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CNN Saturday Morning News
Luciano Pavarotti's Funeral is Today; McCann's Now Suspects in Their Daughter's Disappearance; President Bush Remarks on New Bin Laden Tape; First Lady Laura Bush to Have Surgery
Aired September 08, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, T.J. How are you doing?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing?
NGUYEN: So good to be back.
HOLMES: Betty. I'm T.J., but that's insignificant right now.
NGUYEN: No, it's not.
HOLMES: This is Betty. Betty, it's been a while.
NGUYEN: I've been away for quite a while, in Africa for about a month. We're going to be talking about that a little bit later.
Got two stories for you, want to show you an inside look at what it takes to cover these stories around the world. So you want to stay tuned to that. We also got a lot more to tell you about this morning, including this. Thousands of protesters packed the streets of Sydney while President Bush and other leaders tackled global warming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll tell you as a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live. And it is a reminder that we must work together to protect our people against these extremists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Also the president responds to the latest video message from the world's most wanted terrorist.
NGUYEN: Plus -- we are saying farewell to a beloved opera star. Just two hours away from Pavarotti's funeral.
HOLMES: But first new this morning, a military helicopter crash at Florida's Eglin Air Force base. Air Force officials tell us seven people were on board during the routine training mission. Two of those folks were injured when the plane went down just before midnight. The other five crew members appeared not to be injured but still were taken to the base hospital to be checked out.
And we're going to get a little more on this because on the phone with us is Captain Joseph Coslett with the U.S. Air Force. He joins us now from Eglin Air Force base in Florida.
Sir, thank you for being here. And what happened?
CAPT. JOSEPH COSLETT, U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, sir, at about 11:45 last night the helicopter, after it had a forced crash landing. And all folks on board, thank God, none of them had had any life- threatening or serious injuries. The Eglin Air Force base officials, Herbert Air Force base is working with them in conjunction and Eglin Air Force base were first to arrive. Currently, we have started a safety board to look into the cause.
HOLMES: So you called it a forced crash landing. Help us understand what that means. Is that just a hard landing?
COSLETT: It is a hard landing. What happens is the crew members, when they realize there's something's wrong that will prevent the aircraft from landing, what they do is their years of training kick in and they put the situation, they find rural areas where they don't put any populations in danger or -- what they try to do is they try to put the aircraft safely down on the ground to eliminate any injuries or anything, any casualties, any sort and basically, that's what they did. They're true professionals and we have some of the best first responders looking (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: And, sir, were they able to radio back? Obviously they knew they had some kind of an issue. Were they able to in any way radio back what their issue might have had, what their problem was?
COSLETT: Right now that's why we have that safety board looking into all that information. I can't speculate at this time.
HOLMES: OK.
COSLETT: What the cause was.
HOLMES: All right. Captain Joseph Coslett with the U.S. Air Force base, sir, excuse me with the U.S. Air Force there at Eglin Air Force base. Sir, we appreciate your time this morning. Glad to hear that the injuries don't appear to be too serious, too life-threatening and maybe five of those crew members not really injured that much at all.
But sir, thank you for your time this morning.
COSLETT: Thank you.
NGUYEN: In other news, one hour from now President Bush flies to Hawaii from Australia where he's been attending the Asia Pacific economic conference in Sydney.
Now that summit wrapped up this morning but not before 17 protesters were arrested. Two police officers were injured in those demonstrations. Want to take you live to Sydney now and our John Vause.
Things turned a little touchy there for quite some time in Sydney, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very much so Betty.
In fact, today thousands of people marched through downtown Sydney overseen by an overwhelming police presence. The stop Bush coalition was a makeshift group with anyone who had a gripe against the president, but unprecedented security here, including a three- mile-long steel barrier prevented them from ever getting close to the president or any of the world leaders here for that Asia-Pacific forum.
Now (INAUDIBLE) organizers say that it was all overkill. They accused the police of being heavy-handed. The police, on the other hand say the heavy security prevented an outbreak of widespread violence.
Among the issues they were protesting besides the war in Iraq was U.S. policy on climate change and a new plan backed by Mr. Bush and being put forward by the Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Today the leaders here from the Asia-Pacific region signed off on the so- called Sydney declaration. That involved non-binding aspirational targets in cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
Now, this is important because what has happened here at APEC today could well end up influencing a U.N. environment summit at the end of this year when a decision will be made on just what should replace the Kyoto agreement which imposes mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists say this is all a scam. It simply won't work. You need those mandatory cuts to prevent widespread climate change.
