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CNN Sunday Morning
Iraq War Protests; Hillary Clinton Makes First Campaign Visit to Iowa; Tour Bus Taken
Aired January 28, 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: "Now in the News," a battle in Najaf. We are getting word of clashes between gunmen and Iraqi security forces in the Shiite holy city. An Interior Ministry official says three gunmen have been killed and three Iraqi police officers wounded.
A terror suspect on his way to face charges in the U.S. The man, born in Iraq but naturalized as a Dutch citizen, is accused of aiding insurgent attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. He will be the first suspect tried in a U.S. court for that alleged role.
And bribery, bid rigging, conspiracy, all allegations of contractor fraud in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism. The Associated Press says Army investigators have opened as many as 50 criminal probes. An investigator tells the AP they expect to uncover millions of dollars in fraud. Contracts under scrutiny involve operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The Navy has abandoned its search for three crewmembers missing from a helicopter. The Sea Hawk helicopter went down Friday evening near San Clemente Island, about 50 miles off the southern California coast. One sailor was found alive, but later died.
The prince and the duchess still in the U.S. Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are due to attend church services this morning in Philadelphia. Then they'll head to New York so the prince can collect an environmental award. The world couple spent a whirlwind day in Philly yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER GAY, ALLEGEDLY STOLE CRYSTAL GAYLE'S TOUR BUS: It's all a mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A mistake, that's what he says. We'll see. But the manhunt is over, the bus a mess. Stay tuned for the bizarre conclusion of what was just a strange story from the very beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were about a quarter mile from the parkway when it attacked me. And from then on it was about a four to five- minute fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He looks bad, doesn't he? Attacked by a mountain lion. Find out how this California man managed to survive.
We have all the gritty details. That is coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 28th.
Good morning, T.J.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, ma'am.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I am T.J. Holmes.
Thank you so much for starting your day right here with us.
NGUYEN: Anti-war protests at home, bloodshed in Baghdad, and more U.S. troops killed in the fight for Iraq. First, the deadly toll on U.S. troops from roadside bombs.
The military says seven service members have been killed in Baghdad and Diyala Province since Thursday. There have been 73 U.S. military deaths in Iraq this month.
And fresh violence in Iraq today to tell you about. We are just getting word that this video -- it's a car bomb blast in Baghdad's Sadr City. Just look at that. We are told the blast killed at least four people, wounded 15 others.
There's more new video coming in from a mortar strike on a girl's school in Baghdad. Reuters news agency reports five students were killed. The Associated Press is reporting four fatalities. Obviously this news still coming in.
And police say a bomb on a minibus killed one passenger and wounded seven other Shiites in a neighborhood there. The bomb was hidden in a plastic bag which was left on the bus. Authorities say at least 16 people were killed in other attacks. And among them, a government adviser and his daughter, ambushed by gunmen.
And we also continue to follow developments along Haifa Street as U.S. and Iraqi forces battle insurgents.
Well, coming up tonight on CNN, you can join Rick Sanchez for "The Battle of Haifa Street." It's an up-close look at urban combat. Could this be a turning point in the Iraq war?
"The Battle for Haifa Street," again, tonight, 7:30 Eastern, only on CNN.
HOLMES: Back here in the U.S., anger turns to protests. Demonstrators in the streets calling for an end to the Iraq war. Tens of thousands rallied on the National Mall in Washington in a scene reminiscent of the Vietnam era.
CNN's Gary Nurenberg has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Here's the way that George explains our mission in Iraq: They tried to kill my daddy, so I had to hit them back
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The singers call themselves the Raging Grannies. They were among tens of thousands of demonstrators who rallied on the National Mall demanded an end to the war and protesting President Bush's plan to send additional American troops to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!
CROWD (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): We remember Vietnam.
CROWD (SINGING): We remember Vietnam.
NURENBERG: The comparison to peace rallies to end another war 40 years ago were a constant theme among demonstrators who want to end the war in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stopped the war in Vietnam, didn't we?
NURENBERG: One notable opponent of the Vietnam War said her appearance today was first at an anti-war rally in 34 years.
FONDA: I'm so sad that we still have to do this, that we did not learn the lessons from the Vietnam War.
NURENBERG: Fonda's presence brought a couple of dozen counter- demonstrators to an event at the Navy memorial.
Supporters of the president's policy see the demonstration as counterproductive.
CLIFFORD MAY, FDN. FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: There is something they don't understand. Ho Chi Minh at its worst never thought he was going to send suicide bombers to America to kill American children. The people we're fighting in Iraq, they intend to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?
CROWD: Democracy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do we want it?
CROWD: Now!
NURENBERG: The march on the Capitol is just the first stop for many of the demonstrators who plan to stay in town to lobby congressional representatives Monday before what could be the first test vote on an anti-war resolution. The White House issued a statement saying of President Bush, "He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that."
Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The anti-war protest in Washington was one of several around the country. Thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown Los Angeles yesterday as well. They carried peace signs and banners and listened to speeches from anti-war activists. Similar demonstrations were held as well in San Francisco and Sacramento.
We turn now to our e-mail question. We got such a huge response to this same question on Saturday that we wanted to ask it again this morning. Does criticism of the war hurt American troops on the battlefield?
NGUYEN: E-mail us your thoughts. Here it is -- weekends@cnn.com. And we're going to read some of those responses a little bit later this hour.
All right. Let the political games begin. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton making her first foray into Iowa, but that first appearance seemed more like a rock concert or a wrestling match than a political chat.
We get more now from CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Anybody looking for a different kind of campaign from a woman should have been at Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: When you are attacked, you have to deck your opponent.
CROWLEY: She is woman... hear them roar.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: Senator Hillary Clinton may be the last of the big-name players to show up in Iowa, but when she finally got here, it was at every level a tour de force. This was not your standard "have a cup of coffee with a dozen people in the living room" kind of campaigning one generally sees in Iowa. Rarely, if ever, have so many shown up so early with so much enthusiasm.
