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CNN Saturday Morning News
Former Hostage Norman Kember Arrives In Britain; Russia May Have Tipped Off Iraq About U.S. Troop Movements Following Invasion; Motive Of Wife Who Shot Minister Husband Remains A Secret; Using Technology To Translate Languages; Close Office Relationships; Immigration Battle Promises To Be Fierce; Ambassador Khalilzad Helping To Form New Iraqi Government; Two Teens Honored For Work; Corporate America's Love Affair With Women's Basketball
Aired March 25, 2006 - 07:00 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.
A warm welcome awaits one of the former hostages rescued from captivity in Iraq this week. Briton Norman Kember is expected to arrive at London's Heathrow Airport in just one hour. We'll take you live to his home in just a few moments. Kember was part of a Christian peacemaker team abducted back in November.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: A ray of hope is on the horizon for the Afghan man hauled into court for converting from Islam to Christianity. Abdul Rahman is facing a possible death sentence. But now, an Afghan government source says that he's expected to be released within the coming days.
HARRIS: The New Jersey victims of a bus crash in Chile are being remembered at a memorial service this morning. Twelve Americans were killed Wednesday when their tour bus plunged off a mountain road.
NGUYEN: A preacher's wife is expected to return home to Tennessee today to face a murder charge. Investigators say Mary Winkler has confessed to killing her husband Matthew Winkler. Authorities have not given any possible motive.
HARRIS: Still no sign of the two missing boys in Milwaukee. But police think someone out there knows something. Quadrevion Henning and Purvis Parker were last seen Sunday afternoon. Police believe there are young witnesses who still haven't come forward. A new nationwide tip line has been set up. The number, here it is: 877- 626-3804.
NGUYEN: And the Mars Orbiter is sending back its first pictures of the red planet. Check them out. The crisp images show deep channels and surface debris. The high resolution camera will be able to take pictures of much smaller objects when the orbiter reaches a lower orbit, so we'll stay tuned for all of that.
HARRIS: March madness time.
NGUYEN: You just had to put the...
HARRIS: March madness time. Go Tigers.
NGUYEN: I was not warned, although I do have my burnt -- well, it's not exactly burnt orange...
HARRIS: Well, wait. What happened here?
NGUYEN: But it's orange, no less. My Longhorns are playing today and you know they're going to win this time.
HARRIS: Yes, you know what?
NGUYEN: You're way down in the office pool, so you can't really speak.
HARRIS: I am so far down in the pool it is ridiculous.
Good morning, everyone.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, noon in London, where we are awaiting the arrival of Norman Kember, the former hostage held in Iraq.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen, as well.
We've got a lot to tell you about, a lot coming up today.
HARRIS: America's greatest untapped potential in sports marketing, March madness, no longer means just hairy-legged, sweaty guys.
Coming up, the sports professor on the big business of women's basketball.
And how is your relationship on the job? Have you got a wife or husband at home and perhaps one at work?
NGUYEN: What?
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. It may sound a little risque, but some say having an office spouse is not such a bad idea.
NGUYEN: Don't get any ideas.
HARRIS: Hey, now.
Plus, helping mom in her life threatening battle with lung cancer. Next hour, we'll meet an amazing set of teens who are putting a human face on commitment. "Teen People" magazine says they can change the world and we will tell you how.
NGUYEN: We do begin this hour with a big homecoming. Norman Kember, seen here, the British hostage held in Iraq for four months, is due back home in about an hour from now. He and two other hostages were freed in a dramatic U.S.-British military operation on Thursday.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is standing by outside Kember's home in a London suburb -- Paula, his family has to be so excited and so relieved that he's finally coming home.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty, yes.
It has to be a fantastic day for the Kembers. Pat Kember, the wife, left her home here just a few hours ago to go to Heathrow to be able to meet her husband for the first time in four months. He has been released, or freed, I should say, along with those two Canadians, who are also expected to be on their way home, as well. So it is going to be a fantastic day for them.
Pat Kember herself hasn't spoken yet to the British media and she has been giving some comments through the foreign ministry, saying that she is absolutely delighted and elated, and also saying that she wanted to spend a moment thinking about the American, Tom Fox, who obviously did not make it alive out of Iraq. She said that her happiness is inevitably tinged with sadness because one of the four hostages did not make it out.
But inevitably, this is going to be a wonderful day for the Kembers. In about an hour's time, he will be touching down at Heathrow and we are expecting that he may give some sort of statement to the television cameras from Heathrow itself. So we're hoping to hear from him very shortly -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Paula, obviously, he is going to be so elated just to finally be home. But tell us a little bit about his condition. I know he's been through a whole lot.
What do you know about his condition?
HANCOCKS: Well, we are hearing from the CPT, the Christian Peacemakers Team, that he was in Iraq with. They weren't bound the whole time and they were allowed to exercise a little bit. But obviously a tremendously traumatic four months for all three of them.
Also, we know that he has an undisclosed, an unnamed medical condition. We're hearing from the CPT that his captors did give him medication and we are hearing from Norman Kember himself, through the U.S. -- through the U.K. embassy in Baghdad, saying that he's had a shave, he's had a shower, he had breakfast before he left and he is in good shape, considering what he has been through.
Obviously, the two Canadians did have to have hospital treatment. But Norman Kember himself did appear to be in very good condition considering what he's been through in the past four months.
NGUYEN: And you know his condition is going to improve dramatically once he sees his family. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that.
We'll keep a watch of this as he touches down today.
Now, the two Canadian peace activists held hostage along with Kember are also leaving Baghdad this weekend. You can only imagine the anguish, fear and loss of hope that hostages must feel.
Earlier this week, we talked to someone who's been there.
Phil Sands is a British journalist who was abducted in Iraq back in January. He says he was held for five days by armed men who threatened to behead him. Then one day, American special forces, on a routine raid, discovered Sands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL SANDS, KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST: In my mind, I was dead. I really believed that. In a way, that's quite liberating because you can't get any lower than that. I had hoped that they saw me as enough of a human being that they would shoot me instead of behead me.
The door just kind of exploded open. And very quickly two American soldiers were coming into the room. As this young soldier lifted his flashlight into my face, he obviously saw that I wasn't an Iraqi. And I said to him, "I'm a British journalist. I was kidnapped."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Here's the amazing part of this story. No one even knew Sands was missing.
HARRIS: Oh, man.
NGUYEN: That is a lucky man.
HARRIS: He really is.
Passing along secret plans -- it turns out Russia may have tipped off Iraq about U.S. troop movements following the 2003 invasion. That's according to a new Pentagon report.
But the Interfax News Agency says Russia denies the allegations.
Details now from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the thousands of documents examined by military historians, one sent to Saddam Hussein on March 24, 2003, just days into the war, contained intelligence on the U.S. war plans that the Russians claim came from their sources inside the U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar. BRIG. GEN. ANTHONY CUCOLO, IRAQ PERSPECTIVE PROJECT: There is a document that exists that shows that a Russian ambassador to Iraq passed intelligence to the Iraqi high command.
MCINTYRE: The Iraqi document had details on the secret plans for U.S. troop movements during the initial phase of the invasion and cited the Russians as the source.
The document reads, in part, "The United States is convinced that occupying Iraqi cities are impossible, and they have changed their tactic. Now they are planning to spread across the Euphrates River from Basra in the south to Al-Qa'im in the north, avoiding entering the cities."
