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CNN Sunday Morning
Violence Rocking Boston; Kerry-Edwards Train Whizzes By Hundreds of Supporters; Souvenir Shopping in Athens
Aired August 08, 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is August 8, 7:00 a.m. on the East Coast. Just 4:00 a.m. out West. Good morning, everyone, I'm Catherine Callaway. I'm in for Betty this morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. Thanks for joining us. Here's what's happening now in the news.
Appeals from the pulpit this morning for peace in the streets of Boston. A spasm of violence rocking the city. 42 killings so far this year. 26 of the victims under the age of 24. Pleas by ministers follow a crisis meeting yesterday with Boston's mayor.
A middle of the night miscue above the Kerry-Edwards campaign train. It whizzed right through Lawrence, Kansas, not even slowing down for hundreds of supporters trackside to greet the Democratic candidates. John Edwards is going back there today to Lawrence to hold a rally and make amends. President Bush, by the way, doesn't have any public events today. Reporter Andrea Seabrook is aboard the Democrat's Whistlestop Express. And we'll talk with her at the half hour.
The latest now on those six brutal killings in Deltona, Florida. Law officers are questioning two people -- one of whom may know some of the victims. But the sheriff says the two are persons of interest, not suspects. The bodies of four men and two women were found Friday in a rented home.
Also in Florida, divers are searching near Boca Raton this morning for one person missing after a church bus plunged into a canal. Three people already reported killed in this crash. The bus was from a church near Fort Lauderdale and was loaded with teenagers. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
CALLAWAY: Laying the trap to catch Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. Pakistan's rounding up terror suspects and making other offensive moves. And we're going to tell you what they're doing just ahead.
Also coming up, going for the gold. No, not in the Olympic games but in the sport of souvenir shopping. Days before the athletics in Athens begin, we'll show you how all the foot action's on -- is on the street and not on the field.
Also coming up, speaking of golden opportunities, will it be another gold rush for Team USA? They have trained to be stronger, faster and higher than the competition. And now we will bring you the names and faces of the ones to watch.
GRIFFIN: Here's our top story this morning. Pakistan casts a wide dragnet for terror suspects, hoping the trail will lead them to Osama bin Laden. Two North Africans are added to the wanted list and are suspect in two assassination attempts has been arrested.
CNN's Maria Ressa is covering all of this from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan authorities are working overtime and unraveling several key cells of al Qaeda globally, one that has already led to heightened terror alert levels in the U.S. and U.K. Another that may lead directly to Osama bin Laden himself.
The first cell here in Pakistan, authorities are looking for two North African al Qaeda operatives. Part of the 1998 East Africa bombings connected to a man who was arrested here earlier, a man named Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. He's on the FBI's most wanted list. A reward on his head, it was on his computer, that the Pakistani authorities discovered the pictures of Heathrow Airport. That has since been turned over to the British.
Separately, Dubai authorities, at Pakistan's request, arrested an al Qaeda operative named Kari Saifula Aktar. Pakistani officials say that he was linked to the two assassination attempts last December on the life of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. But more importantly, they believe that he knows both Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, and Osama bin Laden. They hope that information from him could lead to their whereabouts. He has now been extradited to Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities say more arrests expected. So far, they've already discovered cells from the information of the men they've discovered. They've discovered cells in the U.S., the U.K., in Pakistan itself, in the UAE, as far to the Far East as Indonesia and Malaysia. More arrests expected in the coming weeks.
Maria Ressa, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And here at home, the 18 wheelers are out there, 24/7. And now many of those truckers are watching more than just the road.
CNN's Alina Cho reports on Highway Watch, an anti-terror program for the nation's truck drivers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every time Scott Harris climbs into his truck, every time he's on the road, he's watching for anything that seems suspicious. SCOTT HARRIS, TRUCKER: A truck that will be underneath this railroad trestle, keeping out for that.
CHO: Harris has been driving trucks for 19 years. He knows what to watch for because he's been through this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking to make you more aware of security threats.
CHO: Highway Watch, a class for truck drivers, teaching them what to look out for when they're on the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you spot suspicious activity, we want to know about it.
CHO: Everything from a lesson on chemical threats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarin is a nerve type gas.
CHO: To getting in the mind of a terrorist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what the bad guys are up to.
CHO: Take this al Qaeda training tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're driving down the road, are you going to see a pick-up truck with a tarp over it? Who knows? Who knows? These kind of things just to kind of put a spark in your mind.
CHO: The goal is simple.
JOHN WILLARD, AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: Make the trucking industry safe. Try to ensure that no truck is every used as a weapon.
CHO: Trucks have been used as weapons before. The first World Trade Center attack, Oklahoma City. Now police are hoping watchful drivers can be a first line of defense, like in 2002 when a trucker called in a tip that led to the arrest of the Washington, D.C. sniper.
(on camera): So far, 10,000 truckers have gone through this program. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a $19 million grant to train 400,000 more truckers and as many pairs of eyes.
(voice-over): There are more than three million truckers in the U.S. People like Tim Maryniak, who says truck drivers work 24/7.
TIM MARYNIAK, TRUCKER: So we sort of become a security blanket for people while they're asleep.
CHO: Others say post 9/11, patriotism plays a role. Joe Todd drives for Wal-Mart.
JOE TODD, TRUCKER: I'm America and I have a lot of pride. And I take a lot of pride in what I do.
CHO: Scott Harris says...
HARRIS: Just be more observant of all of your surroundings.
CHO: It could help save lives.
Alina Cho, CNN, Albany, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: A new development this weekend in the three-year old anthrax investigation. Near Pittsburgh, FBI agents searched a car that an airport worker says belongs to bioterrorism expert Dr. Kenneth Barry. It's not known what, if anything, they found. But on Thursday, the agent searched Barry's home in Wellsville, New York and his parents' summer home in New Jersey. The doctor denied any connection with the anthrax attacks that killed five people in 2001.
GRIFFIN: A U.S. Army helicopter makes an emergency landing this morning in Baghdad. The U.S. military calls it precautionary, says no one was hurt. The scene is near Sadr City, a volatile Shi'ite neighborhood. It's unclear if this helicopter was the target of ground fire.
The defense in Private Lynndie England's case has a long wish list of witnesses, topped by Vice President Dick Cheney. England is one of the soldiers accused of abusing prisoners in Iraq. Her preliminary hearing is now adjourned for five days with no date set for it to resume. It's unclear why England's lawyers want to question Cheney.
They also want to call some top Army generals. The hearing officer says she'll rule later on those requests.
CALLAWAY: Turning now to fast forward, this is news that you'll see in the week ahead. Convicted Oklahoma city bombing participants Terry Nichols will be sentenced on Monday. A jury failed to impose the death penalty earlier this year. Nichols is already serving life in prison from an earlier federal conviction.
And in New York Tuesday, a pre-trial hearing on larceny charges for Tyco international executive Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz. You might remember the judge declared that case a mistrial back in April.
And catch the Olympic spirit on Friday. Opening ceremonies in Athens kick off the 2004 Summer Games. 10,500 athletes from around the world are expected to participate in this year's competition. The games continue through August 29th.
GRIFFIN: So will Teen USA repeat its success in Sydney and bring home more medals than any other country? We're going to tell you who to watch for out of the 531 strongest athletes competing under the American flag.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody said something about the Simpsons. You know...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: You'll be seeing a lot of these vases in the next few weeks, these guys right here. So we might as well introduce you to them now.
CNN's Michael Holmes wandering around Athens.
And meanwhile, CNN's Miles O'Brien is wandering around outer space, I guess. Don't laugh -- we are searching for life out in the universe later this hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something that we must do, we should do. It's worth spending the money, but it's one hell of a long shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: If you're just waking up and joining us, here's what's happening this Sunday morning. Two U.S. soldiers and an interpreter have been reported killed by a roadside bomb in southeast Afghanistan, this according to the Associated Press.
And in Iraq, the country's interim leader made a surprise visit today to Najaf. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi called on militants there to lay down their arms and abandon the city's holy sites.
Also, the man whose name was synonymous with snuffing out huge oil well fires has died. Paul Red Adair was 89.
Coming up later this hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, seeing double in Ohio. Thousands of people are celebrating their twinness there this weekend. We're going to check it out in just a little bit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Remember Izzy, the much reviled mascot of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta? In hindsight, Izzy looks like fine art, especially compared with the latest Olympic mascots in Athens, Greece. The Games begin there Friday.
So CNN's Michael Holmes did a little early souvenir shopping. And everywhere he went, this new Greek mascot seemed to stalk him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ah, the Placa, nestled in the shadow of the Acropolis and Parthenon and nirvana to lovers of history, souvlaki, and Olympic souvenirs. Also home to Nikos, the singing jeweler.
(SINGING)
(voice-over): But we digress. We're on a mission on the company credit card, no less, to see what's available to the Olympic souvenir hunter. And just wait 'til the boss gets the bill. So much so very, very much to buy.
(on camera): And now an Olympic tradition, just like gold medals, the marathon and dubious supplements. You see, another tradition is that you must, if you are the Olympic host, design the oddest mascot possible.
Meet Phevos and Athena. Frappe?
(voice-over): We're told they're brother and sister and based on two Greek gods, but if you didn't know the story, well...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody said something about the Simpsons, you know.
(SINGING)
HOLMES: It is, as you'd imagine, T-shirtapaloosa in Athens at the moment. But it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Atlanta where anything to go by this is where the action will be.
Pin collecting and swapping has now graduated from an exhibition sport to a full-fledged Olympic event. And there will be much swapping and weighing down of caps over the next three weeks.
Did we mention the mascots, Phevos and Athena? Athena and Phevos in Apardoo (ph). That's Greek for they're everywhere.
Do you know what it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
HOLMES: Of course, one doesn't want to be too predictable with the gifts. Yes, there's local knick-knacks to be had. They're nice. And don't forget Phevos and Athena.
At the end of a long day of credit card bashing, what better way to relax than with the big fat Olympic cocktail. No, I'm not kidding. It does exist. Traditional Greek frappe coffee with a dash of a half a gallon of Oozo. If you're an athlete, they're best avoided. You win the event, but you're not going to pass the drug test. Best to seek the listening to Nikos.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: You know, that's what happens when you take a war correspondent out of the war zone.
CALLAWAY: I know.
GRIFFIN: Hey...
CALLAWAY: He's catching up on some long...
GRIFFIN: You liked Izzy, right?
CALLAWAY: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Well we want to show people Izzy. Remember Izzy? That thing? What is that?
CALLAWAY: Of course I remember Izzy. I covered the Atlanta Olympics. And Izzy was everywhere.
GRIFFIN: Well, Izzy's gone. And now Athena and -- what's the other one's name?
CALLAWAY: They look like...
GRIFFIN: Finger puppets?
CALLAWAY: ...potato puppets.
GRIFFIN: All right.
CALLAWAY: They look like.
So which events are you looking for in the Summer Games? That's going to be our e-mail question for you today. You can find us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the program.
So did you know that the strongest athlete on U.S. Olympic -- on the U.S. Olympic team can lift 517 pounds over his head? We'll tell you who to watch for in Athens. "Sports Illustrated's" best reporter coming up, sharing his thoughts and insights on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He sent obscene e-mails to my daughter back when she was four. He put out prostitution ads repeatedly in my name. He has made threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: What a nightmare. This could happen to you, too. There is a new threat to watch out for when you are chatting online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Four years ago in Sydney, Australia, a Wyoming farm boy did the unthinkable -- ended the 10-year winning streak of the most mythic figure in Greco-Roman wrestling, Russian legend Alexander Karel (ph). Later, Ruland Gardener admitted that he had no strategy going into the match. The U.S. Dream Team came dangerously close to losing their mighty title to a team from a tiny country of Lithuania. And five time medalist Marion Jones tarnished by performance enhancing drug scandals. Remember all that?
Also, overall Team U.S. came out on top with 97 medals in the bag, followed by Russia, and China with 88 and 59 respectively.
Among the most decorated Americans in the Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones in track and field, followed by four great swimmers -- Dara Torres, Jenny Thompson, Gary Hall, Jr. and Lenny Kravzelburg.
