Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Russian Sub Still Trapped; Discovery Preparing To Come Home
Aired August 06, 2005 - 7:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Final goodbyes in space and the crew of the shuttle Discovery separates from the space station and gears up for its journey home.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
It's August 6.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm -- good morning.
WHITFIELD: Good morning.
HARRIS: Hello.
WHITFIELD: Hello.
HARRIS: I'm Tony Harris.
Thank you for being with us as we kick off new, extended hours of CNN SATURDAY MORNING today and every Saturday, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Get used to it.
HARRIS: We are live from 7:00 until 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
Let's get you caught up...
WHITFIELD: We're glad to see it happen.
HARRIS: Yes.
Yes, we are.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up now with some overnight developments now in the news.
Rescuers from several nations are scrambling to help a Russian submarine with seven sailors aboard. The small sub became trapped below the Pacific Ocean after getting entangled in power cords. The sailors have plenty of food and water, but a limit air supply. The U.S. and Britain have sent undersea robotic vessels. Iran is saying no thanks to a European proposal to limit its nuclear development plans. European negotiators offered to help Iran with long-term fuel and nuclear energy support as long as Iran agreed to a binded (ph) commitment not to build nuclear weapons. Iran says the plan was not what had previously been promised.
Three more people have been charged in London with keeping information from anti-terror police. Investigators say each of the three men had information involving the recent attacks, but failed to come forward. The charges are similar to those leveled at two women who appeared in court just yesterday.
WHITFIELD: Space shuttle Discovery has loosened its bonds to the International Space Station. Un-docking occurred about four hours ago and before heading home, it's a picture taking session for the crew, recording those memories.
CNN's John Zarrella is live at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston -- and I imagine, John, people are really excited and, at the same time, a bit nervous. Lots of reasons to be both.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it, Fredricka, as we move closer and closer to landing on Monday morning, in the very, very wee hours of the morning, before 5:00 a.m. Eastern time.
The mood here, the nerves are certainly going to -- the mood is certainly going to start to get a little bit more one of nervous anticipation, without a doubt.
But right now it was all smiles on board the International Space Station very early this morning, in the overnight hours, as the crew of Discovery said its goodbyes to the crew of the International Space Station. John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev on board the space station. They'll be on board that space station for at least another three months before a crew goes up to relieve them.
You can see there the moment inside the International Space Station where the handshakes and the hugs and -- it was good, I know, from all we heard that, from Krikalev and Phillips, to have some company for a change. They've been up there for several months now without any visitors and, of course, as everyone knows, this is the first visit to the space station by a space shuttle crew in two-and-a- half years, since the Columbia accident.
And after they finished their goodbyes and they un-docked, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery spent some time doing fly-arounds of the International Space Station. There you can see the Earth in the distance, as the separation between the two vehicles was completed. The Discovery now a free flyer and it took some Earth view pictures, as well as shots of the space station, getting views, camera views that they then down linked to the Earth so that mission control and the International Space Station team could take a look at the space station and just get some ideas and make sure everything is OK out there. So, right now they are free flying and they will actually go back to sleep at about noon today. We expect briefings late this morning from the mission management team on the weather conditions and on the vehicle's status.
That's the big events for today -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, a lot to look forward to.
Thanks so much.
John Zarrella in Houston at the Johnson Space Center -- Tony.
HARRIS: The U.S., British and Japanese Navies have scrambled rescue teams in a desperate race against time. U.S. and British planes carrying robotic undersea vehicles have landed in Russia's Far East. The crew of a Russian submarine is trapped deep in the sea off Russia's Pacific coast.
Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In San Diego, Navy and Air Force personnel scrambled to load this cargo jet with rescue gear within hours of the Russian Navy asking for help in saving seven of its sailors trapped 600 feet under the Pacific Ocean. The Russian mini sub, like this one, apparently became tangled on nets and cables.
DMITRY BURMISTOV, RUSSIAN NAVY SPOKESMAN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The AS-28 submersible's propeller caught a fragment of fishing net and it is wrapped around the vessel's propeller. As the crew tried to break free from the net, a metal cord was caught on the propeller, which then trapped the vessel in deep water.
STARR: The U.S. Navy will try to cut it loose before the Russian crew runs out of air.