That's pretty much what happened. But Saddam Hussein didn't heed the intelligence because, the report concludes, he suspected the U.S. advance from Kuwait was merely a diversion.
CUCOLO: This particular document we're talking about actually had no impact on a decision. We use it in the Iraqi Perspectives Project study as an example of how a piece of intelligence, plus a battlefield commander describing a situation, were essentially ignored because it was different from what Saddam had said.
MCINTYRE (on camera): The Pentagon says it has no corroboration of the claim by the Russian ambassador that he multiple sources inside CENTCOM. And the authors of the report says it was outside their purview to investigate that claim. The say the document will simply have to stand on its own.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, it's designed to listen for terrorist activity, but the government's controversial eavesdropping program may also be listening in on privileged conversations like those between a doctor and a patient. The Justice Department is answering questions from lawmakers about the National Security Agency program.
On privileged communications, the Department says: "Although the program does not specifically target the communications of attorneys or physicians, calls involving such persons would not be categorically excluded from interception."
Now, the Department says calls are subject to being intercepted if there is "probable cause to believe at least one party is a member or agent of al Qaeda or an affiliated terrorist organization."
Now, the Justice Department released written answers to questions about the program late yesterday.
HARRIS: Now to politics and poll positions. Americans aren't thrilled with the way Democrats or Republicans in Congress are doing their jobs. But a new "Time" magazine poll gives Democrats a bit of an edge. The poll asked Americans which party's candidate they would choose for the House of Representatives if elections were held today.
Fifty percent said the Democrats. Forty-one percent chose Republicans.
When asked about the performance of Congress as a whole, 49 percent said they disapprove of the job lawmakers are doing. The approval rating was just 39 percent.
President Bush has been hit by sinking poll numbers and growing anxiety over Iraq lately.
First Lady Laura Bush talked about the president and the polls last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: How are you handling the stress of diminishing poll results?
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't like that, of course. But I also think I have a view of it that other people don't have. I know what it's like to live here. I know how high the stakes are right now in our history with what happens in Iraq and what happens in Afghanistan and how really, really important it is that we be able to have a good peace there, where we support governments that can really start to function on their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the president's approval ratings have been hovering in the mid to upper 30s in the last several surveys.
NGUYEN: A shotgun blast to the back from his wife -- that's what investigators say happened.
Still ahead, what drove a Tennessee mother and wife to allegedly kill her husband, a minister?
We'll take a closer look at their church, their children and the charges that are expected to be filed.
HARRIS: Plus, they look like any long time married couple.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE O'REAR, OFFICE SPOUSE: And I'm going to get the door for you, like I always do.
LORRAINE WILDERMAN, OFFICE SPOUSE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, isn't that nice? Isn't that just...
NGUYEN: That's what men should do.
HARRIS: Isn't that just wonderful?
Well, here's the deal.
NGUYEN: OK?
HARRIS: Together for years, but only hitched at work. No hanky- panky.
NGUYEN: Better not be.
HARRIS: It's a relationship seen more often in some offices.
Reynolds Wolf -- good morning, sir.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CODY DEWITT, "TEEN PEOPLE" HONOREE: That's my youngest sister, who's four, when we had to shave my mom's head. Because of the chemo, all her hair was falling out. We wanted to shave it all in one big clump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Most teenagers don't think about lung cancer when they smoke, but this teen does more than just think about it now, after learning of his mother's deadly cancer diagnosis.
Cody DeWitt, well, he took action.
Next hour, see how he is changing the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: What is Reynolds doing over there?
HARRIS: I don't know.
NGUYEN: All right, let's get to our top stories.
From hostage to homecoming, British hostage Norman Kember and two colleagues were rescued by coalition forces this week in Iraq. Within minutes, Kember is expected to arrive back home in London.
We're going to try to bring you those pictures as it happens.
Now, a preacher's wife heads home to Tennessee. There, she'll be formally charged with her husband's murder. Investigators say they know her motive, but are keeping it a secret, at least for now.
And it's a sad day in the Northeast. Victims of a bus crash in Chile are now home. They'll be remembered in a memorial service today.
Also, thousands are taking to the streets across America to rally for immigrants rights. They're protesting proposed legislation cracking down on illegal immigration. A huge protest is expected later today in Los Angeles.
And the Senate prepares to debate this very issue next week.
And that leads us to our e-mail question today. Do you think the U.S. needs tougher immigration laws?
People have been sounding off all week long. We have seen the protests. Students even walked out of class in Los Angeles yesterday...
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
NGUYEN: ... so it's really resonating with many folks across the U.S.
What do you think about it?
E-mail those thoughts to weekends@cnn.com. That's our address.
We're going to read those responses throughout the morning.
And, keep in mind, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, we're going to debate this issue with people on both sides. So we'll hear what the arguments are.
HARRIS: As many as 500,000 people expected for that demonstration...
NGUYEN: Just today.
HARRIS: ... in Los Angeles.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Heating up.
Heating up.
NGUYEN: You know what else is heating up?
HARRIS: Well, hang on.
Hang on.
NGUYEN: This March madness thing.
Did you see the orange out going on? There's solidarity on this side of the screen.
What is -- what is -- is that the best you could do?
HARRIS: This is the LSU tiger.
NGUYEN: A little stuffed toy?
HARRIS: Yes. Well, it's orange. I mean, it's an orange cat.
But here's the thing...
NGUYEN: It's LSU.
HARRIS: But here's the thing. As we say hello to Reynolds Wolf, number one.
NGUYEN: Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Aloha.
Good morning.
NGUYEN: Aloha.
WOLF: Hook 'em Horns.
NGUYEN: Hook 'em Horns.
WOLF: Yes.
HARRIS: Did you -- and we welcome back Betty, who was -- who was out last week.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody.
HARRIS: And thanks to Susan Roesgen for sitting in.
We have got something -- am I right?
WOLF: You're right.
HARRIS: Cooking for you this morning.
NGUYEN: It is the year of the Longhorns.
HARRIS: It is, isn't it?
But, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Did you hear what I just said?
NGUYEN: Cooking for me?
HARRIS: We have something cooking for you this morning.
NGUYEN: Ah. The fight song.
HARRIS: Do you hear something?
WOLF: There it is. HARRIS: And that's just the beginning of this.
NGUYEN: OK.
All right.
HARRIS: OK?
We'll get to weather. We'll talk about it a little more.
NGUYEN: I have a feeling I'm going to be on the tail end of this. This is not going to be a good thing for me.
If you're involved...
HARRIS: We're going to talk about ...
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: It's going to be a special moment.
NGUYEN: ... I'm in trouble.
WOLF: It's going to be a special moment.
HARRIS: Is it, yet?
WOLF: It is.
We can't give away the surprise.
HARRIS: Can't give it away.
WOLF: But it's going to be -- you're going to be spellbound.
NGUYEN: I am so very afraid.
HARRIS: There you go.
WOLF: It's going to be a life altering thing for you...
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Oh, no, no, no. Yes, yes, that's good.
Be afraid.
NGUYEN: I should be afraid?
HARRIS: Oh, be afraid.
NGUYEN: All right.
WOLF: A good reason to be.
NGUYEN: Well, should we be afraid as we step outside today?
HARRIS: No. NGUYEN: I mean how is the weather going to be?
WOLF: Well, it depends on where you are.
If you happen to be in the high mountains of California, you're going to be freezing.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes?
