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CNN Sunday Morning
Hurricane Wilma?; Iraqis Vote on Draft Constitution
Aired October 16, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Forecasters say a tropical depression in the Caribbean could strengthen into a dangerous Hurricane Wilma by Monday. Yes, we're hearing it once again.
Sustained winds are up to 35 miles an hour, just shy of a tropical storm status. It is located about 200 miles southeast of the Cayman Islands. And of course, we will be watching.
Well, no major damage is the early report after a moderate earthquake. Look at the camera shake here. It shook Japan this morning. Tall buildings in Tokyo swayed as the quake, around magnitude 5, rattled eastern Japan. The epicenter was about 25 miles north of Tokyo and 25 miles underground. No tsunami warning was issued though.
A Pakistan army helicopter crashed this morning during an earthquake relief mission. The aircraft, similar to the one you see here, went down in Kashmir, killing all six soldiers on board. There's no word yet on the cause of that crash.
Well, good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, October 16th. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the east. 2:00 in Baghdad where election workers are busy counting votes after yesterday's constitutional referendum. Thank you for being with us.
And straight ahead this hour, let the good times roll once again in New Orleans. But only up to a point, Betty. We'll hear from Ed Lavandera.
That French Quarter bars can stay open a little bit later. Also in New Orleans, after too few rescuers came too late, Memorial Medical Center grew desperate. Was the talk of mercy killings just talk? Jonathan Freed reports.
And flu fears. We'll hear from Peter Viles about a new strain of flu. It was found only in horses for 40 years. Now it's jumped to dogs.
In Iraq, the ballots are being counted right now. The landmark constitution vote is our top story. Iraqis streamed to the polls in large numbers Saturday. They voted on a draft constitution that would create a permanent democratic government. Turnout was strong not only among supporters, but among Sunnis who largely oppose the constitution.
CNN's Aneesh Raman joins us now from Baghdad. Aneesh, good morning.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, good morning to you. Iraq's electoral commission suggesting that overall turnout here was about 61 percent. That's higher than what we saw in January just by a little bit.
We're awaiting official results to come as early as today into tomorrow, initial results at least. And then the more comprehensive numbers will come on Thursday.
The two key numbers, of course, overall turnout, how many Iraqis are invested in this process, how many went out to either accept or reject this country's draft constitution.
But also as you mentioned, the turnout in those Sunni provinces, Al Anbar, Salaheddin, Diyala, Ninevah, those four provinces, how many Sunnis went to the polls. And leading up to this vote, the Sunnis were as a block really pushing to reject this constitution.
We saw a late minute -- last minute deal between one Sunni political group and the Shia Kurd coalition that minimized that desire of the Sunni community, but did they have enough votes to reject the constitution?
Well, the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveling in London, speaking to reporters, said that her initial estimates from those she had spoken to on the ground were that the constitution would pass. However, she then had a phone call from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. And they pressed caution that she was not predicting anything in terms of the outcome, and that it is far too early to tell.
But the ballots are being counted both in the local areas where they were cast. We saw that just after the 5:00 p.m. closing time. They are now being brought to the capital city for further review.
And again, by tomorrow, we should have a better guess as to whether this constitution passed. And of course, that other important number, how many Iraqis turned out to vote -- Tony?
HARRIS: Aneesh, wait a minute, back up now. What is this from the Secretary of State that her estimates, her initial estimates are that the constitution passed? Where is she -- does she have some inside information here?
RAMAN: Well, she's spoken to people on the ground as we have as well. Iraqi officials are making early guesses. It's politics. Everyone has their own exit polling that they perhaps conducted throughout the country.
No one, of course, is saying that there's anything official, both either from the Secretary of State, nor from Iraqi officials on the ground. But clearly from a number of polling stations where people have been, the one I was at, for example, it was a three to one margin in favor of the constitution.
The key areas that we have to wait to see the numbers from are those Sunni provinces. Al Anbar, Salaheddin, Diyala and Ninevah. Those are the provinces where the likelihood of this document being rejected was the highest. And those are the provinces where the numbers in terms of an official count do not exist yet -- Tony?
HARRIS: And Aneesh, one final question. Yesterday when we left you at the time that the polls were closing, there was some gunfire around you. Were you able to get to the bottom of that?
RAMAN: Yes, it turns out it was celebratory gunfire. As we mentioned, a big success really claimed yesterday in terms of security. Very few isolated incidents of insurgent attacks, sniper fire, had one polling station in Baghdad. An IED planted at another.
But aside from that, it was relatively calm, both in the capitol as well as throughout the country. Really, the result of extensive and exhaustive security measures that were put in place, leading up to the vote, Tony.
HARRIS: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad for us. Aneesh, thank you.
And this program note. Coming up in just a few minutes, Iraq's future, what's next? We'll talk about it with a Mideast scholar. And that brings us to our e-mail question this morning. Is the price paid for democracy in Iraq worth the cost? Tell us what you think. We're at weekends@cnn.com. And we'll be reading your replies throughout the program.
NGUYEN: Back here in the U.S., after more than a week of non- stop heavy rain, things are starting to clear up in much of the Northeast. The downpours, though, caused flooding and forced evacuations in several states, including New Jersey.
And that is where swollen rivers prompted the government to declare a state of emergency. It has since, though, been lifted. But as you can see here in Wayne, New Jersey, many roads are still flooded out. They basically look like a lake there. At least a dozen deaths in the Northeast are blamed on the bad weather.
HARRIS: So we get that system out of the way just in time for a new headache.
NGUYEN: No changes.
HARRIS: No.
BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Goodness, gracious. In fact, the system in the Northeast put as much rain down in the Northeast as Hurricane Rita did along the Texas and Louisiana area.
HARRIS: That's right.
NGUYEN: So much of the hurricane could provide.
HUFFINES: Right. A lot of rain.
NGUYEN: Wow, that's...
HUFFINES: Of course, it happened in a week...
NGUYEN: Right.
HUFFINES: ...instead of one or two days. Now we have another hurricane possible to talk about. This is tropical depression number 24. This means the 24th storm that the hurricane center has developed and decided has developed into a tropical system.
This continues now to be potentially a very strong. Right now though, winds are only about 35 miles an hour. I say only, but the ocean water temperatures across the western Gulf of Mexico, into the western parts of the Caribbean are very warm. And here's the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center, making the storm into a tropical storm possibly later today. Possibly even the next advisory or even before.
And this storm, as it continues to move into the very warm water, to the western Caribbean, could very well help this storm to develop into a Category 1, 2, or 3 hurricane very, very quickly. Hurricane Center track, the official track, shows this storm moving west, eventually northwest, possibly moving through the Yucatan straight and into the Gulf of Mexico.
