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CNN Sunday Morning

Al Qaeda in Iraq Vows to Avenge Zarqawi's Death

Aired June 11, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And new this morning, fighting words from al-Qaeda just days after losing its leader in Iraq. The terrorist group publicly renews loyalty to Osama bin Laden and vows to avenge Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death. We will have a team of CNN correspondents on this story in this hour. It is Sunday, June 11. Good morning, everyone. From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for starting your day with us.

Well, rain and maybe that's all, that's the latest word on the tropical depression we've been watching in the Gulf. The depression is now expected to possibly fizzle instead of strengthening into the first-named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf will join us in just a few minutes with the latest on that.

HARRIS: Back and forth goes the shelling between Israel and Gaza. Three killed and one wounded in Gaza today, says Palestinian security, the Israeli military says its air strike targeted a rocket- launching cell in Northern Gaza. The attack came after a barrage of rockets fired at Southern Israel. Iran labels as acceptable, some of the Western incentives to halt enriching uranium, but Tehran says it will offer a counter proposal before it agrees to negotiations on its nuclear program.

NGUYEN: We are following a developing story. A new threat from al-Qaeda in Iraq. Just days after the death of its leader, the group vows to, quote, carry out large-scale operations that will shake the enemy. Now this threat is from a statement posted on an Islamic Web site. Last hour we talked with international security expert Jim Walsh about the likelihood that violence will continue after al- Zarqawi's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, INTL. SECURITY ANALYST: Zarqawi is only one part of the insurgency. There are nationalists and baathists and there are criminals. It's helpful, maybe, they can put them on the defensive a little bit, but I think we're going to continue to see violence. We saw violence yesterday, more than 20 people -- civilians being killed in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Caroline Faraj, the CNN Arabic editor is on the line from Dubai with more of al-Qaeda's response to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death. Caroline, the first thing I want to ask you, what exactly does this threat say? You've been monitoring the sites.

CAROLINE FARAJ, CNN ARABIC EDITOR: That's correct, Betty. The sites that we've monitored, and these are all Islamic militant site, they say basically, the following, that their leader -- you know, they wanted to continue the jihad although their leader, Zarqawi, is dead right now, and they also are pledging to renew the pledge to their commander in chief of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and they also were, of course, are vowing they will continue their mission following him and following his ideas. They also said, as you've just read, that they plan large-scale operations that will shake the enemy and drop them off sleep (ph) in cooperation with the other factions of the Mujahideen.

This is, I think, the line with coordination. I think this is very important because he is reiterating that they're not only the Zarqawi group, if you like, quote-unquote, they're also from some other militants who are supporters of Zarqawi and probably some of them are Iraqis according to our studies and our research.

And it is so interesting to notice, as well, that the language and the terminology used in Arabic in this statement, it was more of a business type, i.e., they were using bullets and points, they were not using a lot of statements and quotes from the Koran like the previous messages and the previous e-mails and the statements that they used to publish on the Web sites.

NGUYEN: That is really interesting. As you talk about that coordination does the message give any indication on who al-Qaeda will pick to replace Zarqawi?

FARAJ: In this statement it's not clear at all and it was meant to be the signature -- there was there no signature at all. It was signed, this statement, by the name of the shooter, Mujahideen shooter (inaudible) al-Zahul (ph), which means that they haven't actually used any -- or basically, nominated anybody yet to replace Zarqawi, although a lot of statements and leaks were made on the Web sites claiming that there is a person by the name of Abu Musab al-Masri, there's another person of Iraqi origin, but so far there's no such statement that we can say that it's authenticated are even true, coming from this so-called (inaudible) or a culture that would basically say that this person is replacing Zarqawi -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And Caroline, as you've been monitoring this for a while, especially after news of Zarqawi's death, I mean this isn't surprising, is it? I mean, isn't this type of message something that was expected?

FARAJ: Such a message was expected because usually after each faction or any place, usually they use the statements, this is a trend that they've been using for the last two years or so. However, this is the first time that read of such an importance, supposedly, statement calling on their people to stay with them and to support them and continue their mission, all of this in a very simple wording and a simple style, and as I said, it's more of a business style, straight to the point, bullets and they're having it in four bullets and that's it. This shows that they're also, in a way, trying to collect their supporters and bring them over, and even the supporters who usually write the statements on their behalf. This is becoming their own style and this doesn't -- it's basically not anybody can write such a statement, they have to be very much...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: It is also showing that despite Zarqawi's death that they're putting out the message that this is an organized group and this is our strategy and this is our plan. So, Carolyn Faraj, the CNN Arabic editor joining us by phone from Dubai with that. Thank you so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, plotting strategy, tomorrow at Camp David President Bush will hold a big strategy session with his national security team and with military commanders in Iraq. There is a lot of talk about beginning with the death of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq. Let's get a preview from White House correspondent, Ed Henry.