WOLF: If you happen to be on the Eastern Seaboard, probably some showers.
But take a look at what we have in many other places, including Austin, Texas. We've got a shot of that for you coming up in a few moments.
NGUYEN: Of course, we've got to have a shot of Austin, Texas, home of the Longhorns.
WOLF: You've got to.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: We've got a great shot, I believe, out of Austin, Texas. It shows the sun coming up. It is going to be just splendid. We're not expecting a drop of rain, just expecting plenty of sunshine today.
You know, that is not too far from one of the greatest restaurants in the entire world. I'm talking about Chewy's Tex-Mex.
NGUYEN: Chewy's. Ah.
WOLF: County Line Barbecue. That's another great restaurant.
HARRIS: Oh, Betty, have you been there?
WOLF: Good times.
NGUYEN: Oh, I can taste it now.
HARRIS: Oh, yes?
WOLF: You can't live with...
NGUYEN: And it's only seven in the morning.
WOLF: Well, you're an alum. We need to explain this. You're a Texas alum. I worked in Austin for three years...
NGUYEN: My blood bleeds orange, burnt orange.
WOLF: Absolutely. I can understand that. I dig it, indeed.
NGUYEN: But apparently there's a surprise coming up. And I've been warned, so stay tuned for that, because I'm very afraid.
HARRIS: You ought to be.
NGUYEN: Tony's smiling over here...
HARRIS: You ought to be.
NGUYEN: ... like Cheshire cat so...
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
NGUYEN: ... you know it's something bad.
HARRIS: No, this is going to be good.
NGUYEN: All right.
HARRIS: Reynolds, thank you.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: They've come a long and speaking of basketball, they have come a long way, baby. So move over, fellows. Here come the ladies. Now, corporate America has a love affair with women's basketball...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: ... for good reason.
HARRIS: Throwing it down.
Up next, we'll take you "Beyond The Game" with Rick Horrow to find out why.
NGUYEN: Yes, hook 'em, Rick.
HARRIS: Rick -- good morning to you, doctor.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
How are you?
(CROSSTALK)
HORROW: A pleasure that you're here this morning.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CYNDI LAUPER, SINGER: When the working day is done, oh girls...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He just wants to have fun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAUPER: ... they want to have fun.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUPER: Girls just want to have fun.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: Girls, they want to, want to have fun.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Hey, take a look at this. For the first time ever, a female dunks twice -- can we see it -- and in an NCAA game. Tennessee sensation Candace Parker's twin jams came last weekend against Army on the way to the women's Sweet 16. It's just one of the many reasons corporate America believes women's sports has the greatest untapped potential in the industry.
We see and hear about the media coverage of the men's Final 4 all the time. Somehow it always overshadows the women's action.
But you can bet the ladies will have their day on the court.
Joining us now from West Palm Beach is sports business analyst Rick Horrow.
He is the author of "When the Game Is On the Line" -- Rick, good morning to you, sir.
HORROW: My friend, good morning.
Good morning, Betty.
Two possible national championships for Texas...
HARRIS: In the same year.
HORROW: ... in the one year.
HARRIS: Yes.
HORROW: That is...
HARRIS: Insane, isn't it?
HORROW: ... more than one human being can bear.
HARRIS: It's...
HORROW: That's all I've got to say.
HARRIS: It's weird karma is what it is.
HORROW: Yes.
HARRIS: Hey, let me ask you about Candace Parker throwing down those two dunks in that game. I've got to tell you something, that really got my attention and I would bet it brought a lot of attention to the women's game.
Talk to us about the women's game.
HORROW: Well, the women's game is really fueled by corporate America, as well. As we know, the studies say that 80 percent of all major decisions in households, product wise, are made by women. Those of us who have women in our lives know that it's about 150 percent, by the way. And the women's market is over $5 trillion. That's more than the gross national product of Japan.
And needless to say, there's over a billion dollars in corporate sponsorship because the corporations love that women's demographic. State Farm, American Express, Anheuser-Busch and other companies are spending money across-the-board in all sports -- golf, tennis, a little less soccer.
But clearly basketball, the WNBA and, obviously, March madness for the women.
HARRIS: Hey, I've got to ask you, so this year's women's Final 4 is in Boston and it is the same weekend as the men, the first weekend in April.
So I have to ask you, viewership, are they the same audience, different audiences?
HORROW: Well, it's different audiences and it's always been back to back now because the women can merit the same stage in corporate America, as we just said.
But as far as television, more women are watching sports of all kinds than at any other time in history. It's about 30 percent of all the mainstream sports are watched by women, the Big 4, for example, and the women's Final 4 and March madness, about 40 percent are women viewers.
The Internet is a little different. Those brackets we do and we're going to do, ESPN had three million hits that first week for the men's game and 175,000 for the women's.
But the real key are the dollars from these television rights fees. ESPN did an 11-year, $200 million deal for the women's tournament plus $15 million in promotion. That, Tony, gives the dollars for schools for all of these other sports, as well.
So it's a big deal.
HARRIS: Hey, you want to just skip the review of the brackets?
You want to just -- I mean if you're with this, I'm totally with just sort of blowing through these brackets and forgetting about it. HORROW: Well, yes, let's...
HARRIS: And...
HORROW: Hey, you know, we're going to do live from Indy next week.
HARRIS: Right.
HORROW: And we've got a neat little segment on what the odds are of a perfect bracket. It's twice as like -- more like -- as likely as simultaneous meteors hitting all our major cities at the same time, Tony.
So...
HARRIS: All right, I'm told we have to do this.
All right, put the brackets up.
Let's deal with this.
HORROW: Oh, come on.
Who told you we had to do this?
HARRIS: Hey, I'm -- in my ear folks are telling me we have to do the brackets.
All right, do we have it?
HORROW: Yes.
HARRIS: Do we have the graphic up of our brackets from the morning team?
OK...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody lost it.
HARRIS: Yes, someone lost it.
OK, great.
This is the first page of the leader board. And with an...
HORROW: Oh.
HARRIS: ... insurmountable lead, it looks like, Katie Baratone, a producer of this very program...
HORROW: Is she...
HARRIS: ... leads the way.
HORROW: Hey, is she -- is she a George Mason alum? HARRIS: No, no, no.
But she doesn't know any -- look at her. She -- she's doing the cabbage patch. Well, how are my teams? Eighties is that. But wait a minute. Wait a minute. She doesn't know a thing about basketball.
HORROW: There you go.
HARRIS: Not a thing. And she's winning.
Good, we won't go to the...
HORROW: That's the beauty of March madness. Nobody has to know it to deal with these pools. So next week live in Indy, we're going to, you know, come to the final -- final numbers.
HARRIS: Great.
And I understand we don't have time to see the second page of the leader board.
HORROW: Good.
HARRIS: OK. Great.
Oh, no, there it is.
HORROW: This is the first time you and I are in agreement ever, for the first time, pal.
HARRIS: And there we are. It's dismal. I've got bad karma.
Betty's got all the karma in the world going.
Rick, good to see you, my friend.
See you next week.
HORROW: Next week.
Next week live from Indy.
HARRIS: OK.
Take care, man -- Betty.
NGUYEN: I don't know how much karma I have, because I'm right there tied with Rick. And, you know, Rick doesn't have much karma. We're at the bottom half of the board there. So maybe things will change this weekend.
Go Horns.
