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CNN Sunday Morning

Yushchenko Holds Press Conference; White House Looks for Replacement for Kerik

Aired December 12, 2004 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): I think it would be appropriate to compare this to the fall of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In his first news conference since confirmation he was poisoned, presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko delivers a harsh message to the Ukrainian government.

And, good morning everyone, it is December 12th and this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for joining us, 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

Let's get to the day's top stories shall we?

(NEWSBREAK)

And coming up this hour, a riddle, oh baby, what Army base is seeing a lot more visits from the stork these days, the story behind some very special deliveries.

And 'tis the season to be, well, stressed. If you're scrambling to plan a party or just a getaway, we've got some jolly for you. We'll tell you how to easily do both in our Best of the Web segment.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy holidays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seasons greetings and happy holidays is never a substitute for Merry Christmas and never will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. So, who's the grinch that stole Merry Christmas? Find out why some people are turning away from that holiday greeting in favor of something else. HARRIS: Our top story this hour, an election cliffhanger and political whodunit as officials try to figure out who poisoned Ukrainian presidential hopeful Viktor Yushchenko. The candidate himself speaks for the first time since learning his diagnosis.

For the latest, we turn to CNN's Jill Dougherty live in Moscow, good morning Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony.

Well, Mr. Yushchenko was sitting there with his doctors at his side and his American-born wife Kateryna acting as his interpreter but he didn't say much, very much at all about what everybody wanted to know.

What did he think about the report by the doctors that it was dioxin poisoning and perhaps it had been done deliberately? No comment about that but he did have some political comments about the situation in Ukraine, historic changes he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YUSHCHENKO (through interpreter): The students declared a general national strike. We hadn't seen anything like that for the past 100 years. I think it would be appropriate to compare this to the fall of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: Now, interestingly, the doctor for Yushchenko actually did have a little bit more to add to the mystery about what happened with the poisoning. He said that the poison, number one, was not detectable in routine forensic tests and that the illness, as he put it, has not been observed anywhere else beforehand. So, it continues to be somewhat of a mystery and, Tony, we still don't know, as you said, whodunit.

HARRIS: Whodunit, all right Jill. Let me just be clear here for a second. When we're talking about poisoning and when the doctors say it was poisoning, we're talking about levels in Mr. Yushchenko's body that indicate a deliberate act to bring harm to him, is that what we're saying here?

DOUGHERTY: Correct, it would appear. Now, the doctors are not saying that they can 100 percent say it was deliberate but when you put these pieces together they are saying that that is the likely scenario that this was done to him. They even say it was probably introduced, since it's soluble, in some type of liquid that he drank or perhaps even in soup.

HARRIS: So, let's sort of try to backtrack this with the time we have left. What is the date that's being looked at, being targeted as to when this might have happened? He ended up, he had dinner on October 5th with the security chief in the Ukraine and then turned up sick the next day?

DOUGHERTY: Yes, actually it was September.

HARRIS: September, OK.

DOUGHERTY: September 5th is when he had that dinner with, yes, with the leadership of the security services and then that evening, remember, his wife said that she tasted when she gave him a goodnight kiss, she tasted something metallic on his lips. He didn't seem to notice much of anything.

The next day on the 6th he falls very severely ill and, on the 10th, four days later, he heads off to Vienna to this clinic where they say that if he had stuck around in Ukraine for another 24 hours he actually could have died.

HARRIS: Do the doctors have his condition under control now?

DOUGHERTY: They say that in terms of the internal organs because he was actually burned. There was ulceration inside his digestive tract from whatever he ingested, so they say that's all returning to normal. Physically he is in much better shape, much less pain than he had but that facial scarring could take a long time before it goes away. In fact, they're saying it could actually take years.

HARRIS: And the dioxins in his system make him more susceptible to cancer, is that correct?

DOUGHERTY: Correct. That's what they believe that he would be more susceptible to cancer and also reproductive problems, sterility, et cetera. It's a very long-lasting chemical. Once it gets into the body it's in there for a very long time.