Ed, good morning.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. And you know, the president will follow that up Tuesday with more meetings at Camp David, he'll bring in by video conference, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as some key members of his cabinet. These meetings, we're told, were planned before al-Zarqawi's death, but obviously, these meetings have taken on new urgency as there's been speculation as will this mean cuts to U.S. troop levels in Iraq.

The president is being very careful to ratchet down expectations and say while this is a major blow to al-Qaeda, nobody should get carried away. The White House has seen various achievements before Iraq be taken back by bad news on the ground. So they want to be careful, but this morning in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Iraq's national security adviser declared he believes a number of U.S. troops will be below 100,000 by the end of this year. Take a listen to this interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQ's NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: I believe by the end of the year, of this year, I believe and the number of the multinational forces will be probably less than 100,000 in this country. And by the end of next year, most of the multinational forces are not going home, and by the middle of 2008, we will not see a lot of visibility, neither in the cities nor in the town of the multinational forces. So, the overwhelming majority of the multinational forces will leave probably before the end of the middle -- sorry, before the middle of 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HENRY: Now, the full interview with Iraq's national security adviser will on with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. As I noted "Late Edition" 11:00 Eastern Time, that interview likely to cause reverberations, obviously, set the table for these high-level talks at Camp David, but it's not likely to change the White House position. From the president on down they continue to say, look, if Iraqi officials want to go out and make these pronouncements it's fine with them, but the Iraqi -- new Iraqi government has to end up backing that up in the long run. So the White House doesn't want to go out far on the limb, they want to let the Iraqi officials take the lead. This new government, eventually, take the lead completely in Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. Wait a minute here, Ed! We have any idea why the Iraqi national security adviser is making these statements right now and are we to take from that that perhaps he's saying that Iraqi security force will be ready to step up by this timetable he's laid out?

HENRY: Well, that's what the White House has been saying for months now. As soon as the Iraqi government, the Iraqi military can stand up, U.S. and multinational forces will stand down. But the problem, of course, or challenge, really, is making sure that in fact Iraqi officials can back up those pronouncements. This squares, what the national security adviser is saying, it squares with what new Iraqi prime minister, al-Maliki has been saying which is a couple of weeks ago, he said he hopes that and believes that Iraqi security forces can take over all security in the nation by the end of 2007, but again, the White House just wants to be careful here, they don't want to go out too far on a limb. These are promises, pronouncements, as you heard the word "probably" I believe was used at the beginning of that, so no one wants to get carried away just yet, but these are very major developments -- Tony.

HARRIS: And more on that interview, "Late Edition" with Wolf in a couple of hours?

HENRY: That's right, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

HARRIS: OK, man, that's news for you. Thank you Ed Henry. And you can see the full interview with Wolf and Iraq's national security adviser, that's coming up this morning, CNN's "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer, 11:00 a.m. Eastern, 8:00 Pacific, don't miss it. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your safety and security.

And coming up, how soccer is being used to combat racism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALD ASAMOAH, WORLD CUP CHAMPION (through translator): Sometimes you hear these monkey sounds that we're monkeys that we're not normal people because we have another color.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, that kind of hateful behavior by soccer fans could end up penalizing their own team.

CNN's Berlin bureau chief, Chris Burns will explain.

NGUYEN: Plus, remember the powerful images of these buses leaving hurricane-ravaged New Orleans? We have a live interview with students forced to graduate from a high school hundreds of miles away from their homes. Also, we're going to get you up to speed on the weather that's brewing outside. Good morning, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. That's right tropical depression No. 1 continues to rumble its way into the Gulf of Mexico. We'll show you where it's headed and, well, what else you can expect from the storm system and how it may affect you at home. That's coming up in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Imagine waking up and someone is staring right at you. Scare thought, right? But imagine actually wanting someone to watch you. I'll tell you why this lady is part of the most popular video on CNN.com right now. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We reported this in our last hour, a new threat this morning from al-Qaeda in Iraq. The group vows to carry out large- scale operations that would, "shake the enemy." The treat comes in an Internet statement. The group held a meeting after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to discuss strategy.