CLINTON: I stopped at the overflow room in another gymnasium and the principal told me there were a thousand people there, and I was so sorry they couldn't get in here, but we would have had to layer people on top of you. I didn't think that was a good idea.
CROWLEY: She packed them into a high school gym to converse on subjects ranging from foster care -- she favors nationalize the regulations -- to health care -- she wants universal coverage. She talked about being a woman in politics, a woman in anything.
CLINTON: I don't think I'm the only woman here who feels that sometimes you have to work even harder.
CROWLEY: She talked about being a woman running for president.
CLINTON: I don't think we know until we try, and I'm going to try. And with your help I think we can do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was very impressed with her presentation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way that she is running this, "let the conversation begin," is just very good.
CROWLEY: Her celebrity status serves her well, drawing in the crowds, pumping up the volume, but she has work to do. Just because they show up to see you doesn't mean they will vote for you.
(on camera): State polls in recent months show Clinton running behind John Edwards. Clinton aides say that's because Edwards was in the state early and often and she has not been. But they promise she will, and there is time yet. The Iowa caucuses are about a year from now.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Des Moines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The fugitive bus driver is under arrest. Christopher Gay, who allegedly stole the tour bus owned by country music legend Crystal Gayle, is now in jail, captured after a pretty interesting road trip.
We get more now from Gail Pascal-Brown of CNN affiliate WESH in Daytona Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GAIL PASCAL-BROWN, REPORTER, WESH (voice over): Inside this Daytona Beach police car is the man detectives say stole country music singer Crystal Gayle's tour bus.
GAY: It's all a mistake.
PASCAL-BROWN: Suspect Christopher Gay says it is all a mistake, but investigators say it's quite a ride. Gay escaped from a prisoner transport van last Sunday during a restroom break in Hardeeville, South Carolina. Surveillance video shows Gay and Crystal Gayle's, 45- foot long tour bus Thursday evening at the USA International Speedway in Lakeland. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to know if we could help him get a generator. He was telling us that Tony Stewart was going to be here in a couple hours bringing a smaller truck and he was going to do a surprise race.
PASCAL-BROWN: Suspicious, the track's manager checked with Tony Stewart's crew. He says Gay, who used the fake name and seen in this orange cap, was too nervous. His story, too fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't act the part. The bus didn't look the part. Inside the bus was not well kept. And Tony is, you know, a real neat person. And it just -- two and two didn't make four.
PASCAL-BROWN: The track manager took down the tag number, alerted FHB, who ran the tag that came back as Gayle Enterprises Inc. The big blue tour bus with the shining bottom ended up in Daytona Beach, where police were already alerted about the singer's stolen tour bus.
DEP. CHIEF STEVE BERES, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE: We observed a prostitute get out of the bus. And when the officer pulled up behind it, the driver actually came out and wanted to know where the speedway was located. So he didn't even know that we were looking for him.
PASCAL-BROWN: But when asked, Christopher Gay says it's all a misunderstanding.
GAY: I was paid to drive it up here for someone.
PASCAL-BROWN: Investigators believe Gay was trying to see his dying mother. They also say he stole a Wal-Mart freight truck in Tennessee the day after he escaped.
I'm Gail Pascal-Brown for WESH 2 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Christopher Gay now faces a grand theft auto charge, to go along with outstanding warrants in Tennessee and Alabama.
NGUYEN: I just want to make sure I heard that correctly. He was he was paid to drive the bus for someone?
HOLMES: It's a complicated story.
NGUYEN: Yes, apparently it is.
Hopefully it will be sorted out very quickly...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... now that he has been arrested.
Fighting back or die? Those were the only options for this man. He is a victim in the latest attack by a mountain lion in California. You don't want to miss his story. That's in five minutes.
HOLMES: Plus, how to rob a bank. No, we're not going to break it down for you bit by bit. Actually, we're talking about your data that's on the line. And robbing a bank is not what it once was.
A sneak peek at a CNN specific investigation, that's coming up in about 13 minutes.
Right now, Reynolds with a quick check of the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Here now some stories from "Across America."
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: Now we have an amazing story of survival to tell you about out of northern California. The victim of a horrific attack is speaking out for the first time.
We get this story from Eric Koch of CNN affiliate KIEM in Eureka, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM HAMM, SURVIVED MOUNTAIN LION ATTACK: And she got herself a limb, a big limb, and I was trying to fight.
ERIC KOCH, REPORTER, KIEM (voice over): Seventy-year-old Jim Hamm describes his encounter with a mountain lion just days after he was attacked at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park in northern California. Hamm is in fair condition at a local hospital.
On Wednesday, Hamm and his wife were hiking when a lion jumped on his back. Hamm instinctively fought back. When he wasn't able do anymore, his wife Nell stepped in.
J. HAMM: So I told her to get my pen from my pocket. So I went in my pants pocket and jammed it in his eye. So she jammed it in his eye and it crumbled. So it wouldn't work.
She got the club and started to club it again. She did that and it backed off and laid it's ears back. She was yelling and screaming at it. And it just turned around and went off into the ferns and left.
KOCH: Jim and his wife say they're experienced hikers, doing it three times a week for the past two years. They've asked park rangers before what to do if they were ever to come across a lion. Their answer was to fight back.
NELL HAMM, FOUGHT OFF MOUNTAIN LION: And that's what Jim and I did, just what the rangers told us to do, never thinking we would have to use that information.
J. HAMM: If you don't, you'd be dead. I mean, you have to fight. And you have to focus.
KOCH: Jim had surgery to repair lacerations to his head, face and arms following the attack. Officials say they aren't sure when he might be released. Hamm is calling his wife a hero, adding it's because of her that he's still alive.
