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CNN Sunday Morning
Rescue Efforts to Save 2 Trapped Miners Continue in Australia; 43 Bodies Found in Baghdad
Aired May 07, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone. Headlines now in the news. Mine officials in Australia say a rock that's five times harder than concrete is making the rescue of two trapped gold miners extremely slow and difficult. The pair is in good shape almost two weeks after a cave-in. A live update from the scene is just ahead. In Iraq, at least 43 bodies have turned up across Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Police say all of them were shot in the head. In the city of Karbala a suicide car bomb today killed at least five. Two car bombs in Baghdad killed at least nine others.
In southern Iran, a moderate earthquake jolted Kerman Province today. No fatalities have been reported but 14 people required hospitalization. This is the same region hit by two devastating large earthquakes in the past few years.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: In Africa, mixed signals about whether U.N. peacekeepers will deploy to Sudan to enforce the Darfur peace agreement. It was signed Friday in Nigeria. The Sudanese government on Saturday suggested U.N. troops would be allowed in the country, but another Sudanese official said today that no final decision has been made.
In the West Bank, police used power tools to break into a house in Hebron. Three Jewish families had been squatting illegally there for the past month. 41 people were eventually removed from that home including a number of sympathizers who had barricaded themselves with the families.
HARRIS: The FBI has added the leader of a polygamist sect in Utah to its most wanted list. Warren Steed Jeffs is accused of a variety of sex offenses against minors, a $100,000 reward has been offered for Jeffs' capture.
How are you doing, how are you feeling?
LONG: Good.
HARRIS: Yeah we had a big night last night.
LONG: Yes.
HARRIS: Hanging out ah?
LONG: Too late, though.
HARRIS: With Mr. Blitzer in the house. Last night with Mr. Blitzer, he is here with us.
LONG: In Atlanta.
HARRIS: Today, later this morning, looking forward to that. Good to see you Melissa.
LONG: Nice to see you.
HARRIS: From the CNN Center in Atlanta this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is May 7th and good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris.
LONG: And good morning once again I'm Melissa Long in once again for Betty Nguyen this morning. It's 7:00 a.m. here in the east, 9:00 p.m. in Beaconsfield, Australia. One of our big stories this morning, we'll be following that throughout the morning. And glad you're joining us today. We have a busy program ahead for you coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may save us. You asked for my help, I recall.
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LONG: The buzz has been building, but concerns are mounting among some Catholics over the "Da Vinci Code." Could the film cause a crisis among the faithful? Also we heard the warnings loud and clear. When the unthinkable happens you need to be ready to survive on your own until help arrives. So, do you think you can do it? We will tell you what every home needs in the case of an emergency. And we have something for you to cheer about to flip about this morning. The true life story of a Georgia cheerleading squad and how they moved from tragedy to triumph.
HARRIS: But our top story, it is now 9:00 p.m. in Beaconsfield, Australia where yet another setback is delaying the rescue of two trapped gold miners. Brant Webb and Todd Russell have been trapped in a steel cage deep inside the mine since a rock fall caused by an earthquake on April 25th. Both are described as being in good spirits with plenty of food, water and even magazines. Take a look at this animation, it shows how and where the men are trapped and illustrates why it is imperative rescuers take their time and drill with caution to avoid another cave-in. Jeremy Pudney, a reporter with "Channel 10 Australia" is in Beaconsfield with the latest.
And Jeremy thanks for taking the time to talk to us this evening. Give us a sense of the condition of these two men as best you know it at this hour and the state of the rescue effort.
JEREMY PUDNEY, AUSTRALIAN CORRESPONDENT: Well quite remarkably Tony, the spirits of the two trapped miners remain high. They are growing increasingly anxious, of course. We are entering day 13 now. 13 days since these men were trapped a half mile under ground. And really the predictions were that they would have been rescued by now. We were expecting to see that happen about 24 hours ago, but a final stage of hand drilling through rock that's five times harder than concrete, harder than cement, has gone much slower than expected. They're looking at other options.
HARRIS: Talk to us about the decision that we were reporting on yesterday, the decision to stop using sort of the heavier digging equipment and to go the final distance to reach these men basically by hand.
PUDNEY: Well that's because it was blasting and drilling that caused this tragedy 13 days ago. It was the blasting that's believed to have triggered a localized earthquake. And there are concerns that the area that the men are trapped in is very unstable. So the most delicate way of covering those final few meters, that final small area of rock was to do it by hand. Unfortunately it's proving far too hard to do that. And they're looking now at drilling many small holes into the rock and using very light explosive charges to break it apart.
HARRIS: And that comes with its own risks and dangers.
PUDNEY: Well it does. Because you have to remember these men are trapped in a safety cage. If it wasn't for the safety cage they would have been killed when that rock fall happened in the first place. But they're surrounded by very -- it's a very, you know, difficult environment. And the earth around them is very unsteady and there's no telling when it might cave in further or a new area of cave-in. The rescuers are just as much at risk as the trapped miners are, at this stage a very volatile situation.
HARRIS: And there's been a tragedy in the covering of this story. Talk to us about the television journalist who died while covering this story just moments after asking a question of one of the supervisors.
PUDNEY: There has -- you know and it's saddened everybody here. There's no doubt about this. This was already a tragedy, one miner died of course and now there's been another death. We're talking about Richard Carlton, a very senior journalist with Australia's "60 Minutes" program. He was here at a press conference at 1:00 p.m. today, and was asking some pretty chilling questions of the mine manager. At that point he seemed to lose his way, turn from the media pack, and he collapsed. We now understand that he had a massive heart attack. Paramedics and witnesses tried to revive him. He was rushed to hospital, but sadly he died on the way.
HARRIS: Jeremy, how are the families of these two men holding up?
PUDNEY: Well look it's a very difficult time for them and I think their frustrations are increasing. They were doing a very good job of being very patient. They understood that this rescue would take time. But this last setback has really put everyone to the test. And I don't think the families -- well they're being the tested most of all of course, apart from the miners who are trapped. The last 24 hours have been very difficult. Everybody is really waiting for word of a break through now. We're in by far the most critical phase of this whole rescue mission.
HARRIS: Jeremy Pudney is with Channel 10 in Australia. Jeremy we appreciate it, thanks for your reporting on this for us this morning.
PUDNEY: Good morning.