HARRIS: And, Jill, one final question. Have we heard any words of encouragement, get well soon, from President Kuchma, from the prime minister of the country?

DOUGHERTY: Not really, although Mr. Yanukovich, who is his opponent in this race before the doctors came out with their report said, "Well, we know he's ill. We hope he'll get better but I'm going to leave it to the doctors to decide what happened to him." And since the doctors came out, there really has been no comment officially that we have seen.

HARRIS: Well, it is a campaign. Jill Dougherty in Moscow for us this morning, Jill, thank you.

Let's take a closer look now at exactly what dioxins are. They are some of the most toxic chemicals known to science. Dioxin is a general term used to describe hundreds of chemicals found in the environment. They are formed as a byproduct of many industrial processes like paper bleaching and trash burning.

Dioxins make their way into many foods we eat, including meat, dairy products and especially fish. Dioxin is a class one carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans. It can cause birth defects in pregnant women. The skin disorder Mr. Yushchenko is experiencing is a documented side effect of exposure. Dioxin is also the primary poison used in Agent Orange, the deadly herbicide used by American troops during the Vietnam War.

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to a prominent job opening in Washington and the question of who may be the next applicant. President Bush is likely mulling over resumes now that Bernard Kerik has bowed out of consideration for the top spot at the Department of Homeland Security.

For the latest, we want to go live to our White House Correspondent Dana Bash who joins us now, good morning Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

And certainly the White House is saying that they are going to move very quickly on trying to find a replacement for Bernie Kerik but there are still some questions and some discussion about just how and why Bernie Kerik pulled out of being nomination, of the nomination process but the White House and Mr. Kerik do agree on one thing that it is Kerik's fault that it was his mistake that led to this and he takes the blame.

Now, Bush officials insist that their vetting process wasn't shoddy or perhaps rushed, as some Democrats say, but they insist that they did the proper questioning of Bernie Kerik and that certainly they came up with some things that have been in the media that made him, what one official called, a colorful nominee but that there was nothing that jeopardized his confirmation until it came out and he put forward to the White House that he employed a nanny who had questionable legal status.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNARD KERIK, FMR. NY POLICE COMMISSIONER: This is my responsibility. It was my mistake. It wasn't a mistake made by the White House I think during their vetting process and this was something that they had looked at but in a deeper, closer look by me it was something that I felt was just something I couldn't move forward on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Bernie Kerik is somebody who had campaigned for President Bush, somebody who Mr. Bush had said and it certainly was known that he liked very, very much.

And Rudy Giuliani, who also had worked with Bernie Kerik in New York City and most recently had been a business partner, said that he was embarrassed about this and that the White House should be upset about it, as officials say that they certainly are, but says that this was a revelation that certainly should have kept his friend, Bernie Kerik, from taking this job because it was about immigration and that is something that as homeland security secretary he would have been in charge of. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Bernie did not want to put the president through a difficult confirmation process where the odds were, because of this issue, he wouldn't get confirmed. Maybe he could have been. Nobody will ever know but it would have not been the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now here at the White House they say certainly that this was an unfortunate incident but that they are moving on. They need to fill this role and one other, HHS secretary. That, we are told, could happen as soon as tomorrow.

But in terms of homeland security they certainly had some people who they were looking at, including and in addition to Bernie Kerik, and they're going to go back to the drawing board now -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Back to the list, all right, Dana Bash at the White House thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, with Kerik out, who should be in? We want you to weigh in. Who would you like to see as head of the Department of Homeland Security? Name your nominee by e-mailing us at wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: A breakthrough of sorts for the U.S. Port Security Program. The United Arab Emirates, a small Persian Gulf nation, has agreed to prescreen all cargo coming through the port of Dubai heading for the United States.

The UAE is the first Mid East country to participate in the new container security initiative run by U.S. Customs. The U.S. will station a small team of officers at the Port of Dubai and UAE Customs will screen any container identified as a potential terrorist target.