J. HAMM: She stood in there the whole time. And if she hadn't have, I would be gone.
N. HAMM: You know, you hear remarks of "hero" and all this. It wasn't that. It's we love each other very much and we have been together for 50 years now. And it was just a matter -- his life was in jeopardy. And we were fighting for his life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Whew, that report from Eric Koch of affiliate KIEM in Eureka, California.
And since that attack, game wardens have killed two mountain lions in the area. One had human flesh in its claws. Tests will be done to see if that was the lion that attacked Jim Hamm.
Yes, out there in northern California, they have these sightings all the time.
NGUYEN: That's a lucky couple. For her to escape with no injuries after all that she did.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told that I was under restriction at the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, she couldn't get a credit card in her name, so someone else did. And the same could happen to you. An explanation ahead. That's in four minutes. You'll want to watch this.
HOLMES: Also, a community pulling together to help those in need. Operation Hope is what it's called. And we'll be telling you about it in about 14 minutes.
NGUYEN: And check it out. Using the Web as an effective campaign tool. Lots of folks are doing just what Nicole is, they are logging on. And, in fact, she is standing by to take us into that political Web world straight ahead, right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, if you never thought you could be the victim of I.D. theft, whew, you are sorely mistaken. The "CNN Special Investigations Unit" has been looking into how to thieves steal your good name in order to rob everything from stores to banks.
Here now, Drew Griffin, from CNN's Emmy Award-winning documentary, "How to Rob a Bank."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): David George was a modern-day alchemist. He could turn junk mail into cold cash.
Postal Inspector Matthew Boyden and Harris County Investigator Mike Kelly finally stopped him.
MIKE KELLY, HARRIS COUNTY INVESTIGATOR: Probably the most prolific criminal I've ever arrested.
GRIFFIN: When they searched David George's suburban home, bundles of stolen mail were everywhere -- in the drawers, the closets, and attic.
KELLY: If it had to do with identity theft and credit card fraud, we found it at that house.
GRIFFIN: There were credit card applications in the bathroom and 115 credit cards in every name but David George.
Among them, Jessica Dureaux (ph), 22 years old, a student with a poor credit record.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted a credit card, but I was told that I was under restriction at the time, that I could not apply for any or get any until I had some hospital debts cleared up.
GRIFFIN: But if Jessica couldn't get a card in her name, David George would do it for her. It took a combination of junk mail, a stolen identity, and a phony address.
Days later, he had a credit card in Jessica's name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gold, like money.
GRIFFIN: Gold, like money, for Bank of America. It would charge as much as 64.58 percent in finance charges and interest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's ridiculously high. They figure they've got a sucker. They should make a ton of money off of that.
GRIFFIN: But, in fact, it was the other way around.
AUTOMATED VOICE: What would you like to do?
GRIFFIN: David George used the credit card for cash advances, essentially loans totaling $2,100.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Don't forget to take your cash.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Yes, taking your cash. Don't miss the Emmy Award- winning "How to Rob a Bank." That's on the all new series "CNN Special Investigations Unit." That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Well, a major effort to help a community in California, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, that comes with a message. Hundreds of people pitching in to help their neighbors. Operation Hope, that's coming up in about 10 minutes.
And right before that, Nicole Lapin from CNN's .com/Desk.
Good morning to you, Nicole.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Good morning, T.J.
We are checking the Web out for what the candidates are doing online. FaceBook, MySpace, all sorts of stuff we'll show you when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: And hello again. Welcome back.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Well, do you need a score card to keep track of who's running for president these days? Which Democrats are in, which Democrats are out, who's just thinking about it? This morning we turn to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, for what's next in the Democratic run for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Just about all the horses are now lined up, but the big Democratic race doesn't start for a year.
First comes the preliminary heats, where the candidates compete for money, endorsements and support from key Democratic constituencies, like African-Americans. Does Barack Obama have the black vote locked up?
REVEREND JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: He will have to get to know a lot of people he just does not know. SCHNEIDER: Right now, Hillary Clinton is the front-runner among minority Democrat. Al Sharpton went to the Senate to meet with Clinton and Obama, as well as Christopher Dodd and Joe Biden.
AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, I don't want to speculate until after I talked to everybody.
SCHNEIDER: There's a Hispanic candidate, but he says:
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I wouldn't run as a Hispanic candidate. I would run as an American proud to be Hispanic.
SCHNEIDER: Hillary Clinton has already endorsed by EMILY's List, a prominent network that supports pro-abortion-rights Democratic women. Right now, the New York senator has a strong lead among Democratic women.
Unions provide legwork, money, and organization, all important in the early caucus states. John Edwards has been outspoken on bread- and-butter issues.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Investments to end poverty, universal health care, which I'm completely committed to.
SCHNEIDER: Liberals? They're for Clinton, too. But the netroots activists want to hear strong anti-war language.
TOM MATZZIE, WASHINGTON DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: Democrats have a responsibility to, you know, stand up and stop the president from, you know, escalating in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: There are big anti-war rallies in Washington and other cities this weekend. So far, the only presidential candidate scheduled to speak is Dennis Kucinich.
(on camera): There's also a Hollywood primary, which is more a contest for money than for votes. Now, the Clintons have always been big box office in Hollywood, which is why a lot of plucked eyebrows were raised this week when three major Hollywood moguls invited hundreds of stars to a fund-raiser for Barack Obama next month. But David Geffen and Steven Spielberg say they are not yet officially endorsing Obama.
Maybe their people can speak to his people.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Bill Schneider there, of course, part of the best political team on television. He filed that report for us ahead of yesterday's anti-war rally.
NGUYEN: We're going to get you some more presidential politics today from the .com/Desk. And we've seen Senator Hillary Clinton announce from the couch. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson also threw his hat into the ring via webcast.
