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CNN Saturday Morning News
A look at Tom Hamill
Aired May 08, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody.
Good morning.
Great to have you with us today.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for May the 8th.
Good morning.
I'm Thomas Roberts.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Sophia Choi.
Thanks very much for being with us.
There is plenty on tap this morning, so let's get right to it.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld faces Congress and says the worst may be yet to come. We'll have more on his testimony about Iraqi prisoners.
Also, just what is a mathlete? We'll take you to school and let you meet one of the best mathletes around.
And later, the goddess of the kitchen -- Nigella Lawson. She will join us live to talk cookie and salad and cake.
But first, our top stories at this hour.
ROBERTS: The Army has charged PFC Lynndie England with assaulting Iraqi detainees on many occasions and conspiring to mistreat them. England is the female soldier seen in several of the abuse photos. She's now at Fort Bragg, North Carolina charged with four court martial offenses.
A shootout in Afghanistan. One U.S. Marine is killed, another wounded. Two enemy fighters are also killed. We have a live report coming up in a half hour now from Nic Robertson. He's embedded with the Marines in south central Afghanistan.
All right, so you think gas prices are high now? Well, the price of crude oil in the United States has hit a 13-year high of $40 a barrel. Soaring oil prices are blamed, in part, on fear of more violence in the Middle East. CHOI: Our top story this morning, Thomas Hamill returns home to Macon, Mississippi, having escaped after three weeks as a hostage in Iraq. The civilian truck driver arrived this morning by private jet from Germany.
CNN's Mike Brooks is in Macon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home, Tommy.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tommy Hamill and his wife Kellie stepped off a private jet early Saturday morning in Columbus, Mississippi, to enthusiastic friends and supporters. He was whisked away to his home in Macon, where the highway patrol escorted him straight to his door. The flags are flying on Jefferson Street. The yellow ribbons are everywhere you look. The Hamill family home is even draped in an American flag.
A huge celebration that was being planned by the mayor of this town has been put on hold at the request of the family, at least for now. MAYOR DOROTHY BAKER-HINES, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: Oh, gosh, we had all kinds of things planned, you know?
BROOKS: The mayor spoke with Kellie Hamill and said the family did not want a big celebration at this time.
BAKER-HINES: We were a little disappointed, but we still think maybe we'll get to do something.
BROOKS: The 43-year-old Hamill, because the money was good, sold his dairy farm, left his family in Macon, Mississippi, a small farming and industrial community of 3,300 people, and volunteered for the dangerous job of driving a fuel truck in Iraq for contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton.
THOMAS HAMILL: They attacked our convoy.
BROOKS: He was taken hostage by insurgents April 9 near Baghdad International Airport and escaped May 2, running out of the mud hut where he was being held and flagging down a U.S. military convoy south of Tikrit. The town expressed their support of Tommy Hamill's decision to cancel the celebration.
(on camera): And are you disappointed they're not going to have a big celebration like they were planning?
SAMMY HILL, RESIDENT, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: Well, somewhat, because I knew that, you know, if he was alive, I was looking forward to Macon sure enough doing something great for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a good gesture. It was nice and, you know, maybe one day, you know, they can do something for him like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I was looking forward to it. BROOKS: You were?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was looking forward to it. I was on one of the planning committees, so I was looking forward to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: We talked to a family spokesperson just a short time ago and she said that Tommy is doing fine and his family is glad to have him home -- Sophia.
CHOI: I bet they are.
Mike Brooks, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Donald Rumsfeld says that he's going to stay on as defense secretary as long as he can remain effective. Testifying in congressional hearings, Rumsfeld apologized for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers. He said the abuse investigation is being handled properly, but the real issue is that photos of the abuse were leaked to the media. And he warned there are more photos the public hasn't even seen yet.
We get details on that from Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Army PFC Lynndie England, the woman seen in some of the prisoner abuse photos, has been charged with four court martial offenses. England is the seventh soldier to be charged in the growing scandal.
Now, back in Fountain, West Virginia, England's family members are not taking the photos at face value.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA KLINESTIVER, PFC ENGLAND'S SISTER: I don't believe my sister did what she did in those photos. I believe they were posed, I mean, just for...
QUESTION: But she's smiling. I mean you can see why people are...
KLINESTIVER: She's smiling at whoever is behind the camera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: PFC England is accused of assaulting Iraqi detainees and conspiring with another soldier, Corporal Charles Graner, to mistreat them. She's charged with committing an indecent act and with committing acts bringing discredit upon the armed forces.
CHOI: If you haven't had time to keep up with the news this week, well, that's what we're here for. Let's rewind for you now and look at some of the top stories.
On Wednesday, President Bush appears on Arab language TV to denounce the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. He says Americans are appalled at what happened.
That same day, the president says the U.S. needs an extra $25 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House Appropriations Committee chairman says even that likely won't be enough.
By Thursday, with southern California's wildfires largely under control, residents are allowed to go home. By then, though, more than 26,000 acres had burned, along with more than a dozen homes.
And on Capitol Hill Friday, Donald Rumsfeld takes the hot seat. He faces tough questions on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners but says he does not plan to resign.
And tomorrow, we will fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.
ROBERTS: All right, so here's a question for you. What is a mathlete? If you think it has something to do with math, you are on the right track this Saturday morning. And you're going to meet the best mathlete in the country. That's coming up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
CHOI: And later this hour -- should you be able to talk on a cell phone while driving? In California the answer could depend on your I.D.
ROBERTS: We'll tell you what to cook for your mom this Sunday. We've got some divine advice from a domestic goddess, straight ahead.
Stay with us.
COMMERCIAL
CHOI: Let's go right now, we have some breaking news out of Massachusetts. Apparently, a boat has capsized and four people have died. One person still remains missing.
We have on the telephone with us right now Ensign John Rose from the Coast Guard. He's in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Thanks so much for taking time out for us this morning.
ENSIGN JOHN ROSE, U.S. COAST GUARD: Thank you.
Good morning.
CHOI: Tell us exactly what happened. What do you know so far?
ROSE: Well, at approximately 1:00 a.m. this morning, we received a 9/11 call advising that a 17 foot pleasure craft with six persons on board capsized in the Taunton River in the vicinity of Fall River, Massachusetts. The person who initiated the phone call to use was a 14-year-old male from the boat, who apparently had swam ashore and made the phone call.
The first responders to the scene have recovered four of the six and they have been confirmed deceased at this time.
CHOI: Now, one person is still missing and you -- the Coast Guard's looking for a woman, I believe, correct?
ROSE: Yes, that's correct. We're still conducting an active and aggressive search for one missing individual from the boat. We have Coast Guard assets on the seas, including Coast Guard auxiliary boats. Station Castle Hill has responded with a 41 foot utility boat and Air Station Cape Cod has a helicopter on scene at this time.
CHOI: Any idea right now why this boat capsized?
ROSE: I don't have any information on what happened at this time.
CHOI: Six on board, four dead.
Why is only one person missing at this point?
ROSE: The tides up in that area have shifted in the last eight hours or so from a north to a south pattern and back up again. And the way the weather and the maritime environment dictates, pretty much it dictates how we're going to conduct our search. The recovery of any person from the water is inherently more complex than on land, when you have shipping environments.
CHOI: Why were these people on a boat at night and where were they traveling to?
ROSE: I don't have any information about what they were doing or where they were going to.
CHOI: And one last question for you.
Are you going to continue to search for this missing person at night? You have the sun up now, but it must have been difficult over the past couple of hours as you were searching in the dark.
ROSE: Well, yes. We continue to conduct search operations until, until all options have bee exhausted, and that does include nighttime searches, as well.
CHOI: All right, Ensign John Rose from the Coast Guard, thank you so much for joining us and explaining what happened there in Massachusetts this morning. And, of course, we'll stay on top of this story and bring you any details as they come in.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Now, when it comes to the numbers of students seeking science and engineering degrees, the U.S. once ranked third in the world. That was all the way back in the 1970s. So what a difference a few decades makes. According to the latest figures from the National Science Board, that ranking has now slipped to 17th in the world.
But if, as the adage goes, children are the future, our next two guests may make you feel a little bit better.
Greg Gauthier is the 14-year-old winner of the Mathcounts national competition. And we see Greg here. He's with his coach, Steven Ondes. They've been working together for the last several months.
