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CNN Saturday Morning News

Novak Zone: Interview with Surgeon General, Richard Carmona

Aired December 18, 2004 - 09:00   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Good morning. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. We want to thank you for starting your day with us.

Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.

A Kansas woman is in police custody this morning, charged with killing a pregnant woman and stealing her unborn baby. The baby was found yesterday, apparently in good health. We have a live report from Missouri straight ahead.

Also, a California woman is pleading for the life of her ex- husband. Roy Hallums (ph) was one of six people kidnapped last month in Baghdad. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Hallums works for a Saudi company which serves food to the Iraqi army.

The Justice Department has asked an immigration judge to deport a man who the government says once served as a Nazi guard in concentration camps. Eighty-four-year-old John Demianjuk (ph) is a retired Ohio auto worker who says he's innocent. His son-in-law says the family will challenge the deportation move.

And some doctors are urging their patients to look for an alternative to Celebrex. That after the drug maker, Pfizer, said a new study shows the popular painkiller can cause an increased risk of heart problems. Pfizer says it has no plans to pull the drug from the market.

HARRIS: And here's what we've got coming up for you this hour.

Saddam has met with one of his lawyers, but when will he get his next day in court? Some legal expertise is on the way.

Also, they call him the nation's top doc. And he says the prognosis is not good when it comes to the health of America's kids.

And a few of our favorite things joining us live, the descendants of the Von Trapp family. They'll bring the morning alive with the sound of music.

NGUYEN: Definitely Von Trapps, because they can sing.

Well, turning now to Washington, where a battle over the budget could be in the works. President Bush may use some tough tactics to rein in domestic spending.

Our Elaine Quijano joins us from the White House with the details on all of this. Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Betty.

And tough is the word that President Bush uses to describe his yet-to-be-finalized budget. Tough is also how he describes some of the choices that he believes are going to have to be made in order to keep the economy growing.

Now, the president made that quite clear during the White House's two-day economic conference earlier this week here in Washington. There has been, of course, continued pressure on the Bush White House from conservatives to cut the deficit and curb spending.

The president has already pledged to cut the deficit in half in five years. But at the same time, he's trying to push some ambitious and what critics say could be costly goals, like privatizing part of Social Security and making tax cuts permanent.

So where would the money come from? What domestic programs? Unclear right now. Although the budget details aren't out yet, we already know where some of the president's priorities lie. He campaigned on a pledge of keeping America safer and, with the administration's vow to continue fighting the war on terrorism, it is likely that defense spending, homeland security spending will remain top priorities.

But again, this White House, Betty, very much aware that with a deficit looming large, that it's going to exercise fiscal restraint, administration officials say, in the president's second term, Betty.

NGUYEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Thank you, Elaine.

Tony?

HARRIS: A U.S. soldier who was supposed to be returning to Iraq may now be heading to jail. Marquise Roberts is facing multiple charges after police say he had a family member shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to war.

Adaora Udoji explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (audio interrupt) Army specialist spent seven months fighting in Iraq. Twenty-three years old, on leave in Philadelphia, police say he took a bullet rather than return to war.

DIANE FULLER, AUNT OF MARQUISE ROBERTS: I can't even begin to explain it. I just don't understand how something like this happens.

UDOJI: But his aunt says her son, Roland Fuller, told her Roberts asked his cousin to shoot him, telling her...

FULLER: I didn't think that it would be nothing serious, you know, just shooting him in the leg, artificial wound, you know. The young man is terrified of going back to the war.

UDOJI: Police say the cousins went to this nearby park, and that Fuller used a .22-caliber gun to shoot Roberts in the leg. One apparently told police it was a robbery, the other said a stray bullet. Confronted, police say the story changed.

LT. JAMES CLARK, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DETECTIVE: They gave it up. They had concocted the whole story in an effort for him not to have to go back to the war in Iraq.

UDOJI: A Pentagon spokesman said this was the first case of a soldier deliberately hurting himself that he can recall in 22 years. However, there have been high-profile deserters, like Staff Sergeant Camillo Majilla (ph), a 28-year-old National Guardsman who sought conscientious objector status. He was denied and sent to prison.

In 2004, the Army says nearly 2,400 soldiers deserted. But that's down, they say, from nearly 3,700 in 2003.

Paul Reickhoff, a veteran working with vets, says Roberts' case is not surprising.

PAUL REICKHOFF, FOUNDER, OPERATION TRUTH: I fear that this is the tip of the iceberg. I worry that we'll see more incidents like this, and a greater degree of damage to the people that has been done here by themselves or by the experience itself of being in combat.

UDOJI (on camera): Roberts was apparently not hurt badly and now faces criminal charges, along with his cousin, including filing a false police report. He may also face military charges.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now to security watch, where we update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror every Saturday morning.

A new report says one of the 50 states, Florida, and North Carolina could probably be best able to handle a bioterror attack. Now, that is because they have contingency plans in place for hurricanes and other natural disasters. The study, by the Private Trust for America's Health, says Alaska and Massachusetts are probably the least prepared.

Security at Los Angeles International Airport is being reinforced to protect jets from shoulder-fired missile rockets. Now, officials say there is no immediate threat, but they are taking precautions because of recent strikes against aircrafts overseas.

And a bag containing inert explosive material was cleared by screeners at Newark Airport. And the Transportation Security Administration wants to know why. The mock explosive device, used in a security drill, made it to Amsterdam on board a Continental Airlines flight.

And in a major blow to Britain's antiterrorism strategy, that country's highest court ruled the U.K. cannot hold foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without trial. The government had argued that the practice was necessary to protect against attacks. The government says it will now send the controversial law back to parliament to be reexamined.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

HARRIS: Well, you can be sure the world's spotlight will be on the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whenever it takes place. The big question, can he get a fair hearing? A legal expert weighs in.

Plus, the nation's top docs concerned about the health of the nation's children.

NGUYEN: And take a look at this. You are looking and listening to the Von Trapp children. I'm going to join them in just a few minutes as they perform live here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning. And cold air driving down from Canada. That's the big weather story today. And it will be really for the ongoing days at least east of the Rockies. West Coast looking good. Here's San Francisco for you, temperatures right now 45 degrees. All is dark. Sun yet to come up. We're getting closer towards the shortest day of the year. Thanks, KRON. And good morning, Bay Area.

We'll be right back with weather in about 10 minutes. CNN live Saturday morning continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

L.L. COOL J (rapping): (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

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HARRIS: L.L. Cool J, that's that head sprung song that the kids seem to like a lot. The head sprung. Yes, L.L. Cool J. gets a Grammy nomination for best rap album. Find out all about this long-time Def Jam artist on CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," maybe even learn what L.L. and J stand for. "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: And welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

Here's a look at our top stories today.

There is now word on the identity of an American man taken hostage in Iraq. The U.S. embassy confirms that 56-year-old Roy Hallums was kidnapped six weeks ago in Baghdad. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Hallums worked for a Saudi company that caters for the Iraqi army.

A potential budget battle could be brewing on Capitol Hill. President Bush is hammering out his first budget for his second term, and he may take strong action to rein in domestic spending. And that could include cutting or freezing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) spending at some key federal agencies.

And the family of an Ohio man says they will fight efforts to deport him. Eighty-four-year-old John Demianjuk is accused of serving as a Nazi guard in concentration camps, and the Justice Department has asked an immigration judge to deport him. Demjanjuk maintains his innocence.

Also, record numbers of holiday travelers are expected to jam the nation's airports and highways this week. What can you do to avoid holiday travel hassles? Find out coming up on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" at noon Eastern.

HARRIS: In Iraq, one of Saddam Hussein's top lieutenants has reportedly appeared before a investigating magistrate this morning. Ali Hassan, who was also known as Chemical Ali, was once one of the most-feared men in Iraqi. He's accused of gassing thousands of Kurds in the 1980s. Today's hearings open the first phase of trials for a total of 11 former regime loyalists and Saddam himself.

Joining us now to talk about what lies ahead is Michael Scharf from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Michael, good morning. Can you hear me?

