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CNN Sunday Morning

British Newspaper Reports U.S. Officials Held Secret Talks With Insurgent Commanders; Shark Kills 14-Year-Old

Aired June 26, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a British newspaper reports U.S. officials recently held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi insurgent groups. The paper says the goal was to open up lines of communication.
London's "Sunday Times" says there have been two face to face meetings this month, but neither side will validate the report.

Charlotte, North Carolina's old Convention Center is now just a memory and a cloudy pile of rubble, which we will see soon. They lowered the boom on the place imploding it earlier this morning. The new retail and restaurant space will take its place.

Former President Bill Clinton praises Evangelist Billy Graham as the 86 year old preacher concludes his final crusade here in the U.S. Last night Clinton said he's love Graham every since the preacher refused to address a segregated audience during Arkansas civil rights struggles.

And now Cnn.com is offering a whole new way to get the headlines. Just log on to our Web site and click on watch to check out the most popular stories. Everything from politics and sports and entertainment and it's free on CNN.com.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the water is calm this morning, but the fears are anything but after a 14 year old girl is attacked and killed by a shark. In just a few minutes the man who pulled her out of the water and battled the shark speaks to CNN.

And good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Tony Harris. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for being with us today.

HARRIS: Coming up this hour it's been another deadly day in Iraq, four suicide bombings in just 18 hours. We'll have a live report in minutes. And the best way to experience something is to see it for yourself. And that's what a congressional delegation did when they visited Guantanamo Bay. Two of them will join us later this hour.

And a soldier injured in Iraq doesn't let his wounds or his wheelchair slow him down.

NGUYEN: But first the beaches are open in an around Destin, Florida following a deadly shark attack. Walton County officials had closed 20 miles of the shoreline after a shark went after a 14 year old girl. Coming up we will talk to a surfer who came to her rescue. But first, let's check in with CNN's Drew Griffin to see if beach goers are ready to get back in the water today.

Drew, what are you seeing?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it's a little early and it's a little surprisingly cool this morning, but nobody has gotten in the water this morning at all. We have seen a few fishermen. There's a little confusion. There's some red flags up, but the sheriff's department assures us that these beaches are now open for anybody who dares to go into the water.

That attack happened right in the middle of the day, 11:15 yesterday just down the beach from here from where the girl's family was camping along the beach. She was about 200 or so yards off shore, very far off shore actually on a boogie board with her friend, a board just like this, when that shark attack occurred.

Tim Dicus a surfer, who is with me right now this morning was right near her side practically and heard the scream and Tim, you tried to rescue her. You tried to go and take care of that shark and take care of the girl.

TIM DICUS, WOULD-BE RESCUER: Yes. I was about 200 yards out just past the second sand bar and when I heard the scream I turned around and saw one of the girls swimming toward the beach frantically and the other one had disappeared and there was a big dark spot where she used to be in the water

GRIFFIN: And you went with your -- you have a long surf board, a nine foot lone surf board, you went right to that blood pool to find her?

DICUS: Yes, yes.

GRIFFIN: And what did -- when you brought her up on the board what condition was she in?

DICUS: She was unconscious when I got to the blood pool, so I pulled her from the water, tried to pull her from the water. The shark had made an attack during -- when I was trying to get her out of the water but it gave me enough time to get her onto the board once he had to come back around and make another attack.

So I got her onto the board and he proceeded to attack all the way from the outer bar to the beach.

GRIFFIN: You feeling is this shark was actually feeding or biting continuously.

DICUS: Yes he was really aggressive. I've been here a long time and I've never seen a shark get that aggressive.

GRIFFIN: Tell me about far these people were out there? DICUS: Way too far. It was at least 200 yards out probably from here.

GRIFFIN: And you had warned other people not to be out that far for this reason?

DICUS: Yes, exactly this reason.

GRIFFIN: This is where the sharks are. This is where the bay fish is.

DICUS: That's right.

GRIFFIN: You got her to shore. You saw the injuries. Tell me what you saw.