That means that all residents right now of the Gulf shores of the United States, especially the Gulf Coast of Florida and into the Gulf Coast from basically Texas all the way to portions of South Florida need to watch this storm very carefully, of course, as will we here at CNN.
Other big developing weather story today is the wind in the Northeast. Because of the heavy rains, the wind is going to be a problem. We'll talk about that as the morning progresses.
By the way, if this becomes Wilma, which is likely, that's the last name storm in the list of 2005 names. The next one, we start the Greek alphabet, could have the first ever Hurricane Alpha coming up before the season's over, guys.
HARRIS: Wow, OK. Brad, thank you.
Shelters for Hurricane Katrina evacuees are mostly empty now, but government self-imposed deadlines to close shelters was yesterday. About 95 percent of the more than 270,000 evacuees in shelters have moved on. Many are living in hotels at the government's expense, but FEMA's goal is to put evacuees in long term temporary housing like mobile homes and apartments.
Meanwhile in New Orleans, people are cleaning up by day. And some are partying by night. It's not exactly business as usual, but it's a sign the city is getting back on its feet after the storm.
CNN's Ed Lavandera reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rebuilding a city isn't just about earth moving and neighborhood building. Sometimes it's as basic as rolling up your sleeves and grabbing a broom.
Some 300 people swept up the Magazine Street neighborhood. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin joined in for an hour.
RAY NAGIN, MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS: This is my corner. So you all can come back, see this spot. And you'll know Mayor Nagin has been here and cleaned up, took care of business.
LAVANDERA: Volunteer crews like this vow to clean up a different neighborhood each weekend for months to come. It will take at least a year for the Superdome to be repaired. Crews have started patching the giant holes in the dome's roof. City officials say it's still not clear what will happen to the building.
And in the French Quarter, business owners are celebrating. The strictly enforced curfew has been pushed back to 2:00 a.m.
EARL BERNHARD, BUSINESS OWNER: We have a pool bar downstairs and a pool bar upstairs.
LAVANDERA: Earl Bernhard says his five bars along Bourbon Street have been losing money for six weeks. When he heard Mayor Nagin ask business owners to come back, Bernhard says he put his retirement on hold.
BERNHARD: Well, we got this call. I said, well gosh, I'm just going to scrap the retirement thing and come back and help rebuild the city that I love. So that's why I came back and that's why we're doing it.
LAVANDERA: French Quarter bar owners say they'll deal with the 2:00 a.m. curfew for now, but they're hoping it will be lifted for good soon. City officials say New Orleans isn't ready for the raucous, drunken Bourbon Street crowds. But Bernhard says the city has never been safer.
BERNHARD: Right now, there's less crime in the French Quarter than I've seen in 21 years. You know, they're not the dope dealers, the big pockets. They're all gone. Basically safe down here.
LAVANDERA: It's a family Bourbon Street?
BERNHARD: Well, I wouldn't go so far as just saying that. It's just maybe a safer, friendlier Bourbon Street.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Don't want to go too far. That was CNN's Ed Lavandera reporting.
NGUYEN: At least 65 people are behind bars in Toledo, Ohio after a crowd protesting a white supremacist march turned violent yesterday. Reporter Camille Amiri from affiliate WJBK has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: White power! White power!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The racial harassment of white people in north Toledo has to stop.
CAMILLE AMIRI, WJBK NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's the reason this neo-Nazi group out of Roanoke, Virginia staged a rally in North Toledo.
CROWD: (INAUDIBLE)!
AMIRI: But with so many counter protesters, things quickly got out of control before the rally even got started. Full fledged rioting on the streets prompted the police to cancel the demonstration and force the neo-Nazis out of town.
MIKE NAVARRE, CHIEF, TOLEDO POLICE DEPARTMENT: They feel that this is a victory. They wanted attention. They got a lot of attention. They want a lot of counter protesters. And they got that. They got exactly what they wanted.
AMIRI: Chaos is everywhere you look. It's mass hysteria as police shoot off tear gas and mace. Dozens of arrests and massive destruction. The view from Sky Box shows you just how bad things really are down below.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a game to me. Life is full of games until you die.
AMIRI (on camera): The mayor of Toledo has declared a state of emergency. And a mandatory curfew is being strictly enforced this weekend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Once again, that was reporter Camille Amiri from affiliate WJBK.
And we want to remind you that 11:00 Eastern, we are expecting some new comments from Toledo Mayor Jack Ford. We're going to bring you those latest comments and developments as they happen.
HARRIS: And now some stories making news across America this morning. His family and fans are mourning the loss of Atlanta Hawk's center Jason Collier. One newspaper report says the 28-year old died Saturday of an apparent heart attack after experiencing chest pains, but officials have not confirmed that yet.
At least one person is dead and several others are injured after a train explosion in Arkansas. The train was reportedly filled with propylene gas when it exploded early Saturday at a Union Pacific railyard in Texarkana. The blast sparked a massive fire, destroying two homes and killing one man inside. Authorities are still investigating the cause.
And if you live, Betty, in or around these states...
NGUYEN: OK.
HARRIS: ...there is still...
NGUYEN: Which ones, the red ones or the yellow ones?
HARRIS: That's a good question.
NGUYEN: We need a key to this map.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
NGUYEN: The red ones, I'm being told, OK.
HARRIS: Anywhere near there, there's still a chance you could win this week's Powerball.
NGUYEN: Ooh.
HARRIS: No one had all six numbers in last night drawing.
NGUYEN: How much, how much?
HARRIS: So you ready?
NGUYEN: Uh-huh.
HARRIS: Rolls over now to an estimated $340 million.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HARRIS: For Wednesday's drawing.
NGUYEN: That chump change for you, Tony, right? That's chump change for you.
HARRIS: Yes, a down payment on the rest of my life.
NGUYEN: I take it, too.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: All right, hey, speaking of taking, taking your dog out for a walk? Well, that could be a little risky business these days. Dog flu is out there and it's said to be highly contagious. Find out if your pooch is at risk a little bit later this hour.
HARRIS: And from our investigative unit, no power and surrounded by a flood waters, did that force a New Orleans hospital to make some desperate life and death decisions? Find out later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: A look at this hour's top stories now. Forecasters say a tropical depression in the Caribbean could strengthen into a dangerous Hurricane Wilma by Monday. Top sustained winds are up to 35 miles an hour, just shy of tropical storm status.
Results are expected by tomorrow from Iraq's referendum on a draft constitution. The vote is expected to be close because of a surprisingly high turnout by minority Sunni Arabs.