MICHAEL SCHARF, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Hi. Yes, I can. Thank you.

HARRIS: OK, make your adjustments there. You're fine? You're strapped in?

SCHARF: Yes, we're there. Good.

HARRIS: OK. Let me start with a sort of general broad question. In your opinion, as someone who has worked with some of these judges who will be hearing these cases, can Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?

SCHARF: You know, defining a fair trial requires three things. First you have to have fair procedures, second you have to have judges who are committed to being fair and objective, and third, you have to have what is known equality of arms, or a level playing field, between the defense and the prosecution.

I think that we are going to see all of those three standards met in the Saddam trial. HARRIS: OK, what about the rules of evidence? Because procedures, as you mentioned, are so important. Have those rules of evidence been drawn up yet?

SCHARF: Right. Now, that's one of the things that's been misreported up to date. Those rules of evidence have not yet been fully developed. And my own office at Case Western Reserve has been helping in the effort. One of the things that has been also misreported is that the use of evidence that has (UNINTELLIGIBLE)-

HARRIS: Torture evidence, right?

SCHARF: ... torture, right...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHARF: ... will be used at trial. That is absolutely not true. There is definitely going to be a provision that is like an exclusionary rule in the United States that says any evidence or testimony obtained through torture will be excluded.

HARRIS: OK, Michael, you worked with some of these judges who will be hearing some of the procedures in some of these trials down the road here. What's your sense of them? Give us your take on what kind of people they are, and their ability to stand up to what is going to be a lot of pressure on them down the road.

SCHARF: This was one of the big surprises to me, because who knew what kind of judges they would end up with? They couldn't take high-level judges who were associated with the old Ba'athist Party, because those people would have been tainted. They couldn't take exile judges because those people would have had a grudge to grind.

So they got lower-level judges. But these judges turned out to be very bright, very committed, and, most importantly, very brave. I got to know the judge who was the chief prosecuting judge the best, because his English was fluent. He's the judge that the world saw during the hearings in June.

And he said that he was given the option to have his face excluded from the camera. But he decided, because human rights were so important, and the perception of fairness was so important, that he'd rather have his face seen on camera, so that he would be the face of justice to show the commitment to the rights of the defense of this tribunal.

HARRIS: And Michael, what were the specific areas that you worked on with the judges?

SCHARF: Well, we trained the judges on a whole host of issues, from the definitions of genocide and war crimes and crimes against humanity, and even the crime of aggression, which hasn't been prosecuted since Nuremberg, to procedural issues like using plea bargains, which are going to be very important in these trials, given that there's not a lot of documentary evidence, as there was at Nuremberg. They're going to need testimony, probably, of some of Saddam Hussein's subordinates in order to convict him.

HARRIS: OK. Give us a sense (UNINTELLIGIBLE) transparency. Will this be a transparent proceeding? Will it be televised, even?

SCHARF: There has not yet been a final decision on that. There are some real negatives to having televised trials, as we saw with the O.J. case and even with the Milosevic trial at the Hague. But, you know, the judges and some of the officials in Iraq are very much strongly in favor of televising these proceedings, as a way of educating the people in Iraq about the truth of the Saddam Hussein atrocities.

And that would be also a way of maybe suppressing the rebellion or any support for the insurgency.

HARRIS: And what kind of charges are we talking about here? War crimes, genocide, torture?

SCHARF: All of those. We're going to see genocide charges with respect to the Shi'ites and the southern marsh Arabs, who were -- had their land dried up, and they died in the hundreds of thousands. Also involving the northern Kurds, who were gassed.

The most interesting possible charge will be the crime of aggression, related to the attack on Kuwait, also the use of Scud missiles against Israel. The reason that's such an interesting crime is because it hasn't been prosecuted since World War II. The United States has actually worked to keep that crime out of the jurisdiction of the modern-day international tribunals, because the U.S. is often accused of that very crime.

HARRIS: OK, and one last question as we wrap it up. I know there is a lot of procedural work that's going on now and over the next couple of weeks and probably months. What's the most important thing for us to be looking out for, in your mind?

SCHARF: Well, already the biggest development is that the defense lawyers have now gotten access to the defendants. So the argument that they were precluded from seeing the defendants has been proven false this week, and that is the biggest signal so far that there is going to be fairness in these procedures.

What we'll see in coming weeks are formal arraignments, then in the new year, they're going to start some of the trials. There'll have to be a decision made whether there'll be a joint, giant trial, or to divide the trials up, whether Saddam should be the first to be tried or later down the road.

HARRIS: OK, much to do. Michael Scharf, thanks for taking the time to talk to us this morning. We appreciate it.

SCHARF: It's been a pleasure.

NGUYEN: There's a new twist in the case of a missing Arizona couple. A California man who bought the couple's yacht last month is in a Newport Beach jail this morning. He faces a money-laundering charge, which police say is linked to his purchase. There's been no sign of the couple since they sold their yacht in mid-November. Their car was found Thursday in Mexico.

More now on a grisly crime in Missouri. A pregnant woman strangled, her baby stolen. The suspect, another woman. We take you now to Missouri and Michelle Rooney from our affiliate KNBC.

And Michelle, I think the thing that most people are trying to understand right now is the motive. What was behind this killing?

MICHELLE ROONEY, KNBC REPORTER: Well, the motive is still something that authorities are investigating and not saying much about at this hour.

I can tell we are live here in front of the federal courthouse in Kansas City. And this is where Lisa Montgomery, the woman who is charged, will face her kidnapping charges and perhaps the death penalty. Authorities say have not made a decision on that yet.

As you know, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the 23-year-old victim, was eight months' pregnant with her first child when the fetus was cut from her womb and stolen. And she was strangled.

Now, it was her own mother who found her. And what followed was a massive hunt for the baby that they believed at that time was viable and could be alive. And 23 hours after the little girl was cut from her dying mother, she was found by authorities and is OK. We're told that the father is with his daughter at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, right now.

So what happens next? The investigation continues, but 36-year- old Lisa Montgomery is the only one facing charges this morning. At this point, authorities say they believe she strangled Stinnett and extracted the baby by herself.

Now, it was an investigation that broke wide open when two things checked out at the same time, a tips call from North Carolina, and forensic work on the victim's computer here in Kansas City. Authorities say the suspect represented herself as someone who was interested in looking at dogs the victim bred at her house. Authorities say Lisa Montgomery went by the moniker Fisher for Kids on the Internet, and that after the kidnapping of the baby, she drove to Topeka, Kansas...

NGUYEN: All right, we're obviously having some technical difficulties with that. That was Michelle Rooney with KNBC.

And, of course, we'll continue to follow this story throughout the day.

Tony?

HARRIS: And checking news across America now.

The recount of ballots in Washington for the race for governor has been stopped. The judge says it is now too late to consider more than 700 recently discovered ballots. Republican Dino Rossi won the election by only 42 votes in a machine recount. Democrats say they will appeal Friday's decision.

The death penalty in Kansas is now null and void after being ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court. It's all because of a technical error in the law. The state legislature can fix the error, but six convicted killers facing the death penalty will now get life in prison.

It's going, going, gone. Washington, D.C.'s old convention center is now a thing of the past, and most of the 22-year-old building was brought down about two hours ago. No word on what will be built in its place. But a new convention center opened in a different location last year.

NGUYEN: Thousands of soldiers in training will get to cozy up with loved ones for the holidays. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the launch pad for Operation Exodus this week. The soldiers you see here are based at Georgia's Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, and they're on leave until January, home to enjoy the holidays.

And we've got a special holiday treat for you coming right up. But here's a hint, Tony.

An Oscar-winning movie based on a real-life family, "The Sound of Music" lives on in the children of the Von Trapps. They're here to perform for us live in about 20 minutes.

HARRIS: And good morning, San Francisco. Rob has your forecast in about a minute.

First, updating you on this hour's top stories. We'll take a break, then come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Mall traffic gets a slight break every year from people who have chosen to do their Christmas shopping online. Listen up, you last-minute shoppers. It is not too late to let the Internet be your Santa's helper. The World Wide Web, a procrastinator's friend. Last- minute shopping on the Internet tomorrow morning, the best of the Web, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

NGUYEN: Do you shop much on line?

