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CNN Sunday Morning
Volcano Watch in Indonesia; Violence Continues in Iraq
Aired May 14, 2006 - 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: Good morning, everybody. Now in the news, a definite scare aboard Senator Ted Kennedy's private plane, but all is OK. The senator's small jet was struck by lightning and lost all electrical power and communications. The pilot had to fly the plane manually, but was able to land it safely.
Monday's deadline for enrolling in a Medicare drug benefit plan has older Americans quite concerned. The enrollment deadline as mentioned is tomorrow. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt will address those concerns. He'll be live with us in about two hours from now.
The CIA leak investigation focuses on Vice President Dick Cheney. Court papers show Cheney's handwritten notes making references to CIA Agent Valerie Plame. Now the notes do not mention her name and were made before her identity was exposed. Cheney's former chief of staff Lewis Libby is charged in connection with the leak of Plame's identity.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A backlash against rights for immigrants is growing. A proposed ordinance in San Bernardino, California would prohibit illegal immigrants from renting property. It would also oppose sanctions on businesses that employ day laborers. President Bush addresses the immigration debate tomorrow night. Tune in to our live coverage both before and after the president's speech.
A river of fiery lava is flowing down the slope of Indonesia's Mount Merapi. Take a look at these pictures. But many mountainside villagers are staying put trying to protect their animals and crops against the cascades of lava. A live update from Indonesia in just about two minutes.
Attacks and prison uprisings have killed 36 people in Brazil according to local media reports. A notorious gang attacked a police headquarters in Sao Palo. The dead include almost two dozen police officers. The violence began Friday night with armed assaults on police stations and patrol cars. We'll get a live report from Brazil in about 30 minutes.
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Mother's day, happy mother's day everybody out there. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: Did you call your mom?
NGUYEN: No, it's too early. HARRIS: She's out west today, right?
NGUYEN: Yes. She's in (INAUDIBLE) a little too early. Don't worry. I will call.
HARRIS: I have to call my mom. Good morning everyone. I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the east, 6:00 p.m. in Indonesia where frightened people are still fleeing the slopes of Mount Merapi. We're watching one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes which could erupt at any time. We'll take you there live in just a few minutes. Thanks for being with us.
NGUYEN: We do have a busy Sunday morning ahead for you. Coming up this hour, important tips for international travelers, especially Americans who some say act real ugly when they leave the country. A little bit of knowledge about local customs that can save you a lot of unnecessary grief. We have an expert on global etiquette that will join us a little bit later.
Also ahead... it is mother's day and we have some very special reunions planned. Oh this is good stuff. That's coming up next hour. You have to stay around for that.
And in our 9:00 hour, why is there a deadline tomorrow to sign up for the new Medicare drug plan? That is one of the question we'll put to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt when he joins us live to explain this.
HARRIS: Well Indonesia isn't considered part of the ring of fire for nothing. It has more than 100 active volcanoes and the most active right now is Mount Merapi. Experts say it's a textbook case of a mountain about to blow. Merapi is located in the south central part of the island of Java and CNN's Kathy Quiano is nearby for what many people expect will be a cataclysmic event. She joins us right now by phone. Kathy good morning to you.
KATHY QUIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Tony.
HARRIS: Well give us a sense of how the story has changed, if at all, since when we talked to you yesterday. My understanding today is that many people who were evacuated have decided to return to their homes. Is that correct?
QUIANO: Well Tony we're hearing some stories of that. But actually what we saw here earlier when we came in, they said it's about two evacuation centers, one school and one government building where there are about 3,000 residents. I spoke to mostly women there and the elderly and their children. And they say that the men, which may be about 10 percent of the population in the villages, chose to stay behind to guard their homes, their livestock and their crops. And they are accompanied by the military, the police and some search and rescue teams. And authorities are saying that they have provided them with transportation so that they could flee the danger zone as soon as eruption happens. Tony?
HARRIS: OK, Kathy. I'm also hearing this morning that there are some small explosions in the crater itself. Is that true?
QUIANO: Well, we -- the volcanologists here on the ground say that they're closely watching it and that they reported lava flows that happened like every five minutes. They're telling me there is increased activity, but nothing very significant from yesterday, really. The concern now is really to -- they're watching this lava dome that formed about two weeks ago and that's causing some concern about volcanologists and they're saying that eruption may be worse than earlier predicted. Tony?
HARRIS: And these people who -- the people who might actually be returning to their homes, is the sense that, you know, we really don't know when this might blow and we have homes, we have property, we have livestock that we have to protect?
QUIANO: That's right. There's also a concern that, you know, their properties may be looted or stolen. That's why, you know, the military and police are guarding those villages as well. So -- they feel that they can run as fast as they could away from the Volcano's -- I'm sorry, out of the way when the eruption happens and because they will be equipped with transportation to do that.
But, of course, we also talked to some villagers in the evacuation centers who experienced the last large eruption in 1994. And about 60 people died in that eruption and in fact we spoke to one man who was -- whose feet were partially burned from that eruption. He said that you can't really run that fast from heat clouds that come falling down the slopes. Tony?
HARRIS: Kathy from your location is it Yogyakarta?
QUIANO: It's Yogyakarta, that's right. It's about 20 miles from the volcano and in fact I can see the volcano from where I am right now. It's dark now, but soon they say that we'll see the glowing avalanche cascading on the slopes. Tony?
HARRIS: Kathy Quiano, following developments in Mount Merapi for us. Kathy appreciate it, thank you.
NGUYEN: Well you want to get ready because the immigration battle in this country moves from the streets back to Washington. President Bush addresses the nation on his ideas about immigration tomorrow. And on Capitol Hill the senate's compromised bill takes center stage. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) MINORITY LEADER: We try very, very hard to move things along and it's not easy, with the political atmosphere we find in the country today.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Senate immigration bill had been in limbo for weeks, while hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets. The senate plan gives the demonstrators some of what they want. A pact for illegal immigrants who have been in the United States more than five years to earn citizenship and a guest worker program. Reopening debate on the bill puts the senate back on a collision course with the house, which approved a get tough bill that focuses on border security.
REP. TOM TANCREDO, (R) COLORADO: I think that the compromise is not a good one from what I understand. Anything over on the senate side that has guest worker is also a -- an amnesty bill.
KOCH: The senate deal limits the number of amendments or changes that can be made to the bill, which senate leaders say they hope to pass by Memorial Day. It also includes a compromise on the negotiating team that will try to bridge the huge gap between the senate's final immigration bill and a house version. The conference committees will be made up of senators more supportive of the key provisions of the senate bill. Something democrats wanted.