Toledo, Ohio is locked down under a state of emergency after a march by neo-Nazis touched off a street brawl. Dozens of people are under arrest after the fracas disintegrated into looting across a six to eight block area.
She spent 85 days in jail to protect a source who revealed the name of an undercover CIA operative. Now New York Times reporter Judith Miller gives a first hand account of her testimony before the grand jury. Find out what she remembers and what she doesn't. That's 15 minutes from now.
NGUYEN: Well, Tony, it could be a few days before we know the results of Iraq's draft constitution vote. And there was a large turnout among those who support and oppose the proposal. What will it mean to Iraq's political future and to the security situation there?
Well, here to talk about it is John Alterman, the director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
John, I'm going to start with looking back just a little bit, because in the January election, about 60 percent of Iraqis voted. That number could be higher this time around. One, do you think it will be? And if it is, what message are Iraqis saying to the rest of the world?
JOHN ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: It will likely be slightly higher. There was less turnout in some of the Kurdish areas. There was much more turnout in many of the Sunni areas, because Sunnis had boycotted the vote last January. And they came out in large numbers, where they could vote this time.
What we're seeing hopefully is Iraqis coming to decide that the questions of their future have to be decided at the ballot box, and not by guerrillas in the streets.
And for a lot of ordinary Iraqis, that's what they're desperate for. They just want normal lives. And they're really, really tired.
NGUYEN: And you mentioned the Sunnis. So let's talk about that just for a moment now. The argument against this constitution for many Sunnis is what?
ALTERMAN: The argument is that what the constitution does is it sets up the dismemberment of the country. There's a Kurdish area in the north. There's a Shia area largely in the south. And the oil of the country is in the north and the south. The Sunnis have been a dominant minority with a lot of influence in government for more than 100 years. And what they're looking at is the prospect that their country is going to be taken away from them in their eyes, that the guys in the north are going to run away with their oil, the guys in the south are going to run away with their oil. And they will go from being a proud, strong large country to being a sort of tiny rump state with no resources, that's been taken away...
NGUYEN: OK. So either way the outcome goes, could this constitution further divide the many groups of Iraq?
ALTERMAN: It very well could. If Sunnis say, look, we turned out, we tried to vote, we tried the system and it didn't work, then you have the prospect for Sunnis going nuts.
You certainly have the provision in this constitution for the northern areas and the southern areas to break away. They even get to have representatives in embassies overseas representing their interests.
This is a lot of messiness in this constitution.
NGUYEN: Hey, speaking of messiness, we have gotten reports that insurgents attacked a polling station last night and made away with some five ballot boxes. Is that going to put the legitimacy of this election into question?
ALTERMAN: I'm amazed that this election went as smoothly as it did. I mean, you have -- you're running an election 15.5 million eligible voters. The lists seem to be good. There weren't a lot of attacks in a lot of places. I was expecting a much, much messier election than the Iraqis pulled off yesterday.
NGUYEN: Well, maybe the outcome will be smoother then. We'll see. John Alterman, Center for Strategic and International Studies, we appreciate your time this morning.
ALTERMAN: It's great to see you again, Betty. Thank you.
NGUYEN: You, too.
Tonight, CNN Presents "Progress Report 2", which is an in-depth look at what is really working and what's not in Iraq. You'll want to tune in at 7:00 Eastern tonight.
Then at 8:00, "Voices from the Home Front." CNN's John King talks to ordinary Americans to understand why public opinion about the war is so divided -- Tony?
HARRIS: Well, you've heard of bird flu. Now prepare for dog flu. You've heard about it, right? Here's a question. Should humans be worried? That's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Deadly bird flu has reached Europe. Tests on ducks found dead in Romania's Danube Delta determined they died of a strain of avian flu. The identical strain of bird flu devastated flocks and killed dozens of people in Asia. It has also turned up in Turkey. Romania has moved swiftly to prevent the disease from spreading. Vets are going farm to farm culling more than 60,000 poultry, burning the carcasses. Shipments of eggs and poultry meat are now banned. Bird flu has been all over the headlines this past week.
Now troubling news for dog owners. The Centers for Disease Control confirms that dog flu is spreading steadily in the United States. Peter Viles has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scooter is 10-years old and he's got some good years left, but a couple of weeks ago, he was on death's doorstep.
ALMA WHITLOW, DOG OWNER: At one point in time, he just -- sort of like he just gave up. You know, he just found a cool spot to lay. I was keeping him in the house. And he was going in the basement and just -- that's it, I'm done.
VILES: Scooter was suffering from dog flu, a new strain of a flu that had been found only in horses for 40 years, but recently jumped to dogs. Symptoms are loss of appetite, fever, and a really bad cough that can lead to pneumonia.
WHITLOW: But the cough really cinched it, because it was a violent cough and his whole body just sort of shook.
VILES: Scooter's being treated by Dr. John Bernstein, a California vet who has now spotted four cases of the new flu.
JON BERNSTEIN, DR., VETERINARIAN: When a virus mutates into a new species, it spreads like wildfire because that particular species has no historic community or exposure to that virus.
VILES: The Centers for Disease Control reports the flu has infected dogs in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts, but says there is no evidence yet the dog flu can spread to humans.
Still, it's highly contagious, spreading in kennels and at greyhound race tracks. And dog owners are growing concerned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm beginning to feel like not taking my dog anywhere because I'm afraid of my dog getting sick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really concerns me because these guys need to get out. They need to get out and run. And I love bringing them here up to Runion.
VILES: Contrary to some rumors, the flu is not usually fatal. Infected dogs should be isolated from other dogs and treated with antibiotics.
BERNSTEIN: This is not got a high mortality rate. This -- has a low mortality rate. The number is unknown, but it may be one to five percent of dogs might die.
VILES: Scooter's still sluggish, but his appetite and his personality are coming back.
Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We're glad to hear that Scooter's doing all right these days.
Hey, after 85 days in jail, Judith Miller speaks out about her sources and the now famous leaks. Up next, we'll connect the dots between a notebook and a name, as well as the vice president's chief of staff.
HARRIS: OK, Betty, here's the deal. You see this live shot there.
NGUYEN: I see it.
HARRIS: From our affiliate WLS in Chicago.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Right?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Sun will come up on the city. The city will be celebrating very cautiously optimistic about its chances of going to its first World Series since 1959.
NGUYEN: Oh.
HARRIS: The White Sox.
NGUYEN: Big day.
HARRIS: Outsiders beat the Angels last night eight to two. Three games to what? Three games to one in that series? One more win, first World Series for the White Sox since 1959.