Well this year, the U.S. Olympic Committee has set a goal of 100 medals. And to get them 531 of the strongest, fastest, highest athletes have been selected from 47 states. The U.S. team in Athens includes 274 men, 257 women. And for 334 of them, this will be their first trip to the Olympics. 52 already carry the titles of Olympic champions.
So who exactly should you be watching for? Joining us now from Athens with a preview of Team USA 2004 is "Sports Illustrated's" Brian Cazeneuve.
Thank you very much for being with us today.
BRIAN CAZENEUVE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Thanks. Good to be here.
CALLAWAY: Tell us who we should be watching for when the Olympics begin? Who's the star athlete standing out this Olympic Games?
CAZENEUVE: Well, everybody's talking about Michael Phelps. He's the swimmer from Baltimore. He's 19-years old, making his second appearance at the Olympics. He didn't win a medal his first time.
But this time, he'll be in eight races. Five individual and three relays. And he has a good chance to win eight medals at these games, possibly between four and six golds. A lot of people have said that he might win seven gold medals, duplicating the feat of Mark Spitz in 1972. If he wins eight total medals, he'll be the second athlete in any sport in history to accomplish that goal, the first American.
And I think that once the games get underway with swimming in the first day of competition, all eyes will be on Phelps to see if he can start making history.
CALLAWAY: You mean that many goals in one game, right? Because I know Jenny Thompson has, what, eight gold medals?
CAZENEUVE: Yes. Jenny Thompson has eight over the course of her career. Those are all -- have all been in relays. And she, also, has a chance to make some history. Phelps is trying to do it in one Olympics. Thompson is trying to win a total of 10 gold medals for her career. A lot of people trying to make some history. Thompson will be in a couple of relays and also in an individual race. And she could be the most gilded athlete, American athlete, in the history of the Olympic Games by the time the games are over.
And she's a great story, too. She retired. She went to medical school in New York. And she was fooling around in the swimming pool one day and said you know, I kind of want to get back and do this again. So now she has a chance to make some history herself.
CALLAWAY: Oh, I hope she does. Everybody will be rooting her on.
And we mentioned Ruland Gardener in the story before you. And what exactly are the chances of him being successful again?
CAZENEUVE: Well, Ruland has had an amazing run since beating Alexander Karel (ph). And you referenced it at the top.
Since then, he came back. He won the world championship a year later. He passed up a lot of money to become a "professional wrestler" with the WWF. Not real wrestling.
CALLAWAY: But he's had so many accidents.
CAZENEUVE: He went to stay with his sport. Yes, he's had a lot of things go wrong. He was out snowmobiling. And he got lost. His snowmobile broke down. And so he nearly froze to death. He ended up having a toe amputated. Then he came back. He was training again. He had a motorcycle accident in which he flipped over a car and ended up landing on his back. He walked away with it and said, oh, that's no big deal.
And then he went back and was playing some pick up basketball after a practice one day and dislocated his wrist. And he dislocated it so badly, that when he competed again, he dislocated it seven times in competition. And twice just shaking hands with people.
CALLAWAY: Oh, my goodness.
CAZENEUVE: Well, that was earlier this year.
CALLAWAY: Well, do you think he stands a chance?
CAZENEUVE: And even with it, he came back -- yes, well he made the Olympic team again. And there are about four or five people in his weight class who have a chance to win. But he has beaten them all at one time or another. So it's just a matter of having the best couple of days. And if he does it, he would be a rare two time Olympic wrestling gold medalist. And I think with everything he's gone through, people would really put him up on the, you know, the pedestal of great Olympic stories.
CALLAWAY: Right. He has a great Olympic story. And what about -- let's talk about the women's gymnastics team. Any chance this year we're going to see some stars coming out of there? You know, America loves their female gymnasts.
CAZENEUVE: Yes. Well, I don't know that there is one Mary Lou Retton that we saw back in 1984, but it is probably the deepest most balanced women's team that we've ever seen at an Olympics. They have a chance to win the team gold medal. They did that back on home soil in 1980 -- or 1996. They've never won a team gold medal away from the United States.
And if you look at some of the top people, Courtney Kupets, Carly Patterson, there is a great deal of balance there. They have some specialists as well on individual events. And so, putting it all together and putting together a well balanced line-up from the first gymnast to the last gymnast, you're going to see a good competition from China, Romania, Russia...
CALLAWAY: Right.
CAZENEUVE: But the United States has as good a chance as any team to win the team gold this time.
CALLAWAY: Oh, they'd be great if they did. Brian, thank you so much for being with us. Have fun at the Olympic Games. We wish we were there.
CAZENEUVE: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: Drew?
GRIFFIN: Thanks, guys. Waiting for the train that never stopped. Was it a human error that took John Kerry right through a supposed stop?
NPR's Andrea Seabrook is on that train. And she joins us with that story next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And later, a tragic ending to what was supposed to be a fun trip in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: It was a large cheering crowd waiting for a train. And the train just went on by. Welcome back. I'm Drew Griffin.
CALLAWAY: Oops. Hello, everyone, I'm Catherine Callaway. We'll explain that story for you in just a moment.
But here's what's happening now in the news. A senior Pakistani al Qaeda member is now back in Pakistani hands. Authorities believe that the man was close to Osama bin Laden and ran a terror training camp in Afghanistan. He has been handed over to Pakistani officials, after being arrested in the United Arab Emirates.
And in Iraq this morning, a U.S. Army helicopter made an emergency landing in Baghdad. A military spokesman tells the AP that the two pilots were on the small observation chopper and are OK. But no word on whether insurgents had fired on the aircraft. It landed near a neighborhood that has been the scene of violence in the past. Federal agents have searched a car at a Pittsburgh area airport in connection with the 2001 anthrax mailings. The FBI isn't say who owns the car. Earlier this week, agents raided the homes of Kenneth Barry, a doctor with a background in bioterror research.
New details now from the latest batch of Nixon tapes being released today. The 30th anniversary of the late president's resignation. The tape showed that just before the 1972 election, Nixon felt South Vietnam might not be able to survive. And he talked with National Security adviser Henry Kissinger on when and how to get out of the Vietnam conflict.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
GRIFFIN: On the campaign trail, President Bush taking the weekend off, while John Kerry and John Edwards are taking a train trip. But oops, the train blew right on by potential Democratic voters here in Lawrence, Kansas. No stops in Kansas were on the agenda.
NPR Congressional reporter Andrea Seabrook is riding the rails with the Kerry-Edwards campaign, was on the train, and will join us later on.
Jill Dougherty is keeping up with President Bush this weekend. We'll get a live update from Jill in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And we'll bet many of you didn't know this. A team of international observers will be monitoring this November's elections. The team will come from the organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Monitoring elections in the U.S. isn't enough, though. The organization has monitored others, including the California governor's race last year, as well as the 2002 elections in Florida.
Well, now we want to get back to the campaign trail and Andrea Seabrook, who is on the phone with us. We believe you're in Albuquerque. Is that right, Andrea?
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Hello, Drew. Yes, I am in Albuquerque.
GRIFFIN: NPR's political reporter, congressional reporter, and all around great person to talk to on a Sunday morning about what's been happening in the campaign.
And tell us what happened on this train last night. It's kind of a humorous story to us. There are all these supporters out waiting for the train that didn't stop. Was it supposed to stop?
SEABROOK: It don't think it was supposed to stop. At least the campaign is telling us that this was another one of those times when the train was just slowing down, just waving as they go by. I think there was some kind of disconnect, though, with the people on the ground. Because as you can see from the pictures, they were -- sure were disappointed when that train sort of blew past them. GRIFFIN: And John Edwards, going back there to make amends today?
SEABROOK: Yes, John Edwards going back to say hello. But you know, the campaign has been doing this sort of slow, trundle through, small towns just waving in several stops along the way.
GRIFFIN: Let's talk about the campaign. We won't make too much of this thing, but there seems to be a message coming out now. It's the economy. Earlier in the week, it was the war in Iraq. What's happening with this campaign? Are they getting their message out? And are they sticking consistently to it? And is it going to be the economy?
SEABROOK: You know, I think that they have several messages. I mean, they've got, you know, a main platform that pretty much stays the same. Talking about national security. They were talking about economics and jobs and the economy.
And they sort of pick and choose what to focus on in any given day, based on the news. And so, for example, when you saw things not going terribly well in Iraq, they say, you know, we can do better . And here's our plan that we've been talking about for a couple months. And this week, when we had, you know, not great job numbers, you know, and that a few things that made the economy look a little shaky again, you know, they stand up and say well we've been talking about these jobs for a long time. And here's the thing again.
And both of the campaigns are going to do this. You know, this is just average stuff from here on out.
And the other interesting thing is from here on out, no matter what they do, that economic -- those economic plans, Bush, Kerry, it doesn't matter what they do. There's not a whole lot you can do to affect the economy at this point. So it's really the future we're focusing on now.
GRIFFIN: And in this election, we're talking about a very small number of undecided voters. On the campaign trail, and you're seeing these stops where these supporters are out. Obviously going to be voting for Kerry and Edwards. Are you running into undecideds who are there to make a decision based on seeing and hearing from the candidates?
SEABROOK: I have met a few undecideds, actually. But you have to leave the sort of general area of any given, you know, campaign stop in order to get to them. They usually hang back a little bit. They're not in the sort of bouncing crowd of raucous supporters that we are usually herded towards.
But yes, there are, especially down here in the Southwest, where you know, Kerry by no means has the place wrapped up. I mean, you know, Colorado is a pretty Republican state. And you know, votes Republican almost with pretty good consistency. And other states down here do as well.
And so, you know, this is really a tough battleground for him.
GRIFFIN: Andrea Seabrook, we thank you so much for joining us and hope the train trip today is nice and slow through some of those crowded towns.
SEABROOK: Thanks, Drew.
GRIFFIN: Take care.
CALLAWAY: Every Sunday morning, we bring you a story of survivors, heroes to many. And this morning, we introduce you to Danielle Green, a soldier who is back from the war in Iraq and a former college basketball player. Now at Notre Dame, her nickname was D. Smooth for her sweet left handed shots.
And our Bill Tucker tells us that the war changed her, but she's as smooth as ever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Danielle Green, playing basketball at Notre Dame, known as "D-Smooth" for her smooth, left hand style.
And here's Green now.
DANIELLE GREEN, ARMY SPECIALIST: It's the footwork.
TUCKER: Still smooth, even without her left hand; relearning to play.
D. GREEN: I think my mind still thinks I'm left-handed.
TUCKER: After college b-ball, she joined the Army, went to Iraq. The 27-year-old specialist was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad in May.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it is looking excellent.
TUCKER: Now, at Walter Reed Hospital, she learns how to function as a rightie, when she used to be a leftie: basics like writing with the wrong hand.
D. GREEN: That's an ugly two.
TUCKER: She's a newlywed. Husband Willie, a basketball coach, now her life coach, too.
D. GREEN: He's my left hand now and he has to learn how to use this pressing iron and put my ponytail in and my earrings.
WILLIE GREEN, HUSBAND OF DANIELLE GREEN: I would be upset. I don't know what I would be if I was in that position, but I couldn't be as high spirited as she is.
TUCKER: Green will be medically discharged from the Army for an athletic career again. She wants to compete in the 2008 Paralympics.
D. GREEN: I'm just so motivated to try different things now, to play tennis, to play golf. Last week we went skeet shooting. I really enjoyed that, so now I want to buy a shotgun and start going to the range and skeet shooting. This injury it's just opened up so many different doors.
TUCKER: And she isn't wasting any time. Two months after being injured, she's running in her first race.
D. GREEN: I never been a part of this when I did have both my hands.
TUCKER: An hour later she crosses the finish line, not first, but still a winner.
D. GREEN: I think this is the beginning to my new athletic career.
TUCKER: Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Incredible story. And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY FOSTER, ACTRESS: I'm stubborn. I'm obsessional a bit. You have to be to continue on with something like this in spite of the fact that everybody tells you or many people tell you that it's a waste of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: That's Jody Foster. Actually, Jody Foster was her. Meet the person behind Jody Foster's character in "Contact." Will she find what she is looking for?