LONG: Car bombs and carnage in Iraq. Attackers set off a deadly wave of explosions and authorities are now tallying up a disturbing figure. 43 bodies found in Baghdad in the last 24 hours. CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us now live from the Iraqi capital with the latest. Ryan?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Melissa there have been already three car bombings today in Iraq. The first two here in Baghdad. Both of them insurgent attacks targeting Iraq security forces. One of them an attack on an Iraqi military convoy as it was entering a base. A suicide bomber blowing himself up killing eight there, wounding another 15. And then within just minutes, the Iraqi police told us there was an attempted attack on one of their convoys, but the car bomb missed the vehicles, instead killing one Iraqi civilian, wounding five others.
Then in the Shiite city of Karbala, an apparent sectarian attack. There a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a crowded commercial area killing at least five, wounding another 18. Melissa?
LONG: Ryan let's talk a little bit more about that horrific discovery, 43 bodies over the span of a day have been found. Tell us about that.
CHILCOTE: That's exactly right. 43 bodies found over the course of about 24 hours. Of course we've been seeing these bodies surface in the Iraqi capital and other cities for some time now. The police tell us that many of these bodies, the hands of the individuals had been bound. Many of them were showing signs of torture. The police believe that many of these are victims of sectarian killings. Melissa?
LONG: Ryan Chilcote live from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, thank you.
Also a helicopter crash in Iraq adds to the political problems for Britain's prime minister. Tony Blair's party was already reeling from a set back in local elections and now critics of the country's involvement in Iraq are calling for him to step down. He came under increasing fire yesterday after a British chopper went down in Basra. According to the "Associated Press," the defense ministry says as many as five soldiers were killed. The crash set off clashes between Iraqis and British forces in the streets.
HARRIS: High rise horror in Bal Harbour, Florida. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was getting the concrete. We were -- I don't know there was a lot of us up there trying to work, save these guys lives man. It was rough.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: A terrifying construction accident leaves three dead. Details straight ahead.
Also, is he on deck to replace outgoing CIA director Porter Goss? And is General Michael Hayden qualified? Reynolds Wolf, good morning sir.
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HARRIS: And good morning everyone. 7:15 eastern time, 4:15 pacific. Here are some of the top stories we're following this morning. Another painful day in Iraq. Reports say four car bombs killed at least 17 people and injured nearly 40 others. Three of the bombs went off within a half hour of each other in northern Baghdad. The fourth blast happened in Karbala. Rescuers at an Australian mine are still trying to reach two miners trapped under ground 12 days now. A few feet of solid rock separate the miners from their rescuers. A prominent Australian journalist collapsed after a news conference about the rescue and later died.
From this room in Nigeria hope for an end to genocide in Darfur remains just that. An agreement was reached allowing U.N. peacekeepers into the war racked Sudanese region but reports quote a Sudanese spokesman as saying the government remains undecided on the peacekeepers.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The deadliest infectious pandemic in U.S. history was the Spanish flu of 1918. Unlike most flu outbreaks that strike mostly the very old and the very young. This one, a bird flu, also zeroed in on young adults. As a result, children were orphaned, families left without wage earners. One horrifying characteristic, many people died from this killer very quickly. Some people who felt well in the morning became sick by noon and were dead by nightfall. But within a few months, the pandemic was over. In its wake, more than 500,000 Americans dead. Worldwide 20 to 50 million people were killed.
In 1957, the Asian flu was first detected in China. Unlike the 1918 virus, this one was quickly identified. It hit the U.S. quietly with a series of small outbreaks in the summer but quickly spread when children went back to school in the fall. In all about 70,000 died with most victims being the elderly. In early 1968, the Hong Kong flu pandemic reached the U.S. Again the elderly were the hardest hit. By the time it was over in March 1969, nearly 34,000 Americans had died, making it the mildest pandemic in the 20th century.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Another pandemic, that's a given. When? That's the unknown. This past week the White House released its plan for a worldwide epidemic and whether it's bird flu or some other virus that explodes into a globe trotting pandemic. The word from Washington last week was clear, do not wait for the federal government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRAN TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: It's hard to legislate common sense. Some of this is if we were facing a real threat of a human pandemic inside the United States, some of our advice is to communities, to state and local governments. But some of it is to your average American. I have two small children. And if I thought that there is the risk of -- the spread of a pandemic and that they would be more at risk at the mall, I wouldn't be going to the mall if I didn't need to be there. And I imagine that as you talk to parents and people in their communities throughout the country, they feel the same way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: So if in the end it's up to each of us, what should we all be doing? The government has compiled a list of the things we should start stockpiling now. Norris Beren is the executive director of the Emergency Preparedness Educational Institute. He joins us this morning from West Palm Beach, Florida. Good morning thank you for your time.
NORRIS BEREN, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EXPERT: Good morning Melissa.
LONG: Let's first talk about, before we talk about the individual items that people should be stocking away in order to prepare, considering the uncertainty of a pandemic or some other sort of disaster, how important is it to prepare right now?
BEREN: Well, it's very important to prepare because the eventuality of a pandemic is very, very clear. Now how bad it will be I think is something that we are all concerned about. Whether or not it will even get to the human element, but this is not like a hurricane or an earthquake where you're going to have some warning necessarily. Although in an earthquake you may not, but this is something we really need to prepare for. It's serious and it could have far-reaching impact.
LONG: Okay so let's talk about the basic preparation that people should do right now. Let's talk about putting together say an emergency kit. What are some of the essentials that must be in that kit?
BEREN: Well, let me start by saying I know an easy way of being able to help people get this process going. That's by creating a map so that they can go ahead and put a plan into place. Now that map includes materials, attitude -- excuse me attitude and actions and then plans. So those are the basic ways of being able to start.
LONG: So let's talk about some of those materials then. What do you suggest must be in there, obviously water and how much?
BEREN: Well I think we need to prepare for at least a two-week period for each family member and it could be a lot longer depending upon how long family members in total would be ill. But, water, food, the kinds of medical supplies that may be needed, communications plan that would be needed. Those are the kinds of things. We need flashlights and batteries so we have communication. A telephone that does not require electricity in case power fails. So the same kind of preparedness things that we would have for most disasters.
LONG: Well you mentioned communication, if you happen to be scattered throughout a community or scattered throughout a country, how do you encourage that communication during a time of panic?
BEREN: Well the first thing you can do is to have a plan of communication so that you have a contact person or persons around the country and then a means to get to them so you can either give or get information. But it's all about planning and having the work done in advance so that you don't get into a panic.