COMMANDER KENT VAN HORN, U.S. NAVY: Our only avenue here is to get a vehicle down there that can cut the cable away, and they should be able to get to the surface then.
STARR: The huge C-5 transport aircraft was loaded with two Super Scorpio robotic underwater vehicles, 40 U.S. Navy personnel making the 10-hour flight to Russia, prepared to take their equipment by Russian ships out to the site. The U.S. Navy is also sending two deep sea diving suits so divers can look directly at the Russian sub and help clear debris away, as well as a third robotic vehicle like this one.
This time, Moscow's immediate call for help is far different than five years ago, when the submarine Kursk sank off northern Russia, killing 118 sailors. Russians strongly criticized President Vladimir Putin for not quickly seeking international rescue assistance.
The Russians have not said what this submarine was doing when it ran into trouble, but in the past, submersibles like this have been used in rescue efforts, including the rescue efforts following the sinking of the Kursk.
It was just two months ago that Russian submariners joined half a dozen other nations in the largest submarine escape and rescue exercise ever. Submarines from Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey were deliberately grounded off Italy with their crews and then rescued.
(on camera) The Russians have tried to rescue the sub themselves, but now the British Royal Navy and the Japanese Navy are joining in the international rescue effort.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Let's get the latest now on this rescue attempt from Jeremy Page of the "London Times."
Jeremy, are you there?
Are you with us?
JEREMY PAGE, "THE LONDON TIMES": Yes, I am.
HARRIS: Jeremy, give us an update on where we stand right now. Put as fine a point as you care to on this.
Time is crucial here, isn't it?
PAGE: Absolutely. I mean, you know, a race against time is the phrase that's being used. We're getting very, very tight now. The British and American unmanned submersible vehicles arrived today and are waiting to be loaded onto ships at the nearest port to the accident site. And they'll be then taken to where -- to the surface above where the submarine is.
But that whole journey could take up to five hours. So the whole rescue operation is not going to get started for at least, well, probably five hours from now.
HARRIS: You know, Jeremy, I've heard everything from 24 hours of air left to 48 hours.
What's the best information that you have as to that air supply?
PAGE: I can't tell you what the best information, only what the latest is. The last senior naval official to speak on the record about this said that he thought there was enough air, definitely, until the end of Saturday and possibly for much of Sunday. But you have to remember, there is a huge time difference. Sunday has already started in Kamchatka. So we are probably into the last few hours of their oxygen supply.
However, senior naval officials have also said that there could be enough air to last until Monday. So there's still a lot of confusion on that question.
HARRIS: Now, we're looking at some models of what looks like what will be the rescue attempt. Talk us through what will actually happen as the rescue attempt actually takes place here.
PAGE: Well, from what I understand, the British and American vehicles are going to be loaded onto these Russian ships, taken to the accident site. They will then be put into the water. They will dive down. First, they will survey the site, because there is still so much uncertainty about the predicament of the submarine, excellent what it's entangled in and how. It is about 190 meters down, so visibility will be very bad.
Having surveyed the site, they are then going to try and cut through whatever it is that is holding the submarine down, be it a fishing net, or, as the Russians are now saying, some sort of antenna system.
HARRIS: OK, Jeremy Page of the "London Times."
Jeremy, thanks.
We appreciate the information.
WHITFIELD: Well, today marks a historic milestone in the right to vote. But is that right in danger of being chipped away? We'll see how safe your voting rights are just ahead when the Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us live.
HARRIS: And later we go "Beyond The Game" for a preview of the coming football season.
And good morning, Tampa.
As always, we'll have your weekend forecast with Jacqui Jeras in just a couple of minutes.
We'll be right back with more of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
WHITFIELD: And a busy week at the White House, from John Bolton's recess appointment to the ongoing CIA leak investigation to the war in Iraq. We want to talk to you about all of that. E-mail us your questions at weekends@cnn.com now and then, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, tune in when CNN's Bob Franken, covering the White House this week, joins us with some of your answers to your questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM ZAGAT: The three most popular restaurants in Miami are Joe's Stone Crab, The Cheesecake Factory, which is probably the most popular restaurant in many cities around the country, and Norman's.