Fit for duty, that's the declaration by President Bush's doctors following his annual physical at Bethesda Naval Hospital. While there, the president visited recovering sailors and Marines wounded in action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is such an honor to see those who have been put, put themselves -- who have been injured and are now fighting back and recovering and seeing their spirit and their strength and it's an uplifting experience to come here. I can say to the loved ones in the military that their sons and daughters and husbands and wives get the very best medical care there is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The 50 servicemen and women are being treated at Bethesda for wounds or injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

NGUYEN: And here's a look at other news "Across America" today. Off Alaska's Aleutian Islands authorities suspend their search for six missing crewmen from a wrecked oil tanker. The freighter has broken apart and early estimates are about 140,000 gallons of fuel have spilled into the Bering Sea.

Here in Atlanta, Georgia, thousands took part in a march that began near the gravesite of Martin Luther King, Jr. Protesters also showed up saying the marchers were pushing an anti-gay marriage agenda. Bishop Eddy Long (ph) who organized the event says it was not a march of hatred.

And, in Mount Adam, Ohio, it is the 14th annual Rain Dog Parade, yes. Crowds of costume-clad canines, there they are, stopped by yesterday to take their equally fashion conscious leash holders for a walk, some rain dogs. That's something I haven't seen before.

HARRIS: We hadn't heard of that.

Look when war keeps you from your loved ones for months or even years sparks can fly when you finally get back together. The proof of that often comes nine months later.

NGUYEN: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACEY BAILEY, BLACK HAWK PILOT, U.S. ARMY: We've been married for three years and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies, so this has been -- this has been planned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow, babies, babies and more babies, a military base baby boom on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Oh, baby. Plus, a high tech walk back in time, you won't believe how history unfolds at the Air and Space Museum.

Good morning, Orelon.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it is turning one year old and some two million people are invited to celebrate. The special addition to Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened its doors last December 15th and houses and impressive history of American flight and many are making a trip to the museum and making it a must-do while they're in town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, welcome to the museum. Here's a schedule of today's activities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's American pride on display here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The unit I flew with in Vietnam was the 40th Assault Helicopter Company. It was a very trying time but I think it also was a time where I learned about, you know, growing up and what it was to be a pilot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I did 36 years in the Marine Corps as a pilot. I know a lot about airplanes and I know a lot about space.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I counted eleven vehicles I've flown that are in the museum here. I flew Apollo 13 mission to the moon, was a backup crewman on Apollo 8, Apollo 11 and Apollo 16.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think about the Wright Brothers' flight and then 66 years later we were walking on the moon. It's that excitement of coming in here and seeing these artifacts and to be exposed to what's happened in our country in the first 100 years of flight.

JOHN GLENN, ASTRONAUT: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is so long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think it's exciting because I get to see lots of airplanes and things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a place of inspiration. It's amazing. It's emotional.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think pilots are kind of interesting because they do lots of things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I do say to all these children that come in here if you want to do this reach for the stars. That's really what it's all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: There's a whole lot of history there.

HARRIS: Cute kids.

NGUYEN: Well, U.S. troops home from war are starting a new mission, shall we say.

HARRIS: Well, you could call it Operation Baby Boom if you'd like and some soldiers say it's more intense than anything they've seen on the battlefield. We'll have more after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This holiday season is a very busy one at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, but it doesn't have anything to do with Christmas shopping.

CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can handle that a little baby girl.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he's not swaddling his new baby girl, 33-year-old Jeff Lamprecht flies an Apache helicopter for the Army's 101st Airborne Division. Jeff came home from Iraq last winter, along with thousands of other soldiers from Fort Campbell and a little more than nine months later a full fledged baby boom is underway.

(on camera): Usually in one month they deliver about 130 babies here but this month they're expecting to deliver 220 babies.

(voice-over): Jeff says being in the delivery room for the birth of baby Victoria was more intense than being on the battlefield.

JEFF LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT, 101ST AIRBORNE: People shooting at me, you know, that's all right but seeing my wife help us on that table that brought a tear to my eye.