Gentlemen, good morning and thanks for joining us.
GREG GAUTHIER, MATHCOUNTS COMPETITION WINNER: Good morning.
STEVEN ONDES, GREG'S COACH: Good morning.
ROBERTS: Greg, we want to start with you and say congratulations to you. This is a pretty big feat that you accomplished yesterday. You're only 14 years old. So how old were you when you got involved and why did you get involved with the math circuit?
GAUTHIER: Well, it actually began when I was with my brother there. He told me about Mathcounts and then I decided I would do it because it sounded interesting to me.
ROBERTS: So, now you placed seventh last year. So you competed. This year a pretty big difference, though, going from seventh to first place.
What made the difference for you this year, more practice or the difference in questions? What was it?
GAUTHIER: Well, I think it was actually maybe more practice combined with the additional questions that helped make the difference.
ROBERTS: And now you said before that there's a pretty big difference, though, when you go ahead with the formulas -- knowledge of the formulas and also knowledge of the applications.
Which one played out to be of bigger importance to you this time around?
GAUTHIER: I think I knew how to apply the formulas in new contexts...
ROBERTS: So...
GAUTHIER: Because I...
ROBERTS: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
GAUTHIER: Oh. Because I knew that they, I've never seen most of these questions before are completely new applications that I have never thought of before.
ROBERTS: And what was it like to compete against all these other math whiz kids from around the country? There were over 200 kids from every state that was represented there.
GAUTHIER: It was very exciting.
ROBERTS: It was very exciting for you. I'll bet, and then to be crowned number one.
Steven, you've got to be pretty proud of your pupil here.
How did you get involved with working with Greg and getting him prepared to become number one?
ONDES: Well, you have your state competitions and the top four kids get to go to the national competition and the winning coach at the state competition gets to coach them.
ROBERTS: Well, how do you think the questions, though, impacted the outcome this time around? Do some kids get tougher questions than the others and then that inherently propels them to the bottom or to the top?
ONDES: No. In the competition, all of the kids do the same problems. So it's -- that has no effect on it. It's...
ROBERTS: No effect on it.
So what's next for you guys?
Greg, for you, I know there are a lot of prizes that come along with this, and also a lot of prestige.
What's next?
GAUTHIER: Well, I'm probably going to participate in the high school math Olympiad series, as I've been doing for the past two years. I'm going to probably continue with that.
ROBERTS: And, Steven, real quickly for you, are you going to continue to work with other kids and get them ready for the competitions year round?
ONDES: Yes, I am.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, gentlemen, we appreciate your time this morning. Again, we've got Greg Gauthier, the 14-year-old winner this year of the Mathcounts contest. And, also, Steven Ondes.
Gentlemen, again, thanks for joining us today.
ONDES: Thank you.
GAUTHIER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: You know, and if you've ever wondered how you would do in a math competition or perhaps how you'd fare in one of today's math classes, we've got a little quiz for you.
Did you bring your number two pencil?
CHOI: I did.
ROBERTS: All right you ready for this? All right, it's a one question quiz with two parts. And it comes from Georgia Tech assistant professor Peter Mucha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER MUCHA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Probability questions are often demanding because we tend to individualize experiences. And so things that turn out to be quite likely we might think are unlikely because they're unlikely to happen to us.
A good example of this is the classic birthday problem that is well known to a lot of mathematicians and well known to a lot of the math contestants in this weekend's competition.
The problem goes like this. Say it's your birthday. You invite any friends. It could be 10, it could be 20, it could be any integer number you want. You invite your "N" friends to your party. Naturally, since it's your birthday, we're talking about when people's birthdays are.
Well, what are the odds that one of your "N" friends who came to your party has the same birthday as you?
Well, we can try to work out that calculation under some simplifying assumptions. Don't worry about week days. Just assume there are 365 days in the year. Assume that it's equally likely that anybody's birthday falls on any given day.
The second question is what are the odds that two of your "N" guests have the same birthday, a date possibly different than you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There we have it. So, Saturday morning we're giving everybody a little homework here. So grab a cup of coffee to figure out this one. Your assignment for our purposes, let's say there were 23 people at this party. So what are the odds that one of 22 of your friends has your birthday? Also, what are the odds that any two people at that party have the same birthday?
OK, you got all this?
E-mail us with your answers at wam@cnn.com. We're going to have a couple of clues for you throughout the morning. And then the professor who gave us that information, that little tease here, he's going to join us for the answer during our 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour. Also, we quizzed the newsroom on this.
CHOI: That's right.
ROBERTS: So we're going to have our results from the newsroom to see how this fares.
CHOI: In real life.
ROBERTS: In real life.
CHOI: How it plays out.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHOI: OK.
And how many of you parents watching have run into problems of your own when your children ask for homework help? Someone who understands your predicament joins us tomorrow morning. Ford Cochran helped develop an online education site for "National Geographic" and he will join us tomorrow during our 7:00 a.m. hour. Homework help lines in the morning on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY GILMORE, TEEN DRIVER: Like, I can hold it and dial like this, if necessary. And, you know, phones are fairly easy. A lot of people have speed dial sets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Sounds easy enough, right? Well then why is California considering a law to take cell phones out of teen drivers' hands? Find out later this hour.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Hi there, everybody, and welcome back.
A little preview there of what's to come out on DVDs and in the theaters.
So, some people out there might be trying to get their Mother's Day celebrations off to an early start today.
CHOI: Yes.
Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at weather. Tell us if it's nice out.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are some demanding moms out there that want the whole weekend.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHOI: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: And some sons that need to spend the day shopping and need good weather to do it.
CHOI: Hey, you'll be indoors if you're shopping so.
ROBERTS: Right. OK.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Thomas, get to work on mom, will you?
CHOI: Yes, exactly.
MARCIANO: Get her something nice.
ROBERTS: I know. I need to make a few phone calls, so I'll be OK.
CHOI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Indoor shopping for me today.
CHOI: Online shopping. That's the best way.
ROBERTS: Online shopping.
(CROSSTALK)
CHOI: Yes, you know, then you don't have to get out at all. MARCIANO: We know who the lazy one is of you two.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
CHOI: Right.
See you later.
MARCIANO: See you.
ROBERTS: OK, a quick check of the headlines for you now at this hour.
Former captive Thomas Hamill awakens back home in Mississippi this morning, six days after he walked away from the Iraqi farmhouse where he'd been held. Hamill was working as a civilian contractor when his convoy was ambushed on April the 9th. In Afghanistan, one U.S. Marine was killed, another wounded, in an overnight firefight north of Kandahar. Forces from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been trying to restore stability in that area of south central Afghanistan for about two weeks now.
And CNN's Nic Robertson is in south central Afghanistan this morning.
We're going to go live to that front on the war on terror when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
Plus this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CELESTE ZAPPALA, MOTHER: I feel like we're making enemies faster than we can kill them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Her son went from anti-war protest to paying the ultimate price in Iraq. Now, she is fighting for peace.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TORI ATALI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday is the beginning of National Women's Health Week, a campaign reminding women to make their well being a priority. It's a time to get checked, ask questions and tackle health issues. Sometimes the help you're looking for is as close as your neighborhood drugstore. Besides dispensing medicines, your pharmacist can provide important health information and find solutions to some nagging ailments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of times it may be just ways to relieve pain and menstrual cramps, helping in ways when they can't sleep at night, with allergies. There's lots of things we can do with over the counter medications to help patients immediately without making a trip to the doctor unnecessarily.
ATALI: Your pharmacist does not take the place of your physician. And while she can help you with many of your needs, she won't hesitate to refer you to a doctor if necessary.
Tori Atali, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COMMERCIAL
CHOI: A look at news at this hour now.
Wire reports quote President Bush as saying the United States remains committed to the so-called road map for peace in the Middle East. But the president says establishing a Palestinian state by 2005 is not as realistic as it was two years ago. Mr. Bush made those comments in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Ahram."
Less than a week after he slipped away from his captors in Iraq, civilian truck driver Thomas Hamill is back home this morning in Mississippi. Hamill spent the last several days at a U.S. military hospital in Germany for treatment of a gunshot wound apparently suffered in the April 9 ambush of his convoy.
Police in Germany say they've arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of creating the Sasser computer worm. The virus has infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide by preying upon a weakness in the Windows operating system. The suspect is in high school.
