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CNN Sunday Morning
Gunman Abducts Woman and Her Four Children; Deadly Day in Iraq for American Forces; CNN's Warrior One Sells for Over $1 Million; U.S. Travelers Flying to Canada, Mexico, Some Parts of Caribbean Now Need Passports; State of the Union Address; Whirling Dervishes in Turkey
Aired January 21, 2007 - 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: This just in to CNN. Within the past few minutes there are wire service reports of a major earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. A regional tsunami is possible, according to the people who monitor tsunami activity in the Pacific.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And this quick measure. It's 7.2 in magnitude.
We will keep you updated as new information comes in here to us.
NGUYEN: Here are some other stories "Now in the News."
A two-state manhunt under way right now. Police in Indiana and Illinois are looking for a man abducted -- or who abducted a woman and her four children. There's a picture of him.
We'll talk live with the lead investigator in this case. That's going to happen in just a couple of minutes.
In the meantime, more U.S. forces arrive in Baghdad. They are the first reinforcements under the president's plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq. The military says the brigade from the 82nd Airborne will help Iraqi forces clear and secure Baghdad.
We have more details in a live report from Iraq in about six minutes.
Well, there is no word yet on what caused a U.S. military helicopter crash in the Diyala Province of Iraq, which is northeast of Baghdad. Twelve U.S. troops were killed. In all, 19 American service members were killed Saturday, including five in an attack in Karbala. It was the third deadliest day for U.S. forces since the war started.
HOLMES: Also, a roadside bomb killed a British soldier and wounded four others today in southern Iraq. Britain's defense ministry says the soldiers were on patrol in Basra when the bomb went off. Britain has about 7,000 troops stationed in that area.
More tough talk this morning from Iran's president. This time concerning a month-old United Nations sanctions resolution calling for Iran to suspend its nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says not even 10 more similar resolutions will stop Iran's nuclear plan. To presidential politics now. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton ready to hit the campaign trail. Trips to New Hampshire and Iowa being planned on the heels of announcing an exploratory committee to test a White House run. Also, The Associated Press reports an announcement is expected today from New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, the four children that are missing range in ages between 8 and 16 months old. The eldest of the children is about 8 years old, like I said. He's a severe asthmatic.
It's been told to us that he requires to be placed on a ventilator every several hours for his asthma problem. The ventilator is still here at the house in Elkhart. So we don't know what his condition is at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: An Amber Alert is issued and a manhunt going on right now in two states. Police are desperately trying to find those children and their mother. We're going to talk to the lead investigator in just a few moments.
Meantime, from the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is January 21st.
Good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
Thank you all so much for being right here with us.
NGUYEN: Well, a potentially dangerous situation developing right now off the British coast. Look at this.
HOLMES: Yes, we're taking a look at these pictures now. A disabled cargo ship already lost about 50 containers of chemicals and the Coast Guard is on site here.
NGUYEN: The ship was actually abandoned on Thursday during the terrible windstorm that hit Europe. All 26 crewmembers, well, they were rescued. That's the good news. But now the danger is those chemicals.
Some of those lost containers could be holding dangerous explosive materials. We will stay on top of the story and bring you the latest just as soon as we get more information in to CNN.
HOLMES: Now we want to head over to that manhunt in Indiana and Illinois. One man is in critical condition after being shot, and an entire family is missing. A woman and her four children all allegedly abducted at gunpoint. Police, the FBI looking now for 30-year-old Jerry White. That search is going on right now.
The missing children all under 10 years of age. The youngest 16 months old. All believed to be in extreme danger.
And Elkhart detective Sergeant Bill Wargo is leading the investigation into this case. He joins us now on the phone for an update.
Sir, thank you for giving us some time here. Tell me, do you have any leads, any sightings, possibly, have any idea where White may be right now?
DET. SGT. BILL WARGO, ELKHART POLICE DEPT.: Through the night we received numerous tips that came in through the Amber Alert. Two of those tips led us to the vehicles in which we thought White might be driving. Both were located in Elkhart. Unfortunately, nothing was recovered from the vehicles that led us to White or the children or Ms. Walker.
HOLMES: So do I have that right, you located the vehicles you thought he may have been in. So apparently they changed modes of transportation?
WARGO: That's right. Unfortunately, right now we don't know what their modes of transportation are. We don't know if they are held up someplace in Elkhart or if they acquired another vehicle and are back on the move at this point.
HOLMES: And sir, if you can, just quickly recap for our viewers what you all know did happen that led to the Amber Alert and a man being shot. Just go through for us exactly what happened.
WARGO: We've established through the investigation that Jerry White and Kimberly Walker, the mother of the four children, had an extensively long relationship, about 17 years. Jerry White is also the father of the four children.
There is -- what we have learned is there's been a pretty extensive domestic violence situation between Jerry White and Kimberly Walker. It appears that Kimberly moved to Elkhart from the Chicago area within the last several months. We got reports that he had moved here -- or came to the Elkhart area and kind of followed Mrs. Walker.
Information we got is that he broke into her house the other evening, and when he made entry into the house, he ended up shooting an adult male that was there two times. And he's still in critical condition. He then held the entire family captive inside the house for about nine and a half hours, with the gentleman suffering from the gunshot not receiving medical attention during that time.
HOLMES: Well, sir, do you have any idea what White's intentions may be now? WARGO: We do not. We are hoping he will give us a call or give a family member a call and let us know where he's at so we can have a peaceful resolution to this thing. Hopefully nobody else has to get hurt.
HOLMES: And sir, I understand one child has severe asthma. How bad can that be if that child is not getting the attention, the medical attention and whatever medication the child may need? The ventilator, as we heard earlier.
WARGO: Yes. Talking to some family members and some other people through the investigation, Jalen (ph), the oldest boy -- he's about 9 years old -- is a severe asthmatic. We were also told that he is required for his condition to be on a ventilator every so many hours.
We were anticipating about every four hours. The ventilator was located in the residence here in Elkhart, so we know that's not with him and he's not receiving that medical treatment that he needs. So we are really concerned about Jalen (ph), as well as the others. But Jalen (ph), we're not sure what his medical condition is right now.
HOLMES: All right. And sir, again, the folks -- the best people can do right now is just to look at the faces here, because you don't know right now of any vehicle for them to look out for. So the best thing folks can do is just take a good look at these pictures and everybody's face that we're showing now and keep an eye out for those faces.