Now this is the first (INAUDIBLE) summit. There is another day to go to APEC, but as you mentioned, Mr. Bush will be leaving early. When it comes to APEC, really, what's it all about? Many people wouldn't even know what APEC is, but if I gave you a clue and said it was the summit of the silly shirts, then you may know what it means because in the past, these leaders have dressed up in batik shirts and ponchos and in silk tunics. It's always the traditional national dress of the host country.
This year on the steps of the Sydney opera house, 21 world leaders all wearing these 3/4 length Australia coats. They're called (INAUDIBLE) and they are often worn by stock men and by farmers and also by the occasional soccer mom who drives an SUV.
NGUYEN: All right, John, just briefly, since the president has left the summit there, do you expect the protest to continue or will they die down?
VAUSE: I think today was their big shot. They had about 5,000 people on the streets of Sydney. It's going to be quiet from here on in.
NGUYEN: All right, CNN's John Vause, maybe we will see you in one of those silly little jackets as they call them sometimes. Talk to you later. Surgery is scheduled for First Lady Laura Bush today. The White House says she will undergo a minor procedure to relieve pressure on pinched nerves in her neck. Pain from the problem kept the first lady from accompanying the president to that Asia Pacific summit in Australia this week.
And CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us in about 25 minutes with much more on the first lady's surgery. That is coming up at 7:30 Eastern.
HOLMES: Osama bin Laden blasts the Bush administration for invading Iraq and mocks capitalism but mentions no real threats. That's what's heard in a new tape analysts say is from bin Laden. The first we have seen of the al Qaeda leader in three years whose appearance coming just days before the anniversary of 9/11. President Bush warns the tape carries an important message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I find it interesting that on the tape Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is a part of this war against extremists. If al Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out and to develop a safe haven. And the reason they want a safe haven is to launch attacks against America or any other ally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN terrorist analyst Peter Bergen joins us now from Washington.
Sir, good morning, always good to see you. Thank you for your time.
Who does this guy think he is? Bin Laden here on this tape, he's pretty much lecturing the U.S., lecturing the world. Is his real point here to get a message out or does he just want people to say, hey, look at me. I'm alive.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think he's on apparently jihadi Web sites where a lot of people were asking, where is bin Laden? We haven't heard from him for a period of time. Three years since the last audio tape, about a year since the last audio tape. I wouldn't put any special meaning to this.
We've had periods before when bin Laden's been silent. He's also rather disciplined and paranoid guy who's worried about his personal security. Every time he releases one of these tapes it opens him to the possibility of detection because these tapes are taken out by couriers from the tribal areas in Pakistan to either al Jazerra or jihadi Web sites in a Pakistan city.
And so, if you can trace back the chain of custody of these tapes, you can find bin Laden. So he's keenly aware of that. That's why we don't hear too much from him and al Zawari, the number two in al Qaeda is much more prolific, releasing a tape sometimes even as many as twice a week.. So I think the main message, I'm alive. I'm still out there. I'm still relevant.
This was kind of a bizarre tape as far as I'm concerned because it didn't have very many religious references which typically bin Laden's sort of modus operandi. It was this kind of weird leftist critique of the United States, capitalism, the American political system. It mentioned Noam Chomsky. It seemed quite influenced by Noam Chomsky of course, a famous critic of the American political system. And it was in that sense somewhat out of character.
HOLMES: So you said it's kind of strange and out of character. Why do it? What's the point? Why the switch?
BERGEN: Well, I think really just really, we're talking about this tape. This tape has been seen by tens of millions or hundreds of millions of people around the world will read about this tape, see this tape or hear about it on the radio.
And, you know, it's a way of saying al Qaeda is doing well. Its leader is doing well. It's a psychological victory for them. It's clearly a psychological non-victory for the west and the United States that this guy is just out there, looking reasonably well six years after 9/11. He doesn't look like he's very -- you see him in the picture here. The production is well lit. He's not clinging (ph) on in a cave. His clothes are well pressed. Caves don't normally have laundry facilities. This is a guy who doesn't seem to be that hassled.
HOLMES: If that is a cave, that is a five star cave somewhere.
Peter Bergen, in with us this morning, CNN terrorism analyst. We appreciate you this morning. We're going to see you again, I'm sure, talking about this. Thanks so much.
