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CNN Saturday Morning News

New Video of Missing 8-year-old Shasta Groene; Trouble Brewing Over Invasive Hussein Photos; A Look at the Triple Crown as Race Two Approaches

Aired May 21, 2005 - 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: New video obtained by CNN this morning of one of the children missing in Idaho. Have you seen this little girl?
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is May 21st, and good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. out west. We want to thank you for being with us today. Let's start out with some headlines.

Laura Bush says women throughout the Middle East should have the right to vote. The comment comes as first lady makes her way across the region in a goodwill trip. This week, Kuwait's parliament agreed to grant women the right to vote, leaving Saudi Arabia the only Mid- East nation still denying it.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office will not confirm Palestinian reports that he'll meet with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas early next month. A spokesperson for Sharon says the prime minister is interested in meeting but that nothing has been set up just yet. Abbas is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House this Thursday.

The first hurricane of the Pacific season has fizzled out. Adrian hit El Salvador with a wallop of wind and rain but did little damage. Thousands of people heeded advice, though, to evacuate coastal areas.

HARRIS: Here's what we've got coming up this hour. Is it just part of the price you pay when you go to prison? We'll look at the fallout from the Saddam Hussein jailhouse photos.

Also, this just in to CNN. We've got some newly released video tape from one of the missing Idaho kids. Will it be enough to help find this young girl and her brother?

And he shocked everyone by winning the Kentucky Derby. What's Giacomo got up his hoof -- hooves? Hoof? -- for today's Preakness race? We'll find out.

NGUYEN: But first, our top story this hour. Five days after two children went missing in Idaho, CNN has obtained newly released video of one of them. Take a look at this. This video was taken just nine days ago. Authorities are hoping the footage will help in the desperate search for the children. Our Alina Cho is in Coeur d'Alene with the latest on this search. Good morning. What do you know so far, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, good morning to you. That new video that CNN obtained, is, as you mentioned, of 8-year-old Shasta Groene who has been missing since Monday night along with her brother. It was taken nine days ago, just four days before she disappeared along with her brother. It shows her at school presenting a science project and it was taken by a parent who has a child in Shasta's class.

Now, we want to update you on some other developments this morning. FBI technicians do hope to wrap up their work today at the home where the children's -- the bodies of the children's mother, brother and boyfriend were found on Monday night, and the evidence will then be shipped out en masse to the FBI crime processing lab in Quantico, Virginia. This morning we have also obtained the 911 call made by the neighbor.

(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)

BOB HOLLINGSWORTH, NEIGHBOR (voice-over): I went to the door to pay the little kid $10 for mowing the lawn and there's blood all over the door. No one comes to the door and their car is there, and I tried to call them today, and I didn't get 'em.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHO: Now, we want to update you on something else this morning. A possible sighting of the two children has since been discredited by authorities. Turns out that the two children spotted about 70 miles north of here were not 9-year-old Dylan and 8-year-old Shasta Groene. Authorities, though, are not giving up hope of finding the two children alive. They say they are in it for the long haul. They have received more than 500 tips to the hot line and 40 investigators, Betty, are now chasing those leads.

NGUYEN: Alina, 500 tips, but how strong are the leads so far?

CHO: Well, hard to say. I mean, so far, Betty, no -- none of the tips panned out, but certainly 500 is a large volume. Although they do have a lot of investigators, 40, following them, it certainly will take a very long time for them to chase those leads.

NGUYEN: Well, hopefully this new video will shed some light with folks out there who may have seen Shasta Groene. Again, this is new video coming in to CNN of the little girl. We'll continue to stay on top of this. Alina Cho, thanks for that. Tony?

HARRIS: Now, to the international flap over the revealing snapshots of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They were seen around the world, enraging many in the Arab world and launching a U.S. military investigation into who took them and why. Our Kathleen Koch is at the Pentagon with the latest. Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Still no word on who might have taken and released these photos to a London tabloid, though, as you pointed out, the Pentagon does say it is aggressively investigating this incident, and there are new worries this morning with new photos that have come out in British papers.

First of all, a photo of Saddam Hussein. There you see him apparently praying, and then similar photos that came out of Ali Hassan al-Majid, known otherwise as "chemical Ali" and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as "chemical Sally." A U.S. military official in Baghdad did tell CNN that those initial photos of Saddam Hussein in his underwear appeared to be taken between January and April of 2004. That, given Saddam Hussein's conditions and -- his condition and then in some features in the background.