Three suicides at the Guantanamo detention camp trigger an investigation and condemnation. Human rights groups blame U.S. policies for the deaths. The military says the suicides were coordinated and an act of warfare.

HARRIS: Iran says parts of an incentive package for it to suspend its nuclear activities are acceptable, but other parts neat need to be strengthened. Iran's foreign minister says the country is considering a counteroffer. The threat is aimed to convince Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquartered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK, so let's get you updated on the tropical depression in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. There is a possibility it might not get strong enough to earn a name.

NGUYEN: OK.

HARRIS: That's the word just in from the National Hurricane Center. The system has brought plenty of rain to Cuba and parts of South Florida and was expected to strengthen, but now experts say it might actually dissipate as it moves closer to Florida. Let's get you upstairs now to the CNN Weather Center with all of the bells and whistles with the gadgets to track the storm. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is there for us.

Reynolds, good morning.

WOLF: OK, here's the latest that we have of the storm. The storm has given us plenty of rainfall in parts of the extreme southeastern U.S. I'm talking about the Keys. Let's give you the very latest on there. The storm system, again, producing heavy rainfall from Key West right along A1A to Island Mirada. Now, if you're wondering how much rainfall they can see it could be four to eight inches of rain. And as the system chugs it way farther to the North, you could see more of this in places like Naples, Florida, in Tampa, for example, and on up the coastline.

To give you a better view of this storm, again the center of the circulation is getting farther out towards the Gulf, most of the activity, the bulk of the moisture still to the East of the center. Now, it's a poorly organized system, but the water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are into the low 80s. That is perfect fuel for these storms to really intensify and form, but there's dry air a loft, so it doesn't have a juicy atmosphere for this thing really to explode with power. However, it is expected to strengthen. Maximum sustained winds are right around 35 miles-per-hour and all you need is to get to 39 for this to be classified as a tropical storm and if it reaches that it will be named Alberto.

OK, where's the storm expected to go? Well, the latest we have from the National Hurricane Center shows the forecast path taking it right to the North at 2:00 a.m. on Monday, again, a tropical storm, and it begins a slow veer off to the Northeast, it'll continue, expected to make landfall at this time. Again, this is way, way, way early. Expected to be near cedar key by 2:00 a.m. Tuesday as tropical storm, a weak tropical storm, then it should cross the peninsula and then by 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday it should be in the Atlantic. So, again it bears watching. And I don't want you to just watch this individual path, but rather, look at the cone of probability that bring anywhere from Naples, Florida, rather near Punta Gorda, northward to the Pan Handle, not too far from places like Destin, Perdido Key, a little bit farther of to the West.

So there's a lot that can happen between now and of course, 2:00 in the morning on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. The system could strengthen. There is that potential, there could be something much bigger, say a hurricane or it could stay tropical depression or it may become a tropical storm. A lot is up in the air, not with the storm itself, but with the path. So, it will be something we're just have to watch very carefully. A lot of this information continues to come in and it will continue to come in throughout the morning, throughout the afternoon, the evening and on. So we'll keep you up-to-date with the very latest.

NGUYEN: Yeah, hence the cone of uncertainty that you see there.

WOLF: Yeah and you know, these storms can be really, really fickle. They do wobble. They move really from point to point. It's a shifting, turning, twisting mass.

NGUYEN: Well and we've seen them come across Florida and turn back around and come back across.

WOLF: We have seen it happen many times.

Year, you've just got to be mindful of the power of Nature.

WOLF: Johnny on the spot.

HARRIS: Need the rain in Florida.

WOLF: Desperate for rainfall, yeah, they've (inaudible) the fire watches (inaudible). They've got to have the rain, this should bring it to them.

NGUYEN: All right Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

HARRIS: Coming up, soccer and racism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASAMOAH (through translator): Sometimes you hear these monkey sounds that we're monkeys and we're monkeys, that we're not normal people because we have another color.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's outrageous.

NGUYEN: It really is.

HARRIS: You know, that kind of behavior hateful behavior by soccer fans could end up actually hurting their own team. Chris Burns will bring us the latest and explain the story straight ahead.

NGUYEN: Plus, Oprah Winfrey's musical, "The Color Purple" is one of the favorite at tonight's Tony Awards, 11 nominations in all. We have a preview of Broadways...