CALLAWAY: And are you seeing double? The twins are gathering in Twinsburg. Fine out why next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
GRIFFIN: But first, are you celebrating a birthday this weekend? So are these guys. Recent Oscar winner Charlize Theron turns 29. David Dechovny is 44. And Dustin Hoffman making me feel old at 67.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: This just in to CNN. The Iraqi government has just announced that it plans to reinstate the death penalty, announcing that its capital punishment law for people guilty of murder, endangering national security, and distributing drugs. They will reinstate the death penalty for those crimes.
Moving on this morning, you had seen the hype in the movies. Space travelers landing on far away planets, searching for little green men or awesome aliens angling toward some action. Well, not you can see the real facts of the search for life in outer space in a CNN special that airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
And our Miles O'Brien asked the question is anybody out there?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's late at night or perhaps by now, early in the morning. The coffee is hot. The champagne on ice, just in case tonight's the night Jill Tartar and her team make contact with an alien civilization.
JILL TARTAR: We actually detected to CW signals on that.
O'BRIEN: For Tartar, all the optimistic talk about finding microscopic life out there somewhere is just fine, thank you very much.
TARTAR: But when people ask the question are we alone, they're really not talking about is there some pond scum out there that we can find? They're really asking the question is there some other intelligent creature out there that looks up at its universe and wonders as we do?
O'BRIEN: Jill Tartar is all about answering that question. For years, she's made pilgrimages here to the world's largest radio telescope in Aracebo, Puerto Rico, hoping to tune in to a signal from an intelligent civilization. WUFO, if you will.
This is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence or SEITI.
TARTAR: If you put a transmitter up there, and there is a radar transmitter in there.
O'BRIEN: Jill Tartar is the real life inspiration for the Jody Foster character in the movie, "Contact." Remember how they described her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brilliant, driven, major pain in the ass.
O'BRIEN: Typical over the top Hollywood, right?
TARTAR: Oh, no. I mean, I'm stubborn. I'm obsessional a bit. You have to be to continue on with something like this, in spite of the fact that everybody tells you or many people tell you that it's a waste of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a glorious, but almost certainly hopeless quest. It's something that we must do, we should do. It's worth spending the money, but it's one hell of a long shot. And I would be astonished if it succeeds.
But the real value of SEITI in my opinion is not are we going to pick up a signal? That would be a -- one hell of a bonus. It's -- because it forces us to think very deeply about what is life, what is intelligence, what is our place in the universe? UNIDENTIFIED: No doubt we are the river boat gamblers of science. We're making the experiment that's a real long shot. But it's one of these things, like a long shot in a horse race. Your chances of winning are very small. But if you win, you win really big.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: You don't want to miss the rest of "Is Anybody Out There?" It airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.
GRIFFIN: Time for some of the other stories happening across America in Florida, a church outing turns into a deadly trip. Divers in Boca Raton searching for one person still missing this morning after an SUV smashes into a church bus filled with teenagers. It was just coming back from an amusement park in Orlando. Three people died in the crash. Officials say the bus was submerged in about 16 feet of water.
In Virginia, the museum housing the World War II atomic bomber Enola Gay will reopen its doors again this morning. Protesters forced it to shut down yesterday. Officials closed the building, a part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum for two hours after protesters began shouting and two individuals threw ash on themselves. Police arrested two on the scene there.
In Florida, animal activists are mourning the loss of 30 dolphins. Experts gave the rough tooth dolphins lethal injections yesterday. The animals became stranded on a beach Friday. Volunteers spent hours trying, but unsuccessfully, to get those animals back into the ocean. Experts are examining the dead dolphins to study why they stranded themselves.
And do not adjust your TV. You are not seeing double. Those really are thousands of twins attending a fun fest in Twinsburg, Ohio. Some 3,000 came out in coordinated clothes, some from as far away as India.
From twins by the two to other multiple choices, the Texas public school system is overhauling its food program. Putting more healthy options on the menu and limiting high fat foods. We'll serve up that story in about 30 minutes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Well from alarming e-mail to evil instant messages. More and more cyberstalkers are launching their menacing plot lines on line. Just ahead, we'll show you what to watch out for and what to do if you are stalked by someone on the Internet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Looking for some reading material? Here's what's hot on Amazon.com this week. The 9/11 Commission report remains at the top spot, followed by "Unfit for Command, "A Matter of Character," "American Soldier" by Tommy Franks, and "The Da Vinci Code."
CALLAWAY: Spam is one thing. And it's bad enough, but an online intrusion into your personal life can get far worse to the point of harassment and intimidation.
CNN's Denise Belgrave has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Internet's not as harmless as you think. Just ask Cynthia Armistead, who says she's been cyberstalked since 1996 by a convicted felon.
CYNTHIA ARMISTEAD, STALKED ON INTERNET: He sent obscene e-mails to my daughter back when she was four. He put out prostitution ads repeatedly in my name. He has made threats, claiming that he had followed us home and saying things like he knows where Katie goes to school.
BELGRAVE: Armistead, an Internet technical writer, believes that she was singled out in a chatroom because she's a woman and also because she disagreed with what he had to say. She says her repeated pleas to law enforcement have been, for the most part, ignored.
ARMISTEAD: I have approached the FBI, the GBI, police in various counties where I've lived.
BELGRAVE: Experts say that identifying cyberstalking isn't that easy. First Amendment freedom of speech rights can muddy the water.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Well, the courts, since the history of this nation, have always had a balance between the broad notion of expression and speech, and balanced that against behavior that hurts other people.
BELGRAVE: Web Police, an international Internet advocacy group, says incidents of online stalking are exploding.
(on camera): The number of complaints that they've received has tripled in the last five years. And they expect this year's numbers to top over 300,000 stalking complaints.
(voice-over): In Seattle, federal prosecutor Kathryn Warma recently won the first stalking conviction on the federal level. She based her argument on the law that makes it a federal crime to use a telecommunications device to send harassing messages across state lines.
KATHRYN WARMA, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I was aware of the statute and believed that there would be a basis for a federal prosecution.
BELGRAVE: Cynthia Armistead hopes the Seattle conviction will bring her one step closer to her own day in court.
Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: If you're looking for a new cardio workout, go vertical. Give pole climbing a try. Catherine, you just have to watch out for the splinters on the way down.
CALLAWAY: Ouch. Coming up next hour, live, filled with great promise, tragically cut short. We will tell you how one community is dealing with the crisis.
GRIFFIN: And we're taking a live look at Boston. A beautiful day there. It's going to be a high of 77 for Boston. We say good morning to you. And we'll have a full forecast in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Now for some video that deserves another look. We call it the wows of the week.
(SNORING)
GRIFFIN: Did you hear that? Snoring, it's not what you want to hear when you dial 911. A woman in suburban Baltimore had called during the wee hours of the morning, thinking there was a prowler outside her home. Unfortunately, the overnight dispatcher had been burning the candle at both ends and dozed off. We'll have much more on this story on our 9:00 hour.
A 25 meter sprint in less than 12 seconds may not seem to impressive, but try doing it straight up. This was the world pole climbing championship held in Britain. Titanium spikes essential to win the pole position. It also helps to be a professional tree climber, as this year's champ is.
Also in Britain, the weapons of grass destruction endurance race. Not your typical lawn mowers here. They've been modified and fine tuned. Mow down the competition. Incredibly, most of the machines still running at the end of the 12 hour race covering nearly 300 well trimmed miles.
CALLAWAY: You might want to say the lawn mower event. But that's not what -- I believe that's not an Olympic sport as of yet. Right.
We have been asking you all morning what events you're looking forward to for the Summer Games of 2004, and here's a little sample of what you've been sending us this morning. From Marty in Maryland, "I'll be closely watching the three-day eventing in the equestrian sport -- August 15 to the 18th. My daughter is the groom for two time gold medalist Phillip Dutton for Australia.
GRIFFIN: Good luck.
And George from California says: "I'll be watching all the running events. I think that that during these Summer Olympics, the United States will be breaking some records in various events." We will see. Keep on writing. Our question this morning: Which events in the Summer Olympics are you going to be looking forward to?
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone. The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.
GRIFFIN: And from the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is August 8. Good Morning I'm Drew Griffin.
CALLAWAY: Good morning everyone. I'm Katherine Callaway. I'm in for Betty today. Thanks for being with us. Here's the headlines now.
Iraq's interim prime minister says this morning, it is time to end the violence raging in a holy city. Iyad Allawi says that Shiite fighters loyal to a radical cleric should quit Najaf quickly. That city has been the scene of intense battles between militants and U.S. forces. Scores of people have been killed.
And capital crimes in Iraq will now be eligible for capital punishment. The interim government announced this morning that people convicted of murder, kidnapping and drug offenses could receive the death penalty. The Coalition Authority suspended capital punishment last year.
Questions remain this morning about the grisly killings of six people in Florida. Their bodies were found in a blood spattered house. Authorities are questioning two men that they describe as persons of interest. Still no word on how the victims died or a possible motive.
And also in Florida, authorities think that one person is still missing this morning after a deadly bus crash. The bus was carrying teens on a church field trip when an SUV hit it Saturday night, and the bus swerved off of the highway and into a south Florida canal killing three people.
Keeping you informed, CNN the most trusted name in news.
GRIFFIN: And here is what we've got for you this hour. The Kerry/Edwards campaign train in reverse, at least part of it. We're going to explain that in a few minutes. Also death in the nation's capitol, kids, victims and victimizers and those who try to make a difference. And school lunches in the Lone Star State. Get ready for some changes partner. It's not the same old menu. We'll lasso that story and more coming up.
CALLAWAY: In the global battle against world terrorism, the spotlight this morning is on Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence sources say that an al Qaeda operative, believed to have been close to Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is now in that country. He was flown to Pakistan after his arrest in Dubai. U.S. officials say that a terrorist suspect also is providing useful information in battling terrorism.
But with the good comes the bad news. Pakistani intelligence sources say that U.S. government officials leaked to reporters that Pakistan had arrested this man, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan. He is a computer expert who helped Osama bin Laden communicate with is terrorist network. Pakistani officials say they had been using him in a sting operation to track down al Qaeda operations. But of course now, that cover is blow.
GRIFFIN: In the financial district of New York in Newark, New Jersey and around the nation's capitol security remains at a very high level. Our Brian Todd reports the level of concern for possible terrorist attacks was triggered by one man, and his name is not bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A law enforcement force tells CNN authorities are intensely searching for clues on exactly where Esa al-Hindi went during 2000 and 2001. During that time, officials believe al-Hindi, describe as a senior al Qaeda operative, personally conducted surveillance of potential targets in New York and New Jersey and wrote detailed recognizance reports.
A law enforcement source says al-Hindi and two other unidentified people took photos of the New York Stock Exchange and Citicorp facilities in New York and the Prudential headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States government is raising the threat level to code orange for the financial services sector in New York City.
TODD: Those surveillance reports are the reason the Homeland Security Department raised the terror threat level to high for the financial districts of New York and Washington. In fact, the entire city of Washington is on higher alert, barricades, checkpoints everywhere. Capitol Hill police are working 12 hour shifts with one day off a week. There are 14 checkpoints just on Capitol Hill and every vehicle is being stopped.
DAVE WALKER, CAPITOL HILL INTERN: This is stuff you've got to do. I mean it's a pain for everybody. But even though it stops one single attack it's definitely worth it.
TODD: But there is tension at high levels. City officials have been irate all week charging the federal government didn't consult them about some high profile security moves, and railing about the economic impact.
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, (D) D.C. DELEGATE: If you do those checkpoints long enough you will bring down the economy of the District of Columbia. This is a tourist town. What we're doing is sending signals. Hey, don't come here. You can't even get around. Besides, it must be dangerous or they wouldn't be doing that. No such thing. They're doing it to cover their rear end.
TODD: Capitol Hill police had no comment on Norton's assertion. D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has voiced concern about some of the moves by Federal officials. But he says the increased level of alert and its results so far have to be seen as positive. CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: But you also have to bear in mind that the whole object of an orange alert or higher, the whole object of our putting in extra security measures is to keep something from happening. So, it's good news when nothing blows. Not bad news.
