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CNN Sunday Morning

U.S. Troops Decorate Graves at National Cemetery With Flags; Iraqi, U.S. Forces Begin Operation Lightning

Aired May 29, 2005 - 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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR:: This Memorial Day weekend, remembering the lives lost for our country. You are looking live at Arlington National Cemetery, and dozens of U.S. troops took part in a special mission there this past week, planting flags in front of each of the 260,000 graves.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is May 29th, and good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.

Let's begin with some headlines. Iraqi forces in Baghdad have begun setting up roadblocks around the capital in advance of a new military offensive. Operation Lightning is the latest anti-insurgency campaign in recent weeks. A live report from Baghdad is straight ahead.

Near the Iraqi city of Amara, British forces suffered casualties today when a roadside bomb hit their convoy. One British soldier was killed. A U.S. Marine also died from a roadside bomb in western Iraq yesterday.

And in the Middle East, about 400 Palestinian prisoners will be set free. Israel's cabinet this morning approved the release. It is the second round of prisoner releases promised by Israel under a February cease-fire with the Palestinians. Israel says none of the freed inmates was involved in attacks on Israelis.

HARRIS: Up first, fighting fire with fire. Iraqi and U.S. forces are getting ready to launch Operation Lightning in Baghdad. They hope to beat back a stubborn insurgency with a massive show of force, some 40,000 members strong. Our senior Baghdad correspondent Jane Arraf is at a U.S. military base, and she joins us now by videophone. Good morning, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony. We're here at this stage with U.S. and Iraqi Special Forces, just part of the growing Iraqi security forces. And as you mentioned, there are going to be tens of thousands of these forces, soldiers and police, in Baghdad, in Operation Lightning over the coming few days.

What they will try to do is crack down on the insurgency and an increasing number of car bombs. (INAUDIBLE), car bombs, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official, that has reached a record level in May -- at least 142 of them. And the prime minister of Iraq says that they have maintained their ability to put together one of those in Baghdad in as little as an hour.

So what we are going to be seeing here over the next few days, checkpoints, police and army ringing the city, doing house-to-house searches, mass arrests. All in an effort to crack down on this insurgency that has gripped this capital -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jane, I asked this question thinking about your work out of Fallujah not that very long ago, and I'm wondering, are you seeing the kind of build-up of personnel, of material that you saw in the lead-up to the offensive in Fallujah?

ARRAF: You know, Fallujah, the battle for Fallujah was billed as the heaviest fighting for the Marines since Vietnam. And it was extremely intense, but unlike Fallujah, you cannot enter a city of five million people, that's the capital of the country. Fallujah, that battle was made possible in a sense by the fact that civilians were given a lot of warning. There was a lot of bombing, a lot of attacks beforehand, and most of them fled.

This now is a city where kids are going to school in the morning. People are going to work. It's a city that is, despite everything, functioning. So what we're going to have is 40,000 Iraqi troops and police along with up to 10,000 U.S. troops, who are going to be engaging in this operation in a city that does have to continue as normally as it can -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jane Arraf in Baghdad for us. Jane, we appreciate it. Thank you.

KAYE: As U.S. troops prepare for battle, they are carrying the memories of their fallen comrades with them. You are looking at live pictures of Arlington National Cemetery on this Memorial Day weekend. Dozens of U.S. troops took part in a special mission there this past week, planting flags in front of each of the 260,000 graves. And as they are about to tell us in their own words, each grave offers a lifetime of inspiration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a way, way bigger cemetery than I thought it was. Countless war heroes are buried throughout the cemetery. They died for our country. They selflessly put their lives on the line. Even just putting a flag on it is just a small honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, just put the flag on the front of the headstone. It's a foot away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you are done with the row, you kind of stand in the row, make sure they are all uniform. If they are not, go and fix your mess-ups. Nobody's perfect, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A flag like this will not go in front of somebody's stone. It's ripped. You know, that's not acceptable.

They have been doing this for a long time. These flags have seen a lot of action. And any flag that breaks or any flag that's like torn or anything like that, does not go in front of anybody's tombstone.

This is definitely a good one. This one looks pretty much brand new.

Yeah, that's too faded. Everybody gets a flag. I mean, I just picture, you know, maybe myself one day being in here, and somebody giving me that honor, of putting a flag on mine for a country that I have put my life to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And this afternoon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will address the Rolling Thunder veterans group on the National Mall. CNN will carry that event live at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here.

KAYE: All right, hope you are ready for a little girl power. Look who is revving up the competition at today's Indy 500.

HARRIS: Plus, we're asking you, is there a better investment out there than real estate right now? E-mail us your thoughts at weekends@cnn.com.

And good morning, Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: On this Memorial Day weekend, many families are remembering those killed in war. Our "Soldier's "Story focuses on one mother who found a way to reach out to other parents so they can cope with the fear and heartache of their son's deployment in Iraq. Tracy Della Vecchia had the courage to open her home and her soul to journalist Cynthia Gorney, to provide a glimpse of the anguish her son's absence is causing. Her story is vividly told in today's "New York Times" magazine.

Both women have agreed to share their experience with us this morning. Tracy Della Vecchia is in Kansas City, and Cynthia Gorney joining us from San Francisco. Good morning to both of you.

CYNTHIA GORNEY, NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: Good morning. Hi, Tracy, nice to see you again.

TRACY DELLA VECCHIA, MOTHER OF U.S. MARINE: Good morning, Randi. Good morning, Cynthia. It's good to see you again, too.

KAYE: Cynthia, let's start with you. Tell us why you decided to write this story?

GORNEY: It seemed to me that there are too many places in this country in which it's possible to live your life without having any personal connection to what's going on in Iraq right now. And Tracy was -- I could tell from some initial conversations we had on the phone -- an extraordinarily eloquent and emotionally generous person. And when I said to her sort of spontaneously, can I just come and move in with you for a little while to see what it's like? She said, yeah. She sounded sort of surprised, but both of us have sons who are the same age. Hers is in the military; mine is not. And we knew that although we were very different in many ways, there were many things that were very similar.

KAYE: And Tracy, we want to mention your son, 22-year-old Derrick Jensen, a corporal there in Baghdad. Tell us a little bit about him and why you decided to let Cynthia and the rest of us into your world.

DELLA VECCHIA: Well, Corporal Jensen has been in the Marine Corps for almost four years now. And he's on his third tour of duty in Iraq, and never imagined he would have to go three times. In January of 2003, when he told me that he was going the first time, I had a million questions. And so I took those questions and as I was answering them, I put a few pages on a Web site. If I had those questions, every other family had those questions too. And...

KAYE: And that was the birth of MarineParents.com?

DELLA VECCHIA: The birth of MarineParents.com, that's right. And it has taken a life of its own. We support over 30,000 people over the last two-and-a-half years. And all of those families with Marines in Iraq or Afghanistan. And it's been a real pleasure to meet so many people, and certainly our lives have taken a different turn. So my son's as well as mine.

KAYE: Tracy, I'm sure it's been emotional at times, reading some of the e-mails that you get through the Web site, some of the postings.

I want to share one and have your reaction to it, and also talk a little bit about some of the others that might stand out for you. This first one says: "My dear friends, the Marines just left us. Phil, our beloved son, was killed in action yesterday. Please keep my husband and daughter and me in your prayers. Please pray for my nieces and nephews as well. Our Phil was so loved by all our family. My heart is breaking. Help me."

Tracy, how do you respond to something like that?