So what's going on with the Web and these presidential hopefuls?
CNN's Nicole Lapin is tracking that for us online and she joins us now with the latest.
Good morning.
LAPIN: Good morning, Betty.
When you think of those things, you think these candidates have been doing this forever, but from their personal Web sites, to facebook.com, to MySpace sites, candidates this time around are using the Web to their advantage like never before.
Take a look at this.
Go to our Web site, cnn.com/politics. This is where we link you up with all the candidates' campaign Web pages. And when you think about reaching out via the Web, you might think Howard Dean.
OK. We found this online. This is an archived copy of his Web page. He, of course, jumped from relative obscurity to front-runner status in '04, generated in large part by his online buzz.
So that got us thinking, is this online push just a Democratic thing? Well, no, because both sides of the aisle are really using the Web right now to their advantage on their way to '08. And even in those three years since the Dean days, it's changed so much.
Take a look at this.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney's Web site has what he calls -- I'm not kiting here -- Mitt TV. This is where he has different channels and different clips of himself running around on the campaign trail, on news shows. He even has his own humor channel.
And then on the Democratic side, we have Tom Vilsack right here. He links on his Web site to his FaceBook site and other social networking sites, like his MySpace site, where we checked it out. He almost has 1,200 friends.
So, sure, candidates have been using the Web since its inception, but never before like this. The whitehouse.gov site is a perfect example of this, because back in 1998, Bill Clinton -- look at this, this is an archived picture. He only had a little thumbnail picture of himself. And then in 2001 the site was redesigned, and now it has a 360-degree tour of the Oval Office, it has Web videos and Web chats. And, of course, it has that famous Barney Cam that we love so much.
So, if the White House site is any indication of what's ahead in the campaign to '08, we have a lot to look forward to. For example, right now, we are watching former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who could be next. He is set to announce that he's running this week. So we are watching his Web site, we're watching some others, as the campaign really starts to take shape online -- Betty. NGUYEN: Yes. It's funny how nowadays when someone is going to announce, the first thing you do is just watch that Web site.
LAPIN: Watch the Web site.
NGUYEN: Because you know that's where it's going to come.
LAPIN: Yes, it's the money, it's the notoriety, it's using YouTube also as a site (ph) builder.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And they have absolutely control of it, too. That's another portion of it.
Nicole Lapin, we thank you.
LAPIN: Sure.
HOLMES: We're going to tell you a story here now about extending a helping hand. It's happening in Fresno, California, where the big citrus freeze means more than just high-priced juice. Citrus jobs and the paychecks that come with them have been iced as well.
Jon Diaz of CNN affiliate KGPE has the story of a project to bring food, but also bring hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JON DIAZ, REPORTER, KGPE (voice over): A monumental effort that started before dawn in Fresno. A convoy of seven semi trucks leave for the town of Orange Grove. On board, a half a million pounds of food.
Meanwhile, hundreds stand in line, braving the cold. The third person in line, Rosemary Nieto.
ROSEMARY NIETO, ORANGE PACKER: All the people here in Orange Grove, we really do need a lot of help.
DIAZ: Nieto is an orange packer. Since the valley freeze crippled the citrus industry, her hours at work have been cut in half.
NIETO: Maybe two, three more weeks we'll be laid off, too.
DIAZ: As the line grows to more than 4,000 people, hundreds of volunteers get ready for a tough task.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boxes are going to be big and they're getting some bags as well. So they're going to have a lot of items to take with them.
DIAZ: They have to make the boxes and fill them with food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, four...
DIAZ (on camera): After the groceries are boxed, it's up to the muscle team to line them all up. And it's called the muscle team because picking these boxes up that weigh about 50 pounds, no easy task.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're heavy, but the blessing is watching the look on people's faces when they get their boxes. That's going to be the payoff.
DIAZ (voice over): Finally, it came, some eight hours after they got in line, the moment they had been waiting for. The boxes are filled with canned food, fruits and vegetables, snacks and meat and drinks. But Pastor Jim Franklin, the organizer of Operation Hope, says he wants people to walk away with more than just what's in those boxes.
PASTOR JIM FRANKLIN, PROJECT HOPE ORGANIZER: It's not that this is just handing out a box of food (INAUDIBLE). But we call it Operation Hope because that's what we want to bring.
DIAZ: And Nieto says that's just how she feels.
NIETO: The Cornerstone Church (ph), I mean, it's a big blessing for all of us. You know, with kids or with no kids. It's a lot of blessing to all of us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Again, that was Jon Diaz from our affiliate station KGPE.
NGUYEN: All right. T.J.'s favorite is coming up...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... the "WaterCooler," something we all love around here. That is in 15 minutes.
Also coming up, a man and his machine. Look, mom, no gravity. Really quite amazing, these feats. And you have to see this stuff to actually believe it.
HOLMES: Also, a huge religious gathering that's going to just blow your mind here. That's coming up in our "Faces of Faith."
NGUYEN: First, though, here is Reynolds Wolf with a sneak peek at the forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: In this mornings "Faces of Faith," one of the holiest festivals for Hindus, where millions of pilgrims take a chilly dip into the River Ganges to clean their sins.
Well, CNN's Seth Doane went to take a look at some of the more colorful participants. He filed this report from India.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SETH DOANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smoking from the chillum, often ganja or hashish, a naked Sandu, or holy man, tokes to get closer to God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE: "Lord Shiva was naked so we remain naked for our whole lives," the Sandu says. "We keep ourselves away from worldly pleasures and live to defend Hinduism."
It's the Erd Kumbh Mela (ph), one of the holiest times for Hindus and one of the largest gatherings of human beings on earth. Journeying to the holy Ganges River, about 60 million Hindus will make the pilgrimage to dip in these frigid waters, believing they'll wash their sins away.