And international concerns grow as the crisis deepens in Sudan. The African Union is dispatching officials to the country, where one million people have fled fighting between government forces and rebels. Representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, U.S. and France are also accompanying the mission amid reports of ethnic cleansing.
ROBERTS: At least one American is among the rising death toll in south central Afghanistan. A U.S. Marine has been killed, another wounded, in an overnight firefight.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Tarin Khowt, Afghanistan, joining us now by video phone with the very latest -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thomas, these Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been in place in Oruzgan Province and Kandahar Province, central Afghanistan, for two weeks. Overnight last night, they were engaged in their first firefight. That resulted in the fatality of one Marine and the injuring of another. Now, we understand the injured Marine's condition is such that he has been transported back to U.S. medical facilities in Germany.
According to one officer involved in the operation, they had some idea when this overnight patrol went into an area, some idea there might be "bad guys" in that area. They weren't all that surprised that they were engaged in gunfire. But this is the first time troops have been taken on -- Marines have been taken on directly in this new area of operation for them -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Nic, aren't they there trying to help with the registration process for the upcoming elections?
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. Their mission here is to bring security to the area. And one of the things one of the officers here told me was that it was very important for the Marines here, while this, while the death of one Marine could have an impact on them, would have an impact on them, it was important that they were -- that they showed restraint in their behavior.
ROBERTS: And, Nic, do we know how well the registration process is going for these upcoming elections? ROBERTSON: The registration process is only just beginning to get going here. Over the last few days, a number of representatives of the U.N. have come here into Oruzgan Province. They told us that without the presence of Marines here, it would have made their travel here much, much more dangerous, the fact that they were able to come and meet with the governor to make preparations for the registration process to begin is something that the Marines here have helped facilitate.
The registration process is expected to begin in this particular town here, of Tarin Khowt, over the next couple of days. Commanders here say that the way that they see that they can best do their work in this area is to win the support of the local community here. And that's what they say they believe that they're doing at this time -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Nic Robertson live for us in Tarin Khowt, Afghanistan.
Nic, thank you very much.
We turn now to take a look at what you might have missed this week in the global war on terror.
Now, on Monday, Turkey charged nine suspected Islamic militants with plotting to bomb the NATO summit in Istanbul next month. The detainees are suspected members of Ansar al-Islam. That's a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department recommended better screening and supervision of those who provide Muslim religious services in U.S. prisons. A recent report did not find a widespread problem with terrorist recruiting, but said such services are vulnerable to infiltration by religious extremists.
And three bombs exploded Wednesday outside a police station in Greece. Nobody was injured, but the blasts rattled international nerves as Greece began its 100 day countdown to hosting the Summer Olympic Games. The Greek government called it an isolated incident.
CHOI: From Iraq, the story of one of the 760 some Americans killed there. The soldier's path to war was paved with the most peaceful of intentions.
CNN's Alina Cho has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sherwood Baker's life was a contradiction of sorts -- an Army sergeant who served in Iraq who grew up in a family of peace activists, the kind of kid, his brother says, who went to the store with his parents to put anti-war stickers on toy guns and soldiers.
DANTE ZAPPALA, BROTHER: Like most kids, we wanted to play with G.I. Joe and we wanted to play with water guns. And, but we also understood the value of what they were trying to teach us. CHO: Baker marched in peace rallies as a kid. As a husband and father, he found another family in the Army.
C. ZAPPALA, MOTHER: I would never say that Sherwood was pro-war. He was, he was a servant and a patriot. I mean he really believed in the best of America.
CHO: In March, Baker was sent to Iraq. He died last week in an explosion in Baghdad.
The 30-year-old was buried with full military honors. Fellow soldiers and their families came to grieve. A day after the funeral, Celeste Zappala wants people to understand the high cost of war, to understand her family's pain.
C. ZAPPALA: Understand this beautiful man who was lost. His future was lost. And all of these hundreds of young people who are gone and we'll never know who they could be.
CHO: This unlikely military mom admits she doesn't have the answers.
C. ZAPPALA: I feel like we're making enemies faster than we can kill them and we've got to find a way to peace. Somehow we have to find a way to peace.
CHO: In the name of her son, she says she will never give up the fight.
Alina Cho, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant gets ready for a pretty huge day in court next week and our legal panel is going to join us in the next hour to take an examination at the game plan.
Then, at 9:00 Eastern time, Iraqi journalists walk out on an American-backed newspaper and call for a free and independent media.
And from Mozart to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), long considered one of the world's greatest tenors, he's pretty much sung it all. At 9:30 Eastern time, Placido Domingo pays a visit to the Novak Zone.
And next, trying to get teenagers off the phone. It can be a pretty tough task, right? Even when they're driving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can get distracted. You're not really enough aware when you're driving for a long time. So, you know, you'll be talking on your phone and driving at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well some law makers now say it's time to tell the teens to just hang up and drive. We'll get that story next.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Well, teenagers are already high risk drivers. You add cell phones to the mix and you have a potentially hazardous combination. In the interests of public safety, though, at least one state wants teens to hang up and just drive.
CNN's Rusty Dornin explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many teens, when 17-year-old Anthony Gilmore gets behind the wheel, he likes to multi-task.
GILMORE: And like I can hold it and dial like this, if necessary. And, you know, the phones are fairly easy. A lot of people have speed dial sets.
DORNIN: That's worrisome to some legislators in California, who are considering a bill to ban cell phone use for drivers under 18. Teen drivers, according to the Institute for Highway Safety, are four times more likely to crash than older drivers, cell phones or no.
DEBRA BOWEN (D), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: I looked at the accident risk. I looked at the risk not only to the driver, but to everyone else on the road. And it was so clear that this group of inexperienced drivers poses a much greater risk than more experienced drivers.
DORNIN: Several states are considering making a similar call for drivers under the age of 21. Some teens agree that a ban might be safer, even one who couldn't put down her cell phone long enough to answer the interviewers question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can distracted. You're not really all enough aware when you're driving for a long time. So, you know, you'll be talking on your phone and driving at the same time. So I think that's a good idea.
DORNIN: A Harvard study from 2002 says the use of cell phones leads to about 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries. New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. have banned all cell phone use by drivers. But the young are invincible, or so they think.
GILMORE: As long as you're a little cautious and you pay attention, it's not very difficult to operate a hand phone while driving, no.
DORNIN: But for California's teens, law makers are considering telling them to just hang up and drive.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHOI: Perhaps good advice for all of us.
Well, other stories making news across America today now.
Police making arrests following a drive-by shooting at a suburban Baltimore high school. About 300 students were leaving a charity basketball game yesterday afternoon. Police say a vehicle pulled up and the driver opened fire into the crowd. Four players were wounded, none of them seriously.
A July 20 trial date is now set for professional hockey player Mike Danton. The St. Louis Drews' forward is at the center of an alleged murder for hire scheme. During Danton's detention hearing yesterday in suburban St. Louis, federal prosecutors alleged that Danton tried at least on three occasions to hire a hit man to kill his agent.
No more drinking for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. He must now abide by a curfew, as well. A federal judge laid down the law yesterday, following Skilling's alleged public drunkenness last month in Manhattan. Skilling went into rehab immediately after that episode. Skilling faces dozens of criminal charges in the Enron scandal.
ROBERTS: So you know her name you know her style. Well, now you're going to find out what she thinks is a perfect Mother's Day meal. Nigella Lawson joins Sophia next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We've got the cookware out. This is going to be good.
CHOI: Oh, it's going to be fun.
ROBERTS: It's going to be good.
CHOI: And exactly how tall is the world's tallest man? Find out in our Wows of the Week.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGELLA LAWSON, "NIGELLA BITES": I have only one rule in the kitchen, which is if it tastes good, eat it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Not a bad motto to live by.
Nigella Lawson has become the goddess of the kitchen, with her TV show "Nigella Bites" and her cookbooks. Her latest, actually, is called "Forever Summer." The title pretty self-explanatory. Nigella has also introduced her living kitchen collection. The collection includes must haves like the salt cellar.
Joining us now from New York is the goddess herself, Nigella Lawson.
Hi there, Nigella.
LAWSON: Hi.
Lovely to be here.
CHOI: Lovely to have you.
We're looking for some Mother's Day ideas and you had a suggestion of Fairy Cake. We're going to put up the recipe as you tell us why you like this idea so much.