All right, moving on now, short skirts, low cut tops, plastic surgery and questionable role models all major concerns for parents of preteens. Now help is on the way from an unlikely voice. There she is! It's not her usual M.O. no. But Pink is challenging young girls to succeed in life by using their brains, not their body.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING rounds up young fans to talk about the pop star's attempts to get them to think.
Is it working? Find out tomorrow on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: And, Betty, later this hour, a minister murdered, his wife facing charges. The children caught in the middle. What about a motive?
CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It is home sweet home today for former British hostage Norman Kember, held captive in Iraq for four months. Kember is due to arrive. And I'm just getting word that he has, in fact, landed at Heathrow International Airport. He and two Canadian hostages were rescued by coalition forces on Thursday.
NGUYEN: A gruesome discovery inside a parked car in Baghdad. U.S. soldiers found the bodies of six people who had been tortured and strangled. Hours later, police say four Iraqi civilians were killed in a bomb blast southeast of the city.
HARRIS: In Afghanistan, the man facing a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity could soon be released. That's according to an Afghan government official. Afghan authorities are meeting today on Abdul Rahman's fate.
NGUYEN: A day of mourning in parts of the Northeast. The bodies of 12 Americans killed in a bus crash in Chile on Thursday have been returned. Several victims will be remembered in a memorial service a little later today at a synagogue where they worshipped.
HARRIS: Thousands across the country are protesting legislation aimed at cracking down on the illegal immigrants. This is video from a demonstration in Phoenix yesterday, a massive demonstration.
Congress is considering bills that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally.
NGUYEN: Imagine this -- an iceberg slightly smaller than Martha's Vineyard. You see it right there highlighted in green. The burg measures 17 miles long and nine miles wide. It's just off Antarctica, on the side of the continent closest to Africa.
HARRIS: And now to Tennessee. The motive in a minister's killing is still a bit of a secret. But police say they know who did it -- his wife. She's due back in Tennessee today to face murder charges.
CNN's Rick Sanchez has more from Selmer, Tennessee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With his back turned, sitting near his own bed, Minister Matthew Winkler was hit with a shotgun blast that authorities suspect he never saw coming. Shot in the back, murdered, police say, by his own wife.
ROGER RICKMAN, SELMER, TENNESSEE, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Mary Winkler has confessed to the murder of her husband, Matthew Winkler, shooting him on March the 22nd, 2006, leaving Selmer with her three daughters.
SANCHEZ: Mary Winkler, 32 years old, 5'3'', 120 pounds, a preacher's wife, seemed an unlikely suspect.
So when church members discovered their minister's body in his parsonage, they called police and immediately went looking for her, to see if she was OK, or possibly break the news to her.
(on camera): However, she was nowhere to be found. So, police put out an Amber Alert.
Is it possible she and the girls could have been abducted?
Police got the answer to their question when they received a phone call from authorities in Orange Beach, Alabama late Thursday night that led them to this conclusion.
JOHN MEHR, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: I would say she is a suspect at this time just due to the nature of this, that she's alive and well, of course. But she does have the children. She was in the van. So we would consider her a suspect at this time.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Translation? She wasn't abducted. She had fled on her own in this van. And it wasn't long afterward that police say she admitted to the shooting under questioning by investigators.
RICKMAN: They're in the process now of getting her extradited back to Tennessee.
SANCHEZ: But what about the children -- three little girls, ages one, six and eight? Inside the Fourth Street Church of Christ, parishioners prayed, hugged and wondered what burden those children had been left with. So we asked the detective what so many wanted to know.
(on camera): Do we know what the children saw or didn't see? A lot of people are very concerned about these children.
RICKMAN: To my knowledge, the children saw nothing.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): What's more...
RICKMAN: They don't have an -- no idea what has happened to their father.
SANCHEZ: They may soon learn what happened to their father from their grandparents, Minister Winkler's parents, who will likely take custody of them.
DAN WINKLER, FATHER OF MATTHEW WINKLER: We turn our immediate attention to the remembrance of our son Matthew and the care of three precious children.
SANCHEZ: Their mother, Mary Winkler, has waived extradition and will return to Tennessee, the place where she met her husband in bible college, where they were raising three beautiful little girls, where a church had provided them with this picturesque home on a hill and where she will now face charges of first degree murder.
Rick Sanchez, CNN, Selmer, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: In other stories making "News Across America," we warn you, the video you're seeing is graphic. It was released via the Freedom of Information Act from the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office in Arizona.
In 2001, Charles Agster died three days after being forced by detention officers into a restraint chair. An autopsy showed he died from complications related to meth. But a federal jury ordered the county to pay $9 million to Agster's parents after finding detention officers and jailhouse nurses had acted improperly.
A big scare in a small city and now the search is on for a 54- year-old man said to be a person of interest. Five, count them, five homemade explosive devices were placed at stay the course yesterday in Grand Junction, Colorado. Two went off. Police detonated three others. No one, luckily, was injured.
Always get a permit when filming a movie -- that is a lesson several high school film students in Florida learned the hard way. The group got permission from a local postmaster to film after hours at a post office. But they didn't inform authorities. Wouldn't you know, someone called police and they ordered the teens on the ground, face down. Everything, though, turned out to be fine and we're told the teens likely will not face any criminal charges.
Well, a group of Florida students from Florida International University are spending their spring break not at a beach, but at Martha's Table in Washington. It's an organization that feeds the hungry. The group stuffed grocery bags for needy families and delivered hot meals to the city's homeless.
HARRIS: Working long hours? Well, some of your most significant relationships may be at the office instead of at home. But an office spouse may actually be a good thing for you.
Really?
OK. We'll have details.
NGUYEN: We'll see.
We'll see.
And, rebuilding the world one village at a time. She's only 18 years old.
Can you believe what she's been doing?
Coming up this morning at 8:00 Eastern, see how one teen answers the call of community service -- good morning, Reynolds.
WOLF: Good morning.
And from the Statue of Liberty, all the way to the Washington Monument, we could deal with some showers today. But outside Threadgill's in Austin, Texas, we're expecting plenty of sunshine through the afternoon.
We'll have your complete forecast around the nation coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: From the home to the office to everywhere in between, technology helps us stay connected. But with more than 6,000 languages spoken worldwide, speaking the right words can be difficult for many traveling overseas.
Can technology help us bridge that gap?
Welcome to the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE: When I'm speaking to people overseas, it certainly slows down communication to go through a translator.
I work for a relief and development organization. In a relief situation, elaborate communication is key, and a little bit might be lost in the translation. It would be great to have some kind of speech technology that would allow relief workers to speak directly with the people that they're serving so that you could understand their needs as quickly as possible.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Quick and easy communication in a foreign language is essential for relief workers like Katie. And for the rest of us, it sure would make traveling overseas more fulfilling and enjoyable.
Wouldn't it be great if you could speak any language effortlessly?
(voice-over): The director of the Inter-Accent at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Alex Waibel is in the business of breaking language barriers.
DR. ALEX WAIBEL, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Have you been feeling well?
O'BRIEN: In Waibel's lab, you'll find portable PDA translators for tourists, goggles that project translated subtitles, even a speaker that can send a beam of translated auto to a single listener.
WAIBEL: You can have a personalized translation where one is listening in Spanish, another one in German or a third one with another language.
O'BRIEN: Even more amazing, electrodes that, when attached to cheek and throat, can turn a person's native tongue into a language they've never spoken before.