TODD (on camera): But Chief Ramsey and Homeland Security officials make it clear, this higher level of alert may well extend past the November election, possibly even longer.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And our Wolf Blitzer will be talking about the security alert with President Bush's national security adviser four hours from now. Condoleezza Rice will sit down with Wolf Blitzer's guest on "LATE EDITION." That's at noon eastern.
Also talking with Wolf about this alert, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Terror of another sort, the home grown style, that three year old anthrax attack investigation. The FBI searched Dicard (ph), an airport near Pittsburgh Saturday. That came after police searched three homes in New York and New Jersey belonging to Dr. Kenneth Berry. Berry works in the emergency department of a local hospital and founded an organization to teach emergency personal how to respond to biological chemical or nuclear attacks.
When the preliminary military hearing for PFC Lynndie England resumes, some high profile people could be called to the stand. England's attorney says that her hearing may resume the week of August 30. The military judge is now considering a defense request to call several witnesses, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Security Donald Rumsfeld.
CALLAWAY: President Bush is taking the weekend off the campaign trail and instead taking care of a family care up in Maine, but his PDA is packed with campaign events for the coming week, and Jill Dougherty joins us live from the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not actually, Drew, on the compound. That's pretty much locked off. There's really very, very high security. But we are here down the road apiece from he compound, and that's where President Bush wakes up today, Walker's Point, a beautiful old house sticking out into the water. But he's going to end his day back in Washington, D.C. because he does have a lot to do.
This was a brief respite for the president out on a boat, Fidelity III, the family boat, doing some fishing, doing some relaxing and as we know, he also went to a family wedding, but now it's back to the campaign trail. And the reason for that is if you look at some of the numbers, there's a new "Time Magazine" poll showing a very tight race and Senator John Kerry in the lead, 48 and President Bush coming in at 43, Ralph Nader at 4 percent.
The president will have a lot of intense campaigning as he gets back. Monday he'll start out in Virginia right next to Washington, of course, but then he hits the road a multi state tour. Beginning in Florida then going on to New Mexico, Arizona, Los Vegas, California, Portland, Oregon and Sioux City, Iowa.
And that Drew is pretty much the way it's going to be up to the convention and ,even to November 2. This is a very tight race. And as we've been reporting all along, many voters have already made up their mind. So, what both candidates are looking for is to try to peel away some voters from the middle, who may not yet have made up their mind. But their are very few of those left.
CALLAWAY: Jill Dougherty, reporting live from near the compound. Thanks, Jill.
GRIFFIN: Well, a whistle stop means just that. The campaign train is supposed to stop here and there. Only the Kerry/Edwards campaign train just blew by hundreds of potential voters waiting for them in Lawrence, Kansas. Edwards will make up for it today by paying them a visit.
And the Democratic train ended up Saturday in New Mexico. The Hispanic vote could be critical in this tight race. The Kerry/Edwards train chugged into Gallup, New Mexico this morning.
CALLAWAY: I'll bet many of you didn't know this. A team of international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be monitoring this November's election here in the U.S. It's not new. The organization monitored the California governor's race last year as well as the 2002 elections in Florida.
GRIFFIN: And getting back to the basics in the Lone Star State, why Texas is putting a limit on french fries.
CALLAWAY: Plus they came two by two, there's double trouble in Ohio. It's all ahead as CNN's SUNDAY MORNING rolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: The 2004 summer games kick off this week in Athens. So, which events are you looking forward too? That is our e-mail question this morning. Please let us know your thoughts. Send them to us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies a little later on in the show.
CALLAWAY: Good morning. St. Louis, home of the red hot Cardinals where the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 2/1 yesterday on the banks of the Mississippi. They'll play again this afternoon and we'll have your complete weather forecast in about 10 minutes.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: Across Boston this morning, religious leaders are making a plea for peace. A recent upturn of violence has rocked the city with 42 killings so far this year. The pleas by ministers follow a crisis meeting yesterday with Boston's mayor, and of particular concern, 25 of the victims were under the age of 24.
Well, Boston is not the only city dealing with crimes against young people. The U.S. has the highest rate of childhood homicides in the world. And as CNN's Sean Callebs reports, the nation's capital is strongly reflecting that grim statistic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A late night drive-by shooting July 24th in Washington and 15 year old Myesha Lowe became a statistic. But she was so much more, an honor student full of life and a loving daughter.
FRANCES LOWE, MYESHA LOWE'S MOTHER: It's not per se that it's dangerous here. It's not the street, it's the people that are on the streets that make the streets dangerous. I don't like it all. I don't like the violence. It's too many of our young back kids just getting wiped away due tot he gun violence.
CALLEBS: As a precocious grade schooler, Myesha sat at the left arm of then first lady Hillary Clinton promoting reading in schools. She was the 17th juvenile murdered in D.C. this, a sharp increase from last year this time when 12 juveniles had been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people here know somebody that's in jail.
CALLEBS: Tyrone Parker is a criminal turned activist, who says it's unrealistic to think juvenile crime can be policed away. He went to prison for robbery when he was 18 years old. Parker's own son was gunned down at age 13. He contends the streets are just getting meaner.
TYRONE PARKER, ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED MEN: We've seen a rash of different things. We're seeing cops death. We're seeing murders. We're seeing assaults
CALLEBS: With outreach programs he's trying to get kids to see themselves in a different light, away from drugs and violence.
SHANEA BROOKS, D.C. TEEN: It's like we're going against each other, for what? It's no purpose. We just keep on fighting and killing each other for no reason.
CALLEBS: The church is also filling a void, getting teens involved in design, fashion, music, business, a way to show them they can succeed away from the streets.
REV. TONY LEE, EBENEZER AME CHURCH: One of the pieces is if you help them identify their gifts, and you show them how their gifts are working even in ways that don't necessarily seem to be very functional.
CALLEBS: Lee says the same leadership skills used to run a gang could be used much more positively with guidance. He believes then perhaps, Francine Lowe would still be preparing to send her daughter to college, not mourning her loss.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Taking a look at other news across America, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Virginia will open on time this morning after a noisy demonstration forced a brief shut down. Protesters gathered near the Enola Gay exhibit, the plane that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Some survivors have asked the exhibit mention the thousands of Japanese deaths caused by that bombing.
In New Jersey the mid air collision of two small planes have killed both pilots. Plane wreckage landed in a back yard, but nobody on the ground was hurt.
GRIFFIN: The clean up continues in Oregon this morning after firefighters in Gresham battled a blaze Saturday at a tire plant. Take a look at this. Smoke from the fire could be seen as far away as downtown Portland. We have reports that one firefighter was injured.
CALLAWAY: And we just have to share this with you, twins day in an Ohio community in Akron. It's held every year and draws more than 2500 sets of twins plus some triplets and some quadruplets thrown in for good measure. It's held in where else, Twinsburg.
GRIFFIN: Fighting fat, Texas mandates a major overhaul of their public school students, what they will be fed this year. Could their plan lead the rest of the nation? Don't miss this.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: School lunches, details coming up in just a minute on how Texas schools are working to fight childhood obesity, but first, these headlines.
Disclosing the identity of a terror suspect may have backfired in the War On Terror. Pakistani sources say they were using the man to track down al Qaeda operatives around the world, but that sting was compromised by U.S. officials leaking his arrest and identity to the media.
Capital crimes in Iraq will now be eligible for capital punishment. The announcement made this morning, just about an hour ago, that people convicted of murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and other offenses could receive the death penalty in Iraq. The Coalition Authority suspended capital punishment last year. Vice presidential candidate John Edwards is backtracking to Lawrence, Kansas after that last night. He's making amends for a miscommunication that sent the campaign train speeding past supports early yesterday without even slowing down.
Good morning, St. Louis, Missouri. A fair day today in the Gateway City. Orelon Sydney is here with your complete weekend forecast just a couple of minutes way.
CALLAWAY: Well, school children in Texas can say so long to eating French fires as a main course. In an effort to fight childhood obesity, the Texas Agriculture Department has revamped rules on what foods can be served to their 4.2 million public school students, and the new policy went into effect August first.
So what can students expect to see and not see on their lunchroom tray? Let's ask Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, live from Austin, Texas this morning. Thanks for being with us.
SUSAN COMBS, TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: Sure.
CALLAWAY: We mentioned French fries. Now are you eliminating French fries and things like that or are you just reducing the portions that the children are able to eat?
COMBS: We're just reducing the portions. For example, we were finding that a lot of elementary school kids were eating two and three helpings of French fries every single day. And we have nearly 49 percent of 4th graders in Texas are overweight or obese, and the numbers really don't look good for the future. So, we reduced portion sizes in elementary schools, we reduced frequency. All the way across the schools. But we did that with everything else as well. We're very much encouraging fruits and vegetables and lots of healthy items.
CALLAWAY: You're doing more than just encouraging. You're actually having -- some schools are having the vegetables and fruits delivered right from the farm directly to the school. Is that right?
COMBS: Yes, and it's a fantastic program. We're working with The Department of Defense. We've got about 250 plus school districts where the school only has to pay the cost of transportation, and then these Texas fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered directly to the schools. It's running at about $1.6 million a year, and the united States Department of Agriculture has been absolutely terrific to work with.
CALLAWAY: I know -- we were saying here on the side on things that your school are doing -- things like baked potato chips instead of fried potato chips. They're allowed to have more of the baked than they are the fried. What about sugar foods, things really high in sugar? Are you still offering that, like sodas?
COMBS: For elementary schools there are not going to be any sodas anywhere on the school campus during the school day. For middle schools, not during any of the meals periods, and we've reduced the size of the offerings. You cant' have more than an eight ounce drink. We were finding that there were school contracts where there was such an incentive to have a 20 ounce soft drink sold...
CALLAWAY: Wow!
COMBS: ...that the schools were selling them instead of water or juice and that was not working well for our children.
CALLAWAY: Yes, some teens like that caffeine too though. Are you going to allow them to have that?
COMBS: Well, it wasn't so much caffeine we were worried about as the actual sugar. We were having comments from teachers saying in the afternoon the kids would go on a high then they'd crash.
CALLAWAY: Fall asleep in class. All right, now considered revolutionary for some, this program, any other states interested in what you're doing?
COMBS: We've been told, yes. This is, I think the most comprehensive program in the United States. But we have been talking to New Jersey and California, and a number of cities have done incredible things. Philadelphia and a bunch of cities in Los Angeles. We've been contacted by Britain...
CALLAWAY: Wow!
COMBS: ...the countries overseas. France is doing some major things in the last couple of weeks. So, we're very excited about it.
CALLAWAY: What about the parents and the students? What are they saying?
COMBS: We've gotten great e-mails and letters from people saying this has been really important. I haven't been able to control what my kid is eating in school, and thanks very much. Obviously whatever a parent wants to send to school is their business. But what the school serves is ours.
CALLAWAY: It's going to be very interesting to see if grades improve after all of this. Susan, thank you very much for being with us this morning.
When changing your children's eating habits don't forget about their after school snack. The Texas Department of Agriculture also has some recommendations on some healthy snacks for both at school and home. Instead of carbonated beverages or sugar drinks, quench their thirst with fruit juices, a fruit smoothie, even some milk. And instead of cookies or candy have your kid snack on low fat grain foods like pretzels or animal crackers, or try some fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables with low fat dip. Yummy. Now I'm hungry.
GRIFFIN: I'm hungry too. Orelon, are you hungry?
(WEATHER REPORT) GRIFFIN: Let's move on to the Olympics, guys. What do you say? Our question of the morning, which event are you looking forward to? There's always somebody out there, and Elly writes us from Los Angeles this morning, up early Elly. The event I really want to see in the Olympics is the closing ceremony. The games are sooo boring.
CALLAWAY: Keep sending your e-mails to us this morning. There it is, wam@cnn.com. We will read that e-mail on the air.
GRIFFIN: It may be Sunday morning, but how much rest did you get last night? Ahead next hour, how much sleep a person needs and a common sleep disorder.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.