DELLA VECCHIA: That would be Georgette (ph). And Georgette (ph) and I have since become very, very good friends. And it's very, very heart-wrenching to see somebody post when you realize what they are telling you is that their son is gone. And I didn't know you were going to do this to me. And it's just one of the many ranges of emotions that I come across when I have so many people that I'm talking to via e-mail and telephone calls during the day.

And Georgette (ph) is a pillar in the community that we have built. She's right there all the time. Her son had been gone for a little more than a year now. And she's still right there, supporting all of the other parents that are there. So she is a wonderful icon on the Web site. And -- hello, Georgette (ph). KAYE: And I know your son has been involved in quite a bit of action there. He was actually in the square when the statue of Saddam was taken down. Give me an idea of what it's like for you every day and how much you worry about him.

DELLA VECCHIA: Oh, well, I have a tendency to steer clear of the news recently, because I'm afraid of what I will hear, and just before you guys put this on the air I understand we lost another Marine in western Iraq. So I'm -- I'll be waiting to hear from my son and waiting to hear that everybody in his unit is OK, and hoping that it's not somebody that we know. And then grieving tremendously for another family who is having a heartbreaking day today.

KAYE: And Cynthia, you spent quite a bit of time not only with Tracy but with some of the other parents involved here. What stands out for you in their strength?

GORNEY: Tracy is part of an extraordinary circle of women. I'm sure there are groups of parents like this around the country, who have very, very different political views about the war itself, whether it was begun rightly and whether it's been -- it's been carried on the way it should.

But nonetheless, they meet -- her group of women meets every week for dinner. They are amazingly close to each other now. They made a rule when they began meeting that political arguments would not be part of their conversation, and what was fascinating to me, particularly given the level of argument and intense feeling that's going on in this country right now, was the way they are able to talk so intimately about everything, knowing that some of them think the war has been a good thing, and some of them think the war has been a terrible thing.

But the strength that they have, the strength that they give each other and what they share as the mothers of young men who are now or have been in Iraq or Afghanistan is astonishing to watch.

KAYE: Absolutely. We want to mention the Web site one more time, MarineParents.com. And Cynthia Gorney and Tracy Della Vecchia, thank you so much for your time this morning. We hope that Corporal Jensen comes home safely and very soon. Thanks again.

DELLA VECCHIA: Thank you.

GORNEY: Thank you.

HARRIS: That was wonderful.

A check of our top stories this Sunday morning. Iraqi troops are setting up new checkpoints and searching cars as they gear up for a major offensive in Baghdad. Operation Lightning aims to stop the recent wave of deadly insurgent attacks.

Former President Bill Clinton is on the third leg of a tour of tsunami-ravaged regions. This morning, he's in the remote Maldive Islands, and plans to continue onto Indonesia. A boy and his dog. They are a welcome sight for a Missouri family. Searchers have found a 3-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Saturday. He spent Friday night outside, with his dog, after wandering away from a relatives' home.

Do you have dreams of long getaway weekends at the lake, enjoying the vacation home in just the right spot? Can those dreams come true for you? Just ahead, we'll look at the housing market to see how those with second homes are actually causing problems for people looking to buy their first.

KAYE: It is no secret today's Indy 500 may be strong enough for a man, but Danica Patrick is hoping it's made for a woman. The 23- year-old rookie wants to cross the finish line first, becoming the first woman to do so. Here is CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Danica Patrick lines up for the start of the Indianapolis 500, she'll become only the fourth woman in history to do so.

DANICA PATRICK, INDY DRIVER: It's very difficult for me to think about the fact that this was a dream so long ago, and now it's becoming a reality. I'll let my parents and my family remember that right now. I promise you I won't be thinking about much else other than flip the ignition switch on and let's go.

SMITH: Going is what Patrick has been doing all her life. At the age of 16, she left her home in Roscoe, Illinois, and moved to England, alone, to improve her racing skills. That helped get her noticed by Bobby Rahal, who owns a racing team with "Late Night" host David Letterman, whose show Patrick appeared on earlier this week.

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": How're you doing?

PATRICK: Here I am, boss.

LETTERMAN: Nice to see you.

SMITH: From TV and magazine interviews to photo shoots, the 23- year-old rookie is making the most of her unique position.

PATRICK: I use being a female to my advantage, but I also just do things that I think are fun. You know, if in this wide world of media and sports and attention, you know, we all need to have a little bit of fun with it or we'll just burn out.

SMITH: Despite the media crush, Patrick hasn't noticed any jealousy from the male drivers.

PATRICK: I heard a really great quote from Tony Kanaan, and I'm not going to be word for word on it, but it was something along the lines of, I know people are watching her, and if they're watching her they're watching us. And that's what the sport needs. And so, you know, I'm very happy and glad that he said that.

TONY KANAAN, DEFENDING CHAMPION: She's talent, and then she's different. I mean, she's a woman in the middle of 32 guys. So, I think she does deserve to get more attention.

SMITH: So what's the toughest thing about being in a sport dominated by men?

PATRICK: I think the hardest part is just finding an entire race team of mechanics and engineers and owners that 100 percent believe in you and have the same -- same vision and same -- same goals in mind.

SMITH: One of those goals is to be the first female winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Hollywood Sunset Strip is the scene as an award-winning movie director faces drug and alcohol charges. We'll go to our dot- com desk for the details when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's a holiday weekend for most of you, but at cnn.com, they are working hard to keep you informed. So what stories are getting the most attention online this Sunday morning? Let's find out from cnn.com's Christina Park.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: Good morning to you.

PARK: Well, what do you think the number one story is?

KAYE: Oh, I bet Oliver Stone probably getting a little bit of attention.

PARK: Absolutely right. Our number one story on cnn.com right now, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone's arrest. Stone was released from jail early Saturday. Police arrested him Friday night at a checkpoint set up for Memorial Day weekend.

Beverly Hills Police say they found an illegal drug inside Stone's Mercedes. The 58-year-old faces DWI and drug charges.

If you remember in 1999, the filmmaker was arrested on similar charges. Then he agreed to enter a rehab program as part of a plea deal. The Vietnam veteran has won many honors, including Oscar awards for directing the movies "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July."

Another story that's also caught the attention of our users on cnn.com, former President Bill Clinton continues touring Southeast Asia today, despite reports that he's suffering from exhaustion. President Clinton is touring tsunami-hit regions. He's holding meetings in Maldives today. Then, he's off to Banda Aceh, Indonesia. His staff, however, says Clinton is not worn out, with one member saying they are just trying to keep up with him.

Now, to get all of our most popular stories on cnn.com right now, just log on to our Web site, and click on "Most Popular" at the top right-hand side of your screen for the most requested stories.

Now, Randi, those top 10 stories keep changing every 20 minutes, so you have to keep clicking on, to see what's on there.

KAYE: I click every day.

PARK: Oh, good for you. Thank you so much.

KAYE: Thank you, Christina.

HARRIS: And the weather is subject to change every 20 minutes, so that's why we go back to Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAYE: Thank you, Rob.

HARRIS: Thank you.

Mortgage rates, vacation homes, baby boomers. Coming up, why this trio is boosting the market and could actually bust your wallet.

KAYE: Plus, as part of CNN's look back on 25 years of coverage, remembering the 1989 earthquake, and how one woman found her own personal hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A historic plan for the future of Europe resting in the hands of French voters. Welcome back I'm Randi Kaye in today for Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story coming up, first headlines "Now in the News."

Iraqi forces are on the verge of launching a massive crackdown on insurgents in Baghdad. Operation Lightning involves more than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers backed up by U.S. troops and warplanes. They are putting up dozens of new checkpoints and plan to raid and search homes. It comes amid violence in and around Baghdad that's left 15 people dead just today.