SEN. BILL FRIST, (R-TN) MAJORITY LEADER: We both anticipate a lot of challenging times over the period, which will begin on -- in all likelihood on Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And that was our Kathleen Koch reporting. We're going to have a preview of the president's speech next hour with our White House correspondent Elaine Quijano.
HARRIS: CNN will have extensive prime time coverage of the president's immigration speech and reaction to it. We will get started with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern, then the president's speech at 8:00. After the speech, see what "LOU DOBBS" has to say.
NGUYEN: Yeah, you'll want to see it. That's for sure.
HARRIS: Can't wait. Then at 9:00 eastern, tune in for a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" followed by "ANDERSON COOPER 360" live from Chicago at 10:00 eastern. It is all here on CNN.
NGUYEN: Other stories across America now, Baton Rouge police have arrested a 19-year-old suspect in connection with the shooting death of USC freshman point guard Ryan Francis. Investigators say Francis was shot while riding in a car with several other people. He was in Baton Rouge visiting his mother.
In Ohio, a standoff between police and a man accused of holding his family hostage ends tragically. Investigators say the suspect stabbed his wife and shot an officer. Both survived though, but police say once they were able to get in the house they found the man and the couple's two children dead.
In southern California, shirts, beach bags, hats, you name it, can now be officially branded Surf City USA. Huntington Beach has been granted exclusive trademark rights to the phrase, but so Cal's northern beach rivals in Santa Cruz say, ah, that's not fair. They applied for their own trademark, original Surf City USA.
HARRIS: Now to Florida and the gruesome story of a killer alligator. Wildlife officials say a 9 1/2 foot male captured yesterday in a canal had two human arms in its belly. Authorities suspect it's the same gator that attacked and killed a 28-year-old woman several days ago as she jogged along the canal. CNN'S Susan Candiotti has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A family feels the pain of losing a loved one in an especially gruesome way. An autopsy found the alligator's victim quickly bled to death when both of her arms were lost in the attack. How uncommon is this attack?
JORGE PINO, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE OFFICER: Well it's very uncommon. As a matter of fact, since 1948, that we've been keeping records, there's only been 18 fatal human attacks by an alligator.
CANDIOTTI: The death of Yovy Jimenez a first by an alligator in highly populated Broward County. Jimenez went for a jog around 7:00 Tuesday night. The path runs along a canal with a drop-off in some spots that goes down around 15 feet. Some witnesses say they think they saw a woman with her feet near the water. Whether or not that was Jimenez, her family said she did call home and told them she was depressed. Her sister, who did not want to appear on camera, told a local TV station her mother offered to pick up Jimenez.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said, no, no, no, you're not going to find me and then the communication got cut off. And from there on we never heard from her again. We kept calling and calling and calling and nobody would answer so I guess that's when that happened.
CANDIOTTI: Traps baited with hog lungs, cover a 500 yard stretch of canal along a busy highway. Canals attract alligators in search of food when water levels are low in the Everglades, the tail end of dry season, when homeowners have been known to find unwelcomed visitors in their driveways. And alligators find themselves in territory that used to belong exclusively to them. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Davie, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well still to come, live on this mother's day, we have a lot planned here. It's a surprise mother and child reunion for one of our troops serving in Bahrain.
HARRIS: I have a question for you. Our reporter from Indonesia, what's her name?
NGUYEN: Kathy Quiano I think.
HARRIS: What did I say?
NGUYEN: I don't even know.
HARRIS: Did I really mess it up that badly that everyone's yelling at me? Quiano and -- did I? Kathy, I apologize. I'll apologize next hour when we talk to you. NGUYEN: I think you'll get a pass on it.
HARRIS: Okay.
NGUYEN: I think you're "A" okay.
HARRIS: Still ahead, speak softly, don't argue, and slow down. Three important things to know if you're traveling outside the U.S. this summer. And how we can also improve world opinion of the U.S. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Corporal David De La Cruz (ph), I'm in (INAUDIBLE) Iraq, I want to wish my mom Carina De La Cruz in Andrews, Texas a happy mother's day. I miss you, mom. I'll be home soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi I'm Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Libby (ph) in Camp Liberty, Baghdad, Iraq. I'd like to say happy mother's day to my wife, Kelly Withington, Parker Heights, Texas. Happy mother's day, honey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning from (INAUDIBLE) in Iraq. Happy mother's day. We love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, my name is Staff Sergeant Hamilton (ph), I'm here at (INAUDIBLE) Iraq. And I just want to wish my kids a happy mother's day from their mommy. I love you Debra and Benjamin, they are in Colleen, Texas. God bless you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Life givers. Moms. We love all the moms.
NGUYEN: All the moms. Happy mother's day.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still ahead on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" a violent weekend in Brazil leaves many dead. Many of them police officers dead at the hands of gang violence. We will go live to Brazil for an update in just a couple minutes.
NGUYEN: Travelers, you want to beware because your manners, yep, those manners may be considered rude in other countries. Coming up some global dos and don'ts if you're planning a trip abroad this summer. Which brings us to the question, in what country is it considered obscene to give an A-okay or thumbs up gesture? Is it A. Brazil, B. Australia, C. Spain, D. Middle Eastern countries, or E. All of the above? What do you think? We'll have the answer right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: So before the break we asked in what country is it considered rude to give the A-okay? Or thumbs up gesture. Got you. Is it A. Brazil, B. Australia, C. Spain, D. Middle Eastern countries or E. all of the above? The answer is E. all of the above. A simple misunderstanding, right? Well with so many strong views on American diplomacy and the war in Iraq, the term the ugly American is still often attached to American tourists abroad. Other countries often receive Americans as loud, arrogant and having no respect for other cultures. To help American travelers dispel some of those stereotypes is Keith Reinhard, the president of Business for Diplomatic Action. Keith, good to see you this morning.
KEITH REINHARD, BUSINESS FOR DIPLOMATIC ACTION: Nice to see you Tony. Thank you.
HARRIS: Let me give you a typical American response to all of this.
REINHARD: Okay.
HARRIS: Loud, arrogant, having no respect for other cultures. Come on. We are traveling to your country. We are bringing in hard- earned American currency. We want to enjoy ourselves, our way. We want to bring America to you and you benefit when we do.
REINHARD: That's pretty typical, Tony. And I don't think you really believe that. Our research shows that we do not show respect. And I want to make the point that this is not so much about manners, but as you pointed out, the American reputation is in trouble. It's never been lower around the world. Americans make 60 million trips outside the United States every year. That means we have 60 million chances to make positive impressions, to maybe disabuse of their negative impressions of our collective personality, which is as you described, according to the research.
HARRIS: Citizen Ambassadors, that's the essence of what you're talking about. Something that we should strive to become.
REINHARD: I lost you, Tony.
HARRIS: Oh you lost me?