LONG: Okay so say you are stuck in a situation where you're not able to perhaps leave your surroundings, leave your home. How do you pass all that time especially if you have kids around?
BEREN: Well of course having plans for children to keep them busy is important. If you don't have television or radio, that may be a difficult problem. But, again, I want to emphasize that we need to make plans. So the kinds of things that we need to do -- see we need to make sure that our family members understand what the flu can cause in terms of family disruption. How people are going to be able to get care for each other and how we're going to be able to give and get and receive that kind of care. And the responsibilities of each of the family members. So it's a matter of everybody participating to the extent possible.
LONG: And what about the important documents that you really need to have handy just in case? What would you suggest?
BEREN: Well in a case of a pandemic, I think having the documents, especially emergency contact information, medical information given to you by your doctor, having hospital information, those are the kinds of things we should prepare for now. Have them available teaching children how to access emergency help if needed, that's very important.
LONG: Norris Beren of the Emergency Preparedness Educational Institute. Thank you very much, Mr. Norris Beren we appreciate your time.
BEREN: Thank you Melissa.
LONG: And coming up at 11:00 a.m. eastern on "Late Edition" on CNN, Wolf Blitzer will be talking to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt about what more needs to be done to prepare. That's right here on CNN.
HARRIS: Melissa?
LONG: Yes.
HARRIS: Folks are going to flip over our water cooler this morning.
LONG: Okay. Thanks for the warning.
HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Check this out. We're going to tell you more about this record breaking leap of faith.
And speaking of a leap of faith, TomKat without their kitten. Oh man. They hit the red carpet this weekend. But who is watching the baby? CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
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HARRIS: Wait. Wait. Who are those people?
LONG: They're beautiful hats aren't they?
HARRIS: Who are those people, I recognize Serena Williams.
LONG: You recognize the beautiful model.
HARRIS: Petra?
LONG: Yes.
HARRIS: She survived that Tsunami.
LONG: Yes, Petra.
HARRIS: Yeah. Yeah. And there's Serena again. Work it girl, work it girl.
LONG: It's one of the rare opportunities to actually wear a beautiful hat --
HARRIS: Yeah, you got Easter.
LONG: Yes, the Easter parade in New York City, ever been?
HARRIS: What's wrong Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Every day is a big hat day. Come on. Just because I'm not wearing it obviously because we're indoors, but I have several to my collection.
HARRIS: Hey did you see the race yesterday?
WOLF: Great race.
HARRIS: I was actually late to our little event. We had a little shindig with Wolf Blitzer last night.
LONG: Yes don't forget there was a race.
HARRIS: There was a race?
LONG: Don't forget just to tell them about the hats. HARRIS: This is the top of the stretch okay. Home stretch here. Take a look at Barbaro. Absolutely explodes down the home stretch. Five lengths, six lengths, seven lengths. Knees are high. Dominating performance. 20 -- Reynolds, Melissa, 20 horses in that field, okay?
LONG: Very proud this morning.
HARRIS: Yes. And that horse, Barbaro just dominated. (INAUDIBLE) stakes in a couple of weeks, old hilltop in Baltimore.
WOLF: That's right, then you have the Belmont after that. They said this was going to be one of the most competitive derbies.
HARRIS: And it wasn't.
WOLF: No.
HARRIS: That horse was just dominant, just dominant.
WOLF: Yeah they've been doing this for over 130 years. They've been doing the Derby for over 130 years. Obviously they've got it down pat. But what would you think if they threw some of those hats on the jockeys and made them ride just to make it a little interesting, a little more interesting.
LONG: You can make the suggestion for next year, see if it goes over.
WOLF: Let's go for it. Okay.
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LONG: This next story all about a horror in a high rise. A terrifying accident leaves three construction workers trapped in quick-drying cement. We have the details on their story straight ahead.
HARRIS: And from tragedy to triumph. One cheerleading squad bounced back from a deadly car accident in a big way to win five consecutive championships. Their story going to the big screen. We'll tell you all about it as CNN SUNDAY MORNING rolls on.
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HARRIS: Welcome back everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.
LONG: Good morning, I'm Melissa Long. Betty Nguyen had a chance to not set her alarm clock this morning. We have more on the story of "The Da Vinci Code" in a moment. But first, a look at the news this morning.
HARRIS: The attempt to free two trapped miners in Australia hits a wall literally. Officials say they have run into solid rock five times as hard as concrete. They are using small explosives to blast through. The miners have been trapped underground in a small steel cage for 12 days. Crews don't expect to reach them before tomorrow.
The body count rises in Iraq. Police say they found at least 43 bodies in Baghdad in the last 24 hours. All of them had gunshot wounds to the head. Also today attackers set off a wave of deadly car bombs. At least two exploded in Baghdad and one in Karbalah, 50 miles south.
LONG: We are getting reports of a moderate earthquake today in southern Iran. Officials say the quake had a magnitude of 5.2. Dozens of people said to be injured. More than 30,000 people died in that very same area when a quake leveled the city of Bam in 2003.
A peace deal could allow U.N. peacekeepers in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. A Sudanese government spokesman indicated the country would welcome peacekeepers, but another official tells Reuters news agency the government has not made a final decision. Violence in Darfur has killed 180,000 people and forced 2 million from their homes.
The leader of a polygamist sect is now on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. Warren Jeffs is wanted on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
And now buried alive, what a horrifying thought. Three construction workers in Florida were encased in quick-drying cement, in concrete. It happened while they fell while working on a high rise construction product. Reporter JP Hervis of our Miami affiliate station WSVN reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JP HERVIS, WSVN (voice-over): This collapsed ceiling on the 26th floor of the 1 Val Harbor condo building marks a tragic day construction workers at this site will never forgot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Some people be crying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It always hurts when something bad happens.
HERVIS: Three of their colleagues died after the ceiling collapsed, dropped liquid concrete and metal on top of them. The concrete eventually drying, trapping their bodies workers say while they were still alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seen one guy screaming, but -- later he stopped screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were pouring concrete for the columns to actually build the structure and it continued to pour and stuff. Partially the workers became trapped underneath.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This concrete is a quick fix and it started to harden around them. So we really had the clock ticking when we're trying to get these victims out. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The table fell. We all went up there to try to save them.
