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CNN Saturday Morning News

Big March Today To Protest New Orleans' Mayoral Election; Former Hostage Jill Carroll Arrives In Germany After Being Freed In Iraq; President Bush Pushes Guest Worker Program; Sleeptracker Monitors Sleep Patterns; The Immigration Debate Continues; Duke University President Speaks Out About Rape Allegations Against Lacrosse Team; The World's First Hassidic Jewish Reggae Rapper

Aired April 01, 2006 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone.
Jill Carroll is getting set to head home. The former hostage is now in Germany, two days after her captors set her free in Baghdad. The journalist spent nearly three months in captivity. The latest straight ahead.

In New Orleans, protesters take to the streets ahead of the embattled city's mayoral election. With much of the population still away from home, the demonstrators are calling the upcoming vote illegal. We will go live to New Orleans just moments from now.

Minor injuries and property damage in central Indiana after suspected tornadoes swept across the region. And the Midwest is bracing for more bad weather today. The latest from meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, coming up.

Brazil's first man in space is settling into his new digs, the international space station. A Russian capsule carrying the Brazilian and his American and Russian crewmates docked this morning. The crew will spend six months orbiting the Earth.

More anti-war protesters on day two of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Britain. Several hundred showed up in Blackburn, where Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met with Christian and Muslim leaders. An earlier protest in Liverpool drew about 1,500 people.

Saturday, April 1, April Fool's Day.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

HARRIS: The joke is on me.

NGUYEN: I'm sure I'll get it shortly.

HARRIS: Ooh, yes.

NGUYEN: Any tricks up your sleeve, huh?

HARRIS: That's the way we do things around here.

NGUYEN: Yes, it is.

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: Good morning.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

Coming up, serious problems in paradise. More heavy rains, more flash flood watches across Hawaii. We're going to tell you about that.

Plus, Duke does damage control. But are the school and some of its athletes in for some hard lessons? We'll talk about that, too.

And meet the white Jewish guy who's blazing the charts with his reggae rap. Yes.

It's all coming up this hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: First up, a rally alongside the rubble. We start live in New Orleans. A big march today to protest the city's mayoral election. It's set for April 22nd. But civil rights activists say it is illegal. That's because many New Orleans' residents aren't there to v.

Our Sean Callebs is keeping watch on this story for us today -- Sean, good morning to you.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Behind me you may be able to hear some sounds coming from the podium. The Reverend Al Sharpton is speaking right now. The Reverend Al Sharpton, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, two of the individuals leading today's event.

There are hundreds of people gathered here and really this is actually two-pronged. One, four days after Katrina, hundreds of people trying to flee flooded New Orleans went across the bridge leading to the town of Gretna in the west bank. They were met by Gretna police officers and other law enforcement agencies and turned back around. At that time, law enforcement officials from Gretna also fired warning shots over their heads. So that was really the initial push for this march.

But as it became clear that the scheduled election on April 22nd was a bit of a controversy here, it really became two-pronged. And that's what people are really focusing on here today. They say that this election violates the national Voting Rights Act. They say it is unfair and they say it is basically tainted by racism.

They say that because hundreds of thousands of people left this area, went to Houston and Atlanta and other areas after the hurricane, it's going to be very difficult for those people to vote, even though they do have absentee ballots out. We talked to the Reverend Jesse Jackson earlier. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: Can you imagine that we can have these opportunities set up for people in back there in Mexico City but not in New Orleans? It's not right. It's not fair. And we all deserve better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, specifically, they say that any first time voters must come back to this state's capital, Baton Rouge, and register to v. And then once they do that, they have to come back April 22nd, the first time voters, and vote here. They say the process is very confusing and people are having difficulty trying to figure out how to access the absentee ballots and cast their v.

But at the same time, there is also a booth not terribly far away where they're trying to educate people if, indeed, this election goes on -- it has been challenged by a number of groups -- how to actually go through the process and vote by absentee ballot.

So right now, Tony, it really has an air of celebration. As you know, in New Orleans, nothing happens without music and food, and there's a great deal of both. The march is scheduled about three hours from now, so it's kind of warm out here -- in the 80s. A lot of speeches, but then a pretty long march, as well -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, hey, Sean, just a quick question.

What is it that -- the ultimate goal of the organizers here? Do they want a delay in the election?