Former President Bill Clinton plans to keep traveling. His spokesman says Clinton will continue his trip to tsunami-hit regions of South Asia despite early reports he was canceling because of exhaustion. Clinton is in the Maldives Island this morning. He heads to Indonesia next.

There's word tests will soon start on a new missile defense device. The "New York Times" says it is aimed at protecting airliners from shouldered fired missiles. The Homeland Security Department plans to run the test on three commercial airliners. The test planes will not carry passengers.

She exposed pre-9/11 problems in the FBI. Now Coleen Rowley tells "Time" magazine she's running for office. The FBI whistle- blower tells the magazine she wants to become the next U.S. representative from Minnesota's Second Congressional District. Rowley retired from the FBI last December.

And French voters go to the polls today to vote on a proposed landmark constitution for Europe.

KAYE: There are some who consider the vote so critical they say its outcome could decide the future direction of the continent. For the details let's go to Anand Naidoo at the CNN International Desk.

Good morning, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. French voters are already casting ballots in that referendum. Opinion polls earlier indicated they would reject that European Constitution, but later surveys indicate that the yes campaign was getting some ground. Let's get the latest now from Jim Bittermann in Paris -- Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, those polls have been going up and down all week long here. The last -- the very last poll to be taken on Friday indicated that 52 percent of the French would vote against the treaty and 48 percent would vote for it. Having said that, however, the turnout today has been quite large, especially relative to other elections in the past on similar sorts of issues. The referendum, for instance, on Maastricht back in 1992, by noon on Sunday back then only about 20 percent of the French had voted, but by noon on Sunday today, French time, 25 percent, a quarter of French voters had already rendered their decision on this constitution.

Now, the constitution is important because it's a kind of governance framework for Europe. This new expanded Europe that went from 15 countries to 25 countries has become almost ungovernable under the old rules. So, after years of study, this constitution has been drawn up and has to be put before, not only French voters, but has to be put before all voters within the European community and one way or another, either their governments have to approve it or the voters themselves have to approve it with a referendum.

Now, nine governments have approved it. The French were going to be the 10th, but they are voting now and it still remains to be seen. There will be some hours yet before we know whether they indeed will vote it down and thus, reject the treaty and probably kill it -- Anand.

NAIDOO: Thank, Jim. Jim Bittermann there in Paris.

Now moving on to the Middle East, and the Israeli cabinet has approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners. The cabinet decision is part of a cease-fire agreement reached between the Israeli government and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt that was held last February.

About 500 prisoners were freed in the first phase of that agreement on February 21. And the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, says none of the 900 prisoners that are going to be released was involved in any attacks that killed Israelis.

That's all for me now back to Tony.

HARRIS: Anand, thank you.

It may be hard to believe but we have been right here with you for the last 25 years bringing you the day's events. And as we celebrate our anniversary we are focusing on some of the stories that moved us all. One such story, the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUCK AFFLERBACK, CNN PRODUCER: One of the memorable images was from a surveillance camera at the time that the shaking began. Everyone's reaction was, uh-oh, something's happening, I got to get out of here.

We made our way through San Francisco. It was dark, it was spooky. When we got to the bureau it was dark, also, because there's no power in the city except the building had an emergency generator which provided lights for the exit signs. And our bureau chief, Ken Chamberlain, had ingeniously found a way to tap into the power from the exit sign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ken, what can you tell us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The power is out in our building...

AFFLERBACK: So that's how we managed to send pictures and reports out of the San Francisco bureau during the power failure. The three areas hardest hit by the quake were the Bay Bridge, where a 50- foot section collapsed. There was also a mile-long section of double decker freeway pancaked on top of itself. And then, of course, the marina district in San Francisco where a whole city block went up in frame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For God's sakes, go and help yourself out.

AFFLERBACK: The footage of the fire in the marina district with the collapsed building in front of it, it was propped up by beams, and fire was threatening it. That was one of the imitation we had seen over and over again and it also produced one of the more dramatic rescue stories out of the earthquake.

SHERRA COX, RESCUED FROM BUILDING: The walls started caving in toward me then the ceiling fell on me, literally.

AFFLERBACK: A woman named Sherra Cox was trapped in the bubble when her building collapsed around her and a firefighter by the name of Jerry Shannon crawled through the rubble in an attempt to rescue here and that story was one of the more powerful stories that we told during the '89 earthquake.

COX: I heard a voice asking if anyone was in the building. And I tried to shout but I could tell they couldn't quite hear me, so I found this iron pole and started banging on the door.

JERRY SHANNON, FIREFIGHTER: After the first chain saw went dull, they said, you know, don't go back it looks like this building is on fire and just wasn't recommended, but I'd already made contact with her and promised her that I wouldn't leave her.

COX: I knew he'd be back. I never doubted for a moment that he wouldn't get me out.

SHANNON: When the earthquake happened I was sitting right there. I didn't think at the time that it was anything special. And it's turned out to be, obviously, the biggest event of my life.

COX: When I think about what happened, I mostly feel today that I'm -- was very fortunate. Whatever injuries I had they were all taken care of right away. I lost only possessions, nothing of my friends. And I didn't realize how many friends I really had until that happened. One little boy wrote me a long note about all these things at the very end he said, "I'd send you money but I don't know you."

SHANNON: I was amazed at her attitude, you know. Here's a woman that lost everything in 10 seconds. I mean her -- everything she had on the face of the earth was wiped out. I think during the quake I had a moment of clarity, you know, that possessions, again from Sherra, mean nothing. My best friend Rick always goes, "Pat, the earthquake screwed you up, you know, you're not the same guy." And I'm not the same guy, because my value system changed.

COX: I know, we are very, very good friends and always will be. You don't want that sort of thing to happen, but it does prove that good things do happen out of really terrible situations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And narrating that story was CNN producer Chuck Afflerback. This week CNN celebrates 25 years of bringing news around the world. We will mark our anniversary as the original 24-hour news leader with a prime-time event. We will highlight 25 stories that have impacted people across the world over the last quarter century. "Defining Moments: 25 Stories that Touched our Lives" begins Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

KAYE: Buying a second home? It may seem like a good investment, right now, but what happens if the bottom drops out of the housing market? That's just ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: But first a CNN "Extra." New home sales sped up to a record pace in April, while sales of previously owned home also rose to a record number. And why not buy when money is so cheap. The current 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.71 percent, lower than any annual rate since 1973. This weekend on CNN, find out how to protect yourself from a housing bubble. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Thousands of graves, thousands of flags, one very special tribute. You are looking at live pictures of Arlington National Cemetery on this Memorial Day weekend. Keeping with early military tradition, this past week, soldiers from the 3rd Infantry planted a flag before each of the more than 260,000 graves.

And gathering in Washington, D.C. now, Rolling Thunder. Motorcyclists from all over the country gathering in Washington, D.C., an annual reminder of the heroes who have served and lost their lives defending this country.

Tears of falling on those graves this weekend as loved ones remember the courage of fallen soldiers. We look back now on the life of one of those soldiers. Captain Benjamin Sammis was killed in a helicopter accident in Iraq in 2003. He was 29 and left behind a wife. She tells us about the love of her life in her own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY SAMMIS, WIFE OF CAPT. BENJAMIN SAMMIS: I member I sat on the couch and I stared at this big lieutenant colonel with these big blue eyes and had just tears coming out of his eyes. And they were reading all of those military technical terms and I just stopped the captain for a second, I said, "Did the bad guys get him?" And they said, "Yeah." And that was all I needed to know.