REINHARD: Yeah. Okay. Citizen Ambassadors?
HARRIS: Yes.
REINHARD: Why not.
HARRIS: Yeah.
REINHARD: We believe that our collective personalities are only one of the root causes for our terrible reputation. But, even the government has encouraged citizen diplomacy if you will. Learning to respect the cultures and the ways of others. And learning more about the world. We are, in fact, geographically challenged in many ways. HARRIS: You know what? Keith, I've got to tell you, this is, I'm having a little fun with it off the top at least. But you're right, this is really serious stuff here. America, in many places around the world, is seen as this sort of self-absorbed, arrogant, militant, some would say hyper-power.
REINHARD: Yes.
HARRIS: Okay. How far off the mark is it if it is at all?
REINHARD: Well, we are obviously a hyper-power. But in the research, we asked people what's the ultimate arrogance that you see in the American personality? The ultimate arrogance is that we believe or it's perceived that we believe everyone in the world wants to be exactly like us. And that isn't true. They say there's much we admire about the American culture but we cherish our own culture, too. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to learn a little bit about our culture.
HARRIS: Yeah. You know what I don't want to travel subconsciously. No one does. You don't want to go and sit on a couch and analyze yourself before you travel overseas. So give us some tips, we're putting some up on a side panel here. Give us some tips -- some things to think about as we embark upon our next international trip.
REINHARD: The first thing of course is get a map. As I said, it's amazing how many people still confuse Australia with Austria. Then learn a few phrases in the language of the country you're intending to visit. Even if you mispronounce some words, almost in every country it's respected that you at least tried. By doing so you're at least acknowledging that you know there is another language other than American English. Learn something about the local sports heroes. I typically ask a hotel bellman when I'm checking in, okay who are the hot teams in your country.
Usually a soccer team and what are the stars names. What are the pop singers that the kids are listening to here? And then in your next conversation you have something to talk about. And then learn to listen and learn to slow down. A man in New Zealand said if you Americans can't stop talking, if you can't learn to listen, could you at least dial down the volume?
HARRIS: Wow.
REINHARD: And then as you pointed out in your graphic earlier, if you're going to talk with your hands, make sure you know what they're saying.
HARRIS: Oh man, I'm in trouble. I'm all over the place with my hands.
REINHARD: I noticed that.
HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, I am. Do you think that this bad behavior that we're talking about, the perception of others of us could ultimately impact this country's security?
REINHARD: I do. It's one of several root causes of anti- Americanism. But I think it's one that we can really attack and it's been around for a long time. The ugly American syndrome is not new, but now with our reputation at an all-time low, I think it's time to do something about it. And I think, yes. If we can't make friends around the world, we're going to have to go it alone. I think that does have direct implications on our economy and on our national security.
HARRIS: Keith, the travelers guide, when was that released? In 2004?
REINHARD: The first one was a generous grant from PepsiCo and we did it for college students, kids who study abroad. We thought that they could be the first wave of citizen ambassador and that was 2004. Now we have one targeted at business executives and that's being released right now. 500 companies have already signed up to give these to their traveling executives. It will be officially online at the end of next week.
HARRIS: Okay, great, great. Keith, we appreciate it. Keith Reinhard, has done some good work on this. Your business and your advertising has done some great work in this research area. We appreciate your time Keith, thank you.
REINHARD: Thank you.
NGUYEN: So read up, go online, do what you need to before you travel Tony.
HARRIS: Sit on my hands a little bit.
NGUYEN: Yeah, sit on your hands. Don't give them a thumbs up okay. Well we do want to talk about something very serious, as well. A violent Brazilian gang is terrorizing the city of Sao Palo. They have attacked jails and police stations, dozens of people have been killed. CNN'S Tom Hennigan will have a live report for us, that's coming in just six minutes.
HARRIS: "The Da Vinci Code" opens in U.S. theaters this Friday. In about ten minutes we'll talk to an author about why it's important for you to crack the code before seeing the movie. Okay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: We have some breaking news to tell you about out of Iraq today. A number of people killed, 29 to be exact. The latest casualties, two British soldiers. Let's go right now to CNN's Ryan Chilcote who is on the ground in Baghdad for the latest on this. Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, Iraqis awoke to the crackle of gunfire and the sound of explosions again this morning. Violence around the country, at least 29 killed countrywide. Dozens more wounded. We start in Baghdad. In the Iraqi capital this morning, at least five bombings, the police, the apparent target in many of those attacks. However as usual civilians make up the bulk of the casualties. Then south of the Iraqi capital, a roadside bomb last night killed two British servicemen and wounded one more. Also outside the Iraqi capital, over the last 24 hours in addition to those insurgent attacks some sectarian attacks. A total of six Shiite shrines bombed. No casualties in any those attacks, but any time you have a shrine or a mosque damaged in this country, it raises concern about sectarian tension and reprisal attacks. Betty.
NGUYEN: Ryan, what do you know about these two British soldiers who were killed?
CHILCOTE: Well, the British are most active in the south of the country. South of the country has not been entirely quiet but comparatively quiet in comparison to the areas where the U.S. military is active. They have had casualties before, but not at the same kind of scale that we have seen among the U.S. military. So this is a big shock obviously to the U.S. military. So far they are holding on to the names of those servicemen until next of kin have been notified. Betty.
NGUYEN: And when you talk about these attacks, we have heard of ongoing attacks for a while, sporadic insurgent violence, but there's been a lot of bombings within the past 24 hours as you mentioned. Six Shiite shrines, a number of other bombings, suicide bombings roadside bombings. Is this a collaborated effort? Is this something that was organized or do you think this is just more of the sporadic insurgent violence?
CHILCOTE: Betty, you know, I think that there's -- we're looking at two kinds of attacks. There are insurgent attacks taking place. Those are attacks directed at the symbols of the Iraqi government, at the Iraqi military and the U.S. military and coalition forces. And then there are these sectarian attacks, the attacks like I was mentioning on the Shiite shrines. So they have sort of two different goals. One attacking the government, the other trying to drive a wedge or driving a wedge rather between Iraq's various religious and ethnic groups. I think what is important to note here however is that the Iraqi parliament met today. Any time you have a meeting of the Iraqi parliament, any time the Iraqi government tries to make some movement towards political progress here, that's when you see the insurgents. That's when you see individuals who want to create a civil war here in Iraq step up their violence. That's what apparently we are seeing today. Betty.
NGUYEN: Which was exactly my question. What was sparking this? We've had a lot of violence as mentioned over the last 24 hours and with parliament meeting, we understand what you are saying which may have sparked the violence that we have seen, this latest wave of it. Ryan Chilcote, thank you for that update. Of course, we'll be checking in with you throughout the day. Tony.