LAWSON: Well, I think maybe because even on Mother's Day, one's being a bit nostalgic. And I remember loving them when I was a child and making them myself for my mother. And they're very, very simple. And I think what's so quite important is that because they can be decorated, really, as any child wants, it means that they've got room for a bit of expression. And I think any mother knows what you want is not some perfect creation. I mean you don't want it to be as if your child is going to restaurant school. You want something that a child puts a bit of himself or herself into. And that's what charms you. And they taste good.
So that seems to me the best recipe. They're simple, you know, they remind you of why, you know, you loved each little as a child and then you want to eat them.
CHOI: Oh. But you have to remind the kids that they have to clean up, too, after making a mess, don't you?
LAWSON: Well, you know, I can remind mine as much as I like. It doesn't seem to do any good.
CHOI: No.
All right, I know you have two kids.
All right, let's move on to your new line of kitchen ware.
LAWSON: Yes.
CHOI: I have some of the items right in front of me, including these little wooden paws.
What are these? And what inspires...
LAWSON: My wooden paws.
CHOI: Yes, your little wooden paws.
LAWSON: That's a lovely idea, my wooden paws. I call them serving hands, but I think I'm now, if I may, going to call them my wooden paws. And they -- what it is is, you know, I love to feel really right in there with food and I mean I've got nothing against a serving fork and spoon, but there's something about it when you're serving salad or pasta and you're like that, I wanted to be able to get right in there and tumble it about and toss it out. And these paws, which you can use either way around -- you can have it like a spoon and fork or two spoons or two forks. And they're just -- once you start using them, you know, I use them for salad, but I also use them for certain sorts of pasta, because it doesn't matter if you get sauce all over them because wood cleans incredibly easily. I wouldn't put wood in the dishwasher but I, you know, but under a hot tap quickly.
CHOI: What a brilliant idea.
LAWSON: So I like that. And they're simple. I think, in a way, I don't want to add clutter, because everyone has such a small space in the kitchen. It's about things you really love. And if they have a function but they give you pleasure because they're beautiful to look at, that's a bonus.
CHOI: Well, Nigella, I have to ask you, are you going to include in this line that fencing mask you use as a colander?
LAWSON: Well, no I bought that in New York. And my fencing mask, well, actually, I have got something in the pipeline that's a bit more restrained than that, but working on that model, which, you know, so it just shows that you can always be forgiven for your little shopping indulgences, because sometimes they come good.
CHOI: All right, I think most people was first introduced to you by your book, "The Domestic Goddess." So exactly what is a domestic goddess? People call you that all the time.
LAWSON: I know and I'm into, ironically -- what I felt, really, and this is -- it was an ironic little joke, but there was as serious point, which is that I felt that women of my generation were more at home in the office than at home. I mean all my friends, all of us, we're kind of always busy, busy, busy and never just relaxed at home. And that seemed to me, for men or women, a bad thing.
So I wanted to say look, here's a book so that if you ever have an hour on a Saturday morning, you can actually feel like a domestic goddess. Now, I don't know what one is and I certainly am not one. But it's just a thing of relaxing at home, think maybe baking a tray of muffins and enjoying it. Because there's not much room for that sort of thing in our lives now. So it was maybe just trying to find ways of demystifying the kitchen and not making it like drudgery and a woman's chores, but making it much more that men and women could actually unwind and feel comfortable.
CHOI: Well, Nigella Lawson, we appreciate you joining us this morning.
Thanks so much for reintroducing the joy of cooking to all of us.
LAWSON: Thank you.
CHOI: And have a happy Mother's Day.
LAWSON: Oh, thank you very much.
CHOI: Take care.
ROBERTS: Sophia, are there enough sporks over there for all of us, those wooden sporks? You can bring those over?
CHOI: I've got two little paws here.
ROBERTS: OK, we'll share.
CHOI: But you can have one if you want, you know.
ROBERTS: Thank you very much.
And take a peek at this. It looks like Dr. Sanjay Gupta is ready to cook Nigella's recipes right out of his own mouth. Yes, that's Sanjay. Check out these pictures. He's pushing the human life beyond limits. That's what today's House Call is all about. You're going to tune in at 8:30 Eastern time and find out about Sanjay's experience there.
Also, speaking of life beyond limits, try a whole theater play under water. We have details coming your way in the Wows of the Week. That's next.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: All right, you're just in time now for our Wows of the Week.
Meet Leonid Stadnik. He's the world's tallest man and is still growing, apparently. Locals suggest that he go on to Hollywood, but Leonid says that he just wants to stay home in the Ukraine and stop growing. Even at 8'4" tall, he apparently is still a mama's boy. And apparently I guess it's private video, because we're not going to show you.
All right, this is not your typical water ballet. In Moscow, a very special theater company is making waves quite literally. The troupe of former pro swimmers puts on short plays complete with everything but the dialogue. So far, their biggest obstacle has been finding big enough fish tanks. Ester Williams would be so proud of this.
All right, now check out this x-ray. This is for real. Those nails are supposed to be there. Now, Isidro Mejia says he's lucky to be alive, and pretty much anybody would agree with that. A nail gun mishap led to six nails being driven into his skull, including three that pierced his brain. But doctors say they expect him to make a full recovery.
CHOI: My goodness. That is just...
ROBERTS: Gosh, wish him the best of luck.
CHOI: Yes, horrible to even look at.
ROBERTS: I still want to see our video here of the eight foot... CHOI: You're going to get it.
ROBERTS: We're going to get it?
CHOI: You're going to get it. Later, yes.
ROBERTS: OK, a little later.
CHOI: Yes. Leonid's...
ROBERTS: So there's a little piece for you. Oh, there he is.
CHOI: Oh, there he is.
ROBERTS: He changes light bulbs with no problem. No ladder necessary here.
CHOI: No. The world's tallest man.
ROBERTS: There he is.
CHOI: Still growing.
ROBERTS: Leaning over the fence just talking to a few of the neighbors, a few of the passersby.
CHOI: A friendly guy but will not go into movies, huh?
ROBERTS: Probably not. Still a mama's boy.
All right, we want to find out, though, about how the weather is shaping up for you this Saturday.
CHOI: Talking about mamas, a lot of people going out shopping for Mother's Day -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Sophia, how are you doing?
CHOI: Great.
MARCIANO: And Thomas -- Sophia, I don't know why I'm messing your name up right now, but I'll be right back here with...
ROBERTS: Maybe you're just shocked about that nail gun mishap story.
CHOI: Maybe you're tired.
MARCIANO: Yes, between the nail gun thing and then her saying mamas, it just threw me for a loop.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHOI: Time now for a quick check of the headlines.
Just a few hours ago, former hostage Thomas Hamill returned home to family and friends in Mississippi. Hamill escaped from his captors on Sunday, more than three weeks after his capture. A family friend said Hamill is just relieved to be back in the U.S.
A German teenager is under arrest for allegedly creating and launching the Sasser computer worm. The worm infected millions of computers this week -- banks, airlines, hospitals, even the British Coast Guard fell victim to that worm.
ROBERTS: Do we still have time to do viewer e-mail or are we out of time?
CHOI: Yes. No, we're going to do viewer e-mail.
Our Question of the Day was what are the odds that one of your 22 friends at a pretend birthday party has your same birthday?
ROBERTS: Birthday.
CHOI: And what are the odds that two of the 23 people have that same birthday?
And we're already getting e-mails. I can't believe are up this early doing math problems, but here's one. "The answer to the two problems is simple and the same for both. The odds are one in 365." That is Jeff Elmsgus (ph).
ROBERTS: We get this one coming into us. "The answer is 50 percent." That's from Sam S., who took time to write us.
CHOI: And look what I have. The answer to our real life equation of that same problem. We went around and asked people in the newsroom.
ROBERTS: See the envelope? We spare no expense around here.
CHOI: That's right. Confidential.
ROBERTS: Confidential.
CHOI: We're going to open it later on.
ROBERTS: Coming up in the nine o'clock hour. Also, the professor that posed all these questions to us, he's going to join us live to give us all the formulas and all the things we need to actually figure this out. Plus...
CHOI: And don't forget clues throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: The clues, right.
CHOI: To help you guess the right answer.
ROBERTS: I don't know if they'll help me at all. Good morning, everybody.
You know, the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 8, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody.