Obviously, these are high-value prisoners. Very few people have access to them. No personal cameras are permitted in that area, though these prisoners are under -- at least, Saddam Hussein -- under 24-hour video surveillance. Now, here at the Pentagon, obviously, not only are they in damage control but also at the White House, where spokesman Trent Duffy condemned these photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRENT DUFFY, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: They're a clear violation of DoD directives and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals and the multinational forces in Iraq as well as the president are very disappointed at the possibility that someone responsible for the security, welfare and detention of Saddam Hussein would take and provide these photos for public release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, the British tabloid "The Sun" claims to have -- that they got these photos from a military source who turned them over in order to deal a body blow to the insurgency, but there is a lot of worry here that it could have indeed the opposite affect, instead inflaming anger against the U. S. Tony?

HARRIS: Maybe that gets to the answer to my question. I was wondering what the big deal about the pictures is all about. It was -- some may be wondering that -- it wasn't that long ago that we saw pictures of -- a guided tour of -- Saddam Hussein's spider hole and we saw pictures of him coming out of the spider hole, the lice all over his hair and in his beard.

KOCH: And then those photos -- all of these, just after his capture in December of 2003 of him being examined, you'll recall, by a medical doctor. The Pentagon, though, Tony, draws a distinction, between those photos and these photos today. They say that at that time, it was very important to prove that the world, to prove to the Iraqis, that Saddam Hussein was not at large, that he had been captured, and that he was no longer a threat to the people of Iraq or to Iraq's neighbors.

HARRIS: Yes, makes sense. All right, Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon for us. Kathleen, thank you. KOCH: You bet.

NGUYEN: The pictures of the imprisoned Saddam Hussein are getting lots of media attention in the west, but, you know, not as much in the Arab media. so that's why we're asking, what do you think? Are these pictures news? E-mail us your thoughts to our new address. That's weekends@CNN.com. We'll read your read your replies a little bit later in the show.

HARRIS: And there's more anti-American trouble brewing in the Muslim world.

NGUYEN: For those details and other top stories all "Around the World" let's turn it over to Anand Naidoo at the CNN international desk. Good morning, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK: Hey, thanks. Good morning.

America's image as we've just heard has taken a bit of a battering in the last few days. Now there's deep anger in Afghanistan over reports that American soldiers have been abusing prisoners in that country. The allegations were published in "The New York Times" and detailed the deaths of two Afghan's at Bagram air base. President Hamid Karzai, a close ally of the U.S., is demanding, quote, "very, very strong action against military personnel found to be abusing prisoners."

For its part, the U.S. military says that it will not tolerate any kind of abuse. Meanwhile, the White House is making its own efforts to try and repair the damage. First Lady Laura Bush is in Jordan, extending a friendly hand. In the Middle East, she's calling on leaders in the region to expand women's roles and to adopt Democratic reforms.

Now to Chile, and a tragedy in the making over there. Hopes are fading for 41 soldiers trapped in the Andes after a blizzard hit their regimen during a training exercise. At least five of them are reported to be dead. Already officials in Chile are blaming this tragedy on officers whom they say ordered those soldiers out of their shelter when that blizzard started.

That is all from me. More later; now, back to Tony and Betty.

HARRIS: Anand, thank you. In Colorado, a massive avalanche claims the life of a 53-year-old man. David Conoway (ph) died after massive Ice, earth and snow buried him yesterday morning. Authorities don't think anyone else was caught in the avalanche.

Near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a former pastor and seven church members are accused of sexually abusing children. Police say as many as two dozen children may be victims. Besides the pastor, among those arrested, are his wife and a sheriff's deputy. Police say more arrests are possible.

And, near Seattle, Washington, 43-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau married her 22-year-old former student last night. Some 200 people attended the ceremony at a winery. Letourneau served seven-and-a-half years in prison for charges of raping her now-husband when he was 12.

First Lady Laura Bush speaks out on her trip to the Middle East. We'll tell you what she said.

NGUYEN: Also, Giacomo -- remember that horse -- pulled off a win at the Kentucky Derby. What was that, 50 to 1 odds, there? Well, can he do it again at the Preakness Stakes?