WAIBEL: And these electrodes can capture the movement, recognize the words that could have been spoken that way and translate them into another language and sound them out aloud.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And this just in to CNN.
We've been telling you about this much anticipated homecoming for former hostage, British hostage Norman Kember.
We can show you now this video just in to CNN.
This is the actual British Airways flight that is carrying Norman Kember, in Iraq, held as a hostage for four months, along with two Canadians. And he was rescued by coalition forces on Thursday.
Once again, that is the plane carrying Norman Kember, taxiing now up to the gate. And we will take you to London, and, actually, to his home, where Paula Hancocks is standing by, at the top of the hour 8:00 hour -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, if you're not fully awake, take a moment right now. Take a deep breath. Stretch. All right, you ready?
If not, you won't be able to figure this one out.
How much do you actually know about sleep?
Our Veronica de la Cruz of the Dot-Com Desk joins us now to talk about some of those answers.
I'll tell you what I know about sleep -- I don't get nearly enough of it.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, that is what we know.
We know that we need to get, what, eight hours?
NGUYEN: Yes. I never get eight hours.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, doctors say we need to get eight hours. And you know what? As a nation, we simply are not getting enough sleep.
NGUYEN: Yes, we're working too hard. That's the problem.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
NGUYEN: Are you listening, bosses out there?
DE LA CRUZ: What did you get last night?
NGUYEN: We're working too hard.
DE LA CRUZ: What did you get last night?
NGUYEN: Like six.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
NGUYEN: Yes, that's not good.
DE LA CRUZ: I got like five.
NGUYEN: Well...
DE LA CRUZ: I got like five.
NGUYEN: ... I did better than you did.
DE LA CRUZ: You did. You beat me by an hour.
So the big question here is how much does that lack of sleep affect you?
Well, we've got the details online at CNN.com.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ (voice-over): A full night of rest is crucial to your physical and mental health. This gallery has a few tips on how to improve your surprise habits.
For instance, daily exercise can help you stay fit, but also help you catch a few more ZZZs each night. If you have a tendency to toss and turn during the night, just get up and wait until you feel sleepy again. And can you catch up on your sleep or, as you get older, do you need less of it? Take this interactive quiz and find out how much you know about sleep.
Also, tune in for Dr. Sanjay Gupta's sleep prime time special. That's Sunday, March 26, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DE LA CRUZ: And ahead of Sanjay's special, you can read up online at CNN.com/sleep. You can take that interactive quiz.
For instance, Betty, true or false...
NGUYEN: OK?
DE LA CRUZ: ... a lack of sleep can lead to weight gain.
NGUYEN: I would say so.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes?
NGUYEN: Yes, just because you're...
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... you're making up for your lack of whatever it is in your life...
DE LA CRUZ: Right. So --
NGUYEN: And for me, it would be sleep. So I eat. I love to eat. No, that's my favorite pastime, seriously, eating.
DE LA CRUZ: So basically if you're on a diet, you've got to sleep, as well.
It's not...
NGUYEN: So, was I right?
DE LA CRUZ: You are.
NGUYEN: Hmm.
There you go.
DE LA CRUZ: It is. You are absolutely correct.
NGUYEN: Tony, I was right.
Can you believe it?
HARRIS: Hard -- hard -- yes, hard to believe. Yes, thank you.
NGUYEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: I had something I was going to say there, but I'd better save it, because I've got another one ...
NGUYEN: Yes, you'd better stop right there.
DE LA CRUZ: What were you going to say?
HARRIS: Nothing. NGUYEN: Don't even ask him. Really.
HARRIS: Nothing.
NGUYEN: He'll get himself in trouble, trust me.
HARRIS: Yes, I will.
All right, moving on now...
DE LA CRUZ: All right, Betty.
HARRIS: ... do you spend more time at work than you spend at home? It's pretty one-sided for a lot of us these days. And one consequence of husbands and wives spending so much time apart is that men and women at work are getting a lot closer than ever before.
Rusty Dornin has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LORRAINE WILDERMAN, OFFICE SPOUSE: I'm hungry. I want to eat.
MIKE O'REAR, OFFICE SPOUSE: Me, too.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They like the same things.
M. O'REAR: Let's go to the Chinese restaurant.
WILDERMAN: OK.
DORNIN: Like where to eat.
M. O'REAR: Let me get the door for you, like I always do.
WILDERMAN: Thank you.
DORNIN: Mike and Lorraine have built a close relationship on banter.
WILDERMAN: Mikey, Mikey, Mikey...
JESSICA NETTLES, OFFICE SPOUSE: Be patient.
WILDERMAN: ... you know the routine.
M. O'REAR: I'm sorry.
WILDERMAN: You've got to let the tea bag sit in there for a while.
DORNIN: A longtime married couple out for lunch? Hardly.
WILDERMAN: Hey, Mike.
DORNIN: How about co-workers?
Mike O'Rear and Lorraine Wilderman met when she joined the faculty at Chattahoochee Technical College in Georgia. Over eight years, they have become part of a new phenomenon -- office spouses.
WILDERMAN: Mike has a lot of the same traits as my husband does and when I'm at work, it's like, where's Mike?
WILDERMAN: Help, I need something.
DORNIN: In a national survey by the research company Vault Inc. 32 percent of workers say they have an office spouse.
Advertising executive Tina Chadwick recently wrote a magazine article defining this new kind of relationship.
TINA CHADWICK, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MATCH INC.: When you get particularly close to someone or, in -- in terms, click with them, that starts to develop a spouse relationship where you rely on them. You ask for their advice.
WILDERMAN: Mike, do you have a -- do you have a pocket knife or...
M. O'REAR: No.
WILDERMAN: ... a pair of scissors? Can you open that for me?
M. O'REAR: I've got some scissors.
CHADWICK: There's a synergy that develops that can be quite energetic, you know, and quite enlivening, rather than just the drudgery of work.
WILDERMAN: You can hand me two at a time, if you want or what...
M. O'REAR: My other hand's busy.
WILDERMAN: Put your water down and hand me some, or we are going to be here...
M. O'REAR: Yes, ma'am.
WILDERMAN: ... until the cows come in.
DORNIN: As they grew closer over the years, Mike and Lorraine started relying on each other for much more than business.
WILDERMAN: If he has even had a bad weekend or something has happened to one of his grandchildren, I can almost tell by the expression on his face.
M. O'REAR: There's always problems you're going to have. That's just part of life. But if you have someone you can share it with, it -- it makes it a little bit better. DORNIN: Tina Chadwick says she has had several office spouses over the years. Her colleagues Jason Turner and Jeff Stewart (ph) say that long hours and business trips with co-workers make it part of modern life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, they become your best friends basically, because you're spending, you know, every day with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're with them longer than you're with, like, your wife or your spouse or whoever. So, yes, I kind of -- a line could possibly get crossed, mentally, but not really physically.
DORNIN: But whether it's to 9:00 to 5:00 or 9:00 to midnight, if things begin to border on the inappropriate, business experts say step back.
CHADWICK: You have to decide, OK, I'm at my boundary with this person and I need to kind of start drawing that line in what I say and what I divulge.
DORNIN (on camera): How important is it to -- to take your relationship home and tell your spouse about this other person?
M. O'REAR: I tell Dianne everything. If you don't lie, you don't have to remember what you have told.
DORNIN (voice-over): Rusty Dornin, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That's it.
NGUYEN: He has a good point there.