DR. H.S. SHIVA PRAKASH, JAWAHARTAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY: This is a place where believers of the French (ph) schools of Hinduism can come together and perform a ritual which holds them all together.
DOANE: The Mishra (ph) family has already taken their dip in the water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE: "The Hindu religion and Hindu family concepts are almost the same," he says. "Our family looks small, but I've brought them here to show them that the whole world is one family."
Arching to see in over the crowd, the Mishras look at a Sandu covered in 11,000 beads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE: "Whoever wears these beads for 12 years and meditates becomes capable of protecting Hindu religion and its followers," he says.
(on camera): We've been invited to the center of the Sandus' camp. They tell us not only do they pass along religion, but that they pass along culture here, too. And people come to them. They're fascinated to get to meet Sandus. It's rare for them all to be together, except for here at the koumela.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE (voice-over): Lighting wood on fire, this Sandu will sit above the flames as penance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE: "Through my prayers I am looking for peace. I want to become one with God," he says.
He'll meditate for hours, sitting on a swinging chair made of nails. (on camera): When you see these Sandus sitting on fires, keeping their hands in the air for ten years, do you think it's funny or do you get something out of it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DOANE (voice-over): "I'm immensely impressed," she says. "I think through their sustained, deep meditation they have achieved superpowers which enable them to perform unusual things."
The Ehrd Koumela is a euphoric adventure of religious belief, flamboyant at times, even resembling a carnival with its lights and sounds. But beneath the colorful exterior shows the profound power of faith.
Seth Doane, CNN, Allahabad, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Very interesting.
And if you think taking a dip in the River Ganges is a little chilly this time of year, I bet Reynolds Wolf has a few other places here in the U.S. that might rival that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: And coming up next in the "WaterCooler"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no difference in going to a nightclub and having a $350 bottle of fancy vodka, or having a $50 bottle of water in your hand. The perceived value is probably about the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You heard it right, $50 or more for a bottle of h20? Just water? We have the sparkling details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Time now to get you to the "WaterCooler".
HOLMES: Of course this is when we tell you about the off-beat news stories that are just -- we found too good to pass up.
NGUYEN: Yes. Speaking of good, if the water cooler were filled with bling h20, we would be break.
HOLMES: Kevin Boyd (ph), he might be a genius, but he knows there are a lot of people out there with more dollars than cents.
NGUYEN: True.
HOLMES: And for them, he gives them bling h2o. It will whet your whistle and dry your wallet out.
NGUYEN: No joke, because each bottle costs $40 to $90 -- this is water, folks. And I will tell you, though, that word on the street is that Paris Hilton's dog Tinkerbell drinks a little bling every now and then.
HOLMES: Well, if it's good enough for her...
NGUYEN: Well, exactly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's very cute, actually. You have a beer, and your dog will have a beer. Also, sitting at the bar. Your dog can sit at the bar also, and together you can drink a beer.
I think it's very cute, actually. Very nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, come on.
HOLMES: Well, don't know if Paris Hilton's dog is drinking this stuff, too, but this is beer for dogs. Leave it to the Dutch to make sure your buddy with the cold nose can have a cold one after a long day of chasing Frisbees and whatnot.
NGUYEN: All right. But the Dutch don't have to worry about him getting stopped by the dogcatcher on the way home because dog beer is nonalcoholic. So my question is, why?
HOLMES: What's the point?
Well, you think you've got mad skillz on your bike? This is video from France. How in the world is this happening?
NGUYEN: This was a world championship motorcycle event known as the Indoor Trial. Bikers competed in a variety of seemingly impossible events.
HOLMES: Of course you can tell it takes balance, power, precision, and perfect control, pretty much, to make these bikes perform like they do. And somehow they never touch the ground.
NGUYEN: I don't know where you practice that, but it could be a little dangerous.
Well, we do have some viewer e-mails to get to this morning. And we had such a huge response yesterday to the question of negativity and does that affect the situation on the ground, criticism of the war in Iraq.
HOLMES: Well, up first here, we have one from Randy that says, "As a soldier that's currently serving in Iraq, I can honestly say that the constant barrage of negative criticism does have an impact on our morale. I'm an optimist, but I have my limits. While we are a long way away, we are watching what is going on back home."
Again, that's from Randy, who's in Balad, Iraq.
NGUYEN: And Steven Todd from Fort Wayne, Indiana, says, "Criticism of the war does not hurt U.S. soldiers as it does not interdict their supplies it does not determine the tactics used on the ground, and it does not govern the rules of engagement. People have to get over the idea that dissent is treason; dissent can sometimes be the truer form of patriotism."
And is that it? That's it for our e-mails at this hour, though.
But we want you to keep sending them in. Again, we get a lot of response.
Here it is: Does criticism of the war hurt U.S. troops on the battlefield? E-mail us your thoughts at weekends@cnn.com. And we'll continue reading your replies.
HOLMES: Well, we're just about four minutes before 8:00 on the East Coast. We'll get an update on your top stories at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: Also, remember Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro? Well, this horse has been on the comeback trail for some time now -- there he is -- but the champ faces a new obstacle this morning. We're going to fill you in.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to kind of grow up and mature quick, because if you act like a little kid over here, it might get someone hurt, you know, pretty bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And many of them are fresh out of high school, not even old enough to legally buy beer. Meet Baghdad's boy soldiers. That is when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: "Now in the News," gunfire is echoing through the streets of Gaza City today. Rival Hamas and Fatah factions have been battling each other for several days now. You can hear it right there. At least 21 people have been killed since Friday.
Well, two mortars slammed into a girls school in Baghdad. Here's some new video coming in to CNN. Residents tell police at least one student was killed, other reports say up to five are dead. There is no confirmation just yet from police.