Is that right?
WARGO: That's correct. I mean, the phone calls that came in for the Amber Alert were just incredible. Those phones are still being manned at this time.
Like I said, two of the calls that came in from the Amber Alert are actually calls that led to us the vehicles. So we know that the folks are getting the information and that the community is out there working in trying to find these children and to try to get them back safely.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Sergeant Bill Wargo, Elkhart detective there.
Sir, best of luck with your search. Certainly everyone is hoping for a nice and peaceful resolution and that those kids and their mother is OK.
Thank you so much for your time, sir. Good luck with the investigation.
WARGO: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, we do have some interesting new details in the Shawn Hornbeck case. Remember, he is one of the missing Missouri boys who was found alive. Well, it seems that he actually spoke to police just 10 months after he was reported missing. And apparently, an officer investigating a stolen bicycle complaint spoke with a then 12-year-old Shawn Hornbeck.
The "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" reports the boy introduced himself as Shawn Devlin. Meanwhile, a task force is being formed to take a closer look at Michael Devlin. Police want to know if the man accused of kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby may be also be responsible in other missing children cases in Missouri.
The buildup begins. More U.S. troops arriving in Iraq as part of President Bush's new strategy. Now, news of their arrival coincides with a deadly day for American forces.
And we're following a political development as well involving a radical Shiite cleric.
So, for more on all of this we go live to Baghdad and CNN's Arwa Damon.
A lot to talk about, but first, Arwa, let's start with those U.S. troops.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it has been a very tragically deadly weekend for U.S. forces here. On Saturday, the U.S. military announcing that 17 servicemen had been killed.
The deadliest incident happened in a helicopter crash just northeast of the capital, Baghdad. All people on board that helicopter were killed -- eight passengers, four crew members.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to the U.S. military. They are declining to give out any further details. They are also withholding the identities of those on board until the next of kin can be notified.
But this crash did take place in Diyala Province. That is known to be a very volatile area, with a number of both Sunni and Shia insurgent groups operating there.
Also, in southern Iraq, in the holy Shia city of Karbala, another incident also involving U.S. troops. Five U.S. troops were killed there when one of the compounds, the provincial joint coordination center, was attacked by armed men using rocket-propelled grenades, as well as small arms fire.
That attack happened during a security meeting that was actually taking place between U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces, and local officials in that area. They were trying to lay out a security plan for the upcoming religious holidays.
All of this, of course, coming, Betty, as you just mentioned, more U.S. troops are arriving in the capital, elements of the 82nd Airborne that were on standby in Kuwait. The brigade is expected to have arrived by the end of this month. We are seeing some elements already in country -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And just quickly, we mentioned this at the top, but how significant is that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is ending his 2-month-old old political boycott?
DAMON: Well, Betty, it is his political bloc that is ending their boycott of parliament that began some two months ago. If you will remember, it was in protest of the November 30th meeting between President Bush and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
It's significant in the sense that at least they are coming back into the political fold. The reasons behind the timing coming right now could be because they really had not achieved anything throughout their boycott. Their demands -- topping their demand list was a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. They were also protesting the extension of the U.N. mandate with regards to multinational forces here in Iraq.
Now, we are hearing that the Iraqi parliament has asked three committees to directly address their demands. And at least this does bring them back into the political fold.
I mean, this is coming at a time when really the Iraqi prime minister is in a very difficult position, especially when it comes to dealing not only politically with Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc, but also in trying to deal with his militia, the Mehdi militia, that is being blamed for much of the sectarian violence here -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Arwa Damon bringing us up to speed on a lot of developments there in Iraq.
We appreciate that.
Also, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is not so sure about the leadership in Iraq. She talks about that, plus her 2008 presidential aspirations on "THIS WEEK AT WAR." And you can see John Roberts' full interview with the Democratic hopeful. That is today at 1:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, the Southwest, Rockies, parts of New England will likely get socked with more snow today.
NGUYEN: Snow and more snow. We keep talking about it, and it's already caused a lot of problems out West.
Snow blankets the ground from New Mexico through the Great Plains. This was the scene in Lubbock, Texas.
Yes, this is Texas, with local residents taking advantage of the fresh snow. You saw it just a little bit earlier when they were playing football outside. A little bit of winter fun.
HOLMES: Well, yes. Yes, it looks like a good time if you're not in a car and behind the wheel.
NGUYEN: True. HOLMES: He's probably not having fun. Snow and ice turned highways into treacherous thoroughfares across the country. At least eight traffic deaths were reported in three states, including four deaths in Nebraska.
NGUYEN: CNN's Bonnie Schneider joins us now. She's in for Reynolds Wolf, who has really been tracking a lot of this weather -- out there in it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And the Warrior -- the Warrior is gone. Kind of sad, but it was for a good price and it was for a good cause.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One million dollars!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Did you hear that? One million bucks.
Last night CNN's Warrior One on the action block, but find out -- it's a little more than just a million. See how high that bidding actually went and who shelled out some serious cash for over overhauled war Humvee.
That rolls your way in three minutes. All the details.
HOLMES: Also, are you planning on visiting some friends in the north possibly? Make sure you've got your passports. New rules for your next visit to neighboring Canada. That's in 11 minutes here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Sold to the RE/MAX man for $1 million. But hold on -- there's more good news to this story.
CNN's battle-hardened, rebuilt Warrior One Hummer sold at auction last night, raising money for charity benefiting military families.
CNN's John Roberts shows us what happened when Warrior One hit the auction bloc.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One hundred percent of the proceeds to a wonderful cause is up for sale.
Who will start the bidding?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It had be a record sale price for a Hummer, particularly one beaten and battered in war. But CNN's Warrior One reached an astonishing price of $1 million, plus another $250,000 in a straight donation before the gavel came down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to total the bid and say sold at $1 million plus $250,000. We raised $1,250,000 for the Fisher House.
ROBERTS: The Hummer was CNN's platform during the invasion of Iraq, carrying a crew of four from Kuwait to Baghdad, coming under fire in a battle near Baghdad University.
Cameraman Scott McWhinnie remembers it well.
SCOTT MCWHINNIE, CNN CAMERAMAN: And all of a sudden we heard the "ting-tings" of bullets coming off our -- and we were being fired at from a boat on the Tigris River.
