Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Freed American Hiker Heads Home; Bermuda Feels Igor's Winds; Political Debate Over Extension of Tax Cuts Often Misunderstood; Fantasy Football Leagues Captivate Fans

Aired September 19, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Police in California are searching for 13 people they say left behind letters suggesting they would commit mass suicide. And most of the missing are children.

Also this morning, Christine O'Donnell cancels. The "tea party" darling of Delaware backed out of two Sunday morning talk-show interviews. And this comes after a video surfaces from 11 years ago where she claims she - quote - "dabbled in witchcraft."

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Six a.m. where I sit here in Atlanta; 1 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Welcome to you all. And a special welcome to our troops watching on the Armed Forces Network in Iraq, Afghanistan, around the world. Glad you're here and glad you do what you do.

Also coming up over the next 90 minutes, honoring an American service member from a secret war. His act of selfless courage saved the lives of two comrades, cost him his life. Now, the nation will honor him with its most prestigious medal.

Also, what is wrong with this picture? It's a gathering of world leaders. But something's a little off in this photo. We'll show you the close-up and tell you why it's raising eyebrows in Egypt.

Also, the growing popularity of fantasy football. Yes, it's a money-making venture that's getting bigger and bigger. Going to tell you about the bold lengths some people are going to in order to play the game.

But let's start with Sarah Shourd, the American held in Iran for more than a year. She's coming home this morning. She was released on Tuesday; she and her two hiking companions who were detained after allegedly straying into Iran from northern Iraq in July of last year. Iran had demanded a $500,000 bail before releasing her from the jail in Tehran.

On Tuesday, she flew to Oman. Oman helped secure her release. She's expected to arrive in New York within the next couple of hours.

Our Susan Candiotti is in New York for us. Susan, good morning to you. And it seems Sarah already has an itinerary set for her when she gets back.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI. CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, that's right. She'll be busy with a news conference, or at least reading from a prepared statement when she gets back. And of course, we'll all looking forward to hearing that.

But, you know, T.J., you can certainly be sure that this will be a day of mixed emotions for Sarah Shourd. Of course, she will be thrilled to be setting foot on U.S. soil for the first time in more than 13 months. But after all, she is leaving behind her two friends, including her fiance, Shane Bauer, to whom she became engaged while she was in prison in Iran, as well as her other friend, Josh Fattal.

Of course, they (ph) were released from Iran and arrived in Oman earlier this week. On Tuesday, she was met by her mom and her uncle at the time. And this followed secret negotiations that took place, our senior correspondent Nic Robertson has learned.

They began about eight months ago. And at first, he said he learned from Omani ministers that there was some confusion on the - from the White House end of things because they weren't clear and were moving on several different tracks about how to try to release her.

But then, we have learned that President Barack Obama got directly involved, and that got things moving. There also was a direct line between Oman and Iran's President Ahmadinejad.

So finally, when she was released, Sarah spoke briefly, as we said. She didn't stray from her statement that she had prepared. But she did offer this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHROUD, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: I will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom, the sweet smell of sandalwood and the chance to stand by the ocean listening to the waves.

I thank the good, hospitable people of Oman for your support and ask you to please, please extend your prayers to my fiance, Shane, and my friend Josh. Inshallah, they will soon be freed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: And in Arabic, "Inshallah" means, "God willing, they will be freed."

Of course, one of the many questions we have, T.J., is, as we know, freedom came with a price: a half million dollars in bail money was posted and paid by the government of Oman. We still don't know exactly where that money came from.

Back to you, T.J. HOLMES: Well, still a lot of questions to be answered. Maybe we'll get some more when she gets back to the U.S. for the first time, like you said, since this whole ordeal.

Susan, I know you are on it. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning. Again, expecting her back here in the U.S. in the next couple of hours.

We'll turn now to Pope Benedict XVI. He is wrapping up a four-day trip to Britain today. This is his last official event, taking place -- here. You're seeing this. This is a live picture. He is in Birmingham. This is Kaufman (ph) Park, where is having another Mass, an open-air Mass. We saw some of these pictures.

And another great turnout for the pope. He had another ceremony yesterday, a prayer vigil last night, where some 80,000 people were estimated to show up.