Look at this a bomb planted near a car exploded in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad. Police say eight people were killed and 35 wounded.
HOLMES: A registered sex offender is jailed in Arizona this morning, charged with kidnapping a six-year-old girl Friday. The girl's mother said he was staying at their home, but she had no idea about his criminal background.
And Milwaukee school is telling kids to hang it up and leave it at home. Milwaukee is the latest public school system to ban cell phones. The ban goes into effect tomorrow. One reason for the ban some students were using cell phones to call for reinforcements during fights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to fend off the claws were keeping from clawing you. So he just wants to pin me down and start eating, he doesn't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So exactly how do you fight off a mountain lion? Well a California man has apparently figured it. He survived and he is going to be talking about the battle for his life. That is coming up in about ten minutes.
NGUYEN: Oh you want to stick around for that because this is quite a story.
But in the meantime, good morning everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta it is Sunday morning, January 28, 8:00 in Philadelphia, 4:00 pm in Baghdad. Hi there everybody I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. We thank you so much for starting your day right here with us.
Roadside bombs taking a deadly toll on U.S. troops in the fight for Iraq. The military says seven service members have been killed in Baghdad in Diyala Province since Thursday. There have been 73 U.S. military deaths in Iraq this month.
Meanwhile, taking it to the streets, protesters hold marches and rallies to call for an end to the war in Iraq. Several thousand people marched through downtown Los Angeles yesterday, ten of thousands turned out for anti-war rallies and march in Washington as well. It was one of the largest demonstrations since the fighting started nearly four years ago.
This all takes us to our e-mail question of the day, our email question of the weekend, we got a huge response from this question on Saturday, wanted to continue to ask you again this morning and get your responses. Does criticism of the war hurt American troops on the battlefield? Send us those responses at WEEKENDS@CNN.com.
NGUYEN: U.S. soldiers in Iraq, many have barely stepped from the football fields of their high school glory. Today they are locked in combat in the killing fields of urban warfare. It is a story about coming of age amid the horrors of war. Here is CNN's Michael Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Place yourself, if you can, here Haifa Street, Baghdad earlier this month. Now imagine you're 18, 19 years- old, perhaps just a year or so out of high school. From the heat of battle to routine patrol, from teenager to war veteran.
SPECIALIST JESUS BECERRA, U.S. ARMY: Nightmares and stuff, you miss your family a lot. You think about them every day, especially when you go out. You don't know what's going to happen. Could be your last mission every day. Kind of messes with your mind a little.
HOLMES: Back on base, boys will be boys. So what's with being in a war zone and playing war games?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't get enough.
HOLMES: Private first class Ben Eckswiers (ph) from Michigan just turned 20, has had to pull the trigger more than once and deals with the unknown every day.
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS BEN ECKSWIERS (ph), U.S. ARMY: Yes. Sometimes. I mean, you've got to know whether a car is coming up behind you, whether or not they're going to try to blow you up or whether they're just not paying attention.
HOLMES: Some of these teenagers have made more horrors, made more life and death decisions than most civilians could ever comprehend. They may come here as kids fresh out of high school, but they go home something quite different. Did you feel like a teenager when you got home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I actually felt like I was about 35. Just felt more grown up being over here. Going back home was different.
HOLMES: Sergeant Cody Brian (ph) signed up at 17, six months later, he was here. Now 21, he's a sergeant on his second tour in Iraq.
SERGEANT CODY BRIAN (ph), U.S. ARMY: You've got to grow up and mature quickly. If you act like a kid over here, it might get somebody hurt.
HOLMES: Older soldiers help out the young ones and also give them the traditional hard time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The women are going to love that face you're making.
HOLMES: Most of these young men told us they were trained for the realities on the ground here. Some said the toughest thing was not being able to have a legal beer when on leave. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's, like, that sucks. We're going to go to war, but we can't go to a bar and have fun before we come.
HOLMES: They talk tough like its all-routine stuff, but their commander says they see things few young men do. He tells of teenage soldiers having to scrub their vehicle of the blood of wounded or dead friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The things that the soldiers go through here, the average American at that age with that kind of wisdom and experience and education isn't seeing what the soldiers here are seeing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You kind of have to grow up quicker.
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And coming up tonight-on CNN, join Rick Sanchez for "The Battle of Haifa Street." It is an up close look at urban combat. Could this be the turning point in the war in Iraq? "The Battle for Haifa Street" tonight 7:30 Eastern only on CNN.
HOLMES: A milestone in the war on terror, the first suspect facing U.S. charges of aiding the insurgency in Iraq. The 33-year-old man was born in Iran but naturalized as a Dutch citizen. He's accused of conspiring to kill U.S. citizens in Iraq. He must be tried in a Federal Court, not by a military commission. If convicted, he will serve his sentence in the Netherlands; he will not face the death sentence.
Meanwhile, bribery, bid rigging, conspiracy, allegations of contractor fraud in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism. The Associated Press says the army has opened as many as 50 criminal investigations of possible fraud. Contracts under scrutiny involve operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as Kuwait. A probe of reconstruction spending in Iraq already has led to four criminal convictions.
NGUYEN: Also overseas, Pakistan on high alert today. Now the alert prompted by two bombings this weekend alone. The death toll from yesterday's suicide bomb attack near a Shiite mosque has risen in the past hour to at least 16. Another 60 people were injured, many critically. Now they have gathered near a Shiite mosque to mark a Muslim holy day. This was the second attack in Pakistan in less than 24 hours. On Friday, a suicide bomber killed three people in Pakistan's capital.
Nancy Pelosi's trips to war zones now take her to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yesterday the house speaker met with Pakistan's president. Give you a picture that we are just getting in from Afghanistan where Pelosi met with Afghan leaders. Today the speaker also had breakfast with U.S. troops from her home state of California, and then she met with U.S. commanders. And we do want to give you a CNN program note now; America's soldiers are the focus of a special Anderson Cooper tomorrow night at 10:00. "The Toughest Battle Healing Heroes." A special "Anderson Cooper 360."