ROBERTS: And on the way to the stage, one more battle, when the massive V8 engine flooded and caught fire. High octane and anxiety, but it turned out to be nothing serious, particularly after the action it saw in Iraq. War and auctions, it seems, are hell.
It was the crew who called the Hummer home during the invasion who came up with the idea to rebuild it from the ground up on the "Overhaulin" television show and donate the proceeds to charity. The beneficiary? Fisher House, which has built 38 homes on military basis and near V.A. hospitals to accommodate the families of servicemen and women needing medical care.
KEN FISHER, PRESIDENT, FISHER HOUSE: The need is growing every day. And with our programs as such, we're going to be building 21 houses in the next four years. So something like this is just going to be very, very important to the program and to the ongoing commitment that we've made to these families.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so unique because it's one of a kind.
ROBERTS: For Dave Liniger, who started RE/MAX Realty and heads up his own organization serving veterans, the whole concept was irresistible.
DAVE LINIGER, HUMMER AUCTION WINNER: The cause was fabulous, obviously. The vehicle is so much prettier in person than it looks on TV or looked in the catalogue.
ROBERTS (on camera): How high are you willing to go?
LINIGER: I'm not going to tell you that, but we'll definitely bid on it.
ROBERTS (voice over): And bid he did, though it looked like he was about to swoon at one point, all the way up to a cool million. Liniger says he plans to tour the Hummer across the nation, raising more money for veterans. For this old warhorse, retirement is a long way off.
John Roberts, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Yes, he plans to tour it around the country if he can catch it from catching fire as it goes around the country.
NGUYEN: From catching fire.
HOLMES: Under normal circumstances, you might be due for a refund of some kind, but we appreciate the donation.
NGUYEN: I wonder if he knows that it caught on fire before it got to the auction block.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: Hopefully he is not seeing that for the first time right now.
HOLMES: We are so embarrassed right now. I don't even know...
NGUYEN: Cash the check quickly.
HOLMES: Yes. There is much more to the story, actually. Rick Sanchez is going to talk to the new owner of that Warrior One. It's a pretty inspiring story here, and you're going to see that in our next half hour here on CNN.
NGUYEN: What a story, though.
HOLMES: Well, say good-bye to your driver's license as a valid I.D. to enter Canada or Mexico.
NGUYEN: That is right. Find out why some people at the State Department had to put in some extra overtime in these past few weeks. That is coming your way in about three minutes.
HOLMES: Plus, what we might expect from President Bush's State of the Union Address. And how politically important is this speech for the president? Answers from a former speechwriter for President Clinton, that's coming your way in 20 minute.
NGUYEN: And he placed the highest bid for our overhauled Warrior One. You saw him just a minute ago. We're going to hear more about this man behind those million dollars. Find out in 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: New information now on that major earthquake off Indonesia. The 7.3 magnitude quake was located about 30 miles beneath the ocean, some 80 miles off the coast of northern Indonesia. That is coming to us from The Associated Press, citing sources at the U.S. Geological Survey.
No immediate warnings of a tsunami, but, of course, that is being watched now closely. We will continue to bring updates as this new information continues to come in to us. NGUYEN: Well, there is a new travel rule that you need to be aware of. A new passport rule, and you need to have those passports ready to go should you travel near or even far. So you may see some long lines, not necessarily at the airport, but at the passport office to get those passports in order to go.
We need to get some more now from CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. State Department has never seen anything like it. The demand for passports was up 56 percent this December over last December.
WANDA NESBITT, STATE DEPARTMENT: We broke yet another record, issuing more passports in one week than we ever issued before in one week.
MESERVE: The reason? Come Tuesday, anyone traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, or most islands in the Caribbean, will be required to have a passport.
(on camera): As of the 23rd, air travelers without a passport will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by Customs and Border Protection and may be referred to secondary screening for a decision on their admissibility.
(voice over): In Canada, passport offices in recent weeks were swamped with waits of four or even five hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing I did was ask, "What's the line for?" And they said, "Passport." The old heart just...
MESERVE: The travel industry and the U.S. government have tried to alert the public to the new requirements with advertisements. Some Caribbean hotels concerned about the impact on business are even offering passport fee rebates, though travel industry representatives believe the change will not in the end be too disruptive.
RICK WEBSTER, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSN. OF AMERICA: January 23, we believe, will be a nonevent. We believe there will be high compliance with the new passport requirement, and we don't expect any interruption.
MESERVE: But this new requirement for air travelers is the easy part. Many more people move between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico and the Caribbean by land and sea. As early as January 2008, those travelers, too, will need passports or other valid travel documents. That deadline already a worry.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And you want to be sure to stay tuned to CNN both day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
All right. Now we can meet the man who put down $1 million for an overhauled Humvee called Warrior One. And it was for a very, very good cause. Find out more about him. That is in six minutes.
HOLMES: And spiritual devotion through music and dance. Coming up in our next half hour, we will go all the way to Istanbul to watch the dervish whirl. That's coming up in our "Faces of Faith" segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: "Now in the News," a two-state manhunt is under way right now. The FBI, along with police in Indiana and Illinois, all looking for this man who allegedly abducted his ex-girlfriend and their four children. One of those kids may be in serious medical distress right now. We heard from an investigator just a little bit earlier that they have found the car supposedly used by suspect Jerry White, but his whereabouts and the others, that is still unknown.
HOLMES: The buildup begins. More U.S. troops arriving in Iraq as part of President bush's new strategy. The military says the brigade from the 82nd Airborne will help Iraqi forces secure Baghdad. The additional troops should be in place and fully operational around February 1st.
A bomb on a bus kills six people in the latest violence in Iraq. Police say the small bus was carrying people to work in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad.
Political news out of Iraq as well. Iraqi officials say radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's group is ending its boycott of parliament.
NGUYEN: Tough talk this morning from Iran's president. This time concerning a month-old United Nations sanction calling for Iran to suspend its nuclear program. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says not even 10 sanctions will stop Iran's nuclear plans.
Well, the Asian-American Students Association is accusing a Princeton University newspaper of anti-Asian bigotry. The "Daily Princetonian's" annual joke issue included a spoof article written in broken English with several stereotypes about Asians, and in response to the criticism the editor-in-chief said her staff "did not seek to offend and sincerely regret having upset readers."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, $1 million!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A million dollars, and it is sold. CNN's Warrior One goes to the founder of real estate company RE/MAX for more than a million dollars. It goes to the Fisher House for injured American service members and their families.