Joe's Stone Crab a very famous restaurant and its name basically says it all. Their stone crabs are absolutely amazing. They've got great seafood and a wonderful atmosphere. The second one, The Cheesecake Factory, they have extraordinary menus of all kinds of really good food, but cheesecake is what they're famous for. But families can come in there and eat until they're stuffed at a quite reasonable price.
They don't have the uniqueness that, for example, Norman Van Aken's restaurant would have, a chef who is very famous. And he's built a reputation as one of the best restaurants in Florida; in fact, one of the best restaurants in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, he says he was a fat band boy in school.
WHITFIELD: That's how he describes it.
HARRIS: Those are his words. Now, former President Bill Clinton is on a mission to fight childhood obesity. He takes on the food industry, school lunches and uniformed parents. He's on House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone.
I'm Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center with today's Allergy Report.
The biggest problem you're going to have this weekend will be with high concentrations of grass pollen. You'll see that widespread across the United States, especially across the West, into the South and then into the Northeast. Some major improvements. In fact, pollen almost non-existent here across parts of the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys. It's heading down toward the Deep South. The rain here is going to keep the pollen count down.
But we'll see some higher concentrations in the Dakotas, problems with grass and nettle. We'll also have problems with the sagebrush into Colorado. And across parts of the West it's the grass and the pollens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Checking the top stories now.
Rescuers from around the world are scrambling to help save seven Russian sailors trapped in a mini sub in the Pacific Ocean. The small sub became tangled in 600-feet deep in either netting or an underwater cable system.
Thousands of people have gathered in Hiroshima, Japan to mark the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the world's first atomic bomb. Part of the ceremony including floating thousands of paper lanterns to symbolize the thousands dead. Nearly half the city's residents were killed in the bombing. And the space shuttle has un-docked from the International Space Station, getting ready for the trip back to Earth. The crew plans to fly around the orbiting outpost to take pictures then head back to Florida on Monday.
Forty years ago, the Voting Rights Act gave unprecedented protection to Americans who may have been turned away from the polls. Now, parts of the Act may become history unless Congress takes action. We'll hear from the Reverend Jesse Jackson in about 15 minutes from now.
HARRIS: But way before we do that, time to go upstairs to Jacqui Jeras for a first check of the weather -- Jacqui.
JERAS: Hi, guys.
HARRIS: Look who's with us. Look who's with us.
WHITFIELD: Hi.
JERAS: Oh, it's Fredricka.
You guys are (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
HARRIS: How about that, huh?
WHITFIELD: Good to join you guys.
JERAS: It's great to see you guys.
The first time together?
HARRIS: The first time together.
JERAS: Doing great.
WHITFIELD: Per usual.
HARRIS: So far we're loving it.
JERAS: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here.
HARRIS: We're living life.
JERAS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, after more than a week in space, the seven member crew of shuttle Discovery is homebound. Tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING, " we talk to the entire crew one last time before the scheduled landing. Don't miss it. It's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING."
HARRIS: And it's all business before pleasure in the NFL.
I'm going to do that interview at like four in the morning.
WHITFIELD: I know.
Aren't you looking forward to that?
HARRIS: Yes, I actually am.
WHITFIELD: Oh, it's going to be tremendous.
HARRIS: I need your thoughts on it. Give me some input.
With one month before...
WHITFIELD: OK. They are so courageous, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
With one month before we go to the regular season in the NFL, how is the league making sure football remains the gold standard for sports in the U.S.?
Rick Horrow is here with the answers.
WHITFIELD: He's ready to play ball.
HARRIS: Carrying the pigskin. It's so sad.
He takes us "Beyond The Game" next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The NFL regular season kicks off in about a month. And I don't know about you, but I am ready for some football.
Fred, you ready for some football?
WHITFIELD: Yes, yes, ready for some football.
HARRIS: Before the first play is called, a league has its share of pre-season challenges off the field.
CNN sports business analyst Rick Horrow has the play by play.
The author of "When the Game Is On the Line" joins us now from West Palm Beach, Florida -- Rick, good to see you, pal.
Good morning.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Hey, man, good morning.
Tony Harris -- Fred's got to get used to this -- the man that predicted the Falcons going all the way last year.
HARRIS: Oh, come on!
HORROW: I can't wait for four weeks from now when we tee it up for real.
HARRIS: When we tee it up for real.
HORROW: And predict those and have some funny money bets on what happens during the season.