COHEN: It's a tender moment for the new family, all the more sentimental knowing Jeff will be shipping out again sometime soon.

DONNA LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT'S WIFE: You know he's going to do what he has to get done and Tori (ph) and I will be back here just rooting him right along.

COHEN: Victoria was delivered by an obstetrician called in from another state to help handle the overload.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few weeks ago I got a call saying, "Can you be here by November 1st?" So, I packed everything up and here I am.

COHEN: Several babies were born the day we visited. In each case, the father was on hand. But in today's military, it's not just fathers who serve.

BAILEY: I am a spouse but I'm also a soldier.

COHEN: Tracey Bailey pilots a Black Hawk helicopter. So does her husband. They both served in Iraq and when they returned they didn't waste any time.

BAILEY: We've been married for three years and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies, so this has been -- this has been planned.

COHEN: The twins make theirs a family of six, a family looking forward to an extra special holiday season.

BAILEY: This is the first Christmas we're together in the United States with our daughters and our sons and everybody is together and looking at the future we don't know if there will be one we're all going to be together. This is going to be the one to remember.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: He's a clown Adam Sandler. It's a funny song, sorry. "Good Morning Milwaukee" we just thought we would recognize Hanukkah this morning with a little song, courtesy of Adam Sandler. Can we hear a little bit more of it or do we have to keep going? We got to keep going? All right.

NGUYEN: Our producer says no. OK.

HARRIS: Hey, Orelon, you know there's a lot going on today. We've got football games all over the place and you just saw a shot of Milwaukee there and Green Bay is playing at home today against Detroit. They've got to get a win here.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

HARRIS: Yes, at least the weather conditions are predictable at the Georgia Dome, right? Orelon, thanks.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

HARRIS: The presidential election is over but for the Democrats the campaign has just started. Several Democrats try out for their party's top job and they promise big changes.

NGUYEN: Also, is he a U.S. soldier or a political refugee? That's the question before Canadian officials. We have those details after the break.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 12, 2004 - 09:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): I think it would be appropriate to compare this to the fall of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In his first news conference since confirmation he was poisoned, presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko delivers a harsh message to the Ukrainian government.

And, good morning everyone, it is December 12th and this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for joining us, 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

Let's get to the day's top stories shall we?

(NEWSBREAK)

And coming up this hour, a riddle, oh baby, what Army base is seeing a lot more visits from the stork these days, the story behind some very special deliveries.

And 'tis the season to be, well, stressed. If you're scrambling to plan a party or just a getaway, we've got some jolly for you. We'll tell you how to easily do both in our Best of the Web segment.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy holidays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seasons greetings and happy holidays is never a substitute for Merry Christmas and never will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. So, who's the grinch that stole Merry Christmas? Find out why some people are turning away from that holiday greeting in favor of something else. HARRIS: Our top story this hour, an election cliffhanger and political whodunit as officials try to figure out who poisoned Ukrainian presidential hopeful Viktor Yushchenko. The candidate himself speaks for the first time since learning his diagnosis.

For the latest, we turn to CNN's Jill Dougherty live in Moscow, good morning Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony.

Well, Mr. Yushchenko was sitting there with his doctors at his side and his American-born wife Kateryna acting as his interpreter but he didn't say much, very much at all about what everybody wanted to know.

What did he think about the report by the doctors that it was dioxin poisoning and perhaps it had been done deliberately? No comment about that but he did have some political comments about the situation in Ukraine, historic changes he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YUSHCHENKO (through interpreter): The students declared a general national strike. We hadn't seen anything like that for the past 100 years. I think it would be appropriate to compare this to the fall of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: Now, interestingly, the doctor for Yushchenko actually did have a little bit more to add to the mystery about what happened with the poisoning. He said that the poison, number one, was not detectable in routine forensic tests and that the illness, as he put it, has not been observed anywhere else beforehand. So, it continues to be somewhat of a mystery and, Tony, we still don't know, as you said, whodunit.