So nice to see.
NGUYEN: Yes, such a good cause.
HOLMES: It was. And a lot more money than maybe people were expecting.
But thank you, sir, for the check.
And welcome back to you all.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
Make sure he cashes that check -- or at least the Fisher House does quickly...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... because that Humvee -- we will talk about it later -- it actually caught on fire.
HOLMES: Had some issues. She's not kidding. But we still are proud of that Hummer this morning. Proud here at CNN.
The auction last night of that Hummer, that Warrior One, helped raise $1.25 million actually for Fisher House, which benefits military families. Again, a lot more money than anybody really expected.
And our Rick Sanchez talked to the new owner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One million!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, $1 million!
(APPLAUSE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: What a moment. Really a moment that we're all very proud of here at CNN. A million dollars -- in fact, $1.25 million is now going to be going to help so many of the soldiers who need that so much in hospitals all over the country after coming back wounded from the war in Iraq.
And the man who made the final bid, you are looking at him. He's the man who founded RE/MAX. He's Dave Liniger, and he has given us that $1 million.
And we want to just say thank you on behalf of all those soldiers who really need that. That was quite a gesture on your part today, sir.
LINIGER: Well, thank you very much. It's a fabulous opportunity to give back to our country. The kids over there have done such a fabulous job, and for us to be able to participate in some way, there's just no words.
SANCHEZ: All right. What are you going to do with this thing? It's awfully big, isn't it?
LINIGER: Well, we're having a problem trying to figure out how to get it back to our headquarters in Denver, but we're going to put it on a tour around the United States the next year or two. We'll take it to military bases, take it to RE/MAX functions, conventions and so on, and see if we can get some more money and donations for the Fisher House.
SANCHEZ: What made you decide that you were going to go through with this? After all, $1 million is an awful lot of money, even for a man who founded RE/MAX, I imagine.
LINIGER: The CNN crew were fabulous, they gave me a private tour of the Hummer this morning. We looked at it. We made a decision that we would buy it no matter what the cost was, and that's the way it ended up. And we bought it and we're very happy we did.
SANCHEZ: Now, are you the kind of guy who collects vehicles? Have you collected other vehicles in the past? Do you like cars?
LINIGER: I've been to Barrett-Jackson for many years. I have a very, very nice car collection. This will not be part of it. This will be used for RE/MAX to go around the country, go to military bases and such, and then after a year or two we'll put it someplace that's very important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And we weren't kidding earlier. On the way to the auction block, had a little trouble with the engine. It caught fire. They put it out. Everything is fine. Don't put us...
NGUYEN: It's under warranty.
HOLMES: Don't put a hold on the check. The truck is still OK, but it did have a little issue there.
But Dave tells CNN he has started a new foundation called Sentinels of Freedom and that's also aimed at helping disabled soldiers.
So thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: Good cause there. It all worked out.
NGUYEN: Well, tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Christiane Amanpour has a special report, "The War Within." It's about the Muslim extremism in the U.K., and CNN's Nicole Lapin has been online finding some resources to get us up to speed on terrorism there. She joins us now live.
Good morning.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Good morning, Betty.
Well, think of it this way: July 7, 2005 changed Britons in the way that September 11, 2001 changed Americans. But there is a fundamental difference to keep in mind.
The radicalists, for the most part, across the pond are homegrown and keep on growing. All the stats and all the pictures are right there online.
On our Web site, CNN.com, we have a snapshot of the 13 million Muslims living in the U.K. right now. And recent poll shows that one in 10 British Muslims actually believe that terrorists of 7/7 should be considered matters and not terrorists.
Not all are extremists, of course, but there's a cultural tug-of- war going on right now between Muslims who espouse violence and Muslims who reject those who do. So that got us thinking, how many Islamist cells are there actually right now in the U.K.?
Well, according to MI-5 there are 30 suspected British cells. And their Web site right now still has the threat level in the U.K. at severe. It's been there since last August, when the plot to blow up transatlantic flights was foiled.
And this is all coming at the same time as Scotland Yard still deals with the constant threat of northern Ireland and attacks. They have been dealing with that threat at home for some time, but only recently have they added right now a confidential anti-terrorist hotline number on their Web site.
So this is in large part because we have to keep this in mind -- MI-5 and other British sources say that five years ago they identified 250 terror suspects in the U.K. Well, two years later, that figure doubled, and now it's estimated that the intelligence in the U.K. monitors 1,600 terror suspects every year on British soil.
So those are the numbers and that's the perspective for you, Betty, online.
NGUYEN: Yes, it is. Thank you, Nicole. We appreciate it.
LAPIN: Sure.
NGUYEN: And you can see Nicole on CNN Pipeline. And this Tuesday you can actually see Pipeline for free all day long. From the Oscar nominations, to the president's State of the Union Address, just log on to cnn.com/pipeline to check it out.
HOLMES: The 2008 presidential race rounding into shape this weekend with the announcement that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is opening her exploratory committee. Senator Clinton holds her first public event today since that announcement on her Web site.
CNN will provide live coverage.
Also, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson also apparently on the doorstep. The Associated Press reporting he's expected to announce his own exploratory committee this morning.
And on the Republican side, Kansas senator Sam Brownback has announced his candidacy. He's the first Republican to officially join the 2008 presidential race.
And what do all these new editions mean for the 2008 race? "AMERICAN MORNING" with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien, they look at the countdown to New Hampshire beginning at 6:00 Eastern tomorrow morning.
NGUYEN: Well, President Bush is preparing for his State of the Union Address and perhaps a last shot to shape the legislative agenda before the 2008 presidential campaign gets into full swing. There is a lot of speculation about what Mr. Bush will say on Tuesday.
And Michael Waldman knows firsthand how critical the right wording can be. That's because he was a speechwriter for President Clinton, and he joins us live this morning.
Thanks for being with us today.
MICHAEL WALDMAN, FMR. CLINTON SPEECHWRITER: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: Well, with the Democrats controlling Congress now, can the president really afford to stay the course in this speech, especially when it comes to Iraq?
WALDMAN: Well, that's what's really quite remarkable about this speech. President Bush now faces a Congress controlled by the other party. That's happened before. It happened to Clinton, it happened to Reagan, it happened to Eisenhower. And generally when that happens, the president does tact toward the other party, finds some common ground.