This trip has been marked by, yes, some controversy, as always, and protests. People have been protesting the way, of course, the Catholic Church has handled the sex-abuse scandal. And again, this is a - a country, or the U.K., only 10 percent Catholics in that country. Some thought maybe he couldn't pull big crowds. But, in fact, it's - he has, given some of the pictures we are seeing.

But this ceremony in particular is a beatification Mass for an English cardinal, John Henry Newman. We're going to be talking more about that particular cardinal throughout the morning.

But the pope yesterday addressed the issue of the sex-abuse scandals at Westminster Cathedral.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI: (INAUDIBLE) I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the church and by her ministers. Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, part of the pope's trip kind of overshadowed by the arrest of six men who are suspected an attack. They were arrested but not charged and have already been released.

They were arrested on Friday. Police searched homes and business, found nothing suspicious. So the men were allowed to go. A Vatican spokesman said the pope and his representatives were at no point concerned and didn't change the pope's schedule.

Let's turn now to the storm - Igor. We've been talking about this, this large and dangerous storm. That is how the National Hurricane Center is describing it. Hurricane Igor now - as the Category 1 storm bears down on the resort island of Bermuda. Forecasters expect Igor to keep its current strength and slam ashore sometime later today or early tomorrow morning.

Our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is live for us in Bermuda.

Is it coming? Can you tell it's coming, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'll - I'll tell you, T.J., last night we could feel just the very beginning of it. We were getting a few of the outer feeder bands that - that actually are moving through the area, giving us some light rain drops.

Now it's picking up in earnest. We're getting some tropical- storm-force winds. Some occasional gusts have been a little bit stronger.

There - there has been some good news with this storm, and that's something that you mentioned right off the top, that it has been weakening. It is only a Category 1 storm. There's been a little bit of dry air moving into the western half of this storm. The eyewall, it's impossible to see at this point. But it may be going through a reformation process. So that's something we got to watch very carefully.

In term - and you see these - the imagery right there.

In terms of the overall strength of this, it is weak. But here is the bad news: The bad news is that this storm is much bigger and it is moving at a slower rate than Fabian back in 2003. So because it's moving at a slower rate, that means that Bermuda is going to be exposed to these tropical-storm-force winds, hurricane-force gusts for well over 24 hours.

That is the problem, to have that kind of enduring storm and subjecting - those kind of winds can cause widespread damage across this island.

Yesterday, we had the entire opportunity to speak with the Labour - with - I'm sorry, David Burch yesterday, the minister here in Bermuda. And I'm telling you, there is a sense of confidence. He says they are definitely prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BURCH, BERMUDA'S MINISTER OF LABOUR: We're ready. I'm very pleased to say that, you know, we are taking seriously. And we don't normally, because we get threats of hurricanes all the time. But we are - emergency measures organization that's well-geared-up for this. And I'm pleased to say that people are taking it seriously, and they're prepared for it.

We'll suffer some damage; no doubt about it. This is probably the biggest storm we will have had in about 23 years, probably (INAUDIBLE) - a little stronger than Fabian even, which was seven years ago. But people are prepared, and we build for hurricanes. So I'm not at all concerned about damage or loss of life, if people do what they're supposed to do and - and - and people do what they're prepared to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF: So T.J., let's simply this. What is that going to mean for this island, seeing this storm come closer?

Well, what it's going to mean is we're going to have some flooding. We're going to have some monstrous waves. We're going to have some tree damage, some roof damage, widespread power outages. That's just typical when these storms come calling, especially a storm lasting this long, moving through an island this small.

T.J., let's kick it back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you. We know you're on the story. We'll continue to check in with Reynolds throughout the day. Thanks so much, buddy.

Want to turn now to a disturbing story out of California. Officials there say 13 people are missing and they fear they may be on a suicide-pact mission. Eight children are among those missing.

This group is from Palmdale. Two husbands of the missing alerted police. The children are from ages 3 to 17 years old. Authorities say the group left behind notes indicating plans to commit mass suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WHITMORE, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT." There were notes. Oh, "We're going to go meet Jesus." As you said, "We're going to meet relatives, who are deceased. Looking forward to it."

There was personal belongings. There were deeds to home. There was cash. There was items that would lead to believe that somebody is leaving it behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, again, this is still a developing story. We are on top of it. We'll pass along the updates as we get them.

