which happens also, unfortunately, to be my birthday. I don't like birthdays anymore, but it's my birthday. And I think it'll be terrific. It'll be a lot of fun.
"The Apprentice" has been an amazing phenomenon. It finished out the season at number one. And I am really honored by what happened there. And you know the real estate has been through the roof. Things are good. Miss Universe won the ratings the other night. It's been a terrific period.
We're going to have topics really covering everything. We're going to be discussing Michael Jackson. We will discuss even "The Apprentice," and also much more important things such as the war in Iraq, lots of other wars and problems. The presidential race, just about everything. We will be discussing everything. And it's something I very much look forward to doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The radio segment "Trumped" debuts tomorrow in about 300 markets nationwide including New York, Los Angeles, Tampa and Baltimore. Premiere Radio Network is calling it the biggest launch in broadcast history. That's why he's called, "the Donald." "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" will continue in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Seattle. Nice morning, because right at the moment it is not raining out there. 54 degrees. Warming up to about 64 for a high. You may see a few more showers, and then it's dry and slightly warmer weather. Very nice week to come.
It's actually pretty pleasant out across the country at the moment. We have the threat of severe thunderstorms again in the midsection of the country by later this afternoon. It'll be a little bit on the hot side and sticky in the southeast. Temperatures really warming up in the southwest.
While severe weather will be our number one story, there is something else on the back burner we want to tell you about. And that's down here in the tropics. It is hurricane season again, by the way, in case you forgot. There's an area of disturbed weather here in the Gulf of Mexico, down towards Cozumel and Cancun. Rain, rain, lots of rain. Hurricane center is watching it. Possibility of slow development. If you live along the Gulf Coast think about that. Otherwise, we'll be watching severe weather for the rest of this afternoon.
Betty, back to you.
NGUYEN: All right, we want to keep an eye on that. Thank you. Now a quick recap of our top stories. U.S. and Saudi authorities are searching today for an American missing in Saudi Arabia. A group linked to Al Qaeda says it kidnapped the man. That same group claims responsibility for killing an American at his Riyadh home yesterday.
CNN affiliate station WESH-TV reports a Floridian says the man pictured on a Web site is his father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: You know, I'm waiting on the State Department to give me an answer, his company. This should not have happened. This could have been very preventable. On Lockheed Martin's part, and -- I don't know. That's all I've got to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with, you know, the recent concerns about security over there, had your father said he wanted to come back, or had he mentioned any of that in your recent correspondence with him?
JOHNSON: No, he said everything's normal, you know? He hasn't mentioned nothing like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And, at this point, you just finding this out, I mean -- I guess right now it's just uncertain to you.
JOHNSON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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