HARRIS: More violence to talk about. A wave of gang violence in Brazil, in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo. Public safety officials say a powerful criminal gang has launched attacks on police stations and jails. As many as 36 people are dead in attacks and prison uprisings that began on Friday. Journalist Tom Hennigan joins us on the phone from Sao Paulo. And Tom, we understand the criminal gang, the first capital command is likely behind all this. What can you tell us about this organization?
TOM HENNIGAN, JOURNALIST: This is a prison gang. It was formed in the early '90s and by prisoners in a jail in Sao Paulo state and in its initial phase, took control of Brazil's prisons as the standard way Brazilian prisons are run us that the government will patrol the perimeter but the actual cell blocks are often left to the criminals and this gang quickly took control of most of the jails within the state of Sao Paulo.
In recent years, it has extended its operations outside of the jails and is now heavily involved in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, bank robberies and other criminal activities and the state has now tried to crack down on this gang and its policy is to try and isolate its leadership within maximum security prisons. Most of the main leadership of this gang are in jail already. But because they control the jails they have access to mobile phones, they are able to still control their activities outside and to coordinate rebellions amongst the various prisons they control any time the states try to take any action against them. And the states decided that the way to break that power is to isolate its leadership in maximum security jails and that's the response we are seeing from the gang to that action.
HARRIS: Tom, you have to describe this scene over the course of the last 24 hours. We are talking about, in many cases here, spectacular attacks. Fifty five bombings is one number I've seen, ambushes, sniper attacks. Set the scene for us.
HENNIGAN: Well, the PCC is a very well-armed organization. So it has attacked the police using a full arsenal of its weaponry which has included heavy machine guns, grenades, homemade explosives, and the police are being attacked all over. Not just the greater Sao Paulo area but the attacks have also spread to cities in the interior of Sao Paulo state and then on the coast near the port of Santos. And what we have seen is mainly drive-by shootings, cars coming up to police stations and lobbing grenades at police stations, firing machine guns at the stations. Some of these posts are very vulnerable mobile units and essentially trailers that are being put into areas that don't have a police station and several police officers will work in what they call community posts here. Some of these police officers are very isolated, very vulnerable and the criminals have been coming up, cars packed with men heavily armed attacking them once darkness falls.
HARRIS: I got to tell you something Tom, I've got two questions here. I'll try to combine them together here. This -- on one hand it sounds almost like when you talk about how well armed they are, kind of a paramilitary operation. And on the other hand, what must this be like for folks in Sao Paulo? Look, this is a city of what 19 million people. It's the chief industrial and financial hub of the country. I mean this has to be a shocking development.
HENNIGAN: It is shocking to residents, but it is not altogether surprising. And the extent of this latest problem has shocked people, the number of deaths, the number of attacks. But this is not the first time that this gang has taken on the police like this, attacking police stations. And what they are -- what the government are saying is that this response shows how desperate the gangs are to prevent the state's activity in trying to isolate its leadership and finally come to grips with this organization. This organization has enjoyed exponential growth in the last decade, becoming a massive criminal organization with its tentacles into everything. The state has finally said enough. The state is saying while this is a terrible situation, a terrible loss of life, that it does reflect the fact that the gang realizes that the state is getting to grips with the situation.
HARRIS: OK, Tom, maybe in another hour this morning we can call you back and maybe you can explain to us what's fueling the growth of this. What kind of discontent in the country is fueling the growth of this kind of activity. Tom Hennigan is a journalist working in Sao Paulo. Tom, we appreciate your time. Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The rising is lower on the left than it is on the right. She appears larger on the left than the right. Historically the left was female, the right male.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The success of the novel may be an early indication of how this film is going to make out at the box office. "The Da Vinci Code" hits theaters this Friday. Critics, cynics, historians, theologians, Christians, Catholics, hey, anybody with an opinion weighing in on the book's validity or lack thereof. Meanwhile, church leaders continue to ask that readers avoid accepting "The Da Vinci Code" as the gospel. "The Da Vinci Code" breaker is a glossary of more than 500 terms, concepts, people, locations and even events. The idea is for you the reader, the moviegoer to do your own cross reference while reading or watching the new movie when it comes out. Jim Garlow, who is the co-author of "The Da Vinci Code Breaker" joins us to talk about all this. Good morning to you.
JIM GARLOW, AUTHOR, "DA VINCI CODE BREAKER": And good morning to you.
NGUYEN: You have two books out in fact. You have "Cracking Da Vinci's Code" which talks about the six main things that everyone needs to know before watching the movie or reading the book. And then you have "The Da Vinci Code Breaker" which is a dictionary of terms. OK, why are two books needed? Why are books needed after all? This is a novel on fiction. It's not on fact. So what is the big uproar?
GARLOW: If everybody regarded it as a novel, then I wouldn't be writing the books I wrote.
NGUYEN: But I have to tell you James, this book has been out for three years. We've done many stories on it. The media has been all over the fact that people say look, it is a book based on fiction. So don't you think people get it by now?
GARLOW: I wish that was the case. My first book has been out three years.
NGUYEN: There you go.
GARLOW: The second one just came out. The dictionary just came out very, very recently to help people as they read the book or as they go to the movie, they can look up the term and get the correct definition for it.
NGUYEN: All right. You are a pastor of a church yourself, a man of God. Are you going to go see this movie?
GARLOW: Yes, I am.
NGUYEN: Why?
GARLOW: I think it gives me greater credibility if I read the book and go to the movie with those that I relate to on this. I think, even though Dan Brown's book has no historical accuracy at all, any theological accuracy at all, the fact is it opens doors of conversations and I simply have greater credibility if I have read the book and gone to the movie. So I personally am going to go. Others feel they should not; I respect that. They shouldn't go in that case. But I'm going to go see it. I will probably go more than once quite frankly. And I want to take people who are unchurched who don't see themselves as followers of Christ because I want to be involved in dialogues with them afterwards because that opens the door to do that.
NGUYEN: We'll get to that dialogue in just a moment. But as you prepare to go see this movie, it's coming out on Friday, a lot of people preparing to go see the movie maybe even some of your church goers. What are the things, the six main things that they need to know before watching this movie to dispel any of the fact from fiction?
GARLOW: Number one, Dan Brown says that Jesus was voted to be -- declared to be a divine in the 4th century as some kind of a political mechanism. The fact is believers have been willing to die for their faith, die for the fact that Jesus was divine for the previous 250 years. So in that famous council of Nicea in 325 they only voted to affirm that Jesus was divine what people believed for several centuries. That's number one.