HARRIS: And, good morning, Chicago! Your complete weekend forecast with Rob Marciano, the windy city, it's blowing there! The forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: People surfing cnn.com may favor different stories than the ones leading our newscast this morning, so that's why we have Veronica de la Cruz here from the dot com desk. Tell us what's hot this morning. Morning!

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, DOT COM DESK: That's right, good morning. Well, some interesting stories making that top 10 list, Betty. To find them, first of all, go to our main page, click on the icon "most popular." That's on the right-hand side of your screen, or you can type in cnn.com/mostpopular.

One of the hottest stores on the web right now is the first lady stepping out. Yesterday Laura Bush showed off her independent side by saying, the Secret Service should have told her husband about last week's White House plane scare. She also veered from White House opinion saying "Newsweek" magazine shouldn't be held solely responsible for deadly protests in the Mideast.

Another hot story on the website. Kylie Minogue's surgeon has announced the singer's breast cancer surgery was successful and that her spirits are high. The pop star went public with her cancer diagnosis on Tuesday.

Finally, after all these years -- and we just saw it -- a much- anticipated wedding: 43-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau and 22-year-old Vili Fualaau tied the knot yesterday at a winery in Washington state. Now, you may remember, Letourneau served seven-and-a-half years in prison for raping Fualaau when he was her 12-year-old student. And I'm not going to say much, except for -- look at that, they look pretty happy, right?

NGUYEN: They do, and they have children together, so...

DE LA CRUZ: They do.

NGUYEN: It's official now. They are in wedded bliss.

DE LA CRUZ: Good for them.

NGUYEN: We'll see how it ends. Thanks, Veronica. DE LA CRUZ: Thanks.

HARRIS: And, checking our top stories this morning, new pictures just in at CNN this morning, one, of the missing Idaho siblings. This video shows 8-year-old Shasta Groene presenting a science project at school just a few weeks ago. An amber alert remains in effect for Shasta and her 9-year-old brother Dylan. Authorities say a tip that someone spotted them yesterday at an Idaho store turned out to be a bad one.

The Justice Department plans to get a national sex offender website up and running by mid-July. The site will allow people to track the location of known sex offenders if they move around the country.

Republicans plan a test vote Tuesday on Texas judge Priscilla Owens' nomination to a federal appeals court. It could set the stage for a filibuster showdown.

NGUYEN: Here's a question for you, Tony. Was Giacomo a one-hit wonder?

HARRIS: No, no, no, no.

NGUYEN: I don't think so, either. Or, can the Kentucky Derby winner take the Preakness Stakes? We have a preview of today's race had CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

HARRIS: But first, a "CNN Extra." Are you still paying off your student loans? You might save a few thousand dollars by consolidating your loans before rates go up July 1st. The current 2.77 percent rate is expected to rise to as much as 5 percent. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Check this out. It may look like a soda commercial, but the this fizz is far more fearsome. Call it an effervescent eruption -- huge undersea volcano.

HARRIS: Soft-shelled crabs, there! Oh, I'm sorry.

NGUYEN: We'll get to the volcanoes in just a minute, I promise you they're there. Volcanoes erupting in the South Pacific near Hawaii, they're part of the earth's ring of fire which started up by December's tsunami in Asia and boiling, Tony, boiling the water...

HARRIS: I believe you.

NGUYEN: ...up to 500 degrees. Look at that. Scientists are studying them to see if the bacteria that's beating the heat could lead to a wonder drug.

HARRIS: Where did we get that? Is that "National Geographic" stuff? Does anybody...

NGUYEN: Looks like KGNB, our Hawaii affiliate, there. HARRIS: All right, all right. That's beautiful.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, the second leg of the famed Triple Crown of racing gets run today, but Kentucky-Derby winner Giacomo isn't making much of an impression ahead of the Preakness Stakes. Larry Smith looks at the odds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When a 50-to-one long-shot named Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, it didn't take long for the racing world to get over its shock and begin calling the outcome a fluke. Giacomo is listed as only the fourth pick by odds-makers to win the second and shortest leg of the Triple Crown, but the lack of respect doesn't seem to bother the trainer.

JON SHIRREFFS, TRAINER, GIACOMO: You have to have a nice horse to win the Derby. It just doesn't happen without having a nice horse. I mean, that was the best of the crop right there. Every horse that lined up in the Derby to run had won a major prep. They were all there. They all ran. And Giacomo won.