HARRIS: That's right.
Hey, I have to ask you...
HORROW: I need some cash.
HARRIS: Are we looking at some potential labor problems here? We know the players want a bigger piece of this pie out here, don't they?
HORROW: Yes, they do. And I'm going to Canton for the Hall of Fame game, which begins this four week pre-season, and then the regular season. But it's a $5 billion business. And the reason it is, basically, is because all the owners got together in the '60s and said Green Bay, New York, you're going to share the same revenues, television and tickets. It was a boom, increased their revenue tremendously.
Then in 1993, a collective bargaining agreement with the players. They're sharing about two thirds of those dollars. And that was big, as well, because the average salary, by the way, now, is about $1.2 million, about a 20 percent increase in the last couple of years.
The players, though, want a share in the stadium revenues, too, not just those tickets, and not just television.
HARRIS: Right.
HORROW: And they're jousting over both sides of that. Frankly, they're going to get this resolved, because the NFL doesn't want to look like the NHL, and what almost happened to the NBA. They certainly don't want to kill that helmeted goose that lays the golden egg for the NFL.
HARRIS: Right.
Hey, look at these revenue streams here. The networks are paying enormous amounts of money to air these games. So the NFL is obviously just incredibly profitable.
The question is can the game continue to grow?
HORROW: Yes, it can. Now, "Forbes" magazine came out with an average value of an NFL franchise.
What do you think it is?
HARRIS: $400 million.
HORROW: Not a bad guess, $630 million. HARRIS: $630 million?
HORROW: $630 million for an NFL franchise. The reason, by the way, $3.7 billion annually from all of those television deals. And it's only getting better. Those numbers are NFL, but baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, Olympics, all of those dollars combined. That's what you've got for the NFL.
They're looking at a Thursday package, a Saturday package...
HARRIS: That's right.
HORROW: ... corporate dollars love it. Prilosec, Sprint and Burger King all signed up in this last year, $2 billion in advertising for the NFL. That's three times as much as everybody else. Clearly, they're ready for football and everybody is avid about it.
By the way, DirecTV is coming out with a package. You can watch eight games on one screen at the same time. I just don't know which eye goes to which football game.
HARRIS: There you go.
What do you want to start with? Your fair or foul ball?
Let's go fair ball.
You want to do that?
HORROW: Yes, let's go fair ball.
HARRIS: OK.
HORROW: Because in this era of controversial owners, it's good to know that there are a few that are really good, charitable citizens. You've got a guy, a controversial owner, Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks. But he spent $100, 00 for James Parham, injured Vietnam vet, in his -- Iraqi vet, excuse me -- in his Fallen Patriot Fund. And then a guy by the name of Mike Ilitch, who owns the Red Wings and the Tigers, he found a guy by the name of Rob Doughty, lost his legs in Iraq, and sent an executive from Little Caesar's, his company, to Kentucky to find him and offer him a franchise.
It's great to know that in this era of controversial owners, we've got some guys that are good (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
HARRIS: Yes, that's good. That's good to hear.
How about your foul ball?
HORROW: Well, the foul ball is confusion more than anything else. Name game gone awry. For example, Dennis Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, just bought the team from Gordon Gund, an icon on Cleveland. It was called the Gund Arena. It took him three months. It's now called the Quicken Loans Arena...
HARRIS: What?
HORROW: Or Q for short. Nobody may know what it is.
INVESCO Field, Mile High Stadium, where the Denver Broncos play, that's great, except INVESCO has been shut down, by the way. So nobody knows what's going to happen with that field.
Pizza Hut Park opens today in Dallas. They spent $30 million for a soccer stadium.
But in $4 billion of corporate investment, it's interesting to note that there's some confusion out there in the marketplace, as well.
HARRIS: Yes, that's right.
Rick, good to see you.
HORROW: Hey, man, next week.
HARRIS: Have a good week, my friend.
HORROW: Next week -- have a good week.
I can't wait for football, I'll tell you.
HARRIS: Let's go. Let's tee it up.
Thanks, Rick.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Tony.
Forty years ago, the Voting Rights Act brought African-Americans to the polling places. Now, could parts of that landmark legislation be in danger? The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us next.