You don't have elections that are as clear a mandate on an issue in this country as you had in this election on Iraq. Yet, President Bush, in his speech last week, instead of reaching out toward where the Democrats and by all the polls the country stands, he actually pushed for an escalation of the war in Iraq.
So it's really quite remarkable. He may be able to do that kind of searching for common ground on domestic issues, where there is some things like immigration, where he agrees with the Democrats more than his own party, but on Iraq he has drawn a line in the sand that's very confrontational with the new Congress.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about some of those domestic issues that he may be finding this common ground on -- alternative fuel, health care. What are some of the issues that he's really going to hammer home? WALDMAN: Well, I think he will want to hammer home things that you just mentioned, health care, perhaps, immigration, where there really is an agreement on the path to legalization that many conservative Republicans hate legislation, and he and the Democrats are more alike. I think -- I wouldn't be surprised if he were to embrace some of the things that the Congress is already about to pass, such as an increase in the minimum wage, which he had resisted for many years.
But I may be wrong, but I'm not sure people are going to be listening when he's talking about domestic issues. I think that people...
NGUYEN: Well, that's another thing I wanted to ask you. When you talk about people listening, we are talking about the American public, because at this point in his presidency, can a speech like this really resonate with the American people?
WALDMAN: Well, it could. You have presidents near the end of their term, whether Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, who stayed very relevant by putting forward policies that were innovative and by working with the Congress. But, of course, there are many would-be presidents sitting in the chamber running for president who are in the Senate. And the elections are looming, and he is a lame duck president.
And there is quite a bit of evidence over the last week since his speech pushing an escalation in Iraq that a lot of members of his own party are abandoning his position. So, it's a perilous political moment for President Bush. There's no doubt about it.
NGUYEN: Now, you had the inside track here because you were a former speechwriter for President Clinton. So what goes on right about now? I mean, does Bush write a lot of his speeches? Or are there lots of changes that are taking place right now, all the way up to the minutes before the actual delivery of this speech?
WALDMAN: Well, Clinton certainly helped write his speeches. Clinton was very involved for weeks at a time going through draft after draft after draft.
From what I understand, President Bush tends to rely more on the drafts that are written by his staff. He's gone through edits. I'm sure he's rehearsing. He likes to get things done well in advance.
The question is, if I were in their shoes, I might have thought, well, we can talk about Iraq in the speech to the country from the White House last week and now focus on domestic issues. I think that they may be doing some very serious rewriting at this last minute to deal with the fact that the speech last week led to a drop in support for his policies.
If he just kind of comes in and gives a short version of the speech he gave last week and expect to get a lot of applause, it would be a big -- it would be a big tactical error. But I don't know what I would do in their shoes because it's tough. NGUYEN: It is. And we'll see what he decides on Tuesday.
Michael Waldman, former Clinton speechwriter, we appreciate your time today.
WALDMAN: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: And CNN is the place to be for Tuesday's State of the Union Address. Our primetime coverage begins with a special two-hour edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM." That is followed immediately by the speech and response.
Then at 10:30, Anderson Cooper is live in Washington with immediate worldwide reaction. Plus, don't miss a special midnight edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."
All from the best political team on television.
HOLMES: And that brings us to today's e-mail question of the morning.
What do you think of the State of the Union Address? Are you going to watch it? Do you care? Do you tune in? Do you listen? What?
NGUYEN: What do you want to hear?
E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. You'll let us know what you think. And we'll read some of those responses on the air.
All right. Right now we want you to look at this incredible video. Check that out.
HOLMES: What in the world is that?
NGUYEN: Can you imagine?
HOLMES: Those are actually billboards.
NGUYEN: Oh, is that what that is? I thought it was some kind of a sign or something.
HOLMES: Billboards slicing across the field like mower blades. We're going to tell you what's going on here. That's coming up in the "WaterCooler."
Also this...
NGUYEN: Dancing themselves to spiritual harmony. Yes, our faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher's report on the whirling dervish. That's coming up in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are continuing to keep an eye on this story here. Getting new information that we want to pass along to you on that major earthquake off of Indonesia.
The 7.3 magnitude quake located about 30 miles beneath the ocean, some 80 miles off the coast of northeastern Indonesia. That is coming to us from The Associated Press, citing sources at the U.S. Geological Survey.
No immediate warnings for a tsunami, but that is being watched quite closely. One witness told the AP that the tremor caused some residents actually to flee in panic. AP also says a church was damaged, including three injuries there as well. Experts say a tsunami still is possible, but so far there has been no sign of one.
We will continue to bring you updates as we get the new information.
NGUYEN: Well, here's an update for you. CNN's Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center. And a lot of folks waking up this morning to more of that snow in their area.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Twisting and whirling their way to spiritual ecstasy in Turkey. A whirling dervish is a dancer position between the material and cosmic world. The purpose of the ritual whirling, getting closer to God.
CNN's faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything turns in the universe, the world turns, the sun turns, your blood under your skin turns, and also the dervish turns.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH & VALUES CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are as much a part of Turkey's history as the towering spires of their mosques. The whirling dervishes perform their dance in theaters, clubs and restaurants all around this country. Tourists may find them entertaining, but for the dervishes, each dance brings them one step further on their search for spirituality.
(on camera): Dervishes come from the Sufi branch of Islam, known for mysticism and asceticism. Dervishes take a vow of poverty and live in monastic conditions similar to Christian monks. But for dervishes, spinning is their way of worshiping God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you open your arms, you take from God and give to people. And that is the meaning of it. And your heart, when you are making Sema, is like this, to your heart -- you look to your heart. And this is the meaning of, I'm turning around my heart.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Akun (ph) has been a dervish since he was 13. He says everything about their dance, which is part of a music ceremony, called the Sema, has meaning. The robes represent shrouds. The hats, tombstones. The dance itself is divided into four parts. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The meaning of the first part is, who are you? You are thinking, who am I?
The second part, dervish understands, OK, I am human, I am living.
And in the third part, dervish understands that there is a force. And dervish gives his heart to God.
The fourth part, your soul comes back to your body. And you understand that, yes, I am human.
GALLAGHER: The dervishes were banned in Turkey in the 1920s out of fear that their religious roots would lead them to revolt against the new secular government. It was nearly 30 years before the government, realizing their dancing was a draw for tourists, allowed them to perform in public again.