SMITH: Afleet Alex, who finished third in the Derby, the only favorite to finish in the money, is the favorite in the Preakness, although listed as such has been a curse in the Derby, with only two winning since 1980. That hasn't been the case in the Preakness, for the favorite has won the last four times.

TIM RITCHEY, TRAINER, AFLEET ALEX: I think he's a very happy horse. I think he's physically in good shape and fit and we just have to have a little more luck than we did in the Derby.

SMITH: The fan favorite will likely be Malibu Moonshine, a Maryland horse trained by King Leatherbury, the state's all-time winningest trainer. It's the first time in two decades the 72-year- old has entered a horse in Baltimore's most prestigious racing event.

KING LEATHERBURY, TRAINER, MALIBU MOONSHINE: Naturally, I'll be pumped up. And when they play "Maryland, My Maryland," and you get all hyped (ph) up over that.

SMITH: And for those who think lightning will strike twice, there's always Hal's Image (ph), the longest of long shots at the Preakness who is listed at 50-to-one odds after Wednesday's postposition draw.

Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Going to shift gears now, because we're asking you this morning about the photos of Saddam Hussein in his underwear. Do you think it's news? We want to know has you think. Send those e-mails in -- we'll be reading them shortly -- to weekends@CNN.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: If keeping up with the news wasn't on your to-do list this past week, we're here to help. Let's "Rewind" now for some of the big stories of the last few days. Tuesday, Antonio Villaraigosa defeated incumbent James Hahn to become the first Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles in more than 100 years. Villaraigosa, who is currently an L.A. city council member lost a mayoral bid to Hahn four years ago.

Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it raised questions more than two years ago to the Pentagon about American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay disrespecting the Koran. A "Newsweek" report that a company of the Koran was flush down the toilet at Gitmo sparked deadly riots as you see here, in Afghanistan last week. That story was later retracted because "Newsweek" said its source had doubts about the information.

Also Thursday, South Korean scientists announced they made a major breakthrough in stem cell research. Not only have they found a way to dramatically speed up the creation of embryonic stem cells but their cells are patient-specific, which means they're a genetic match. The breakthrough put stem cells one step closer to be used in actual treatments.

Tomorrow, we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

HARRIS: And, out to New York City, now, and to Ken and Daria Dolan for a preview of "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED" at the top of the hour where we understand Ken is in great voice and Daria...

KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": Mi, mi, mi...

HARRIS: He has the shoe (ph) loaded and ready to go! Good morning, you two.

DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": I hear you're a singer, too, Tony!

HARRIS: Well, you know what...

D. DOLAN: I'm very upset about this. Do you get the lyrics right, anyway?

HARRIS: Oh, wow! I take second seat to your husband there. How's that?

K. DOLAN: How are you, Tony?

HARRIS: Good to see you.

K. DOLAN: Give our best to Betty.

We got a real good special -- not a special, but kind of a theme thing going on today, Tony. Planes, trains, and automobiles -- we're going to be talking about those three industries, how... D. DOLAN: Yeah...

K. DOLAN: What?

D. DOLAN: No, I just wanted to say -- the movie was really funny, but the reality of trains, planes, and automobiles in our daily lives is not so humorous anymore, and we're going to talk about the various ways that you could get hurt this summer with your travel plans.

HARRIS: Sounds great! All right, that's at the top of the hour. Good to see you both, and we'll be there watching. "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED," at the top of the hour! All right.

NGUYEN: All right. Let's get to our e-mails quickly, shall we? All morning long, we've been asking your thoughts about this e-mail question of the day. Saddam Hussein seen in his underwear. Is it news? The Arab media doesn't apparently think so, because they're not playing it too much, but to you, is it news?

Hugo says, "Yes, it is news and it's bad for the U.S., whose image in the world will not only get worse...Being this arrogant and ignorant is no way to spread democracy!!!!"

HARRIS: Ouch. And this, from Mark, "Saddam in his underwear is not news. The media knows full well how to ignore certain actions, and responsible media should have ignored the several tabloids that ran the underwear photos. How about exposing the misery suffered by Americans whose jobs have been shipped overseas? Now that's news!"

Thank you Mark, and thank you all for sending in those e-mails this morning. We appreciate it.

Time to go, huh?

NGUYEN: That time, you believe it?

HARRIS: All right, thank you for joining us this morning. We'll see you again tomorrow morning.

