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CNN Sunday Morning

Ordinary Americans Make a Difference; American Terrorist Suspect Extradited From Britain

Aired May 27, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Ordinary Americans helping the war wounded and their families. We'll show you how you can easily make a difference on this Memorial Day weekend.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: The click of a mouse.

HOLMES: Very simple. It doesn't take long at all. We'll explain that to you, but good morning in the meantime from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm T.J. Holmes.

LONG: And good morning. I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty.

It's 8 a.m. here on the East Coast, 4 o'clock in the afternoon in Baghdad, and thank you for spending part of your holiday weekend with us. We appreciate it.

And also ahead this morning, amazing stories of strength and survival from U.S. servicemen and women.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings us some of those stories from the front line.

HOLMES: An American citizen accused of supporting al Qaeda is back in the U.S. to face charges. Syed Hashmi is the first terror suspect extradited to the U.S. by British authorities.

Authorities say Hashmi conspired to provide military gear to al Qaeda forces fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He's scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in federal court in New York.

LONG: A drop in violence in a notorious Iraqi province is raising hopes in the fight against al Qaeda.

HOLMES: And U.S. and Iraqi officials say the gains in Anbar province could set an example for other areas of Iraq.

The story now from senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, AL-QAIM, IRAQ (voice-over): Hugs and handshakes as al-Anbar province's top politician arrives in al-Qaim, a remote town on the Syrian border.

U.S. Marines have brought him here to rally local leaders, take advantage of a drop in violence.

MAADON SAMI RASHEED AL-AWANI, GOVERNOR OF AL-ANBAR PROVINCE: My message is to continue to control that security situation and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cities.

NIC: What's happening here could be a model for defeating the insurgency in other provinces of Iraq.

JAMES SOIRIANO, PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAM: A meeting such as this could probably not have taken place as recently as two months ago.

The insurgency in Anbar province is on the verge of collapse.

NIC: Al Qaeda on the verge of collapse in al-Anbar? A big change from just last year, when al Qaeda-fueled violence made this province one of the most dangerous in Iraq -- so bad, Governor al- Awani was actually forced to flee.

Al Qaeda fighters tried to assert control, but tribal sheikhs, fed up with intimidation and murder, turned on al Qaeda, creating surprising security across most of this province.

LT. COL. JASON BOHM, U.S. MARINES: The tribal sheikhs have been absolutely critical. That was the turning point in al-Qaim region.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Attacks against the Marines are going down, from about 120 a week last year, to about 20 a week now. And the Marines say it's getting much easier to spot the roadside bombs, because the insurgents are rushing, they're not so experienced, they don't have a lot of time to lay them.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): By opening schools and health clinics on the visit, Governor al-Awani tries to show remote towns like al-Qaim, that central government in Baghdad cares and is spending real money on them.

Al-Awani's help is critical to U.S. efforts to stabilize al-Anbar province, boost the economy, to defeat the insurgents.

BOHM: The more economic growth that we have in the area, the greater stability and the greater security that we experience, because that has taken the people, which is the source of power of the insurgency, away.

NIC: It won't be easy. By far, the governor's hardest sell -- the newly empowered sheikhs who want compensation for war damage.

But everyone is talking. That's better than it was a year ago.

Nic Robertson, CNN, al-Qaim, Iraq.

(END VIDEO)

LONG: A somber milestone in Iraq, 101 U.S. troops have been killed during the month of May. The military yesterday announced the deaths of eight more troops across Iraq. Three soldiers were killed in an explosion in Salaheddin province, three more died in roadside bombings around Baghdad, a Marine was killed in Anbar province, and a soldier was killed in an ambush near Taji.

More than two weeks of searching, still no sign of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq. They were taken during a May 12th ambush of their observation post.

The U.S. military says it is holding 16 people directly related to the attack. The body of a third missing soldier was pulled from the Euphrates River on Wednesday. Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed in that attack.

HOLMES: Rolling Thunder rolls into Washington. And it's filling the air with the rumble of thousands of motorcycles. The group holds its 20th annual Ride for Freedom rally today.

Thousands of biking vets will parade from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and some of them will drop by the White House for a visit with President Bush.

This is last night's dress rehearsal for the National Memorial Day Concert. The real deal starts tonight at 8:00 Eastern on the west lawn of the Capitol.

Gospel singer, CeCe Winans and country singer, Josh Turner, among the evening's performers.