NGUYEN: I want to take you now to Iraq and General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq is ready to give a long- awaited progress report. He testifies before Congress next week on the U.S. troop buildup. In a letter to U.S. forces in Iraq dated yesterday, Petraeus said the so-called surge has not worked as hoped because of unsatisfactory political progress by the Iraqi government. But he wrote he will testify to Congress on the importance of not giving up.
Our Josh Levs joins us a little bit later this hour for a Reality Check.
But in the meantime, crowds are gathering this morning in Modena, Italy, for the funeral of Luciano Pavarotti. The legendary tenor died Thursday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71. Tens of thousands of mourners have filed past the coffin since he was laid in the cathedral there on Thursday. And U2's Bono, as well as former Secretary-General Kofi Annan are among the dignitaries on hand for this morning's invitation-only service.
HOLMES: An intriguing and bit of a disturbing story now. The mystery that has made headlines around the world. Parents of missing four-year-old Madeline McCann now officially considered suspects. Gerry and Kate McCann are being questioned again by Portuguese police. This is what a family friend had to say about the development on last night's "Larry King Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CORNER, MCCANN FAMILY FRIEND: It's procedure and right at the beginning of Madeline's abduction, both Kate and Gerry were very very carefully, rigorously questioned. And you get a sense you're questioned, it's cleared, you can move on and you can start the actual campaign, the search, the fight to find Madeline who is missing, still missing. To have come full circle in this way after four months is bizarre, quite frankly, and it flies in the face of common sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Gerry McCann's sister told British news network ITN police reportedly offered Kate McCann a reduced prison sentence if she confesses to accidentally killing Madeline. The McCann's haven't been charged with anything just yet and they maintain their innocence. We'll have a live report from Portugal coming up a little later in this hour.
CNN's Alfonso Marsh is in Portugal right now. We're going to be checking in with him throughout the morning on the latest in that disappearance of Madeline.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Betty is back and so is the heat.
Take a look at some of these temperatures. We've got 86 degrees in New York, 90 Memphis, 84 in Albuquerque and 102 in Las Vegas. Coming up, we're going to take a look at your weekend forecast, plus we're going to give you the very latest on Gabrielle and flooding in parts of the central plains. That's all coming up right here on CNN Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you go out and talk to people about what happened in this country, I mean, the wounds and the injury is still there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Back from the brink of disaster. We are talking about Sierra Leone this morning. I just returned from the African nation and a little bit later, we're going to show you what is happening now in the country's search for peace and hope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The National Hurricane Center says subtropical storm Gabrielle is near the southeast coastline now.
NGUYEN: A tropical storm watch has been issued for portions of the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts and Reynolds Wolf is watching this. Gabrielle joins us now from the desk. I was going to say hurricane headquarters, but they've let you out of the headquarters.
WOLF: But we're going to be going back. We're all going to be going back. It's not too far away. It's not like you're going to take a flight to get over there or catch a train.
HOLMES: Did you take notes? You have a pen there in your hand.
WOLF: It is a fixture of my hand. This pen is always with me. Gabrielle is going to be an interesting thing. It's going to give us anywhere from say two to three inches of rainfall on the coast, some places possibly as much six. We're talking about the Carolinas. It is again -- we're talking about winds around 45 miles per hour. But it is expected to strengthen.
Compare this, if you will, to storms we've had in the past like say well Dean or even Felix, much smaller system, certainly not quite as strong. You'll remember both Felix and Dean got up to category five status storms. We're talking about major power houses. This storm not exactly the same thing, much, much weaker at this point. It is moving over warm water. As it does so, it is expected to strengthen and get more tropical characteristics.
And as I mentioned, the first thing you're going to notice along parts of the coastline is going to be the surf. The surf is going to begin to kick up for parts of the Carolinas, the Georgia coastline as well. We can anticipate is the storm, at least the latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center brings the storms with winds maximum sustained winds around 60 miles an hour at this time. It's about 45.
So obviously, we're going to see some strengthening. The path brings it right past the Outer Banks as we get to 2:00 a.m. Monday and then veering deeper back into the Atlantic, but still some very heavy surf for much of the coastline.
What we're going to be seeing with this at this point is that surf especially from Edisto Beach northward to Oregon inlet, where we have a tropical storm watch that is in effect at this time. We may have a warning later on as we make our way through the midday hours.