NGUYEN: All right.
HARRIS: We'll get a check of the nation's weather with Brad Huffines right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice fails to win Russian support on Iran. I want to welcome you back this morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. That story in a minute. First the look at the news right now. One ballot at a time. Iraqis are hand counting millions of paper ballots that will determine whether the country has a new constitution and a framework for democracy. Results are expected in a few days. There was a large turnout among both supporters and opposition groups.
A moderate earthquake jolted Japan today, swaying tall buildings in Tokyo. The 5.1 magnitude quake was centered about 24 miles underground just northeast of the capital. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The death toll from more than a week of flooding in the northeast has risen to 12. Parts of the region got more than a foot of rain. The worst of the rain may be over. The sun finally came out yesterday but there are still flood dangers up and down the northeast as rivers swell.
NGUYEN: Well, "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller reportedly says she can't recall. On the "New York Times" Web site, Miller says she told the grand jury she doesn't remember who gave her the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. It was found misspelled in a notebook Miller used during an interview with Lewis Scooter Libby, who's Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Here's what Miller says. Quote, on one page, I wrote the name Valerie Flame with an F. I simply could not recall where that came from when I wrote it or why the name was misspelled. I testified that I did not believe the name came from Mr. Libby, in part because the notation does not appear in the same part of my notebook as the interview notes from him.
Well, later this morning, "Turmoil at the "New York Times," live on "RELIABLE SOURCES" with Howard Kurtz. It's all very interesting. Howard talks with some "Times" columnists, Thomas Friedman about the staged Bush teleconference with the troops and the paper's Iraq war coverage. "RELIABLE SOURCES" at 10:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
HARRIS: And time now for a check of some of the other stories making news around the world.
NGUYEN: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stirs up a bit of a controversy with comments about the Iraq referendum. So for those details and details about what's happening in the rest of the world, let's head it over now to Anand Naidoo at the CNN international desk. Good morning.
ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, thanks from me. Secretary of State Rice arrived in London from Moscow. In an off camera briefing to reporters, she said Iraqi voters have probably approved the constitution but only minutes after she made those comments, what seemed like a backtrack. Her press secretary said she wanted to emphasize she did not know how the referendum was going to turn out. When pressed, the press secretary said Rice had just taken a call from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, but he took issue with the notion that Rice was backtracking from her earlier comments.
Meantime Rice's talks with Russian officials not appear to bear much. The Russians indicated they will not support any move to take Iran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program. Now on to the avian flu threat in Europe. European Union scientists have confirmed the bird flu strain found in Romania is the same deadly strain that killed dozens of people in Asia. Rumanian authorities are calling for calm and placed an eastern region under quarantine. The strain known as H5N1 is highly contagious among birds. It is difficult for humans to contract, but has nonetheless killed about 60 people in Asia, most of them being poultry farmers.
More tragedy in Pakistan. An Army helicopter crashed in Pakistani Kashmir during an earthquake relief operation. A military spokesman said all six crew members were killed. It's unclear at this stage whether the chopper went down because of bad weather or whether there was a technical fault. That is it from me, Betty, Tony?
HARRIS: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HARRIS: Well, after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, patients in many hospitals had no place to go.
NGUYEN: So with dwindling supplies, sweltering heat and no power, did some hospital staffers perform mercy killings on seriously ill patients they thought would not make it out anyway? CNN investigates, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Desperate times often call for desperate measures and in the midst of hurricane Katrina, there was begging, crying and looting. Call it survival of the fittest but in the effort for some to survive, were others sacrificed? Secrets are now coming to light regarding possible mercy killings at a New Orleans hospital. CNN's Jonathan Freed has an exclusive look into the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was no power. Patients and staff thought they were stranded in 110-degree sweltering heat. It was desperate.
DR. BRYANT KING, PRACTICED AT MEMORIAL MED CTR: I was really upset that it had come to this and we were a hospital. We weren't really functioning as a hospital. We were functioning as a shelter at this point.
FRAN BUTLER, NURSE MANAGER, MEMORIAL MED CTR: It was battle conditions. I mean it was as bad as being out on the field.
FREED: They were running out of food and water. Workers carried patients into the parking garage to wait for evacuations, but there are too few rescuers and often into late.
KING: There's no electricity. There's no water. It was hot and people are dying. We thought it was as bad as it could get. All we wanted to know is why aren't we getting evacuated? That was our biggest thing. We should be gone by now.
FREED: Nine days after the hospital was finally emptied, there were dozens of bodies, in the morgue, in the hallways and in the chapel. In all, hospital officials now say 45 bodies were found at memorial. Some patients already near death when Katrina hit may have succumbed to their ailments. Others may have given in to the terrible conditions, but a CNN investigation reveals that doctors and nurses grew so desperate that some of them openly and repeatedly discussed euthanizing patients whom they believed would not survive their ordeal. So desperate, there was talk of mercy killings, talk of mercy killings by health professionals as a serious option at an American hospital.
BUTLER: My nurses wanted to know what was the plan. Did they say to put people out of their misery? Yes. Did they say to actually -- they wanted to know how to get them out of their misery.
FREED: To be clear, Butler says she did not see anyone perform a mercy killing, and she says, because of her personal beliefs, she never would have participated, but at least one doctor there, Bryant King, is convinced it went beyond just talk.
KING: Most people know that something happened that shouldn't have happened.
FREED: What Dr. King says he witnessed is a key element of an investigation by the Louisiana attorney general. The state constitution expressly forbids euthanasia and prosecutors say charges could include manslaughter. In exclusive interviews with CNN, Dr. King says he was approached at about 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, in the despair, three days after the hurricane, by another doctor. According to King, that doctor recounted a conversation with a hospital administrator and another doctor, who suggested that patients be put out of their misery.
KING: You got to be (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kidding that you'd actually think that that's a good idea. I mean, how could you possibly think that that's a good idea? And she said well, we talked about it and this other doctor said she'd be willing to do it. I was like you're crazy!
FREED: King says at the time he dismissed the talk, because the doctor who had told him of the mercy killing conversation indicated that, like him, she opposed it. Then about three hours later, King says he noticed an uneasy quiet. The triage area where he was working on the second floor, had been cleared of everyone, except for patients, a second hospital administrator and two doctors, including the one who had first raised the question of mercy killing. King says the administrator asked if they wanted to join in prayer, something they hadn't done since the ordeal began.
KING: I looked around and one of the other physicians, not the one who had the conversation with me, but another one, had a handful of syringes. I don't know what's in the syringes. I don't know what's -- and the only thing I heard her say, I'm going to give you something to make you feel better. I don't know what she was going to give them but we hadn't been given, we hadn't been giving medications like that to make people feel better or any sort of palliative care, anything like that. We hadn't been doing that up to this point.