Number two, Dan Brown would have us to believe that Constantine created a new bible in the 4th century by taking out the original gospels and putting in some brand new ones of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That's not at all what happened. The fact is historically believers can have a great deal of confidence in the reliability of the New Testament. Dan Brown has a very unusual understanding of the church's portrayal of sexuality, says the church demonized sex. That is not the case. He says also the church defamed women or specifically Mary Magdalene, yes and they led a smear campaign against females. That is not an accurate statement at all. And then he has his own functional definition of God really and his own kind of definition of the church. Those six things, if a person will work through those things, those are the things I think they ought to know before they go see the movie.
NGUYEN: And I guess number one, you mentioned a little bit about it. But OK, set the record straight, nothing going on between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, no relationship there.
GARLOW: No place in the New Testament number one, no place in the writings of the early church fathers, number two and even no place in the Gnostic writings, the writings that Dan Brown is so enamored with, no place in any of the Gnostic writings does it ever say Jesus was married. He bases it on one phrase from the gospel of Phillip, a word called companion. He said every Aramaic scholar knows that the word companion, Jesus was a companion of Mary Magdalene. He says every Aramaic scholars knows that the word companion means spouse. Well it wasn't in Aramaic, for number one. It was in Greek. And it doesn't mean spouse. It means exactly friend or friendship or fellowship. That's what the word mean there and when he says Jesus kissed Mary often on the mouth it does not say mouth in the text. The actual document is fragmented. It's torn. We don't know -- Jesus kissed Mary on the -- it's torn right there. It doesn't say mouth. It probably means forehead or cheek because the meaning of that verse has to do with thee greeting each other with a kiss like they would do in the Middle East yet to this day. No sexualized content at all. In fact the gospel of Phillip, which he bases it on, is not even a pro- marriage book per se. It's a big anti-marriage as a matter of fact.
NGUYEN: So, which is again, why you came out with this definition of terms. But honestly, realistically, practically speaking, are people going to go to this movie with their book and look up the definitions? How are they supposed to use this definition of terms?
GARLOW: I wish they would go with my book. I don't know if they will. I hope you will. I'll send you one.
NGUYEN: We are talking about it. So tell us how we could use it.
GARLOW: Well, I think any time that they hear any of the terms, any of the descriptions that Dan Brown uses in his book or what I presume will be in the movie as well, then they take a look at that and they can get the correct definition. They will assume for example that in the Louvre museum there are 666 panes of glass, Dan Brown says, 666 was the anti-Christ, not the case. There's probably 673 or 675, but they can just look up terms like this and see if what he's reporting is accurate or not.
NGUYEN: But again, I got to go back to the main point, this is a book of fiction. So, when people say, you know what? Don't worry about it. We know it's based on fiction. What's your response to that?
GARLOW: If they say that, I applaud that. I wish everybody viewed it that way. Here's the problem. He opens the book as you well know with page one saying fact, the Priory of Scion was founded in 1099. Well, it was not. It was founded in 1956. And then he goes on to talk about the secret letters that were found in 1975 in the national library of France. He does not bother to tell you those were a bogus. They were proved to be a complete hoax. So when people read that opening page, they think it's a historical novel, historically- based novel. It is not. He takes actual historical events, turns them upside down, turns them on their head. And the problem is...
NGUYEN: Would you say that's the beauty of a good writer to make it seem real? Even though he has told you it's in the fiction category. Isn't that the beauty of the craft of making a good novel, making people believe in it?
GARLOW: I don't have a problem with that as long as he says factless. This book has no facts in it whatsoever and I made it up. All he has to say is I'm a novelist. I have the right to make it up. I can write what I want.
NGUYEN: Well, he has said it. He doesn't do many interviews, but one thing that he has said in the past is that this book is a novel based on fiction.
GARLOW: He goes on to say I stand by what I have put in it. And that opening page, it gives people the impression, I've done book signings all over the country. My first book over the last three years, I have encountered droves of people who say make this out to my nephew, make it out to my son, my in-laws. I'm so disappointed. They read Dan Brown's book and they actually believe it as true. If nobody believed it was true, people like me wouldn't be talking to you right now. And I hope do understand it's a novel and the whole thing is made up and just has entertaining fun read and they're done with it. If they treat it that way, that's the right way to treat it.
NGUYEN: Don't you think Dan Brown has done the church a favor in a sense that it is getting people talking?
GARLOW: Yeah, I do agree that he's given us two gifts. Number one, he has helped people who do follow Christ to dig much deeper. That's a great gift and number two, he has given us opportunities to talk with a lot of other people. So I really affirm that. I wish he would come clean and simply say the book is bogus. I made this stuff up. There's no truth and so that would be a great service.
NGUYEN: Well, again in his defense he has said the book is fiction. I know. You are "The Da Vinci Code" breaker, right?
GARLOW: That's right.
NGUYEN: Thanks for your time. Have fun at the movie.
GARLOW: Well, thank you, enjoyed being on with you.
NGUYEN: Sure. Take care. Tony.
HARRIS: What's in your coffee this morning? Are you all right?
NGUYEN: I just want it to be known, book of fiction. He knows that. But we're talking about it and I guess that's the main point.
HARRIS: That's the main point. We're going to check your coffee.
NGUYEN: All fired up today.
HARRIS: Man. All right, we're going to take a break and come back with more of CNN SUNDAY MORNING right after this.
NGUYEN: Happy Mother's Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh, we have a special treat for you this Mother's Day. In our studio this morning, Addie Sawyer and her granddaughter Kennedy couldn't be more beautiful this morning. Hi, Kennedy. Addie's daughter Kiawanta Sawyer is in the Navy stationed in Bahrain. We are set to interview Kiawanta next hour live. By the way, Wanda can't see this broadcast in Bahrain, so she has no idea that her mother and daughter are here with us. So stick around for this special Mother's Day surprise, the next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALES: I'm Corporal Tommie Huff (ph) and I'm Corporal Donnie Huff (ph) (INAUDIBLE) Iraq and we are here to wish our mom a happy Mother's Day in Gordon (ph), Indiana. We love you, mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm Lieutenant Michelle Matthews (ph) here in Baghdad, Iraq. I would like to wish my mother, Janet Matthews of St. Louis, Missouri, a happy Mother's Day. Thanks mom for being my best friend. I love you and I miss you madly. I'll see you soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Specialist Larson (ph). I'm (INAUDIBLE) from the 1034 (INAUDIBLE) Minnesota Army National Guard. Just want to wish all the mothers of America happy Mother's Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Love seeing that on this day, this special day. Well, still ahead on this Mother's Day, not sure what to do about the new Medicare prescription drug plan? Secretary Mike Leavitt of Health and Human Services will join us in just a little while to help clear up some of the confusion.