HARRIS: No, no, I don't even shop...

NGUYEN: I'm starting to get into it.

HARRIS: ... much. You are?

NGUYEN: I'm starting to really get into it. It's supereasy.

HARRIS: Convenient, easy, and -- is that, is that...

NGUYEN: Supereasy.

HARRIS: OK.

NGUYEN: Rob, do you like it?

MARCIANO: It's, yes, it's, but then you get too many, you get information overload, you know?

NGUYEN: That's true.

MARCIANO: You know, now I'm getting back to the point where I just want to walk in a store...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: ... do the old-fashioned way.

HARRIS: Give us a brick and mortar (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: You know, tell me what to buy.

(CROSSTALK)

MARCIANO: Help!

NGUYEN: ... we can send lists over. No problem.

MARCIANO: Good morning again, guys. Yes, one week left, and then Christmas is here. I tell you what, it's going to feel like Christmas. At least the cold air is. Not everyone going to see a white Christmas. Tune in tomorrow. We're working on the old who's going to get a white Christmas weather map.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Tom Jones playing at the Filmore all weekend long. Not unusual -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) can you imagine Tom -- has Tom Jones ever put out a Christmas album (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

HARRIS: I'll bet he has. I mean, there's no singer of any note who hasn't done one. It's just, like, easy money, it's like...

NGUYEN: Everyone has one these days.

HARRIS: ... it's a reason to print money.

Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

HARRIS: OK.

And this just into CNN. We have pictures from the administrative hearing that was held for Chemical Ali, the man known as Chemical Ali, Saddam Hussein's, one of his top lieutenants in his regime for a number of years. His name is Ali Hassan al-Majad (ph), and he is better known as Chemical Ali.

As we were just telling you just a moment ago, there will be a number of steps on the road to the ultimate trial for Saddam Hussein. And Chemical Ali and a number of others -- probably I think the number is 11 -- of his former regime mates will ultimately go through the trial process. This is the first step. It is a procedural matter that's being taken care of now in Baghdad. But it is an important first step on the road to trials for the Saddam Hussein regime.

Once again, Chemical Ali, there you see him on your screen right now in front of a magistrate in Iraq. It is a bit of history going on right now in Iraq. And we will continue to follow this story and bring you updates throughout the morning.

More CNN SATURDAY MORNING when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. The Von Trapps, wow, big-time.

NGUYEN: Famous family.

HARRIS: Coming up.

NGUYEN: "Sound of Music."

HARRIS: In this half hour.

But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

There may be some lean times ahead for some government agencies. President Bush is looking to rein in domestic spending. And there's word that he may freeze or cut spending for some major government programs in his next budget proposal.

We've learned the identity of an American who was kidnapped in Iraq. The U.S. embassy confirms that 56-year-old Roy Hallums was one of six people abducted six weeks ago after a gun battle. Hallums was working for a Saudi catering company. His ex-wife is pleading for his safe release.

A Kansas woman is being held on charges of killing a woman and stealing her unborn baby. The baby girl was found alive yesterday after a massive search. Police say the suspect strangled the mother and removed the baby from woman's womb.

And the FDA says it has great concern about Celebrex. The drug maker, Pfizer, yesterday said the arthritis drug can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. So far, officials haven't taken action to remove the popular drug from the market.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news. NGUYEN: Well, despite all of the changes to the Bush cabinet for his second term, the nation's surgeon general says he has no plans to leave his post. Admiral Richard Carmona is in The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone. I'm at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., the headquarters for the Department of Health and Human Services, talking to Admiral Richard Carmona, surgeon general of the United States.

Dr. Carmona, just for the ordinary viewer out there, and for me too, what is the difference between the duties of the surgeon general and the secretary of health and human services?

ADM. RICHARD CARMONA, SURGEON GENERAL: Well, the secretary of health and human services is the cabinet member that works directly with the president to oversee and develop policy for the department of health and human services, and the health of the country. My job is to protect in advance the health of the nation as the lead doctor, sometimes called the top doc, in the United States.

NOVAK: Doctor, it seems to me, I've been here for 46 years. And for about the first 25 years, you never heard of the surgeon general. And then we started hearing the surgeon general telling people how to be more healthy, to stop smoking, to eat better. And it seems that antitobacco has been a big theme by surgeon generals. Is it a theme of yours? And is any progress being made, if that is a theme?

CARMONA: It is one of my themes. It's clearly in my portfolio. We still have about 400,000 people a year dying from tobacco-related disease. Very significant problem, causes a huge disease and economic burden to society. And it's all preventable, so it's something very important to me and to the country.

NOVAK: Something relatively new is the problem of obesity, at least from the standpoint of hearing about it. Is this reaching epidemic proportions with the young people, obesity?

CARMONA: Absolutely is. Well, two out of three Americans are overweight or obese. We have 9 million children in the United States who are overweight and obese. And related to that, we're seeing diabetes in children, we're seeing hypertension in children. So it is epidemic. But the disease burden that it causes, the economic burden, is also preventable, and it robs our children of quality of life.

NOVAK: What is the cause of it? Is it diet, or is it that kids are just sitting on their can watching television? What's the problem?

CARMONA: All of the above, all of the above. You know, we've -- if you look at what's happened over the last few decades, we've become more of a sedentary society. Children watch more TV, over four hours a day. Children are in front of computers for a long time. Schools eliminate physical activity. Children eating indiscriminately.

So when you look at that over two or three decades, it's not surprising that we're breeding heavy kids.

NOVAK: And what can you do about it?

CARMONA: We need to change that. We have to increase awareness, through health literacy. Make sure that everybody understands what the contributing factors are. Make sure that schools continue to offer physical activity, make sure children continue to be active and eat healthy. Get their parents involved and their role models involved.

NOVAK: Just the other day, Dr. Carmona, the secretary of HHS talked about the U.S. buying some flu vaccine. It was just a few months ago that there was a panic, particularly in the news media, about not enough flu vaccine. But I haven't seen any flu epidemic with the lack of vaccine. Is, was this crying wolf, or was this too much fuss over nothing?

CARMONA: Well, I think at the time, the secretary and I and our other leadership both went online and said we didn't think that there was a problem right now. We had a plan in place. We had 61 million doses available. And we rolled that out.

In fact, this flu season is getting off to a very slow start. At the time when this made the headlines, there really was almost no flu in the United States.

NOVAK: Counterterrorism is part of your portfolio. Do you think, do you see a threat to the country's food supply from terrorism? Or what part of the problem are you involved in?

CARMONA: Well, all of the problem, as it relates to the health and safety and security of the nation, working with my colleagues. There are many threats. I mean, we're in a nation that was -- we're a nation that was so used to its freedom to move anyplace, and those freedoms are used by others to take advantage of us. So we walk a fine line.

So whether it's the food supply, whether it's transportation, whether it's many other aspects, we have to look at how to protect our citizens, yet protect their freedoms at the same time.

The food supply is an area that no one ever thought they'd have to protect, and now we're moving in that direction. But there are many, many programs and oversight groups that are looking at how to best do that now.

NOVAK: Dr. Carmona, the headlines the last couple weeks, the newspaper's been full of story of steroid use by athletes. These are millionaire professional athletes. But is the steroid problem something you see as trickling down, or could trickle down to amateur athletes, high school athletes, pre-high school athletes?

CARMONA: Well, we have information that it already has, down even to high school in some cases. And I'm very concerned from a public health standpoint that what these children are seeing emulated by their role models kind of opens the door for them to say, Why can't I do that? Why can't I get bigger and stronger and faster and more competitive?

So if those allegations are true, I'm very concerned with what I see happening in our youngsters, because from the public health standpoint, taking exogenous or steroids that don't belong in your body can harm your growth and development, can harm your organs, can, in fact, in the long run, cause cancer and other diseases. It's not a good thing to do.

NOVAK: Speaking of role models, you have a terrific life story. You were a high school dropout. And now you're surgeon general of the United States. Is that possible to -- for any American to turn his life around that way?