Also want to turn to Texas now, West Texas, where a near-daylong police standoff is over. This man surrendered - 55-year-old man, saying - quote - "he lived off the grid (ph)," according to police. Authorities say Victor White faces now two counts of attempted capital murder in the shooting of two sheriff's deputies and a civilian on Friday. Police say the well-armed suspect hold up in his trailer after the shootings. He kept officers at bay for about a day.

Around 2:00 though, yesterday, he gave up and set fire to his residence. He's now in custody, being treated for burns. All three gunshot victims are expected to survive.

Well, tax cuts are on the table. Who gets them, who gets left out and who's getting really worked up in the process. Also, a Senate candidate said awhile ago - what she said awhile ago about witchcraft and satanic rituals is making a Delaware race even more interesting.

It's 11 past the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, about a quarter past the hour here now.

Lawmakers are taking to the Sunday political talk shows today. You'll see them out and about plenty today. They're going to be talking about your money, talking about the battle over tax cuts you've been hearing so much about.

But I wonder this morning, Josh, how much in some of the conversations we hear this morning on Sunday talk, if they're actually going to be talking American people...

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I know.

HOLMES: ...and the actual people out there, you know, working, or just going at it once again.

LEVS: And that's the thing that drives me crazy about so many of these debates, right? Is that you see people on both sides. There's lots of arguing and yelling. And sometimes, it's not going to impact you at all, because nothing actually gets done.

But in a case like this, in this specific debate, it actually will impact every American, what ends up here. Everyone. Even if you're in the income that doesn't pay taxes. And I'll - I'll show you why in a second.

First, let's start off with the big picture. I want to give you some sound from each side.

Here's one thing the president said a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, once again, the leaders across the aisle are saying no. They want to hold these middle-class tax cuts hostage until they get an additional tax cut for the wealthiest two percent of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: But this debate is not just happening across the aisle. This debate is also with fellow Democrats. And there are 31 Democrats who have signed a letter now opposing the president's plan, which involves the - dropping the tax cuts for those couples making more than $250,000 a year.

We have a graphic of four lawmakers who authored this letter, this 31 who signed on to it. You're looking there. Representatives Jim Matheson, Melissa Bean, Glenn Nye, Gary Peters.

Peters joined us on "AMERICAN MORNING" and late out his position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. GARY PETERS (D), MICHIGAN: Folks in the higher-income brackets account for a large percentage of consumer spending. Seventy percent of the economy is consumer spending. Right now, demand is still very soft on the consumer side. We want to make sure consumers are still out there spending, creating demand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right. So that's why he's saying that he thinks the tax cuts should stay in place for couples making more than $250,000 a year.

And that's the big question here.

So what we did is, we have pulled up a few examples, using these friendly neighborhood avatars that we like to revisit from time to time, using something called the Tax Policy Center's tax calculator.

So we looked at a couple making $57,000 a year. And the reason is, this is what the Tax Policy Center is - says is exactly in the middle in America. So you can think about, if you're a couple, what your income is as a couple. They say this is the middle.

And if right now this couple is paying about $3,500 in taxes, if the tax cuts currently in place from the Bush era were to go away, they'd be paying $2,000 more every year in taxes. But neither side wants to drop those tax cuts for this couple, because they're in the realm that Democrats and Republicans both want to leave tax cuts for.

Now, let's go up to over $250,000. This is where the president wants to drop those tax cuts. According to our calculations, if this couple makes a lot of money, $396,000, paying taxes of about $102,000, they would go up about $6,000 under the president's plan.

And let's just jump over to, if they're millionaires here - because this is what we hear a lot about. If you're making a lot of money, they have $1,750,000 a year, their taxes up at $573,000. You would add another $70,000 to their taxes every year.

Now, you can check all of this out at taxpolicycenter.org. Plug in the numbers for yourself.

But T.J., this is why we can see that in the end, this really will impact every American. They're going to have to do something to extend the tax cuts, even for the couples under 250. And then above that, we'll see what ultimately shakes out, if they even get to a vote for the election in November.

HOLMES: Well, hey, and what better place to reach a compromise than on Sunday morning talk shows?

LEVS: Oh I know.

HOLMES: It ought to be good this morning.

LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) in America. HOLMES: Josh, thank you.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: Well, 18 past the hour.