HARRIS: And of course we can't forget mom's special day. We have cooked up a little surprise next hour that you don't want to miss. Wave. Say hello.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Just another reminder, CNN is going to be all over the immigration story all day Monday starting with "American Morning" at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. And CNN will have extensive prime time coverage of the president's immigration speech. We get started with a special edition of the "Situation Room" tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with Wolf Blitzer of course, then the president's speech at 8:00. After the speech see what Lou Dobbs has to say about it all. Then at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, tune in for a special edition of "Larry King Live" followed by "Anderson Cooper 360" live from Chicago at 10:00 Eastern. It's all here on CNN.
NGUYEN: Excuse me, I'm choked up about the e-mail question.
HARRIS: There's something going on with you this morning.
NGUYEN: There's a lot going on. Since today is Mother's Dday, here's our e-mail question for you. Tony, you may even want to weigh in on this. What is special about your mother? That's our question to you. Send your thoughts to weekends@cnn.com.
HARRIS: The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins in a moment with a very special surprise for somebody far away. Isn't this going to be good?
NGUYEN: It is so good. You have to stay and watch this. But first though, here's Reynolds Wolf with a look at your fairway forecast.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's a little bit of trivia for you. Did you know that the word Texas comes from the word tejas? Tejas means friendly. And Texas would be friendly for golf especially today in Dallas. (INAUDIBLE) should be A-OK for you, 83 degrees, skies partly sunny to partly cloudy, with a nice breeze out of the southeast five to 10 miles per hour. Things should be pretty nice on the links but a chance of showers as you get closer to Houston. That's a look at your fairway forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Now in the news, in the CIA leak investigation, Vice President Dick Cheney is coming under closer scrutiny. Court papers show Cheney's handwritten notes making reference to CIA agent Valerie Plame. The notes do not mention her name and were made before her identity was exposed. Cheney's former chief of staff Lewis Libby is charged in connection with the leak of Plame's identity.
A scare aboard Senator Ted Kennedy's private plane, but all is OK. The senator's small jet was struck by lightening and lost all electrical and power communications; the pilot had to fly the plane manually but did land safely.
Illegal immigration, the issue moves from the streets to the White House. President Bush delivers an address to the nation tomorrow night. CNN's live coverage on immigration begins with "American Morning" at 6:00 Eastern. CNN will be on the story all day long, as you can expect and then Lou Dobbs will anchor our special coverage before and after the speech, and Larry King is live on the border.
HARRIS: Procrastinators alert: Tomorrow is the deadline for seniors to sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug plan. If you don't join now, you may have to pay extra when you do. Health and human services secretary Michael Leavitt will address those and other concerns. He'll be live with us next hour. In Iraq, a string of bomb blasts today killed at least 29 people, including two British soldiers and one Iraqi policeman. Two bombs went off near a U.S. convoy in a road leading to Baghdad airport. There's no word of U.S. casualties. Another roadside bomb exploded on a main thoroughfare in eastern Baghdad. The site is awesome, but the potential, deadly.
These are the latest pictures showing Indonesia's Mount Merapi, thousands are urged to flee. Amazingly many who did leave have returned home, that as lava oozes down the slopes. Authorities are still warning a major eruption could come at any time.
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, May 14th, Mother's Day. Here in the U.S. Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. Good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: Happy Mother's Day, hi mom.
NGUYEN: Hi, mom, Happy Mother's Day.
HARRIS: Good morning everyone I'm Tony Harris, thank you for being with us.
Illegal immigration, it's a hot button issue and both the White House and Congress will tackle it tomorrow. All eyes will be on President Bush and his address to the nation. CNN will have extensive coverage all day long beginning with "American Morning" at 6:00 Eastern. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now with a preview. Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Tony. That is right President Bush is set to deliver those immigration remarks tomorrow night. It will be the first time he has ever used an oval office address in prime time to talk about a domestic issue, a sign of the importance President Bush is placing on this topic of illegal immigration.
Now, a senior Bush aide says that border security will be, in fact, a main focus of his remarks. President Bush, of course, has been facing some strong pressure from conservative Republicans in the house. They have wanted tougher measures on border security. Now, one plan the president is considering, according to Pentagon sources and a senior Bush aide is enhancing the role of the national guard in protecting the U.S. border with Mexico. At the same time, though, the president has no plans to back away from his support for a temporary guest-worker program. Mr. Bush has said that is a critical component of border security and controlling the border.
But critics call that amnesty, because it could possibly provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Why now for this address? Well, the Senate is set to take up this issue again on Tuesday. The White House is calling this crunch time. So look for the president to, again, reiterate what he has said in the past about wanting comprehensive immigration legislation on his desk. That includes border security, interior enforcement, and also that temporary guest-worker program. But, of course, he is going to have a lot of convincing to do on that last point, particularly in convincing some members of his own party. A senior administration official here acknowledges, Tony that it is going to be a, quote, heavy lift to get to a compromise.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House for us. Elaine thank you.
CNN's coverage of the president's immigration speech and reaction to it begins with "American Morning" and that's at 6:00 Eastern. For our prime-time coverage, Lou Dobbs will join Wolf Blitzer, is that a tag team, in "The Situation Room" for special analysis before the speech, and that's at 7:00 Eastern, and then the president speaks at 8:00. After this speech, Lou Dobbs will be back with special coverage. Then at 9:00 Eastern, tune in for a special "Larry King Live" he's on the border. That will be followed by a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360," live from Chicago, at 10:00 Eastern. It is all here, all special, on CNN.
OK, now, for something we have been dying to do all morning.
NGUYEN: It's good.
HARRIS: As you know, this is Mother's Day.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: And a time set aside to honor moms everywhere.
NGUYEN: And we mean everywhere. Petty Officer Second Class Kiawanta Sawyer is a mom from Georgia, which is just east of Atlanta but she joins us from Bahrain to talk about how she is spending this Mother's Day. Hello, there. Are you with us? Are you with us? Oh, Tony. There she is, great. I thought we may have lost you. Happy Mother's Day.
PETTY OFC. 2ND CLASS KIAWANTA KIAWANTA SAWYER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: What are you doing today for Mother's Day?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Today I'm actually at work.
NGUYEN: Are they doing anything special? I hope they.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I received flowers today. Last night we had a Mother's Day dinner.
NGUYEN: Well, that's nice. Now, your daughter is just 4 years old. On this Mother's Day, it's got to be kind of hard to be away from your family, isn't it?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Extremely hard to be away from her today.
NGUYEN: What do you miss the most?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I miss her smile the most.
Well, what would you typically be doing on this mother's day?
NGUYEN: What would you typically be doing on this Mother's Day?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: We would be going to church, and then afterwards we would meet up at my mom's house and have dinner.
NGUYEN: Do you get to call home very often, because your mother is taking care of your little Kennedy, who is just 4 years old? Do you get to talk to them often?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I do. I try to at least call every other day, yes.