HARRIS: Whodunit, all right Jill. Let me just be clear here for a second. When we're talking about poisoning and when the doctors say it was poisoning, we're talking about levels in Mr. Yushchenko's body that indicate a deliberate act to bring harm to him, is that what we're saying here?

DOUGHERTY: Correct, it would appear. Now, the doctors are not saying that they can 100 percent say it was deliberate but when you put these pieces together they are saying that that is the likely scenario that this was done to him. They even say it was probably introduced, since it's soluble, in some type of liquid that he drank or perhaps even in soup.

HARRIS: So, let's sort of try to backtrack this with the time we have left. What is the date that's being looked at, being targeted as to when this might have happened? He ended up, he had dinner on October 5th with the security chief in the Ukraine and then turned up sick the next day?

DOUGHERTY: Yes, actually it was September.

HARRIS: September, OK.

DOUGHERTY: September 5th is when he had that dinner with, yes, with the leadership of the security services and then that evening, remember, his wife said that she tasted when she gave him a goodnight kiss, she tasted something metallic on his lips. He didn't seem to notice much of anything.

The next day on the 6th he falls very severely ill and, on the 10th, four days later, he heads off to Vienna to this clinic where they say that if he had stuck around in Ukraine for another 24 hours he actually could have died.

HARRIS: Do the doctors have his condition under control now?

DOUGHERTY: They say that in terms of the internal organs because he was actually burned. There was ulceration inside his digestive tract from whatever he ingested, so they say that's all returning to normal. Physically he is in much better shape, much less pain than he had but that facial scarring could take a long time before it goes away. In fact, they're saying it could actually take years.

HARRIS: And the dioxins in his system make him more susceptible to cancer, is that correct?

DOUGHERTY: Correct. That's what they believe that he would be more susceptible to cancer and also reproductive problems, sterility, et cetera. It's a very long-lasting chemical. Once it gets into the body it's in there for a very long time.

HARRIS: And, Jill, one final question. Have we heard any words of encouragement, get well soon, from President Kuchma, from the prime minister of the country?

DOUGHERTY: Not really, although Mr. Yanukovich, who is his opponent in this race before the doctors came out with their report said, "Well, we know he's ill. We hope he'll get better but I'm going to leave it to the doctors to decide what happened to him." And since the doctors came out, there really has been no comment officially that we have seen.

HARRIS: Well, it is a campaign. Jill Dougherty in Moscow for us this morning, Jill, thank you.

Let's take a closer look now at exactly what dioxins are. They are some of the most toxic chemicals known to science. Dioxin is a general term used to describe hundreds of chemicals found in the environment. They are formed as a byproduct of many industrial processes like paper bleaching and trash burning.

Dioxins make their way into many foods we eat, including meat, dairy products and especially fish. Dioxin is a class one carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans. It can cause birth defects in pregnant women. The skin disorder Mr. Yushchenko is experiencing is a documented side effect of exposure. Dioxin is also the primary poison used in Agent Orange, the deadly herbicide used by American troops during the Vietnam War.

NGUYEN: We want to turn now to a prominent job opening in Washington and the question of who may be the next applicant. President Bush is likely mulling over resumes now that Bernard Kerik has bowed out of consideration for the top spot at the Department of Homeland Security.

For the latest, we want to go live to our White House Correspondent Dana Bash who joins us now, good morning Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

And certainly the White House is saying that they are going to move very quickly on trying to find a replacement for Bernie Kerik but there are still some questions and some discussion about just how and why Bernie Kerik pulled out of being nomination, of the nomination process but the White House and Mr. Kerik do agree on one thing that it is Kerik's fault that it was his mistake that led to this and he takes the blame.