DICUS: She was hurt really bad. It looked like she was going to at least lose her leg. The damage on her left leg was really extensive. I didn't know whether it was just she'd gone into shock but she'd pretty much stopped bleeding by the time I got her to the beach. So I didn't know how we were going to do saving her.

GRIFFIN: At any time did you think you were in danger or the other rescuers that actually came out in the water were in danger?

DICUS: The only time I really felt like I was in danger was when I was in the blood pool because I had no idea where it was but I knew it knew exactly where I was. So that was the scariest part. So I got out of the blood pool. It was really spooky.

GRIFFIN: And the other fellas they came out into the water to help you.

DICUS: Yes, yes. They were as nervy as I was because they got waist deep out there with him. At least I was up on a surf board and they were in there with him so...

GRIFFIN: Quickly. You've been here surfing since '88. Have you ever seen a shark that big, that close?

DICUS: Yes, yes.

GRIFFIN: It's about 11 foot they're telling us.

DICUS: I'd say eight feet, but yes I've seen nine to 10 foot sharks out here, yes.

GRIFFIN: Tim Dicus congratulations on your efforts and diving into this tragedy.

DICUS: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: We're here live on Marimar Beach. That is a helicopter. You can actually see sharks in the water just from up on top here. They're relatively small but people are very nervous about going back into the water today even though this was an extremely rare event.

Back to you, Betty.

NGUYEN: What an amazing account on how it all played out. Drew Griffin thank you for that.

Tony.

HARRIS: In the case of an Alabama teenager still missing in Aruba a key court decision is expected today. The five suspects in the case were supposed to appear in court yesterday. Their appearance was rescheduled after the judge's flight from a nearby island was delayed. The judge will decided if the suspects' detention can be extended.

Also today a professional team of searchers from Texas will be out again looking for Natalie Holloway. Twenty seven members including eight divers will use four dogs and sonar equipment to look for her. Holloway has been missing now for almost a month.

NGUYEN: Here are some stories making news across America this morning. More hot and dry weather will bring little relief for hundreds of firefighters in southwestern Utah. Lightening apparently reignited a string of fires on Wednesday. The largest has burned nearly 60,000 acres and forces some evacuations from the town of Dunlog (ph).

And in West Virginia here's a highway from heaven or at least an answer to a pilot's prayers. He spotted Interstate 77 just after his newly purchased plane lost power. He managed to land it safely an escaped injury. Emergency crews then escorted the plane and the pilot to safety.

Police in Arizona are searching for this man seen leaving a neighborhood where six people were later found shot to death in a home in Yuma. The victims include a man, a woman and four children. The children were between the ages of six and 12 years old. It's not clear if all the victims were related.

And in Camden, New Jersey investigators say three boys found dead inside a car apparently died of accidental suffocation. The boys ages five, six and eleven had been missing for two days. The father of one of the three missing boys found their bodies Friday evening in the trunk of this car in the very yard where they were last seen.

HARRIS: Dozens of people are dead and injured in an extraordinarily violent weekend in northern Iraq. In the span of less than 18 hours suicide bombers struck four separate targets in Mosul.

In this particular attack on a police station insurgents hid explosives in a truckload of watermelons. Let's get the latest from the capitol and CNN's Jennifer Eccleston.

Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. Well, a devastating series of attacks in and around the northern city of Mosul. Four suicide bombs in the last 18 hours killed at least 21 people, possibly upwards of 40 and an undetermined number of wounded. Now this is according to Iraqi police and U.S. military accounts. However, both vary widely.

Now that most recent blast took place outside the entrance of Mosul's general hospital emergency room where casualties from an earlier attack were being treated. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt killed between three and five including the police guarding the hospital up to a dozen were wounded. And earlier, a suicide bomber exploded in a parking lot of the Kaszas (ph) military base also in Mosul. From five to 16 people were killed and several others were wounded. The Kaszas (ph) base is home to an Iraqi army division, but the police said the causalities were all civilian laborers.

And hours earlier, as you mentioned, a bomb hidden in a pick up truck under a pile of watermelons exploded outside the main gate of an Iraqi police station. Between five and 13 police are believed to have been killed in that attack. Two civilians died. The number of wounded is unknown at this period.