He had a heart that was so big. He just loved everyone. He was very intelligent and he had big dreams for his life. Big dreams. He wanted to be a dad, he wanted to be the best officer he could be. He was funny as anything. He could do voices from "Shrek" and the Clumps from the "Nutty Professor," so he was always there with a laugh to make you smile. Every time I cry, like that, like now, he would just be, "Stacy, just smile for me. Just smile." He was always there to pick me up, too.

I miss everything about him. I miss making dinner together. I miss waking up next to him. I miss the e-mails. I miss the future that we will never have. The children we'll never have. He used to say all the time, we'd go for a walk, he'd say, "You know, we're going to be 80 years old in our matching little sweat suits sitting out here feeding the pigeons." And that sounded great to me. So, I miss that. I was definitely the center of his world and he was the center of my world and we were a great team. He use to call us "Team Sammis." He was my best friend. I'd just come right up to him and put my head in the crook of his neck. He would give me a big bear hug and just hold me so tight. So, maybe that's what I miss the most, just being able to be held and protected, because I just felt so safe in his spot. He just held me so tight. I just knew nothing bad would happen if he were with me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING, I'm Randi Kaye, checking our top stories. More than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers are preparing to launch "Operation Lightning" in Baghdad. Their target, the onslaught of insurgents who have killed hundreds of people in stepped up attacks, recently.

A car bomb exploded near the Iraqi oil ministry compound in Eastern Baghdad, this morning. Police say two people are dead, six others wounded in that blast.

A huge crowd turned out to greet Pope Benedict XVI, this morning, on his first papal trip. The pope is visiting the Italian port city of Bari where he and about 200,000 worshipers celebrated mass.

HARRIS: All this holiday weekend we have been looking at the booming real estate market and growing concern, the bubble might actually spring a leak. It may surprise you to learn that one factor is real estate speculation. Nearly one quarter, 23 percent, of all homes sold in 2004 were bought as investments, and 13 percent were bought as vacation homes. To learn how second homes, vacation homes, and real estate speculation in general are helping fuel this market, we're joined this morning by Sara Clemence. She is the real estate editor at "Forbes.com."

And Sara, good to see you.

SARA CLEMENCE, "FORBES.COM": Thanks for having me, Tony.

HARRIS: You know what we're going to first and foremost? We're settle this debate once and for all between the two of us. Are we in a housing bubble or not?

CLEMENCE: Well, it's a good question and I think it's the question that's on everybody's mind, and if we can settle it I think a lot of people would be very impressed.

HARRIS: Well, I mean, what are the characteristics? I mean, are you convinced?

CLEMENCE: Am I convinced that there is a bubble?

HARRIS: One way or the other. One way or the other.

CLEMENCE: Well, I tend to just agree with Alan Greenspan who, earlier this week, said that it doesn't look like there's a bubble on a national level. But if you look at individual markets, things certainly look bubbly.

HARRIS: Bubbly. OK, so people are buying these second homes, these vacation homes, these investment homes, I had no idea that was part of the reason that we're seeing this uptick in prices, but it makes sense.

CLEMENCE: That's right, and we think it's a big thing. I should say just buying an investment home in itself isn't a bad thing. If people didn't buy investment homes, I wouldn't have a rental apartment to live in.

HARRIS: Right.

CLEMENCE: Right. But we're seeing a lot more investment homes. It's not that people are buying them necessarily because they think they are going to be able to rent them out. They're buying them because they think the prices are going to keep going up, which is very reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of the late '90s.

HARRIS: Well, that was my next question. So who is buying these homes? And it sounds like it's not only wealthy people but folks who are gambling a bit on the market?

CLEMENCE: Yes, I think that's absolutely right. There's not really a concrete way of knowing exactly who all the people are, but we have some indicators. The National Association of Realtors did a study in the past couple of months looking at second home buyers. And they found that while vacation homeowners, which is what we usually think of as second homeowners, were more likely to be retired, you know, baby boomers, they were older, maybe they planned to live in these houses after they retired or go back and forth, you know, New York and in the summer or Arizona in winter...

HARRIS: I got to ask you...

CLEMENCE: But...

HARRIS: Go ahead.

CLEMENCE: Sure...

HARRIS: No, finish your thought.

CLEMENCE: OK. But, they're finding that investment home buyers tend to be younger. And they are taking more of a risk on different kinds of mortgages or maybe home equity loans. They're...

HARRIS: Well Sara, there you go. That's where I'm driving this thing. I mean, 30-year fixed rates, all right, 5.71 percent. So these investment tools, part of the reason -- part of the fuel for this maybe, maybe not bubble.

CLEMENCE: Exactly. They're very much at the ready. And recently we've seen a lot more adjustable rate mortgages, which are very attractive because rates are so low. And if you think you are only going to hang on to a property for a couple of years that sounds great because you think rates aren't going to go up that much. Or people taking these interest only loans. Again, they're only going to hold on to the property for a couple of years. They don't care about the long-term view, their monthly payments might go up...

HARRIS: And Sara, very quickly before I run out of time. Any signs out there you see, with all your business savvy, that this bubble is about to burst and we're about to see a downturn in it?

CLEMENCE: Well, a good question. Even with the Alan Greenspan statements, things are still cranking.

HARRIS: Yeah.

CLEMENCE: I think eventually things will level off. If you look at -- if you look at historical prices, there have been many times when people thought prices were going to keep going up and up and up, and they don't. They might not take a dive unless there's some serious economic problem, but they can flatten out severely and for many, many years.

HARRIS: No dive, but perhaps a flattening is what you see in your crystal ball.

CLEMENCE: Exactly.

HARRIS: All right, Sara, good to see you. Thanks for taking the time this morning.

CLEMENCE: Thank you for having me.

KAYE: All morning long we've been asking your thoughts in our e- mail question of the day, and that question is: "Is there a better investment than real estate?" We want to share a couple of those e- mails with you. The first one from Allison in Ashville, North Carolina. She writes: "I'm a real estate agent and can tell you that real estate is not going to be a good investment. Housing prices are at an all-time high, so investors may never recoup their money. Clients are starting to get spooked by how overvalued housing has become even in this small North Carolina community."

HARRIS: And Randi, this from Atessa this morning, "Owning your own home is absolutely the very best investment a family could ever make no matter what the media is saying about a 'bubble.'"

Are we I being blamed for something here? It feels like we're being...

KAYE: I think we are.

HARRIS: Yeah. "Paying for a mortgage and not rent is an unbelievable way to build a family's wealth." I think we all agree with that.

Thank you for your e-mail this is morning, we appreciate it. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Rob Marciano coming up with your Memorial Day forecast. Washington, D.C., this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We want to take you now to Washington, D.C. and Barbara Starr to tell us what is coming up for "ON THE STORY."

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, "ON THE STORY": Good morning to you, Randi. Well, we're "ON THE STORY" from here in Washington and New York to the Indianapolis 500. I'm "On the Story" of what the U.S. military says about terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with rumors swirling that he may be injured.

"Time" magazine's Karen Tumulty talks about the political fight in Congress this week and how a Monday compromise seemed to fall apart by Thursday. And we'll go to the Indianapolis 500. Will this be the year a woman wins? All coming up, all "ON THE STORY" -- Randi, Tony.

KAYE: Thank you.

HARRIS: That's a great story. Yeah.

KAYE: You know (INAUDIBLE) that one.

HARRIS: Yeah, sure we do.

HARRIS: Let's quickly get to Rob Marciano.

We've got cook-outs, Rob. We've got plans for tomorrow.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We got parades, we got the Indy 500.

HARRIS: That's right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAYE: OK, thanks, Rob.

HARRIS: That's it for us this morning. Thank you for watching. We'll see you back here next weekend.