NGUYEN: "OPEN HOUSE" is next with a special look at home safety, but first, though, want to give you some stories, "Now in the News."

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Aired May 21, 2005 - 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: New video obtained by CNN this morning of one of the children missing in Idaho. Have you seen this little girl?
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is May 21st, and good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. out west. We want to thank you for being with us today. Let's start out with some headlines.

Laura Bush says women throughout the Middle East should have the right to vote. The comment comes as first lady makes her way across the region in a goodwill trip. This week, Kuwait's parliament agreed to grant women the right to vote, leaving Saudi Arabia the only Mid- East nation still denying it.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office will not confirm Palestinian reports that he'll meet with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas early next month. A spokesperson for Sharon says the prime minister is interested in meeting but that nothing has been set up just yet. Abbas is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House this Thursday.

The first hurricane of the Pacific season has fizzled out. Adrian hit El Salvador with a wallop of wind and rain but did little damage. Thousands of people heeded advice, though, to evacuate coastal areas.

HARRIS: Here's what we've got coming up this hour. Is it just part of the price you pay when you go to prison? We'll look at the fallout from the Saddam Hussein jailhouse photos.

Also, this just in to CNN. We've got some newly released video tape from one of the missing Idaho kids. Will it be enough to help find this young girl and her brother?

And he shocked everyone by winning the Kentucky Derby. What's Giacomo got up his hoof -- hooves? Hoof? -- for today's Preakness race? We'll find out.

NGUYEN: But first, our top story this hour. Five days after two children went missing in Idaho, CNN has obtained newly released video of one of them. Take a look at this. This video was taken just nine days ago. Authorities are hoping the footage will help in the desperate search for the children. Our Alina Cho is in Coeur d'Alene with the latest on this search. Good morning. What do you know so far, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, good morning to you. That new video that CNN obtained, is, as you mentioned, of 8-year-old Shasta Groene who has been missing since Monday night along with her brother. It was taken nine days ago, just four days before she disappeared along with her brother. It shows her at school presenting a science project and it was taken by a parent who has a child in Shasta's class.

Now, we want to update you on some other developments this morning. FBI technicians do hope to wrap up their work today at the home where the children's -- the bodies of the children's mother, brother and boyfriend were found on Monday night, and the evidence will then be shipped out en masse to the FBI crime processing lab in Quantico, Virginia. This morning we have also obtained the 911 call made by the neighbor.

(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)

BOB HOLLINGSWORTH, NEIGHBOR (voice-over): I went to the door to pay the little kid $10 for mowing the lawn and there's blood all over the door. No one comes to the door and their car is there, and I tried to call them today, and I didn't get 'em.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHO: Now, we want to update you on something else this morning. A possible sighting of the two children has since been discredited by authorities. Turns out that the two children spotted about 70 miles north of here were not 9-year-old Dylan and 8-year-old Shasta Groene. Authorities, though, are not giving up hope of finding the two children alive. They say they are in it for the long haul. They have received more than 500 tips to the hot line and 40 investigators, Betty, are now chasing those leads.

NGUYEN: Alina, 500 tips, but how strong are the leads so far?

CHO: Well, hard to say. I mean, so far, Betty, no -- none of the tips panned out, but certainly 500 is a large volume. Although they do have a lot of investigators, 40, following them, it certainly will take a very long time for them to chase those leads.

NGUYEN: Well, hopefully this new video will shed some light with folks out there who may have seen Shasta Groene. Again, this is new video coming in to CNN of the little girl. We'll continue to stay on top of this. Alina Cho, thanks for that. Tony?

HARRIS: Now, to the international flap over the revealing snapshots of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They were seen around the world, enraging many in the Arab world and launching a U.S. military investigation into who took them and why. Our Kathleen Koch is at the Pentagon with the latest. Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Still no word on who might have taken and released these photos to a London tabloid, though, as you pointed out, the Pentagon does say it is aggressively investigating this incident, and there are new worries this morning with new photos that have come out in British papers.

First of all, a photo of Saddam Hussein. There you see him apparently praying, and then similar photos that came out of Ali Hassan al-Majid, known otherwise as "chemical Ali" and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as "chemical Sally." A U.S. military official in Baghdad did tell CNN that those initial photos of Saddam Hussein in his underwear appeared to be taken between January and April of 2004. That, given Saddam Hussein's conditions and -- his condition and then in some features in the background.