Now, Bush officials insist that their vetting process wasn't shoddy or perhaps rushed, as some Democrats say, but they insist that they did the proper questioning of Bernie Kerik and that certainly they came up with some things that have been in the media that made him, what one official called, a colorful nominee but that there was nothing that jeopardized his confirmation until it came out and he put forward to the White House that he employed a nanny who had questionable legal status.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNARD KERIK, FMR. NY POLICE COMMISSIONER: This is my responsibility. It was my mistake. It wasn't a mistake made by the White House I think during their vetting process and this was something that they had looked at but in a deeper, closer look by me it was something that I felt was just something I couldn't move forward on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Bernie Kerik is somebody who had campaigned for President Bush, somebody who Mr. Bush had said and it certainly was known that he liked very, very much.

And Rudy Giuliani, who also had worked with Bernie Kerik in New York City and most recently had been a business partner, said that he was embarrassed about this and that the White House should be upset about it, as officials say that they certainly are, but says that this was a revelation that certainly should have kept his friend, Bernie Kerik, from taking this job because it was about immigration and that is something that as homeland security secretary he would have been in charge of. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Bernie did not want to put the president through a difficult confirmation process where the odds were, because of this issue, he wouldn't get confirmed. Maybe he could have been. Nobody will ever know but it would have not been the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now here at the White House they say certainly that this was an unfortunate incident but that they are moving on. They need to fill this role and one other, HHS secretary. That, we are told, could happen as soon as tomorrow.

But in terms of homeland security they certainly had some people who they were looking at, including and in addition to Bernie Kerik, and they're going to go back to the drawing board now -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Back to the list, all right, Dana Bash at the White House thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, with Kerik out, who should be in? We want you to weigh in. Who would you like to see as head of the Department of Homeland Security? Name your nominee by e-mailing us at wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: A breakthrough of sorts for the U.S. Port Security Program. The United Arab Emirates, a small Persian Gulf nation, has agreed to prescreen all cargo coming through the port of Dubai heading for the United States.

The UAE is the first Mid East country to participate in the new container security initiative run by U.S. Customs. The U.S. will station a small team of officers at the Port of Dubai and UAE Customs will screen any container identified as a potential terrorist target.

Fit for duty, that's the declaration by President Bush's doctors following his annual physical at Bethesda Naval Hospital. While there, the president visited recovering sailors and Marines wounded in action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is such an honor to see those who have been put, put themselves -- who have been injured and are now fighting back and recovering and seeing their spirit and their strength and it's an uplifting experience to come here. I can say to the loved ones in the military that their sons and daughters and husbands and wives get the very best medical care there is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The 50 servicemen and women are being treated at Bethesda for wounds or injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

NGUYEN: And here's a look at other news "Across America" today. Off Alaska's Aleutian Islands authorities suspend their search for six missing crewmen from a wrecked oil tanker. The freighter has broken apart and early estimates are about 140,000 gallons of fuel have spilled into the Bering Sea.

Here in Atlanta, Georgia, thousands took part in a march that began near the gravesite of Martin Luther King, Jr. Protesters also showed up saying the marchers were pushing an anti-gay marriage agenda. Bishop Eddy Long (ph) who organized the event says it was not a march of hatred.

And, in Mount Adam, Ohio, it is the 14th annual Rain Dog Parade, yes. Crowds of costume-clad canines, there they are, stopped by yesterday to take their equally fashion conscious leash holders for a walk, some rain dogs. That's something I haven't seen before.

HARRIS: We hadn't heard of that.

Look when war keeps you from your loved ones for months or even years sparks can fly when you finally get back together. The proof of that often comes nine months later.

NGUYEN: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACEY BAILEY, BLACK HAWK PILOT, U.S. ARMY: We've been married for three years and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies, so this has been -- this has been planned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow, babies, babies and more babies, a military base baby boom on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Oh, baby. Plus, a high tech walk back in time, you won't believe how history unfolds at the Air and Space Museum.