KAYE: "ON THE STORY" is next. Have a great day.

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


Aired May 29, 2005 - 09:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR:: This Memorial Day weekend, remembering the lives lost for our country. You are looking live at Arlington National Cemetery, and dozens of U.S. troops took part in a special mission there this past week, planting flags in front of each of the 260,000 graves.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is May 29th, and good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.

Let's begin with some headlines. Iraqi forces in Baghdad have begun setting up roadblocks around the capital in advance of a new military offensive. Operation Lightning is the latest anti-insurgency campaign in recent weeks. A live report from Baghdad is straight ahead.

Near the Iraqi city of Amara, British forces suffered casualties today when a roadside bomb hit their convoy. One British soldier was killed. A U.S. Marine also died from a roadside bomb in western Iraq yesterday.

And in the Middle East, about 400 Palestinian prisoners will be set free. Israel's cabinet this morning approved the release. It is the second round of prisoner releases promised by Israel under a February cease-fire with the Palestinians. Israel says none of the freed inmates was involved in attacks on Israelis.

HARRIS: Up first, fighting fire with fire. Iraqi and U.S. forces are getting ready to launch Operation Lightning in Baghdad. They hope to beat back a stubborn insurgency with a massive show of force, some 40,000 members strong. Our senior Baghdad correspondent Jane Arraf is at a U.S. military base, and she joins us now by videophone. Good morning, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony. We're here at this stage with U.S. and Iraqi Special Forces, just part of the growing Iraqi security forces. And as you mentioned, there are going to be tens of thousands of these forces, soldiers and police, in Baghdad, in Operation Lightning over the coming few days.

What they will try to do is crack down on the insurgency and an increasing number of car bombs. (INAUDIBLE), car bombs, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official, that has reached a record level in May -- at least 142 of them. And the prime minister of Iraq says that they have maintained their ability to put together one of those in Baghdad in as little as an hour.

So what we are going to be seeing here over the next few days, checkpoints, police and army ringing the city, doing house-to-house searches, mass arrests. All in an effort to crack down on this insurgency that has gripped this capital -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jane, I asked this question thinking about your work out of Fallujah not that very long ago, and I'm wondering, are you seeing the kind of build-up of personnel, of material that you saw in the lead-up to the offensive in Fallujah?

ARRAF: You know, Fallujah, the battle for Fallujah was billed as the heaviest fighting for the Marines since Vietnam. And it was extremely intense, but unlike Fallujah, you cannot enter a city of five million people, that's the capital of the country. Fallujah, that battle was made possible in a sense by the fact that civilians were given a lot of warning. There was a lot of bombing, a lot of attacks beforehand, and most of them fled.

This now is a city where kids are going to school in the morning. People are going to work. It's a city that is, despite everything, functioning. So what we're going to have is 40,000 Iraqi troops and police along with up to 10,000 U.S. troops, who are going to be engaging in this operation in a city that does have to continue as normally as it can -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jane Arraf in Baghdad for us. Jane, we appreciate it. Thank you.

KAYE: As U.S. troops prepare for battle, they are carrying the memories of their fallen comrades with them. You are looking at live pictures of Arlington National Cemetery on this Memorial Day weekend. Dozens of U.S. troops took part in a special mission there this past week, planting flags in front of each of the 260,000 graves. And as they are about to tell us in their own words, each grave offers a lifetime of inspiration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a way, way bigger cemetery than I thought it was. Countless war heroes are buried throughout the cemetery. They died for our country. They selflessly put their lives on the line. Even just putting a flag on it is just a small honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, just put the flag on the front of the headstone. It's a foot away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you are done with the row, you kind of stand in the row, make sure they are all uniform. If they are not, go and fix your mess-ups. Nobody's perfect, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A flag like this will not go in front of somebody's stone. It's ripped. You know, that's not acceptable.

They have been doing this for a long time. These flags have seen a lot of action. And any flag that breaks or any flag that's like torn or anything like that, does not go in front of anybody's tombstone.

This is definitely a good one. This one looks pretty much brand new.

Yeah, that's too faded. Everybody gets a flag. I mean, I just picture, you know, maybe myself one day being in here, and somebody giving me that honor, of putting a flag on mine for a country that I have put my life to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And this afternoon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will address the Rolling Thunder veterans group on the National Mall. CNN will carry that event live at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here.

KAYE: All right, hope you are ready for a little girl power. Look who is revving up the competition at today's Indy 500.

HARRIS: Plus, we're asking you, is there a better investment out there than real estate right now? E-mail us your thoughts at weekends@cnn.com.

And good morning, Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: On this Memorial Day weekend, many families are remembering those killed in war. Our "Soldier's "Story focuses on one mother who found a way to reach out to other parents so they can cope with the fear and heartache of their son's deployment in Iraq. Tracy Della Vecchia had the courage to open her home and her soul to journalist Cynthia Gorney, to provide a glimpse of the anguish her son's absence is causing. Her story is vividly told in today's "New York Times" magazine.

Both women have agreed to share their experience with us this morning. Tracy Della Vecchia is in Kansas City, and Cynthia Gorney joining us from San Francisco. Good morning to both of you.

CYNTHIA GORNEY, NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: Good morning. Hi, Tracy, nice to see you again.

TRACY DELLA VECCHIA, MOTHER OF U.S. MARINE: Good morning, Randi. Good morning, Cynthia. It's good to see you again, too.

KAYE: Cynthia, let's start with you. Tell us why you decided to write this story?

GORNEY: It seemed to me that there are too many places in this country in which it's possible to live your life without having any personal connection to what's going on in Iraq right now. And Tracy was -- I could tell from some initial conversations we had on the phone -- an extraordinarily eloquent and emotionally generous person. And when I said to her sort of spontaneously, can I just come and move in with you for a little while to see what it's like? She said, yeah. She sounded sort of surprised, but both of us have sons who are the same age. Hers is in the military; mine is not. And we knew that although we were very different in many ways, there were many things that were very similar.

KAYE: And Tracy, we want to mention your son, 22-year-old Derrick Jensen, a corporal there in Baghdad. Tell us a little bit about him and why you decided to let Cynthia and the rest of us into your world.

DELLA VECCHIA: Well, Corporal Jensen has been in the Marine Corps for almost four years now. And he's on his third tour of duty in Iraq, and never imagined he would have to go three times. In January of 2003, when he told me that he was going the first time, I had a million questions. And so I took those questions and as I was answering them, I put a few pages on a Web site. If I had those questions, every other family had those questions too. And...

KAYE: And that was the birth of MarineParents.com?

DELLA VECCHIA: The birth of MarineParents.com, that's right. And it has taken a life of its own. We support over 30,000 people over the last two-and-a-half years. And all of those families with Marines in Iraq or Afghanistan. And it's been a real pleasure to meet so many people, and certainly our lives have taken a different turn. So my son's as well as mine.

KAYE: Tracy, I'm sure it's been emotional at times, reading some of the e-mails that you get through the Web site, some of the postings.

I want to share one and have your reaction to it, and also talk a little bit about some of the others that might stand out for you. This first one says: "My dear friends, the Marines just left us. Phil, our beloved son, was killed in action yesterday. Please keep my husband and daughter and me in your prayers. Please pray for my nieces and nephews as well. Our Phil was so loved by all our family. My heart is breaking. Help me."

Tracy, how do you respond to something like that?

DELLA VECCHIA: That would be Georgette (ph). And Georgette (ph) and I have since become very, very good friends. And it's very, very heart-wrenching to see somebody post when you realize what they are telling you is that their son is gone. And I didn't know you were going to do this to me. And it's just one of the many ranges of emotions that I come across when I have so many people that I'm talking to via e-mail and telephone calls during the day.