NGUYEN: Well, that is good. When are you expected to come home? Because you know they want to see you, especially today.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I know. Around September time frame.
NGUYEN: Oh, OK. Well, since you are so far away is there anything that you want to say to both your mother on this Mother's Day and your little one, Kennedy?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes. I want to say to my mom, thank you so much for taking care of Kennedy, and I love you so much. And, Kennedy Renee, I love and miss you so much, pumpkin.
NGUYEN: That is so wonderful. I just wish they could be here to see you and to talk with you. But you know what, through the magic of television --
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes.
NGUYEN: We're able to make that happen for you. How about that?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: That's wonderful. Oh, my goodness.
NGUYEN: So what, so I'm going to step out of the way and let your mother Addie just talk to you on this Mother's Day. Addie go ahead and talk to your daughter.
ADDIE SAWYER: Hey, Wanda.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Hey, mommy.
ADDIE SAWYER: How you doing?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I am good. I am wonderful. How are you this morning?
ADDIE SAWYER: I'm good. Here's Kennedy.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes.
ADDIE SAWYER: Say something. KENNEDY SAWYER: Hi, mommy.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Hi, pumpkin.
NGUYEN: She's waving at you. Oh, how sweet. I know you can't see them. But, Kennedy, is just gorgeous. She's got a little white shirt on and a little blue-and-white skirt and her hair is all done up and she has been waiting to see and hear you. Kennedy, what do you want to say to your momma?
KENNEDY SAWYER: I love you.
NGUYEN: Hello. Do you love her? I know do.
ADDIE SAWYER: Say I love you, mommy.
KENNEDY SAWYER: I love you mommy.
ADDIE SAWYER: Say it loud.
KENNEDY SAWYER: I love you, mommy.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I love you, too. You're going to make me cry.
KENNEDY SAWYER: No.
NGUYEN: Well, we're not here to make you cry. We want to make you happy.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I know it.
NGUYEN: Addie, the circumstances aren't ideal, but this has got to be one special Mother's Day for you.
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes, it is. I couldn't wait this morning to get here.
NGUYEN: Well, hey, take this opportunity. Don't hold back. You're able to see your daughter and talk to her. Anything you want to ask. You want to say, go for it.
ADDIE SAWYER: When are you coming home?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: In September, hopefully.
ADDIE SAWYER: September?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: You can see me?
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes, I can see you.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: You like my glasses?
ADDIE SAWYER: I'm looking right at you. You look funny with those glasses, though.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I know it. I know it.
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes. And your hair's different.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I know it. Tell grandpa I said hi.
ADDIE SAWYER: He's here.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Hi, grandpa.
ADDIE SAWYER: And Debra.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Hi, T. Debs.
ADDIE SAWYER: I'll tell them you said hey. And you at work today?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I am. I didn't tell you Happy Mother's Day, mommy.
ADDIE SAWYER: Thank you.
KENNEDY SAWYER: Happy Mother's Day, mommy.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Oh, thank you, pumpkin.
ADDIE SAWYER: She's just waving at you.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Oh. Are you waving at me? Hi, pumpkin!
NGUYEN: This has got to be one memorable day for you. I wish you could see them. But it has to mean so much to at least hear them.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes, it does.
ADDIE SAWYER: Just to see her face.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Thank you for giving me the opportunity.
NGUYEN: Oh, no problem. Hey, anything that you want to ask or talk to your mom about? Don't waste time here.
ADDIE SAWYER: I talked to her, like, every other day. I just want to tell her thank you. Live.
HARRIS: Hey Wanda, Tony Harris with your mom, your daughter and Betty here in Atlanta. I have to ask you something. You were talking --
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes.
HARRIS: A moment ago about what typically happens on Mother's Day that you and your sisters, right, you get together, you go to church and then it's over to mom's house for dinner, correct?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes, yes. HARRIS: I have to tell you, it's just a coincidence, I get up this morning, and I'm getting ready to come to work, and what's on the television but "soul food."
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Of course.
HARRIS: And it sounds -- that sounds very much like the scene you're describing here of the family getting together. Talk to us about that -- that kind of a get-together, why it's important, what happens at that dinner table.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Wow. It's very important. It's for me, I love family. And being around all my sisters and my mom and my dad, and my nephews and when we're together, that's what it is. It's family.
NGUYEN: And, so, if you were going to be home today and when you do get home, what do you want mamma to cook for you?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Oh, my goodness. Let me see, the first one is I want her ham. The second one, I want her macaroni and cheese. And I want some dressing.
NGUYEN: Are you writing this down, mom?
Oh, well, you know she's going to have a hot plate waiting for you when you get back.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: I'm sure.
HARRIS: So here's the thing, we're going to really make you homesick. So, Addie, is dinner planned for later today?
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes. What are you doing today?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Oh, they are taking me to golden corral.
NGUYEN: They are taking you out. You don't have to cook today.
ADDIE SAWYER: No.
HARRIS: And everyone's going to be there?
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes. Except for Wanda. She has five sisters so a bunch of grandkids, about ten grandkids.
NGUYEN: Oh, my.
ADDIE SAWYER: Just one great.
NGUYEN: Big, happy family.
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes.
NGUYEN: You just need your Wanda home.
ADDIE SAWYER: Yes. HARRIS: And, Wanda, let me ask you, before we run out of time here, you really have to talk to us about this life you're living now as a part of the U.S. military. We know that you spent a year in Iraq. We know that you had an opportunity to come home for a short time, and then it's back to where you're stationed now in Bahrain. How difficult, truly, has been this for you with such a beautiful gift here at home waiting for you, waving at you right now?
KIAWANTA SAWYER: With my first appointment, which was actually to Kuwait, it was rough. As well as it is over here now. It's tough being away from my daughter and missing the events of her life. But, you know, technology is amazing today, and they make headquarters, and my mom gets on it camcorder and she sends it to me.
NGUYEN: Well, you have a beautiful little girl, who is --
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Just really coming out of her shell now, waving, and having a good time here. And we can't wait for you to come home and see them. You stay safe, and you be careful out there, and you come home soon.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Yes. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Happy Mother's Day to you.
KIAWANTA SAWYER: Happy Mother's Day.
NGUYEN: And, Addie and Kennedy thank you both so much for being here with us. It was a special treat for us to be able to facilitate this.
ADDIE SAWYER: Thank you. I have to say one thing. We want to set the record straight.
NGUYEN: Set it straight.
ADDIE SAWYER: It is k i-a-w-a-n-t-a.
HARRIS: Everything else okay?
ADDIE SAWYER: It's perfect.
NGUYEN: Are you happy with everything else today. We're here to make you happy today.
Don't cry.