FREED: King says he decided he would have no part of what he was seeing. He grabbed his bag to leave and he says one of the other doctors hugged him. King says he doesn't know what happened next. He boarded a boat and left the hospital. As for nurse manager Fran Butler, she says she never saw any patients euthanized. However, she said the physician who had expressed opposition to euthanasia to Dr. King also spoke to her about it.
BUTLER: She was the first person to approach me about putting patients to sleep.
FREED: Were you stunned?
BUTLER: Just kind of -- I kind of blew it off, because of the person who said it. But when this doctor approached me about that, she made the comment to me on how she was totally against it, and wouldn't do it.
FREED: Tenet Health care, the company that owns Memorial told CNN that many of the 45 patients who died were critically ill. Tenet said as many as 11 patients who were found in the morgue had died the weekend before the hurricane. Twenty four of the dead had been patients of a long-term acute care facility, known as Lifecare that rented space inside Memorial.
KING: There's only one person that died overnight. The previous day there were only two. So for there to be from Thursday to Friday for there to be 10 times that many, just doesn't make sense to me.
FREED: Earlier this month, King repeated his account to investigators from the attorney general's office. At the request of the attorney general, coroner Frank Minyard is performing autopsies and drug screens on all the Memorial dead. He confirmed to CNN that state officials have told him they think euthanasia may have been committed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they thought that someone was going around injecting people with some sort of lethal medication, yeah.
FREED: Minyard says that because of the condition of the bodies, it may be difficult to determine why so many patients died at Memorial. In early October, Tenet Health care said that the state had executed search warrants of Memorial medical center records and that the independent Lifecare facility operated inside the hospital. Over the course of several weeks, CNN has reached the three people King says were in the second floor area with him at the time he saw the syringes.
The hospital administrator told CNN I don't recall being in a room with patients or saying a prayer, later adding that King must be lying. The doctor King identifies as having first broached the subject of euthanasia with him said she would not talk to the media. The doctor King alleges held the syringes spoke by phone with CNN on several occasions, emphasizing how everyone inside the hospital felt abandoned. "We did everything humanly possible to save these patients the doctor told CNN. The government totally abandoned us to die, in the houses, in the streets, in the hospitals. Maybe a lot of us made mistakes, but we made the best decisions we could at the time.
When told about King's allegation, this doctor responded that she would not comment either way. Nurse manager Fran Butler says that while some nurses did discuss euthanasia, they never stopped caring for the patients.
BUTLER: The people who were still there, they really and truly took and put their heart and souls into every patient, whether that patient lived or died.
FREED: For his part, King regrets leaving the hospital, and wonders whether there was anything he could have done.
KING: I'd rather be considered a person who abandoned patients than someone who aided in eliminating patients.
FREED: The two health care companies we mentioned in this piece, both chose to give CNN prepared statements. Tenet Health care corporation said in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the physicians and staff at Memorial medical center performed heroically to save the lives of their patients under incredibly difficult circumstances. The statement goes on to say we understand that the Louisiana attorney general is investigating all deaths that occurred at New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes after the hurricane and we fully support and are cooperating with him. Jonathan Freed, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, as Jonathan Freed just reported, the second company, Lifecare also provided CNN a statement. It reads, Lifecare employees at Memorial medical center during that week exhibited heroism under the most difficult of circumstances. Lifecare has been fully cooperative with the Louisiana attorney general's office since the inception of their investigation and is unable to make any comment on matters related to the investigation.
NGUYEN: Well in case you're just waking up with us, here is a check of our top stories. A tropical depression in the Caribbean could become a tropical storm today and you know what? It could even strengthen into a hurricane named Wilma by tomorrow. Some long range forecasts have the storm heading for the U.S. Gulf coast and it's simply too early to be exactly sure at this moment. We'll keep watch.
In Toledo, Ohio, a Nazi march sparked a day of rioting yesterday. A crowd protesting the march turned violent and police report more than 60 arrests.
U.S.-led forces have a top member of the group al Qaeda in Iraq in custody. He was captured last month in a raid in the town of Karabola. He allegedly helped lead the group's propaganda effort.
And you don't want to forget our e-mail question this morning. Is the price paid for democracy in Iraq worth the cost? We are at weekends@cnn.com and we'll read your replies in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Cnn.com wants to take you to the races and give you a glimpse into the world of NASCAR and as you're about to see, driving a race car means a lot more than just shifting gears. Melissa Long from our dot com desk has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What does it take to claim the checkered flag in NASCAR? Sure the car's condition is crucial but consider the driver's conditioning, too. At cnn.com/driven, find out more about the physical demands on drivers. Research shows in many cases drivers have stellar stamina and hearts like marathoners. Sports medicine docs tell you drivers need to be in top shape to speed around the track at 200 miles an hour for hours at a time.
Don't forget, unlike with other sports, these athletes don't have a halftime or a seventh inning stretch. And inside that cramped car, despite the aid of a cooling system, they must cope with high temperatures which can affect a driver's concentration and reflexes. Tune in tonight at 10:00 for more on the health and fitness required of top drivers in "NASCAR: Driven to Extremes," a Dr. Sanjay Gupta prime time special. For the .com desk, I'm Melissa Long.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And be sure to catch NASCAR, "Driven to Extremes" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the rush, the speed, the danger. Danger is his middle name.
NGUYEN: Sanjay "Danger" Gupta? There's a ring to it. Right! OK, thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: 10:00 p.m. Eastern, sorry.
NGUYEN: Talking about going to extremes, let's check out these pictures. Tony, would you take that plunge?
HARRIS: No.
NGUYEN: We'll we're going to take you to the edge when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: At a West Virginia festival, look at this, a brave and nutty daredevils got a spectacular view from up to 876 feet high. They jumped off the new river gorge bridge. The celebration takes place every third Saturday in October. Did somebody say oops?
NGUYEN: That's not something you want to hear.
HARRIS: No, no, not at 876 feet above the ground. All right. It marks the 1977 completion of the bridge. It is currently the longest single span steel arch bridge in the western hemisphere.
NGUYEN: That's something I don't think I will ever, ever do. I can't even ride roller coasters. There's no way.
HARRIS: Did you hear that guy, oops? Did you hear that?
NGUYEN: I hope I didn't hear that because...
HARRIS: You got the daredevil in you. This man certainly does.
NGUYEN: Brad does, yeah.
HUFFINES: As kids no one told them this word, enough. No one looked at them in the eyes and said "No!" A gorgeous view, though. Gorgeous, you get it? Come on, it's not that early in the morning.