Good morning.
Great to have you with us today.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for May the 8th.
Good morning.
I'm Thomas Roberts.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Sophia Choi.
Thanks very much for being with us.
There is plenty on tap this morning, so let's get right to it.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld faces Congress and says the worst may be yet to come. We'll have more on his testimony about Iraqi prisoners.
Also, just what is a mathlete? We'll take you to school and let you meet one of the best mathletes around.
And later, the goddess of the kitchen -- Nigella Lawson. She will join us live to talk cookie and salad and cake.
But first, our top stories at this hour.
ROBERTS: The Army has charged PFC Lynndie England with assaulting Iraqi detainees on many occasions and conspiring to mistreat them. England is the female soldier seen in several of the abuse photos. She's now at Fort Bragg, North Carolina charged with four court martial offenses.
A shootout in Afghanistan. One U.S. Marine is killed, another wounded. Two enemy fighters are also killed. We have a live report coming up in a half hour now from Nic Robertson. He's embedded with the Marines in south central Afghanistan.
All right, so you think gas prices are high now? Well, the price of crude oil in the United States has hit a 13-year high of $40 a barrel. Soaring oil prices are blamed, in part, on fear of more violence in the Middle East. CHOI: Our top story this morning, Thomas Hamill returns home to Macon, Mississippi, having escaped after three weeks as a hostage in Iraq. The civilian truck driver arrived this morning by private jet from Germany.
CNN's Mike Brooks is in Macon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home, Tommy.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tommy Hamill and his wife Kellie stepped off a private jet early Saturday morning in Columbus, Mississippi, to enthusiastic friends and supporters. He was whisked away to his home in Macon, where the highway patrol escorted him straight to his door. The flags are flying on Jefferson Street. The yellow ribbons are everywhere you look. The Hamill family home is even draped in an American flag.
A huge celebration that was being planned by the mayor of this town has been put on hold at the request of the family, at least for now. MAYOR DOROTHY BAKER-HINES, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: Oh, gosh, we had all kinds of things planned, you know?
BROOKS: The mayor spoke with Kellie Hamill and said the family did not want a big celebration at this time.
BAKER-HINES: We were a little disappointed, but we still think maybe we'll get to do something.
BROOKS: The 43-year-old Hamill, because the money was good, sold his dairy farm, left his family in Macon, Mississippi, a small farming and industrial community of 3,300 people, and volunteered for the dangerous job of driving a fuel truck in Iraq for contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton.
THOMAS HAMILL: They attacked our convoy.
BROOKS: He was taken hostage by insurgents April 9 near Baghdad International Airport and escaped May 2, running out of the mud hut where he was being held and flagging down a U.S. military convoy south of Tikrit. The town expressed their support of Tommy Hamill's decision to cancel the celebration.
(on camera): And are you disappointed they're not going to have a big celebration like they were planning?
SAMMY HILL, RESIDENT, MACON, MISSISSIPPI: Well, somewhat, because I knew that, you know, if he was alive, I was looking forward to Macon sure enough doing something great for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a good gesture. It was nice and, you know, maybe one day, you know, they can do something for him like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I was looking forward to it. BROOKS: You were?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was looking forward to it. I was on one of the planning committees, so I was looking forward to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: We talked to a family spokesperson just a short time ago and she said that Tommy is doing fine and his family is glad to have him home -- Sophia.
CHOI: I bet they are.
Mike Brooks, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Donald Rumsfeld says that he's going to stay on as defense secretary as long as he can remain effective. Testifying in congressional hearings, Rumsfeld apologized for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers. He said the abuse investigation is being handled properly, but the real issue is that photos of the abuse were leaked to the media. And he warned there are more photos the public hasn't even seen yet.
We get details on that from Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
05070003.v98
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Army PFC Lynndie England, the woman seen in some of the prisoner abuse photos, has been charged with four court martial offenses. England is the seventh soldier to be charged in the growing scandal.
Now, back in Fountain, West Virginia, England's family members are not taking the photos at face value.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA KLINESTIVER, PFC ENGLAND'S SISTER: I don't believe my sister did what she did in those photos. I believe they were posed, I mean, just for...
QUESTION: But she's smiling. I mean you can see why people are...
KLINESTIVER: She's smiling at whoever is behind the camera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: PFC England is accused of assaulting Iraqi detainees and conspiring with another soldier, Corporal Charles Graner, to mistreat them. She's charged with committing an indecent act and with committing acts bringing discredit upon the armed forces.
CHOI: If you haven't had time to keep up with the news this week, well, that's what we're here for. Let's rewind for you now and look at some of the top stories.
On Wednesday, President Bush appears on Arab language TV to denounce the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. He says Americans are appalled at what happened.
That same day, the president says the U.S. needs an extra $25 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House Appropriations Committee chairman says even that likely won't be enough.
By Thursday, with southern California's wildfires largely under control, residents are allowed to go home. By then, though, more than 26,000 acres had burned, along with more than a dozen homes.
And on Capitol Hill Friday, Donald Rumsfeld takes the hot seat. He faces tough questions on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners but says he does not plan to resign.
And tomorrow, we will fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.
ROBERTS: All right, so here's a question for you. What is a mathlete? If you think it has something to do with math, you are on the right track this Saturday morning. And you're going to meet the best mathlete in the country. That's coming up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
CHOI: And later this hour -- should you be able to talk on a cell phone while driving? In California the answer could depend on your I.D.
ROBERTS: We'll tell you what to cook for your mom this Sunday. We've got some divine advice from a domestic goddess, straight ahead.
Stay with us.
COMMERCIAL
CHOI: Let's go right now, we have some breaking news out of Massachusetts. Apparently, a boat has capsized and four people have died. One person still remains missing.
We have on the telephone with us right now Ensign John Rose from the Coast Guard. He's in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Thanks so much for taking time out for us this morning.
ENSIGN JOHN ROSE, U.S. COAST GUARD: Thank you.
Good morning.
CHOI: Tell us exactly what happened. What do you know so far?
ROSE: Well, at approximately 1:00 a.m. this morning, we received a 9/11 call advising that a 17 foot pleasure craft with six persons on board capsized in the Taunton River in the vicinity of Fall River, Massachusetts. The person who initiated the phone call to use was a 14-year-old male from the boat, who apparently had swam ashore and made the phone call.
The first responders to the scene have recovered four of the six and they have been confirmed deceased at this time.
CHOI: Now, one person is still missing and you -- the Coast Guard's looking for a woman, I believe, correct?
ROSE: Yes, that's correct. We're still conducting an active and aggressive search for one missing individual from the boat. We have Coast Guard assets on the seas, including Coast Guard auxiliary boats. Station Castle Hill has responded with a 41 foot utility boat and Air Station Cape Cod has a helicopter on scene at this time.
CHOI: Any idea right now why this boat capsized?
ROSE: I don't have any information on what happened at this time.
CHOI: Six on board, four dead.
Why is only one person missing at this point?
ROSE: The tides up in that area have shifted in the last eight hours or so from a north to a south pattern and back up again. And the way the weather and the maritime environment dictates, pretty much it dictates how we're going to conduct our search. The recovery of any person from the water is inherently more complex than on land, when you have shipping environments.
CHOI: Why were these people on a boat at night and where were they traveling to?
ROSE: I don't have any information about what they were doing or where they were going to.
CHOI: And one last question for you.
Are you going to continue to search for this missing person at night? You have the sun up now, but it must have been difficult over the past couple of hours as you were searching in the dark.
ROSE: Well, yes. We continue to conduct search operations until, until all options have bee exhausted, and that does include nighttime searches, as well.
CHOI: All right, Ensign John Rose from the Coast Guard, thank you so much for joining us and explaining what happened there in Massachusetts this morning. And, of course, we'll stay on top of this story and bring you any details as they come in.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Now, when it comes to the numbers of students seeking science and engineering degrees, the U.S. once ranked third in the world. That was all the way back in the 1970s. So what a difference a few decades makes. According to the latest figures from the National Science Board, that ranking has now slipped to 17th in the world.
But if, as the adage goes, children are the future, our next two guests may make you feel a little bit better.
Greg Gauthier is the 14-year-old winner of the Mathcounts national competition. And we see Greg here. He's with his coach, Steven Ondes. They've been working together for the last several months.
Gentlemen, good morning and thanks for joining us.