HARRIS: Yes. Tell me.
NGUYEN: Just don't lie about it.
HARRIS: Just talk about it.
NGUYEN: Be up front.
You know, the key to our relationship?
HARRIS: Oh, what is that?
NGUYEN: You know this.
HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes.
Here's the key to our relationship. Thanks for prompting me.
NGUYEN: Spell it out for them.
HARRIS: Thanks for prompting me.
The key to our relationship is Betty is always right.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
That's how you get along if you're on...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: You saw evidence of that a moment ago, OK?
Betty answered a question posed by Veronica...
NGUYEN: And that's why...
HARRIS: ... and, of course...
NGUYEN: ... it's so much simpler this way.
HARRIS: ... Betty is always right.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
HARRIS: My role here is to provide the uplift...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: ... the pleasant surprises from time to time, right? That's my role here.
NGUYEN: Well, what do I contribute then?
HARRIS: No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. I'm leading to something.
NGUYEN: Oh.
HARRIS: The surprise...
NGUYEN: I'm kind of scared.
HARRIS: Yes, there's a surprise that we have.
We have a great surprise, a wonderful surprise...
NGUYEN: For me...
HARRIS: ... coming up for you.
NGUYEN: ... which I don't think is going to be so great. Great on his part, probably not so much on mine.
HARRIS: So...
NGUYEN: That's the way this relationship works, can you tell?
HARRIS: Stick around and I promise you, I promise you, you won't want to miss it. NGUYEN: Are you crossing your fingers there?
What was that?
HARRIS: Because I just hope it all comes off the way I planned it for you, Betty.
NGUYEN: Uh-oh.
All right, I'm very afraid.
But we must move on.
We're going to be talking about -- this is interesting. Don't do this for your wife, your real wife, Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
OK.
NGUYEN: A broach made from a roach. Yes, it's true. Check -- oh, and it's moving.
HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes.
NGUYEN: The very latest in fashion jewelry. You've got to be kidding me!
That's ahead in our weekly Water Cooler.
HARRIS: Squish.
NGUYEN: Oh.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Water Cooler time.
Authorities in the Lone Star State -- oh, this is Texas again? -- cracking down on public intoxication by sending undercover cops into bars.
NGUYEN: What?
HARRIS: Why? To paraphrase bank robber Willie Sutton, because that's where the drunks are.
NGUYEN: Uh-oh.
HARRIS: With that little nugget, here's the Water Cooler.
NGUYEN: Yikes! (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS (voice-over): As mobile homes go, this one is way beyond double wide. A couple bought the aging Victorian monster for $1, then paid $120,000 for the slow, troublesome move three miles down the road. If they think that was an expensive headache, wait until they start the renovations.
Speaking of which, here's a home furnishing that just screams ASCII. The custom woven rugs feature computer code as the motif. It's pricey, though. A six by eight rug costs as much as a high-end PC.
From room covering to 'shroom coveting -- the chanterelle mushroom is so prized as a gourmet delicacy, California authorities say poachers are sprouting, well, like mushrooms after rain. Rustlers are even using GPS devices to locate the exotic morsels, which only grow in the wild.
Not wild enough? well, this could be the latest fashion accessory for teens into the gothic look. The roach broach even has a chain to keep the little buggers from running away. Perhaps jewel encrusted scorpions and spiders are next?
Here's an idea sure to turn heads. It's the opposite of a vanity tag. A California lawmaker wants the scarlet license plate mandatory for repeat DUI offenders.
A license to laugh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONNIE KHALIL, COMEDIAN: My dad's accent completely ruined my life. It did. Like he would always try to tell me to find a girl with the three Bs -- brains, beauty and bustinality (ph).
Yes, see, I tell that to an American crowd, they're laughing. I tell it to a Middle Eastern crowd, they're like yes, yes, the advice is perfect. What is the problem? I don't know. I don't understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Thursday night's show by Muslim comedians at New York's Improv was aimed at countering some of the negative stereotypes about Arab-Americans since 9/11.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Always interesting stuff.
Hey, Reynolds, don't ever get your wife a broach with a roach, OK?
WOLF: Yes.
NGUYEN: There's rule number one there. WOLF: Yes, that's kind of disconcerting, seeing it. I've seen plenty of those before in my college dorm rooms.
HARRIS: There you go.
There you go.
NGUYEN: Oh. Just not the jewel.
WOLF: Without the jewels, though.
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: Exactly.
Yes.
No question. Nasty stuff. Whoa, roach stuff. Those things would be seeing my newspaper, that's for sure.
HARRIS: Nice.
WOLF: Yes, good times.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING will begin in just a moment.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: There's been a confession in the shooting death of a Tennessee preacher, from his wife. Mary Winkler will face a charge of first degree murder. Police say they know the motive, but are keeping it confidential.
Still no clues in the disappearance of two young Milwaukee boys. Police, now desperate for hints, are using heat sensors, bloodhounds, and following up on hundreds of tips. They say they believe there are young witnesses in this case, but none has come forward so far.
Watch for the battle over immigration to intensify today, with more protests over a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, President Bush will push for his guest worker program in his weekly radio address a little bit later this morning.
HARRIS: Homecoming for a former hostage in Iraq. Seventy-four- year-old Norman Kember has arrived at London's Heathrow Airport. He's expected to make a statement before he heads to his home outside of the city. We have a live report coming up in just a few minutes.
A hopeful sign for an Afghan man facing a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity. A senior Afghan official says Abdul Rahman could be freed shortly. NGUYEN: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's March 25, a big day for basketball and big day in the news as well, though. We got a lot to tell you about today, 8:00 in the morning right here in Atlanta, 7:00 in the Mississippi Valley.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: Hook 'em, Horns. Morning, everyone. Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: Not doing so well in the bracket
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Thanks for being with us this morning.
NGUYEN: Well, coming up in less than a minute, immigration reform ignites big protests all across the nation. A large crowd is expected to march today in Los Angeles.
And the Senate could consider a controversial plan early next week. President Bush shares his ideas on the issue. We'll have a live report from the White House.
And shortly after that, we'll go live to London, where a freed British hostage enjoys a homecoming this hour. Norman Kember is one of three Western peace activists rescued by coalition forces in Iraq this week.
Then later in the hour, we will meet two teens who've accomplished so much, and actually put some adults to shame, because they have done a lot with their time and the money that they've raised. Stay with us for that.
HARRIS: From the streets to Capitol Hill to the White House, the battle lines form over illegal immigration, and the fight promises to be fierce. The crackdown on people in the country illegally sets off protests across the country. Demonstrators held marches, walkouts, and work stoppages this week. More rallies, including a huge one in Los Angeles, are planned today, and President Bush braces for a showdown in Congress over immigration reform.
Our Kathleen Koch is at the White House this morning with more. Good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
This has been a very tough fight for President Bush from the start. Immediately after he introduced his so-called guest worker program back in January of 2004, many Republicans voiced strong reservations about it.
Now, what the plan would do is, it would allow foreigners to gain legal status for a limited period of time to fill jobs that employers could not find Americans to fill. Now, when that time was up, those workers would then have to return home. But critics in, as I pointed out, many of them members of President Bush's own party, for them, that raises security concerns. They also fear that once those workers are in the United States, they would never leave.
So Congress this week is instead considering bills, and they'll be debating them for about two weeks, to actually toughen penalties instead on illegal immigrants. They would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally, impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and they would even invest in the controversial step of building fences along some one-third of the southern U.S. border.