And Georgette (ph) is a pillar in the community that we have built. She's right there all the time. Her son had been gone for a little more than a year now. And she's still right there, supporting all of the other parents that are there. So she is a wonderful icon on the Web site. And -- hello, Georgette (ph). KAYE: And I know your son has been involved in quite a bit of action there. He was actually in the square when the statue of Saddam was taken down. Give me an idea of what it's like for you every day and how much you worry about him.

DELLA VECCHIA: Oh, well, I have a tendency to steer clear of the news recently, because I'm afraid of what I will hear, and just before you guys put this on the air I understand we lost another Marine in western Iraq. So I'm -- I'll be waiting to hear from my son and waiting to hear that everybody in his unit is OK, and hoping that it's not somebody that we know. And then grieving tremendously for another family who is having a heartbreaking day today.

KAYE: And Cynthia, you spent quite a bit of time not only with Tracy but with some of the other parents involved here. What stands out for you in their strength?

GORNEY: Tracy is part of an extraordinary circle of women. I'm sure there are groups of parents like this around the country, who have very, very different political views about the war itself, whether it was begun rightly and whether it's been -- it's been carried on the way it should.

But nonetheless, they meet -- her group of women meets every week for dinner. They are amazingly close to each other now. They made a rule when they began meeting that political arguments would not be part of their conversation, and what was fascinating to me, particularly given the level of argument and intense feeling that's going on in this country right now, was the way they are able to talk so intimately about everything, knowing that some of them think the war has been a good thing, and some of them think the war has been a terrible thing.

But the strength that they have, the strength that they give each other and what they share as the mothers of young men who are now or have been in Iraq or Afghanistan is astonishing to watch.

KAYE: Absolutely. We want to mention the Web site one more time, MarineParents.com. And Cynthia Gorney and Tracy Della Vecchia, thank you so much for your time this morning. We hope that Corporal Jensen comes home safely and very soon. Thanks again.

DELLA VECCHIA: Thank you.

GORNEY: Thank you.

HARRIS: That was wonderful.

A check of our top stories this Sunday morning. Iraqi troops are setting up new checkpoints and searching cars as they gear up for a major offensive in Baghdad. Operation Lightning aims to stop the recent wave of deadly insurgent attacks.

Former President Bill Clinton is on the third leg of a tour of tsunami-ravaged regions. This morning, he's in the remote Maldive Islands, and plans to continue onto Indonesia. A boy and his dog. They are a welcome sight for a Missouri family. Searchers have found a 3-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Saturday. He spent Friday night outside, with his dog, after wandering away from a relatives' home.

Do you have dreams of long getaway weekends at the lake, enjoying the vacation home in just the right spot? Can those dreams come true for you? Just ahead, we'll look at the housing market to see how those with second homes are actually causing problems for people looking to buy their first.

KAYE: It is no secret today's Indy 500 may be strong enough for a man, but Danica Patrick is hoping it's made for a woman. The 23- year-old rookie wants to cross the finish line first, becoming the first woman to do so. Here is CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Danica Patrick lines up for the start of the Indianapolis 500, she'll become only the fourth woman in history to do so.

DANICA PATRICK, INDY DRIVER: It's very difficult for me to think about the fact that this was a dream so long ago, and now it's becoming a reality. I'll let my parents and my family remember that right now. I promise you I won't be thinking about much else other than flip the ignition switch on and let's go.

SMITH: Going is what Patrick has been doing all her life. At the age of 16, she left her home in Roscoe, Illinois, and moved to England, alone, to improve her racing skills. That helped get her noticed by Bobby Rahal, who owns a racing team with "Late Night" host David Letterman, whose show Patrick appeared on earlier this week.

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": How're you doing?

PATRICK: Here I am, boss.

LETTERMAN: Nice to see you.

SMITH: From TV and magazine interviews to photo shoots, the 23- year-old rookie is making the most of her unique position.

PATRICK: I use being a female to my advantage, but I also just do things that I think are fun. You know, if in this wide world of media and sports and attention, you know, we all need to have a little bit of fun with it or we'll just burn out.

SMITH: Despite the media crush, Patrick hasn't noticed any jealousy from the male drivers.

PATRICK: I heard a really great quote from Tony Kanaan, and I'm not going to be word for word on it, but it was something along the lines of, I know people are watching her, and if they're watching her they're watching us. And that's what the sport needs. And so, you know, I'm very happy and glad that he said that.

TONY KANAAN, DEFENDING CHAMPION: She's talent, and then she's different. I mean, she's a woman in the middle of 32 guys. So, I think she does deserve to get more attention.

SMITH: So what's the toughest thing about being in a sport dominated by men?

PATRICK: I think the hardest part is just finding an entire race team of mechanics and engineers and owners that 100 percent believe in you and have the same -- same vision and same -- same goals in mind.

SMITH: One of those goals is to be the first female winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Hollywood Sunset Strip is the scene as an award-winning movie director faces drug and alcohol charges. We'll go to our dot- com desk for the details when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's a holiday weekend for most of you, but at cnn.com, they are working hard to keep you informed. So what stories are getting the most attention online this Sunday morning? Let's find out from cnn.com's Christina Park.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: Good morning to you.

PARK: Well, what do you think the number one story is?

KAYE: Oh, I bet Oliver Stone probably getting a little bit of attention.

PARK: Absolutely right. Our number one story on cnn.com right now, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone's arrest. Stone was released from jail early Saturday. Police arrested him Friday night at a checkpoint set up for Memorial Day weekend.

Beverly Hills Police say they found an illegal drug inside Stone's Mercedes. The 58-year-old faces DWI and drug charges.

If you remember in 1999, the filmmaker was arrested on similar charges. Then he agreed to enter a rehab program as part of a plea deal. The Vietnam veteran has won many honors, including Oscar awards for directing the movies "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July."

Another story that's also caught the attention of our users on cnn.com, former President Bill Clinton continues touring Southeast Asia today, despite reports that he's suffering from exhaustion. President Clinton is touring tsunami-hit regions. He's holding meetings in Maldives today. Then, he's off to Banda Aceh, Indonesia. His staff, however, says Clinton is not worn out, with one member saying they are just trying to keep up with him.

Now, to get all of our most popular stories on cnn.com right now, just log on to our Web site, and click on "Most Popular" at the top right-hand side of your screen for the most requested stories.

Now, Randi, those top 10 stories keep changing every 20 minutes, so you have to keep clicking on, to see what's on there.

KAYE: I click every day.

PARK: Oh, good for you. Thank you so much.

KAYE: Thank you, Christina.

HARRIS: And the weather is subject to change every 20 minutes, so that's why we go back to Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAYE: Thank you, Rob.

HARRIS: Thank you.

Mortgage rates, vacation homes, baby boomers. Coming up, why this trio is boosting the market and could actually bust your wallet.

KAYE: Plus, as part of CNN's look back on 25 years of coverage, remembering the 1989 earthquake, and how one woman found her own personal hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A historic plan for the future of Europe resting in the hands of French voters. Welcome back I'm Randi Kaye in today for Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story coming up, first headlines "Now in the News."

Iraqi forces are on the verge of launching a massive crackdown on insurgents in Baghdad. Operation Lightning involves more than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers backed up by U.S. troops and warplanes. They are putting up dozens of new checkpoints and plan to raid and search homes. It comes amid violence in and around Baghdad that's left 15 people dead just today.

Former President Bill Clinton plans to keep traveling. His spokesman says Clinton will continue his trip to tsunami-hit regions of South Asia despite early reports he was canceling because of exhaustion. Clinton is in the Maldives Island this morning. He heads to Indonesia next.