But Akun says politics is the furthest thing from the dervishes' minds. He says they follow a code to love all people, serve their communities and to find joy in their dance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody asks these questions to me. How do you feel? How do you feel? But you can't explain perfectly, because it is between me and God. You can't explain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That is really neat to watch.
Well, from whirling dervish, to flying billboards, we take a trip to the "WaterCooler" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Oh, goodness. We want to welcome you back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Time for a quick trip down to that "WaterCooler".
HOLMES: Yes. This is, of course, when you get to hear about some of the stranger stories that we have come across here.
Wow. What -- oh, we just -- wait for it. Wait for it.
NGUYEN: There you go. Uh-oh.
HOLMES: Wait for it. There it is. Two 500-foot smokestacks in Arizona topples at exactly the same time.
NGUYEN: That was kind of cool, though, how they just went so slowly.
HOLMES: A little bit.
NGUYEN: We want to call it precision demolition because the twin stacks had dominated the town of San Manuel for half a century.
HOLMES: Also got another piece of video here. You can probably watch this one over and over.
Man, what is going on there? It happened the other day at a soccer match in South Africa.
NGUYEN: Ooh, watch out.
As you can see, some players narrowly avoided getting clipped when a powerful gust of wind sent billboards just ripping across the field. Can you imagine?
Ooh. Oh, that one guy almost got hit there.
HOLMES: Yes. I think a finger just came off.
NGUYEN: Stop it.
HOLMES: All right. It's -- finally, we'll tell you about a story that's drawing on pride coming up in about 15 minutes. How the New Orleans Saints are giving hope to the Katrina-ravaged city.
Stick around for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: "Now in the News," a two-state manhunt under way right now. Police in Indiana and in Illinois looking for a man who allegedly abducted his ex-girlfriend and their four children. One of those kids may be in serious medical stress right now. Police telling us last hour that they found the suspect's abandoned car.
We'll stay on top of the story and bring you more as soon as it develops.
HOLMES: A major earthquake off Indonesia today. A 7.3 magnitude quake located about 80 miles off the coat of northeastern Indonesia. This is coming to us from The Associated Press, citing sources at the U.S. Geological Survey. There have been no immediate warnings about a tsunami, but still being watched closely.
We're going to continue to bring you updates on this.
NGUYEN: There are more boots on the ground in Baghdad. Additional U.S. troops arriving in Iraq as part of President Bush's new strategy. The military says the Brigade from the 82nd Airborne will help Iraqi forces secure the capital.
HOLMES: The Coast Guard watching closely as the ship sits awkwardly off the coast of southwestern England. This is a live picture of the area right here; the cargo ship has lost about 50 containers off its deck. You can just make it out there. Some of them may contain hazardous chemicals actually; the ship was abandoned three days ago during a strong windstorm. NGUYEN: New statistics show a decrease, yes a decrease in cancer deaths. So what are we doing right? Find out in 30 minutes with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and "House Call."
From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, it is January 21, 8:00 am at CNN Headquarters right here in Atlanta, it is 7:00 am in the heartland will a lot of people are feeling it with all of that snow on top of more snow. Good morning everybody I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, glad to have you back. Good to have you back here with us.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. We thank you all for being right here with us this morning.
HOLMES: Additional U.S. troops arriving in Baghdad, they are the first deployment as part of the president's new Iraq strategy. News of the troops build up comes during an especially deadly weekend for U.S. forces there. The latest now in this report from CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad.
DAMON: At least 17 U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq on Saturday. This deadly incident a helicopter crashes, northeast of the capital Baghdad. All people on board were killed, eight passengers and four crewmembers. The U.S. military saying that the cause of the crash is still under investigation. The province is known to be very volatile with a number of Sunni and Shiite insurgents groups operating there.
In the southern city of Karbala five more U.S. solders killed after the provincial joint coordination center was attacked by armed gunman using indirect fire grenades and small arms fire, the attack happening during a security meeting between U.S. forces, Iraqi security forces and local leaders to discuss security for the upcoming holidays.
Meanwhile in the capital Baghdad some political developments with the political block royalty radicals Shiite clerk Al-Sadr announcing that it is ending its two-month boycott of parliament. The boycott began in protest on November 30 of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri a. Maliki's meeting with U.S. President George Bush that took place in Lamna. Topping the group's list of demands was a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. This comes at a time when the Iraqi government is trying to politically deal with Al-Sadr as well as trying to deal with his militia, the militia that is blamed for much of the sectarian violence here.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
NGUYEN: We are very proud here at CNN this morning because the auction last night of warrior one Hummer helped raise $1.25 million dollars for the Fisher House. Which benefits military families. And the man who bought it well he plans to keep it a working Hummer, working for a good cause that is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE LINIGER, HUMMER AUCTION WINNER: We are going to put it a tour around the United States for the next year or two. We will take it to military bases, take it to Remax functions, conventions and so on and see if we can get some more money in donations for the Fisher House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The man you just saw there Liniger paid $1 million for that Hummer. Now a second bidder decided to toss another $250,000 to help out a good cause.
HOLMES: We turn now to talk politics and that is what is going on now a lot of talking.
NGUYEN: Yes, an exploratory committee does well. The Associated Press reporting that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is next up to test the presidential waters. His announcement is expected in less than an hour.
HOLMES: Also yesterday it was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and also Senator Sam Brownback. Brownback the Kansas Republican actually became the first member of his party to officially enter the 2008 presidential race and as for Senator Clinton CNN will provide live coverage of her public event in New York today, it is her first since announcing on her Website yesterday that she is taking a major step in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: After six years of George Bush it is time to renew the promise of America. Our basic bargain that no matter who you are or where you live if you work hard and play by the rules you can build a good life for yourself and your family. I grew up in a middle class family in the middle of America and we believed in that promise. I still do. I've spent my entire life trying to make good on it. Whether it was fighting for women's basic rights or children's basic health care, protecting our Social Security or protecting our soldiers. It's a kind of basic bargain, and we've got to keep up our end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So what do all of these new additions mean for the 2008 race, "American Morning" with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien will have the complete political coverage beginning at 6:00 Eastern tomorrow morning and a programming note for you here. The first presidential debate will be April that will be right here on CNN. Your election 200 campaign headquarters.