CARMONA: Well, it's a great country. I mean, it really bespeaks of all the opportunity that this country offers to everyone. And I never planned to be surgeon general, but I had a couple of good breaks throughout my life. And once I got my equivalency diploma in the Army and decided to go to college, I made my way here, but never planning.

But I saw lots of opportunity where I used to see a bleak horizon, and just -- I changed my outlook on life. And a lot of good people along the way who helped me when I met those critical junctures and I wasn't sure what to do -- a good mentor, a good role model helping me come along to be successful.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Admiral Richard Carmona, surgeon general of the United States.

Dr. Carmona, looking at the American people today, do you think their quality of their health is rising, or is it falling?

CARMONA: In general, I think the quality of health is rising, but we still have pockets that we might describe as health disparities, people of color who are still struggling, Native Americans, blacks, Hispanics, who don't have the same measurable outcomes as others, as far as good outcomes. We have pockets where a maternal child mortality is less than it should be.

So we're working on those things. And health disparities are one of those areas in my portfolio that are very important, that are important to the president, the secretary, and me. And we're moving forward on that agenda very vigorously.

NOVAK: Richard Carmona, thank you for being with us.

CARMONA: Thank you, sir.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, if you've had a tough time keeping up with the headlines, it's time to rewind for a look at some of the top stories of the week.

Monday, the same jury who convicted Scott Peterson of killing his wife and unborn child recommended he receive the ultimate sentence. They sentenced Peterson to die by lethal injection.

Wednesday's test of a new national missile defense system ended in failure. A mock warhead was lost, with no problems from Alaska, but the interceptor missile that was supposed to destroy the warhead never left the ground. The government says it's not clear what went wrong.

Thursday, President Bush wrapped up a two-day economic conference at the White House. On the agenda, Social Security, health care, and the nation's deficit. The summit came alongside new third-quarter trade deficit numbers. The country's current account deficit widened just a bit to a record $164.7 billion.

And late yesterday, a federal panel recommended flu shots be made available to everyone 50 and older, and not just those considered at most risk. The announcement comes two months after health officials warned of a shortage of flu vaccine. Now they say there may be a surplus, because demand was lower than expected.

And tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

Believe it or not, there are some people here in this very newsroom who have never seen the classic movie "The Sound of Music."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

JULIE ANDREWS, ACTOR (singing): ... brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is the story of a real-life musical family that escaped Adolf Hitler's grasp. This morning, you'll meet the great- grandchildren of the famous Von Trapp family. They're here to perform live, next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So is she country, or is she pop? A profile of one of the most country crossover artists in the business today, Shania Twain, in "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Hey. Hi, guys. Right now it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), am I teasing, or am I doing a, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: I think you're teasing.

MARCIANO: All right. Well, I don't want to be a bit tease here (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Complete forecast coming in about 10 minutes. CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Checking our top stores this Saturday morning.

A shocking confession. Police say a Kansas woman says she strangled a pregnant Missouri woman and took the baby from her womb. Authorities have recovered the infant girl. They say she is in good condition.

Safety questions are swirling around a popular painkiller. A new study suggests Celebrex could boost the risk of heart problems. Drug maker Pfizer says it is not planning to pull its arthritis drug from the market.

And going out with a bang, Washington's old convention center was demolished a couple of hours ago. A crowd cheered and clapped, clapped and cheered, as the 22-year-old building came down. Man.

The singing family immortalized in "The Sound of Music" is alive and well and celebrating this Christmas season. Betty joins us now from our atrium with a new generation of voices lifted in song. Betty?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. They are lifted out here.

We are here with the great-grandchildren of Captain Von Trapp. That's your great-grandfather. And you remember him from "The Sound Of Music," that famous family. Well, before we talk about this new CD from the Von Trapp children, we want to take a look back at the Von Trapp family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

ANDREWS (singing): Do, a deer, a female deer...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: It's an American classic. The story of perhaps the most famous musical family in the world, "The Sound of Music" is the tale of how the Von Trapps of Austria escaped the grasp of Adolf Hitler's army.

In 1938, they fled Nazi-ruled Austria after refusing to sing "Happy Birthday" to Hitler. As in the movie, they left everything behind in a dash for the border and freedom. Eventually, the Von Trapps landed in America, bringing with them their singing tradition. They turned a hobby into a living, singing for their livelihood, and packed theaters around the world for the next 20 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINGERS (singing): Silent night, holy night...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: It was the Von Trapp family that was the first to sing "Silent Night" on American soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINGERS (singing): (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's a churning, yearning rhythm...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Fast forward six decades. It's now the grandchildren of the legendary family carrying on the Von Trapp tune. Sofia (ph), Melanie (ph), Amanda, and Justin, the grandchildren of Werner Von Trapp, Kurt in the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "the sound of music")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Kurt. I'm 11. I'm incorrigible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Are the first in the family to go on tour in 50 years.

It all started when the kids sang to their stroke-ridden grandfather to cheer him up. The relatives loved it so much, it began the rebirth of one of the most famous musical families in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

ANDREWS (singing): The hills are alive...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And their very own sound of music.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And what a beautiful sound it is. As we mentioned, we are here with the Von Trapp children, all four of them today. And they're all great singers. We have Amanda, Sofia, Melanie, and Justin. How old are you, Justin?

JUSTIN: I'm 10.

NGUYEN: You're 10, but, boy, do you have a voice. You guys have a future, I imagine. Is it in the genes, Sofia?

SOFIA: I guess so. yes, we just love to sing.

NGUYEN: You've been singing ever since what, how old?

SOFIA: Oh, ever since I was about 4, I guess. I can't remember.

NGUYEN: What are your best songs? What's your favorite song, Melanie? MELANIE: My favorite song is probably a French song that we sing called (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I get to play finger cymbals.

NGUYEN: Say that again?

MELANIE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NGUYEN: Oh, that sounded so beautiful. So you guys have been on tour since when, Amanda?

AMANDA: Well, this tour, well, we've been touring professionally about three years right now, but since November right now.

NGUYEN: And you have quite the voices. We want to get right to the singing. But before we go, tell us about your favorite song on this Christmas album that you have out, Justin. You have a bunch of them. "Feliz Navidad" is even on the Christmas album. Do you have a favorite song?

JUSTIN: Well, I like...

NGUYEN: How about the one you're about to sing?

JUSTIN: The one we're about to sing is "African Gloria."

NGUYEN: Oh, all right, well, let's get right to it, then.

(The Trapp grandchildren sing "African Gloria")

NGUYEN: Now, that is the sound of music. We'll have more from the Von Trapps when we come back.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you to Washington now. Dana Bash is standing by with a preview of "ON THE STORY." Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, "ON THE STORY": Good morning, Tony.

And we are "ON THE STORY" from politics and foreign taxes, to flu shots and Celebrex. Kathleen Hays and I are going to talk about the president's economic summit, his push for changes in Social Security and taxes. Kristi Feig (ph) talks about new questions about another popular painkiller, while the manufacturer of Celebrex keeps it on the market. And Alina Cho has been looking at extreme commuters, why some people spend hours every day between home and work. That's all coming up "ON THE STORY," Tony.

HARRIS: Dana, thank you.

And let's get you quickly now to Rob Marciano for another check of weather. Rob?

MARCIANO: Hey, Tony. The big story today and the next couple days going to be cold air.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Back to you in the studio.

Hey, Rob, we appreciate it. Thank you.

MARCIANO: You bet.

HARRIS: And thank you for joining us this morning. We'll see you again tomorrow morning. Let's send you back downstairs to the CNN atrium and to Betty Nguyen, with more from the Von Trapp kids. Good morning.

NGUYEN: Hey, Tony, can these guys sing, or what? I tell you.

HARRIS: They can, they can.

NGUYEN: It's in the genes, it has to be. Unfortunately, we are out of time, but it's been a fun show today. And as we leave you, we'll leave you with a little holiday spirit as they take it away, Von Trapps.

Thanks for being with us.