There's word tests will soon start on a new missile defense device. The "New York Times" says it is aimed at protecting airliners from shouldered fired missiles. The Homeland Security Department plans to run the test on three commercial airliners. The test planes will not carry passengers.

She exposed pre-9/11 problems in the FBI. Now Coleen Rowley tells "Time" magazine she's running for office. The FBI whistle- blower tells the magazine she wants to become the next U.S. representative from Minnesota's Second Congressional District. Rowley retired from the FBI last December.

And French voters go to the polls today to vote on a proposed landmark constitution for Europe.

KAYE: There are some who consider the vote so critical they say its outcome could decide the future direction of the continent. For the details let's go to Anand Naidoo at the CNN International Desk.

Good morning, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. French voters are already casting ballots in that referendum. Opinion polls earlier indicated they would reject that European Constitution, but later surveys indicate that the yes campaign was getting some ground. Let's get the latest now from Jim Bittermann in Paris -- Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, those polls have been going up and down all week long here. The last -- the very last poll to be taken on Friday indicated that 52 percent of the French would vote against the treaty and 48 percent would vote for it. Having said that, however, the turnout today has been quite large, especially relative to other elections in the past on similar sorts of issues. The referendum, for instance, on Maastricht back in 1992, by noon on Sunday back then only about 20 percent of the French had voted, but by noon on Sunday today, French time, 25 percent, a quarter of French voters had already rendered their decision on this constitution.

Now, the constitution is important because it's a kind of governance framework for Europe. This new expanded Europe that went from 15 countries to 25 countries has become almost ungovernable under the old rules. So, after years of study, this constitution has been drawn up and has to be put before, not only French voters, but has to be put before all voters within the European community and one way or another, either their governments have to approve it or the voters themselves have to approve it with a referendum.

Now, nine governments have approved it. The French were going to be the 10th, but they are voting now and it still remains to be seen. There will be some hours yet before we know whether they indeed will vote it down and thus, reject the treaty and probably kill it -- Anand.

NAIDOO: Thank, Jim. Jim Bittermann there in Paris.

Now moving on to the Middle East, and the Israeli cabinet has approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners. The cabinet decision is part of a cease-fire agreement reached between the Israeli government and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt that was held last February.

About 500 prisoners were freed in the first phase of that agreement on February 21. And the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, says none of the 900 prisoners that are going to be released was involved in any attacks that killed Israelis.

That's all for me now back to Tony.

HARRIS: Anand, thank you.

It may be hard to believe but we have been right here with you for the last 25 years bringing you the day's events. And as we celebrate our anniversary we are focusing on some of the stories that moved us all. One such story, the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUCK AFFLERBACK, CNN PRODUCER: One of the memorable images was from a surveillance camera at the time that the shaking began. Everyone's reaction was, uh-oh, something's happening, I got to get out of here.

We made our way through San Francisco. It was dark, it was spooky. When we got to the bureau it was dark, also, because there's no power in the city except the building had an emergency generator which provided lights for the exit signs. And our bureau chief, Ken Chamberlain, had ingeniously found a way to tap into the power from the exit sign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ken, what can you tell us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The power is out in our building...

AFFLERBACK: So that's how we managed to send pictures and reports out of the San Francisco bureau during the power failure. The three areas hardest hit by the quake were the Bay Bridge, where a 50- foot section collapsed. There was also a mile-long section of double decker freeway pancaked on top of itself. And then, of course, the marina district in San Francisco where a whole city block went up in frame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For God's sakes, go and help yourself out.

AFFLERBACK: The footage of the fire in the marina district with the collapsed building in front of it, it was propped up by beams, and fire was threatening it. That was one of the imitation we had seen over and over again and it also produced one of the more dramatic rescue stories out of the earthquake.

SHERRA COX, RESCUED FROM BUILDING: The walls started caving in toward me then the ceiling fell on me, literally.

AFFLERBACK: A woman named Sherra Cox was trapped in the bubble when her building collapsed around her and a firefighter by the name of Jerry Shannon crawled through the rubble in an attempt to rescue here and that story was one of the more powerful stories that we told during the '89 earthquake.

COX: I heard a voice asking if anyone was in the building. And I tried to shout but I could tell they couldn't quite hear me, so I found this iron pole and started banging on the door.

JERRY SHANNON, FIREFIGHTER: After the first chain saw went dull, they said, you know, don't go back it looks like this building is on fire and just wasn't recommended, but I'd already made contact with her and promised her that I wouldn't leave her.

COX: I knew he'd be back. I never doubted for a moment that he wouldn't get me out.

SHANNON: When the earthquake happened I was sitting right there. I didn't think at the time that it was anything special. And it's turned out to be, obviously, the biggest event of my life.

COX: When I think about what happened, I mostly feel today that I'm -- was very fortunate. Whatever injuries I had they were all taken care of right away. I lost only possessions, nothing of my friends. And I didn't realize how many friends I really had until that happened. One little boy wrote me a long note about all these things at the very end he said, "I'd send you money but I don't know you."

SHANNON: I was amazed at her attitude, you know. Here's a woman that lost everything in 10 seconds. I mean her -- everything she had on the face of the earth was wiped out. I think during the quake I had a moment of clarity, you know, that possessions, again from Sherra, mean nothing. My best friend Rick always goes, "Pat, the earthquake screwed you up, you know, you're not the same guy." And I'm not the same guy, because my value system changed.

COX: I know, we are very, very good friends and always will be. You don't want that sort of thing to happen, but it does prove that good things do happen out of really terrible situations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And narrating that story was CNN producer Chuck Afflerback. This week CNN celebrates 25 years of bringing news around the world. We will mark our anniversary as the original 24-hour news leader with a prime-time event. We will highlight 25 stories that have impacted people across the world over the last quarter century. "Defining Moments: 25 Stories that Touched our Lives" begins Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

KAYE: Buying a second home? It may seem like a good investment, right now, but what happens if the bottom drops out of the housing market? That's just ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: But first a CNN "Extra." New home sales sped up to a record pace in April, while sales of previously owned home also rose to a record number. And why not buy when money is so cheap. The current 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.71 percent, lower than any annual rate since 1973. This weekend on CNN, find out how to protect yourself from a housing bubble. We'll be right back.

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HARRIS: Thousands of graves, thousands of flags, one very special tribute. You are looking at live pictures of Arlington National Cemetery on this Memorial Day weekend. Keeping with early military tradition, this past week, soldiers from the 3rd Infantry planted a flag before each of the more than 260,000 graves.

And gathering in Washington, D.C. now, Rolling Thunder. Motorcyclists from all over the country gathering in Washington, D.C., an annual reminder of the heroes who have served and lost their lives defending this country.

Tears of falling on those graves this weekend as loved ones remember the courage of fallen soldiers. We look back now on the life of one of those soldiers. Captain Benjamin Sammis was killed in a helicopter accident in Iraq in 2003. He was 29 and left behind a wife. She tells us about the love of her life in her own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY SAMMIS, WIFE OF CAPT. BENJAMIN SAMMIS: I member I sat on the couch and I stared at this big lieutenant colonel with these big blue eyes and had just tears coming out of his eyes. And they were reading all of those military technical terms and I just stopped the captain for a second, I said, "Did the bad guys get him?" And they said, "Yeah." And that was all I needed to know.

He had a heart that was so big. He just loved everyone. He was very intelligent and he had big dreams for his life. Big dreams. He wanted to be a dad, he wanted to be the best officer he could be. He was funny as anything. He could do voices from "Shrek" and the Clumps from the "Nutty Professor," so he was always there with a laugh to make you smile. Every time I cry, like that, like now, he would just be, "Stacy, just smile for me. Just smile." He was always there to pick me up, too.