CALLEBS: No, they -- they want this election stopped. They want to go back and -- basically, to go back to square one. They say it's simply unfair. They say it was thrown together. So they're challenging the April 22nd election.

However, it's already been through at least a couple of court hearings and both of those have gone against the organizers of this demonstration. So right now everything is moving ahead for the April 22nd election. A lot of signs out here for the current mayor, Ray Nagin; Mitch Landrieu, the state's lieutenant governor; and, also, a mayoral who is here, as well. So a lot going on here today -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Sean Callebs for us, following it all in New Orleans.

Sean, we appreciate it.

Thank you.

NGUYEN: Homeward bound -- former hostage Jill Carroll is expected to leave Germany soon for the U.S. She arrived at Ramstein Air Base today from Iraq.

Now, we talked with CNN's Paula Hancocks in Frankfurt just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's halfway home. She's resting up in Ramstein, which is the U.S. air base here in western Germany, at the moment.

We saw her a little earlier, 9:00 a.m. local time she touched down in Germany, that's 2:00 a.m. Eastern, after traveling overnight from Baghdad. So, inevitably, she looked tired, especially after being held captive for almost three months.

But she did look radiant, as one commentator said. She looked as though she was relieved. She looked as though she was excited and she was chatting away with the military personnel that were escorting her from the plane and then onto -- into a military car. And then she was whisked away.

Now, a Ramstein source did tell CNN that she was then taken to a hotel. They say that she wanted to write an article. We will obviously be looking forward to reading that article.

We're then expecting her to go on to the United States, maybe Saturday evening, although time is getting on here in Germany. It's 5:00 p.m. local time, so it's altogether possible that she could be going back Sunday morning. And I'm sure her parents cannot wait to see her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Jill Carroll is seen and heard today on a newly released videotape. She citizens the U.S. military and President Bush.

What's this all about?

Our chief national correspondent John King takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is journalist Jill Carroll before her release, a video now on radical Islamic Web sites that, for Iraqi insurgents, is a public relations gold mine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL CARROLL, FORMER HOSTAGE: There are a lot of lies that come out of the American government calling the Mujahedeen terrorists and other things. I think it's important for the American people to hear from me, the Mujahedeen are only trying to defend their country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: But did she mean a word of it?

WALTER ZEINS, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Well, that's a question of, you know, to -- that she can only answer. But you've got to understand something. She wants to get out of there and she's going, you know, cross her Ts and dot her Is of everything they tell her to say.

KING: Jill's father, Jim Carroll, told her employer, "The Christian Science Monitor," that his daughter told him in a long conversation Friday, recording the video was a final demand before her release.

Jim Carroll said her captors "obviously wanted maximum propaganda value in the United States. After listening to them for three months, she already knew exactly what they wanted her to say, so she gave it to them, with appropriate acting to make it look convincing."

This video, immediately after her release, was recorded at an Islamic political party's headquarters. Carroll made a point of noting she was not harmed by her captors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: They never threatened me in any way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JACKIE SPINNER, CARROLL'S FRIEND: She's still looking for sympathy for the people who held her captive. And I think that says -- speaks volumes about Jill and her mission in Iraq.

KING: Sorting her views from anything she was forced to say will be one of the many issues in Carroll's debriefings by U.S. intelligence experts. And it would not be unusual for her initial statements to change over time.

ZEINS: We've had incidents where people just become empathetic towards the hostage taker. So, you know, the bottom line to it is there's a very strong possibility she might have fallen into the Stockholm Syndrome. But, again, let time take its course in this particular debriefing.

KING: If nothing else, Jonathan Alterman and many others who study the Iraqi insurgency see a significant change in tactics.

JON ALTERMAN, MIDDLE EAST EXPERT: That the insurgency has gone from a sort of mindless killing of anybody they can get their hands on just to show they can do something, to a more self-confident series of choices about how they're going act.

For their audience, which is an audience of Iraqis, having an American say I was treated well, I was treated with respect, is -- is priceless.

KING (on camera): I want you to listen here to Jill Carroll's characterization of President Bush. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: He knows it was built on a mountain of lies. And I think he needs to finally admit that to the American people and let the American troops go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALTERMAN: But what -- what it also tells me is that you're not just dealing with a bunch of -- of unsophisticated gang members doing anything to get anybody to pay attention. These are people with goals, people with skills and people who are making choices about what things get them farther along to their goals.