HOLMES: We know its just January of 2007, but, yes, can't help but talk presidential politics. That political trail just on fire already. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton spending the weekend in Iowa, but she's getting a much later start than many of her Democratic rivals. It was just a week ago that Clinton official jumped into the pre-race race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: I am in. I'm in to win. I'm going to do everything I can to meet as many people throughout Iowa as I can reach. I want to do this exactly along the lines that Iowa caucus goers have gotten accustomed to. I want to be in your living rooms, and in your church basements and your union halls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Mike Huckabee scheduled to speak in just a couple of hours at the Conservative Summit in Washington. The Summit hosted by the national review, the former Arkansas governor expected to set up his exploratory committee in motion as early as tomorrow to give a try and see if he wants to go ahead and run for president.
NGUYEN: All right. So we've been asking, what's the price of a presidential campaign these days? Millions, maybe even billions? CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider hits the money trail on the road to the White House. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): 2008 is likely to be the country's first billion dollar presidential campaign. That became clear when Hillary Clinton let it be known that she would forego public financing.
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: The system unfortunately is not working and it doesn't have the confidence of the taxpayers who do not check the box on their tax returns to make the contribution. So I opted out.
SCHNEIDER: Senator Clinton would be the first candidate to reject public money for both the primaries and the general election, if she gets the Democratic nomination. Why is she doing it? If Senator Clinton accepted public money, she would have to abide by spending limits. About $50 million in the primaries and about $80 million in the general election. Those limits have failed to keep pace with the costs of a presidential campaign.
You may not be able to win. She's also doing it because she can. Any candidate who expects to be taken seriously has to be able to raise $100 million this year, sort of an entry fee. Senator Clinton may be able to raise as much as $500 million if she's the Democratic nominee. So would her Republican opponent.
CLINTON: Thank you all.
SCHNEIDER: That's far more than the just over $100 million each would get under public financing.
LAWRENCE NOBLE, CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWYERS: If you sign up for the public system, public funding system, you obviously don't have the ability to raise private funds. You don't have the support out there; you're not going to be taken serious candidate.
SCHNEIDER: From now on, candidates who accept public financing will put themselves at a serious disadvantage. They won't be able to compete. Will voters resent that? Probably not.
NOBLE: When the first one, George Bush, forewent the public funding and nobody seemed to care, is it really opened up the door. So I don't think we're going to see any public outcry over it.
SCHNEIDER: Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're talking about something that would destroy huge chunks of a large city that would kill tens of thousands and perhaps millions of people.
NGUYEN: And quickly we are talking about cold war leftovers. Your tax dollars are helping Russia secure radioactive material used in nuclear weapons. We are going to tell how in ten minutes.
HOLMES: But first, new health concerns for Barbaro in three minutes. Find out what's causing the Kentucky Derby winner trouble now.
NGUYEN: And the search for Chris Gay stolen tour bus ends in the sunshine state. There's a story behind this one. You want those details next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We observed a prostitute get out of the bus. When the officer pulled up behind it the driver actually came out and wanted to know where the speedway was located.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTOPHER GAY: It's all a mistake. I was paid to drive it up here for someone.
NGUYEN: Right! Excuses now from the man accused of stealing Crystal Gayle's tour bus. Christopher Gay well he's an escaped convict. We will give him a chance though because Christopher Gay, though T.J. I must remind you that he does face grand theft auto charges although he was paid to drive that bus, after being arrested in Daytona Beach, Florida. Police say they approached the bus and then saw a prostitute get out. Gay was then arrested. Gayle's bus was taken from a garage in Nashville. She said she's not upset, calling it a sad story. Christopher Gay did escape from a prison transport last week. Here is a picture of him, and he was supposedly trying to get to his dying mother's house in Tennessee.
HOLMES: An update, it looks like there may be another setback in the recovery of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. The racehorse is again nursing that right hind leg he broke last year. Yesterday Barbaro had a custom-made cast removed and underwent a procedure on that leg.
JIM HAMM, SURVIVED MOUNTAIN LION ATTACK: We were about a quarter mile from the parkway when it attacked me. From then on it was about a four to five-minute fight.
HOLMES: A fight with a mountain lion that attacked him. That's Jim Hamm speaking now for the first time since he was mauled by a mountain lion in northern California. He credits his wife for saving his life. She fought off the big cat with a tree limb. Game wardens believe they have killed that mountain lion that attacked him.
NGUYEN: Well, the Royals are heading to church. Oh, yes, Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are due to attend church service this morning in Philadelphia. Then they will head to New York City so that the prince can collect an environmental award.
Now to a man with plenty of awards.
HOLMES: Yes. Of course, how are you doing?
NGUYEN: We're not even going to name him.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm doing fine. I'm always on edge wondering what in the world you guys are going to say before you come to weather.
HOLMES: We were trying to come up with all of those awards.
NGUYEN: Your wife has one for you and it's not a good one after what you said earlier.
WOLF: I can only imagine. We've got a great weather day for you if you don't mind the snowfall you are gong to have in parts of the Great Lakes. In fact, Detroit you can see about 1 to 3 inches of snowfall for today. In other spots it could be heavy over Cleveland. Here is a wonderful shot we have compliments of WDIV, this shot is actually taken from Windsor, Canada, looking across the Detroit River into downtown Detroit. On the right-hand side you have the GM Headquarters, then you have in the middle of the screen the Joe Lewis Arena. You can tell I've spent some time in good old Detroit.
Mean while the nation's capital is looking pretty good today. Not as pretty as yesterday where you had the sunshine, you're expecting a chance of scattered showers, possibly snow a little later. A live image of Washington, D.C., we have several for you. One that we have shows the gray skies, flags moving, a breeze expected throughout the day.