Something else we're going to watch, too, is not just along the coastline, but a little bit farther back out towards the west because we do have that frontal pattern that is lingering its way into portions of the Midwest, getting closer to the eastern seaboard. It's going to be this frontal boundary that can actually push this storm a little bit more offshore and hopefully keep it away from the Outer Banks altogether.
As it stands right now, it looks like the Outer Banks are going to be affected by the systems, as we make our way into the midday, afternoon, evening hours and into tomorrow as well. Coming up, we've got a full plate of weather. We're not just talking about Gabrielle but also some flooding with some really compelling video in parts of the central plains. That's coming up in just mere moments. NGUYEN: All right. We'll be watching for that.
WOLF: See you then.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
We are talking today about closing a sad chapter on Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have been vilified in their own community. They have been accused of the most heinous conduct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Guilty or innocent in the death of nursing home patients who died after the storm. The jury decision later this hour.
NGUYEN: Also, Laura Bush, the medical problem that kept her from traveling with the president. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is up early this Saturday morning to help us understand the first lady's treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning and welcome back. You know, I've just returned from assignment in Africa where I spent a week in Sierra Leone, the world's second poorest country covering a historical presidential election. You have to keep in mind Sierra Leone is still recovering from one of the most brutal civil wars in recent history. Thousands had their limbs hacked off by rebels, but that didn't stop them from casting ballots. Today they'll have to do it all over again in the country's first democratic runoff election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN (voice-over): The votes have already been counted once. During the election in August, thousands stood in long lines, many in the rain, just to make their mark on this new era of democracy. Among the first in line were amputees like Sah Tatawali (ph), who lost a limb during Sierra Leone's bloody civil war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a total change in this country.
NGUYEN: But first there must be a runoff election to see who will lead this small west African nation which suffered for so long. Between 1991 and 2002, Sierra Leone was in one of the most brutal civil wars in recent history. Rebels stormed a (INAUDIBLE) village and hacked off both his arms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said put your hands here. They placed my hands and my hands were cut off.
NGUYEN: He wants to see justice served. And Stephen Rapp is in charge of making that happen. He's the prosecutor for the United Nations war crimes tribunal. It's his job to go after those who bear the greatest responsibility for the war. STEPHEN RAPP, SPECIAL COURT PROSECUTOR: It's of enormous significance to the people of Sierra Leone. If you go out and talk to people about what happened in this country, I mean, the wounds and the injury is still there.
NGUYEN: Several militia leaders have already been convicted but many blame former Liberian President Charles Taylor for most of the war's atrocities. He's on trial at The Hague in the Netherlands, accused of using Sierra Leone's vast diamond wealth to fuel the war and line his pockets.
(on-camera): Convicting Charles Taylor of war crimes won't make up for the hundreds of thousands who were murdered, maimed or raped in Sierra Leone, but it will send a message to the rest of the world. And that's why Rapp has turned the Taylor case into something very personal.
RAPP: Holding someone like this responsible is certainly a great mission in my life and I think it's an important part of what's happening to the justice system in the world in the last few leaders. Leaders in the past would have escaped justice, would have been allowed to stay in exile. That's no longer possible and it's because of what's being done in the Charles Taylor case that I think people will have a better chance in the world in the future to live in peace.
NGUYEN: But here in Sierra Leone, that peace often depends on this country's politics. The test now is to see if this fledgling democracy can elect a new president who's equipped to mend its war- torn nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And what was certainly remarkable about that is that during the election, there was a 75 percent voter turnout. That is huge. The question today is whether we're going to see that in a runoff.
HOLMES: That would be great if we had those numbers here in the U.S., 75 percent. Why not have those numbers in the runoff? Part of it is they thought they were done. There was some confusion. They don't know about this run off now.
NGUYEN: Exactly. You have to really realize that this is a fledgling democracy. This is very new to the people of Sierra Leone. They have only been through one other democratic election, so that one there was no run off. There was a definite winner.
But this time around there was not one single candidate who got 55 percent of the vote. So they're thinking, why do I have to vote again? I've already voted once. So it's part of education. It's part of understanding the process.
But with that comes some frustration as well because they're thinking, one, why do I have to go back, and two, my guy already won. The opposition candidate took the majority of the vote and they're thinking well that should have been done. But no, that's not how this works.
So I think the frustration is possibly going to spill out into some violence. That's why there's about 8,500 military personnel on the streets today in the runoff election just to make sure no violence breaks out during the runoff.