And Saturday night a suicide car bomb detonated near and Iraqi police convoy. That blast killed up to five Iraqi police and two civilians.

Now there has been a spike in insurgent attacks in Mosul since the U.S. anti insurgency operation in the troubled city of Fallujah last November. U.S. officials believe many of the insurgents have relocated to the northern city of Mosul from Fallujah.

Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Jennifer Eccleston in Baghdad. Jennifer, thank you. And join us less than three hours from now for CNN's "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. Today we'll hear from Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. That's at noon eastern, nine Pacific here on CNN.

NGUYEN: Well, they went to Cuba to see for themselves. Sixteen members of the House Armed Services Committee made a one day tour of Guantanamo Bay prison. The delegation saw interrogations, toured cell blocks and ate the same lunch given detainees. The visit comes recent allegations of inmate abuse at Guantanamo and calls to close it down. Representatives from both parties came away with this assessment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think that what we've seen here is evidence that we have made progress, and that's an important statement to be made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now we will talk live with two of the Congress members about their prison tour in about 20 minutes from now. President Bush meets with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder tomorrow in Washington. The relationship between the two has not exactly been chummy. Germany has maintained a hard line of resistance to the war in Iraq. Schroeder's visit does come ahead of the Group-8 meetings which takes place next month in Scotland.

The Supreme Court is expected to wrap up its work next week then recess for the summer. It's a traditional time for justices to announce their retirement and there's a lot of speculation about Chief Justice William Rehnquist's future on the bench. He is 80 years old, physically frail and he underwent surgery for thyroid cancer just last year. But some sources close to Rehnquist say his health has improved and they doubt he'll step down just yet.

HARRIS: It's the end of an era. An ailing evangelist leads his last crusade. Straight ahead Billy Graham talks to CNN about his family and his one regret.

NGUYEN: And later, orphaned by tragedy, thousands of children left with no one to call mom or dad after the tsunami disaster six months ago today. Later the story of just one of those left behind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: I want to update you now on today's top stories. The death toll grows in Mosul where insurgent bombings have rocked the northern Iraqi city. In the last 18 hours alone four separate explosions have killed at least 19 people and wounded 27.

A group of search specialists from Texas are in Aruba as they scour the island looking for Natalie Holloway. The Alabama teenager has been missing since May 30th. Five suspects held in the case have a court hearing later today.

And U.S. Senator Richard Durbin is again apologizing for his Guantanamo Bay comments. Following his apology on Capitol Hill Tuesday yesterday Durbin told a AVFW convention that he is sorry for comparing interrogations at the American run prison camp to that of Nazi Germany or Soviet-run gulags.

And some say it has tarnished America's image, others say it is necessary for national security. Coming up two Congress women, who just toured Guantanamo Bay join us live.

HARRIS: More than a half century of Billy Graham's revivals come to a close tonight in New York. The Evangelist will deliver what he calls his last crusade sermon in the U.S. Former President Bill Clinton joined Graham on stage last night thanking him for his years of service.

The 86 tear old ailing Graham is known as America's pastor. CNN's Kyra Phillips sat down with Graham for a one on one interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As I have talked to so many of your children, there's one thing that sticks in my mind and that is your wife.

BILLY GRAHAM, EVANGELIST: She sticks in my mind full time.

PHILLIPS: As a matter of fact, you said you're having more romance now than ever before.

GRAHAM: That is correct.

PHILLIPS: How is that?

GRAHAM: Through our eyes. She's an invalid and I'm a partially invalid. We have a bathroom between us. She has one room and I have the other bedroom and when I go in several times a day we look at each other and I'm telling her through my eyes, I love you and she's doing the same. But I also say it and so does she. I never go to bed at night without telling her that I love her.

PHILLIPS: Do you have any regrets?

GRAHAM: Well, the only regret I have is that I didn't spend more time with my family. I traveled a lot. And also I didn't spend enough time studying and praying. Those are the real things through life I think are very important. But it's great just being a Christian knowing that on all occasions I can count on the Lord to help me.