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Aired August 8, 2004 - 07:00 Â ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is August 8, 7:00 a.m. on the East Coast. Just 4:00 a.m. out West. Good morning, everyone, I'm Catherine Callaway. I'm in for Betty this morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. Thanks for joining us. Here's what's happening now in the news.
Appeals from the pulpit this morning for peace in the streets of Boston. A spasm of violence rocking the city. 42 killings so far this year. 26 of the victims under the age of 24. Pleas by ministers follow a crisis meeting yesterday with Boston's mayor.
A middle of the night miscue above the Kerry-Edwards campaign train. It whizzed right through Lawrence, Kansas, not even slowing down for hundreds of supporters trackside to greet the Democratic candidates. John Edwards is going back there today to Lawrence to hold a rally and make amends. President Bush, by the way, doesn't have any public events today. Reporter Andrea Seabrook is aboard the Democrat's Whistlestop Express. And we'll talk with her at the half hour.
The latest now on those six brutal killings in Deltona, Florida. Law officers are questioning two people -- one of whom may know some of the victims. But the sheriff says the two are persons of interest, not suspects. The bodies of four men and two women were found Friday in a rented home.
Also in Florida, divers are searching near Boca Raton this morning for one person missing after a church bus plunged into a canal. Three people already reported killed in this crash. The bus was from a church near Fort Lauderdale and was loaded with teenagers. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
CALLAWAY: Laying the trap to catch Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. Pakistan's rounding up terror suspects and making other offensive moves. And we're going to tell you what they're doing just ahead.
Also coming up, going for the gold. No, not in the Olympic games but in the sport of souvenir shopping. Days before the athletics in Athens begin, we'll show you how all the foot action's on -- is on the street and not on the field.
Also coming up, speaking of golden opportunities, will it be another gold rush for Team USA? They have trained to be stronger, faster and higher than the competition. And now we will bring you the names and faces of the ones to watch.
GRIFFIN: Here's our top story this morning. Pakistan casts a wide dragnet for terror suspects, hoping the trail will lead them to Osama bin Laden. Two North Africans are added to the wanted list and are suspect in two assassination attempts has been arrested.
CNN's Maria Ressa is covering all of this from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan authorities are working overtime and unraveling several key cells of al Qaeda globally, one that has already led to heightened terror alert levels in the U.S. and U.K. Another that may lead directly to Osama bin Laden himself.
The first cell here in Pakistan, authorities are looking for two North African al Qaeda operatives. Part of the 1998 East Africa bombings connected to a man who was arrested here earlier, a man named Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. He's on the FBI's most wanted list. A reward on his head, it was on his computer, that the Pakistani authorities discovered the pictures of Heathrow Airport. That has since been turned over to the British.
Separately, Dubai authorities, at Pakistan's request, arrested an al Qaeda operative named Kari Saifula Aktar. Pakistani officials say that he was linked to the two assassination attempts last December on the life of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. But more importantly, they believe that he knows both Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, and Osama bin Laden. They hope that information from him could lead to their whereabouts. He has now been extradited to Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities say more arrests expected. So far, they've already discovered cells from the information of the men they've discovered. They've discovered cells in the U.S., the U.K., in Pakistan itself, in the UAE, as far to the Far East as Indonesia and Malaysia. More arrests expected in the coming weeks.
Maria Ressa, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And here at home, the 18 wheelers are out there, 24/7. And now many of those truckers are watching more than just the road.
CNN's Alina Cho reports on Highway Watch, an anti-terror program for the nation's truck drivers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every time Scott Harris climbs into his truck, every time he's on the road, he's watching for anything that seems suspicious. SCOTT HARRIS, TRUCKER: A truck that will be underneath this railroad trestle, keeping out for that.
CHO: Harris has been driving trucks for 19 years. He knows what to watch for because he's been through this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking to make you more aware of security threats.
CHO: Highway Watch, a class for truck drivers, teaching them what to look out for when they're on the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you spot suspicious activity, we want to know about it.
CHO: Everything from a lesson on chemical threats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarin is a nerve type gas.
CHO: To getting in the mind of a terrorist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what the bad guys are up to.
CHO: Take this al Qaeda training tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're driving down the road, are you going to see a pick-up truck with a tarp over it? Who knows? Who knows? These kind of things just to kind of put a spark in your mind.
CHO: The goal is simple.
JOHN WILLARD, AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: Make the trucking industry safe. Try to ensure that no truck is every used as a weapon.
CHO: Trucks have been used as weapons before. The first World Trade Center attack, Oklahoma City. Now police are hoping watchful drivers can be a first line of defense, like in 2002 when a trucker called in a tip that led to the arrest of the Washington, D.C. sniper.
(on camera): So far, 10,000 truckers have gone through this program. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a $19 million grant to train 400,000 more truckers and as many pairs of eyes.
(voice-over): There are more than three million truckers in the U.S. People like Tim Maryniak, who says truck drivers work 24/7.
TIM MARYNIAK, TRUCKER: So we sort of become a security blanket for people while they're asleep.
CHO: Others say post 9/11, patriotism plays a role. Joe Todd drives for Wal-Mart.
JOE TODD, TRUCKER: I'm America and I have a lot of pride. And I take a lot of pride in what I do.
CHO: Scott Harris says...
HARRIS: Just be more observant of all of your surroundings.
CHO: It could help save lives.
Alina Cho, CNN, Albany, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: A new development this weekend in the three-year old anthrax investigation. Near Pittsburgh, FBI agents searched a car that an airport worker says belongs to bioterrorism expert Dr. Kenneth Barry. It's not known what, if anything, they found. But on Thursday, the agent searched Barry's home in Wellsville, New York and his parents' summer home in New Jersey. The doctor denied any connection with the anthrax attacks that killed five people in 2001.
GRIFFIN: A U.S. Army helicopter makes an emergency landing this morning in Baghdad. The U.S. military calls it precautionary, says no one was hurt. The scene is near Sadr City, a volatile Shi'ite neighborhood. It's unclear if this helicopter was the target of ground fire.
The defense in Private Lynndie England's case has a long wish list of witnesses, topped by Vice President Dick Cheney. England is one of the soldiers accused of abusing prisoners in Iraq. Her preliminary hearing is now adjourned for five days with no date set for it to resume. It's unclear why England's lawyers want to question Cheney.
They also want to call some top Army generals. The hearing officer says she'll rule later on those requests.
CALLAWAY: Turning now to fast forward, this is news that you'll see in the week ahead. Convicted Oklahoma city bombing participants Terry Nichols will be sentenced on Monday. A jury failed to impose the death penalty earlier this year. Nichols is already serving life in prison from an earlier federal conviction.
And in New York Tuesday, a pre-trial hearing on larceny charges for Tyco international executive Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz. You might remember the judge declared that case a mistrial back in April.
And catch the Olympic spirit on Friday. Opening ceremonies in Athens kick off the 2004 Summer Games. 10,500 athletes from around the world are expected to participate in this year's competition. The games continue through August 29th.
GRIFFIN: So will Teen USA repeat its success in Sydney and bring home more medals than any other country? We're going to tell you who to watch for out of the 531 strongest athletes competing under the American flag.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody said something about the Simpsons. You know...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: You'll be seeing a lot of these vases in the next few weeks, these guys right here. So we might as well introduce you to them now.
CNN's Michael Holmes wandering around Athens.
And meanwhile, CNN's Miles O'Brien is wandering around outer space, I guess. Don't laugh -- we are searching for life out in the universe later this hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something that we must do, we should do. It's worth spending the money, but it's one hell of a long shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: If you're just waking up and joining us, here's what's happening this Sunday morning. Two U.S. soldiers and an interpreter have been reported killed by a roadside bomb in southeast Afghanistan, this according to the Associated Press.
And in Iraq, the country's interim leader made a surprise visit today to Najaf. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi called on militants there to lay down their arms and abandon the city's holy sites.
Also, the man whose name was synonymous with snuffing out huge oil well fires has died. Paul Red Adair was 89.
Coming up later this hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, seeing double in Ohio. Thousands of people are celebrating their twinness there this weekend. We're going to check it out in just a little bit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: Remember Izzy, the much reviled mascot of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta? In hindsight, Izzy looks like fine art, especially compared with the latest Olympic mascots in Athens, Greece. The Games begin there Friday.
So CNN's Michael Holmes did a little early souvenir shopping. And everywhere he went, this new Greek mascot seemed to stalk him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ah, the Placa, nestled in the shadow of the Acropolis and Parthenon and nirvana to lovers of history, souvlaki, and Olympic souvenirs. Also home to Nikos, the singing jeweler.
(SINGING)
(voice-over): But we digress. We're on a mission on the company credit card, no less, to see what's available to the Olympic souvenir hunter. And just wait 'til the boss gets the bill. So much so very, very much to buy.
(on camera): And now an Olympic tradition, just like gold medals, the marathon and dubious supplements. You see, another tradition is that you must, if you are the Olympic host, design the oddest mascot possible.
Meet Phevos and Athena. Frappe?
(voice-over): We're told they're brother and sister and based on two Greek gods, but if you didn't know the story, well...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody said something about the Simpsons, you know.
(SINGING)
HOLMES: It is, as you'd imagine, T-shirtapaloosa in Athens at the moment. But it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Atlanta where anything to go by this is where the action will be.
Pin collecting and swapping has now graduated from an exhibition sport to a full-fledged Olympic event. And there will be much swapping and weighing down of caps over the next three weeks.
Did we mention the mascots, Phevos and Athena? Athena and Phevos in Apardoo (ph). That's Greek for they're everywhere.
Do you know what it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
HOLMES: Of course, one doesn't want to be too predictable with the gifts. Yes, there's local knick-knacks to be had. They're nice. And don't forget Phevos and Athena.
At the end of a long day of credit card bashing, what better way to relax than with the big fat Olympic cocktail. No, I'm not kidding. It does exist. Traditional Greek frappe coffee with a dash of a half a gallon of Oozo. If you're an athlete, they're best avoided. You win the event, but you're not going to pass the drug test. Best to seek the listening to Nikos.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: You know, that's what happens when you take a war correspondent out of the war zone.
CALLAWAY: I know.
GRIFFIN: Hey...
CALLAWAY: He's catching up on some long...
GRIFFIN: You liked Izzy, right?
CALLAWAY: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Well we want to show people Izzy. Remember Izzy? That thing? What is that?
CALLAWAY: Of course I remember Izzy. I covered the Atlanta Olympics. And Izzy was everywhere.
GRIFFIN: Well, Izzy's gone. And now Athena and -- what's the other one's name?
CALLAWAY: They look like...
GRIFFIN: Finger puppets?
CALLAWAY: ...potato puppets.
GRIFFIN: All right.
CALLAWAY: They look like.
So which events are you looking for in the Summer Games? That's going to be our e-mail question for you today. You can find us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the program.
So did you know that the strongest athlete on U.S. Olympic -- on the U.S. Olympic team can lift 517 pounds over his head? We'll tell you who to watch for in Athens. "Sports Illustrated's" best reporter coming up, sharing his thoughts and insights on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He sent obscene e-mails to my daughter back when she was four. He put out prostitution ads repeatedly in my name. He has made threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: What a nightmare. This could happen to you, too. There is a new threat to watch out for when you are chatting online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Four years ago in Sydney, Australia, a Wyoming farm boy did the unthinkable -- ended the 10-year winning streak of the most mythic figure in Greco-Roman wrestling, Russian legend Alexander Karel (ph). Later, Ruland Gardener admitted that he had no strategy going into the match. The U.S. Dream Team came dangerously close to losing their mighty title to a team from a tiny country of Lithuania. And five time medalist Marion Jones tarnished by performance enhancing drug scandals. Remember all that?
Also, overall Team U.S. came out on top with 97 medals in the bag, followed by Russia, and China with 88 and 59 respectively.
Among the most decorated Americans in the Sydney Olympics, Marion Jones in track and field, followed by four great swimmers -- Dara Torres, Jenny Thompson, Gary Hall, Jr. and Lenny Kravzelburg.