Obviously, these are high-value prisoners. Very few people have access to them. No personal cameras are permitted in that area, though these prisoners are under -- at least, Saddam Hussein -- under 24-hour video surveillance. Now, here at the Pentagon, obviously, not only are they in damage control but also at the White House, where spokesman Trent Duffy condemned these photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRENT DUFFY, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: They're a clear violation of DoD directives and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals and the multinational forces in Iraq as well as the president are very disappointed at the possibility that someone responsible for the security, welfare and detention of Saddam Hussein would take and provide these photos for public release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, the British tabloid "The Sun" claims to have -- that they got these photos from a military source who turned them over in order to deal a body blow to the insurgency, but there is a lot of worry here that it could have indeed the opposite affect, instead inflaming anger against the U. S. Tony?

HARRIS: Maybe that gets to the answer to my question. I was wondering what the big deal about the pictures is all about. It was -- some may be wondering that -- it wasn't that long ago that we saw pictures of -- a guided tour of -- Saddam Hussein's spider hole and we saw pictures of him coming out of the spider hole, the lice all over his hair and in his beard.

KOCH: And then those photos -- all of these, just after his capture in December of 2003 of him being examined, you'll recall, by a medical doctor. The Pentagon, though, Tony, draws a distinction, between those photos and these photos today. They say that at that time, it was very important to prove that the world, to prove to the Iraqis, that Saddam Hussein was not at large, that he had been captured, and that he was no longer a threat to the people of Iraq or to Iraq's neighbors.

HARRIS: Yes, makes sense. All right, Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon for us. Kathleen, thank you. KOCH: You bet.

NGUYEN: The pictures of the imprisoned Saddam Hussein are getting lots of media attention in the west, but, you know, not as much in the Arab media. so that's why we're asking, what do you think? Are these pictures news? E-mail us your thoughts to our new address. That's weekends@CNN.com. We'll read your read your replies a little bit later in the show.

HARRIS: And there's more anti-American trouble brewing in the Muslim world.

NGUYEN: For those details and other top stories all "Around the World" let's turn it over to Anand Naidoo at the CNN international desk. Good morning, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK: Hey, thanks. Good morning.

America's image as we've just heard has taken a bit of a battering in the last few days. Now there's deep anger in Afghanistan over reports that American soldiers have been abusing prisoners in that country. The allegations were published in "The New York Times" and detailed the deaths of two Afghan's at Bagram air base. President Hamid Karzai, a close ally of the U.S., is demanding, quote, "very, very strong action against military personnel found to be abusing prisoners."

For its part, the U.S. military says that it will not tolerate any kind of abuse. Meanwhile, the White House is making its own efforts to try and repair the damage. First Lady Laura Bush is in Jordan, extending a friendly hand. In the Middle East, she's calling on leaders in the region to expand women's roles and to adopt Democratic reforms.

Now to Chile, and a tragedy in the making over there. Hopes are fading for 41 soldiers trapped in the Andes after a blizzard hit their regimen during a training exercise. At least five of them are reported to be dead. Already officials in Chile are blaming this tragedy on officers whom they say ordered those soldiers out of their shelter when that blizzard started.

That is all from me. More later; now, back to Tony and Betty.

HARRIS: Anand, thank you. In Colorado, a massive avalanche claims the life of a 53-year-old man. David Conoway (ph) died after massive Ice, earth and snow buried him yesterday morning. Authorities don't think anyone else was caught in the avalanche.

Near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a former pastor and seven church members are accused of sexually abusing children. Police say as many as two dozen children may be victims. Besides the pastor, among those arrested, are his wife and a sheriff's deputy. Police say more arrests are possible.

And, near Seattle, Washington, 43-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau married her 22-year-old former student last night. Some 200 people attended the ceremony at a winery. Letourneau served seven-and-a-half years in prison for charges of raping her now-husband when he was 12.

First Lady Laura Bush speaks out on her trip to the Middle East. We'll tell you what she said.

NGUYEN: Also, Giacomo -- remember that horse -- pulled off a win at the Kentucky Derby. What was that, 50 to 1 odds, there? Well, can he do it again at the Preakness Stakes?

HARRIS: And, good morning, Chicago! Your complete weekend forecast with Rob Marciano, the windy city, it's blowing there! The forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: People surfing cnn.com may favor different stories than the ones leading our newscast this morning, so that's why we have Veronica de la Cruz here from the dot com desk. Tell us what's hot this morning. Morning!