PHILLIPS: All right. One last question. Let's pretend you're my dad. Will you give me one final piece of advice as I leave this room and carry on my life.

GRAHAM: Yes, just what I said start reading the Bible. I'd like to see you start in the Gospel of John, which is the easiest to understand and Genesis, which is the beginning of life and sin and death and all those problems that face us today. And not only to read, but to pray. Because when you read the scriptures it will make you pray. You feel that you need prayer and ask him to control your life and I believe he will. We have to do that every day though. It's a daily thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Graham is suffering from fluid on the brain, prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease.

This program note, tonight at 7:00 Eastern, CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" will take an hour long look at Graham's remarkable life and the impact of his ministry.

NGUYEN: Iran's new president promises a modern Islamic rule, but many others aren't so convinced. What impact might his election have on U.S. relations. We go global next.

HARRIS: And later bound to a wheelchair but limitless in his ambitions, we'll speak to a soldier wounded in battle about to participate in one of the largest sporting events in the world.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There's some music for you on this Sunday morning as we give you a live look over St. Louis from that big beautiful arch where you see they're a little cloudy or foggy there today, but we'll have the details on this forecast and for the rest of the nation coming up.

HARRIS: And time now to check out some of the other big stories making news around the world.

NGUYEN: It has been six months since the devastating Asian tsunami and for an update on recovery efforts and the rest of the major world stories we want to check in now with Anand Naidoo.

Hi, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning and thank you. That's right, six months to the date since that tsunami disaster and survivors are struggling to rebuild. Many are frustrated still living in tents and without jobs. In the countries most affected Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand survivors complain that the reconstruction of homes, rebuilding of schools and job creation has barely begun.

The World Food Program continues to distribute food two nearly two million people in the region. Almost 180,000 people were killed in the tsunami and just under 50,000 are still listed as missing six months later.

Now to the Iranian election and one day after his stunning victory Iran is warning western countries not to prejudge president elect Mahmoud Alinejad. Political analysts are saying they don't expect any major changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ALINEJAD, POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think that there will be immediate changes in the policy on the nuclear issue, for example. And he has made it clear that he will not be taken hostile position towards international relations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NAIDOO: We got this in just minutes ago. The Iranian president elect has just told a news conference that Iran will pursue what he termed, a peaceful nuclear program.

Finally for me dining in the dark French style. Now most restaurants it's not proper to spill your wine or drop cutlery on the floor. There is one establishment in Paris where that kind of behavior is the norm.

Dans le Noir is pitch black as the name would suggest. The restaurant is completely and utterly dark. And get this, all the serving staff are blind. It was co founded by France's main society for the blind. But I am told on good authority however, that the chefs at Dans le Noir can see, which I suppose is just as well.

NGUYEN: And you pay to have your dinner in the dark. It never ceases to amaze you, right?

NAIDOO: In some quarters that would be called kinky, but I don't know.

NGUYEN: Oh, Anand, you had to go there. You naughty man. All right. Thank you.

Well, I don't think we'll be in the dark too much longer today. The sun is starting to come up over most of the nation. Bonnie Schneider is here with a look at the forecast.

Hi, Bonnie.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

HARRIS: All about that. OK, Bonnie. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Yes. Thanks, Bonnie.

HARRIS: Let's talk about our e-mail question of the morning because this is a tricky one. We really didn't have a question. We're asking you for your thoughts on Tom Cruise and a lot of you have been responding to his rants you know, on the "TODAY SHOW" with Matt Lauer the other day...

NGUYEN: Friday, yes.

HARRIS: ...about prescription drugs in our society. For example, this from Dr. Dustman who writes, "As a chiropractic physician I more than most would love to see a drug free society. Tommy's televised temper tantrum is not the way to go about it though."

NGUYEN: And Barbara writes, "I think that Tom Cruise did his homework on medicine and knows a lot about what he read, but that doesn't make him a doctor."

And of course we appreciate all you e-mails today. We'll have more for you next weekend.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: The tsunami, we're going to shift gears now, it took her only surviving parent. Now six months later this orphan child rebuilds her life and we have her story coming up.