HERVIS: What did you do? Are you trying to lift the debris off them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The concrete and everything. We were getting -- I was getting the concrete. A lot of us up there trying to work to save these guys lives, man.
HERVIS: The building was deemed unsafe and workers were ordered out. One man had a heart attack after the collapse and was rushed to the hospital. 75 Miami-Dade fire rescue specialists were called in to try and save the victims in a difficult and dangerous situation. But once the men were declared dead, it became a recovery mission. Crews forced to chip away at concrete to remove the bodies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started using a multitude of tools. We used chipping hammers, jackhammers, hands, pry bars, everything we could to get this debris out away from the victims.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: And that was reporter JP Hervis of our affiliate station WSVN in Miami.
HARRIS: And other stories across America today, a sinkhole in a parking lot in Pasadena, California is believed to have caused a kiddie ride to tip on its side. Look at this here. A handful of children were slightly hurt. Firefighters had to rescue about a dozen children trapped in their seats.
In Sacramento, the hostage drama is over at the California state prison. An inmate had held a female guard captive for 10 hours yesterday before releasing her unharmed. The 41-year-old inmate was taken to an outside hospital for evaluation and at fisherman's wharf in San Francisco, a mechanical problem is blamed for a ferry ramming into a pier. A passenger says the captain yelled hold on over the PA system just before impact. Nine people were slightly hurt.
LONG: A surprise over Porter Goss's sudden resignation drops off. Attention is now turning to the man expected to fill his shoes at the CIA. Senior administration officials say President Bush will nominate Air Force General Michael Hayden, but just who is he? What he would bring to the table as the director of the spy agency? CNN's Sumi Das has our story.
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SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As former director of the National Security Agency and current number two for national intelligence director John Negroponte, Air Force General Michael Hayden is no stranger to the CIA.
JOHN McLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: General Hayden is a down to earth guy. He grew up in working class circumstances in Pittsburgh, went to Duquesne University, worked his way up in the military, has held positions at all levels.
DAS: Former interim CIA Director John McLaughlin has known Hayden for six years.
McLAUGHLIN: One of the CIA's core missions of course is supporting our military forces. It's the core mission of any intelligence agency and General Hayden has vast experience at doing that and also as an NSA director, he has had plenty of contact with human intelligence as well.
DAS: But the very experience that qualifies Hayden to head the agency could create obstacles during any confirmation process. Hayden has faithfully defended the NSA's domestic wiretapping program conducted without warrants calling it successful.
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, DEP. DIR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the 9/11 al Qaeda operatives in the United States.
DAS: At least one Democratic senator says he would vigorously question the general's endorsement of the intercepts during any confirmation hearings. Senate Intelligence Committee member Russ Feingold said he is concerned by Hayden's potential nomination. Quote, General Hayden directed and subsequently defended the president's illegal wiretapping program. Neither he nor the rest of the administration informed the congressional intelligence committees about this program as is required by law.
CAROLINE FREDRICKSON, ACLU: He's going to be under a huge amount of scrutiny. It's going to be under a microscope basically.
DAS: Also likely to resurface, past intelligence mistakes, such as untranslated intercepts pertaining to 9/11.
HAYDEN: In the hours just prior to the attacks, NSA did obtain two pieces of information suggesting that individuals with terrorist connections believed something significant would happen on September 11th.
DAS: The intercepts were translated September 12th. Hayden said timely translation of all the information collected by the government was impossible.
(on-camera): Both parties may be motivated to avoid a drawn out and contentious confirmation process. Many agree it's a dangerous time for the nation's central intelligence agency to have no leader at its helm. Sumi Das, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: And for more on the changes at the CIA, we hope you will tune in to CNN's "Inside Edition" with Wolf Blitzer this morning. He is hard at work at the national desk here in Atlanta. Good morning Wolf. Intelligence committee member Senator Pat Roberts and Congressman Jane Harman will be his guests. You can catch that program this morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
And we would like to know what you think about the changes in the CIA. You can e-mail us your thoughts. We hope you will this morning, weekends@cnn.com. The question this morning, fact, fiction, or faith what do you think, Tony?
HARRIS: I can't wait to see it.
LONG: Yes, I would like to see it too. Opening night I'm going to be there.
HARRIS: "The Da Vinci Code" is raising some disturbing questions. Could the movie shake your faith and should Catholics boycott the movie? Reynolds Wolf, good morning sir.
LONG: Good morning.
WOLF: Good morning. Things are looking pretty good outside. We've got partly cloudy skies across much of the northeast including places like, say, New York. We're going to have more on your forecast coming up. Plus we're going to talk about the potential of some severe weather coming up in just a few minutes.
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LONG: Checking our top stories this morning, they thought they had a deal on Friday. U.N. troops would head to Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region. Now there are mixed messages from Sudan. First a government spokesman suggested the peacekeepers would be welcomed. Today another spokesman told Reuters news agency no decision has been made.
Now to Australia, rescuers fear two trapped gold miners will have to spend a 13th night under ground. That's because rescuers are having a pretty tough time getting through extremely hard rock. They are considering using explosives now to blast through the final yards.
And in Iraq, a gruesome discovery, 43 bodies found in Baghdad. Iraqi police say all had gunshot wounds to the head. All were found in the past 24 hours at various locations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, faith is just having trust within your own self and with the creator within.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The books that we base our faith on teach moral principles that we should live by and people have abandoned the moral principles, and are living by their own principles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe (INAUDIBLE) I believe to do something good and something good will happen to you. That's what I believe. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: No matter what you believe, the bottom line is many of us have faith in a supreme being or sacred object, but some Catholic leaders think that "The Da Vinci Code" will rock the very foundation of the church's faith. The movie opens in two weeks and there are already calls for a boycott. CNN's Alessio Vinci reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It would take more than a film to shake the foundations of the Catholic church. But "The Da Vinci Code" with its mix of fiction, fact and faith has caused at least a few small tremors. One senior church official is calling on Catholics to boycott the movie; another is harshly critical.
CARDINAL GEORGE PELL, ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY: I think "The Da Vinci Code" is a load of nonsense.
VINCI: The reason? "The Da Vinci Code"'s claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers and that a powerful organization linked to the church conspired to commit murder to keep it a secret. While some of the Vatican believe the story is blasphemous, the pope has said nothing on the matter. There isn't a plot inside the Vatican to prepare a counter plot to what Dan Brown is saying?