(Von Trapp grandchildren sing "The Lonely Goatherd")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 December 18, 2004 - 09:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Good morning. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. We want to thank you for starting your day with us.

Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.

A Kansas woman is in police custody this morning, charged with killing a pregnant woman and stealing her unborn baby. The baby was found yesterday, apparently in good health. We have a live report from Missouri straight ahead.

Also, a California woman is pleading for the life of her ex- husband. Roy Hallums (ph) was one of six people kidnapped last month in Baghdad. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Hallums works for a Saudi company which serves food to the Iraqi army.

The Justice Department has asked an immigration judge to deport a man who the government says once served as a Nazi guard in concentration camps. Eighty-four-year-old John Demianjuk (ph) is a retired Ohio auto worker who says he's innocent. His son-in-law says the family will challenge the deportation move.

And some doctors are urging their patients to look for an alternative to Celebrex. That after the drug maker, Pfizer, said a new study shows the popular painkiller can cause an increased risk of heart problems. Pfizer says it has no plans to pull the drug from the market.

HARRIS: And here's what we've got coming up for you this hour.

Saddam has met with one of his lawyers, but when will he get his next day in court? Some legal expertise is on the way.

Also, they call him the nation's top doc. And he says the prognosis is not good when it comes to the health of America's kids.

And a few of our favorite things joining us live, the descendants of the Von Trapp family. They'll bring the morning alive with the sound of music.

NGUYEN: Definitely Von Trapps, because they can sing.

Well, turning now to Washington, where a battle over the budget could be in the works. President Bush may use some tough tactics to rein in domestic spending.

Our Elaine Quijano joins us from the White House with the details on all of this. Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Betty.

And tough is the word that President Bush uses to describe his yet-to-be-finalized budget. Tough is also how he describes some of the choices that he believes are going to have to be made in order to keep the economy growing.

Now, the president made that quite clear during the White House's two-day economic conference earlier this week here in Washington. There has been, of course, continued pressure on the Bush White House from conservatives to cut the deficit and curb spending.

The president has already pledged to cut the deficit in half in five years. But at the same time, he's trying to push some ambitious and what critics say could be costly goals, like privatizing part of Social Security and making tax cuts permanent.

So where would the money come from? What domestic programs? Unclear right now. Although the budget details aren't out yet, we already know where some of the president's priorities lie. He campaigned on a pledge of keeping America safer and, with the administration's vow to continue fighting the war on terrorism, it is likely that defense spending, homeland security spending will remain top priorities.

But again, this White House, Betty, very much aware that with a deficit looming large, that it's going to exercise fiscal restraint, administration officials say, in the president's second term, Betty.

NGUYEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Thank you, Elaine.

Tony?

HARRIS: A U.S. soldier who was supposed to be returning to Iraq may now be heading to jail. Marquise Roberts is facing multiple charges after police say he had a family member shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to war.

Adaora Udoji explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (audio interrupt) Army specialist spent seven months fighting in Iraq. Twenty-three years old, on leave in Philadelphia, police say he took a bullet rather than return to war.

DIANE FULLER, AUNT OF MARQUISE ROBERTS: I can't even begin to explain it. I just don't understand how something like this happens.

UDOJI: But his aunt says her son, Roland Fuller, told her Roberts asked his cousin to shoot him, telling her...

FULLER: I didn't think that it would be nothing serious, you know, just shooting him in the leg, artificial wound, you know. The young man is terrified of going back to the war.

UDOJI: Police say the cousins went to this nearby park, and that Fuller used a .22-caliber gun to shoot Roberts in the leg. One apparently told police it was a robbery, the other said a stray bullet. Confronted, police say the story changed.

LT. JAMES CLARK, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DETECTIVE: They gave it up. They had concocted the whole story in an effort for him not to have to go back to the war in Iraq.

UDOJI: A Pentagon spokesman said this was the first case of a soldier deliberately hurting himself that he can recall in 22 years. However, there have been high-profile deserters, like Staff Sergeant Camillo Majilla (ph), a 28-year-old National Guardsman who sought conscientious objector status. He was denied and sent to prison.

In 2004, the Army says nearly 2,400 soldiers deserted. But that's down, they say, from nearly 3,700 in 2003.

Paul Reickhoff, a veteran working with vets, says Roberts' case is not surprising.

PAUL REICKHOFF, FOUNDER, OPERATION TRUTH: I fear that this is the tip of the iceberg. I worry that we'll see more incidents like this, and a greater degree of damage to the people that has been done here by themselves or by the experience itself of being in combat.

UDOJI (on camera): Roberts was apparently not hurt badly and now faces criminal charges, along with his cousin, including filing a false police report. He may also face military charges.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now to security watch, where we update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror every Saturday morning.

A new report says one of the 50 states, Florida, and North Carolina could probably be best able to handle a bioterror attack. Now, that is because they have contingency plans in place for hurricanes and other natural disasters. The study, by the Private Trust for America's Health, says Alaska and Massachusetts are probably the least prepared.

Security at Los Angeles International Airport is being reinforced to protect jets from shoulder-fired missile rockets. Now, officials say there is no immediate threat, but they are taking precautions because of recent strikes against aircrafts overseas.

And a bag containing inert explosive material was cleared by screeners at Newark Airport. And the Transportation Security Administration wants to know why. The mock explosive device, used in a security drill, made it to Amsterdam on board a Continental Airlines flight.

And in a major blow to Britain's antiterrorism strategy, that country's highest court ruled the U.K. cannot hold foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without trial. The government had argued that the practice was necessary to protect against attacks. The government says it will now send the controversial law back to parliament to be reexamined.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

HARRIS: Well, you can be sure the world's spotlight will be on the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whenever it takes place. The big question, can he get a fair hearing? A legal expert weighs in.

Plus, the nation's top docs concerned about the health of the nation's children.

NGUYEN: And take a look at this. You are looking and listening to the Von Trapp children. I'm going to join them in just a few minutes as they perform live here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning. And cold air driving down from Canada. That's the big weather story today. And it will be really for the ongoing days at least east of the Rockies. West Coast looking good. Here's San Francisco for you, temperatures right now 45 degrees. All is dark. Sun yet to come up. We're getting closer towards the shortest day of the year. Thanks, KRON. And good morning, Bay Area.

We'll be right back with weather in about 10 minutes. CNN live Saturday morning continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

L.L. COOL J (rapping): (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: L.L. Cool J, that's that head sprung song that the kids seem to like a lot. The head sprung. Yes, L.L. Cool J. gets a Grammy nomination for best rap album. Find out all about this long-time Def Jam artist on CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," maybe even learn what L.L. and J stand for. "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: And welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

Here's a look at our top stories today.

There is now word on the identity of an American man taken hostage in Iraq. The U.S. embassy confirms that 56-year-old Roy Hallums was kidnapped six weeks ago in Baghdad. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Hallums worked for a Saudi company that caters for the Iraqi army.

A potential budget battle could be brewing on Capitol Hill. President Bush is hammering out his first budget for his second term, and he may take strong action to rein in domestic spending. And that could include cutting or freezing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) spending at some key federal agencies.

And the family of an Ohio man says they will fight efforts to deport him. Eighty-four-year-old John Demianjuk is accused of serving as a Nazi guard in concentration camps, and the Justice Department has asked an immigration judge to deport him. Demjanjuk maintains his innocence.

Also, record numbers of holiday travelers are expected to jam the nation's airports and highways this week. What can you do to avoid holiday travel hassles? Find out coming up on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" at noon Eastern.

HARRIS: In Iraq, one of Saddam Hussein's top lieutenants has reportedly appeared before a investigating magistrate this morning. Ali Hassan, who was also known as Chemical Ali, was once one of the most-feared men in Iraqi. He's accused of gassing thousands of Kurds in the 1980s. Today's hearings open the first phase of trials for a total of 11 former regime loyalists and Saddam himself.

Joining us now to talk about what lies ahead is Michael Scharf from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Michael, good morning. Can you hear me?

MICHAEL SCHARF, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Hi. Yes, I can. Thank you.