HOLMES: Seventy-five percent turnout, we're certainly going to see that number drop significantly for this runoff.
NGUYEN: I would imagine, but you never know. Of all the people that I spoke with throughout the country, many were just in such support of this process and were so happy to be able to cast their ballot and make a difference in the country's future. So we'll see how it plays out. We'll be watching very closely.
HOLMES: A great story there, great work over there. We enjoyed watching you, but, man, it is good to have you back.
NGUYEN: It's great to be back as well.
HOLMES: Folks, stay here. We're going to be hearing a lot more this morning about Betty's travels. Also coming up, we need to tell you about a military helicopter that's crashed in Florida.
NGUYEN: It's the kind of chopper used in special military operations and we're going to have the latest on that, plus good morning, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Betty's back. Don't even think we're going to let that one go. We're going to talk about that in a minute.
Also, get this folks, there is no such thing as the Petraeus report. It does not exist. But we do know what President Bush might say in the coming days about Iraq.
All that's coming up in the Reality Check here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, this just in to us. Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel may be ready to announce his retirement. The influential Republican has scheduled a news conference for Monday, presumably to discuss his future. His hometown newspaper, "The Omaha World Herald," reports that Hagel will announce that he's not running for president and will retire from politics. CNN is working right now to confirm this story.
Also new this morning, a military helicopter crash to tell you about in an airfield in Eglin Air force Base in Florida. An Air Force spokesman says seven people on board the MH53 helicopter similar to the one we're going to show you here, when it went down during a training mission. We don't have that picture for you. Two people were taken to area hospitals. Five others being evaluated at the base hospital. NGUYEN: Listen to this, a much anticipated assessment on Iraq already coming under fire and we haven't even heard it yet. General David Petraeus is expected to testify next week that the troop build up has produced progress on Iraq but the Senate's number two Democratic accuses the Bush administration of manipulating the numbers. Republican leaders say Democrats are playing politics with the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), MAJORITY WHIP, ILLINOIS: By carefully manipulating the statistics, the Bush/Petraeus record will persuade us that violence in Iraqi is decreasing and the surge is working.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER, KENTUCKY: Democrats agreed, many of them, that the Petraeus report in September would serve as an evaluation of progress in Iraq but now many are downplaying the significance of the report and General Petraeus as a commander because apparently it's not news that many were hoping for. Will the general's critics support the fighting forces in Iraq or settle for simply a political victory here at home? That's the fundamental question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, General Petraeus is expected to tell Congress that violence in Iraq is down. Democrats, though, point to a report by the government accountability office that raises questions about those figures.
HOLMES: OK. We've got to hear this now because we've been hearing of course Petraeus report, Petraeus report. Now we're being told there's no such thing.
NGUYEN: Yes. So to sort it out, Josh Levs is here to explain in this reality check. So we just heard them calling it the Petraeus report.
LEVS: I know. OK. They're calling it the Petraeus report. It's not just semantics. I want people to understand that in recent days both the white house and the defense department have been pushing really hard to try to get people to understand that there's no such thing has the Petraeus report. They're using the words there's no such thing as a Petraeus report.
What we're going to show you now is exactly what congress mandated and that is that the president put in writing where things stand in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General Petraeus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: General Petraeus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General Petraeus. LEVS (voice-over): The pressure is on the top U.S. commander in Iraq as he prepares to tell Congress how things are progressing. But don't be fooled by the term the Petraeus report. Lawmakers talk about it in news releases and news conferences.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Petraeus report in September.
LEVS: There isn't one. Even the defense department says there's no such thing. The general will testify to congress and will U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Expect sharp questioning.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER, CALIFORNIA: The facts are self evident that the progress is not being made.
LEVS: The written report about the state of affairs in Iraq comes from the president. Congress mandated that he submit it by Saturday, September 15th. He says he'll go largely by what these two say.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The main ingredients in that report for me to report to the country will be what General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker report.
LEVS: What can we expect his report to say? Based on his remarks during his recent surprise trip to Iraq, we know he'll argue troop increase is helping.
BUSH: The surge of operations that began in June is improving security throughout Iraq.
LEVS: As for the idea of withdrawing some troops, he gave no suggestion that such a step could be imminent.