HARRIS: That's Harry Connick, Jr., there.

NGUYEN: I know, the man can sing, can't he?

HARRIS: Yeah.

NGUYEN: A preview of Broadway's big night coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And now to the World Cup. German Jewish leaders plan protest against Iran's today as Iran opens its soccer match against Mexico. Right wing extremists in Germany have been supporting him. This comes against the backdrop of claims that racism is tarnishing the game of soccer of Europe. We get more from CNN's Chris Burns in Berlin.

And Chris, good day to you.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, good day to you, Tony.

In fact that demonstration is underway as several hundred supporters and members of Jewish organizations here in Germany including the head of the central council of Jews who calls Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second Hitler for denying the holocaust and for calling on Israel to be wiped off the face of the map. This, of course, then is drawing support from the far right, national front and from other supporters considered neo-Nazi, but the best they could do today was to turn out about 30 people waving Iranian flags and pictures of Mr. Ahmadinejad and that's about as far as it went. So, no traction there on the far right, but authorities are prepared because there have been some racist attacks in recent weeks, especially in former communist Eastern Germany and they're ready for the worst-case scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): World Cup player Gerald Asamoah was 12 when he came from Ghana with his family in 1909, now a German citizen, he's a star on the Schalke 04 team. A big-time player, but Asamoah and other Africans on German teams say they've faced racial hatred.

ASAMOAH (through translator): Sometimes you hear these monkey sounds, that we're monkeys, that we're not normal people because we have another color.

BURNS (on camera): How much does it hurt you to hear that?

ASAMOAH (through translator): Very much, it's very disappointing because I've lived in Germany for a long time.

BURNS (voice-over): Asamoah says the worst for him was in the former communist East German town of Kudwus (ph) where neo-Nazis jeered him.

ASAMOAH (through translator): People threw bananas at me. I was 18 and I'll never forget that.

BURNS: Racist outbursts of matches, like this one in Spain, has the World Soccer Federation, FIFA, cracking down. A team with racist fans can be suspended from matches, lose points, be relegated, or eliminated from competitions.

ASAMOAH (through translator): Yes, this is a very big step what FIFA did.

BURNS (on camera): But is that not unfair for the team?

ASAMOAH (through translator): No, teams the teams have to watch out for their fans. BURNS: Police promise to be tough on racist displays as well, threatening fines and jail sentences ranging from days to years and there'll be plenty of evidence if any criminal act occurs here at Berlin's Olympic stadium is loaded with video surveillance.

(voice-over): Germany's far right National Democratic Party, or MPD, plans to demonstrate at the World Cup. Authorities planned an MPD World Cup planner, but its cover remains online showing a German- African player, it headlines "White, not just a jersey color for a real national team." Ironically the MPD wants to support Iran's team because of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic statements.

"The MPD may try to use the biggest media event of 2006 as a platform," he says. "I have no fear at all that with their words they can enter the hearts of our citizens."

Certainly, not the hearts of Gerald Asamoah's fans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: And certainly not any hearts won in Leipzig yesterday in Western Germany where the first MPD far right demonstration was carried out. Some 200 of them turned out, some 5,000 counter- demonstrators chanting "Nazis out" and throwing tomatoes at them, so it doesn't seem like this movement's going to get any traction, at least so far that we've seen during the World Cup. This is day three, here.

HARRIS: Chris, I have to ask you this question. How is it that European soccer fans through the years have come to feel so comfortable expressing this kind of racist, well, garbage.

BURNS: Well, I think there's been a tolerance, maybe not enough tough action against the teams whose fans have been doing this and so it does seem that maybe with FIFA cracking down, with national organizations cracking down, maybe we will see less of this, but of course, it's very difficult when you have a massive crowd and there are feelings against immigration here in this country and also in Europe itself, so that will be an enduring problem and perhaps we'll see less of it as the crackdown ensues.

HARRIS: Chris Burns for us in Berlin. Chris, we appreciate it. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, perhaps you remember the life-changing images broadcast just worldwide. Take a look at this. Hurricane Katrina evacuees, remember this? Leaving New Orleans, some of them never to return, boarded those buses for places elsewhere. When we any back a bittersweet chapter in the lives of high school students who landed in Texas.

HARRIS: Plus, keeping an eye on the first tropical depression of the season. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has the latest when we come back. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Look, the reality is this tropical depression could intensify.