And don't forget to talk to CNN this morning. A week in the White House, from John Bolton's recess appointment to the CIA leak investigation and Iraq war casualties. Our Bob Franken has been covering the White House all week. He joins us at 10:00 a.m. Eastern to answer some of your questions. Our e-mail address is weekends@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Forty years ago, the Voting Rights Act gave black Americans the right to vote. Now, several key parts of the Act will become history unless Congress steps up.
And welcome back, everyone, to CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
I'm Tony Harris.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us with his take on that part of history and its current state in a moment.
But first, a look at the morning headlines.
Russian officials say the crew on board a trapped Russian submarine needs to be rescued in the next 24 hours, since their air supply is limited. Meantime, the U.S. and British Navies have sent rescue crews to help out. The mini submarine is caught in debris 600 feet down off Russia's Pacific coast.
Laying a wreath to remember. Sixty years ago today, at 8:15 in the morning, the U.S. changed the face of war with an atomic explosion that vaporized Hiroshima, Japan. Yesterday, thousands of paper lanterns symbolizing the souls of the dead were floated past Hiroshima's Peace Park.
The space shuttle Discovery has separated from the International Space Station for the scheduled trip home. The crew will circle the orbiting outpost for a picture taking session before saying goodbye. The shuttle landing is set for early Monday morning. See it live right here on CNN starting at 4:00 a.m. Eastern -- Tony.
HARRIS: Forty years ago today, Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr. shook hands over the Voting Rights Act. It guaranteed the right to vote for all Americans and its basic tenets are permanent. But some key provisions of the Act are set to expire in 2007 and must be renewed by Congress. One forces mostly Southern states to get pre- approval from Washington before changing certain voting rules.
Joining me now to talk about the Voting Rights Act is the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Good to see you, my friend.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: Good morning.
HARRIS: 1965, March 7th, take us back.
Take us back to the march, Selma.
Take us back.
JACKSON: But you know what's a mess, is that we were denied the right to vote for 346 years before Selma.
HARRIS: Yes.
JACKSON: Two hundred and forty-six without citizenship. Another 100 years after the Civil War. What they promised for the right to vote and their promise was broken. So this is the first time after 346 years. And there have been a number of acts. I mean, the killing of Medgar Evers and Jimeolene Jackson (ph).
HARRIS: Right.
JACKSON: A number of acts of violence that led to that kind of explosive terror act on the bridge led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams (ph), August, in March of 1965.
HARRIS: Yes.
JACKSON: And after that uprising and showed all of the world on film Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act August 6, 1965.
But it was not for blacks only, though blacks paid the biggest price.
HARRIS: Hispanics, Asians.
JACKSON: Well, 10 years later, they added language provisions.
HARRIS: That's right.
JACKSON: So, and when they added that 10 years later, then you cannot have a polling place without -- in Spanish or Native Americans or Alaskans or Eastern Europeans.
So remember, just as blacks paid a big price to save the union, we also saved the integrity of our democracy.
But there were two key provisions, Section 5, to protect us from patterns of racial schemes to undermine and Section 203, patterns of language. So in Georgia, for example, there's a new law where you have to have only a state-issued I.D. So that if you go to Georgia Teach, you can use your I.D. to register. If you go to Emory, Morehouse, Clark or Selma then you can't use your I.D., private schools.
There are 100 counties in the state that have no voter entrance I.D. spot. So you have to -- if you don't have transportation, it has a disparate impact upon you.
HARRIS: Yes.
JACKSON: Or if you have a car and you drive, the amount of gas amounts to a poll tax.
HARRIS: A poll tax.
JACKSON: If it's about fraud, then why can you vote absentee online without any I.D. at all? And why not focus on election fraudulent machines and not just focus no people?
So schemes to undermine the Voting Rights Act are very prevalent.
HARRIS: But let me ask you, you don't believe, or do you believe that the president of the United States, George W. Bush, is going to instruct Congress to undermine those provisions that you've just laid out?
JACKSON: Well I do know is that when the Congressional Black Caucus did meet with him face-to-face, and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. said, "Mr. President, do you support the voting rights extension with enforcement powers?, " he said, "I don't support D.C. statehood, " which had nothing to do with the question.
HARRIS: Yes.
JACKSON: But would you support a voting rights extension? He said, "Well, if it gets to my desk, I will check it out."