Coming up, we all know it's football season. The battle goes on on the field, of course. But ooh, what about the battle happening in bars, in homes and in offices around the country? Millions of you out there taking notes. You're adding up statistics. This is the real world of fantasy football. And there's a lot of money involved.

We're taking a look. Stay with us.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right.

Productivity around the offices are going down. It's just going down right now. Why? Because it's football season. Not because the guys in the offices you walk past - not that they're watching football during the day. They are performing the task of being scout, general manager and team owner in their fantasy-football world.

And their skills and their knowledge of the game are on the line here. The drafts now are over; the season has begun. Your dream team is assembled. Now let's look at why this has become an $800 million phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): It's the start of pro-football season. That means tailgating, wearing your team colors and getting loud. Really loud.

(CHEERING)

HOLMES: But this group is doing more than cheering for their teams. They're here to make their football fantasy a reality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Can I have your numbers back, please?

HOLMES: Fantasy football has become a popular pastime around the nation. Basically, participants pick players in the NFL to build their dream team. Scores are based not on team wins, but on player stats. And for some fantasy fanatics, the stat-counting can take over their entire daily lives.

JONATHAN SANDERS, FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE OWNER: My girlfriend is going to very upset for about four months, because I completely consume myself with it. I do nothing but look at the stats, deal with the stats, just constantly online. HOLMES: That kind of dedication makes fantasy football also good business. So much so that hobbyist-turned-entrepreneur Whit Walters, along with a colleague, quit his day job in 1996 to start an online site dedicated entirely to fantasy football.

WHIT WALTERS, CO-FOUNDER, THEHUDDLE.COM: There wasn't really anything out there much at that time. So we thought it would be a good time to - to do that. And so in 97, we launched the site thehuddle.com. And from there, it just kind of took off.

HOLMES: Sports websites, magazines and social-networking sites like Facebook have also hyped the popularity of fantasy football. And now, cell-phone apps make it easier to manage states.

From 2003 to 2008, fantasy-football players in the US and Canada doubled, from $15 million to $30 million, with the average player being in two to three different leagues. And in 2008, revenue from fantasy-football spending topped $800 million, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.

Many businesses see the spike in business.

JORDAN BOUCHARD, ASSISTANT MANAGER, STATS SPORTS BAR: We are busy, busy, busy. Monday night football, we're busy. Thursday night football, we're busy. Saturdays and Sundays, we're busy from the time we open the doors till the time we close.

MELISSA JACOBS, THEFOOTBALLGIRL.COM: Fantasy football has gone from totally geek to totally chic.

HOLMES: And it's not just for the guys anymore. Women are forming leagues of their own.

JACOBS: In the last couple years - I just got the number recently - it's 14 percent of the market is women. So it has just grown exponentially.

HOLMES: For these men and women, fantasy football adds extra competition for the game on and off the field.

JEAN KRESAK, FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE OWNER: If fantasy football won't get you into football, you'll never like football.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Or you could just turn on the TV and watch the game. There's an idea as well. No offense to fantasy-football folks. People are really, really into it. So good luck out there.

Twenty-five past the hour here now.

We got to turn back to Igor - Hurricane Igor. It's closing in on Bermuda. We'll find out just how bad this thing could be once it arrives. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, bottom of the hour here now. Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines right now.

Freed American hiker Sarah Shourd expected to be back in the US maybe in just a matter of hours. This was after she served a year in prison in Iran.

Before heading back, she thanked the government of Oman for its role in gaining her release before boarding a plane. This was just yesterday. She's leaving behind though in Iran her fiance, Shane Bauer, who she got engaged to while they were being held in Iran, and also their friend, Josh Fattal. Both of those men - we don't know about the possibility of them being released. They are both charged with espionage by Iran.

Also, Afghans, they voted Saturday in the country's fourth national election since the Taliban was forced from power. About a 40 percent turnout, we're being told, and there was widespread violence. There were also procedural challenges and claims of voter fraud.

Voter participation has plummeted in Afghanistan since the first elections in 2004. Diplomats wanted election reform before holding another vote, but leaders insisted on moving forward.

Two hundred forty-nine parliament seats at stake. The vote count is under way as we speak.