REV. JOSEPH DI NOIA, VATICAN OFFICIAL: No, I would say that people are talking about it casually and concerned about it. But there is no concerted effort to address the problem of "The Da Vinci Code." No there's just a sense, many people who have read it are, as I am, mystified by the popularity of it.
VINCI: Vatican officials fear the success of "The Da Vinci Code" will blur the line between fact and fiction.
DI NOIA: It has to do with the harm that it does to peoples' faith not the harm that it does to the public image. It's not a question of image or spin. It's something much more important.
VINCI: The problem with the movie, Vatican officials say, is the claim that the story is based on historical fact.
MSGR. ROBERT SARNO, VATICAN OFFICIAL: I didn't see it as an attack on the church. I just think that it's been given a lot more truth value and faith value than it has. I just read it as a novel, as an entertaining novel.
VINCI: In Rome as elsewhere around the world, the movie promotion is well under way. However some church officials here took issue with this particular poster, hanging on a church that is being renovated.
(on-camera): Several local clergymen expressed outrage at what they considered blatant provocation and as a sign of how much power the Vatican can at times wield in this country, local church officials managed to convince Italian authorities who actually own this particular church to cover it up.
(voice-over): The Vatican's dilemma is evident among the thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me think a lot and I just wonder how much is fiction, how much is real. And I bought into a lot of it. I really want to investigate it further.
VINCI: Vatican officials are likely to remain low key. They know that controversy generates publicity. But a few officials admit privately that they do intend to see "The Da Vinci Code." Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Two weeks.
LONG: Two weeks, yes. You know where you're going to be?
HARRIS: Oh yes.
LONG: Talk about a "Mission Impossible," that's of course another film now in theaters. Do you think you would be red carpet ready a little more than two weeks after having a baby?
HARRIS: No, I wouldn't.
LONG: But as they say in show biz, the show must go on. Details coming up when we go to the water cooler.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: how I feel about the sound effects.
LONG: I think it's cute.
HARRIS: OK. Time now to take a break to the water cooler where we run down the stories people love to talk about.
LONG: And of course the couple everybody always talks about --
HARRIS: Yeah.
LONG: Katie Holmes along with her boyfriend Tom Cruise. She looks smashing, right?
HARRIS: OK.
LONG: She just had a baby two weeks ago.
HARRIS: Why is she doing this? Shouldn't she be getting rest, spending time bonding with baby? These are just questions. I don't know.
LONG: I will tell you the facts. I'm not going to answer your questions. She showed up Friday in Los Angeles with of course Tom Cruise for the premiere of "Mission Impossible III." You're wondering perhaps when they're getting married. Ask me that question.
HARRIS: When are they getting married?
LONG: Well, they say they would like to marry this summer, OK. She looks amazing. The baby's name is Suri.
HARRIS: Suri. OK. Check this out. You don't try this at home. You don't try it anywhere. Motocross daredevil Mike Meskner (ph), nailed, nailed a perfect 125 foot back flip over the fountains at Caesar's palace. It happened last Thursday. The giant leap was a record actually. Evel Knievel nearly killed himself jumping the fountains in 1968 and that was without a flip.
LONG: Amazing. How do you come up with an idea like this? You sit there in front of the television, I want to do this?
HARRIS: Everybody knows if you're a daredevil at all, everybody knows the Knievel attempt where he broke nearly every bone in his body, financed the film that we all know of the jump himself. And he ended up in a coma for like nearly 30 days because of it. So everybody knows that. It's just a matter of time before several somebody's attempt it.
LONG: You have that (INAUDIBLE) looming over your head and you decide to try something.
HARRIS: That's why you're a daredevil. That's why I do this.
LONG: Yes. Yes. Keep our feet planted on the ground. Want to show you something you don't see every day. What in the world is that? Well, it's a Billy goat trying to break into an elementary school in Plano, Texas. It's the school surveillance video that happened to catch the goat ramming its head over and over and over into its reflection.
HARRIS: Oh.
LONG: It would eventually shatter and then if you keep an eye on it, he took care of the other side of the door. And I think a lot of animal experts would say that he probably thought he was looking at another Billy goat.
HARRIS: Exactly. So no child and no Billy goat left behind.
LONG: And no one was actually at the school at the time.
HARRIS: OK.
LONG: Can you imagine the pandemonium in that cafeteria?
HARRIS: If they were there, sure. In Britain, let's take you there, this unusual spectacle in London. The 40-foot high mechanical pachyderm is part of an elaborate theatrical production called "The Sultan's Elephant." It's being performed outdoors through today.
LONG: Beautiful. Reminds me almost of "Lion King." HARRIS: Yeah, completely the whole circle of life. Sure. Sure.
LONG: Beautiful. And finally, this is a pretty unique story. You lose something from time to time. You get a class ring, an engagement ring. Normally you don't find it but get this, a catfish recently caught in a muddy pond in Kentucky coughed up that ring we just showed you. The 1984 high school class ring. The ring was traced to a woman who attended a high school, which is in Columbus, Ohio. It's 150 miles away from the find, the catfish. Classmates, they had not heard from her in years. They thought maybe she -- her remains were in the pond as well. But guess what, she is alive and well. Then she told police the ring had been stolen about 15 years prior. So how it ended up in the catfish, swimming in the pond, who knows.
HARRIS: There you go, our quick trip to the water cooler. We're going to get you upstairs now to Reynolds Wolf and the CNN weather center.
WOLF: I've had enough of this. This is just ridiculous. What is this world coming to? We've got goats that are breaking into school and catfish that are stealing rings?
HARRIS: And giant pachyderms.
WOLF: And giant pachyderms. I don't think the pachyderm did anything wrong.
LONG: The other thing a lot of people might ask is what in the world happened to the weather? The air conditioning is on up in New York state.
WOLF: It is nice and chilly. People are looking at this map, they're thinking this is May. It's hard to believe in Portland we've got 45 degrees in May, New York, beautiful in New York. In fact we have some live images out of New York moments ago, 48 degrees, looks just beautiful there at the time. A few scattered clouds here and there but certainly no rainmakers. But in terms of rain, we are getting that in droves in parts of the southeast. In fact, in central Alabama, south of Birmingham, some strong storms, not severe mind you, but still producing some heavy rainfall, some gusty conditions. And all of this is going to move from the west to the east, eventually moving into Atlanta. So Atlanta, you've had some scattered activity earlier this morning, but this swath is on the way. So we certainly had to prepare for that.