HARRIS: Plus debate over Guantanamo Bay. Should it be closed down? Still to come I'll speak to two members of Congress just back from the tour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Six months ago today the world forever changed. Coming up, a look back at the tsunami in South Asia and the orphans it left behind.

I want to welcome you back on this Sunday. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris that story coming up, first headlines, now in the news.

There have been four suicide bomb attacks in and around the Mosul, Iraq, area in the last 18 hours. All together, 19 people are dead, more than two dozen others are wounded. The latest happened about three hours ago at a security entrance in a hospital.

A judge in Aruba today will review whether to continue holding five suspects in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. That court hearing was postponed yesterday. Meanwhile, a Texas search team in Aruba is focusing on what they call five or six areas of interest.

You may not know his face, but surely you've heard his voice. Paul Winchell, the voice of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh is dead. Winchell was also a ventriloquist and the host of a children's TV show. He died at age 82.

And now CNN.com is offering a whole new way to get the headlines. Just log on to our Web site and click on "Watch" to check out the most popular stories. Everything from politics to sports to entertainment and it's free at CNN.com.

NGUYEN: On a Sunday morning six months ago, the world was stunned by the horrifying pictures coming out of Asia. Walls of water, mounds of debris, people running for their lives. A massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island triggered a tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. Now, six months later, observances are being held for the more than 176,000 killed. Some 50,000 people are still missing and presumed dead, 2 million are still homeless, and children are orphaned. CNN's Aneesh Raman visited an orphaned girl in Thailand who is trying to cope with her new life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight-year-old Janjira (ph) is all smiles today, laughing alongside her classmates she no longer stands out. The scars left by her recent past hidden away, at least for the moment.

One question from her grandmother, and it all comes back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Do you know what happened to your mother?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She's dead, killed by the wave. I miss her.

RAMAN: On the morning of December 26th, Janjira's mother was working at a hotel along Thailand's southern coast. This photo is all that remains, all that Janjira can cling to. The wave took her only parent -- her father died years ago -- and in its aftermath robbed a little girl of childhood innocence. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She used to be naughty, fun, never be at home during the daytime. Once her mother died she became speechless, vacant, not talking to anyone.

RAMAN: Adopted by her grandmother, Janjira is in some sense lucky, she has her family to help her cope with a life of loss. For others, recovery is a community affair.

(on camera): Janjira is one of hundreds of children orphaned by the tsunami in Pungna alone, and in the weeks after, this is where many of them found hope that the still active crisis center.

(voice-over): On this day survivors jockey for a small amount of money being given out to help in rebuilding their life, but a few feet away it's where the children, like Janjira, came to terms with the tsunami through painting.

Chagita Crewacow (ph) runs the art therapy program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) are what they are thinking about, (INAUDIBLE).

RAMAN: Those images still hang, the impact powerful, waves devouring land, the hand of God reaching down from above.

Today, children are starting to paint other things. Everyone trying to move on and at home, Janjira is as well, confident that her mother is watching.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She always looks at the stars and asks which one is my mother?

RAMAN: This is the region's new reality, grandmothers are now mothers, granddaughter, now daughters. For any child, six months can be an eternity and for those orphaned by the tsunami, it's been an agonizing process learning to restart their lives.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Pungna, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And one last footnote, Thailand's southern beaches that were once covered with foreign tourists were eerily quiet today.

HARRIS: They went to Cuba to see for themselves, 16 members of the House Arms Services Committee made a one-day trip to Guantanamo Bay prison. They saw integrations, toured cell blocks, and even ate the same food given detainees. Two of those who made the trip join us from Washington, Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican of Tennessee and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas.

Good morning, ladies.

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: Good morning.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Good morning to you. Good morning to your viewers.

HARRIS: I'm really going to need some help from both of you this morning, and Marsha, I'm going to start with you. I want to...

BLACKBURN: Great.

HARRIS: I'm fighting my instincts to call this a PR trip, to get Guantanamo Bay off of CNN, at least the abuse story, off CNN and out of newspapers. What's the single most important thing you learned on your one-day trip?