KING (voice-over): Jill Carroll will tell her story soon. Her father says she wasn't trying to help her captors, but had been taught to fear them.

John King, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

NGUYEN: Speaking of severe weather, cleanup is underway in Indiana after a night of severe storms there. At least three suspected tornadoes swept across the central part of the state. One of the storms damaged at least 20 homes and caused some minor injuries in Shelby County. Tornadoes also reported in suburban Indianapolis, where, by the way, they're playing the final four today.

HARRIS: Yes.

As for today's weather story, it looks like -- Reynolds, a lot of rain throughout the country.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let's take you to Hawaii now. Boy, look at this. Hawaii is...

NGUYEN: As if they need any more rain.

HARRIS: Well, yes. You make a very good point. It's been raining there since February, what, February 19th or something?

NGUYEN: Right. To be exact.

HARRIS: And even today, Hawaii is under a flash flood watch as the heavy rains just keep on falling. Floodwaters swept across parts of Oahu yesterday, damaging a shopping mall and several homes. The heavy rain also triggered another sewage spill.

NGUYEN: Ew. Ew. HARRIS: Listen to this. It has been raining in Hawaii continuously for about a month-and-a-half now, February 19th is the day.

NGUYEN: Yes, it's supposed to be a tropical paradise. Look at that. It's all wet.

HARRIS: Hey, there you go.

NGUYEN: Well, the spring break summit is over. President Bush is back from Cancun.

What did he bring home, though?

We're going to find out.

HARRIS: Also, you've heard of drive-through restaurants, but drive-through living rooms? Oh, boy, be careful the next time you snooze on the sofa.

NGUYEN: Yes, you don't want to super size that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATISYAHU: Young man, the power is in your hands. Lay your fist on the table and make your demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, yes, check him out. Matisyahu is a different kind of rapper, to say the least. And that's putting it very mildly. We're going to meet him, though, later this hour. You'll want to see this.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING with Betty Nguyen and Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: Let's take a look at other stories in the news.

Former hostage Jill Carroll is heading home. She flew into Germany this morning and is expected to arrive in Boston tomorrow morning. The freelance journalist was abducted in Iraq on January 7th and set free just this week.

A protest is underway in New Orleans. Civil rights leaders are demanding that the upcoming mayoral election be stopped. They say African-Americans won't have a voice in the vote because many are still displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

And searches for a missing college student begin today at two landfills in Pennsylvania. John Fiocco disappeared on -- a week ago. Authorities found traces of his blood in and around a trash bin at his dorm at the College of New Jersey.

HARRIS: Today's rally in New York follows a series of immigration demonstrations yesterday, both pro and con. At least 1,500 students marched in San Diego in support of undocumented workers. In Los Angeles, there was a similar protest. But there's also a rally in favor of deporting illegal immigrants.

Meantime, in Wichita, Kansas, hundreds of students cut class to protest immigration reform.

NGUYEN: President Bush is again pushing for a guest worker program for immigrants. He held talks in Mexico this week with President Vicente Fox. Mr. Bush is now spending the weekend at his Texas ranch.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us live with the latest on all of this -- hi, Elaine.

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

And at that summit, Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, acknowledged that resolving the illegal immigration issue was largely out of his and President Bush's hands, that it really was going to be up to the United States Congress. Still, that certainly did not prevent Mr. Bush from weighing in on that debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): Two days of meetings and still simmering, the red hot issue of illegal immigration, with the topic boiling over in Washington.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I want a comprehensive bill. And I've made that very clear to the members of the Congress, and I will continue making it clear to members of Congress.

QUIJANO: President Bush did not back away from his controversial temporary guest worker proposal. But when asked, he refused to say he would use his veto if Congress sent him an immigration bill without the guest worker provision.

BUSH: And I believe a guest worker program will help us rid the society and the border of these coyotes who smuggle people in the back of 18-wheelers. I believe it will help get rid of the document forgers. I believe it will help people on both sides of our border.

QUIJANO: An estimated six million illegal immigrants living in the United States are from Mexico. Mexican President Vicente Fox acknowledged dealing with the issue is a shared responsibility and said Mexico is taking steps to secure its northern and southern borders, including going after smugglers.

PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX, MEXICO (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Many actions have been implemented. Many actions have to do with close cooperation with security authorities with the United States. QUIJANO: On the Canadian side, a different point of contention. That country's new prime minister, Stephen Harper, told President Bush he is concerned about a U.S. law that will require Canadians to present a passport-like document before crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

STEPHEN HARPER, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: If we don't move quickly and properly on this, that this could have effects on trade and movement of people, conventions, you name it.

BUSH: The Congress passed a law and I intend to enforce the law. I believe this can be done in such a way that it makes future travel, future relations stronger, not weaker.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: And, as expected, there were no big breakthroughs on those issues. Instead, the three leaders did agree on a series of smaller initiatives aimed at essentially ensuring economic opportunities and security for North America -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Elaine Quijano thank you for that.

We want to show you something. We have some video coming in. These are...

HARRIS: Out of New York.

NGUYEN: Yes, out of New York dealing with immigration reform.

You're looking at pictures of a coalition of Hispanic churches that's sponsoring this march across the Brooklyn Bridge and a rally in lower Manhattan.

Now, they're calling the protest The Great Walkout In Solidarity With Immigrants. And, as you know, we've been following all of these protests.

HARRIS: Sure.

NGUYEN: What, this is week two now.

HARRIS: Week two, yes.

NGUYEN: Going into week three. And, of course, we'll keep you on top of all of it as it happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many of them die silently alongside the rails. They bleed to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Dying to come here. We'll take you aboard the train of death as we take a closer look at illegal immigration. It is just ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

And be sure to join Lou Dobbs tonight for a broken borders special report from Mexico. He'll tell you everything you need to know about illegal immigration and border security and how it impacts you. That's at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 3:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

NGUYEN: Still to come this hour, much more on the rape allegations looming over Duke University. We're going to tell you what the school's president is saying to parents and alumni. And we'll talk to the editor of the campus newspaper. That's going to take place live right here.

HARRIS: Plus, it is a desperate and dangerous journey for illegal immigrants and we'll take you on that ride.

NGUYEN: But first, a night at the opera is this week's "Tips From The Top."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Conductor Jay Meetze has been instrumental in making opera accessible to a wider audience. A former music teacher, Meetze founded the Opera Company of Brooklyn to attract a new generation of music lovers by offering tickets as low as $20 and performances in unusual settings, like someone's apartment.

Meetze keeps costs down by employing a small, part-time staff, while taking on multiple full-time jobs, founder, conductor and artistic director.

According to Meetze, life is all about taking chances.

JAY D. MEETZE, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, OPERA COMPANY OF BROOKLYN: You must grab a hold of the opportunity and you must seize it and go for it. No one is going to do it for you.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Meetze hopes to take this idea of affordable opera in a unique setting and extend it throughout the country and into Europe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone.

Looking at top stories across America right now.

This is where a high speed police chase ended -- in someone's Oakland, California home. The car slammed into the living room, Betty, and landed just inches from where a teenager had been sleeping on a couch. The girl says she thought it was an earthquake. Police arrested the driver on stolen vehicle and parole violation charges. In Pasco County, Florida, what started as a controlled burn really got out of control and grew into this massive brush fire. About 360 acres have burned so far, but no homes are at risk.

NGUYEN: And basketball's final four tips off today. Florida says it is time to kiss Cinderella good-bye and send her home, Cinderella being George Mason, of course. The unexpected team facing the Gators today in Indianapolis. LSU meets UCLA in the other game.

HARRIS: And look, it's time to spring forward, really. No joke here, no April Fool's prank or anything. Most of the country is switching to daylight saving time, not savings.

NGUYEN: No "S."

HARRIS: I always want to say that.

NGUYEN: I do, too.

HARRIS: Daylight saving time. It officially begins at 2:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, so don't forget to push your clocks ahead before going to be tonight, Betty.

Of course, that means you're going to lose an hour's sleep.

NGUYEN: Oh, lucky us.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: And that could be a problem, especially for people who already struggle to get a good night's sleep.

Tony, you understand?

HARRIS: Yes, I hear you.

NGUYEN: In case you didn't know, this is National Sleep Awareness Week, a good time to tell you how getting some quality ZZZs may be easier than you think, really easy.

CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg explains in this edition of New Frontiers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If the sound of the alarm clock makes you want to crawl further under the covers rather than actually wake up, there might be a solution. It's called Sleeptracker.

This wristwatch monitors sleep patterns by recording the number of times a person is almost awake during the night. Then the watch can be programmed to wake you up at the best time.

LEE LOREE, PARTNER, INNOVATIVE SLEEP SOLUTIONS: Sleeptracker looks for light stages of sleep to make it easier to progress from actually being asleep to being awake, rather than a normal alarm clock.

SIEBERG: It works like this. First, set the two bed time so that Sleeptracker knows when to start recording. Next, set the alarm time. Then, you'd set a window of time before the actual alarm time.

LOREE: If Sleeptracker senses an almost awake moment within that window of time, it will go off early.

SIEBERG: But even if the alarm does go off early, Loree says he'll still feel more awake than if the alarm went off at the later set time.

LOREE: Sleeptracker is ideal for anyone that wants effectively a competitive edge. It allows you to get up in the morning and go to the gym feeling better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Sleeptracker, that's a pretty good idea.

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

Still ahead, rape allegations. A team sidelined. Now some damage control. What Duke University is doing.

That story is next.

NGUYEN: Plus, they were rescued from the top of a cliff. Now, we'll revisit this boy and his four-legged buddy.

Much more when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at this. Jill Carroll is halfway home. The 28-year-old journalist had a big smile when she arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany today, two days after she was released by her captors in Iraq. She is expected to get on a plane for Boston later today. A protest in New Orleans over plans for city elections three weeks from today. With evacuees from hurricane Katrina still scattered across the country, protestors say provisions for absentee voting fall way short.

A grim discovery in Brazil now. All 19 people aboard a small plane that crashed in the mountains east of Rio de Janeiro have been found dead. The plane was on a short domestic flight, no word yet on a cause of that crash.

HARRIS: Former president Bill Clinton is jumping into the immigration battle. On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night the former president declared its a mistake to demonize undocumented workers. He criticizes house legislation that would make illegal immigration a felony but he also says there are some limits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING: Are you saying you generally support President Bush?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the president has a good idea in terms of wanting to give people a path to citizenship and have increased border enforcement. That's also the idea behind the bill sponsored by Senator McCain and Senator Kennedy in the senate.

I think the House provisions have by in large been too punitive. The one thing I would say that the senators have emphasized, I don't think this guest worker program that the president supports should be totally unlimited. In other words I think if there's no limit on it, then it's going to be very difficult for us to enforce the existing labor laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Clinton says the U.S. needs to protect its borders without becoming in his words, foolishly xenophobic.

NGUYEN: Well it is a desperate and dangerous journey and it could end in death. The thousands of illegal immigrants still try to make it all for the hope of a better life. Our Ed Lavandera takes us aboard the death train.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trail of desperation starts here in Chiapas, Mexico. These rail lines have been described as a graveyard without crosses.

SONIA NAZARIO, AUTHOR, "ENRIQUE'S JOURNEY: They call it "El Train de La Muerte," the train of death.

LAVANDERA: Tens of thousands of Central American migrants hop trains heading north. On this 1200 mile journey to Chiapas to border towns like Nuevo Laredo, they'll battle bandits who rob and rape, they'll go hungry and thirsty for days. And out of exhaustion, some will fall off the trains, thousands have died.

NAZARIO: Many of them die silently alongside the rails. They bleed to death.

LAVANDERA: Sonia Nazario says the journey is hell. She knows, because she road the train reporting for her book titled, "Enrique's Journey." The story of a teenage boy who rode the train.

NAZARIO: They risk losing arms to the train, losing legs to the train, losing their life but they are willing to take that risk.

LAVANDERA: We asked Nazario to be our guide through Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

NAZARIO: Once you get this far north, the stakes are very high.

LAVANDERA: Nazario took us to a shelter in this border town, it's where we meet 18-year-old Nervin Guerrera. He spent the last month walking and riding the train through Mexico. He left Honduras with $10, bandits robbed him of that. Some days he only ate tortillas people would threw on the train. All this to reunite with his father who he hasn't seen in two years.

NERVIN GUERRERA, TRANSLATION: He says having a father is the most marvelous thing in the world. I think about him all the time. He loved me so much when we were together.