Well, that denial, that stepping back from it has allowed a state like Georgia to, in fact, violate Section 5 without any response by the attorney general. It allowed Tom DeLay to do it under Ashcroft. It allowed -- Gonzalez is allowing Purdue to do it so far.
So in some sense, without voting enforcement, it reduces the voting act to an Indian treaty. If you're free without the troops, then you set yourself up for tyranny.
So why wouldn't the president be assertive no voting rights re- authorization? Meet with us on this matter. We want hearings. Let us have hearings to document the need for re-authorization, so we can pass the test of strict scrutiny and narrowly -- we want to take the test of strict scrutiny and narrowly tailoring.
HARRIS: Talk to us about the march today.
JACKSON: What's exciting about this march...
HARRIS: Yes?
JACKSON: ... today, you know, is the fact that you'll have Willie Nelson and Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack and John Legend. These artists are finding their place in helping to amplify it. But, uniquely, the Congressional Black Caucus and Latino Caucus and LLAC (ph) and MALDEF (ph) and NAACP and the Urban League and SCLC and Councilor Rawlins, this kind of blacks, Hispanics and white farmers and black farmers. Because somehow they know that there's a connection between voting rights access and workers' right to organize and health care and the war.
So you will see a pretty big demonstration that kicks off a kind of new South agenda on voting rights access and workers' right to organize that they might work their way out of poverty.
Georgia is a tremendous state. Sixty percent of all Georgians make less than $20, 000 a year. A million two hundred thousand folks in this state have no -- and probably have no health insurance, as do 50 million Americans.
So in some sense it's about the vote, it's about the poverty and it's about the war.
HARRIS: Yes.
Good to see you. Good to see you, Reverend Jackson.
JACKSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: The Reverend Jesse Jackson on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Thank you very much.
JACKSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: Yes -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, stay close.
In the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, we will talk to a conservative commentator who says Congress needs to get rid of parts of the Voting Rights Act.
HARRIS: And now for a check on some of the other big stories making news around the world. The stand-off over Iran's nuclear program hits new snags.
For the details on that and other stories, let's hand it over now to Anand Naidoo at CNN's International Desk -- Anand, good morning.
ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony, Fredricka, thanks.
Good morning.
Yes, call it a stand-off, a dispute, but that dispute between the U.S. and Iran and Europe, rather, Europe, the U.S. and Iran, is nowhere near a resolution. Iran has rejected the latest European proposals. The Europeans say that they are willing to give Iran support for its long-term civil nuclear program as long as it does not develop nuclear weapons. But the Iranians say that's unacceptable.
This latest development came as the new Iranian president, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, was sworn in. He was taking a hard line, too, saying the Iranian nation cannot be intimidated.
Now, to neighboring Iraq. A car bomb attack in Baghdad. Three civilians are wounded, two of them women. Iraqi police say insurgents had missed their intended target, a U.S. military convoy on a highway. Three government officials and a bodyguard for a fourth were also killed in overnight violence -- Tony.
HARRIS: Oh, Anand, is there an update on -- Fred, it was -- I think it was last week there was a woman in Ireland who won this huge, huge jackpot in a local lottery there.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: Anand has an update for us on it.
WHITFIELD: What is that?
NAIDOO: Well, I've got to remind you, remember the woman who won the big jackpot?
HARRIS: Yes.
NAIDOO: Europe's biggest jackpot. Anyway, we didn't -- we never saw her.
HARRIS: Right.
NAIDOO: She went underground immediately.
WHITFIELD: Well, that's smart.
NAIDOO: Well, she's surfaced and that lottery jackpot, she finally surfaced to pick up her check and there she is.
WHITFIELD: And suddenly now she's got a whole lot of new friends and family members.
NAIDOO: Delores McNamara.
HARRIS: That's right.
WHITFIELD: That's what happens.
NAIDOO: A mother of six from Limerick. And we understand she was a bit too overwhelmed to say anything at the presentation ceremony. Well, who wouldn't be?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
NAIDOO: But her lawyer says that she's determined that she will keep her feet and the feet of her family, all 12 feet that would be, right?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
NAIDOO: She has six kids -- firmly on the ground.
WHITFIELD: A hundred fifteen million pounds. I think I'd be speechless, as well.