Also, raising money for wounded soldiers. The CNN Hummer, known as Warrior One, now on a national tour to do just that.

LONG: And telling us more about that, our own Bonnie Schneider, who is standing alongside Warrior One. You were taking a ride in it earlier.

She's live from Chagrin Falls. Good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST, CHAGRIN FALLS, OHIO: Good morning, Melissa and T.J.

We are here in Chagrin Falls at the Chagrin Valley J.C. Blossom Time Festival, day two. A big turnout yesterday. I'm sure, now that we have clear skies, we'll get a lot more people there today, as well.

The reason we're here is that the CNN Warrior One is actually touring the country as part of RE/MAX's Tour for our Troops. They're raising money for severely wounded veterans and their families to help them kind of get back into their daily lives with rehab, education, transportation and housing. So, it's a great cause.

It's a four-year program that's awarded as a scholarship to those families. And everybody's that been coming to the CNN Warrior One has been actually donating money for that cause.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SCHNEIDER: Joining me now is Lieutenant Colonel Bob Bateman. And you're a career Army officer. You've been driving one of these, I guess, many times in Iraq?

LT. COL. BOB BATEMAN, U.S. ARMY: Yes. I've driven them. I've commanded them and have driven them. I've commanded the mechanics that fixed them.

And I can tell you, just looking at this engine, my mechanics would do back flips, if they had access to machinery like this.

SCHNEIDER: You know, this vehicle came under heavy fire in April of 2003, and it literally had to be towed and pushed and pulled from Baghdad back to Kuwait.

And it made it, and then it was overhauled in the summer of last summer, 2006, by "TLC's Overhaulin'" crew. And they put in this new engine.

So, can you tell us about how this does compare to what you're used to.

BATEMAN: Yes. Well, I haven't driven this, so I can't tell you how good the pickup is. But we use a diesel engine. And the diesel engine -- the pickup on that, the rate of acceleration is not so great.

This looks a little bit more powerful than that.

SCHNEIDER: It does. It looks really powerful.

And another question I wanted to ask you is -- here I am sitting in the vehicle now -- and how difficult would this be here? What does it feel like when you're driving it?

BATEMAN: Steering it, I mean, it's obviously a very wide vehicle. And you have to get used to how wide it is. It's one of the problems when our new privates get their license for the first time.

This is not mom's Prius.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, exactly. It's not like driving a regular car.

You said it's really hard to control. It wobbles a lot.

BATEMAN: It can be hard to control. But the biggest thing is, with a heavy vehicle, the possibility of rolling, especially when we have up-armored vehicles.

Even as wide as it is, if you get enough weight up top, you can still tip it over.

SCHNEIDER: Wow. It's a lot harder than it looks, which does not surprise me.

Thank you so much for joining us ...

BATEMAN: My pleasure.

SCHNEIDER: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at the Pentagon and a Chagrin Falls native that happened to come and join us for this segment. We're really pleased.

Thank you so much. Let's go back to T.J. and Melissa.

LONG: Thanks so much. I know it's a big festival, some 50,000 people expected to turn out there for the Blossom Festival, not only, of course, to see Warrior One, but enjoy festivities over the weekend.

HOLMES: And I doubt if they're going to let Bonnie drive that vehicle.

LONG: Have you seen her driving record? Is that why you doubt it?

HOLMES: Well, no. She's just a little lady, and that's a big old truck.

LONG: I've got it. OK.

Well, Bonnie, of course, our meteorologist. And we're going to talk a little bit now about the part of Texas that was really hard hit, the central part of the state. And more severe weather is actually expected there today.

HOLMES: The biggest fear right now is more flooding. Six deaths already blamed on the flooding, most of those from cars being swept off the road.

Parts of central Texas also hit by tornadoes. People cleaning up this morning in Killeen, Texas. About six people suffered minor injuries in the tornadoes there, and about 100 structures were damaged.

LONG: The man we came to know in the aftermath of the Greensburg, Kansas, tornado is calling it quits.

Greensburg mayor, Lonnie McCollum, says he's just not the right man to handle the massive rebuilding project. Instead, he wants to spend time with his family.

But the city council hasn't accepted his resignation. Almost every home and building in Greensburg was damaged by that tornado a little earlier in the month.

HOLMES: We want to give you a live look now of where we sit here in Atlanta, Georgia. That haze over the city. It looks like the city by the bay, almost, with all the fog.