NGUYEN: It could.

HARRIS: And become a tropical storm which is not what we want.

NGUYEN: Then it will be Alberto.

HARRIS: It would be Alberto.

NGUYEN: The first one of the season. Well, the good news though, right now it's not at that point right, Reynolds?

WOLF: That is good news. We're not quite to that point, although the forecast does show that -- well, we're just expecting some strengthening. It is expected to become a tropical storm later on today, perhaps within hours because conditions in the Gulf of Mexico are favorable for some strengthening. Right now we're getting heavy rains still through parts of Cuba in through the Florida Keys six to eight inches possible, actually four to eight. It could see some places, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the Florida Keys that make it up into, say, about nine inches of rainfall. It's a possible when you have a tropical system like this.

And we're expecting this to continue its march to the north and as it does so, by the time we get to 2:00 a.m. Monday, it not before then, it should strengthen to a tropical storm and then veer off to the Northeast, making landfall near Cedar Key at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, at least according to this current path, and then down to the Atlantic by 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. However the cone of projection shows it could go farther to the North and farther to the South. But the key thing is, it does appear that Florida is going to get some rainfall and we've been talking about it all morning, I mean, how desperate they are for the rain mostly for the South. But, it's right here in this area from, I would say, pretty much from Orlando northward to the Florida-Georgia state line, that's where they're desperate for the raindrops and it looks like that's where they're really going get some. So certainly good in that regard.

HARRIS: OK, Reynolds, thank you.

WOLF: OK. You betcha.

NGUYEN: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced thousands of high school students to flee the Gulf Coast. Well, today they are starting new lives with high school diplomas in their hands. More than 100 Katrina evacuees are now graduates of Houston's high schools there in that district and two of them join thus morning, Travis Hill-Williams in Dallas and Dalissa Robertson who joins us from Houston where she graduated high school not too long ago.

Let me start with you, Dalissa, good morning.

DALISSA ROBERTSON, KATRINA EVACUEE: Good morning.

NGUYEN: You look like a high school graduate do you feel like one?

ROBERTSON: Yes, I do.

NGUYEN: Good for you. Well, take me back to the day Katrina hit. You were actually in the fifth ward with your sister. Walk us through what happened?

ROBERTSON: Well, it was a typical Sunday day and a Sunday evening and all of a sudden when we went to my grandmother's house to get my grandmother to leave, but obviously we didn't leave because my grandmother didn't want to go. So we stayed home with my grandmother, but the next day the hurricane hit so we couldn't leave. We couldn't evacuate because the hurricane...

NGUYEN: Actually you had to spend four days on a bridge waiting to be evacuated?

ROBERTSON: Yes. After the hurricane -- after the flood we was rescued by the people from Houston. We had to stay on a bridge for three nights and four days.

NGUYEN: My goodness. So you were eventually evacuated to Houston. There, did you catch up with the rest of your family?

ROBERTSON: Yes, my family came with me when I was at Houston because I was on a bridge with my mom and my grandmother and my brother and my sister-in-law.

NGUYEN: So you started out in a new city, going a new school. I mean, this is your senior year in high school. You're supposed to be having fun. You are supposed to rule the campus, but yet, you're the new kid on the block. What was that like?

ROBERTSON: Well, I attended the school they went to, Scarborough High, I attended to manage to be on top, as usual.

NGUYEN: Good, how'd you do that?

ROBERTSON: I went there, by me being, as they say, the sweetheart in school.

NGUYEN: I can see that. Well, was difficult at all, though, to graduate in a totally new class with people that, you know, you really didn't grow up with?

ROBERTSON: Yes, it was, but I managed to -- by the grace of god, I managed to graduate because once I put my mind to it, anything they want to do I succeed in.

NGUYEN: Well, that's what you got to do.

Travis, I want to talk to you for a minute. You were in the seventh ward when Katrina hit. Tell me about your experience.

TRAVIS HILL-WILLIAMS, KATRINA EVACUEE: Well when Katrina hit I wasn't actually in the seventh ward. NGUYEN: Oh you weren't. OK.

WILLIAMS: I was in New Orleans East when Katrina hit.

NGUYEN: I gotcha. So what happened?

WILLIAMS: Well, what happened was when we went to the hotel of New Orleans East on the Sunday, the day before Katrina hit, that's when the hurricane actually came in and started pushing water and everything because of the 17th Canal's breach, and the water rose up about two stories, almost. We were on the second floor balcony and it was already at the ledge of the balcony.