And four days now of prayers and protests wrapping up today in Great Britain. Pope Benedict's state visit to the U.K. ends in just a few hours. The ceremony here going on now. A live picture. This is in Birmingham. He's having a beatification Mass there for John Henry Newman. That is a - a 19th century Anglican convert. He played an important role in the Anglican Church, also the Catholic Church. This step here, the beatification, takes him a step closer to sainthood. Part of the pope's mission in the U.K. was to help restore faith in the church's image. Something he worked on yesterday by meeting with abuse victims.

Our Atika Shubert joining us live from London.

Atika, hello to you.

The pope's visit has been overshadowed. As always, controversy will follow the pope. The sex abuse cases will always follow the pope, but also these arrests. So it's been kind of an interesting trip.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has been an interesting trip. The whole theme of his trip was to try to restore religion into the daily lives of Britons. Whether or not that's been accomplished, who knows? But he has been able to make a few points during his trip here. One of the highlights of his trip was perhaps yesterday on Saturday when he met with victims of child abuse within the church. He met them privately away from the media cameras, and he also said a few words at mass, specifically apologizing and talking about the shame and humiliation of the church. And his personal sorrow at learning of the sort of abuse that some people had suffered.

But according to victims' groups, that's not enough. They say they want to hear more than just apologies, that they've heard apologies before. And they want to see action, and they did not, they say, see any action from the pope on this trip. So, you know, he's attempting to sort of reform the church's image here, but whether or not he was successful is another question, T.J.

HOLMES: Reminding our viewers, we are looking at those live pictures of the mass taking place right now in Birmingham at Compton Park. He drew some 80,000 to a prayer vigil yesterday. Thousands more participating in protests as well.

One more thing to you, Atika, something that was a big part of the story, it seemed, the arrest of six men who were thought to be part of some terror plot. Now it seems that wasn't the case.

SHUBERT: No. This was the big story on Friday. Six men were arrested for alleged terror-related activities. It wasn't known exactly what these activities were. Well, overnight and early Sunday morning, they were released without charge. Now in the U.K., anyone suspected of terror-related activities can be arrested without charge for up to 28 days. In this case, it seems, perhaps there was not enough to hold them. They let them go without any charge. We still don't know what the information was that caused them to be arrested. Police just aren't giving any further details at this point.

HOLMES: Atika Shubert for us in London. Atika, we appreciate you as always. Thank you so much.

We are still keeping an eye on a very large and dangerous storm. That's how the National Hurricane Center is describing Hurricane Igor. The storm has been downgraded this morning to a Category 1. It's bearing down on Bermuda right now. Trying to figure out exactly where this thing is going to head. Should be slamming Bermuda sometime early today or later today, or early tomorrow morning.

Most islanders taking precautions as they feel the tropical force winds and deteriorating weather conditions already. This is in Bermuda, Southampton, Bermuda, from one of our iReporters. He's feeling the winds pick up, now around 85 miles an hour. Large strong waves already slamming Bermuda's southern coast. Real concerns about serious storm surge and coastal flooding from the high surf.

Another iReporter has more from nearby Devonshire Bay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LULAH ROBINSON, IREPORTER, DEVONSHIRE BAY, BERMUDA: We're about 24 hours away from the beginning of tropical storm winds from Hurricane Igor. There's a number of Bermudans out on the south shore, where we are, watching the waves come in as the preceding surf from the hurricane gets bigger and bigger. It is absolutely mad. The houses on the water, I'd be afraid to be in one, to be completely honest, during this storm. It is huge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Let me bring in Karen Maginnis here now. It is always a little deceiving. Have to be a little cautious when we say something's been downgraded. It sounds like, oh, things must be fine.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Things must be all right.

HOLMES: Not really the case. This is a big sucker here.

MAGINNIS: No. This is a huge hurricane. We've got Julia also sitting out there, and Julia is this little tiny storm that's now moving to the north, and we're not even concerned about it.

But Igor is so massive. And even though the winds now are right around 85 miles an hour, this is still a very potent system. This is still very warm water.

Going to take you over to the map. This is from Weather.bm. This is from the Bermuda government. We take a look at this radar image, and I'll just kind of point out a couple of things. I know it's difficult to read.

Here is Bermuda right here, but you can already see the bands moving across Bermuda. And yes, you get a wave, the rainfall is heavy. It may die down a little bit. But we are seeing fairly steady 30 to 40-mile an hour wind gusts. I misspoke actually, up to around 45 miles an hour. We're missing a little bit of data here, but you get the big picture.