Well this year, the U.S. Olympic Committee has set a goal of 100 medals. And to get them 531 of the strongest, fastest, highest athletes have been selected from 47 states. The U.S. team in Athens includes 274 men, 257 women. And for 334 of them, this will be their first trip to the Olympics. 52 already carry the titles of Olympic champions.
So who exactly should you be watching for? Joining us now from Athens with a preview of Team USA 2004 is "Sports Illustrated's" Brian Cazeneuve.
Thank you very much for being with us today.
BRIAN CAZENEUVE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Thanks. Good to be here.
CALLAWAY: Tell us who we should be watching for when the Olympics begin? Who's the star athlete standing out this Olympic Games?
CAZENEUVE: Well, everybody's talking about Michael Phelps. He's the swimmer from Baltimore. He's 19-years old, making his second appearance at the Olympics. He didn't win a medal his first time.
But this time, he'll be in eight races. Five individual and three relays. And he has a good chance to win eight medals at these games, possibly between four and six golds. A lot of people have said that he might win seven gold medals, duplicating the feat of Mark Spitz in 1972. If he wins eight total medals, he'll be the second athlete in any sport in history to accomplish that goal, the first American.
And I think that once the games get underway with swimming in the first day of competition, all eyes will be on Phelps to see if he can start making history.
CALLAWAY: You mean that many goals in one game, right? Because I know Jenny Thompson has, what, eight gold medals?
CAZENEUVE: Yes. Jenny Thompson has eight over the course of her career. Those are all -- have all been in relays. And she, also, has a chance to make some history. Phelps is trying to do it in one Olympics. Thompson is trying to win a total of 10 gold medals for her career. A lot of people trying to make some history. Thompson will be in a couple of relays and also in an individual race. And she could be the most gilded athlete, American athlete, in the history of the Olympic Games by the time the games are over.
And she's a great story, too. She retired. She went to medical school in New York. And she was fooling around in the swimming pool one day and said you know, I kind of want to get back and do this again. So now she has a chance to make some history herself.
CALLAWAY: Oh, I hope she does. Everybody will be rooting her on.
And we mentioned Ruland Gardener in the story before you. And what exactly are the chances of him being successful again?
CAZENEUVE: Well, Ruland has had an amazing run since beating Alexander Karel (ph). And you referenced it at the top.
Since then, he came back. He won the world championship a year later. He passed up a lot of money to become a "professional wrestler" with the WWF. Not real wrestling.
CALLAWAY: But he's had so many accidents.
CAZENEUVE: He went to stay with his sport. Yes, he's had a lot of things go wrong. He was out snowmobiling. And he got lost. His snowmobile broke down. And so he nearly froze to death. He ended up having a toe amputated. Then he came back. He was training again. He had a motorcycle accident in which he flipped over a car and ended up landing on his back. He walked away with it and said, oh, that's no big deal.
And then he went back and was playing some pick up basketball after a practice one day and dislocated his wrist. And he dislocated it so badly, that when he competed again, he dislocated it seven times in competition. And twice just shaking hands with people.
CALLAWAY: Oh, my goodness.
CAZENEUVE: Well, that was earlier this year.
CALLAWAY: Well, do you think he stands a chance?
CAZENEUVE: And even with it, he came back -- yes, well he made the Olympic team again. And there are about four or five people in his weight class who have a chance to win. But he has beaten them all at one time or another. So it's just a matter of having the best couple of days. And if he does it, he would be a rare two time Olympic wrestling gold medalist. And I think with everything he's gone through, people would really put him up on the, you know, the pedestal of great Olympic stories.
CALLAWAY: Right. He has a great Olympic story. And what about -- let's talk about the women's gymnastics team. Any chance this year we're going to see some stars coming out of there? You know, America loves their female gymnasts.
CAZENEUVE: Yes. Well, I don't know that there is one Mary Lou Retton that we saw back in 1984, but it is probably the deepest most balanced women's team that we've ever seen at an Olympics. They have a chance to win the team gold medal. They did that back on home soil in 1980 -- or 1996. They've never won a team gold medal away from the United States.
And if you look at some of the top people, Courtney Kupets, Carly Patterson, there is a great deal of balance there. They have some specialists as well on individual events. And so, putting it all together and putting together a well balanced line-up from the first gymnast to the last gymnast, you're going to see a good competition from China, Romania, Russia...
CALLAWAY: Right.
CAZENEUVE: But the United States has as good a chance as any team to win the team gold this time.
CALLAWAY: Oh, they'd be great if they did. Brian, thank you so much for being with us. Have fun at the Olympic Games. We wish we were there.
CAZENEUVE: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: Drew?
GRIFFIN: Thanks, guys. Waiting for the train that never stopped. Was it a human error that took John Kerry right through a supposed stop?
NPR's Andrea Seabrook is on that train. And she joins us with that story next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And later, a tragic ending to what was supposed to be a fun trip in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: It was a large cheering crowd waiting for a train. And the train just went on by. Welcome back. I'm Drew Griffin.
CALLAWAY: Oops. Hello, everyone, I'm Catherine Callaway. We'll explain that story for you in just a moment.
But here's what's happening now in the news. A senior Pakistani al Qaeda member is now back in Pakistani hands. Authorities believe that the man was close to Osama bin Laden and ran a terror training camp in Afghanistan. He has been handed over to Pakistani officials, after being arrested in the United Arab Emirates.
And in Iraq this morning, a U.S. Army helicopter made an emergency landing in Baghdad. A military spokesman tells the AP that the two pilots were on the small observation chopper and are OK. But no word on whether insurgents had fired on the aircraft. It landed near a neighborhood that has been the scene of violence in the past. Federal agents have searched a car at a Pittsburgh area airport in connection with the 2001 anthrax mailings. The FBI isn't say who owns the car. Earlier this week, agents raided the homes of Kenneth Barry, a doctor with a background in bioterror research.
New details now from the latest batch of Nixon tapes being released today. The 30th anniversary of the late president's resignation. The tape showed that just before the 1972 election, Nixon felt South Vietnam might not be able to survive. And he talked with National Security adviser Henry Kissinger on when and how to get out of the Vietnam conflict.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
GRIFFIN: On the campaign trail, President Bush taking the weekend off, while John Kerry and John Edwards are taking a train trip. But oops, the train blew right on by potential Democratic voters here in Lawrence, Kansas. No stops in Kansas were on the agenda.
NPR Congressional reporter Andrea Seabrook is riding the rails with the Kerry-Edwards campaign, was on the train, and will join us later on.
Jill Dougherty is keeping up with President Bush this weekend. We'll get a live update from Jill in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And we'll bet many of you didn't know this. A team of international observers will be monitoring this November's elections. The team will come from the organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Monitoring elections in the U.S. isn't enough, though. The organization has monitored others, including the California governor's race last year, as well as the 2002 elections in Florida.
Well, now we want to get back to the campaign trail and Andrea Seabrook, who is on the phone with us. We believe you're in Albuquerque. Is that right, Andrea?
ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Hello, Drew. Yes, I am in Albuquerque.
GRIFFIN: NPR's political reporter, congressional reporter, and all around great person to talk to on a Sunday morning about what's been happening in the campaign.
And tell us what happened on this train last night. It's kind of a humorous story to us. There are all these supporters out waiting for the train that didn't stop. Was it supposed to stop?
SEABROOK: It don't think it was supposed to stop. At least the campaign is telling us that this was another one of those times when the train was just slowing down, just waving as they go by. I think there was some kind of disconnect, though, with the people on the ground. Because as you can see from the pictures, they were -- sure were disappointed when that train sort of blew past them. GRIFFIN: And John Edwards, going back there to make amends today?
SEABROOK: Yes, John Edwards going back to say hello. But you know, the campaign has been doing this sort of slow, trundle through, small towns just waving in several stops along the way.
GRIFFIN: Let's talk about the campaign. We won't make too much of this thing, but there seems to be a message coming out now. It's the economy. Earlier in the week, it was the war in Iraq. What's happening with this campaign? Are they getting their message out? And are they sticking consistently to it? And is it going to be the economy?
SEABROOK: You know, I think that they have several messages. I mean, they've got, you know, a main platform that pretty much stays the same. Talking about national security. They were talking about economics and jobs and the economy.
And they sort of pick and choose what to focus on in any given day, based on the news. And so, for example, when you saw things not going terribly well in Iraq, they say, you know, we can do better . And here's our plan that we've been talking about for a couple months. And this week, when we had, you know, not great job numbers, you know, and that a few things that made the economy look a little shaky again, you know, they stand up and say well we've been talking about these jobs for a long time. And here's the thing again.
And both of the campaigns are going to do this. You know, this is just average stuff from here on out.
And the other interesting thing is from here on out, no matter what they do, that economic -- those economic plans, Bush, Kerry, it doesn't matter what they do. There's not a whole lot you can do to affect the economy at this point. So it's really the future we're focusing on now.
GRIFFIN: And in this election, we're talking about a very small number of undecided voters. On the campaign trail, and you're seeing these stops where these supporters are out. Obviously going to be voting for Kerry and Edwards. Are you running into undecideds who are there to make a decision based on seeing and hearing from the candidates?
SEABROOK: I have met a few undecideds, actually. But you have to leave the sort of general area of any given, you know, campaign stop in order to get to them. They usually hang back a little bit. They're not in the sort of bouncing crowd of raucous supporters that we are usually herded towards.
But yes, there are, especially down here in the Southwest, where you know, Kerry by no means has the place wrapped up. I mean, you know, Colorado is a pretty Republican state. And you know, votes Republican almost with pretty good consistency. And other states down here do as well.
And so, you know, this is really a tough battleground for him.
GRIFFIN: Andrea Seabrook, we thank you so much for joining us and hope the train trip today is nice and slow through some of those crowded towns.
SEABROOK: Thanks, Drew.
GRIFFIN: Take care.
CALLAWAY: Every Sunday morning, we bring you a story of survivors, heroes to many. And this morning, we introduce you to Danielle Green, a soldier who is back from the war in Iraq and a former college basketball player. Now at Notre Dame, her nickname was D. Smooth for her sweet left handed shots.
And our Bill Tucker tells us that the war changed her, but she's as smooth as ever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Danielle Green, playing basketball at Notre Dame, known as "D-Smooth" for her smooth, left hand style.
And here's Green now.
DANIELLE GREEN, ARMY SPECIALIST: It's the footwork.
TUCKER: Still smooth, even without her left hand; relearning to play.
D. GREEN: I think my mind still thinks I'm left-handed.
TUCKER: After college b-ball, she joined the Army, went to Iraq. The 27-year-old specialist was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad in May.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it is looking excellent.
TUCKER: Now, at Walter Reed Hospital, she learns how to function as a rightie, when she used to be a leftie: basics like writing with the wrong hand.
D. GREEN: That's an ugly two.
TUCKER: She's a newlywed. Husband Willie, a basketball coach, now her life coach, too.
D. GREEN: He's my left hand now and he has to learn how to use this pressing iron and put my ponytail in and my earrings.
WILLIE GREEN, HUSBAND OF DANIELLE GREEN: I would be upset. I don't know what I would be if I was in that position, but I couldn't be as high spirited as she is.
TUCKER: Green will be medically discharged from the Army for an athletic career again. She wants to compete in the 2008 Paralympics.
D. GREEN: I'm just so motivated to try different things now, to play tennis, to play golf. Last week we went skeet shooting. I really enjoyed that, so now I want to buy a shotgun and start going to the range and skeet shooting. This injury it's just opened up so many different doors.
TUCKER: And she isn't wasting any time. Two months after being injured, she's running in her first race.
D. GREEN: I never been a part of this when I did have both my hands.
TUCKER: An hour later she crosses the finish line, not first, but still a winner.
D. GREEN: I think this is the beginning to my new athletic career.
TUCKER: Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Incredible story. And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY FOSTER, ACTRESS: I'm stubborn. I'm obsessional a bit. You have to be to continue on with something like this in spite of the fact that everybody tells you or many people tell you that it's a waste of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: That's Jody Foster. Actually, Jody Foster was her. Meet the person behind Jody Foster's character in "Contact." Will she find what she is looking for?