LAVANDERA: Nazario says the economic and personal desperation of their lives drives them to attempt this dangerous journey. And she warns more will keep coming.

NAZARIO: It grows every year and it's growing because of the desperation in these home countries where people just cannot feed their children and so they see it as the only way to be able to do that.

LAVANDERA: When night falls on the shelter in Nueva Laredo, this group of migrants rest and pray. They survived the most treacherous part of their journey but they are still far from the promised land. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Nueva Laredo, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Be sure to join Lou Dobbs tonight for a broken border special report from Mexico. He will tell you everything you need to know about illegal immigration, border security and how they impact you. That is 6:00 p.m. eastern, 3:00 pacific right here on CNN.

HARRIS: A damage control at Duke. The university's president is e-mailing parents and alumni about rape allegations against members of a lacrosse team. Richard Brodhead promises to handle his investigation in quote "an honest and forth right way." All but one player on the lacrosse team is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault at this house but the investigation and the case's racial overtones are prompting protests. CNN's Jason Carroll reports from the Duke campus in Durham, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Wake up! Wake up. The sun is up.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is anger here at Duke University and students who showed up for a protest also want answers.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: You can't run. You can't hide.

CARROLL: The outrage is directed at the university's lacrosse team. The highly ranked team has been suspended amid allegations three of its players raped a young woman at the home where some of the players live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want the members of the Duke lacrosse team to come clean. CARROLL: According to police on March 13 the players hired two exotic dancers to perform during a party. One of the women says the men got out of control. Three of them forcing her into a bathroom where she says she was sexually assaulted. The incident report saying the victim stated she was hit, kicked and strangled during the assault and she attempted to defend herself.

The 27-year-old woman who was black and a student at a nearby university says the young men who were white shouted racial slurs at her. Police have taken DNA samples from 46 of the team's 47 members. The remaining player is black. The district attorney says the players have not been forthcoming about what happened.

MICHAEL NIFONG, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It just seems like a shame that they are not willing to violate this seeming sacred sense of loyalty to team for loyalty to community which seems to me to be a bigger issue.

CARROLL: The team's captains released a statement expressing remorse for throwing the party but say any allegation that a sexual assault or rape occurred is totally and transparently false. This is not the first time the team has run into trouble. 15 players have prior minor offenses mostly for underage drinking. And the same night of the alleged assault a black woman that passed by the house called 911 in tears after she says a young man standing outside shouted racial slurs at her.

911 CALL: I saw them all come out like a big frat house. And me and my black girlfriend are walking by and they called us [ bleep ].

CARROLL: Students at the school both white and black say this incident has touched a raw nerve.

BRANDON HUDSON, DUKE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: This incident just seemed really to shock us because of the brutal nature of which it is alleged, which it is described. And put on top of that the racist implications that were involved.

SEYWARD DARBY, EDITOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER: People are just in awe and in shock of the attention that it's getting and the fact that the truth still hasn't come out and everybody is waiting for the DNA test to come back.

CARROLL: Duke University's president says he understands the concern among students but says judgment against the players should be withheld until DNA results are released.

RICHARD BRODHEAD, PRESIDENT, DUKE UNIVERSITY: We don't know what the truth is. There is two very different stories and it's not in our power to establish the truth because we can't do DNA testing and things of that sort. And so in some sense we have to try to suspend judgment at a time when emotions make you want to reach a judgment.

CARROLL (on camera): DNA test results are due back next week. It just so happens that this week is sexual harassment awareness week at Duke University. Jason Carroll, CNN, Durham, North Carolina. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You saw her just a moment ago in Jason's piece, Seyward Darby, editor of Duke's newspaper "The Chronicle" joins us by phone this morning. Seyward are you there? Good morning to you.

VOICE OF SEYWARD DARBY, EDITOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER: Hi good morning, thank you for having me.

HARRIS: Well my first question is you know I've heard a couple things now. I've heard that the players have been cooperating from a couple of the players' attorneys and then I guess I just heard from the DA that the players aren't cooperating. What is the deal here? Have the players come clean?

DARBY: Well at this point the cooperation question is just like a lot of other questions in this situation. There are conflicting reports about it. Depending on who you talk to, people say that they have been cooperative, other people say they have not been cooperative. At this point, the players themselves are being very tight lipped about the entire situation. So the conflicting reports are from people surrounding them, the police, lawyers, people like that. So they're still very tight lipped about the entire thing.