Look how broad this system is. It extends about 700 miles from the center; 350 miles from the center, tropical storm force and hurricane force winds extending on either side of the eye. And it's probably going through reformation. And is probably going to gain maybe a little bit of intensity before it makes a direct hit sometime tonight in Bermuda.

Now, just about every two or two and a half years, they get a glancing blow or a direct blow from a hurricane. So, yes, they're aware of this going on, and prepare for it. But can you ever really totally prepare for a hurricane?

We'll keep you updated on this. Right now the winds are between 30 and 45 miles an hour. T.J., it looks like this evening, this is going to be the time when we really watch what's happening as far as Igor making landfall in Bermuda.

HOLMES: And our Reynolds Wolf is there. We expect to keep getting live reports from him throughout the morning, throughout the day. Thank you for keeping an eye on things here, Karen. Thanks so much.

Witchcraft, a date at a satanic altar? What does that have to do with a Senate race in Delaware? We'll explain the strange circumstances around an interview Christine O'Donnell did a decade ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It is 40 minutes past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

We are getting word that 29 people have been killed and 111 wounded in Baghdad in car bombings, a couple of car bombings that happened just within the past several hours, again, 29 dead, 111 injured. These are two separate incidents with car bombs going off, massive explosions, injuring a large number of people.

Of course, this comes at a time when we're seeing a bit of an increase in violence, even though we have overall, over the past several years, seen violence in Iraq overall go down. This comes, of course, at the same time when the U.S. just drew down and just ended its combat mission there, even though there's still 50,000, around 50,000 U.S. service members still there serving in an advisory role.

But, again, the word is 29 dead, 111 wounded. Our Arwa Damon is there for us. We are going to get her up live, here, shortly, to get more on this breaking news story out of Baghdad.

Turn back to the U.S. now, and politics. President Obama says his win in 2008 was not just about electing a black president. The president told a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus last night they should rally constituents and remind them that more work must be done to move the country forward.

The president also talked about the administration's accomplishments, including passing Wall Street and health care reform bills and ending the combat mission in Iraq, that I was just mentioning.

Tea Party Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell has cancelled two Sunday morning talk show appearances. This comes after a decade old interview revealed, in her words now, that she, quote, "dabbled in witchcraft".

Pundit Bill Maher played a portion of that 1999 interview Friday night during his show "Real Time" on HBO. But the original clip and her comments came on his older show, his now defunct "Politically Incorrect." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, (R) U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I dabbled in witchcraft but I never joined a covenant?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, you were a witch?

BILL MAHER, TALK SHOW HOST: She was a witch.

O'DONNELL: I was a witch. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you a witch?

O'DONNELL: Because I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things.

MAHER: Having fun?

O'DONNELL: I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do. And one of my dates --

MAHER: Whoa, wait. I want to hear about this.

O'DONNELL: One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn't know it. There was a little blood there and stuff like that.

MAHER: Your first date was a satanic altar?

O'DONNELL: We went to a movie and had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Again, this was 11 years ago. O'Donnell's spokeswoman told the Associated Press that she cancelled her TV appearances this morning. She was supposed to be on two different Sunday talk shows, said she cancelled so she could attend church events in a key county today. Our CNN contributor and author of "Wing Nuts," John Avalon said her past, O'Donnell's past, could come back to haunt her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN AVALON, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: There's a reason the libertarian magazine "Reason" called her a crackpot of the first order.

You are seeing a lot of the controversies from her past are coming out, and they're going to keep coming out in drips and drabs. I think you may see more about her past talking about gay conversion therapy. But this is a real issue for her campaign. It's a real issue for her candidacy.

It's a reason a lot of responsible Republicans and conservatives were very concerned about her winning the nomination, not just about electability in the broadest sense, but also just about the skeletons in her closet, being a professional social conservative activist on a lot of talk shows during the 1990s. So expect more where this comes from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And you'll remember O'Donnell shocked the Republican Party and a lot of folks when she won the GOP Senate primary election in Delaware last week.

Coming up, it's always a busy week in politics. Our CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser takes a look at what's ahead this week for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Good morning, T.J. Coming up on about six weeks until the midterm elections, and there's so much going on with Republicans and Democrats out there on the campaign trail. It's going to be a busy week in politics.