NGUYEN: My goodness and eventually you got separated from your mom during the evacuation to Houston. Tell me what happened there.

WILLIAMS: Well, when we got separated from Houston -- when well, when we were separated it all happened as a result of the aftermath of Katrina during the rescue missions. That's when the helicopters came on to the top of the hotel's roof to load up the passengers and my mom and I were on the same helicopter itself, but when we landed in Metairie, Louisiana, which is about five minutes or so away from New Orleans, they dropped us off in an open meadow area near Causeway and I-10, so during the bus loading, that's when we actually...

NGUYEN: That's where you got separated.

WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am.

NGUYEN: So you met back together in Houston come is a good thing, but then, you know, you're starting a new school, this is your senior year. And we had seen stories and we reported stories of Houston students clashing with New Orleans students. Did you experience any of that?

WILLIAMS: Wait, sorry? Can you repeat that again?

NGUYEN: Yeah, we were reporting stories at the time of there were some instances where Houston students were actually clashing with some of the New Orleans students who were attending their schools. There was some friction there with all of these new kids on campus. Did you see any of that? Did you feel resentment from the Houston students?

WILLIAMS: Well, I didn't feel any resentment personally from the Houston students, but I do know of the clashes that went on especially at my school during the first influx of students into the Houston high schools, at Jones High School, which I formerly attend, but you can still feel the hostility going on but it's still not prominent enough to cause any new problems or escalate to a new point.

NGUYEN: Yeah. Well, you have evacuated, not only that, you have your high school diploma. What are you doing to do next?

WILLIAMS: Yes ma'am. I will plan to attend Prairie View A&M University. NGUYEN: Good for you.

WILLIAMS: Which I will major in computer science, but specialize in computer engineering and have a secondary education major as well in education.

NGUYEN: Look at that, a man with a plan.

Dalissa, what's your plan?

ROBERTSON: My plan is to go to Southeastern in Hammond, Louisiana, in my hometown to major in entrepreneurship to have my own sports clinic/buy a business and to have a secondary degree in nursing.

NGUYEN: All right, going back to Louisiana. Well, Travis Hill- Williams, Dalissa Robertson, congratulations on all that you've been through and what you've accomplished and best of luck to you in the future.

ROBERTSON: Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Sure.

Hurricane season is back, as you know, tonight relive nature's fury through the eyes of survivors with just amazing stories. "CNN Presents: Sudden fury, in Katrina's Deadly Wake" that is tonight, 6:00 Eastern only on CNN.

HARRIS: Tell you what, we're gong to check out what you're checking out on-line at cnn.com. I can tell you this, it is hard news.

NGUYEN: Well that's what we do here.

HARRIS: Give us our news now! We'll check in with Nicole Lapin right after the break. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Bill Gross is a bond guru. He works at a company called Pimco. He's actually the chief investment officer of that company. He sits in front of six Bloomberg machines. He doesn't want any interference from phone calls or from e-mails.

BILL GROSS, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, PIMCO: I think it helps to filter and it helps to simplify which is the critical element for me. You need space up here to be able to continue to generate decent money-making ideas for clients.

SERWER: Keep your day clear. Focus on the job at hand. Focus on your task and really give it your full concentration. That's what you can take away from Bill Gross. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Oprah Winfrey's musical. "The Color Purple." is one of the favorites in tonight's Tony Awards, 11 nominations in all, count them. A preview of Broadway's big night, that's coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: So, as you're starting your Sunday morning with us, imagine someone staring right at you. That's exactly what one woman in Louisville wants. Nicole Lapin is here with that story. It's one of the most popular ones on the Web site.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN DOT COM DESK: Indeed it is, Betty and you know what, reality shows is so popular right now, and this 24-year-old woman is taking the TV part out, but leaving a whole bunch of reality in.

Now, Lauren Argo, wakes up, brushes her teeth, she dries her hair and she does it all in this 8 by 5 foot enclosure and it's all in a restaurant window. This is part of the actress/artist's project called "Life is Art."

NGUYEN: Yeah, we -- actually, we talked to her. She's excited about this day.

LAPIN: And she's gotten a lot of mixed reactions out there. A lot of oohs and a lot of ahhs, but she says she does everything in there except go to the bathroom and take those shower breaks because she goes on another room for that.

NGUYEN: Well, thank goodness.