HARRIS: Not anymore.
HUFFINES: We are showing right now lots of still weather warnings, flood warnings still in effect for much of the New England states because the water is still receding. So lots of rivers are still above flood stage. The other problem today will be the wind. Look at the winds right now across parts of northern Maine, 23 miles an hour, down across shoreline from Connecticut over to southern portions of New Hampshire, nearly 40 miles an hour wind gusts as well as offshore. And what's happening now we are seeing a big storm system today causing more rain across northern New England, but gusty winds and cool temperatures all across the northeast.
Then you head down across the mid-Atlantic states, you'll see 68 degrees in Atlantic City, 70 in Washington, sunshine. It's going to be bright today in Washington. Meanwhile in the southeast another warn day, mid to upper 70s. Then portions of Florida on the other side of the cool front, temperatures mid to upper 80s so we're going to be seeing a much warmer day across Florida than across the rest of the southeast. Around the rest of the nation, also gusty winds across the central plains. That's nothing new but we are having wind gusts and a pretty windy day. Some wind advisories across portions of California near San Francisco with Salt Lake City, Denver, seeing sunny skies but cool, wet weather across the northwest today with the windy weather across the east. The new danger, the new emerging danger in the south is fire danger, several red flag warnings across many southern states because of the dry weather, lack of rain, and of course now, the chance of widespread brush fires. We'll talk about that also coming up this morning as CNN continues throughout the morning guys.
NGUYEN: Lots to talk about today Brad. We'll check in with you. Thanks.
HARRIS: Including our e-mail question of the day. Take a look at it. Is the price paid for democracy in Iraq worth the cost? This is James who writes, no it was not. Democracy is a wonderful thing. However, it is the form of a democracy that matters, not the generality of the term itself. What we have in this great republic is not what is being created in Iraq. Thank you James. NGUYEN: Todd also says, no and he says not even close. This will be a superficial democracy at best since we are -- or since when do we use or military to spread democracy? Then let us invade Cuba, China, North Korea, half of Africa and France.
You know, we've gotten a lot of no answers today. Hey, maybe that's how people think, that's how they feel. But here's the question again. Write in, tell us what you think. Is the price paid for democracy in Iraq worth the cost? E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We'll read it on the air.
HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SUNDAY begins right now.
Trouble in Toledo where a planned neo-Nazi march sparks street rioting. From the CNN center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is October 16th, 8:00 a.m. at CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, 7 a.m. in Toledo. Good morning. I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for being with us today. We'll have much more on what prompted the four-hour melee in just a moment. But first, here are some of the other headlines now in the news.
There could be another hurricane by tomorrow. Yes, that's right. A tropical depression is kicking up waves in the Caribbean. Forecasters say it is likely to become a tropical storm by today and it could strengthen into a dangerous hurricane by the name of Wilma by tomorrow. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch has been issued for the Cayman Islands.
A moderate earthquake jolted Japan, swaying tall buildings in Tokyo. The 5.1 magnitude quake was centered about 24 miles underground, which is just north of the capital. Now, there are immediate reports of damage or injuries. But look at the pictures here, just shaking there in that quake.
Aid officials say the situation is desperate in earthquake ravaged Pakistan, where winter is setting in. Here you see men fighting over blankets as helicopters bring emergency aid to Pakistan's portion of Kashmir. Relief workers say they're in urgent need of family-size tents. Tents is what they need. Pakistan's official death toll stands at 38,000.
HARRIS: Part of Toledo, Ohio, is locked down this morning. The mayor imposed a weekend curfew and a state of emergency following a riot. It all began with a planned march by neo-Nazis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sieg heil! Sieg heil! Sieg heil!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sieg heil! Sieg heil! Sieg heil!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sieg heil! Sieg heil! Sieg heil!
HARRIS (voice-over): The streets of northern Toledo erupted into violence Saturday after a planned neo Nazi march sparked clashes between police and counter protesters.
The march, by about two dozen members of the National Socialist Movement, which calls itself America's Nazi Party, never happened. The cops called it off. But not before alleged gang members had taken to the streets, throwing rocks, damaging a gas station and setting fire to a neighborhood bar.
A SWAT team, as well as officers in helicopters and on horseback, tried to control the situation. In all, 65 people were arrested on charges, including assault and vandalism. The city's mayor, Jack Ford, says gangs took advantage of the situation. But he also held the national socialist movement responsible. Here's what he had to say about the group's spokesman, Bill White.
MAYOR JACK FORD, TOLEDO, OHIO: I don't think Mr. White acted in good faith at any step along the way. There was an agreement as to where they could stage and begin their walk. However, he picked another area, began to taunt the citizens that had come to watch, and things escalated from there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Bill White blamed the police for losing control of the situation. He says his group didn't need a city permit to march, because they planned to stay on sidewalks and not close streets.
Joining me now from Toledo is the city's safety director, Joe Walter.
Joe, good to talk to you.
JOE WALTER, SAFETY DIRECTOR, TOLEDO, OHIO: Good morning.
HARRIS: How did this get out of hand? You certainly were aware that this march, in whatever form it was going to take, whether it was going to be in the streets or whether it was going to be on the sidewalks, you knew this was going to take place. So how did this get out of hand?
WALTER: Well, the -- we had a fairly good idea of how many of the Nazis were attempting to march, but we didn't know -- the big unknown for us was the counter protesters. And we had about 150 counter protesters, not folks from the neighborhood, who really stirred things up.
And when we dismissed the march with the Nazis because there were too many people there, they had incited the neighbors, I believe, and the neighbors really wanted, I think, to express their frustration to the fact that the Nazis were even in town here.
HARRIS: You know what? This word "riot" is kind of racially loaded. But I'm going to ask you for what you think it was. We're looking at the pictures now of what looks like a crowd of black folks, mostly black folks, all black folks as I can make out here -- there's some shadows there -- breaking into a building. You know, when black folks do this kind of thing, it's called a riot. When white folks do this kind of thing sometimes it's called a melee. What would you characterize the scene yesterday as?
WALTER: You know, I've lived and worked in this city for 30 years, several years in the fire department, and I don't think this was a racial incident. This was a neighborhood that didn't like outsiders coming into their neighborhood. And so I don't -- I don't agree with all that it's a riot. It was a major disturbance there.
And this city is one of the most accommodating and diverse cities you'll find, especially in the Midwest. And they just didn't like it that outsiders using their -- taking advantage of their freedom of speech, came into their area.
HARRIS: And yet, that still does not explain this kind of behavior, does it? I'm sure you're disappointed?