GREG GAUTHIER, MATHCOUNTS COMPETITION WINNER: Good morning.
STEVEN ONDES, GREG'S COACH: Good morning.
ROBERTS: Greg, we want to start with you and say congratulations to you. This is a pretty big feat that you accomplished yesterday. You're only 14 years old. So how old were you when you got involved and why did you get involved with the math circuit?
GAUTHIER: Well, it actually began when I was with my brother there. He told me about Mathcounts and then I decided I would do it because it sounded interesting to me.
ROBERTS: So, now you placed seventh last year. So you competed. This year a pretty big difference, though, going from seventh to first place.
What made the difference for you this year, more practice or the difference in questions? What was it?
GAUTHIER: Well, I think it was actually maybe more practice combined with the additional questions that helped make the difference.
ROBERTS: And now you said before that there's a pretty big difference, though, when you go ahead with the formulas -- knowledge of the formulas and also knowledge of the applications.
Which one played out to be of bigger importance to you this time around?
GAUTHIER: I think I knew how to apply the formulas in new contexts...
ROBERTS: So...
GAUTHIER: Because I...
ROBERTS: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
GAUTHIER: Oh. Because I knew that they, I've never seen most of these questions before are completely new applications that I have never thought of before.
ROBERTS: And what was it like to compete against all these other math whiz kids from around the country? There were over 200 kids from every state that was represented there.
GAUTHIER: It was very exciting.
ROBERTS: It was very exciting for you. I'll bet, and then to be crowned number one.
Steven, you've got to be pretty proud of your pupil here.
How did you get involved with working with Greg and getting him prepared to become number one?
ONDES: Well, you have your state competitions and the top four kids get to go to the national competition and the winning coach at the state competition gets to coach them.
ROBERTS: Well, how do you think the questions, though, impacted the outcome this time around? Do some kids get tougher questions than the others and then that inherently propels them to the bottom or to the top?
ONDES: No. In the competition, all of the kids do the same problems. So it's -- that has no effect on it. It's...
ROBERTS: No effect on it.
So what's next for you guys?
Greg, for you, I know there are a lot of prizes that come along with this, and also a lot of prestige.
What's next?
GAUTHIER: Well, I'm probably going to participate in the high school math Olympiad series, as I've been doing for the past two years. I'm going to probably continue with that.
ROBERTS: And, Steven, real quickly for you, are you going to continue to work with other kids and get them ready for the competitions year round?
ONDES: Yes, I am.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, gentlemen, we appreciate your time this morning. Again, we've got Greg Gauthier, the 14-year-old winner this year of the Mathcounts contest. And, also, Steven Ondes.
Gentlemen, again, thanks for joining us today.
ONDES: Thank you.
GAUTHIER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: You know, and if you've ever wondered how you would do in a math competition or perhaps how you'd fare in one of today's math classes, we've got a little quiz for you.
Did you bring your number two pencil?
CHOI: I did.
ROBERTS: All right you ready for this? All right, it's a one question quiz with two parts. And it comes from Georgia Tech assistant professor Peter Mucha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER MUCHA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Probability questions are often demanding because we tend to individualize experiences. And so things that turn out to be quite likely we might think are unlikely because they're unlikely to happen to us.
A good example of this is the classic birthday problem that is well known to a lot of mathematicians and well known to a lot of the math contestants in this weekend's competition.
The problem goes like this. Say it's your birthday. You invite any friends. It could be 10, it could be 20, it could be any integer number you want. You invite your "N" friends to your party. Naturally, since it's your birthday, we're talking about when people's birthdays are.
Well, what are the odds that one of your "N" friends who came to your party has the same birthday as you?
Well, we can try to work out that calculation under some simplifying assumptions. Don't worry about week days. Just assume there are 365 days in the year. Assume that it's equally likely that anybody's birthday falls on any given day.
The second question is what are the odds that two of your "N" guests have the same birthday, a date possibly different than you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There we have it. So, Saturday morning we're giving everybody a little homework here. So grab a cup of coffee to figure out this one. Your assignment for our purposes, let's say there were 23 people at this party. So what are the odds that one of 22 of your friends has your birthday? Also, what are the odds that any two people at that party have the same birthday?
OK, you got all this?
E-mail us with your answers at wam@cnn.com. We're going to have a couple of clues for you throughout the morning. And then the professor who gave us that information, that little tease here, he's going to join us for the answer during our 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour. Also, we quizzed the newsroom on this.
CHOI: That's right.
ROBERTS: So we're going to have our results from the newsroom to see how this fares.
CHOI: In real life.
ROBERTS: In real life.
CHOI: How it plays out.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHOI: OK.
And how many of you parents watching have run into problems of your own when your children ask for homework help? Someone who understands your predicament joins us tomorrow morning. Ford Cochran helped develop an online education site for "National Geographic" and he will join us tomorrow during our 7:00 a.m. hour. Homework help lines in the morning on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY GILMORE, TEEN DRIVER: Like, I can hold it and dial like this, if necessary. And, you know, phones are fairly easy. A lot of people have speed dial sets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Sounds easy enough, right? Well then why is California considering a law to take cell phones out of teen drivers' hands? Find out later this hour.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Hi there, everybody, and welcome back.
A little preview there of what's to come out on DVDs and in the theaters.
So, some people out there might be trying to get their Mother's Day celebrations off to an early start today.
CHOI: Yes.
Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at weather. Tell us if it's nice out.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are some demanding moms out there that want the whole weekend.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CHOI: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: And some sons that need to spend the day shopping and need good weather to do it.
CHOI: Hey, you'll be indoors if you're shopping so.
ROBERTS: Right. OK.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Thomas, get to work on mom, will you?
CHOI: Yes, exactly.
MARCIANO: Get her something nice.
ROBERTS: I know. I need to make a few phone calls, so I'll be OK.
CHOI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Indoor shopping for me today.
CHOI: Online shopping. That's the best way.
ROBERTS: Online shopping.
(CROSSTALK)
CHOI: Yes, you know, then you don't have to get out at all. MARCIANO: We know who the lazy one is of you two.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
CHOI: Right.
See you later.
MARCIANO: See you.
ROBERTS: OK, a quick check of the headlines for you now at this hour.
Former captive Thomas Hamill awakens back home in Mississippi this morning, six days after he walked away from the Iraqi farmhouse where he'd been held. Hamill was working as a civilian contractor when his convoy was ambushed on April the 9th. In Afghanistan, one U.S. Marine was killed, another wounded, in an overnight firefight north of Kandahar. Forces from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been trying to restore stability in that area of south central Afghanistan for about two weeks now.
And CNN's Nic Robertson is in south central Afghanistan this morning.
We're going to go live to that front on the war on terror when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
Plus this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CELESTE ZAPPALA, MOTHER: I feel like we're making enemies faster than we can kill them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Her son went from anti-war protest to paying the ultimate price in Iraq. Now, she is fighting for peace.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TORI ATALI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday is the beginning of National Women's Health Week, a campaign reminding women to make their well being a priority. It's a time to get checked, ask questions and tackle health issues. Sometimes the help you're looking for is as close as your neighborhood drugstore. Besides dispensing medicines, your pharmacist can provide important health information and find solutions to some nagging ailments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of times it may be just ways to relieve pain and menstrual cramps, helping in ways when they can't sleep at night, with allergies. There's lots of things we can do with over the counter medications to help patients immediately without making a trip to the doctor unnecessarily.
ATALI: Your pharmacist does not take the place of your physician. And while she can help you with many of your needs, she won't hesitate to refer you to a doctor if necessary.
Tori Atali, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COMMERCIAL
CHOI: A look at news at this hour now.
Wire reports quote President Bush as saying the United States remains committed to the so-called road map for peace in the Middle East. But the president says establishing a Palestinian state by 2005 is not as realistic as it was two years ago. Mr. Bush made those comments in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Ahram."
Less than a week after he slipped away from his captors in Iraq, civilian truck driver Thomas Hamill is back home this morning in Mississippi. Hamill spent the last several days at a U.S. military hospital in Germany for treatment of a gunshot wound apparently suffered in the April 9 ambush of his convoy.
Police in Germany say they've arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of creating the Sasser computer worm. The virus has infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide by preying upon a weakness in the Windows operating system. The suspect is in high school.