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, DOT COM DESK: That's right, good morning. Well, some interesting stories making that top 10 list, Betty. To find them, first of all, go to our main page, click on the icon "most popular." That's on the right-hand side of your screen, or you can type in cnn.com/mostpopular.

One of the hottest stores on the web right now is the first lady stepping out. Yesterday Laura Bush showed off her independent side by saying, the Secret Service should have told her husband about last week's White House plane scare. She also veered from White House opinion saying "Newsweek" magazine shouldn't be held solely responsible for deadly protests in the Mideast.

Another hot story on the website. Kylie Minogue's surgeon has announced the singer's breast cancer surgery was successful and that her spirits are high. The pop star went public with her cancer diagnosis on Tuesday.

Finally, after all these years -- and we just saw it -- a much- anticipated wedding: 43-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau and 22-year-old Vili Fualaau tied the knot yesterday at a winery in Washington state. Now, you may remember, Letourneau served seven-and-a-half years in prison for raping Fualaau when he was her 12-year-old student. And I'm not going to say much, except for -- look at that, they look pretty happy, right?

NGUYEN: They do, and they have children together, so...

DE LA CRUZ: They do.

NGUYEN: It's official now. They are in wedded bliss.

DE LA CRUZ: Good for them.

NGUYEN: We'll see how it ends. Thanks, Veronica. DE LA CRUZ: Thanks.

HARRIS: And, checking our top stories this morning, new pictures just in at CNN this morning, one, of the missing Idaho siblings. This video shows 8-year-old Shasta Groene presenting a science project at school just a few weeks ago. An amber alert remains in effect for Shasta and her 9-year-old brother Dylan. Authorities say a tip that someone spotted them yesterday at an Idaho store turned out to be a bad one.

The Justice Department plans to get a national sex offender website up and running by mid-July. The site will allow people to track the location of known sex offenders if they move around the country.

Republicans plan a test vote Tuesday on Texas judge Priscilla Owens' nomination to a federal appeals court. It could set the stage for a filibuster showdown.

NGUYEN: Here's a question for you, Tony. Was Giacomo a one-hit wonder?

HARRIS: No, no, no, no.

NGUYEN: I don't think so, either. Or, can the Kentucky Derby winner take the Preakness Stakes? We have a preview of today's race had CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

HARRIS: But first, a "CNN Extra." Are you still paying off your student loans? You might save a few thousand dollars by consolidating your loans before rates go up July 1st. The current 2.77 percent rate is expected to rise to as much as 5 percent. We'll be right back.

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NGUYEN: Check this out. It may look like a soda commercial, but the this fizz is far more fearsome. Call it an effervescent eruption -- huge undersea volcano.

HARRIS: Soft-shelled crabs, there! Oh, I'm sorry.

NGUYEN: We'll get to the volcanoes in just a minute, I promise you they're there. Volcanoes erupting in the South Pacific near Hawaii, they're part of the earth's ring of fire which started up by December's tsunami in Asia and boiling, Tony, boiling the water...

HARRIS: I believe you.

NGUYEN: ...up to 500 degrees. Look at that. Scientists are studying them to see if the bacteria that's beating the heat could lead to a wonder drug.

HARRIS: Where did we get that? Is that "National Geographic" stuff? Does anybody...

NGUYEN: Looks like KGNB, our Hawaii affiliate, there. HARRIS: All right, all right. That's beautiful.

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HARRIS: Well, the second leg of the famed Triple Crown of racing gets run today, but Kentucky-Derby winner Giacomo isn't making much of an impression ahead of the Preakness Stakes. Larry Smith looks at the odds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When a 50-to-one long-shot named Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, it didn't take long for the racing world to get over its shock and begin calling the outcome a fluke. Giacomo is listed as only the fourth pick by odds-makers to win the second and shortest leg of the Triple Crown, but the lack of respect doesn't seem to bother the trainer.

JON SHIRREFFS, TRAINER, GIACOMO: You have to have a nice horse to win the Derby. It just doesn't happen without having a nice horse. I mean, that was the best of the crop right there. Every horse that lined up in the Derby to run had won a major prep. They were all there. They all ran. And Giacomo won.

SMITH: Afleet Alex, who finished third in the Derby, the only favorite to finish in the money, is the favorite in the Preakness, although listed as such has been a curse in the Derby, with only two winning since 1980. That hasn't been the case in the Preakness, for the favorite has won the last four times.