Now, President Bush will be talking about his immigration reform plan this morning in his Saturday morning radio address, and it's also sure to be a primary topic of conversation late next week, when President Bush travels to Cancun, Mexico, where he'll be meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox. So if Fox is in the last year of his presidency, wants to nail immigration reform as part of that. But many say with the president's dropping opinion polls, this isn't likely to happen.
Back to you.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's Kathleen Koch for us at the White House. Kathleen, thanks.
NGUYEN: While the immigration debate plays out across the country, and two guests will debate the issue right here later this morning. Steve Eichler with the Minuteman Project and activist Christine Neumann-Ortiz will square off at 10:30 Eastern. You'll want to watch for that.
HARRIS: Well, that leads us to today's e-mail question. Do you think the U.S. needs tougher immigration laws? E-mail us, there's the address, WEEKENDS@CNN.com, and we'll read your responses throughout the morning program. And at 10:30 Eastern, 7:30 Pacific, we'll debate what's become a very hot topic.
NGUYEN: A free man returning to the comforts of home. Minutes ago, former British hostage Norman Kember arrived in Britain after being held captive four months in Iraq. He, along with two Canadian peace activists, were freed Thursday in a dramatic rescue by coalition forces.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is outside Kember's home in a London suburb. But Paula, I imagine many of those family members were actually at the airport to greet him as he finally arrived home.
HANCOCKS: That's right, Betty.
Yes, he is officially on British soil, and Pat Kember, his wife, left a few hours ago to go to Heathrow to meet him. You can imagine, that's going to be a very emotional homecoming for him, an emotional time for both of them. It's been almost four months since he was taken hostage with three other from the Christian Peacemaker teams over in Iraq. So she was all smiles as she came out, as you can imagine, about to see her husband for the first time for a very long time. It's been very emotional for her, incredible four months not knowing if he was, in fact, going to come back from Iraq.
Now, we are expecting in the next hour or so, maybe less, that we will hear from Norman Kember himself. He has arrived at Heathrow. We're hoping to have a statement from him. And then he's probably going to come back here, as he hasn't been here for some time, he's going to be wanting to sleep in his own bed tonight, so we are expecting him to come back to this London suburb, back to his home as well.
We've had a few of his friends that have been turning up to the house as well. Obviously they want to see him as soon as he comes back. So it is going to be a very emotional day for the Kembers and a very happy day. Pat Kember, though, the wife, did spare a thought this morning also to the American Tom Fox, who sadly didn't make it back alive. He was found on March the 9th with gunshot wounds in Baghdad. So she said it is a day tinged with some sadness, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, he referenced that a little bit earlier, Kember did, the fact that it's bittersweet with Tom Fox's family obviously not experiencing the same joy that Kember's family is today.
Let's talk a little bit about Kember and his condition, because he has been held for four months as a hostage in Iraq. How's he doing?
HANCOCKS: Well, we're hearing through the foreign office that he's doing very well. When they first found him, they said he was in remarkably good condition, considering what he'd been through over the past four months. We're hearing from the CPT, the group he was in Iraq with as well, that they hadn't been bound the whole time, they had been allowed to exercise, and also that he had been given some medication. He's known to have high blood pressure.
So they say that they had well looked after, or as well looked after as you can be if you are kidnapped. But obviously, it's been very traumatic for Norman Kember and also for the two Canadians themselves. So it's going to take some time for him to come to terms with this, inevitably, but physically, he does appear to be in fairly good shape.
NGUYEN: Well, mentally he's going to -- and emotionally he's going to be so thankful to be home and see his family members. We understand he touched down just a little bit earlier, and we hope to hear from him very soon.
Thank you so much, Paula Hancocks. We'll be checking in.
Norman Kember's two Canadian colleagues left Iraq today after their hostage ordeal. Jim Loney and Harmeet Sooden are making their first stop in the united Arab Emirates. And in western Baghdad, U.S. soldiers came across a grisly scene. They found six tortured and strangled bodies inside a car last night. In a separate incident in the capital today, a bomb blew up in a passing minibus, killing four civilians.
HARRIS: The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, is forging ahead with the biggest challenge of his career. He's helping Iraq build a new government in the face of insurgent and sectarian violence.
Our Nic Robertson had a chance to spend some time talking with the ambassador. Nic joins us live from Baghdad. Nic, good morning to you. And I suppose my first question is, does the ambassador believe, is he optimistic that he will be able to bring this government together?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is optimistic that it's going to happen. He -- I went with him this afternoon. He went out to a new sports facility that's just been built here for young people. He met with some of Iraq's Olympic athletes, gave them some rings for their efforts in the Athens Games, and he talked about the importance of giving sports to the youth, the importance of defeating terrorism.
He said the country was at a crossroads, that he believed that the country could unite. But I specifically asked him the question, What is stopping this government being formed at the moment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: What's the one big issue that they have to compromise on the most at the moment? I mean, what is the single issue that's holding things up?
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Oh, I think it's -- it will be, and composition, the names. That's where the rubber will sort of meet the road, names with jobs, assignments, and that's what still is left. Prime minister, you need someone who is a unifier and is competent to do the job, and then key ministers to fill up the presidency and the speakership. The, I think it will still take some weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So he thinks it will still take some time, and certainly that's the view of other politicians here, getting the compromise, to divide up those jobs. And there's a big bone of contention over who's going to be the prime minister at the moment, is the really big issue.
One of the things, though, that has also been an issue was, would it be a government of national unity? Now, the ambassador told me that he thinks that's no longer an issue. He thinks that the Iraqi politicians have agreed it will be a government of national unity, that is, Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, all getting top government positions.
That was something other politicians here were saying wasn't the case earlier in the week, Tony.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us. Nic, thank you.
Well, a different approach to being cool. Ahead, a very personal story that might keep teenagers from smoking.
And later...
NGUYEN: Thousands of protests into the streets. It's all about proposed legislation cracking down on illegal immigration. You'll want to stick with us, because we'll take you right into the middle of this controversy for the live debate at 10:30 Eastern.
Now, the latest on the weather front with Mr. Reynolds Wolf. Hi, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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WOLF: I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
And if you happen to be sneezing and coughing, and your eyes are runny, and you just feel awful, there's a chance you may have the flu. And you're not alone, especially if you live right along the Mississippi River, any spot east. It has been pretty widespread to regional, to say the least.
However, out to the West Coast, it's not quite as prevalent, only sporadic to just local activity, many places back towards California and into the Four Corners.
I'm Reynolds Wolf with your flu season report.
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NGUYEN: Other stories making news across America this morning.
We warn you, the video that you are seeing is graphic. It was obtained via the Freedom of Information Act from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona. Now, in 2001, Charles Agster died three days after being forced by detention officers into a restraint chair. An autopsy showed he died from complications related to meth. But a federal jury found officers and jailhouse nurses acted improperly. The county was ordered to pay $9 million to Agster's parents.
Talk about not being politically correct. Parents in suburban Los Angeles say a teacher gave their children a homework assignment asking how their parents entered the United States, and how much they paid a smuggler. The parents want the teacher to apologize and to be transferred.
Well, it's spring. Spring break is a -- the turnabout of spring breaks, I guess you'd say, in a kind of roundabout way. Instead of going to the beach, several Florida International University students are spending their break at Martha's Table in Washington. What is that? Well, it's an organization that feeds the hungry. The group delivered hot meals in stuffed grocery bags for needy families. Good job there.