BLACKBURN: You know, what I learned is that most of the reports that the Americans are seeing are wrong. What we saw was a well-run, secure facility. We saw that the detainee population there is there for a reason. We've got 520 detainees that are there. They have been through administrative reviews. We know the people are there for a reason. An enemy combatant is a person who has been or has ties to the Taliban, to al Qaeda. They are people that are trying to harm our country. They're people that are trying to harm our men and women in uniform.

HARRIS: Sheila? The media accounts, wrong?

LEE: Tony, first of all, I want to acknowledge to those families, Iraqi families and to American families, those who have lost their loved ones over the last couple of days of violence. I've been to Guantanamo Bay for two previous times, and going this time, I think there are several things that I'd like to acknowledge.

There are hard-working soldiers and sailors doing their job, and their families should be proud of them, but Congress has an investigatory role. That is our job. And there have been allegations of abuse by the media, by NGOs, and of course, by the FBI. We must investigate those allegations.

In addition, I think that you cannot count only good food and good accommodations as the only basis of determining whether Guantanamo Bay should exist. In asking a question about its role right now, I was told that it is more in the mode or role of detention, as opposed to interrogation and intelligence. What that means is that we should have the opportunity for charges to be pressed, if you will, indictments to be had, trials to be had, and convictions. And if they are convicted, and then they are sentenced, that is appropriate.

But what we have now is the indefiniteness, and it is a potential threat, if you will, to the security and safety of our men and women on the frontlines in various places around the world.

HARRIS: Representative Blackburn, I have to ask you, did you have a frank and honest conversation with the commanders there at Guantanamo Bay about the abuse allegations?

BLACKBURN: You know, we not only had great conversations and visits with General Hood, who is the commander in charge there, and General Craddock, who is the commander for SouthCom, but also with men and women who are working there. I had lunch with some Tennesseans...

HARRIS: Well...

BLACKBURN: And was able to visit with some Tennesseans there and talk with them about their job. They feel like most of the media accounts are very unfair. You know, it's really...

HARRIS: But Marsha, let me ask you, Marsha...

BLACKBURN: It's really interesting when, you know, you have the media and you have a lot of the leftists saying it's a gulag and making accusations. You know, these men and women take offense to that.

HARRIS: Marsha, I just want to get to the -- to -- here's the question: Did the commanders and the people that you talked to there, the men and women who were working there, did they admit that mistakes had been made?

BLACKBURN: You know, what they admit is that they are doing their job. These are enemy combatants who are there, those that have stepped out of line. Those men and women who have stepped out of line were dealt with. They have a pattern. There has been no deaths. There have been no suicides. There have been no strikings. Dogs are not used. Sexual innuendo is not used. There have been 28,000 interrogations. We are getting information...

LEE: If I may...

BLACKBURN: ... that is leading us to -- that led us to Saddam Hussein. We are getting information that is leading us to help break this terrorist cell apart -- terrorist cells apart. We are finding out information that is helping us keep this homeland safe.

HARRIS: Now, Marsha, let Sheila in here, please.

BLACKBURN: Sure.

LEE: Hello? If I may.

HARRIS: Sure.

LEE: This is Sheila Jackson Lee. If I may, I think you can characterize it in many different ways. There are allegations of sexual innuendo, using barking dogs, having inmates strip nude. The question is to investigate what happened.

There is a report being done by the Pentagon. This is a creature of the Pentagon. The Smith-Furlow (ph) report has not come out yet. It is well known, for the very fact that even former secretary of state, General Powell, had asked that we comply with the Geneva Convention. Even the president indicated that we should comply with the principles of Geneva Convention. We did not do that.

So it represents, if you will, a sore point for Muslims and others around the world, thereby jeopardizing our soldiers on the frontline.

We need a full investigation, ultimately to determine what you do with the bad guys. We want terrorists punished, but they may have to be turned back to their nations where there is no torture, but they be held off the fighting fields. We must determine when you end this indefiniteness. Use those who are providing intelligence, but allow those to be released. This is not the values of the American people...