BUSH: We begin to draw down troops from Iraq it will be from a position of strength and success, not from the position of fear and failure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And so what you're seeing here really is this back and forth about this whole idea. Now it is President Bush who will put that into writing. Obviously Congress along the way will have an opportunity to present questions to the officials from the defense department, to Ambassador Crocker, and to others as well.
Lately I've been seeing editorials saying, oh, no, President Bush is going to be writing the report for Petraeus. It's not that. It was never that. It was always going to be that President Bush was required to put in writing where things stand in Iraq.
NGUYEN: But Petraeus will testify and that will be his verbal report, although there's not going to be an official piece of paper he's handing in. OK. That being the case, where do we get this term the Petraeus report.
LEVS: There was actually almost a fight about it in the White House the other day. I was looking through the transcripts and I saw that Tony Snow was battling with reporters. Reporters were saying you started this. He said no, you all, the media, started it.
What did happen is that the White House ever since the requirement came along to do this report, the White House was intensely pointing to Petraeus over and over again and saying we need to hear what Petraeus will say. He'll tell us. So he became kind of the seminal figure in the plans for a report.
What's significant here is you have this Democratic-controlled Congress trying to put stops on the president. They're saying, Mr. President, you have to put your own words in writing, the buck stops with you, where do things stand in Iraq in every way, politically, socially, economically, everything in your own voice. And that's what we're going to be hearing.
NGUYEN: All right. Josh Levs sorting it out for us. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks guys.
HOLMES: Not guilty. That's the verdict for the owners of a suburban New Orleans nursing home where 35 drowned in Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters. Sal and Mable Mangano were acquitted of negligent homicide in the case. The jury deliberated just four hours before returning the verdict which prompted mixed reactions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They let my mother drown like a rat. 72- years-old. Put my mother and my aunt who's 90-years-old now to now live in hell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been vilified in their own community. They have been accused of the most heinous crimes. These are wonderful, decent, hardworking, caring, loving people and they should have never been subjected to this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The defense had argued that the Mangano's believed that not evacuating the patients was safer because of the fragile health of their patients.
NGUYEN: Well, Laura Bush is scheduled for surgery today. The white house says the first lady will have a procedure on the nerves in her neck. For more on what this entails, we turn to our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Good morning, doctor.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
NGUYEN: All right. So talk to us about this surgery. What kind of surgery exactly is going to be performed?
GUPTA: We're hearing quite a bit about what's been going on with her over the last bit of time here. She aggravated her neck on a hiking trip. She subsequently started to develop not only neck pain but also some arm pain as well. Sometimes that can happen.
What happens is you get a bone spur or a pinched nerve due to a herniated disk or something in your neck and that can actually push on one of the nerves. She was seen sort of rubbing her arm. That's sort of a characteristic sign as well. People who have that have arm pain that's associated with that, they get pins and needles in their arm.
Lots of times they will try conservative therapy. They will try things like Advil or some sort of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, some sort of medication to try and relieve the pain. They try that for a while. If that doesn't work, then they start talking about surgery.
NGUYEN: So when we look at the surgery taking place today, how long is it going to last? Is she going to be in the hospital for some time?
GUPTA: Well, the thing is this is probably going to be outpatient. Which means she'll have the operation today and hopefully go home the same day. I don't think that was promised but let me give you a sense of what they're going to be doing during the operations.
First of all, it requires general anesthesia. So she will be asleep for this operation. What you are looking at here is the back of the neck and usually right in this area, I don't know if you can tell that, but here's spinal nerves coming out from the side of the cervical spine and they get pinched.
So the idea is through a very small incision, go in here and to try and remove some of the bone around there that might be pinching on one of those nerves and take that pressure off. This can be done in what's called a minimally invasive way so that it's just done through a very small incision. That bone is removed and the nerve is sort of freed up. Again, it is something that's done pretty commonly. It's something that patients can go home the same way.
I want to show you this as well. This is the MRI scan. Here are bones in between here. Bone, bone. And right in here you might get a sense that there's a little bit of a bulge here. This is not her scan specifically but this type of bulge is what causes the problem and what she's going to have sort of removed today to try to free up her pain.
NGUYEN: Well Sanjay, any time you talk about the neck or the spine or anything around that area, people get nervous. What are the risks involved?