And international concerns grow as the crisis deepens in Sudan. The African Union is dispatching officials to the country, where one million people have fled fighting between government forces and rebels. Representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, U.S. and France are also accompanying the mission amid reports of ethnic cleansing.
ROBERTS: At least one American is among the rising death toll in south central Afghanistan. A U.S. Marine has been killed, another wounded, in an overnight firefight.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Tarin Khowt, Afghanistan, joining us now by video phone with the very latest -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thomas, these Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been in place in Oruzgan Province and Kandahar Province, central Afghanistan, for two weeks. Overnight last night, they were engaged in their first firefight. That resulted in the fatality of one Marine and the injuring of another. Now, we understand the injured Marine's condition is such that he has been transported back to U.S. medical facilities in Germany.
According to one officer involved in the operation, they had some idea when this overnight patrol went into an area, some idea there might be "bad guys" in that area. They weren't all that surprised that they were engaged in gunfire. But this is the first time troops have been taken on -- Marines have been taken on directly in this new area of operation for them -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Nic, aren't they there trying to help with the registration process for the upcoming elections?
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. Their mission here is to bring security to the area. And one of the things one of the officers here told me was that it was very important for the Marines here, while this, while the death of one Marine could have an impact on them, would have an impact on them, it was important that they were -- that they showed restraint in their behavior.
ROBERTS: And, Nic, do we know how well the registration process is going for these upcoming elections? ROBERTSON: The registration process is only just beginning to get going here. Over the last few days, a number of representatives of the U.N. have come here into Oruzgan Province. They told us that without the presence of Marines here, it would have made their travel here much, much more dangerous, the fact that they were able to come and meet with the governor to make preparations for the registration process to begin is something that the Marines here have helped facilitate.
The registration process is expected to begin in this particular town here, of Tarin Khowt, over the next couple of days. Commanders here say that the way that they see that they can best do their work in this area is to win the support of the local community here. And that's what they say they believe that they're doing at this time -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Nic Robertson live for us in Tarin Khowt, Afghanistan.
Nic, thank you very much.
We turn now to take a look at what you might have missed this week in the global war on terror.
Now, on Monday, Turkey charged nine suspected Islamic militants with plotting to bomb the NATO summit in Istanbul next month. The detainees are suspected members of Ansar al-Islam. That's a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department recommended better screening and supervision of those who provide Muslim religious services in U.S. prisons. A recent report did not find a widespread problem with terrorist recruiting, but said such services are vulnerable to infiltration by religious extremists.
And three bombs exploded Wednesday outside a police station in Greece. Nobody was injured, but the blasts rattled international nerves as Greece began its 100 day countdown to hosting the Summer Olympic Games. The Greek government called it an isolated incident.
CHOI: From Iraq, the story of one of the 760 some Americans killed there. The soldier's path to war was paved with the most peaceful of intentions.
CNN's Alina Cho has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sherwood Baker's life was a contradiction of sorts -- an Army sergeant who served in Iraq who grew up in a family of peace activists, the kind of kid, his brother says, who went to the store with his parents to put anti-war stickers on toy guns and soldiers.
DANTE ZAPPALA, BROTHER: Like most kids, we wanted to play with G.I. Joe and we wanted to play with water guns. And, but we also understood the value of what they were trying to teach us. CHO: Baker marched in peace rallies as a kid. As a husband and father, he found another family in the Army.
C. ZAPPALA, MOTHER: I would never say that Sherwood was pro-war. He was, he was a servant and a patriot. I mean he really believed in the best of America.
CHO: In March, Baker was sent to Iraq. He died last week in an explosion in Baghdad.
The 30-year-old was buried with full military honors. Fellow soldiers and their families came to grieve. A day after the funeral, Celeste Zappala wants people to understand the high cost of war, to understand her family's pain.
C. ZAPPALA: Understand this beautiful man who was lost. His future was lost. And all of these hundreds of young people who are gone and we'll never know who they could be.
CHO: This unlikely military mom admits she doesn't have the answers.
C. ZAPPALA: I feel like we're making enemies faster than we can kill them and we've got to find a way to peace. Somehow we have to find a way to peace.
CHO: In the name of her son, she says she will never give up the fight.
Alina Cho, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant gets ready for a pretty huge day in court next week and our legal panel is going to join us in the next hour to take an examination at the game plan.
Then, at 9:00 Eastern time, Iraqi journalists walk out on an American-backed newspaper and call for a free and independent media.
And from Mozart to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), long considered one of the world's greatest tenors, he's pretty much sung it all. At 9:30 Eastern time, Placido Domingo pays a visit to the Novak Zone.
And next, trying to get teenagers off the phone. It can be a pretty tough task, right? Even when they're driving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can get distracted. You're not really enough aware when you're driving for a long time. So, you know, you'll be talking on your phone and driving at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well some law makers now say it's time to tell the teens to just hang up and drive. We'll get that story next.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: Well, teenagers are already high risk drivers. You add cell phones to the mix and you have a potentially hazardous combination. In the interests of public safety, though, at least one state wants teens to hang up and just drive.
CNN's Rusty Dornin explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many teens, when 17-year-old Anthony Gilmore gets behind the wheel, he likes to multi-task.
GILMORE: And like I can hold it and dial like this, if necessary. And, you know, the phones are fairly easy. A lot of people have speed dial sets.
DORNIN: That's worrisome to some legislators in California, who are considering a bill to ban cell phone use for drivers under 18. Teen drivers, according to the Institute for Highway Safety, are four times more likely to crash than older drivers, cell phones or no.
DEBRA BOWEN (D), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: I looked at the accident risk. I looked at the risk not only to the driver, but to everyone else on the road. And it was so clear that this group of inexperienced drivers poses a much greater risk than more experienced drivers.
DORNIN: Several states are considering making a similar call for drivers under the age of 21. Some teens agree that a ban might be safer, even one who couldn't put down her cell phone long enough to answer the interviewers question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can distracted. You're not really all enough aware when you're driving for a long time. So, you know, you'll be talking on your phone and driving at the same time. So I think that's a good idea.
DORNIN: A Harvard study from 2002 says the use of cell phones leads to about 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries. New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. have banned all cell phone use by drivers. But the young are invincible, or so they think.
GILMORE: As long as you're a little cautious and you pay attention, it's not very difficult to operate a hand phone while driving, no.
DORNIN: But for California's teens, law makers are considering telling them to just hang up and drive.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHOI: Perhaps good advice for all of us.
Well, other stories making news across America today now.
Police making arrests following a drive-by shooting at a suburban Baltimore high school. About 300 students were leaving a charity basketball game yesterday afternoon. Police say a vehicle pulled up and the driver opened fire into the crowd. Four players were wounded, none of them seriously.
A July 20 trial date is now set for professional hockey player Mike Danton. The St. Louis Drews' forward is at the center of an alleged murder for hire scheme. During Danton's detention hearing yesterday in suburban St. Louis, federal prosecutors alleged that Danton tried at least on three occasions to hire a hit man to kill his agent.
No more drinking for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. He must now abide by a curfew, as well. A federal judge laid down the law yesterday, following Skilling's alleged public drunkenness last month in Manhattan. Skilling went into rehab immediately after that episode. Skilling faces dozens of criminal charges in the Enron scandal.
ROBERTS: So you know her name you know her style. Well, now you're going to find out what she thinks is a perfect Mother's Day meal. Nigella Lawson joins Sophia next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We've got the cookware out. This is going to be good.
CHOI: Oh, it's going to be fun.
ROBERTS: It's going to be good.
CHOI: And exactly how tall is the world's tallest man? Find out in our Wows of the Week.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGELLA LAWSON, "NIGELLA BITES": I have only one rule in the kitchen, which is if it tastes good, eat it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHOI: Not a bad motto to live by.
Nigella Lawson has become the goddess of the kitchen, with her TV show "Nigella Bites" and her cookbooks. Her latest, actually, is called "Forever Summer." The title pretty self-explanatory. Nigella has also introduced her living kitchen collection. The collection includes must haves like the salt cellar.
Joining us now from New York is the goddess herself, Nigella Lawson.
Hi there, Nigella.
LAWSON: Hi.
Lovely to be here.
CHOI: Lovely to have you.
We're looking for some Mother's Day ideas and you had a suggestion of Fairy Cake. We're going to put up the recipe as you tell us why you like this idea so much.