HARRIS: Feet on the ground. Who is she kidding? She's on cloud nine.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HARRIS: Hello.
WHITFIELD: For a long time.
HARRIS: Yes.
Anand, thanks.
Appreciate it.
NAIDOO: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: It is an international effort involving man and machine to save Russian sailors trapped in a submarine hundreds of feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Details in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HARRIS: Twenty-two Marines, 14 of them from Ohio, have been killed in Iraq since Monday. We'll show you how the state is coping in a few minutes.
But for now, the images say more than the statistics. Here are a few to honor the fallen heroes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: He says he was a fat band boy in school. That's what he says, not us. Not our words. Now, former President Clinton is on a mission to fight childhood obesity. He takes on the food industry, school lunches and uniform -- uniformed, rather -- and sometimes he says they ought to be in uniform -- parents.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Today on House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Here's a recap of our top stories, in case you are just waking up with us.
Discovery is now orbiting free of the International Space Station. The shuttle un-docked about four-and-a-half hours ago so they could take pictures of the space station. Discovery is due to return to Earth early Monday.
In London, three more men are in custody for allegedly failing to reveal what they knew about the failed bombings of July 21. Two women were in court yesterday on identical charges.
And a deep sea rescue operation is imminent along Russia's Pacific coast. Special underwater equipment arrived overnight from Britain and the U.S. They will try to free a seven man Russian mini sub that is snagged on the ocean floor. Time is of the essence, since the crew's air supply is running out. The latest developments in a live report from the Pentagon at the top of next hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
WHITFIELD: Tony, meantime, the bodies of two U.S. Marines killed this week in Iraq could return home to Ohio today. Theirs are just the first of what will be a long string of military funerals.
CNN's Brian Todd has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Marine colonel recently told CNN there's no preparation for looking into the eyes of a father and mother and telling them their son was killed in action. That horrible ritual, repeated more than 20 times this week for the families of young Marines killed in separate attacks within the span of three days in northern Iraq.
(AUDIO CLIP FROM MEMORIAL CEREMONY)
TODD: In downtown Cleveland, city officials tried to offer solace with a vigil service. In this area, the pain is especially severe. One Marine unit, the 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, has Reserve centers in Ohio, where at least 13 of the Marines killed were assigned.
At this service, Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Michael Coleman mourns his neighbors and prays for his son, a lance corporal still with that unit in Iraq. MAYOR MICHAEL COLEMAN, COLUMBUS, OHIO: Stay with them now and forever more. May we always support our troops, particularly in these difficult times. May God bless them now and forever more. Let us remember them.
TODD: They remember Lance Corporal Timothy Bell of West Chesterfield, Ohio, 22 years old, nephew of a major league baseball manager, killed when a roadside bomb struck his amphibious vehicle near Haditha. A Marine through and through, says his dad, who recalls a final wrenching image of his son.
TIM BELL, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: The last time I saw Timmy is when I dropped him off before he left for Iraq. And as I turned away he grabbed me and told me, "Hey, Dad, hold on here a second." He says, "I want you to wear this ring. But I want it back when I get home." It's a Marine ring. So I guess I'll be wearing it.
TODD: Nineteen-year-old Lance Corporal Christopher Dyer, killed in the same explosion, told his dad, "Don't worry. I'm going to come home." Now, a father's anguish is almost too much to bear.
JOHN DYER, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: I keep telling myself he put more into those 19 1/2 years than I have in my 51. I keep wanting to reach back and change things and say, "No, son, you can't go into the Marine Corps." I think that would have killed him. He may have lived to be 80, and I think for him not to have reached for his dreams would have killed him just as much as that bomb in Iraq.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, if your week was more about deadlines than headlines, we're here to help.
Time to "Rewind" through some of the big stories of the last few days.
Tuesday, John Bolton began his first official day as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. President Bush named Bolton to the job Monday by using what's called a recess appointment while law makers are on break. The president bypassed a Senate vote to fill the post.
Also Tuesday, an Air France flight skidded off the runway in Toronto, Canada. The plane caught fire, but all 309 people on board evacuated, escaping serious injury. Investigators don't yet know what caused the accident.
And it's been a particularly deadly week in Iraq for U.S. troops. Twenty-two Marines have been killed since Monday, including 14 from units in Ohio. Eleven members of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade were also killed in various attacks.