CALLAWAY: And are you seeing double? The twins are gathering in Twinsburg. Fine out why next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
GRIFFIN: But first, are you celebrating a birthday this weekend? So are these guys. Recent Oscar winner Charlize Theron turns 29. David Dechovny is 44. And Dustin Hoffman making me feel old at 67.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: This just in to CNN. The Iraqi government has just announced that it plans to reinstate the death penalty, announcing that its capital punishment law for people guilty of murder, endangering national security, and distributing drugs. They will reinstate the death penalty for those crimes.
Moving on this morning, you had seen the hype in the movies. Space travelers landing on far away planets, searching for little green men or awesome aliens angling toward some action. Well, not you can see the real facts of the search for life in outer space in a CNN special that airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
And our Miles O'Brien asked the question is anybody out there?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's late at night or perhaps by now, early in the morning. The coffee is hot. The champagne on ice, just in case tonight's the night Jill Tartar and her team make contact with an alien civilization.
JILL TARTAR: We actually detected to CW signals on that.
O'BRIEN: For Tartar, all the optimistic talk about finding microscopic life out there somewhere is just fine, thank you very much.
TARTAR: But when people ask the question are we alone, they're really not talking about is there some pond scum out there that we can find? They're really asking the question is there some other intelligent creature out there that looks up at its universe and wonders as we do?
O'BRIEN: Jill Tartar is all about answering that question. For years, she's made pilgrimages here to the world's largest radio telescope in Aracebo, Puerto Rico, hoping to tune in to a signal from an intelligent civilization. WUFO, if you will.
This is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence or SEITI.
TARTAR: If you put a transmitter up there, and there is a radar transmitter in there.
O'BRIEN: Jill Tartar is the real life inspiration for the Jody Foster character in the movie, "Contact." Remember how they described her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brilliant, driven, major pain in the ass.
O'BRIEN: Typical over the top Hollywood, right?
TARTAR: Oh, no. I mean, I'm stubborn. I'm obsessional a bit. You have to be to continue on with something like this, in spite of the fact that everybody tells you or many people tell you that it's a waste of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a glorious, but almost certainly hopeless quest. It's something that we must do, we should do. It's worth spending the money, but it's one hell of a long shot. And I would be astonished if it succeeds.
But the real value of SEITI in my opinion is not are we going to pick up a signal? That would be a -- one hell of a bonus. It's -- because it forces us to think very deeply about what is life, what is intelligence, what is our place in the universe? UNIDENTIFIED: No doubt we are the river boat gamblers of science. We're making the experiment that's a real long shot. But it's one of these things, like a long shot in a horse race. Your chances of winning are very small. But if you win, you win really big.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: You don't want to miss the rest of "Is Anybody Out There?" It airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.
GRIFFIN: Time for some of the other stories happening across America in Florida, a church outing turns into a deadly trip. Divers in Boca Raton searching for one person still missing this morning after an SUV smashes into a church bus filled with teenagers. It was just coming back from an amusement park in Orlando. Three people died in the crash. Officials say the bus was submerged in about 16 feet of water.
In Virginia, the museum housing the World War II atomic bomber Enola Gay will reopen its doors again this morning. Protesters forced it to shut down yesterday. Officials closed the building, a part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum for two hours after protesters began shouting and two individuals threw ash on themselves. Police arrested two on the scene there.
In Florida, animal activists are mourning the loss of 30 dolphins. Experts gave the rough tooth dolphins lethal injections yesterday. The animals became stranded on a beach Friday. Volunteers spent hours trying, but unsuccessfully, to get those animals back into the ocean. Experts are examining the dead dolphins to study why they stranded themselves.
And do not adjust your TV. You are not seeing double. Those really are thousands of twins attending a fun fest in Twinsburg, Ohio. Some 3,000 came out in coordinated clothes, some from as far away as India.
From twins by the two to other multiple choices, the Texas public school system is overhauling its food program. Putting more healthy options on the menu and limiting high fat foods. We'll serve up that story in about 30 minutes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Well from alarming e-mail to evil instant messages. More and more cyberstalkers are launching their menacing plot lines on line. Just ahead, we'll show you what to watch out for and what to do if you are stalked by someone on the Internet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Looking for some reading material? Here's what's hot on Amazon.com this week. The 9/11 Commission report remains at the top spot, followed by "Unfit for Command, "A Matter of Character," "American Soldier" by Tommy Franks, and "The Da Vinci Code."
CALLAWAY: Spam is one thing. And it's bad enough, but an online intrusion into your personal life can get far worse to the point of harassment and intimidation.
CNN's Denise Belgrave has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Internet's not as harmless as you think. Just ask Cynthia Armistead, who says she's been cyberstalked since 1996 by a convicted felon.
CYNTHIA ARMISTEAD, STALKED ON INTERNET: He sent obscene e-mails to my daughter back when she was four. He put out prostitution ads repeatedly in my name. He has made threats, claiming that he had followed us home and saying things like he knows where Katie goes to school.
BELGRAVE: Armistead, an Internet technical writer, believes that she was singled out in a chatroom because she's a woman and also because she disagreed with what he had to say. She says her repeated pleas to law enforcement have been, for the most part, ignored.
ARMISTEAD: I have approached the FBI, the GBI, police in various counties where I've lived.
BELGRAVE: Experts say that identifying cyberstalking isn't that easy. First Amendment freedom of speech rights can muddy the water.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Well, the courts, since the history of this nation, have always had a balance between the broad notion of expression and speech, and balanced that against behavior that hurts other people.
BELGRAVE: Web Police, an international Internet advocacy group, says incidents of online stalking are exploding.
(on camera): The number of complaints that they've received has tripled in the last five years. And they expect this year's numbers to top over 300,000 stalking complaints.
(voice-over): In Seattle, federal prosecutor Kathryn Warma recently won the first stalking conviction on the federal level. She based her argument on the law that makes it a federal crime to use a telecommunications device to send harassing messages across state lines.
KATHRYN WARMA, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I was aware of the statute and believed that there would be a basis for a federal prosecution.
BELGRAVE: Cynthia Armistead hopes the Seattle conviction will bring her one step closer to her own day in court.
Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: If you're looking for a new cardio workout, go vertical. Give pole climbing a try. Catherine, you just have to watch out for the splinters on the way down.
CALLAWAY: Ouch. Coming up next hour, live, filled with great promise, tragically cut short. We will tell you how one community is dealing with the crisis.
GRIFFIN: And we're taking a live look at Boston. A beautiful day there. It's going to be a high of 77 for Boston. We say good morning to you. And we'll have a full forecast in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Now for some video that deserves another look. We call it the wows of the week.
(SNORING)
GRIFFIN: Did you hear that? Snoring, it's not what you want to hear when you dial 911. A woman in suburban Baltimore had called during the wee hours of the morning, thinking there was a prowler outside her home. Unfortunately, the overnight dispatcher had been burning the candle at both ends and dozed off. We'll have much more on this story on our 9:00 hour.
A 25 meter sprint in less than 12 seconds may not seem to impressive, but try doing it straight up. This was the world pole climbing championship held in Britain. Titanium spikes essential to win the pole position. It also helps to be a professional tree climber, as this year's champ is.
Also in Britain, the weapons of grass destruction endurance race. Not your typical lawn mowers here. They've been modified and fine tuned. Mow down the competition. Incredibly, most of the machines still running at the end of the 12 hour race covering nearly 300 well trimmed miles.
CALLAWAY: You might want to say the lawn mower event. But that's not what -- I believe that's not an Olympic sport as of yet. Right.
We have been asking you all morning what events you're looking forward to for the Summer Games of 2004, and here's a little sample of what you've been sending us this morning. From Marty in Maryland, "I'll be closely watching the three-day eventing in the equestrian sport -- August 15 to the 18th. My daughter is the groom for two time gold medalist Phillip Dutton for Australia.
GRIFFIN: Good luck.
And George from California says: "I'll be watching all the running events. I think that that during these Summer Olympics, the United States will be breaking some records in various events." We will see. Keep on writing. Our question this morning: Which events in the Summer Olympics are you going to be looking forward to?
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone. The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.
GRIFFIN: And from the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is August 8. Good Morning I'm Drew Griffin.
CALLAWAY: Good morning everyone. I'm Katherine Callaway. I'm in for Betty today. Thanks for being with us. Here's the headlines now.
Iraq's interim prime minister says this morning, it is time to end the violence raging in a holy city. Iyad Allawi says that Shiite fighters loyal to a radical cleric should quit Najaf quickly. That city has been the scene of intense battles between militants and U.S. forces. Scores of people have been killed.
And capital crimes in Iraq will now be eligible for capital punishment. The interim government announced this morning that people convicted of murder, kidnapping and drug offenses could receive the death penalty. The Coalition Authority suspended capital punishment last year.
Questions remain this morning about the grisly killings of six people in Florida. Their bodies were found in a blood spattered house. Authorities are questioning two men that they describe as persons of interest. Still no word on how the victims died or a possible motive.
And also in Florida, authorities think that one person is still missing this morning after a deadly bus crash. The bus was carrying teens on a church field trip when an SUV hit it Saturday night, and the bus swerved off of the highway and into a south Florida canal killing three people.
Keeping you informed, CNN the most trusted name in news.
GRIFFIN: And here is what we've got for you this hour. The Kerry/Edwards campaign train in reverse, at least part of it. We're going to explain that in a few minutes. Also death in the nation's capitol, kids, victims and victimizers and those who try to make a difference. And school lunches in the Lone Star State. Get ready for some changes partner. It's not the same old menu. We'll lasso that story and more coming up.
CALLAWAY: In the global battle against world terrorism, the spotlight this morning is on Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence sources say that an al Qaeda operative, believed to have been close to Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is now in that country. He was flown to Pakistan after his arrest in Dubai. U.S. officials say that a terrorist suspect also is providing useful information in battling terrorism.
But with the good comes the bad news. Pakistani intelligence sources say that U.S. government officials leaked to reporters that Pakistan had arrested this man, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan. He is a computer expert who helped Osama bin Laden communicate with is terrorist network. Pakistani officials say they had been using him in a sting operation to track down al Qaeda operations. But of course now, that cover is blow.
GRIFFIN: In the financial district of New York in Newark, New Jersey and around the nation's capitol security remains at a very high level. Our Brian Todd reports the level of concern for possible terrorist attacks was triggered by one man, and his name is not bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A law enforcement force tells CNN authorities are intensely searching for clues on exactly where Esa al-Hindi went during 2000 and 2001. During that time, officials believe al-Hindi, describe as a senior al Qaeda operative, personally conducted surveillance of potential targets in New York and New Jersey and wrote detailed recognizance reports.
A law enforcement source says al-Hindi and two other unidentified people took photos of the New York Stock Exchange and Citicorp facilities in New York and the Prudential headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States government is raising the threat level to code orange for the financial services sector in New York City.
TODD: Those surveillance reports are the reason the Homeland Security Department raised the terror threat level to high for the financial districts of New York and Washington. In fact, the entire city of Washington is on higher alert, barricades, checkpoints everywhere. Capitol Hill police are working 12 hour shifts with one day off a week. There are 14 checkpoints just on Capitol Hill and every vehicle is being stopped.
DAVE WALKER, CAPITOL HILL INTERN: This is stuff you've got to do. I mean it's a pain for everybody. But even though it stops one single attack it's definitely worth it.
TODD: But there is tension at high levels. City officials have been irate all week charging the federal government didn't consult them about some high profile security moves, and railing about the economic impact.
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, (D) D.C. DELEGATE: If you do those checkpoints long enough you will bring down the economy of the District of Columbia. This is a tourist town. What we're doing is sending signals. Hey, don't come here. You can't even get around. Besides, it must be dangerous or they wouldn't be doing that. No such thing. They're doing it to cover their rear end.
TODD: Capitol Hill police had no comment on Norton's assertion. D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has voiced concern about some of the moves by Federal officials. But he says the increased level of alert and its results so far have to be seen as positive. CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: But you also have to bear in mind that the whole object of an orange alert or higher, the whole object of our putting in extra security measures is to keep something from happening. So, it's good news when nothing blows. Not bad news.