HARRIS: OK, make your adjustments there. You're fine? You're strapped in?

SCHARF: Yes, we're there. Good.

HARRIS: OK. Let me start with a sort of general broad question. In your opinion, as someone who has worked with some of these judges who will be hearing these cases, can Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?

SCHARF: You know, defining a fair trial requires three things. First you have to have fair procedures, second you have to have judges who are committed to being fair and objective, and third, you have to have what is known equality of arms, or a level playing field, between the defense and the prosecution.

I think that we are going to see all of those three standards met in the Saddam trial. HARRIS: OK, what about the rules of evidence? Because procedures, as you mentioned, are so important. Have those rules of evidence been drawn up yet?

SCHARF: Right. Now, that's one of the things that's been misreported up to date. Those rules of evidence have not yet been fully developed. And my own office at Case Western Reserve has been helping in the effort. One of the things that has been also misreported is that the use of evidence that has (UNINTELLIGIBLE)-

HARRIS: Torture evidence, right?

SCHARF: ... torture, right...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHARF: ... will be used at trial. That is absolutely not true. There is definitely going to be a provision that is like an exclusionary rule in the United States that says any evidence or testimony obtained through torture will be excluded.

HARRIS: OK, Michael, you worked with some of these judges who will be hearing some of the procedures in some of these trials down the road here. What's your sense of them? Give us your take on what kind of people they are, and their ability to stand up to what is going to be a lot of pressure on them down the road.

SCHARF: This was one of the big surprises to me, because who knew what kind of judges they would end up with? They couldn't take high-level judges who were associated with the old Ba'athist Party, because those people would have been tainted. They couldn't take exile judges because those people would have had a grudge to grind.

So they got lower-level judges. But these judges turned out to be very bright, very committed, and, most importantly, very brave. I got to know the judge who was the chief prosecuting judge the best, because his English was fluent. He's the judge that the world saw during the hearings in June.

And he said that he was given the option to have his face excluded from the camera. But he decided, because human rights were so important, and the perception of fairness was so important, that he'd rather have his face seen on camera, so that he would be the face of justice to show the commitment to the rights of the defense of this tribunal.

HARRIS: And Michael, what were the specific areas that you worked on with the judges?

SCHARF: Well, we trained the judges on a whole host of issues, from the definitions of genocide and war crimes and crimes against humanity, and even the crime of aggression, which hasn't been prosecuted since Nuremberg, to procedural issues like using plea bargains, which are going to be very important in these trials, given that there's not a lot of documentary evidence, as there was at Nuremberg. They're going to need testimony, probably, of some of Saddam Hussein's subordinates in order to convict him.

HARRIS: OK. Give us a sense (UNINTELLIGIBLE) transparency. Will this be a transparent proceeding? Will it be televised, even?

SCHARF: There has not yet been a final decision on that. There are some real negatives to having televised trials, as we saw with the O.J. case and even with the Milosevic trial at the Hague. But, you know, the judges and some of the officials in Iraq are very much strongly in favor of televising these proceedings, as a way of educating the people in Iraq about the truth of the Saddam Hussein atrocities.

And that would be also a way of maybe suppressing the rebellion or any support for the insurgency.

HARRIS: And what kind of charges are we talking about here? War crimes, genocide, torture?

SCHARF: All of those. We're going to see genocide charges with respect to the Shi'ites and the southern marsh Arabs, who were -- had their land dried up, and they died in the hundreds of thousands. Also involving the northern Kurds, who were gassed.

The most interesting possible charge will be the crime of aggression, related to the attack on Kuwait, also the use of Scud missiles against Israel. The reason that's such an interesting crime is because it hasn't been prosecuted since World War II. The United States has actually worked to keep that crime out of the jurisdiction of the modern-day international tribunals, because the U.S. is often accused of that very crime.

HARRIS: OK, and one last question as we wrap it up. I know there is a lot of procedural work that's going on now and over the next couple of weeks and probably months. What's the most important thing for us to be looking out for, in your mind?

SCHARF: Well, already the biggest development is that the defense lawyers have now gotten access to the defendants. So the argument that they were precluded from seeing the defendants has been proven false this week, and that is the biggest signal so far that there is going to be fairness in these procedures.

What we'll see in coming weeks are formal arraignments, then in the new year, they're going to start some of the trials. There'll have to be a decision made whether there'll be a joint, giant trial, or to divide the trials up, whether Saddam should be the first to be tried or later down the road.

HARRIS: OK, much to do. Michael Scharf, thanks for taking the time to talk to us this morning. We appreciate it.

SCHARF: It's been a pleasure.

NGUYEN: There's a new twist in the case of a missing Arizona couple. A California man who bought the couple's yacht last month is in a Newport Beach jail this morning. He faces a money-laundering charge, which police say is linked to his purchase. There's been no sign of the couple since they sold their yacht in mid-November. Their car was found Thursday in Mexico.

More now on a grisly crime in Missouri. A pregnant woman strangled, her baby stolen. The suspect, another woman. We take you now to Missouri and Michelle Rooney from our affiliate KNBC.

And Michelle, I think the thing that most people are trying to understand right now is the motive. What was behind this killing?

MICHELLE ROONEY, KNBC REPORTER: Well, the motive is still something that authorities are investigating and not saying much about at this hour.

I can tell we are live here in front of the federal courthouse in Kansas City. And this is where Lisa Montgomery, the woman who is charged, will face her kidnapping charges and perhaps the death penalty. Authorities say have not made a decision on that yet.

As you know, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the 23-year-old victim, was eight months' pregnant with her first child when the fetus was cut from her womb and stolen. And she was strangled.

Now, it was her own mother who found her. And what followed was a massive hunt for the baby that they believed at that time was viable and could be alive. And 23 hours after the little girl was cut from her dying mother, she was found by authorities and is OK. We're told that the father is with his daughter at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, right now.

So what happens next? The investigation continues, but 36-year- old Lisa Montgomery is the only one facing charges this morning. At this point, authorities say they believe she strangled Stinnett and extracted the baby by herself.

Now, it was an investigation that broke wide open when two things checked out at the same time, a tips call from North Carolina, and forensic work on the victim's computer here in Kansas City. Authorities say the suspect represented herself as someone who was interested in looking at dogs the victim bred at her house. Authorities say Lisa Montgomery went by the moniker Fisher for Kids on the Internet, and that after the kidnapping of the baby, she drove to Topeka, Kansas...

NGUYEN: All right, we're obviously having some technical difficulties with that. That was Michelle Rooney with KNBC.

And, of course, we'll continue to follow this story throughout the day.

Tony?

HARRIS: And checking news across America now.

The recount of ballots in Washington for the race for governor has been stopped. The judge says it is now too late to consider more than 700 recently discovered ballots. Republican Dino Rossi won the election by only 42 votes in a machine recount. Democrats say they will appeal Friday's decision.

The death penalty in Kansas is now null and void after being ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court. It's all because of a technical error in the law. The state legislature can fix the error, but six convicted killers facing the death penalty will now get life in prison.

It's going, going, gone. Washington, D.C.'s old convention center is now a thing of the past, and most of the 22-year-old building was brought down about two hours ago. No word on what will be built in its place. But a new convention center opened in a different location last year.

NGUYEN: Thousands of soldiers in training will get to cozy up with loved ones for the holidays. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the launch pad for Operation Exodus this week. The soldiers you see here are based at Georgia's Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, and they're on leave until January, home to enjoy the holidays.

And we've got a special holiday treat for you coming right up. But here's a hint, Tony.

An Oscar-winning movie based on a real-life family, "The Sound of Music" lives on in the children of the Von Trapps. They're here to perform for us live in about 20 minutes.

HARRIS: And good morning, San Francisco. Rob has your forecast in about a minute.

First, updating you on this hour's top stories. We'll take a break, then come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Mall traffic gets a slight break every year from people who have chosen to do their Christmas shopping online. Listen up, you last-minute shoppers. It is not too late to let the Internet be your Santa's helper. The World Wide Web, a procrastinator's friend. Last- minute shopping on the Internet tomorrow morning, the best of the Web, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

NGUYEN: Do you shop much on line?