GUPTA: Well, you know one of the biggest risks from this operation for her is probably the risk of general anesthesia more than anything else. You know I interviewed her not that long ago and talked to her about her health. She seems like she's pretty healthy and she should tolerate general anesthesia I think just fine. You're also operating on you know very near the spinal cord. So there's always a risk of actually damaging the spinal cord or damaging the very nerve root that is providing that sensation in her arm that's bothering her. There's a risk of bleeding as well. You know, you have several sort of high-priced real estate things in that area. But it is a commonly done operation. She's going to have it done in a minimally invasive way.
So it should be, you know, a very small incision, just removing the piece of bone pushing on her nerve. My guess is she will do very well. It will take about an hour, hour and a half from the actual start of the operation to the end.
NGUYEN: Well we hope she does very well. And you're doing something today that's pretty interesting as well, Sanjay. You're going to be running in a marathon?
GUPTA: Not today. I'll be practicing.
NGUYEN: You need all the practice you can get, right?
GUPTA: Yes. Did you notice this jacket was a little tight before and now it's getting looser?
NGUYEN: Not really, but now I can say so. Just kidding. You're running with Lance Armstrong, I understand?
GUPTA: He'll be running the race.
NGUYEN: You'll be chasing after him.
GUPTA: He'll be setting a good pace, I'm sure.
NGUYEN: Exactly. All right. We'll be talking much more in the coming days in that marathon. In the meantime, don't you need to get to the gym?
GUPTA: I need to hit the trail.
NGUYEN: We'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Sanjay.
Hey, look the man's a brain surgeon. He's a father. He's a journalist. He can do anything. I have full trust that he will be able to handle that marathon. In fact, Sanjay is going to be in 8:30 in our medical report. Stay tuned for that.
HOLMES: Can DNA mapping help you predict your future help? Plus what everyday stresses of the life are doing to your body. That's this morning on "HOUSE CALL" at 8:30 with a trimmed down Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
NGUYEN: Slimmed down and buffed up.
And we're going to give you a look at the weather today. There's a lot to talk about in that area. So you'll want to stay tuned for your hurricane headquarters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, Reynolds Wolf is walking conditions across the country, the heat, flash flooding.
HOLMES: He has his sleeves roll up. He doesn't even mess with it. What do you see?
NGUYEN: What do you have for us?
WOLF: Right now the latest we have for you out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is that we have still that incredible flooding. In fact, in Tulsa International Airport, had over five inches of rainfall that fell in three hours.
So any time we have that much rain that falls in a really, really quick duration, you're going to have some issues. That's certainly the case here. Take a look at these cars. I mean you're never supposed to drive over any roadways where you're not able to see the pavement.
Well, you have the double whammy here. First of all, it's dark. Then you have the heavy rainfall and all kinds of problems. And the problem with this is we're going to be seeing more rain across much of Oklahoma. In fact, over the next 24 hours, we could see another three to four, maybe even five inches of rainfall. So we're not done just yet. This is only one of the few huge stories we have.
We're still watching that system right off the Atlantic coast. We go to weather computer. Take a look at this. Let's take this full if we can so our viewers at home get a better shot of it. There it is. There's Gabrielle, continues to spin off the coast. Not a really well-defined storm. Its winds though are at 45 miles per hour, gusting to go 60.
It is expected to strengthen with winds going to 60 then 65 by 2:00 a.m. Monday and then as we get into 2:00 a.m. Tuesday and then into Wednesday we're expecting the storm to veer off to the north and northeast moving deeper into the Atlantic. However, you can expect on the outer banks anywhere from say three to six inches of rainfall, heavy surf. That's going to be exactly what you can expect over the next 12 to 24 hours.
We'll keep a very, very sharp watch on the coastline there as the storm chugs its way through. That's the latest we have you. Let's get back over to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: Key number one, just don't drive through water, especially if you don't know how deep it is.
WOLF: That's a no-brainer. It should be. Still, you have so many people ...
NGUYEN: What do you say to all those people?
WOLF: You see where you are and you know where you want to be. It seems like a short distance. But people will go in, make that drive and sometimes deadly effects.
NGUYEN: All right. Reynolds, we'll talk to you soon. Thanks.
HOLMES: We need to turn to the Internet. Keeping track of all things Internet.
NGUYEN: And you know who does that around here. Veronica De La Cruz at the dot com desk. Good morning.
Hi. Welcome back.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you both. Well you know our reporters as usual are hard at work. We'll be looking at your memories of one of the world's greatest opera singers. It is all coming up next from the dotcom desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Take a look at these live pictures. They are celebrating a masterful man with an incredible voice. Happening right now, crowds gathering in Modena, Italy for this morning's funeral for Luciano Pavarotti. The legendary tenor died on Thursday at the age of 71. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is in Italy and joins us with a live report in just a few minutes from now.