ADDIE SAWYER: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thanks for coming in. We appreciate you spending time with us.
Still ahead on this Mother's Day, we want to know what's special about your mother. E-mail us, WEEKENDS@CNN.com. And coming up, we'll read some of your responses.
Reynolds, good morning.
WOLF: Good morning, we got a lot to talk about this morning. Let me get myself back over here. We'll be talking about is the possibility of severe weather in parts of Texas and the southeast. Some of it could be pretty rough into the afternoon as well. We'll talk about all that on this Mother's Day coming up in a few moments.
Happy Mother's Day, mom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Private First Class Brianna Nettle (ph) stationed at Cap. Bosalaya (ph). I want to say hi to all my friends and family in Elgin, Illinois. I miss you, and I love you, and I'll see you soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Lance Corporal Kimberly Hernandez (ph) in Iraq, and wishing my mom in San Antonio, Texas, a Happy Mother's Day. I love you, mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Maureen Ramsey (ph) from Kabul, Afghanistan, with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. I'd like to wish my mom, Margaret, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, a Happy Mother's Day. Hi, mom. Happy Mother's Day. I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Women hate it. That ugly, bumpy, cottage cheese fat under the skin, usually on the hips and thighs, known as cellulite. Some women opt for plastic surgery and liposuction, but other women are had now trying to combat cellulite with another option.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The therapy involves injection of medications, under the skin.
COHEN: Even with thousands of dollars in potential expense and weekly injections, some women do swear by this relatively noninvasive procedure. The cocktail is a blend of drugs. Each drug is approved by the FDA, using them in combination is not, and there's no standardized formula for the cocktail. Physicians mix their own. And there have been reported cases of skin irritations and infections.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm convinced that it doesn't work, and I'm not going to risk my patients' health with something that's unproven.
COHEN: And there is a bottom line to any fat-reduction program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very important to eat right and exercise. Keep it off, long term. COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's check our top stories right now. The clock, it is ticking. Tomorrow is the deadline for seniors to sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug plan. If you don't join now, you may have to pay extra when you do.
Illegal immigration, the battle moves from the streets to the White House, and Congress tomorrow. President Bush will deliver an oval office address to the nation tomorrow night. And the Senate takes up a compromise measure.
HARRIS: And we'll talk about how we're going to cover that. A big event, a big deal. The oval office speech, come on. The CNN's coverage of the president's immigration speech and reaction to it begin with "American Morning" at 6:00 Eastern, and for our prime-time coverage, Lou Dobbs will join Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room." How good will that be for special analysis before the speech. That's at 7:00 Eastern. Then, the president speaks at 8:00. After the speech, Lou Dobbs, back --
NGUYEN: He's back, yes.
HARRIS: With special coverage. I can't wait for that. Then at 9:00 Eastern, tune in for a special "Larry King Live." He'll be on the border. And that's followed by a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360," live from Chicago at 10:00 Eastern. It is all here tomorrow on CNN.
NGUYEN: And you don't want to miss it.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: But this morning, hey, Happy Mother's Day, all you mothers out there. Reynolds Wolf is cooking up great forecast, right, Reynolds?
WOLF: Oh, gosh.
HARRIS: Yeah.
NGUYEN: I really set you up for that one, didn't I?
WOLF: Yes, some places it's not going so well. I'll tell you what, Betty, especially in your home state of Texas, they got some rough weather this morning.
NGUYEN: So you want to just go ahead and apologize to my mom right now.
WOLF: I'm sorry to Betty's mom and all the moms in Texas who are dealing with rough weather. We've got a tornado warning in effect for Nacogdoches County and it will remain effect until 10:45 Central time. This box that you see in yellow is your big thunderstorm watch that will remain in effect until 1:00 p.m. Central Time. But lets talk about that possibility tornado first, again just north of Nacogdoches. We don't have visual confirmation on these storms, as of yet, as to whether or not they could be tornadoes. We have the Doppler, again, picking up some a little bit of rotation with these thunderstorms, and those rotating thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes.
This is area that could produce some very large hail and some heavy rainfall, an area that we are really going to watch carefully. Meanwhile, we're seeing scattered showers from parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, and rain continues to fall in Boston. I know, in Boston, you are wondering is the sun ever going to shine again? It will. Unfortunately, it will be Monday or Tuesday after the Mother's Day weekend and the rain also continues to fall in portions of Michigan, back up to Grand Rapids, Traverse Cities and even in Green Bay. Those are the spots dealing with the worst weather for the time being.
Let's talk about the wonderful temperatures we're going to be dealing with in many spots. Very comfortable in St. Louis, 59 degrees expected high. In Dallas, 79 degrees, and into the afternoon, conditions will get much better. Fro New Orleans, 81 degrees, 68 in Washington, D.C, 81 for Salt Lake City, 73 in San Francisco, 70 in Los Angeles. But once you get over into Phoenix, whoa, all the way to 102. Certainly a very warm spring morning.
All right, folks, we'll have more coming up very soon. Happy Mother's Day, and, Betty, again, sorry to your mom about the weather.
NGUYEN: Are you saying there are hot mommas in Phoenix today?
WOLF: I'm not saying anything like that.
NGUYEN: I'm trying to set you up here.
WOLF: Tony, what's going on here?
HARRIS: It's the coffee. It's something going on with her today. We'll talk about it. We got a bit of a break coming up here in a moment, and we'll discuss it.
NGUYEN: Being a hot momma is not a bad thing.
WOLF: No it is a good thing.
On Mother's Day, I'll give you that.
NGUYEN: I let you off the hook, Reynolds.
HARRIS: In the Canadian Rockies a mountain biker is happy to be alive. Slashed and bitten by a black bear, and his screams for help saved his life. We've got that story.
Plus, time for your "House Call," and we're celebrating Mother's Day with a look at women's health. Find out what you need to know to stay healthy on "House Call," today with Elizabeth Cohen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How about this? A cyclist gets a bit too close to a black bear. It happened on a trail in the Canadian Rockies. The victim was lucky. Two other cyclists came along and found his broken helmet and heard his cries for help. Well, there were signs that something or someone had been dragged off. The big problem for the would-be rescuers, the bear was standing between them and the victim, so they cycled off. Hello, there's a bear about to eat me. Where are you going? So, they cycled off. They got some help, and it took a while, but the victim was rescued and is in satisfactory condition.
NGUYEN: That's good.
HARRIS: In a hospital in Alberta.
NGUYEN: Hey, there's so much more to come right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Including expert insight on this new Medicare drug plan. Straight from the top. We're not kidding. Our guest next hour will be health and human services secretary, Michael Leavitt. Be sure to stay with us for that.
HARRIS: And we'll be right back with an update on the headlines and then "House Call" with Elizabeth Cohen.
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