But no, this is smoke that has headed our way here in Atlanta from those fires going on in southern Georgia, also north Florida. Some half-a-million acres that have burned down there so far. And last week, we started getting some of this haze, some of the smoke heading up our way, because of the wind. And sure enough, we've got another morning of it right now. This fire has been going, some of them, as much as a month or so down there, still trying to get those under control.

But that smoke has headed our way. And that's what it looks like for us, here in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, we've got a quick update on those wayward whales in the Sacramento River we've been following. Take a look now.

We've got a new iReport, sent in from Ed Truthan, shot near Rio Vista, California. The video shows marine biologists shooting antibiotic-filled needles into the whales.

The whales' health not so good right now. Wounds caused by a ship's propeller getting worse, and being stuck in fresh water is not helping this situation one bit.

LONG: Poor whales. We'll keep you posted. And again, they may move, perhaps on Tuesday.

Now, in trouble with the law. Tabloid target Lindsay Lohan is facing some charges this morning. We'll tell you what's going on.

HOLMES: Also ahead, I know you're getting tired of hearing about -- gas prices.

What's causing them to keep climbing? The search for answers is coming up after this break.

LONG: And later, battered women get a new life. The mission of mercy is the work of one woman. You're going to see her story on our "CNN Heroes" series.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, millions of folks hitting the roads this weekend, and that means police, certainly, will be out, too. And one group has made it their business to keep track of traps -- speed traps.

And here is their top five list for the holidays this summer. Detroit takes first spot for speed traps. Then comes Colorado Springs, Colorado. Houston, number three on that list, Orlando, Florida, number four. And Nashville rounds out the top five.

LONG: Gas prices -- guess what. They've edged down a fraction after 12 days of record highs. But we're really only talking about a drop of about two cents, 0.2 cents.

Everybody, of course, is still talking about this. So, what is the deal with the high prices?

Tom Foreman went in search of some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON (voice-over): Americans burned 385 million gallons of gas just today. At current prices, that's $1.25 billion worth.

But try to find one driver who can tell you why prices have risen so steeply.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. It's confusing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really have a good answer to that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems a little outrageous that the prices are that high.

FOREMAN: High crude oil prices alone are not at fault. A year ago, crude was close to the price it is now, and a gallon of gas was under $3.

Now it's around $3.20.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK: The cost of distribution has remained roughly the same. Taxes have remained roughly the same. So, the culprit has got to be refining.

We're paying more to refine gas from oil than we've ever paid before.

FOREMAN: Oil industry analysts say some spectacular refinery fires have knocked out a few facilities. And more importantly, ever since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, maintenance crews have been struggling to keep refineries producing.

So when the short supply from refineries hit the high demand of spring travelers, this is the result.

Some consumer advocates say the oil companies, with their record profits, should have seen this coming.

BRAD PROCTOR, GASPRICEWATCH.COM: Let's start taking some of those profits and pushing them into the refinery system, so that we can be more efficient in terms of what we're able to convert, because that's their job.

FOREMAN: No new refinery has been built in America in 30 years. The oil companies have always said that's because it's costly, difficult work, and so many communities and politicians don't want the projects in their neighborhoods.

The companies could probably overcome that.

PROCTOR: But you know what? There's no incentive for them to do that, because, again, the end result would just be cheaper product to the consumer out there.

FOREMAN: All of us, as consumers, bear some of the blame. We're still driving as much as we ever have. And each time gas prices rise we complain, but we fill up just the same.

And as long as that goes on, consumer advocates say, keeping oil companies honest about their responsibility for refinery capacity will be difficult, even way down the road.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO)

LONG: Now a scandal on an elite college campus in California.

HOLMES: Yes. School officials at Stanford University say they have discovered a second impostor -- somebody posing as a student. And this latest case -- it's also one of you girls -- it's another woman.

LONG: She has been kicked off the campus, one the girls, as you say, where she reportedly used computers, attended seminars, sometimes even spent the evening.

Days earlier, Stanford revealed that a California teenager had conned the students and lived on campus for about eight months.

HOLMES: Wow. All right.

Also, in trouble with the law. Twenty-year-old actress, Lindsay Lohan -- 20? She's just 20?

LONG: Yes, she's a baby.

HOLMES: It took me years to get in all this kind of trouble.