HARRIS: And...

BLACKBURN: Sheila, you know, we saw three interrogations yesterday...

LEE: And therefore, what we are doing is...

BLACKBURN: We saw how those...

LEE: ... creating havoc in the world...

BLACKBURN: ... are being carried out...

LEE: ... and it is...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: No one can hear or understand either of you at this point. We're going to have to leave it there, and I thank you both.

LEE: Thank you for having us.

HARRIS: Representative Blackburn...

BLACKBURN: Thank you so much. Thank you.

HARRIS: ... and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee. We appreciate it. Thank you.

A convoy attack in Iraq left him unable to walk, but one U.S. Soldier isn't letting that stop him from living his passion. His story is straight ahead.

NGUYEN: And we want to say good morning, St. Louis. We will have your complete weather forecast in about 13 minutes. Looks a little cloudy there today, we'll find out. CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING on CNN. Watched by more Americans than any other news channel.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: In case you're just joining us, here's a look at the top stories this hour: A deadly spate of explosions in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Within the last 20 hours, four separate bombings have killed 19 and injured another 27 people. The latest bomb blew up near a hospital entrance.

The "London Sunday Times" reports U.S. officials have held secret face-to-face-meetings with Iraqi insurgent groups. Over the past few weeks the British paper says neither side will confirm the meetings took place.

And an autopsy is scheduled tomorrow for a 14-year-old girl that died of a shark attack off the Florida panhandle. The victim was swimming approximately 200 yards from shore when the shark attacked, biting her leg off. The beach has since been reopened.

NGUYEN: More than 500 disabled veterans are competing this coming week in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Minneapolis; one of those competitors is an Iraqi war veteran who's been fighting a battle off the field ever since returning stateside. Marine Lance Corporate James Crosby is leading an effort to give combat wounded troops special pay while they recover and he joins us this morning.

We so appreciate you being with us. We're going to talk about that in just a moment, also going to talk about this competition, but first, let's start off with how you were injured in Iraq.

LANCE CPL. JAMES CROSBY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Well, March 18, 2004, I was in the back of a seven-ton vehicle and we were waiting just to leave the main side of the al-Asad Air Base when three 122 millimeter rockets landed 10 to 15 yards to the left of the truck that I was in killing Corporal Andy Brownfield and wounding myself and two other Marines. I was the worst injured and the other Marines just had some shrapnel to their arms, legs and their side. We then -- they immediately brought us to the medical station and within 20, 25 minutes I was conscious up until the point I went into surgery and surgery was a exploratory surgery that lasted two hours and I can definitely say with all of the technology and advancement in the medical field out there they saved my life.

NGUYEN: Now, you were partially paralyzed which means you some feeling in your legs, is that correct?

CROSBY: That's correct. I have some feeling and some movement. The shrapnel entered my lower back to the right of my spine, right below the flack jacket and the plates stop and exited above my third rib on my left side. It hit my L3, L4, my vertebrae, I lost some intestines, cut my left (INAUDIBLE) in half, exited above my third rib without touching my lung. They said it was really lucky because there was only a quarter of an inch from hitting my aortic vessel in my back, so...

NGUYEN: These injuries can take a devastating toll on anybody, not only physically, but emotionally, but you didn't let it get you down. Instead you decided to fight on and you're actually competing in these games. What made you want to do this? CROSBY: Well, right from the get go, from getting to the V.A. in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, all of the veterans that belong to the PVA and just the veterans' hospital coming up for the check-ups had always come to visit me and this was a big thing that they always looked forward to and talked about a lot with and wanting to get me involved with sports with PVA and -- Paralyzed Veterans Association, and I got to see both sides of people with disabilities. Some people do let them get the best of them and they're kind of down on life, but a lot of them get into sports, become active and really let their personality shine through and don't let them hold them back.

NGUYEN: Now, you're the youngest competitor in these games. What events are you going to be taking part in?

CROSBY: I'll be taking part in the archery and the slalom, which is a wheelchair obstacle course.

NGUYEN: Wow.