LAWSON: Well, I think maybe because even on Mother's Day, one's being a bit nostalgic. And I remember loving them when I was a child and making them myself for my mother. And they're very, very simple. And I think what's so quite important is that because they can be decorated, really, as any child wants, it means that they've got room for a bit of expression. And I think any mother knows what you want is not some perfect creation. I mean you don't want it to be as if your child is going to restaurant school. You want something that a child puts a bit of himself or herself into. And that's what charms you. And they taste good.
So that seems to me the best recipe. They're simple, you know, they remind you of why, you know, you loved each little as a child and then you want to eat them.
CHOI: Oh. But you have to remind the kids that they have to clean up, too, after making a mess, don't you?
LAWSON: Well, you know, I can remind mine as much as I like. It doesn't seem to do any good.
CHOI: No.
All right, I know you have two kids.
All right, let's move on to your new line of kitchen ware.
LAWSON: Yes.
CHOI: I have some of the items right in front of me, including these little wooden paws.
What are these? And what inspires...
LAWSON: My wooden paws.
CHOI: Yes, your little wooden paws.
LAWSON: That's a lovely idea, my wooden paws. I call them serving hands, but I think I'm now, if I may, going to call them my wooden paws. And they -- what it is is, you know, I love to feel really right in there with food and I mean I've got nothing against a serving fork and spoon, but there's something about it when you're serving salad or pasta and you're like that, I wanted to be able to get right in there and tumble it about and toss it out. And these paws, which you can use either way around -- you can have it like a spoon and fork or two spoons or two forks. And they're just -- once you start using them, you know, I use them for salad, but I also use them for certain sorts of pasta, because it doesn't matter if you get sauce all over them because wood cleans incredibly easily. I wouldn't put wood in the dishwasher but I, you know, but under a hot tap quickly.
CHOI: What a brilliant idea.
LAWSON: So I like that. And they're simple. I think, in a way, I don't want to add clutter, because everyone has such a small space in the kitchen. It's about things you really love. And if they have a function but they give you pleasure because they're beautiful to look at, that's a bonus.
CHOI: Well, Nigella, I have to ask you, are you going to include in this line that fencing mask you use as a colander?
LAWSON: Well, no I bought that in New York. And my fencing mask, well, actually, I have got something in the pipeline that's a bit more restrained than that, but working on that model, which, you know, so it just shows that you can always be forgiven for your little shopping indulgences, because sometimes they come good.
CHOI: All right, I think most people was first introduced to you by your book, "The Domestic Goddess." So exactly what is a domestic goddess? People call you that all the time.
LAWSON: I know and I'm into, ironically -- what I felt, really, and this is -- it was an ironic little joke, but there was as serious point, which is that I felt that women of my generation were more at home in the office than at home. I mean all my friends, all of us, we're kind of always busy, busy, busy and never just relaxed at home. And that seemed to me, for men or women, a bad thing.
So I wanted to say look, here's a book so that if you ever have an hour on a Saturday morning, you can actually feel like a domestic goddess. Now, I don't know what one is and I certainly am not one. But it's just a thing of relaxing at home, think maybe baking a tray of muffins and enjoying it. Because there's not much room for that sort of thing in our lives now. So it was maybe just trying to find ways of demystifying the kitchen and not making it like drudgery and a woman's chores, but making it much more that men and women could actually unwind and feel comfortable.
CHOI: Well, Nigella Lawson, we appreciate you joining us this morning.
Thanks so much for reintroducing the joy of cooking to all of us.
LAWSON: Thank you.
CHOI: And have a happy Mother's Day.
LAWSON: Oh, thank you very much.
CHOI: Take care.
ROBERTS: Sophia, are there enough sporks over there for all of us, those wooden sporks? You can bring those over?
CHOI: I've got two little paws here.
ROBERTS: OK, we'll share.
CHOI: But you can have one if you want, you know.
ROBERTS: Thank you very much.
And take a peek at this. It looks like Dr. Sanjay Gupta is ready to cook Nigella's recipes right out of his own mouth. Yes, that's Sanjay. Check out these pictures. He's pushing the human life beyond limits. That's what today's House Call is all about. You're going to tune in at 8:30 Eastern time and find out about Sanjay's experience there.
Also, speaking of life beyond limits, try a whole theater play under water. We have details coming your way in the Wows of the Week. That's next.
COMMERCIAL
ROBERTS: All right, you're just in time now for our Wows of the Week.
Meet Leonid Stadnik. He's the world's tallest man and is still growing, apparently. Locals suggest that he go on to Hollywood, but Leonid says that he just wants to stay home in the Ukraine and stop growing. Even at 8'4" tall, he apparently is still a mama's boy. And apparently I guess it's private video, because we're not going to show you.
All right, this is not your typical water ballet. In Moscow, a very special theater company is making waves quite literally. The troupe of former pro swimmers puts on short plays complete with everything but the dialogue. So far, their biggest obstacle has been finding big enough fish tanks. Ester Williams would be so proud of this.
All right, now check out this x-ray. This is for real. Those nails are supposed to be there. Now, Isidro Mejia says he's lucky to be alive, and pretty much anybody would agree with that. A nail gun mishap led to six nails being driven into his skull, including three that pierced his brain. But doctors say they expect him to make a full recovery.
CHOI: My goodness. That is just...
ROBERTS: Gosh, wish him the best of luck.
CHOI: Yes, horrible to even look at.
ROBERTS: I still want to see our video here of the eight foot... CHOI: You're going to get it.
ROBERTS: We're going to get it?
CHOI: You're going to get it. Later, yes.
ROBERTS: OK, a little later.
CHOI: Yes. Leonid's...
ROBERTS: So there's a little piece for you. Oh, there he is.
CHOI: Oh, there he is.
ROBERTS: He changes light bulbs with no problem. No ladder necessary here.
CHOI: No. The world's tallest man.
ROBERTS: There he is.
CHOI: Still growing.
ROBERTS: Leaning over the fence just talking to a few of the neighbors, a few of the passersby.
CHOI: A friendly guy but will not go into movies, huh?
ROBERTS: Probably not. Still a mama's boy.
All right, we want to find out, though, about how the weather is shaping up for you this Saturday.
CHOI: Talking about mamas, a lot of people going out shopping for Mother's Day -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Sophia, how are you doing?
CHOI: Great.
MARCIANO: And Thomas -- Sophia, I don't know why I'm messing your name up right now, but I'll be right back here with...
ROBERTS: Maybe you're just shocked about that nail gun mishap story.
CHOI: Maybe you're tired.
MARCIANO: Yes, between the nail gun thing and then her saying mamas, it just threw me for a loop.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHOI: Time now for a quick check of the headlines.
Just a few hours ago, former hostage Thomas Hamill returned home to family and friends in Mississippi. Hamill escaped from his captors on Sunday, more than three weeks after his capture. A family friend said Hamill is just relieved to be back in the U.S.
A German teenager is under arrest for allegedly creating and launching the Sasser computer worm. The worm infected millions of computers this week -- banks, airlines, hospitals, even the British Coast Guard fell victim to that worm.
ROBERTS: Do we still have time to do viewer e-mail or are we out of time?
CHOI: Yes. No, we're going to do viewer e-mail.
Our Question of the Day was what are the odds that one of your 22 friends at a pretend birthday party has your same birthday?
ROBERTS: Birthday.
CHOI: And what are the odds that two of the 23 people have that same birthday?
And we're already getting e-mails. I can't believe are up this early doing math problems, but here's one. "The answer to the two problems is simple and the same for both. The odds are one in 365." That is Jeff Elmsgus (ph).
ROBERTS: We get this one coming into us. "The answer is 50 percent." That's from Sam S., who took time to write us.
CHOI: And look what I have. The answer to our real life equation of that same problem. We went around and asked people in the newsroom.
ROBERTS: See the envelope? We spare no expense around here.
CHOI: That's right. Confidential.
ROBERTS: Confidential.
CHOI: We're going to open it later on.
ROBERTS: Coming up in the nine o'clock hour. Also, the professor that posed all these questions to us, he's going to join us live to give us all the formulas and all the things we need to actually figure this out. Plus...
CHOI: And don't forget clues throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: The clues, right.
CHOI: To help you guess the right answer.
ROBERTS: I don't know if they'll help me at all. Good morning, everybody.
You know, the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