Back to the weather maps we go, up into New York we'll see sun mixed in with clouds. Later on today possibly showers and maybe even some snowflakes. Live images from New York City show the gray skies you can anticipate there. Meanwhile, as we make our way across the center of the U.S., a mix of sunshine and clouds. Out to the west coast, San Francisco, rain possible for you. Also Alcatraz Island, pretty much the same deal in Oakland, and in Los Angeles some scattered showers and the high elevations near the Lake Tahoe though, snow, snow, snow, which is wonderful news for the skiers.
That is your forecast across the nation. Lets sent it back to you.
NGUYEN: We like good news. Thank you Reynolds.
HOLMES: Thank you.
Becoming a father doesn't necessarily being an end to being cool or in style.
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: Especially in your name is Brad Pitt.
NGUYEN: Can't we put up a picture or something? There you go.
HOLMES: Or David Beckham who happens to be --
NGUYEN: Or Will Smith.
HOLMES: There's Will Smith. These are exceptions, of course. You, too, can be cool.
NGUYEN: That is true because one author is even coining a new term for this new generation of fathers. It's called alterna-dad. Find out if your one of them. When we speak with Neal Pollack coming up at 9:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Becoming up here in less than five minutes, tens of millions of American tax dollars being spent on a security project in Russia. We'll tell you why, next.
But first, we have a preview of today's "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks T.J.
We have a great show coming up this morning. We're looking at how toxic the world is that we live in. Toxins are in the air, in what we eat, even in what we wear. The key is, which ones are harmful? That's coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What do you get when you fuse martial arts --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then scoop with the pelvis, rolling the head forward --
COSTELLO: And ancient and modern yoga techniques? Add medication and you have Budacon, which translated from Japanese means way of the spiritual warrior.
MAURA BARCLAY, BUDOKON INSTRUCTOR: Then we move into the more rigorous Budo, where we do the kicking and the punching. A lot of ground fighting, which is tremendous for women particularly because that's where we're the strongest are on the ground.
COSTELLO: Master Cameron Shane a multiple black belt created Budokon and said it's the art of living, the way your body moves influences the way you live your life. Barclay says it's the ultimate total-body fitness.
BARCLAY: When you practice with your mind involved, the body gets sculpted and you get an incredible abdominal cavity because it takes so much work. It's very core centric, all the kicking and punching firms the legs and the buns, everything. You can expect your body to completely transform.
COSTELLO: Shane has taught Budokon to celebrities such as Jennifer Anniston and Courtney Cox. The goal is improve and strengthen the mind and body.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's amazing workout. Your mind feels so clear after you're done. It's incredible.
COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to take a lot for the Iraqi prime minister to prove that his government is really one of national unity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a difficult road ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iraq consumes the agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being president is often very different than running for president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What people are seeing is reminiscent of the Civil War.
HOLMES: CNN correspondents discuss the U.S. troops surge plan for Iraq and change in command, plus a look at the 2008 presidential field. Tom Foreman hosts "This Week at War" that is coming your way at 1:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Now for a CNN "Security Watch" nuclear bomb materials are on the move in Europe. It is a top-secret trip that is part of a joint effort to secure enriched uranium and keep it out of the hands of terrorists. CNN's Kelly Arena has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eastern Germany in the dead of night, unmarked cargo is loaded on to a truck to be air- shipped to Russia. Nearly 600 pounds of one of the most lethal materials on Earth, highly enriched uranium, enough to make ten nuclear bombs.
LINTON BROOKS, FMR. NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMIN: It's particularly suited for the crudest and simplest type of weapons so it's a particular attraction of the terrorists.
ARENA: The operation between Germany, Russia, and the United States was top-secret. The transfer is a high point for the U.S. program to secure the world's nuclear materials, which has been harshly criticized by some for not moving fast enough.
LAURA HOLGATE, NUCLEAR THREAT INITIATIVE: We don't have enough partners. There's roles to play for a number of countries who have nuclear capabilities or resources.
ARENA: This latest haul was taken from a research facility in what used to be East Germany to secure storage in Russia, upgraded with tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. It's a worthwhile investment, say officials if it helps prevent terrorists from getting a nightmare weapon.
HOLGATE: We're talking about something that would destroy huge chunks of a large city that would kill tens of thousands and perhaps millions of people.
ARENA: The plan now is to mix the uranium with other materials so it's no longer weapons grade. To date, more than 1,000 pounds of weapons-grade uranium has been returned to Russia, but there's still much more out there.
HOLGATE: The scope of this problem is huge. The U.S. and the Soviets in the '60s and '70s put out something like 50 metric tons of uranium.
ARENA: Uranium that countries have to be willing to give up. Not all of them are.
BROOKS: We're primarily limited by the fact that these are all cooperative. That is, you have to go convince people that they want to reduce the risk, and different countries have different senses of the terrorist risk.
ARENA: Then there's small amounts of uranium that have been stolen. No intelligence suggests it's enough to make a weapon, but as one official put it, you don't know what you don't know. What we do know is that another 600 pounds of it is now out of circulation. One step in the battle to secure the world's nuclear material.
Kelly Arena, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: You definitely want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
HOLMES: The hidden toxins in your body. "House Call" takes a look at what the environment might be leaving in that body of yours. That is coming up next.
NGUYEN: And America's new breed of dads. Yes, they care about video games, music, and, of course, their kids, too. Now they've got a new label called and alternadads. Are you one? We are going to with the author who coined that term at the top of the hour.
HOLMES: Then at 10:00 Eastern, of course its "Reliable Sources," and Howard Kurtz will be taking on the controversy surrounding the graze anatomy cast. You probably heard about that one. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