WALTER: Well, sure. Sure we're disappointed. But we don't condone it. We didn't like it. But, you know, it was unfortunate.
HARRIS: This national socialist movement, what do you know about them? How strong are they in the area?
WALTER: They tell us in briefings, from what I've received, they're not well represented in this area. There was some -- I do -- was informed from the FBI that they're probably the second largest Nazi-type group in the country. But when we did our research here, there was very few people that we could identify in the city of Toledo that belonged to that.
HARRIS: OK. So Joe, just to sort of wrap my arms around this, this is a situation where you knew you had a group of outsiders going into a neighborhood that would be sensitive to outsiders being in that area, particularly with the cause they're espousing, so here's the question. Did you have enough security personnel, police on hand?
WALTER: Well, we thought we did to start with. We called more in. We had a backup plan for that. What we didn't know, the unknown was how many of the counter protesters would come in.
And I will say this. The mayor the night before, days before, we were out in the community, talking with folks and asked asking them to use restraint. As a matter of fact, we had a meeting the night before and asked everyone to ignore these outsiders.
HARRIS: Yes. How much of a gang problem do you have, and is the gang activity targeted toward whites in northern Toledo, as was mentioned by someone in the piece that we ran just before we started talking to you?
WALTER: Well, every major city has some gang issues. We don't have what I call real organized gangs in this -- Toledo. But there's some. And I would say that there -- maybe this is equal opportunity, where they -- where they do their damage, too. Most of it's vandalism.
HARRIS: Right. WALTER: And there is some gang activity, but we've done a pretty good job of suppressing that in the last two years. Not anywhere near where it was during the mid-90s.
HARRIS: Toledo safety director, Joe Walter. Joe, thanks for taking the time to talk to us this morning.
WALTER: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: After more than a week of heavy rain some people in the northeast got their first taste of sunshine yesterday, which was much needed. Constant downpours, as you recall, have caused flooding and forced evacuations in several states, including New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. At least a dozen deaths in the northeast are blamed on the weather.
One person is dead and several other people are injured after a train derailment. It actually exploded in parts of the area in Arkansas. A spokesman for Union Pacific says the explosion happened at a rail yard when an incoming train hit the bank of a tanker car that was filled with propylene gas. That blast sparked massive fires, destroying two homes.
In New Orleans, the first step has been taken toward restoring the Louisiana Superdome. Starting today, it's scheduled to undergo temporary repairs on gaping holes in the roof. An architectural firm may be chosen next week and it will come up with a plan for restoring the stadium, which was left, as you recall, water logged and vandalized during Hurricane Katrina.
Well, pass or fail. Initial results are expected tomorrow on Iraq's constitution vote. Many expect it to pass. But it could be close because of a high turnout among both supporters and opposition groups.
Let's get the latest now from CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.
You've been watching the counting. How's it going so far, Aneesh?
RAMAN: Betty, the ballots continue to be counted, both at the polling stations throughout Iraq. They're now making their way into the capital city for another recount by election officials here.
Later today we are expected to hear from Carina Perelli. She's with the U.N., was involved in the election process. Hopefully, we'll get some early indications, predominantly at this point of turnout.
Iraq's electoral commission suggesting earlier some 61 percent of Iraqis nationwide had turned out to vote yesterday. That is above expectations, above, if you will, the turnout in January.
The key numbers, though, will be, of course, turnout in those Sunni provinces. There's some suggestions in a couple of them turnout was high, in others quite low due to security concerns by citizens there. The turnout important not just because it tells us whether the Sunnis are entering into the political process, but also because the Sunnis have been the most vocal community, actively looking to reject this constitution. And the question becomes whether they had enough votes to do that. They needed two-thirds votes in three provinces in order for this constitution to be rejected.
But nonetheless, the government, as well as other officials here, saying yesterday clearly a day of success for the new Iraq. Security was incredibly high and it seems to have paid off: relatively few isolated incidents of insurgent attacks. And now the country will wait to hear those official numbers. We think on Thursday, Betty, we'll get initial numbers in terms of the turnout and the margin of victory or failure for the constitution. And then in 10 days those numbers will be certified -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Hey, Aneesh, what do you know about reports that we're hearing that insurgents attacked a polling site late yesterday and made off with five ballot boxes? Is that true and is this going to affect the final count?
RAMAN: Well, there are a number of things that are being investigated at the moment by the electoral commission. That is one of them. Another is that ten electoral workers in the Al Anbar province, the Sunni province in western Iraq, were kidnapped by gunpoint by insurgents. We don't know any official word yet on whether or not that is, in fact, what has taken place, how that could affect the vote.
But you know, each of these ballot boxes is essentially a good number of votes. And at some of the election centers you only have one, maybe two ballot boxes. So depending on where it is, depending, of course, on the margin of victory or failure in that province, in that area without those ballot boxes, it will determine, I guess, how they proceed from here -- Betty.
NGUYEN: We'll be watching. Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thank you, Aneesh.
Want to give you this program note, as well. CNN's "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER" will examine the future of Iraq. Wolf will talk with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and you can watch that this morning beginning at 11 Eastern.
HARRIS: Oh, boy, 24 and counting. Meteorologist Brad Huffines keeps a close eye on the tropics where tropical depression No. 24 is brewing.
NGUYEN: Also, we will meet the new face of Christian music. Take a look. There she is. Bethany Dillon joins us live.
Also want you to take a look at this, it is a before picture of an historic New Orleans barbershop. See it there? All right. Now look at this. That's it after the storm. You can see the damage. Images from noted New Orleans photographer Harold Baquet, that's next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Memphis, Tennessee, the city where Elvis rocked the world, could be rocked itself, by an earthquake? Well, next hour we're going to tell you about some other seismic hot spots that you might not know about. CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Lots going on in your department. You're a busy man these days.
HUFFINES: Yes, there's a lot going on. But I want to start off by showing you something, a gorgeous shot from Chicago. Check it out. This is gorgeous. The sun is rising.
NGUYEN: It is pretty.
HUFFINES: The shadows. The music.
HARRIS: Now, that is picture perfect. Look at that.
NGUYEN: A way to wake up.
HARRIS: Crystal clear skies.
HUFFINES: My kind of town. What is it about Chicago? Something about it. There's something about Chicago.
Speaking of Chicago, let me show you your forecast since we are starting off in Chicago this morning. Here's your weather forecast with highs near 63 today, tomorrow 70, some rain showers coming back. So enjoy your Sunday because Monday may be -- may get a bit rainy.