LAPIN: Yeah, thank goodness. All right, guys. And this is a little bit of a different reality. When you think of technology in the classroom you think computers. Right? But this is actually a robot and it allows kids who are sick or maybe in the hospital to actually show up for class. This is pretty neat. You need two of these robots to make it work. And there's one with the child and then there's one in the classroom. It's out by Telebotics, it's a Toronto company. And it works a lot like a video game, it has a speaker, it has a microphone so kids can actually ask questions to the teacher and the teacher can...

NGUYEN: Just like if they're there in the classroom. OK, I like that.

LAPIN: It's neat stuff. You know what? These fans.

HARRIS: Oh boy.

LAPIN: These guys don't need a microphone because they're hooting and hollering, it's day three of the World Cup. USA fans want to know one thing, does the team actually have a chance this year? Last World Cup, back in 2002, the U.S. made the quarterfinals.

NGUYEN: Not bad.

LAPIN: And you know what? The only time in history, guys that a USA team made the semifinals was back in 1930. But you can keep an eye on them because tomorrow they are playing the Czech Republic.

NGUYEN: All right, go USA!

LAPIN: Go USA, I almost hear the chants in the newsroom. Everybody's geared up ready to go. And you can check this all out on cnn.com.

NGUYEN: Good deal. Thank you Nicole.

LAPIN: Sure.

HARRIS: New information is surfacing about the Haditha probe in Iraq, that's the incident that left two dozen civilians dead last year. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

And Jamie, my understanding is that there is some new reporting in the "Washington Post" that you can actually expand on for us this morning.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. You know, all of the while last week we've been trying to get what we would call the other side of the story, what was -- what were the Marines facing in Haditha that morning, last November, when those 24 civilians were killed. We've been talking to a number of defense attorneys and this morning we talked to Neil Puckett who is the defense attorney for the senior person, senior sergeant who was on the scene that morning in Haditha and he tells CNN that that sergeant believes the Marines did nothing wrong and followed standard procedure in clearing houses while they were looking for insurgents. It's a little bit of a story that we be began to get from other defense attorneys in a report we first filed Friday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(voice-over): Sergeant Frank Wuterich, seen here in a personal snapshot obtained exclusively by CNN, is under investigation, according to sources. He's been charged with nothing, but as the senior Marine present when 24 civilians were killed in Haditha last year, he's already hired an attorney and is bracing for the worst.

PAUL HACKETT, ATTORNEY: My understanding is it was his first tour, that he's in his mid-20s, a husband and a father of two young daughters and is devastated by this and devastated by the way he's been portrayed in the media and that he, you know, was not in charge of or directed or aware or even believes that the events unfolded as had been depicted popularly in the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, that's Paul Hackett. He's going to possibly represent some of the other Marines who may face charges in this incident. And again, no one's been charged yet. Neil Puckett is the attorney for Sergeant Wuterich and we have contacted him this morning and talked to him about his client's version of events and again it matches up with what attorney Hackett said, that they believe that they followed the rules of engage engagement, that they were clearing the house in a dangerous area and there's a lot more to the story to be told and we'll be talking more to Neil Puckett later today and we'll have more of it later on CNN.

HARRIS: OK, Jamie, we appreciate it. Thank you. You'll see Jamie in just a couple of minutes on "Reliable Sources" with Howard Kurtz. Jamie thank you.

Oprah Winfrey is already the queen of daytime television.

NGUYEN: Well, of course. Yeah.

HARRIS: And the publisher of her own huge magazine. Right?

NGUYEN: Sure. Oh, yeah.

Well, now she' threatens to take over Broadway. We have a preview of tonight's Tony Awards. That is next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, sure, yeah. Yeah. They're called the Tony Awards. No, they're not named after...

NGUYEN: Well, of course. They're not named after you. Come on, although you do have skills, you can sing and you can dance -- sometimes.

HARRIS: That's just between us, don't get that out there like that. Or folks will start making requests.

NGUYEN: I think it's out there, though. I think it's out there.

HARRIS: Through the e-mails. The awards tonight showcase the best of Broadway, but this year movies and television are also a part of the celebration. CNN's Brooke Anderson is here now with a preview..

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 60th annual Tony awards on Sunday are relying on television and film stars to spotlight Broadway's biggest night. Stars like Oprah Winfrey will be part of the ensemble cast of the show. While there isn't one host, there are 60 presenters, all folks with celebrity wattage and a link to the Great White Way.