I miss everything about him. I miss making dinner together. I miss waking up next to him. I miss the e-mails. I miss the future that we will never have. The children we'll never have. He used to say all the time, we'd go for a walk, he'd say, "You know, we're going to be 80 years old in our matching little sweat suits sitting out here feeding the pigeons." And that sounded great to me. So, I miss that. I was definitely the center of his world and he was the center of my world and we were a great team. He use to call us "Team Sammis." He was my best friend. I'd just come right up to him and put my head in the crook of his neck. He would give me a big bear hug and just hold me so tight. So, maybe that's what I miss the most, just being able to be held and protected, because I just felt so safe in his spot. He just held me so tight. I just knew nothing bad would happen if he were with me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING, I'm Randi Kaye, checking our top stories. More than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers are preparing to launch "Operation Lightning" in Baghdad. Their target, the onslaught of insurgents who have killed hundreds of people in stepped up attacks, recently.

A car bomb exploded near the Iraqi oil ministry compound in Eastern Baghdad, this morning. Police say two people are dead, six others wounded in that blast.

A huge crowd turned out to greet Pope Benedict XVI, this morning, on his first papal trip. The pope is visiting the Italian port city of Bari where he and about 200,000 worshipers celebrated mass.

HARRIS: All this holiday weekend we have been looking at the booming real estate market and growing concern, the bubble might actually spring a leak. It may surprise you to learn that one factor is real estate speculation. Nearly one quarter, 23 percent, of all homes sold in 2004 were bought as investments, and 13 percent were bought as vacation homes. To learn how second homes, vacation homes, and real estate speculation in general are helping fuel this market, we're joined this morning by Sara Clemence. She is the real estate editor at "Forbes.com."

And Sara, good to see you.

SARA CLEMENCE, "FORBES.COM": Thanks for having me, Tony.

HARRIS: You know what we're going to first and foremost? We're settle this debate once and for all between the two of us. Are we in a housing bubble or not?

CLEMENCE: Well, it's a good question and I think it's the question that's on everybody's mind, and if we can settle it I think a lot of people would be very impressed.

HARRIS: Well, I mean, what are the characteristics? I mean, are you convinced?

CLEMENCE: Am I convinced that there is a bubble?

HARRIS: One way or the other. One way or the other.

CLEMENCE: Well, I tend to just agree with Alan Greenspan who, earlier this week, said that it doesn't look like there's a bubble on a national level. But if you look at individual markets, things certainly look bubbly.

HARRIS: Bubbly. OK, so people are buying these second homes, these vacation homes, these investment homes, I had no idea that was part of the reason that we're seeing this uptick in prices, but it makes sense.

CLEMENCE: That's right, and we think it's a big thing. I should say just buying an investment home in itself isn't a bad thing. If people didn't buy investment homes, I wouldn't have a rental apartment to live in.

HARRIS: Right.

CLEMENCE: Right. But we're seeing a lot more investment homes. It's not that people are buying them necessarily because they think they are going to be able to rent them out. They're buying them because they think the prices are going to keep going up, which is very reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of the late '90s.

HARRIS: Well, that was my next question. So who is buying these homes? And it sounds like it's not only wealthy people but folks who are gambling a bit on the market?

CLEMENCE: Yes, I think that's absolutely right. There's not really a concrete way of knowing exactly who all the people are, but we have some indicators. The National Association of Realtors did a study in the past couple of months looking at second home buyers. And they found that while vacation homeowners, which is what we usually think of as second homeowners, were more likely to be retired, you know, baby boomers, they were older, maybe they planned to live in these houses after they retired or go back and forth, you know, New York and in the summer or Arizona in winter...

HARRIS: I got to ask you...

CLEMENCE: But...

HARRIS: Go ahead.

CLEMENCE: Sure...

HARRIS: No, finish your thought.

CLEMENCE: OK. But, they're finding that investment home buyers tend to be younger. And they are taking more of a risk on different kinds of mortgages or maybe home equity loans. They're...

HARRIS: Well Sara, there you go. That's where I'm driving this thing. I mean, 30-year fixed rates, all right, 5.71 percent. So these investment tools, part of the reason -- part of the fuel for this maybe, maybe not bubble.

CLEMENCE: Exactly. They're very much at the ready. And recently we've seen a lot more adjustable rate mortgages, which are very attractive because rates are so low. And if you think you are only going to hang on to a property for a couple of years that sounds great because you think rates aren't going to go up that much. Or people taking these interest only loans. Again, they're only going to hold on to the property for a couple of years. They don't care about the long-term view, their monthly payments might go up...

HARRIS: And Sara, very quickly before I run out of time. Any signs out there you see, with all your business savvy, that this bubble is about to burst and we're about to see a downturn in it?

CLEMENCE: Well, a good question. Even with the Alan Greenspan statements, things are still cranking.

HARRIS: Yeah.

CLEMENCE: I think eventually things will level off. If you look at -- if you look at historical prices, there have been many times when people thought prices were going to keep going up and up and up, and they don't. They might not take a dive unless there's some serious economic problem, but they can flatten out severely and for many, many years.

HARRIS: No dive, but perhaps a flattening is what you see in your crystal ball.

CLEMENCE: Exactly.

HARRIS: All right, Sara, good to see you. Thanks for taking the time this morning.

CLEMENCE: Thank you for having me.

KAYE: All morning long we've been asking your thoughts in our e- mail question of the day, and that question is: "Is there a better investment than real estate?" We want to share a couple of those e- mails with you. The first one from Allison in Ashville, North Carolina. She writes: "I'm a real estate agent and can tell you that real estate is not going to be a good investment. Housing prices are at an all-time high, so investors may never recoup their money. Clients are starting to get spooked by how overvalued housing has become even in this small North Carolina community."

HARRIS: And Randi, this from Atessa this morning, "Owning your own home is absolutely the very best investment a family could ever make no matter what the media is saying about a 'bubble.'"

Are we I being blamed for something here? It feels like we're being...

KAYE: I think we are.

HARRIS: Yeah. "Paying for a mortgage and not rent is an unbelievable way to build a family's wealth." I think we all agree with that.

Thank you for your e-mail this is morning, we appreciate it. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Rob Marciano coming up with your Memorial Day forecast. Washington, D.C., this morning. We'll be right back.

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KAYE: We want to take you now to Washington, D.C. and Barbara Starr to tell us what is coming up for "ON THE STORY."

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, "ON THE STORY": Good morning to you, Randi. Well, we're "ON THE STORY" from here in Washington and New York to the Indianapolis 500. I'm "On the Story" of what the U.S. military says about terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with rumors swirling that he may be injured.

"Time" magazine's Karen Tumulty talks about the political fight in Congress this week and how a Monday compromise seemed to fall apart by Thursday. And we'll go to the Indianapolis 500. Will this be the year a woman wins? All coming up, all "ON THE STORY" -- Randi, Tony.

KAYE: Thank you.

HARRIS: That's a great story. Yeah.

KAYE: You know (INAUDIBLE) that one.

HARRIS: Yeah, sure we do.

HARRIS: Let's quickly get to Rob Marciano.

We've got cook-outs, Rob. We've got plans for tomorrow.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We got parades, we got the Indy 500.

HARRIS: That's right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAYE: OK, thanks, Rob.

HARRIS: That's it for us this morning. Thank you for watching. We'll see you back here next weekend.

KAYE: "ON THE STORY" is next. Have a great day.

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