NGUYEN: But right now the southwest Rockies, parts of New England will likely get socked with more snow today. It's already caused lots of problems out west. Snow blankets the ground from New Mexico through the Great Plains. This video now is from New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas. The snow and ice makes for extremely dangerous driving. At least eight traffic deaths were reported in three different states yesterday, including four in Nebraska.
HOLMES: We're going to turn now to our Bonnie Schneider who's keeping an eye on all of this for us, has been keeping an eye on it for us this weekend, in for Reynolds Wolf. Bonnie what do you have now?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well we are watching the same system that brought 8 to 10 inches of snow across parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas. Now it's all on the move, it is much more fast moving than it was yesterday. We're seeing snow across a good portion of the upper Midwest and a large band of rain to the south where temperatures are warmer. It is anything but warm, though, in Chicago at this hour, it's 26 degrees there, and as we look at a live picture of Chicago, you can see the snow falling there, it is hard to see because it is still dark outside. We do have light snow reported.
As far as the playoff game goes today, I think the worst of the weather will be at the beginning of the game. It will get a little less windy and a little less blustery throughout the game. The snow showers should be at the start of the game, later this afternoon, but they should also diminish. So I think it will get better as you sit through it. The only problem is it will get really cold. It will feel in the teens and 20s throughout much of the afternoon.
Now in Cincinnati, it's also 27 degrees, and we have snow falling there. Lexington, Kentucky, is actually reporting freezing rain, so is Louisville, right here, you see of areas in pink, that's where we're getting ice at this hour. So be careful of slick roads. Western North Carolina is our next up, we are expecting the snow to move in, mixing with freezing rain, particularly in the Boone area where that will be happening over the next couple of hours. Down through Hickory and into Charlotte also just watch out it should be mixing in a little bit with sleet later on as we work our way through.
Let's take a look at the rest of the forecast as we travel to the south. We have some heavy rain falling across Tennessee and into Mississippi. But look what's happening in Louisiana at this hour. Lafayette hit hard with at this time with some very heavy rain into Baton Rouge as well. And all of this moisture pushing along I-10. If you're driving, watch out for ponding on the roadways. Here is the low as it pulls out of Louisiana, it will bring rain to Atlanta today, snow to Cleveland, all the way through Buffalo, then back out to the west, we're looking at some windy weather for Phoenix today with a couple of showers popping up in the forecast. Cooler high temperatures there 52 for a high, and as we look across to the east, cold into New England but a whole lot less windy. Betty and T.J. that's major improvement. Yesterday was incredibly windy in Boston and through New York as well.
NGUYEN: You take what you can get at this point. Thank you, Bonnie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With much of the city still in shambles, the surprising saints have become more to the city of New Orleans than just a football team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's right. The city needed relief, something to take its mind off the massive rebuilding effort. Its football team answered the call. The improbable Saints and their city. That's next in the "Newsroom ."
HOLMES: And they came to the United States with nothing. Now the Smithsonian Institute has opened an exhibit showcasing their success. A story of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S. that is coming up.
NGUYEN: And it is one of the scariest words a patient can hear from their doctor. But research says that we might be winning the fight against cancer. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that story and other medical news that you need to know on "House Call" coming up at 8:30 Eastern.
HOLMES: Also, don't forget our e-mail question this morning. What do you think about the State of the Union, which is, of course, coming up this week? What would you like to hear? Are you going to watch? Did you pay attention? Tell us what you ever you think about the State of the Union. E-mail us at WEEKENDS@CNN.com. to let us know what you think. We'll read your responses on the air in just a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Have you ever wanted what it takes to be a top athlete?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an NFL player in the making right here.
COSTELLO: Justin Johnson is the number one high school running back in the country according to "Sports Illustrated."
JUSTIN JOHNSON, GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: You want to be the best, you have to train.
COSTELLO: Chip Smith has trained over 600 professional NFL players at competitive edge sports. Most of these athletes spend four to six hours' day training. While studding at the Soviet Sporting in Moscow he uncovered three components that he believes are essential to athletes enhancing their sports performance.
CHIP SMITH, TRAINER: So we train with resistance and movement, speed in a movement and reaction.
NATE WAYNE, NFL LINEBACKER: He has this thing called Chip-0- meeters. Like resistant bands and you put those on, and it keeps constant resistance on your muscles. We run with them. Then we take them off, feel like we can run a two-flat 40-yard dash.
COSTELLO: Chip says all athletes can improve their sports performance by staying committed to training hard.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DET. SGT. BILL WARGO, ELKHART POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): We received numerous tips that came in through the Amber Alert. Two of those tips led us to the vehicle in which we thought White might be driving. Both were located in Elkhart. Unfortunately, nothing was recovered from the vehicles that led us to White or the children or Ms. Walker.
HOLMES: The FBI now joining the two-state search in Indiana and Illinois. Thirty year-old Jerry White suspected of abducting his ex- girlfriend and their four children, they range in age from 9 years to 16 months old. Police believe the oldest child may be in serious medical distress. He's asthmatic and needs his ventilator but that was left behind in the house.
NGUYEN: Well this guy's been missing for more than a week, and police say they still have no promising leads in the search for Purdue University student Wade Stephy. Police volunteered, even FBI agents scoured the campus yesterday but found no sign of him. He was last seen at a paternity party just after midnight last Saturday.
HOLMES: And new information now from the Kirkwood, Missouri, and police on the Shawn Hornbeck case. It seems that the teen spoke to a police officer just ten months after he was reported missing. Apparently an officer was investigating a stolen bike complaint when he ran across Hornbeck. The boy introduced himself as Shawn Devlin, apparently.
NGUYEN: No doubt it is a huge day for football fans, both Conference championships today. T.J. will be watching it all until he passes out.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: But you don't have to be a true fan to enjoy what's going on with those New Orleans Saints.
HOLMES: Yes. One step from the Super Bowl now, but for the people in their home city, the Saints' success not just about football here. CNN's sports Mark McKay has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly 17 months ago, it was a scene New Orleans had hoped it would never see. Last week, it was a scene New Orleans always hoped that it would.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touchdown!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Saints, baby!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.
DOUG THORNTON, SUPERDOME GENERAL MANAGER: For 40 years this team has been in the city, and we've had some very tough times, some very lean years. But this year, there's something different about this football team.