HARRIS: No, no, I don't even shop...

NGUYEN: I'm starting to get into it.

HARRIS: ... much. You are?

NGUYEN: I'm starting to really get into it. It's supereasy.

HARRIS: Convenient, easy, and -- is that, is that...

NGUYEN: Supereasy.

HARRIS: OK.

NGUYEN: Rob, do you like it?

MARCIANO: It's, yes, it's, but then you get too many, you get information overload, you know?

NGUYEN: That's true.

MARCIANO: You know, now I'm getting back to the point where I just want to walk in a store...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: ... do the old-fashioned way.

HARRIS: Give us a brick and mortar (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: You know, tell me what to buy.

(CROSSTALK)

MARCIANO: Help!

NGUYEN: ... we can send lists over. No problem.

MARCIANO: Good morning again, guys. Yes, one week left, and then Christmas is here. I tell you what, it's going to feel like Christmas. At least the cold air is. Not everyone going to see a white Christmas. Tune in tomorrow. We're working on the old who's going to get a white Christmas weather map.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Tom Jones playing at the Filmore all weekend long. Not unusual -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) can you imagine Tom -- has Tom Jones ever put out a Christmas album (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

HARRIS: I'll bet he has. I mean, there's no singer of any note who hasn't done one. It's just, like, easy money, it's like...

NGUYEN: Everyone has one these days.

HARRIS: ... it's a reason to print money.

Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

HARRIS: OK.

And this just into CNN. We have pictures from the administrative hearing that was held for Chemical Ali, the man known as Chemical Ali, Saddam Hussein's, one of his top lieutenants in his regime for a number of years. His name is Ali Hassan al-Majad (ph), and he is better known as Chemical Ali.

As we were just telling you just a moment ago, there will be a number of steps on the road to the ultimate trial for Saddam Hussein. And Chemical Ali and a number of others -- probably I think the number is 11 -- of his former regime mates will ultimately go through the trial process. This is the first step. It is a procedural matter that's being taken care of now in Baghdad. But it is an important first step on the road to trials for the Saddam Hussein regime.

Once again, Chemical Ali, there you see him on your screen right now in front of a magistrate in Iraq. It is a bit of history going on right now in Iraq. And we will continue to follow this story and bring you updates throughout the morning.

More CNN SATURDAY MORNING when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. The Von Trapps, wow, big-time.

NGUYEN: Famous family.

HARRIS: Coming up.

NGUYEN: "Sound of Music."

HARRIS: In this half hour.

But first, here's what's happening now in the news.

There may be some lean times ahead for some government agencies. President Bush is looking to rein in domestic spending. And there's word that he may freeze or cut spending for some major government programs in his next budget proposal.

We've learned the identity of an American who was kidnapped in Iraq. The U.S. embassy confirms that 56-year-old Roy Hallums was one of six people abducted six weeks ago after a gun battle. Hallums was working for a Saudi catering company. His ex-wife is pleading for his safe release.

A Kansas woman is being held on charges of killing a woman and stealing her unborn baby. The baby girl was found alive yesterday after a massive search. Police say the suspect strangled the mother and removed the baby from woman's womb.

And the FDA says it has great concern about Celebrex. The drug maker, Pfizer, yesterday said the arthritis drug can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. So far, officials haven't taken action to remove the popular drug from the market.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news. NGUYEN: Well, despite all of the changes to the Bush cabinet for his second term, the nation's surgeon general says he has no plans to leave his post. Admiral Richard Carmona is in The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone. I'm at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., the headquarters for the Department of Health and Human Services, talking to Admiral Richard Carmona, surgeon general of the United States.

Dr. Carmona, just for the ordinary viewer out there, and for me too, what is the difference between the duties of the surgeon general and the secretary of health and human services?

ADM. RICHARD CARMONA, SURGEON GENERAL: Well, the secretary of health and human services is the cabinet member that works directly with the president to oversee and develop policy for the department of health and human services, and the health of the country. My job is to protect in advance the health of the nation as the lead doctor, sometimes called the top doc, in the United States.

NOVAK: Doctor, it seems to me, I've been here for 46 years. And for about the first 25 years, you never heard of the surgeon general. And then we started hearing the surgeon general telling people how to be more healthy, to stop smoking, to eat better. And it seems that antitobacco has been a big theme by surgeon generals. Is it a theme of yours? And is any progress being made, if that is a theme?

CARMONA: It is one of my themes. It's clearly in my portfolio. We still have about 400,000 people a year dying from tobacco-related disease. Very significant problem, causes a huge disease and economic burden to society. And it's all preventable, so it's something very important to me and to the country.

NOVAK: Something relatively new is the problem of obesity, at least from the standpoint of hearing about it. Is this reaching epidemic proportions with the young people, obesity?

CARMONA: Absolutely is. Well, two out of three Americans are overweight or obese. We have 9 million children in the United States who are overweight and obese. And related to that, we're seeing diabetes in children, we're seeing hypertension in children. So it is epidemic. But the disease burden that it causes, the economic burden, is also preventable, and it robs our children of quality of life.

NOVAK: What is the cause of it? Is it diet, or is it that kids are just sitting on their can watching television? What's the problem?

CARMONA: All of the above, all of the above. You know, we've -- if you look at what's happened over the last few decades, we've become more of a sedentary society. Children watch more TV, over four hours a day. Children are in front of computers for a long time. Schools eliminate physical activity. Children eating indiscriminately.

So when you look at that over two or three decades, it's not surprising that we're breeding heavy kids.

NOVAK: And what can you do about it?

CARMONA: We need to change that. We have to increase awareness, through health literacy. Make sure that everybody understands what the contributing factors are. Make sure that schools continue to offer physical activity, make sure children continue to be active and eat healthy. Get their parents involved and their role models involved.

NOVAK: Just the other day, Dr. Carmona, the secretary of HHS talked about the U.S. buying some flu vaccine. It was just a few months ago that there was a panic, particularly in the news media, about not enough flu vaccine. But I haven't seen any flu epidemic with the lack of vaccine. Is, was this crying wolf, or was this too much fuss over nothing?

CARMONA: Well, I think at the time, the secretary and I and our other leadership both went online and said we didn't think that there was a problem right now. We had a plan in place. We had 61 million doses available. And we rolled that out.

In fact, this flu season is getting off to a very slow start. At the time when this made the headlines, there really was almost no flu in the United States.

NOVAK: Counterterrorism is part of your portfolio. Do you think, do you see a threat to the country's food supply from terrorism? Or what part of the problem are you involved in?

CARMONA: Well, all of the problem, as it relates to the health and safety and security of the nation, working with my colleagues. There are many threats. I mean, we're in a nation that was -- we're a nation that was so used to its freedom to move anyplace, and those freedoms are used by others to take advantage of us. So we walk a fine line.

So whether it's the food supply, whether it's transportation, whether it's many other aspects, we have to look at how to protect our citizens, yet protect their freedoms at the same time.

The food supply is an area that no one ever thought they'd have to protect, and now we're moving in that direction. But there are many, many programs and oversight groups that are looking at how to best do that now.

NOVAK: Dr. Carmona, the headlines the last couple weeks, the newspaper's been full of story of steroid use by athletes. These are millionaire professional athletes. But is the steroid problem something you see as trickling down, or could trickle down to amateur athletes, high school athletes, pre-high school athletes?

CARMONA: Well, we have information that it already has, down even to high school in some cases. And I'm very concerned from a public health standpoint that what these children are seeing emulated by their role models kind of opens the door for them to say, Why can't I do that? Why can't I get bigger and stronger and faster and more competitive?

So if those allegations are true, I'm very concerned with what I see happening in our youngsters, because from the public health standpoint, taking exogenous or steroids that don't belong in your body can harm your growth and development, can harm your organs, can, in fact, in the long run, cause cancer and other diseases. It's not a good thing to do.

NOVAK: Speaking of role models, you have a terrific life story. You were a high school dropout. And now you're surgeon general of the United States. Is that possible to -- for any American to turn his life around that way?