Tomorrow, we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.
WHITFIELD: Well, that'll wake you up.
Some people live by the principle of cash and carry. But most of us rely on, to some extent, at least, on IOUs.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
WHITFIELD: It can be dangerous, can't it?
CNN's Veronica De La Cruz of the Dot-Com Desk has some rather important insights for us.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning.
How are you doing?
WHITFIELD: It sounds dangerous to me.
DE LA CRUZ: IOUs, I mean it's all coming back to me now, unfortunately.
If you...
WHITFIELD: Oh, you do that a lot, huh?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
Yes. It's all coming back to me, Fredricka.
And if you are looking for ways to control your debt but you don't know where to start, cnnmoney.com has a lesson in Money 101.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DE LA CRUZ (voice-over): Americans are loaded with credit card debt. The average American family with at least one card has wracked up more than $9, 000 in charges.
To control your debt, get a handle on your spending. Write down everything you spend for a month, cut back on the things you don't need and start saving the money left over to reduce your debt more quickly.
Not all debt is bad. In fact, it's almost impossible to live debt-free. This article gives you three examples of debt that is OK. How long will it take you to become debt-free? Crunch the numbers with this calculator and find out.
Finally, test your knowledge with this online quiz. For example, what's the worst kind of debt you can have? Is it mortgage, credit cards, school loan or car loan? Log on for the answer.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: And, of course, you can find that all online at money.com/101.
And what would you say the answer to that question is?
WHITFIELD: Tony?
DE LA CRUZ: On the spot.
HARRIS: You know, I'm going to need a little more time to consider my response to that.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, well, log onto cnnmoney.com.
HARRIS: Can I do that?
DE LA CRUZ: Check it out. Yes.
HARRIS: All right.
I'm want to give you a considered opinion on that.
WHITFIELD: Off the head.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, god, he's funny.
WHITFIELD: Off the head.
All right, Veronica, thanks so much.
DE LA CRUZ: Thank you guys.
HARRIS: All right, right after the break, round and round and round they go, where they stop, hey, we know and you will, too. We'll tell you who cut it best in England's recent lawn mower race. It's one of the Wows of the past week -- Fred. And we'll make you says wow!, that's for sure, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues after the break.
WHITFIELD: We are ready now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Time now to enchant you, engage you, even beguile you. "Wows of the Week." Get ready. Get set. Go mow your lawns. Can't wait.
WHITFIELD: Heehaw.
HARRIS: In England, they were all gassed up in this year's 12- hour lawn mower race. It finished last Saturday. The competition featured 35 teams mounting cutting edge technology, Fred.
WHITFIELD: That's good.
HARRIS: I am the punisher. That's what I am.
Each team uses three drivers over the 12 hours. All the blades are removed from the mowers during the race. After 12 hours, the team named, of all things, Accident Prone.
WHITFIELD: And I hear, Jacqui, it was a close cut finish.
HARRIS: A close cut finish.
JERAS: Oh, I knew something was coming.
WHITFIELD: Har, har, har.
JERAS: Look at all that mud.
WHITFIELD: I was thinking and thinking and thinking, what kind of little lawn mowing puns can I come up with while he's doing this very interesting fun read?
HARRIS: Yes, exactly.
WHITFIELD: And there you go.
JERAS: Remember that guy that, like, rode his lawn mower all the way across the country like from Iowa to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: Do you remember that?
HARRIS: Yes, I do remember that.
WHITFIELD: I don't.
JERAS: But I'm like, well, that's good.
WHITFIELD: No, I don't remember that. Sorry.
JERAS: Hey, by the way, speaking of grass, you know, the grass pollen way up across a lot of the country this weekend. So unfortunately you allergy sufferers are going to have to be dealing with that. But the pollen count down big time across much of the East and a lot of that is due to some of this rain.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, watch the news on CNN but want to know more? Well, this morning you can. Talk with CNN's Bob Franken at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. He'll answer some of your questions about covering the White House this week, from the recess appointment of a controversial figure to the president's thoughts on evolution and then his thoughts on the war on Iraq. You can start sending your e-mail questions right now.
That address is weekends@cnn.com.
Talk To CNN today at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific.
HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING begins right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