DEVERY HENDERSON, SAINTS WIDE RECEIVER: I grew up a Saints fan, and I'm playing now and everything. Super Bowl with the Saints, a while back, that didn't go well in the same sentence.
MCKAY: With much of the city still in shambles, the surprising Saints have become more to the city of New Orleans than just a football team.
TOM WERTZ, SAINTS FAN: It makes people more energetic. They were so down in the dumps. You come home, go through the same routine, you know. People have their houses to put back together. I mean, it gets old. It gets old really quick. And this is just a great relief and it kind of rejuvenates you to do the work.
STAFF SGT, LONNIE COCERHAM, SAINTS FAN: It takes the attention away a lot because when we go to the dome, the dome is so fired up, we forget about everything else happening.
JOE HORN, SAINTS WIDE RECEIVER: Everybody here that's living in the FEMA trailers and watching the games and waiting on insurance money, they get to see the Saints, they get to see their team, they can call it their home team winning football games. Show the world, regardless of me not getting my check, guess what, we have a football team that's whipping [ bleep ] across the nation.
MCKAY: While the entire region has gotten caught up in the excitement of the Saints playoff run, soon the season will be over.
JOHN DESHAZIER, NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE: It's just a minor distraction; it's a pleasant distraction. Obviously, it doesn't take your complete focus away from the recovery. That is what this is all about.
FRED MCAFEE, SAINTS RUNNING BACK: They still have a long ways to go before they can get back to where they were, but, you know, if we're a guide for them, you can see if you just keep on believing and keep on fighting, you know, it can have a positive impact.
QUINT DAVIS, PRODUCER, NEW ORLEANS, JAZZ FEST: When the season is over, the miles of devastation are still going to be devastated, but the belief now that it can happen for New Orleans, if this can happen for New Orleans, this miracle, then anything can happen for New Orleans.
MCKAY: Mark McKay, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well they fled more for a new start now three decades later; the Smithsonian honors their triumph over unbelievable hardships. A look at the exhibit honoring Vietnamese Americans. And later --
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. We actually have Dr. Freeman on my cancer special that is airing this weekend, he is an amazing advocate for getting everyone access to cancer screening. Such an important issue.
Also coming up on "House Call" this morning, we're going to be looking at some good news on cancer, plus some stories of survival. Get this an infant who survived hurricane Katrina before he was even born. We'll explain.
And an energetic coach stricken with a rare disease. Those stories coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You know, last week I had the honor and privilege of attending the unveiling of the first ever Vietnamese-American historical exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. Instead of focusing solely on the war, this exhibit tells the story of the Vietnamese-American experience right here in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I'm here with the Vu Pham the curator of this first of a kind exhibit here at the Smithsonian. Doctor Pham, talk to me about why it's called Exit Saigon Enter Little Saigon, the significance of that.
VU PHAM, CURATOR: Yes. It's interesting Betty that you mention emphasize little because it's not a little transition. What's important here is we're looking to talk about our exodus as a large community from Vietnam after the Vietnam War, but that we've created and fused a brand new identity, which is Little Saigon.
NGUYEN: But that identity took a lot of struggle and sacrifice. Let's move through the exhibit so we can get an idea of not only Vietnamese-Americans leaving the country but as they were doing so they had to go through many different refugee camps. We have an example of one over here. Talk to me about this.
PHAM: Yes. This is a refugee camp that typically was during the boat person exodus so actually post-1975. This was -- we tried to replicate a common situation where somebody had a very small cot to stay in, they had to hang-dry their clothing. And on top of that, they might have had a small wash bin, which is behind our display. They were sparse environments.
NGUYEN: Then we have really a tribute to the boat people because the sacrifice of what the boat people has been so tremendous, not only were they having to be at sea for so long, a lot of them lost their lives trying to come to this country.
PHAM: Yes. It's estimated -- the estimates vary wildly from the hundreds of thousands to some say close to 2 million died at sea. Here is an actual photo of someone who perished.
NGUYEN: Not only that, but there are many other things featured in this exhibit, Doctor Pham talk to me about the significance of the people that you featured here.
PHAM: Oh, sure. And we have some people who have contributed greatly to change the --
NGUYEN: We have astronauts, we have professional football players.
PHAM: The co-author of the "Patriot Act," we have the design of the Ford Mustang, and we have, for our viewers, you, actually.
NGUYEN: We don't need to talk about me.
PHAM: The first Vietnamese-American news anchor. We want to highlight that, as well as fashion designers, celebrities.
NGUYEN: Lastly, I want to ask you this, the importance of this exhibit to you. Not only as the curator but also as a Vietnamese- American.
PHAM: Personally, I was so honored to have been selected to be the curator here. I had a lot of reservations, and actually this reflects the Vietnamese-American community, that we are so vibrant in many ways, have contributed so much, yet we're still internally warring in certain ways with the loss of our homeland, starting life anew. We're both proud but we want to remember and honor those who have fallen to search for freedom here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And the great thing about this exhibit, not only is it going to remain at the Smithsonian through the end of March, but if you can't get up to Washington to see it for yourself, it will tour the nation starting later this year and it will be touring for three years. There will be plenty of opportunity.
I have to tell you T.J.; just walking through this exhibit is pretty emotional, especially for me, coming to the U.S., fleeing from war. It's just one of those experiences that we're glad to finally see our story. We really mean it when we say our story being told.
HOLMES: You know, you're being modest all week about this thing, but we are so proud and tickled to see you, our own Betty, there she is. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Do we have to put that up again?
HOLMES: Our own Betty being a part of this. You have a heck of a story. To be a part of that, that's an honor. You'll be traveling around with that exhibit.
NGUYEN: At least that will.
This is some of the fashion and different fusion that we have sparked in this country. Really, a great exhibit. If you get a chance, go and check it out.
In the meantime, this is good news on the health front, the numbers are down. Fewer people are dying from cancer. Yes, we mean that when we say fewer people. The why and how of those statistics that is on "House Call" in five minutes.
HOLMES: Also, we will keep turning to politics Hillary Clinton of course running for office. But can a woman win the White House? We'll look at the unique challenges faced by female candidates that is coming up in an hour from now.
NGUYEN: At 10:00 Eastern, the media's treatment of the Duke Lacrosse players who were accused of rape. Were they smeared unfairly? That and more on "Reliable Sources."
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