Let's talk about the president, Barack Obama. Check this out on the CNN Political Ticker. The president is going to be in Philadelphia, headlining a DNC fundraiser, trying to raise big bucks for the party, and helping out Joe Sestak, the Democrats' Senate nominee there. The congressman from southeast Pennsylvania, that's a seat the Democrats want to keep in party hands.

Wednesday the president's going to be in New York City. He's got official presidential business at the United Nations, but he's also going to be headlining a big fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, teaming up with Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, and also teaming up with Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader.

Vice President Biden also busy on the campaign trail this week. On Monday, he'll be in Ohio, hanging out with Ted Strickland, the governor there, who faces a very tough re-election. Ohio is a very crucial state not only in mid terms but also in presidential politics; 2012 not too far away.

Talking about 2012, just the other night we had Sarah Palin in Iowa. Remember she was headlining the big Republican Party dinner in Iowa. Coming up at the end of this week, Mitt Romney, another possible contender for the 2012 GOP nomination, he'll be in New Hampshire doing the same thing Sarah Palin was doing. He'll be headlining a big New Hampshire dinner for the Republican Party. Remember these people say, this is just about this year and raising money to help Republicans this year, but let's be honest, maybe it is also partially about 2012 and the next race for the White House, T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks to Paul Steinhauser. For the latest political news, you can head right to our website, CNNPolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're coming up on 10 minutes to the top of the hour. We want to go right to Baghdad, where our Arwa Damon is live for us covering a breaking story of two car bombings that have taken place today in Iraq.

Arwa, hello to you.

And the death toll at 29, but a lot of injured as well.

ARWA DAMON, CNN BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J.

Well over 100 people have been injured in those two attacks. Now, one of them happened at a fairly busy intersection. That was a car bomb that exploded. That attack killed 19 people. The other one happened when a minibus exploded in front of a cell phone company, that attack leaving at least 10 people dead.

And there was other violence that took place in the capital as well. A minibus driver and his son were killed when a magnetic bomb was placed under their vehicle. And the official of Iraq's Ministry of Interior, again, was also killed when a magnetic bomb was placed underneath his vehicle.

This very much illustrates the atmosphere in Baghdad today. Iraqis still do go out with a great level of concern, not knowing when or where an attack is going to take place. And many Iraqis talk about how they're constantly are checking underneath their vehicles, trying to make sure no one has placed a bomb underneath them.

Many of them say they don't know how or why certain people are being targeted. In some cases, it's fairly obvious because they're a government or security officials. In other cases, it just appears to be this random violence that is rearing its ugly head once again, T.J.

All of this coming after the U.S. Military officially declared its combat mission over at a time when Iraq continues to be in something of a political vacuum, since we had elections back in March, and there still is no new government that has been seated, T.J.

HOLMES: Still no new government. We see maybe these attacks happening more often as of late. As we know, the U.S. now in an advisory role there. Have we been able to stay in that advisory role, or have they been getting close to having to get back into combat? Of course, they can defend themselves, but are the Iraqis having to call on those 50,000 Americans that are left to handle some of these attacks?

DAMON: Well, T.J., there have been a couple of instances where the U.S. military has been drawn into battle a few weeks ago. If you remember, there was that attack on Baghdad on one of the Iraqi military bases. That was, in fact, a joint base with the U.S. military. The U.S. there was drawn into battle. There was actually an attack at a U.S. military base itself where an Iraqi army soldier turned on the Americans, shot and killed two of them, wounded another nine.

There have been other instances, even when the U.S. military is out in the so-called advisory role, where they have been drawn into combat. The Iraqis have had to call on U.S. military air support for battles in the northern province of Diyala, just north of Baghdad.

So even when we say this is a noncombat mission, Iraq still does very much remain a war zone. And that is a war zone where violence takes place on a nearly daily basis, T.J.

HOLMES: Our Arwa Damon with the update for us in Baghdad. Arwa we appreciate you as always. It's 8 minutes to the top of the hour. Quick break, we're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Five minutes to the top of the hour.

The Catholic Church in Melbourne, Australia, has drawn a hard line on what kind of music can be played at funerals. We're going to get to that in just a second.