CARMONA: Well, it's a great country. I mean, it really bespeaks of all the opportunity that this country offers to everyone. And I never planned to be surgeon general, but I had a couple of good breaks throughout my life. And once I got my equivalency diploma in the Army and decided to go to college, I made my way here, but never planning.

But I saw lots of opportunity where I used to see a bleak horizon, and just -- I changed my outlook on life. And a lot of good people along the way who helped me when I met those critical junctures and I wasn't sure what to do -- a good mentor, a good role model helping me come along to be successful.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Admiral Richard Carmona, surgeon general of the United States.

Dr. Carmona, looking at the American people today, do you think their quality of their health is rising, or is it falling?

CARMONA: In general, I think the quality of health is rising, but we still have pockets that we might describe as health disparities, people of color who are still struggling, Native Americans, blacks, Hispanics, who don't have the same measurable outcomes as others, as far as good outcomes. We have pockets where a maternal child mortality is less than it should be.

So we're working on those things. And health disparities are one of those areas in my portfolio that are very important, that are important to the president, the secretary, and me. And we're moving forward on that agenda very vigorously.

NOVAK: Richard Carmona, thank you for being with us.

CARMONA: Thank you, sir.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, if you've had a tough time keeping up with the headlines, it's time to rewind for a look at some of the top stories of the week.

Monday, the same jury who convicted Scott Peterson of killing his wife and unborn child recommended he receive the ultimate sentence. They sentenced Peterson to die by lethal injection.

Wednesday's test of a new national missile defense system ended in failure. A mock warhead was lost, with no problems from Alaska, but the interceptor missile that was supposed to destroy the warhead never left the ground. The government says it's not clear what went wrong.

Thursday, President Bush wrapped up a two-day economic conference at the White House. On the agenda, Social Security, health care, and the nation's deficit. The summit came alongside new third-quarter trade deficit numbers. The country's current account deficit widened just a bit to a record $164.7 billion.

And late yesterday, a federal panel recommended flu shots be made available to everyone 50 and older, and not just those considered at most risk. The announcement comes two months after health officials warned of a shortage of flu vaccine. Now they say there may be a surplus, because demand was lower than expected.

And tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

Believe it or not, there are some people here in this very newsroom who have never seen the classic movie "The Sound of Music."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

JULIE ANDREWS, ACTOR (singing): ... brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is the story of a real-life musical family that escaped Adolf Hitler's grasp. This morning, you'll meet the great- grandchildren of the famous Von Trapp family. They're here to perform live, next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So is she country, or is she pop? A profile of one of the most country crossover artists in the business today, Shania Twain, in "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Hey. Hi, guys. Right now it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), am I teasing, or am I doing a, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: I think you're teasing.

MARCIANO: All right. Well, I don't want to be a bit tease here (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Complete forecast coming in about 10 minutes. CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Checking our top stores this Saturday morning.

A shocking confession. Police say a Kansas woman says she strangled a pregnant Missouri woman and took the baby from her womb. Authorities have recovered the infant girl. They say she is in good condition.

Safety questions are swirling around a popular painkiller. A new study suggests Celebrex could boost the risk of heart problems. Drug maker Pfizer says it is not planning to pull its arthritis drug from the market.

And going out with a bang, Washington's old convention center was demolished a couple of hours ago. A crowd cheered and clapped, clapped and cheered, as the 22-year-old building came down. Man.

The singing family immortalized in "The Sound of Music" is alive and well and celebrating this Christmas season. Betty joins us now from our atrium with a new generation of voices lifted in song. Betty?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. They are lifted out here.

We are here with the great-grandchildren of Captain Von Trapp. That's your great-grandfather. And you remember him from "The Sound Of Music," that famous family. Well, before we talk about this new CD from the Von Trapp children, we want to take a look back at the Von Trapp family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

ANDREWS (singing): Do, a deer, a female deer...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: It's an American classic. The story of perhaps the most famous musical family in the world, "The Sound of Music" is the tale of how the Von Trapps of Austria escaped the grasp of Adolf Hitler's army.

In 1938, they fled Nazi-ruled Austria after refusing to sing "Happy Birthday" to Hitler. As in the movie, they left everything behind in a dash for the border and freedom. Eventually, the Von Trapps landed in America, bringing with them their singing tradition. They turned a hobby into a living, singing for their livelihood, and packed theaters around the world for the next 20 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINGERS (singing): Silent night, holy night...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: It was the Von Trapp family that was the first to sing "Silent Night" on American soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINGERS (singing): (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's a churning, yearning rhythm...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Fast forward six decades. It's now the grandchildren of the legendary family carrying on the Von Trapp tune. Sofia (ph), Melanie (ph), Amanda, and Justin, the grandchildren of Werner Von Trapp, Kurt in the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "the sound of music")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Kurt. I'm 11. I'm incorrigible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Are the first in the family to go on tour in 50 years.

It all started when the kids sang to their stroke-ridden grandfather to cheer him up. The relatives loved it so much, it began the rebirth of one of the most famous musical families in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")

ANDREWS (singing): The hills are alive...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And their very own sound of music.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And what a beautiful sound it is. As we mentioned, we are here with the Von Trapp children, all four of them today. And they're all great singers. We have Amanda, Sofia, Melanie, and Justin. How old are you, Justin?

JUSTIN: I'm 10.

NGUYEN: You're 10, but, boy, do you have a voice. You guys have a future, I imagine. Is it in the genes, Sofia?

SOFIA: I guess so. yes, we just love to sing.

NGUYEN: You've been singing ever since what, how old?

SOFIA: Oh, ever since I was about 4, I guess. I can't remember.

NGUYEN: What are your best songs? What's your favorite song, Melanie? MELANIE: My favorite song is probably a French song that we sing called (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I get to play finger cymbals.

NGUYEN: Say that again?

MELANIE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

NGUYEN: Oh, that sounded so beautiful. So you guys have been on tour since when, Amanda?

AMANDA: Well, this tour, well, we've been touring professionally about three years right now, but since November right now.

NGUYEN: And you have quite the voices. We want to get right to the singing. But before we go, tell us about your favorite song on this Christmas album that you have out, Justin. You have a bunch of them. "Feliz Navidad" is even on the Christmas album. Do you have a favorite song?

JUSTIN: Well, I like...

NGUYEN: How about the one you're about to sing?

JUSTIN: The one we're about to sing is "African Gloria."

NGUYEN: Oh, all right, well, let's get right to it, then.

(The Trapp grandchildren sing "African Gloria")

NGUYEN: Now, that is the sound of music. We'll have more from the Von Trapps when we come back.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you to Washington now. Dana Bash is standing by with a preview of "ON THE STORY." Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, "ON THE STORY": Good morning, Tony.

And we are "ON THE STORY" from politics and foreign taxes, to flu shots and Celebrex. Kathleen Hays and I are going to talk about the president's economic summit, his push for changes in Social Security and taxes. Kristi Feig (ph) talks about new questions about another popular painkiller, while the manufacturer of Celebrex keeps it on the market. And Alina Cho has been looking at extreme commuters, why some people spend hours every day between home and work. That's all coming up "ON THE STORY," Tony.

HARRIS: Dana, thank you.

And let's get you quickly now to Rob Marciano for another check of weather. Rob?

MARCIANO: Hey, Tony. The big story today and the next couple days going to be cold air.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

MARCIANO: Back to you in the studio.

Hey, Rob, we appreciate it. Thank you.

MARCIANO: You bet.

HARRIS: And thank you for joining us this morning. We'll see you again tomorrow morning. Let's send you back downstairs to the CNN atrium and to Betty Nguyen, with more from the Von Trapp kids. Good morning.

NGUYEN: Hey, Tony, can these guys sing, or what? I tell you.

HARRIS: They can, they can.

NGUYEN: It's in the genes, it has to be. Unfortunately, we are out of time, but it's been a fun show today. And as we leave you, we'll leave you with a little holiday spirit as they take it away, Von Trapps.

Thanks for being with us.

(Von Trapp grandchildren sing "The Lonely Goatherd")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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