Good morning, Orelon.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it is turning one year old and some two million people are invited to celebrate. The special addition to Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened its doors last December 15th and houses and impressive history of American flight and many are making a trip to the museum and making it a must-do while they're in town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, welcome to the museum. Here's a schedule of today's activities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's American pride on display here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The unit I flew with in Vietnam was the 40th Assault Helicopter Company. It was a very trying time but I think it also was a time where I learned about, you know, growing up and what it was to be a pilot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I did 36 years in the Marine Corps as a pilot. I know a lot about airplanes and I know a lot about space.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I counted eleven vehicles I've flown that are in the museum here. I flew Apollo 13 mission to the moon, was a backup crewman on Apollo 8, Apollo 11 and Apollo 16.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think about the Wright Brothers' flight and then 66 years later we were walking on the moon. It's that excitement of coming in here and seeing these artifacts and to be exposed to what's happened in our country in the first 100 years of flight.

JOHN GLENN, ASTRONAUT: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is so long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think it's exciting because I get to see lots of airplanes and things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a place of inspiration. It's amazing. It's emotional.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think pilots are kind of interesting because they do lots of things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I do say to all these children that come in here if you want to do this reach for the stars. That's really what it's all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: There's a whole lot of history there.

HARRIS: Cute kids.

NGUYEN: Well, U.S. troops home from war are starting a new mission, shall we say.

HARRIS: Well, you could call it Operation Baby Boom if you'd like and some soldiers say it's more intense than anything they've seen on the battlefield. We'll have more after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This holiday season is a very busy one at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, but it doesn't have anything to do with Christmas shopping.

CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can handle that a little baby girl.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he's not swaddling his new baby girl, 33-year-old Jeff Lamprecht flies an Apache helicopter for the Army's 101st Airborne Division. Jeff came home from Iraq last winter, along with thousands of other soldiers from Fort Campbell and a little more than nine months later a full fledged baby boom is underway.

(on camera): Usually in one month they deliver about 130 babies here but this month they're expecting to deliver 220 babies.

(voice-over): Jeff says being in the delivery room for the birth of baby Victoria was more intense than being on the battlefield.

JEFF LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT, 101ST AIRBORNE: People shooting at me, you know, that's all right but seeing my wife help us on that table that brought a tear to my eye.

COHEN: It's a tender moment for the new family, all the more sentimental knowing Jeff will be shipping out again sometime soon.

DONNA LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT'S WIFE: You know he's going to do what he has to get done and Tori (ph) and I will be back here just rooting him right along.

COHEN: Victoria was delivered by an obstetrician called in from another state to help handle the overload.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few weeks ago I got a call saying, "Can you be here by November 1st?" So, I packed everything up and here I am.

COHEN: Several babies were born the day we visited. In each case, the father was on hand. But in today's military, it's not just fathers who serve.

BAILEY: I am a spouse but I'm also a soldier.

COHEN: Tracey Bailey pilots a Black Hawk helicopter. So does her husband. They both served in Iraq and when they returned they didn't waste any time.

BAILEY: We've been married for three years and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies, so this has been -- this has been planned.

COHEN: The twins make theirs a family of six, a family looking forward to an extra special holiday season.

BAILEY: This is the first Christmas we're together in the United States with our daughters and our sons and everybody is together and looking at the future we don't know if there will be one we're all going to be together. This is going to be the one to remember.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: He's a clown Adam Sandler. It's a funny song, sorry. "Good Morning Milwaukee" we just thought we would recognize Hanukkah this morning with a little song, courtesy of Adam Sandler. Can we hear a little bit more of it or do we have to keep going? We got to keep going? All right.

NGUYEN: Our producer says no. OK.

HARRIS: Hey, Orelon, you know there's a lot going on today. We've got football games all over the place and you just saw a shot of Milwaukee there and Green Bay is playing at home today against Detroit. They've got to get a win here.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

HARRIS: Yes, at least the weather conditions are predictable at the Georgia Dome, right? Orelon, thanks.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

HARRIS: The presidential election is over but for the Democrats the campaign has just started. Several Democrats try out for their party's top job and they promise big changes.

NGUYEN: Also, is he a U.S. soldier or a political refugee? That's the question before Canadian officials. We have those details after the break.

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