TIM RITCHEY, TRAINER, AFLEET ALEX: I think he's a very happy horse. I think he's physically in good shape and fit and we just have to have a little more luck than we did in the Derby.

SMITH: The fan favorite will likely be Malibu Moonshine, a Maryland horse trained by King Leatherbury, the state's all-time winningest trainer. It's the first time in two decades the 72-year- old has entered a horse in Baltimore's most prestigious racing event.

KING LEATHERBURY, TRAINER, MALIBU MOONSHINE: Naturally, I'll be pumped up. And when they play "Maryland, My Maryland," and you get all hyped (ph) up over that.

SMITH: And for those who think lightning will strike twice, there's always Hal's Image (ph), the longest of long shots at the Preakness who is listed at 50-to-one odds after Wednesday's postposition draw.

Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Going to shift gears now, because we're asking you this morning about the photos of Saddam Hussein in his underwear. Do you think it's news? We want to know has you think. Send those e-mails in -- we'll be reading them shortly -- to weekends@CNN.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: If keeping up with the news wasn't on your to-do list this past week, we're here to help. Let's "Rewind" now for some of the big stories of the last few days. Tuesday, Antonio Villaraigosa defeated incumbent James Hahn to become the first Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles in more than 100 years. Villaraigosa, who is currently an L.A. city council member lost a mayoral bid to Hahn four years ago.

Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it raised questions more than two years ago to the Pentagon about American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay disrespecting the Koran. A "Newsweek" report that a company of the Koran was flush down the toilet at Gitmo sparked deadly riots as you see here, in Afghanistan last week. That story was later retracted because "Newsweek" said its source had doubts about the information.

Also Thursday, South Korean scientists announced they made a major breakthrough in stem cell research. Not only have they found a way to dramatically speed up the creation of embryonic stem cells but their cells are patient-specific, which means they're a genetic match. The breakthrough put stem cells one step closer to be used in actual treatments.

Tomorrow, we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

HARRIS: And, out to New York City, now, and to Ken and Daria Dolan for a preview of "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED" at the top of the hour where we understand Ken is in great voice and Daria...

KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": Mi, mi, mi...

HARRIS: He has the shoe (ph) loaded and ready to go! Good morning, you two.

DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": I hear you're a singer, too, Tony!

HARRIS: Well, you know what...

D. DOLAN: I'm very upset about this. Do you get the lyrics right, anyway?

HARRIS: Oh, wow! I take second seat to your husband there. How's that?

K. DOLAN: How are you, Tony?

HARRIS: Good to see you.

K. DOLAN: Give our best to Betty.

We got a real good special -- not a special, but kind of a theme thing going on today, Tony. Planes, trains, and automobiles -- we're going to be talking about those three industries, how... D. DOLAN: Yeah...

K. DOLAN: What?

D. DOLAN: No, I just wanted to say -- the movie was really funny, but the reality of trains, planes, and automobiles in our daily lives is not so humorous anymore, and we're going to talk about the various ways that you could get hurt this summer with your travel plans.

HARRIS: Sounds great! All right, that's at the top of the hour. Good to see you both, and we'll be there watching. "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED," at the top of the hour! All right.

NGUYEN: All right. Let's get to our e-mails quickly, shall we? All morning long, we've been asking your thoughts about this e-mail question of the day. Saddam Hussein seen in his underwear. Is it news? The Arab media doesn't apparently think so, because they're not playing it too much, but to you, is it news?

Hugo says, "Yes, it is news and it's bad for the U.S., whose image in the world will not only get worse...Being this arrogant and ignorant is no way to spread democracy!!!!"

HARRIS: Ouch. And this, from Mark, "Saddam in his underwear is not news. The media knows full well how to ignore certain actions, and responsible media should have ignored the several tabloids that ran the underwear photos. How about exposing the misery suffered by Americans whose jobs have been shipped overseas? Now that's news!"

Thank you Mark, and thank you all for sending in those e-mails this morning. We appreciate it.

Time to go, huh?

NGUYEN: That time, you believe it?

HARRIS: All right, thank you for joining us this morning. We'll see you again tomorrow morning.

NGUYEN: "OPEN HOUSE" is next with a special look at home safety, but first, though, want to give you some stories, "Now in the News."

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