Meanwhile, it looks like into the afternoon, we're going to see that potential for some strong storms. It's going to be a major severe weather outbreak. It certainly does not appear like that's going to happen, but certainly a rumble of thunder from the Carolinas back to the Gulf coast, beautiful conditions in the northeast over into the great lakes. High pressure, the dominating feature which is going to keep things nice and dry, nice and dry in the desert southwest. In Phoenix, your high for the day is going up to 93 degrees. Enjoy it, because tomorrow your high is going up to the century mark. Also a touch of fog possible from San Francisco down to San Luis Obispo, back over to Los Angeles.
Scattered showers up in Seattle near Pikes fish market and the space needle, where high temperatures today in Seattle are going to rise to 54 degrees. For Billings, Montana, 72, ditto in the Mile High city of Denver. Denver, a cloudy day for you, possibly some snow showers the higher elevations a little bit farther out to the west, 72 for the twin cities, for Dallas, 77 and a much, much better day for you across the great state of Texas. You've earned it. You've had some rough weather over the last 24 to 48 hours, a day where you can breathe easy and relax. But watch out for those catfish, those goats that will break into schools and those giant mechanical pachyderms. Crazy times I'm telling you.
HARRIS: You want to talk about crazy times?
WOLF: Absolutely.
HARRIS: We've got Reynolds Wolf here.
WOLF: That's crazy enough.
HARRIS: And we've got Wolf Blitzer here. I mean it's crazy today.
LONG: Should we be watching our backs?
HARRIS: Who's to say.
WOLF: Is there a full moon by chance?
LONG: I didn't see one driving in. No.
HARRIS: There was a correspondents dinner Washington about a week or so ago and the Atlanta press club invited Wolf down to deliver the keynote last night and Wolf is with us this morning. "Late Edition" from right here in Atlanta in just about an hour or so. There he is. Hey, Wolf, good morning, sir. Good morning, sir. In about an hour or so, we'll be joining us on set. There he is. Reynolds Wolf, Wolf Blitzer, dogs and cats living together, the world's upside down. The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins in a moment.
WOLF: Hi folks. I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf with your fair way forecast. If you're looking for a great spot to go out there and play a round of golf, try Houston. I know we've had rain in Texas for the last couple of days, but for today in Houston, it should be just beautiful, 84 degrees, a gentle breeze out of the northeast, around five to 10 miles per hour with a nice mix of sunshine and clouds. There's your forecast folks. Get out there and make the most of your game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. Now in the news, take a good look at this man. He is now among the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives. Warren Jeffs is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church in Utah and Colorado. The FBI wants him on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and rape. The FBI says it hopes a $100,000 reward will help flush him out.
General Michael Hayden might become the next top man at the CIA. President Bush is expected to nominate him to replace Porter Goss. Goss, as you know, abruptly resigned on Friday. CNN's White House correspondent Elaine Quijano will join us in a few moments with the latest on this story.
And another painful day in Iraq, reports say four car bombs killed at least 17 people and injured nearly 40 others. Three of the bombs went off within a half hour of each other in northern Baghdad. The fourth blast happened in Karbala. We'll have a live report in about ten minutes.
HARRIS: From this room in Nigeria, hope for an end to genocide in Darfur remains just that. An agreement was reached allowing U.N. peacekeepers into the war-wracked Sudanese region, but reports quote a Sudanese spokesman say that the government remains undecided on the peacekeepers.
U.S. naval exercises in the Caribbean took place yesterday just north of Curacao. The navy is calling the exercise partnership with the Americas according to the navy. The operation is aimed at strengthening relations with countries in the region.
Vice President Dick Cheney is in Croatia this morning, he endorsed the desires of Croatia and Mass Dobeia to join NATO and the European Union and he says that other nations can rededicate ourselves to the basic and fundamental values of freedom and democracy.
LONG: Good morning. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, May 7th, next week's Mother's Day, don't forget.
HARRIS: Thank you.
LONG: It is 8:00 a.m. at the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. Good morning, I'm Melissa Long in this morning for Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us. So tomorrow, we may get an announcement about the next chief of the CIA. What we may never know is why Porter Goss abruptly resigned after less than two years on the job. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano takes us behind the scenes of the real-life Washington spy mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One day after he resigned as head of the CIA Porter Goss told CNN the reasons behind his decision would remain, quote, just one of those mysteries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to tell us why you are quitting?
PORTER GOSS, OUTGOING CIA DIRECTOR: I think that that got played pretty well yesterday, thank you. QUIJANO: The White House isn't remaining quiet. Trying to knock down published reports that President Bush lost confidence in Goss almost from the beginning. While the president made no mention of that during a commencement address at Oklahoma State University.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: We see the spirit of service in the members of the class of the 2006.
QUIJANO: Aboard Air force One, Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino called the no confidence report, "Categorically untrue." Saying the president felt that Goss kept the focus on winning the war on terror and played a pivotal role in transforming the CIA. So what happened? As CNN reported Friday intelligence sources say Goss had sharp policy differences with the man he reports to, John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence. The sources say the differences stemmed from plans to move staff from the CIA to other intelligence agencies.
After the announcement, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, Republican Pat Roberts, offered measured praise for Goss' tenure saying, Goss, "Made some significant improvements at the CIA but I think even he would say they still have some way to go."
Senior administration officials say that President Bush has settled on Air Force General Michael Hayden as his choice for CIA director, and they say, an announcement is planned for Monday.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, FORMER INTERIM CIA DIRECTOR: If General Hayden is the choice he we be a very good one. He's an experienced intelligence professional. He is very good with situations that require innovation. And he is a person who has a clear vision of where he wants to go. And, therefore, I think a very good leader.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, as for Porter Goss, in a statement released after the announcement, Goss said he would be staying on over the next few weeks to help with the transition. Tony.
HARRIS: Elaine, what are Hayden's chances of getting confirmed for the job and aren't we going to have a last of questions about so- called secret prisons in Europe and the NSA domestic spying program?
QUIJANO: Well absolutely, those are to be expected. And it depends on how far the Democrats are going to press him particularly on the issue of the controversial domestic spy program because, of course, General Hayden was formerly head of NSA, the National Security Agency, which carried out that program. He has defended that program, and the White House, interestingly in the past has been willing to engage.