HARRIS: Going to take you upstairs to the CNN Weather Center now, and Reynolds Wolf. Where are you starting, Reynolds, in the Northeast somewhere?
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NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds, thank you.
Well, a very personal documentary may help to discourage teens from smoking and changing the world by caulking windows. Really? Well, meet two teens who make a difference, straight ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
Plus...
HARRIS: Struggling to rebuild an ongoing battle for scores of businesses in New Orleans. So what's it like at the 11th hour in the fight to reopen?
That story and more next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Can working out before bedtime interfere with a good night's sleep? One study, published in the "Journal of Physiology and Behavior," studied college students who exercised in the evening and found no significant effect on students falling or staying asleep. But ...
DR. RUSSELL ROSENBERG, NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL SLEEP MEDICINE INSTITUTE: Come on in.
COSTELLO: ... Dr. Rosenberg says some types of late workouts may lead to sleeping problems.
ROSENBERG: I do have a slight concern of the lifting at weight, of weights at nighttime, and whether some of those weight-lifting activities might actually cause some slight discomfort at points in the middle of the night that could wake you up.
COSTELLO: Dr. Rosenberg encourages his patients to exercise, but to stop intense workouts three hours before bedtime. This allows the body time to cool down.
SAT BIR KHALSA, HARVARD RESEARCHER: Move your head as you exhale...
COSTELLO: A preliminary study by a Harvard researcher found 20 minutes of yoga may help you fall asleep.
KHALSA: The subjects who have done the yoga practice on a regular basis have actually improved their insomnia. COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And new video in to CNN. Take a look here at Norman Kember, 74-year-old Norman Kember, just arriving at Heathrow International Airport inside the last hour, jumping into a car, as you can see, for the drive to his home just outside of London, in a suburb outside of London.
He arrived just minutes ago, inside the hour, as I just said. He had been held captive for four months in Iraq. He, along with two Canadian peace activists, freed Thursday in what's described as a dramatic rescue by coalition forces.
He, there you see him, in the car now for the ride to his home just outside of London. We are expecting that at some time after he arrives at home, he will make a statement. And when that happens, we will, of course, bring it to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEWITT: One of the hardest things to do, like, putting your mom through cancer and chemo, and then them finding a lump inside her lung.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: His mother battled stage four lung cancer, and he captured her struggles on film. It is a powerful story of cancer awareness, family pride, and, indeed, inspiration.
The young man behind the lens is 19-year-old Cody DeWitt. He's one of 20 remarkable young men and women featured in "Teen People's" April issue.
And joining us this morning is filmmaker Cody DeWitt, right there. And another teen featured in the issue for her extraordinary humanitarian work, Cassidy Blair.
Good morning to you both.
DEWITT: Good morning.
CASSIDY BLAIR, "TEEN PEOPLE" HONOREE: Good morning.
NGUYEN: Well, Cody, let's start with you. You decided, you and your sister, to document your mother's struggle with lung cancer. What made you want to do this?
DEWITT: We just wanted to get the awareness of lung cancer out there to everybody, and just to let people know that when you smoke, it just doesn't affect you. It affects everybody around you, your brothers, your sisters, you -- just your whole family. And a lot of people don't realize that when they start smoking.
NGUYEN: Your mom is very young. Is smoking what prompted her cancer?
DEWITT: We think so. She was an on-and-off smoker, but not enough to really make a difference.
NGUYEN: Well, how does your mom feel about this? Going through the struggle is difficult enough, talking to her children about it and just facing the reality of it. But then to have you there with a camera capturing all of that, how does she feel about it?
DEWITT: She's really proud. I mean, she's really happy. This was her whole dream, to, like, after it happened, she didn't want to just go down and take it. She wanted to make sure that other people didn't have to go through what she went through.
NGUYEN: Well, it's quite a statement, and I think the irony here is that you yourself smoked a little bit with some buddies in high school. But once your mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, you haven't picked up a cigarette since, have you?
DEWITT: I never have.
NGUYEN: So you've kind of learned your own lesson, haven't you?
DEWITT: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, there's a touching moment in the documentary where you talk about your mom being there for your graduation, and how you hope, now that you're in college, that she's going to be there when you graduate from college. But more importantly, you're concerned about her being there for your sisters. Tell me about that.
DEWITT: I've had my mom for 19 years, and I just, I know what it's been like to have her go through, like me going through everything that a teenager goes through. And I just can't see my sisters going through all of that without a mom. And that really upsets me. And I just hope that getting this documentary out there stops some people from start smoking, so...
NGUYEN: So that other mothers will be around longer. What kind of reaction have you gotten from teenagers from this?
DEWITT: A lot of positive. A lot. I've had teenagers come up to me at school that I don't -- that I've never met before, and tell me that the documentary has affected their life. And they've told me that they've shown it to their friends, hoping that they would stop smoking.
NGUYEN: Gosh, that has got to make you just feel wonderful about the work that you've done, the heart that you've put into it. Where is it being shown? How can people see this?
DEWITT: You can e-mail my mom, susandewitt@aol.com, and request to have it, and she'll send you one free of charge. And we've had people all over the country asking for it to be shown in their schools, so...
NGUYEN: Well, it is courageous work, important work. And we want to thank you for your efforts and what you've done.
I want to talk now to Cassidy.
Speaking of work, you have done a lot of it. Let me just read off some of it. You've worked with Haitian refugees in the Bahamas, orphans in Jamaica, built a village in Peru. How in the world did you get started with all of this?
BLAIR: There's been a lot of encouragement from my church since I was really little. I have attended a missionary church, and a lot of my friends and a lot of my, like, role models growing up were very into getting into humanitarian aid and what that can really do. And it's the capabilities of teenagers that we don't know that we have.
So I think that, combined with just, like, an extreme empathy built in from before, just kind of got me started right away.
NGUYEN: What's the most memorable moment of all of this? Because you've been so many places doing so many things.
BLAIR: That's really hard.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: ... to do, answer or ask the hard questions.
BLAIR: Right. Right now, I think that the most memorable thing at this moment is probably from Peru, because it was last summer. And we did a lot of, like, night ministries. They have a main plaza in every square and everything like that, and we'd go in and we'd do, like, different kind of, I don't know, like services, kind of like at church, but definitely very different.
And I met a man who is very like one of my uncles, and it just -- it struck me really, really hard, that, like, no matter where you are, people are the same, and no matter what you think, like, we all have the same problems, and it was very -- I don't know, it was comforting, in a way.
NGUYEN: We are all just people with our own struggles.
BLAIR: Yes.
NGUYEN: Obviously, it's had a profound effect on you. What's next?
BLAIR: I don't -- I'm thinking right now I'm going to go into international law, so I'm not sure how that will turn out. Like, I want to eventually end up working with a humanitarian organization of some kind. But we'll just kind of see where I'm led as life happens, so...
NGUYEN: All right, Cassidy, great work. Keep it up. Cody, remarkable work. We want to thank you for your efforts, both of you. You are amazing teenagers, and you are changing the world. And we appreciate the little time that you spent with us today. Thank you both.
DEWITT: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, each of the teenagers gets a $1,000 scholarship from L'Oreal Paris. And you want to join us next Saturday, when we talk to two more teens who are changing the world.
Stay with us. There's much more to come right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
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