First, take a look at this picture. What is wrong with this picture? This picture is from a website, well-respected newspaper in Egypt. Snapshot of a historic moment in the ongoing Middle East peace process. Now talk about a picture being worth a thousand words. Take a look at this one, a thousand lies possibly.

Both stories have been in the global spotlight, and that means Nadia Bilchik has been keeping an eye on things. She's our editorial producer who always graces us with her presence on SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING.

That picture flap, it was kind of funny.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes. Earlier this week, the "Al Haran" newspaper, in Egypt, which very much reflects the government's point of view, shows this picture with President Hosni Mubarak in front, and President Barack Obama in the back. All very well, except in the original photograph, you had President Barack Obama leading the delegation of Hosni Mubarak, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas and the King of Jordan Abdullah, so it has been Photoshopped.

On Friday an Egyptian blogger Walid Kalil (ph), seized this and said, why are we so surprised? Mr. Walid Kalil has become very famous now. The newspaper itself says the following, "We're just being expressive."

HOLMES: Expressive?

BILCHIK: Because what we're saying is symbolically Mubarak is leading the Mideast peace talks. And an independent newspaper in Egypt says you are making a joke of journalism. And this is making a fool of Mubarak. But the reality isn't a true statement. There is a negative part of anything good. While Photoshop might be a wonderful thing, this is perhaps not the best use.

HOLMES: It's kind of government-backed, this Web site. Any indication the government actually had something to do -- that anyone told them to do that, if you will?

BILCHIK: Probably it was editorial. It has since been taken off the Web site, but it has caused a great deal of amusement.

HOLMES: That is funny because he was in the very back essentially on the original picture.

BILCHIK: And it shows the blogosphere, where Walid Kalil (ph) has become a famous blogger after that.

HOLMES: I want to move to this next story now. Music at funerals?

BILCHIK: We're moving to Melbourne, Australia, where the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dennis Hart, says no secular music at funerals. He even says no--at children's funerals you can't have music because it intensifies the grief.

HOLMES: Intensifies the grief?

BILCHIK: And then he goes on to say you want to make it a very solemn ceremony because it is after all a serious religious ceremony. What's very interesting is that in Australia, one of the most popular songs that's played is the football song. It's the Australian Rules Collingwood anthem that is played at many funerals. And then I want to read you the list that are also very popular.

HOLMES: Now, wait, why that song?

BILCHIK: Because so many Australians are avid Australia Rules fans. So Collingwood is played at many, many funerals.

HOLMES: Is it an upbeat song?

BILCHIK: It's an upbeat song that says let's all get together and let's be part of the world. So that's the Collingwood song.

HOLMES: But you have the list there?

BILCHIK: But I have the list of the kind of songs that get played. There would be Frank Sinatra's version of "My Way," "Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. "Time To Say Good-Bye," Andrea Bocelli, "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole, "The Wind Beneath My Wings," Bette Midler ".

HOLMES: That's good stuff, yeah.

BILCHIK: "Amazing Grace," "We'll Meet Again," "Over The Rainbow," "Abide With Me," and "Danny Boy".

But what was even more intriguing was in the research they said, what is the list of the top most popular songs that are unusual? And wait for these: Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." AC/DC's "Highway To Hell."

HOLMES: At funerals?

BILCHIK: Yes. Monty Python's "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life." and from the Wizard of Oz, "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead."

HOLMES: Oh, stop, Nadia.

BILCHIK: But again, this is a guideline from the archbishop. Funeral directors are concerned because they say songs are a wonderful way to celebrate a person's life.

HOLMES: These are just guidelines. A lot of people might listen and take this to heart, but you don't have to. BILCHIK: It's guidelines for the Catholic Church, specifically. I know we said it's a ban, but it's very stringent guidelines from Archbishop Dennis Hart in Melbourne, Australia.

HOLMES: Somebody actually played "The Witch Is Dead?" That is one of the most popular songs at a funeral?

BILCHIK: Well, I was thinking about it. Would that be something that someone determined themselves, or would somebody play that when someone was deceased? Something to think about.

HOLMES: Nadia, we always appreciate you. You bring us good stuff from around the world. Thank you.

We're coming up to the top of the hour. When you're a hero in a secret war that means your actions have to stay a secret as well. Next, two men tell us about the men who saved their lives 42 years, now, they're telling us, after it happened. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)