HARRIS: Well in adding to the confusion, we just heard in Jason's piece Duke's president say that there are two different stories. So my goodness, have the players said anything?

DARBY: Right. We have heard from several people that there is this other side to the story. As of yet that side of the story has yet to be made public. The only lacrosse player that is on the record as far as we know we interviewed this past week during a rally that was a part of sexual assault prevention week. Sophomore Ryan McFadden and all he said basically was again denying the allegations, but this other side of the story has yet to come out.

HARRIS: Do you know anything about this so-called code of silence among these players?

DARBY: Right. I think that again they're being tight lipped and basically I think that people have started calling it a code of silence and saying that they are in solidarity with one another. But at this point they are being so tight lipped the most we can say is that they are being silent.

HARRIS: Seyward, give us a read on the campus, what's been the reaction to all of this?

DARBY: There have been a lot of different reactions. There are students supporting the players, there are students speaking out against the players telling them to come forward. Some people are presuming guilt, some people are presuming innocence. And a lot of people are protesting against the administration and the police and saying that enough has not been done at this point.

The most recent update from the student side of things is that this week we heard a report that two students were at a local restaurant and several African-American men began harassing them saying you need to leave, rapists aren't allowed here, and one of the students was punched in the back of the head.

And then just yesterday, police patrols were increased on one of our campuses and just off campus because students were on the front porch of a house near where this alleged incident occurred, a car came by and a young man stuck his hand out the window in the shape of a gun and said you will see.

So the police and students right now are quite concerned about turmoil in the community. And I know several students who said that they didn't leave campus last night, cancelled parties off campus because of all of this potential for violence.

HARRIS: And the DNA tests are due next week, correct?

DARBY: Correct. And the DA came out yesterday and said that there may not be a match until April 10, the week of April 10, not a match, excuse me, but a test result until April 10 and that the evidence in the case may not be released until it goes to trial.

HARRIS: Seyward Darby is the editor of Duke's newspaper "The Chronicle." Seyward we appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

DARBY: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: We are going to shift gears right now. Maybe you have been to the ballet but not like this and I can guarantee you that. Hold your breath for bubbles and bikinis. Plus -- are your kids listening to Matisyahu? He's not your typical rapper, oh no, more about his message coming up?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Our top stories now. Heading home, journalist Jill Carroll is in Germany right now. She's expected to get on a plane to Boston today. Carroll smiled broadly upon arriving in Germany after nearly three months of captivity in Iraq. Protests back in the U.S. People in the big easy say the upcoming election is a big mistake.

They say African-Americans won't have a voice in the April 22 mayoral vote. Many are still displaced after hurricane Katrina. People are also taking to the streets in New York City but for a different cause. It's the latest in a string of protests against national efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.

NGUYEN: Going global now Violent protests still rage in France despite President Jacques Chirac's efforts to diffuse a controversy over a new labor law. Opponents dismissed Chirac's offer to tone down the law which allows employers to fire younger workers during a probationary trial period.

Well the search continues for two people still missing after Thursday's ferry disaster in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain. 57 people are confirmed dead while nearly 70 others were rescued. Investigators are still trying to figure out why that ferry capsized.

And finally, some Russian actors have gone off the deep end, literally. Check this out.

HARRIS: What are we watching here?

NGUYEN: It's a performance. They do the performances 20 feet under water in a Moscow swimming pool. This is a requirement Tony, they have to be able to breathe under water for at least three minutes or hold their breath, I should say. But here's the catch though. At least you don't have to remember any lines, I mean you're holding your breath, right, nobody's talking. That's the good part of it.

HARRIS: Got you. All right. CNN SATURDAY is coming up at the top of the hour, Fredricka has the weekend off. Good to see you, lady.

SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: We have a lot coming up. In fact a real eye opener for parents. You know that thousands of young people are heading to the beach for spring break, right? Well we sent along our cameras out to capture young women on their week off and what they are doing or not doing could actually put them in serious danger.

Also, tip-off for the final four just a few hours away. Among the teams still playing, LSU. And coming off of Katrina we're going to show you what affect the hurricane had on the team and their fans. And of course we're going to have all the day's developing stories for you, as well.