CROSBY: Which is pretty exciting, I'm looking forward to it. Clay shooting with shotgun, air riffles, trying to get on to play softball, they have a softball tournament and I'll be competing in the open ceremonies basketball game that they have on Monday.

NGUYEN: Almost seems as if there's nothing you can't do. In fact, you're looking to create a law, change the law to help injured veterans. Tell us about that.

CROSBY: Well basically, when you're in the military, you get paid your base pay, and you get paid, once you go into the combat everyone gets paid the, you know, we'll just sum it up and say combat pay, but once you leave the combat zone even if you do get injured they take that combat pay away from you. And what this bill, it will do is, anyone who's awarded -- injured in the combat zone $430 to make up for the loss of combat pay, but they're also wanting to make this bill retroactive back to the beginning, back to 2001 when we first invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, so that will help anybody who's gotten hurt since then. And depending on how bad their disability will receive a one-time lump sum check of no less than $25,000, no greater than $100,000. So, it will definitely help a lot of wounded troops, you know, since we first invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.

NGUYEN: And I understand the Senate will vote on this bill in June. Lance Corporal James Crosby, we thank you for your time and best of luck in the games.

CROSBY: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me here.

NGUYEN: Sure.

HARRIS: Well, we hope we're giving you all of the news you could use this morning, but if we're not, shame on us. You can certainly get it online at CNN.com. Coming up, what's most popular online? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: Well, well, well. CNN.com is offering a whole new way to get the headlines and by now you know video is free, absolutely free at CNN.com. Christina Park joins us to talk about the stories that are getting people to hit play.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM: Oh yeah, CNN world domination because now you watch CNN wherever you are, whether it's online at work on the phone, on TV, or all at the same time. And to see what's hottest in terms of demand, just log on to the Web site.

I'm kind of nosy so I like to check out what my fellow users online are downloading and for that look for the green box and click on "Browse" and search for the most popular clips this morning or you can browse stories by category from entertainment eye candy to your world headlines.

This morning the Florida shark attack is at the top of our most clicked on stories.

NGUYEN: No doubt.

PARK: Absolutely. Users are watching the online report of a 14- year-old girl who was killed while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The shark apparently dragged her underwater and she lost a leg and died afterward.

Turning to another top video report this morning on CNN.com: In Aruba as concern for missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway grows, so do worries about the island's image and tourism. Our CNN's Karl Penhaul reports that two-thirds of Aruba's income depends on tourism, much of which is fueled by American tourists. You can watch the online story to hear what residents in Aruba are actually saying about it.

And don't forget, you can find the latest video reports at CNN.com for free, any time; just make sure your boss isn't looking over your shoulder while you're watching at work.

NGUYEN: Why, is there something bad on there?

HARRIS: Sure. They're going to be fine.

PARK: Yeah, but you should be working, right?

NGUYEN: Oh, oh, that was the point. OK, I have to remind myself of that, Christina, thank you.

PARK: Thanks, Betty.

HARRIS: To Washington D.C. now, for preview of "On the Story" at the top of the hour with Andrea Koppel.

Good morning, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, "ON THE STORY": Hey, good morning, Tony. We are "On the Story" from here in Washington to Iraq, Indonesia and Aruba. Elaine Quijano talks about the no timetable statement from President Bush about withdrawing from Iraq and what he might say in his Iraq speech on Tuesday. We're also going to talk to Jane Arraf who is in Iraq "On the Story" with the U.S. military.

We'll talk to our reporter in Aruba. It's now almost a month since Natalee Holloway vanished. And Atika Shubert is the revisiting Indonesia six months after the tsunami. All of that is coming up "On the Story." Tony, Betty, back to you.

HARRIS: We'll be there at the top of the hour. Thanks Andrea.

NGUYEN: But, if you're heading out this morning, Bonnie Schneider joins us for a look at the weather if you step outside.

Hi Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Hot, hot, hot! All right, thanks Bonnie.

HARRIS: That's it, we're all done!

NGUYEN: All done.

HARRIS: Thanks for watching this morning.

NGUYEN: We'll see you back here next weekend. "On the Story" is next.

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