Harry Connick, Jr., who's nominate toward a lead actor in the musical for "The Pajama Game," will join Oprah on stage to present.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this why you're here? To tell me that you're pregnant.

ANDERSON: As for Cynthia Nixon who is up for lead actress in a play for "Rabbit Hole."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I watched you on the show.

ANDERSON: Julia Roberts, who stars in "Three Days of Rain" may not have snagged her Tony nomination for her first Broadway role, but the Oscar winner will grace the stage to hand out a statue.

ADAM FELDMAN, "TIME OUT" NEW YORK MAGAZINE: It's important to have people like Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey bringing attention to Broadway because Broadway requires a national audience to a certain extent because it's become so expense they've the shows can't run on a strictly local audience, we need a tourist audience.

ANDERSON: And that audience is why winning isn't everything at this awards show.

FELDMAN: There are lots of instances, historically, of shows that haven't won a Tony Award and had a great presentation, had a great musical number that suddenly exposed it to millions of people who wouldn't have heard about it before and went on to run for a lot longer.

ANDERSON: But in case you do want to know who the favorites are.

FELDMAN: For plays, I think by far the favorite is a play called "History Boys."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're hating (ph) us again, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Child, I am your teacher.

FELDMAN: The musical race is a bit more contentious this year, because you have two front runners, one of them is "Jersey Boys." And the other is "The Drowsy Chaperone."

This lead actress in the musical is another interesting fight. Patti LuPone who is a great Broadway star, is in "Sweeney Talk" right now, but on the other hand there's LaChanz who is the star of "The Color Purple" she's a wonderful singer, and she's never won a Tony. So it could go either way there. I root for the show to do well every year. The Tony awards get a chance once a year for people all over the country to get a glimpse into everything that's available.

ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well no Tony, but it is Howie, now time to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what is ahead on CNN's "Reliable Sources."

Hi there. HOWARD KURTZ, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Hi Betty. Coming up, the Zarqawi killing in Iraq -- is the press getting carried away as portraying his death as a turning point in the war? We'll as an all- star panel, Tom Friedman of the "New York Times," Martha Raddatz of ABC, and CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

Plus, Ann Coulter in the hot seat for her harsh personal attack on the group of 9/11 widows. Why are the media giving her so much attention. And lots of buzz about a new anchor, no not Katie Couric, here name is Amanda Congdon and her unusual show is on the Internet from her very small Manhattan apartment. All of that and the selling of the Brangelina baby, ahead on "Reliable Sources."

NGUYEN: Oh, that Brangelina baby. That is everywhere. OK, Howard.

That's "Reliable Sources" coming up at 10:00 Eastern, followed by Wolf Blitzer with "Late Edition" at 11:00, he will talk about al- Zarqawi death among Wolf's guest, Iraq's national security adviser. And at 1:00 Eastern, "Iraq: A week at War." Stay tuned to CNN as we go in-depth into the stories of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Let's get another check of the topical depression now. Reynolds Wolf upstairs in the CNN Weather Center. Hi Reynolds.

WOLF: Hello, still bringing heavy rainfall to portions of the Florida Keys and eventually it's going to move more to the center of the Gulf of Mexico. Right now the center of the storm is in the Gulf of Mexico, most of the activity just to the East at this point. The storm is expected to strengthen considerably at least 39 miles-per- hour, if not greater, and become a tropical storm and to retain those characteristics through Monday, through Tuesday and by Wednesday it should cross the Florida peninsula and out through the Atlantic. Again, you look at the cone of probability; it looks like the West coast of Florida will be hit. Right now, it is centered on Cedar Key, but still there's a big range where this could make landfall.

Remember, folks, CNN is your hurricane headquarters. We're going to have updates throughout the afternoon, throughout the evening, through tomorrow and it is a takes to follow this storm so you can always count on us to give you the latest if you tune here on CNN. Let's send it downstairs.

NGUYEN: Which means you're not going home ever.

WOLF: No, I'm staying right here, I'm nailed right to the floor.

NGUYEN: You are stuck here.

WOLF: You bet. NGUYEN: OK, Reynolds.

HARRIS: Reliable Sources is next followed by "Late Edition" and "On the Story." So, don't go anywhere.

NGUYEN: And don't forget, Fredricka Whitfield will be with you all morning long with live news updates. Stay with us here on CNN. Have a wonderful Sunday.

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