HARRIS: We love that Big Baby Davis.

NGUYEN: People are behind LSU. I mean the people of Louisiana have been through so much. After they beat us, I think my support goes to LSU.

CHOI: I know, exactly, right.

NGUYEN: Sophia we'll see you soon.

CHOI: Sure.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: He doesn't look like your typical rapper. Check him out. He's still burning up the charts, yes he is. So who is Matisyahu? That answer straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Matisyahu, have you heard of him? Well he is a study in contradictions. He is a white reggae rapper and he is also an orthodox Jew. Our Denise Quan spent some time with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE QUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Matisyahu is arguably the world's first Hassidic Jewish reggae artist and certainly the first to debut at number four on the billboard album chart with his new CD "Youth." He's also the first musician with whom I was not allowed to shake hands.

MATISYAHU, MUSICIAN: There is like a law in Judaism that says men are supposed to only touch their wives and they're not supposed to touch other women, even in like typical American like custom I'm shaking hands and stuff like that.

QUAN: Matisyahu used to be Matthew Miller, an LSC loving teen from White Plains, New York. He found God, he says, renounced drugs, changed his name to its Hebrew counterpart and began beat boxing at a youth center in Brooklyn's heavily Hassidic Crown Heights.

MATISYAHU: Everyone goes through the process where they mature and they decide like what they're focus is and they find themselves, God willing and find what's important to them and, you know, I am still going through that process.

QUAN: Right now that process includes reggae, religion and rhyme delivered in a combination of English, Yiddish, Hebrew and the Jamaican Patois.

MATISYAHU: Reggae music already had tones of quotes from the bible and that's already like a music that's infused with faith and belief and positivity and hope.

QUAN: Recently the 26-year-old artist gave up stage diving. Unless he accidentally makes physical contact with a woman, he also turned down an impromptu duet with the rapper, Eve.

MATISYAHU: I think she was probably dressed like kind of sexy and not that there is anything wrong with being sexy, but it's just not something that I'm trying to promote. There is also a law in Judaism that says that men are only allowed to listen to their wives sing so no offense, Eve.

QUAN: For the record, Matisyahu is married with a 6-month-old son.

MATISYAHU: They come on the road with me sometimes and it's fun.

QUAN: And many think he's a shoe-in for a nomination as best new artist at the 2007 Grammy's.

MATISYAHU: Life is a process, you know and you make decisions and like the story unfolds, you know, and this is like the way the story's unfolding.

QUAN: Denise Quan, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Time now to see what people are watching online. Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with what's most popular on CNN.com. VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey guys. You know that one organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters, you are familiar with it? Well check out what happened on one of their outings. A big brother took his little brother on a hiking trip when his dog ran down a cliff. Well the boy, Cody Bonner, ran after him.

Yes Cody and the dog got stuck out on that ledge, which was more than 50 to 100 feet up in the air. The good news here is both the boy and the dog had been rescued and are okay. And because of all of the dramatic pictures we were just looking at, TV stations across the country have been contacting Cody to interview him. And when asked how is enjoying that 15 minutes of fame he replied, it has actually been more like 30. Kids say the darndest things.

All right now for a show that isn't for the dogs. These are afro-cats.

NGUYEN: I have seen this, this is really neat, yeah.

DE LA CRUZ: They walk tight ropes, juggle balls, and simply clown around. These felines are the star performers in the Moscow Cat Theater circus show and that show opened recently in New York.

HARRIS: Oh a big apple circus.

DE LA CRUZ: Is that what it is?

HARRIS : Yeah, I think so.

NGUYEN: Look at that cat. How do they learn to do that?

DE LA CRUZ: But look at that, I can't figure, is this cruelty to animals?

HARRIS: Well some would say so, yeah, I guess so.

NGUYEN: I mean look at that. Oh wow.

DE LA CRUZ: We wouldn't do that at home with our pets any way, you know.

NGUYEN: To each his own, I guess.

DE LA CRUZ: I can't answer. I mean I don't have cats, so, but I still wouldn't. CNN.com/video guys, that's where it's at.

NGUYEN: Thank you Veronica. "CNN SATURDAY" is up next.

HARRIS: Right after this short break.

NGUYEN: Have great day everybody.

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