TODD (on camera): But Chief Ramsey and Homeland Security officials make it clear, this higher level of alert may well extend past the November election, possibly even longer.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And our Wolf Blitzer will be talking about the security alert with President Bush's national security adviser four hours from now. Condoleezza Rice will sit down with Wolf Blitzer's guest on "LATE EDITION." That's at noon eastern.
Also talking with Wolf about this alert, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Terror of another sort, the home grown style, that three year old anthrax attack investigation. The FBI searched Dicard (ph), an airport near Pittsburgh Saturday. That came after police searched three homes in New York and New Jersey belonging to Dr. Kenneth Berry. Berry works in the emergency department of a local hospital and founded an organization to teach emergency personal how to respond to biological chemical or nuclear attacks.
When the preliminary military hearing for PFC Lynndie England resumes, some high profile people could be called to the stand. England's attorney says that her hearing may resume the week of August 30. The military judge is now considering a defense request to call several witnesses, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Security Donald Rumsfeld.
CALLAWAY: President Bush is taking the weekend off the campaign trail and instead taking care of a family care up in Maine, but his PDA is packed with campaign events for the coming week, and Jill Dougherty joins us live from the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not actually, Drew, on the compound. That's pretty much locked off. There's really very, very high security. But we are here down the road apiece from he compound, and that's where President Bush wakes up today, Walker's Point, a beautiful old house sticking out into the water. But he's going to end his day back in Washington, D.C. because he does have a lot to do.
This was a brief respite for the president out on a boat, Fidelity III, the family boat, doing some fishing, doing some relaxing and as we know, he also went to a family wedding, but now it's back to the campaign trail. And the reason for that is if you look at some of the numbers, there's a new "Time Magazine" poll showing a very tight race and Senator John Kerry in the lead, 48 and President Bush coming in at 43, Ralph Nader at 4 percent.
The president will have a lot of intense campaigning as he gets back. Monday he'll start out in Virginia right next to Washington, of course, but then he hits the road a multi state tour. Beginning in Florida then going on to New Mexico, Arizona, Los Vegas, California, Portland, Oregon and Sioux City, Iowa.
And that Drew is pretty much the way it's going to be up to the convention and ,even to November 2. This is a very tight race. And as we've been reporting all along, many voters have already made up their mind. So, what both candidates are looking for is to try to peel away some voters from the middle, who may not yet have made up their mind. But their are very few of those left.
CALLAWAY: Jill Dougherty, reporting live from near the compound. Thanks, Jill.
GRIFFIN: Well, a whistle stop means just that. The campaign train is supposed to stop here and there. Only the Kerry/Edwards campaign train just blew by hundreds of potential voters waiting for them in Lawrence, Kansas. Edwards will make up for it today by paying them a visit.
And the Democratic train ended up Saturday in New Mexico. The Hispanic vote could be critical in this tight race. The Kerry/Edwards train chugged into Gallup, New Mexico this morning.
CALLAWAY: I'll bet many of you didn't know this. A team of international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be monitoring this November's election here in the U.S. It's not new. The organization monitored the California governor's race last year as well as the 2002 elections in Florida.
GRIFFIN: And getting back to the basics in the Lone Star State, why Texas is putting a limit on french fries.
CALLAWAY: Plus they came two by two, there's double trouble in Ohio. It's all ahead as CNN's SUNDAY MORNING rolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: The 2004 summer games kick off this week in Athens. So, which events are you looking forward too? That is our e-mail question this morning. Please let us know your thoughts. Send them to us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies a little later on in the show.
CALLAWAY: Good morning. St. Louis, home of the red hot Cardinals where the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 2/1 yesterday on the banks of the Mississippi. They'll play again this afternoon and we'll have your complete weather forecast in about 10 minutes.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: Across Boston this morning, religious leaders are making a plea for peace. A recent upturn of violence has rocked the city with 42 killings so far this year. The pleas by ministers follow a crisis meeting yesterday with Boston's mayor, and of particular concern, 25 of the victims were under the age of 24.
Well, Boston is not the only city dealing with crimes against young people. The U.S. has the highest rate of childhood homicides in the world. And as CNN's Sean Callebs reports, the nation's capital is strongly reflecting that grim statistic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A late night drive-by shooting July 24th in Washington and 15 year old Myesha Lowe became a statistic. But she was so much more, an honor student full of life and a loving daughter.
FRANCES LOWE, MYESHA LOWE'S MOTHER: It's not per se that it's dangerous here. It's not the street, it's the people that are on the streets that make the streets dangerous. I don't like it all. I don't like the violence. It's too many of our young back kids just getting wiped away due tot he gun violence.
CALLEBS: As a precocious grade schooler, Myesha sat at the left arm of then first lady Hillary Clinton promoting reading in schools. She was the 17th juvenile murdered in D.C. this, a sharp increase from last year this time when 12 juveniles had been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people here know somebody that's in jail.
CALLEBS: Tyrone Parker is a criminal turned activist, who says it's unrealistic to think juvenile crime can be policed away. He went to prison for robbery when he was 18 years old. Parker's own son was gunned down at age 13. He contends the streets are just getting meaner.
TYRONE PARKER, ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED MEN: We've seen a rash of different things. We're seeing cops death. We're seeing murders. We're seeing assaults
CALLEBS: With outreach programs he's trying to get kids to see themselves in a different light, away from drugs and violence.
SHANEA BROOKS, D.C. TEEN: It's like we're going against each other, for what? It's no purpose. We just keep on fighting and killing each other for no reason.
CALLEBS: The church is also filling a void, getting teens involved in design, fashion, music, business, a way to show them they can succeed away from the streets.
REV. TONY LEE, EBENEZER AME CHURCH: One of the pieces is if you help them identify their gifts, and you show them how their gifts are working even in ways that don't necessarily seem to be very functional.
CALLEBS: Lee says the same leadership skills used to run a gang could be used much more positively with guidance. He believes then perhaps, Francine Lowe would still be preparing to send her daughter to college, not mourning her loss.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Taking a look at other news across America, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Virginia will open on time this morning after a noisy demonstration forced a brief shut down. Protesters gathered near the Enola Gay exhibit, the plane that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Some survivors have asked the exhibit mention the thousands of Japanese deaths caused by that bombing.
In New Jersey the mid air collision of two small planes have killed both pilots. Plane wreckage landed in a back yard, but nobody on the ground was hurt.
GRIFFIN: The clean up continues in Oregon this morning after firefighters in Gresham battled a blaze Saturday at a tire plant. Take a look at this. Smoke from the fire could be seen as far away as downtown Portland. We have reports that one firefighter was injured.
CALLAWAY: And we just have to share this with you, twins day in an Ohio community in Akron. It's held every year and draws more than 2500 sets of twins plus some triplets and some quadruplets thrown in for good measure. It's held in where else, Twinsburg.
GRIFFIN: Fighting fat, Texas mandates a major overhaul of their public school students, what they will be fed this year. Could their plan lead the rest of the nation? Don't miss this.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: School lunches, details coming up in just a minute on how Texas schools are working to fight childhood obesity, but first, these headlines.
Disclosing the identity of a terror suspect may have backfired in the War On Terror. Pakistani sources say they were using the man to track down al Qaeda operatives around the world, but that sting was compromised by U.S. officials leaking his arrest and identity to the media.
Capital crimes in Iraq will now be eligible for capital punishment. The announcement made this morning, just about an hour ago, that people convicted of murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and other offenses could receive the death penalty in Iraq. The Coalition Authority suspended capital punishment last year. Vice presidential candidate John Edwards is backtracking to Lawrence, Kansas after that last night. He's making amends for a miscommunication that sent the campaign train speeding past supports early yesterday without even slowing down.
Good morning, St. Louis, Missouri. A fair day today in the Gateway City. Orelon Sydney is here with your complete weekend forecast just a couple of minutes way.
CALLAWAY: Well, school children in Texas can say so long to eating French fires as a main course. In an effort to fight childhood obesity, the Texas Agriculture Department has revamped rules on what foods can be served to their 4.2 million public school students, and the new policy went into effect August first.
So what can students expect to see and not see on their lunchroom tray? Let's ask Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, live from Austin, Texas this morning. Thanks for being with us.
SUSAN COMBS, TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: Sure.
CALLAWAY: We mentioned French fries. Now are you eliminating French fries and things like that or are you just reducing the portions that the children are able to eat?
COMBS: We're just reducing the portions. For example, we were finding that a lot of elementary school kids were eating two and three helpings of French fries every single day. And we have nearly 49 percent of 4th graders in Texas are overweight or obese, and the numbers really don't look good for the future. So, we reduced portion sizes in elementary schools, we reduced frequency. All the way across the schools. But we did that with everything else as well. We're very much encouraging fruits and vegetables and lots of healthy items.
CALLAWAY: You're doing more than just encouraging. You're actually having -- some schools are having the vegetables and fruits delivered right from the farm directly to the school. Is that right?
COMBS: Yes, and it's a fantastic program. We're working with The Department of Defense. We've got about 250 plus school districts where the school only has to pay the cost of transportation, and then these Texas fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered directly to the schools. It's running at about $1.6 million a year, and the united States Department of Agriculture has been absolutely terrific to work with.
CALLAWAY: I know -- we were saying here on the side on things that your school are doing -- things like baked potato chips instead of fried potato chips. They're allowed to have more of the baked than they are the fried. What about sugar foods, things really high in sugar? Are you still offering that, like sodas?
COMBS: For elementary schools there are not going to be any sodas anywhere on the school campus during the school day. For middle schools, not during any of the meals periods, and we've reduced the size of the offerings. You cant' have more than an eight ounce drink. We were finding that there were school contracts where there was such an incentive to have a 20 ounce soft drink sold...
CALLAWAY: Wow!
COMBS: ...that the schools were selling them instead of water or juice and that was not working well for our children.
CALLAWAY: Yes, some teens like that caffeine too though. Are you going to allow them to have that?
COMBS: Well, it wasn't so much caffeine we were worried about as the actual sugar. We were having comments from teachers saying in the afternoon the kids would go on a high then they'd crash.
CALLAWAY: Fall asleep in class. All right, now considered revolutionary for some, this program, any other states interested in what you're doing?
COMBS: We've been told, yes. This is, I think the most comprehensive program in the United States. But we have been talking to New Jersey and California, and a number of cities have done incredible things. Philadelphia and a bunch of cities in Los Angeles. We've been contacted by Britain...
CALLAWAY: Wow!
COMBS: ...the countries overseas. France is doing some major things in the last couple of weeks. So, we're very excited about it.
CALLAWAY: What about the parents and the students? What are they saying?
COMBS: We've gotten great e-mails and letters from people saying this has been really important. I haven't been able to control what my kid is eating in school, and thanks very much. Obviously whatever a parent wants to send to school is their business. But what the school serves is ours.
CALLAWAY: It's going to be very interesting to see if grades improve after all of this. Susan, thank you very much for being with us this morning.
When changing your children's eating habits don't forget about their after school snack. The Texas Department of Agriculture also has some recommendations on some healthy snacks for both at school and home. Instead of carbonated beverages or sugar drinks, quench their thirst with fruit juices, a fruit smoothie, even some milk. And instead of cookies or candy have your kid snack on low fat grain foods like pretzels or animal crackers, or try some fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables with low fat dip. Yummy. Now I'm hungry.
GRIFFIN: I'm hungry too. Orelon, are you hungry?
(WEATHER REPORT) GRIFFIN: Let's move on to the Olympics, guys. What do you say? Our question of the morning, which event are you looking forward to? There's always somebody out there, and Elly writes us from Los Angeles this morning, up early Elly. The event I really want to see in the Olympics is the closing ceremony. The games are sooo boring.
CALLAWAY: Keep sending your e-mails to us this morning. There it is, wam@cnn.com. We will read that e-mail on the air.
GRIFFIN: It may be Sunday morning, but how much rest did you get last night? Ahead next hour, how much sleep a person needs and a common sleep disorder.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.
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