Here's what we're looking at in the tropics now. This is tropical depression 24, not yet a tropical storm. Just a few miles per hour from being a tropical storm. Right now winds of 35. Once it gets to 40 that's when this becomes Tropical Storm Wilma, if that happens. The hurricane center says it's likely to happen.
And it continues to move west and will likely curve to the west- northwest and eventually toward the northwest and intensify into a hurricane.
Very warm sea surface temperatures across the Caribbean. Very warm sea surface temperatures across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the hurricane center says that that could cause some rapid intensification of this storm. So we're watching this one carefully, as should all residents of the gulf shores and all travelers and tourists in the Caribbean.
Wilma, the last name on the list by the way. Next one, if we hit Wilma, will be Alpha.
Windy weather across the northeast today. Down south, expect to see another warm day and cool across the northern plains. We'll talk about the nation's weather coming up more next hour.
NGUYEN: All right, Brad. Thank you.
All right. Now it's time for you to take in a little music this morning and a lot of inspiration. We have a musical gift, shall we say, for the viewers.
HARRIS: That's it. Look at her. There she is. Wow! The new face of Christian music with us. Teenager Bethany Dillon. I'll talk to her next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Start a fire, believe, only if it's a dream. It is a song of hope and inspiration. Christian songwriter and singer Bethany Dillon lends her voice and guitar strings to the soundtrack for the new movie "Dreamer," starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell.
In a day and age when many teens are indulging themselves in rock concerts, dating and instant messaging, 17-year-old Bethany Dillon has chosen a different path. She is navigating her way into adulthood with her guitar and her songs of hope. Bethany joins me now from Chicago this morning.
Bethany, good to talk to you.
BETHANY DILLON, CHRISTIAN MUSIC SINGER: Good morning. How are you?
HARRIS: I am fantastic. I've got to tell you something. I Napstered you last night. I'm not sure that's a word. But I've got to tell you, I expected you to be good. I'm not sure I expected you to be quite this good.
How odd is it for you? No, you really are. How strange is it for you to be at this stage in your life and to have two CDs, to have a song to a major motion picture, the title track, OK, to have the success that you're having at such a young age?
DILLON: I mean it is -- it is very strange. Honestly, often, I guess it's very surreal. But at the same time, I mean, I mean today I'm going to fly home to little Logan County in Ohio and I'll just be Beth to my family. So while in I'm in it, it's very overwhelming and strange, but then I go home, and it's like, OK, you know, life is life. So yes.
HARRIS: Yes. Well, Bethany, let me ask you one of these kind of anchor reporter-type questions. I mean, you're labeled as this Christian singer. Is that who you are, or are you a Christian who sings? DILLON: I mean, I definitely write about my faith, just because I love God and that's -- I think for most of the things that I write, that kind of is weaved into it. But at the same time, I mean -- when people ask what kind of music I write, I say, well, it's kind of folk music, you know?
HARRIS: Right, right.
DILLON: Because Christian music isn't really -- it's becoming a genre, but at the same time it's not the style. So yes, I mean, I'm a Christian artist. So I'm not really particular about that at all.
HARRIS: So Bethany, talk about your faith. This is the "Faces of Faith" segment. Talk about your faith and how important it is not only to your music, but to your life?
DILLON: Well, very. I mean I think -- I'm blessed enough to grow up in a family that -- that are believers and are good people. My parents are just the most wonderful people. And I think just growing up even -- I don't know. I feel like -- I feel like I've had a tender heart toward God since, even since I was little for -- I don't know why, probably just because of my family.
But I think even with all of this going on with music and traveling...
HARRIS: Right.
DILLON: ... and all of that, I mean it could be overwhelming, but I think because I have a relationship with the Lord, I'm constantly reminded that there's nothing really that great about me. And I mean, I haven't caused any of this to happen, and so it's kind of -- it's refreshing to think about that. I mean honestly I'm not -- I'm not the one doing it, in my opinion.
HARRIS: Yes. Boy.
DILLON: So yes, it's just a lot of -- it's a lot of peace in the middle of busy schedules.
HARRIS: Hey, Bethany, I have to ask one more question before we hear you play a little bit.
DILLON: Yes.
HARRIS: A lot of your contemporaries are out here. You know, they're dealing with some rather racy material and making racy videos. Do you ever see yourself getting that provocative with your work?
DILLON: No, not at all.
HARRIS: No.
DILLON: My parents would kill me. And everybody else in my life. That's not -- I mean, that's totally not what I want to accomplish at all with my music, so -- or even my life. I mean, I definitely want to honor God in everything I do, so I don't think -- that's not about something in the near future at all.
HARRIS: So Bethany, what are you going to play for us?
DILLON: I'm going to play actually a little bit of a song that's going to be on the -- inspired by a soundtrack, for the "Chronicles of Narnia" movie coming out in December.
HARRIS: OK.
DILLON: It's -- the sound track is actually out. So this song is called "Hero."
HARRIS: And this is Bethany Dillon. Bethany, play for us please.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: This just in to CNN this morning. The U.S. military says five American soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb in Ramadi during yesterday's referendum.
As you recall, Iraqis went to the polls yesterday to vote on a new constitution. There is a lot of talk about not very much violence happening during that vote, but we are learning today that the U.S. military is confirming that five American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Ramadi during Saturday's referendum.
Of course, we're going to be following this very closely and bring you the latest as it becomes available to us.
HARRIS: Interesting. It takes us right to our e-mail question of the day. Here it is. Is the price paid -- the toll being added to every day, it seems -- is the price paid for democracy in Iraq worth it?
Our first e-mail comes from Thomas, who writes, "I believe the mission in Iraq should be completed. To do less would be foolhardy."
NGUYEN: Tom in Portland, Oregon, says, "We did not go to war to foment democracy in Iraq. We went to war because of WMDs, but the WMDs Bush assured us were there, were not."
HARRIS: And this from Rudy, "How can you put a cost on freedom? We take freedom for granted too much in the United States of America. Freedom is priceless."
Thank you all for your e-mails. And once again, here's the question. Is the price worth it? Is the price worth paying, and that the coalition partners are paying in Iraq, worth it for this budding democracy? Weekends@CNN.com.
NGUYEN: Moving on, when you think about New Orleans, Tony, seafood has to come to mind. Oysters on the half shell, fresh shrimp. Even at 8:30 in the morning it sounds good. HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: And even a little glass of wine. Well, you know, the wine is still there, of course. But Hurricane Katrina has the Louisiana seafood industry trapped in a net. We have a live report next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. That's 9 a.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: But first Dr. Sanjay Gupta's medical mysteries and marvels. He unlocks the secrets of the human body. "HOUSE CALL" is next.
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