In fact, eager to engage on this issue, because national security issues have traditionally been it's strong suit. So we will wait to see what Democrats have to say. Already we have heard concerns voiced by Senator Russ Feingold about a Hayden nomination. We can certainly expect other Democrats to make some noise and pile on, but whether or not they want to go so far as to filibuster remains an open question.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano. Elaine thank you.
And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable information on your safety and security.
LONG: And for more on the changes at the CIA do tune in to CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer." Intelligence committee members, Senator Pat Roberts and Congresswoman Jane Harmon will be among his guests. You can catch that program this morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
And here's our e-mail question for you this morning. We'd love to hear from you. Are you concerned about the recent changes at the CIA? Think about it. Here's where you can send us your response, WEEKENDS@CNN.com. We will be reading some of your comments on the air this morning.
HARRIS: And other stories making headlines across America this morning. Several kids in California got more than they bargained for when they went to a Cinco de Mayo carnival yesterday. Firefighters had to rescue 12 children after they became trapped in their seats when a ride tipped over. No one was seriously hurt. Authorities say a sinkhole developed in the parking lot causing the ride to tip.
LONG: Elsewhere in California, ten-hour hostage standoff ends peacefully at a state prison near Sacramento. Authorities say a female correctional officer was released unharmed and the inmate who held her at knifepoint was transferred to another prison. The standoff prompted a lockdown at that facility.
HARRIS: And a ferry plowed into part of San Francisco's fisherman's wharf. Nine people suffered minor injuries; fire officials say a mechanical problem affected the ferry's steering.
LONG: A tragic development in Florida. Three construction workers buried alive in quick-drying concrete. It happened after they fell while working on a high-rise construction project. Reporter J.P.Hervis of our Miami affiliate station, WSVN has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HERVIS: The collapsed ceiling on the 26th floor of the Harbor Condo Building marks a tragic day that construction workers at this site will never forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It always hurts when something bad happens to somebody.
HERVIS: Three of their colleagues died after the ceiling's collapse dropped liquid concrete and metal on top of them. The concrete eventually drying, trapping their bodies, workers say, while they were still alive. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see one guy is screaming, but later around he stopped his scream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They apparently were pouring concrete to actually build the structure. And it continued to pour and stuff and partially the workers became trapped underneath.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This concrete is a quick fix, and it started to harden around them, so we really had the clock ticking when we're trying to get these victims out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all ran up there and tried to save them.
HERVIS: What did you do? Were you trying to lift the debris off?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, concrete, everything. I was getting the concrete. We were -- I don't know, there was a lot of us up there trying to work and save the guys' life. It was rough.
HERVIS: The building was deemed unsafe and workers were ordered out. One man had a heart attack after the collapse and was rushed to the hospital. Seventy-five Miami-Dade fire rescue specialists were called in to try and save the victims in a difficult and dangerous situation. But once the men were declared dead, it became a recovery mission. Crews forced to chip away at concrete to remove the bodies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started using a multitude of tools. We used chipping hammers, jackhammers; hands pry bars, everything that we could to get this debris out away from the victims.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: And that was reporter J.P.Hervis from our affiliate station WSVN in Miami.
HARRIS: Still ahead, a deadly day in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. Who is responsible, insurgents or sectarians? We haven't asked the question that way before. We'll have a live report straight ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Plus...
LONG: President Bush reveals his favorite moment from almost six years in office, and we will bet you will never guess what it is. It's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty seconds, guys.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tired of the same old boring workout on the treadmill? Well, now you can spice it up, just by stepping it up. Sprinting up hills or walking or running on flat roads, tread ride is an aerobic class on treadmills. JENNIFER RENFROE, CRUNCH FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: It's all set to music and we run on hills and flat roads and change the incline and change the pace, and it's a great workout in about 45 minutes.
COSTELLO: She says people who workout regularly on the treadmill may not be working out at the intensity they need to burn the most calories during their workout. This class is designed to amp up the intensity level.
LYDIA O'BERRY, TREAD RIDE PARTICIPANT: You know how your clothes fit better and you feel better about yourself. You can go home and eat a Snicker's bar.
MARGO GREGORY, TREAD RIDE PARTICIPANT: It was awesome. It was my first time taking the class and I thought it was an awesome workout. I'm actually a runner so this would be a great cross-training tool for me.
COSTELLO: Jennifer says you can make the class tougher by adding a four- to six-pound weighted vest, but that's optional. The best part is you will burn anywhere from 400 to 700 calories per hour.
Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Forty-three bodies found, three car bomb explosions, all within the past 24 hours in Iraq. The bombings today struck the Shiite holy city of Karbala and the Iraq's capital. CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us live from Baghdad with the latest details.
Ryan.
CHILCOTE: Tony there were a total of three car bombings in Iraq today. We start here in Baghdad, where the first two went off. Apparent insurgent attacks, both of them targeting Iraq's security forces. One of the car bombs today by a suicide bomber targeting an Iraqi military convoy as it was entering a military base. That attack killed eight and wounded almost twice that number.
Then a second attack, according to the Iraqi police, targeting one of their convoys. However, it missed their vehicles. The Iraqi police telling us that one civilian was killed, five Iraqis. Iraqi civilians wounded. And then in the city of Karbala, a Shiite city, an apparent sectarian attack. A total of five Iraqis killed in that attack, another 18 wounded. That after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside of his car, in a very crowded, commercial area, just as people were starting their work.
This is the first day of the week here in Iraq. And, also, back in the Iraqi capital, some gruesome discoveries. A total of 43 bodies found just in the last 24 hours. Many of them showing signs of torture. Many of them still in handcuffs. Their bodies dumped in various parts of the city. The police tell us that they believe many of them were victims of sectarian killings. Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Ryan, let's head back to south of the country to Basra near Kuwait. And 24 hours ago we saw a scene, at least in parts of the city, pretty chaotic after the British helicopter crashed. I am guessing that 24 hours later the scene there is a much calmer one?
CHILCOTE: That is correct. We just spoke with the British military. They say it is calm. They are still at the crash site. They've secured that crash site. They are still carrying out their investigation. They are saying that there were no more than five individuals, five members of the British military inside of that helicopter when it went down, but they have not provided any exact casualty figures. They are also saying that they are going to be looking at the exact cause. Of course, the Iraqi police say that they believe that helicopter was brought down by a missile. Tony.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's Ryan Chilcote for us in Baghdad for us. Thank you.