Well, police in Beverly Hills have arrested her for investigation of drunk driving. No, I've never gotten in any trouble for that, though. Need to clear that up.

She was slightly injured when her Mercedes struck a curb on Sunset Boulevard. Police also say a search of the car turned up a drug tentatively identified as cocaine.

Yesterday's crash was Lohan's third accident in about two years.

LONG: And to think she's not even 21 yet.

HOLMES: Not even 21.

LONG: All right. Here's what's coming up.

Making it all count this Memorial Day weekend. How you can be a hero to wounded veterans and their families.

We're going to show you how next from the dot-com desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, the hero miles program, a great way for ordinary folks to help the families of wounded veterans.

LONG: And Veronica De La Cruz is here to explain exactly how it works and how simple it is.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOT-COM DESK, CNN CENTER, ATLANTA: Well, we've got a challenge for all of you out there this holiday weekend, for you and you and, again, for all of you out there.

We're asking you to take those unused frequent flyer miles and donate them to the Fisher House. And check this out. The airlines have agreed to match your contribution, so every donation will be doubled.

Now, the program has been a real godsend with thousands of military families, allowing them free airfare to be with their loved ones. To-date, nearly 10,000 tickets have been provided, and those tickets are valued at more than $12 million.

On average, the program saves a veteran's family about $1,300 a ticket.

It is so easy to give your miles to a family that really needs them, and it only takes a second.

All you do is log on to CNN.com/cominghome. You scroll down to the area that says "Fisher House hero miles." And that link will take you to a page with all the airlines, and there you can donate, with just a click.

Also on the coming home page, you'll find lots of moving tributes to the troops. All of your iReports have been set up in a blog format. And we're inviting you to post your own comments and your stories. You can also read what others have been writing, as well.

Again, you can find it all online. It is at CNN.com/cominghome. And those blogs are really interesting. We're really asking people to come and share their thoughts. And we've kind of set up this online community, if you will.

LONG: And again, coming home is a great Web site.

DE LA CRUZ: CNN.com/cominghome is the site.

HOLMES: Veronica, thank you so much for all that this weekend.

DE LA CRUZ: Of course.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, we're talking about a way out. Continuing with our CNN Hero segment, today's hero a woman who is giving women who live with violence a new way of life.

We're going to meet her next on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

LONG: A real hero.

And life gets more difficult for troops who survive the war with severe injuries. On today's HOUSE CALL, how wounded spirits are being healed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, there are people working hard to make this world a better place.

LONG: There are really inspirational people. And actually, in a year-long project, we're bringing you some of the stories. And we call them our "CNN Hero.

HOLMES: Listen now as an ordinary woman in Mexico tells us what she's doing to fight violence against women there.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more time, looking at me.

LYDIA CACHO RIBEIRO, HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Mexico is a macho country. And if you understand that, then you understand everything else. It's a cultural thing.

Owning (ph) your wife and your kids is a cultural issue. And we are working on changing cultural views. And that takes a long, long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice of interpreter): I'd come home from work and he'd say, "Didn't I tell you to come at a certain time?"

And he would slap me or kick me. He even did it in front of the children.

RIBEIRO: The network that is helping women be rescued from violence and even from death, it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's our institution.

We are -- there are friends of sisters, their mothers. We are here to tell them that they are not alone.

My name is Lydia Cacho Ribeiro. I am a human rights advocate.

We created a shelter for battered women, and this shelter is a high security shelter.

When a woman comes to the center, we give them free services, social work, medical services, psychological help. They get trained for work. And the kids go to school.

They are rebuilding their own lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice of interpreter): They rescued me from what I was living. She has done so much for me -- after I had given up on myself.

RIBEIRO: We just decided that there was something needed that was far beyond talking about violence and other things. We had to do something about it. We have succeeded last year. The local congress passed a law in which violence against women is a crime.

It saddens me that it is seen as an extraordinary task, because I believe that everybody else could do the same thing, and Mexico would be very different.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: Lydia is a hero, and there's a lot more about the CNN heroes program on our Web site, CNN.com. You can also nominate your hero for a special recognition a little later in the year. You will find it all online, all the information you need, CNN.com/heroes.

HOLMES: Well, CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues at 9:00. Coming up, celebration marred as we prepare to honor our fallen heroes. American flag stolen and burned. The search now for the people responsible.

LONG: But first, "HOUSE CALL" with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That program starts right now.

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