LONG: And we do want to take you now to the scene of the crash of that chopper yesterday in Basra, as Ryan Chilcote mentioned. They are currently on the scene, trying to piece together exactly what went wrong and how many people died. Tim Ewert of the ITN News has more on the crash and that subsequent chaos's.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM EWERT, ITN NEWS (voice over): The helicopter crashed in the residential center of Basra. According to Iraqi police, it was brought down by a rocket. Local firemen tried to douse the flames, but there was no chance of saving any of those on board. Within minutes of the crash, a crowd had gathered. Gleefully celebrating the loss of British lives, and then venting their anger on soldiers who had raced to the scene.
It was when petrol bombs were hurled at the warrior tank that the confrontation became more menacing. British soldiers advanced in strength and within minute's gunfire erupted. It is fairly tense down there. There has been public disorder, activity, on the cordons and in the area of the Cordon, and there has been petrol bombing. At the moment the Cordon is holding. We're looking at recovering the helicopter. And there clearly were casualties. Wounded Iraqis were dragged away as the gunfire continued. But the bigger issue for the military now is the vulnerability of helicopters to insurgents apparently armed with rocket launchers.
COL. BOB STEWART, FMR. BRITISH MILITARY CMDR: We've noticed an increasing use of helicopters and as increasing use of helicopters suggests to them, they ought to try and attack helicopters, and this is the first time they've done so and been successful, sadly.
EWERT: And amid the flames and the smoke and the gunfire, there are renewed concerns about what may lie ahead for soldiers in an increasingly volatile atmosphere.
Tim Ewert, ITV News. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And efforts to rescue two gold miners in Australia are at a very volume still sensitive stage for the rescuers and the men trapped underground. Crews are close to reaching the miners but a reporter on the scene tells us that rescuers are having problem getting through very hard and solid rock. They are considering using explosives and that could make things worse. The miners have been trapped 3,000 feet underground in a tiny steel cage since an earthquake caused a rock fall. That was almost 13 days ago.
LONG: Amazing, almost two weeks.
HARRIS: Yeah, yeah.
LONG: It's a delicate stage right now, as you mentioned. We are keeping you posted today on that cold snap, and yesterday it was the wicked weather in Texas, but much of the northeast is really -- has really needed to crank up the heat.
WOLF: No question about that. This morning, places like New York, temperatures into the 40s. But it's going to be a beautiful day up there, we'll drop below the cloud cover and show you what will happen in New England for the day, up in Portland to Boston, mainly some low 60s with mix of sunshine and clouds, and we'll move a little bit farther south, to New York, 64 degrees, 63 in Atlantic City.
Once you get to Washington, D.C., that's where the showers start building back in the forecast, 61 the expected high and possibly some thunderstorms. Atlanta a rainy day with 73, and 77 in Charleston out by the Citadel. But for Florida, a place where they are just desperate for rainfall. They've really been having trouble with all kinds of fires and whatnot. Very dry conditions. They are not going to get any relief today. That frontal boundary is going to remain stationary to the north of them, so from parts north of the I-10 corridor, you'll have the rain, but south, it's going to remain dry, dry, dry. Let's give you the very latest. That is the latest, and let's gives it back to you in the studio.
HARRIS: Thank you, man.
WOLF: You betcha.
HARRIS: Now who is bringing the remote island group Fiji back in the news? Today, by the way, it is not Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards, you might recall, he was there recently.
LONG: Mishap with the palm tree?
HARRIS: Bumped his head.
LONG: Yes. Also Tom Cruise and sweetheart Katie Holmes, do they have something in common with Anna Nicole Smith?
HARRIS: I can't imagine what.
LONG: We'll have the answers for you in a just a few moments. And then in ten minutes, "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, "HOUSE CALL:" This morning on "House Call" we're going behind the scenes and behind the numbers as well in the war in Iraq. What are the most common injuries and how are the war wounded recovering? We're talking with a recovering double amputee, and one man who is literally helping him make great strides.
Plus, find out what some are calling the signature injury of this war and how the medics are training for the front lines. All that is coming up on "House Call," at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning to you. This morning we've been asking you to send in your thoughts. E-mail us WEEKENDS@CNN.com. The question we've been posing, are you concerned about recent changes in the CIA?
Here is a comment from Todd of Fredericksburg, Virginia. And I quote now, "Tenet was complacent and Goss was a closed minded micromanager. General Hayden will guide the CIA in an efficient manner. As a former Marine, I can vouch for the importance of the relationship between our military and the intelligence community."
HARRIS: And how about this from Bob, he writes, "I feel General Hayden would be a mistake for the CIA. He intentionally misled the public offering his opinions on 9/11." Thank you, Bob, and thanks to everyone who sent in e-mail.
The e-mail box, percolating this morning. In response to this question, are you concerned about changes in the CIA? You have some thoughts you want to share them, there's the address, WEEKENDS@CNN.com.
LONG: This is a fun story, a new secret of course that the president spends a lot of time at his Texas ranch, so maybe no surprise you to, that his favorite moment of his presidency thus far, also happened right there. It had nothing to do with being president. So you're scratching your head, what was it? Mr. Bush tells the German magazine "Build" that in five years nothing quite compares to catching a 7 1/2-pound perch. For the record, he says the worst moment was 9/11.
HARRIS: Sure, sure.
Just interesting funny how celebrities make news just by being themselves. Case in point, new mom, Katie Holmes, two weeks after giving birth she was standing by her man for the premiere of his latest film, "Mission Impossible: III" and we can't overlook, Anna Nicole Smith, she's done nothing to dispel rumors that she's pregnant. And by the way, Smith has 20-year-old son. Stars seem to be having quite an affair these days with Fiji. Tori Spelling and her boyfriend Dean McDermott jetted there to get married today. Spelling says they just couldn't wait another day to get-hitched.
And you may recall that Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones recently bumped his head while on vacation in Fiji. How is not 100 percent clear, but some reports say he fell out of a coconut palm tree? Richards is in New Zealand nursing a mild concussion. But he says he is fine.
He needs to get back on tour.
LONG: Yes.
HARRIS: That's a great tour, a great show, from what I've heard.
Still ahead, they face tragedy and loss, but they never gave up.
LONG: Instead, they became even more determined and successful. It is a story made for Hollywood. Coming up, we'll be talking to the writer who wants to make a Hollywood film about the cheerleaders of the University of West Georgia. I think you're going to want to see this. It's live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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