In the meantime, the death of Pavarotti prompted many of you to send us your personal photos of the legendary tenor.
HOLMES: And Veronica De La Cruz at the dot com desk looking through all those pictures and those stories. I'm sure some good ones, interesting ones.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. It's really the story behind the pictures, that's what makes it so special. The first three that we're going to show you by Annamaria Capicchioni and she took these photos back in 1993. Annamaria says she knew Pavarotti's first wife and one of his daughters, even sharing lounge chairs next to each other at the beach. She said that the last time she saw him was two years ago in a local restaurant and at that time he was having a hard time walking.
Now this next picture was taken by Edgaras Montvidas, who is a tenor from Lithuania. He says he took part in a young artist program at which Pavarotti performed and taught. When asked if they could take a picture together, Pavarotti replied because you sang so well, let it be a gift from me to you. Isn't that a great story?
And finally this one from Joey Parker who works for a TV station in Alabama. He was sent to interview Pavarotti just days after 9/11 and says it was a career topping encounter. Joey says the maestro invite him to play poker even extended an invitation to visit his home in Italy.
If you'd like to send us an I-report, all you have to do is log on to CNN.com/ireport. My mother also such a huge fan of Pavarotti. I just remember her saying his name all the time, Luciano Pavarotti. NGUYEN: He's such a generous man as well and I think that really just exemplifies who he was. Not only a great voice but a great person that he represented. A lot of people are missing him today. And we will have parts of the funeral a little bit later throughout the day. Stay with us for that.
HOLMES: Thank you for sharing those pictures. Veronica, thanks so much.
NGUYEN: Well, the mom, the first mom, now the dad.
HOLMES: The latest twist in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Alphonso Van Marsh is Portugal for us.
Good morning to you there, Alphonso.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Where police behind me reportedly offering a plea deal for a confession in the suspected killing of little Madeleine. I'll have details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: An attempted break-in at the home of billionaire Warren Buffet. Police say both he and his wife were at home but neither was injured. Officer's say Buffet's wife called a security guard who confronted a man wearing camouflage paint and carrying a fake gun. That man escaped after a scuffle with the guard.
HOLMES: The family of missing British toddler, Madeleine McCann is outraged, upset that Portuguese police now consider them suspects in the disappearance of their 4-year-old daughter. CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh is live for us today in Portugal with the latest on this case. The strange twists and turns happening now. Good morning to you, Alphonso.
VAN MARSH: It certainly is, T.J., and the latest we want to bring to you today, is some reports crossing the wires now that the parents of Madeleine McCann intending to leave the country. That is according to a friend of the family. Not because, according to a friend of the family, being quoted as saying because they're running scared.
It's just that they had plans to return to Britain anyways and they're a waiting legal clarification on their status within the next 48 hours. This comes a day after both Kate and Gerry McCann were named as suspects in the investigation into missing Madeleine.
It's important to note they have maintained their innocence. Their family outraged that they could be suspected in this case. In fact, the sister of Gerry McCann saying last night that police had offered a plea bargain saying if Kate McCann admitted to accidental killing of little Madeleine she might get a reduced jail sentence, perhaps two years. We talked to one legal analyst who said this is a clear indication on which way the investigation is going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHUL MANCHANDA, INTERNATIONAL LAW ATTORNEY: The reality is when you offer somebody two years for a potential murder, a sensational murder crime, an international murder, you're not going to offer two years. The reality is it's been five, six months since this has happened and they're offering them a sentence of two years. The reality is that tells me they have nothing and that this blood evidence is sensationalism and they probably want a conviction to, scare them, to elicit some kind of a confession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN MARSH: When he refers to that blood evidence, that is referring to reports that DNA tests have resulted in the finding of some blood in a car rental, a car hire by the McCann family 25 days after little Madeleine was reported missing. We have heard nothing from police about those details. Of course, as soon as we get more, we'll bring it to you -- T.J.
HOLMES: Alphonso Van Marsh for us in Portugal, we appreciate you this morning.
NGUYEN: From the CNN center right here in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's so good to be back. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Yes. You are Betty Nguyen.
NGUYEN: Back from Africa.
HOLMES: Back from Africa. My African queen has returned.
NGUYEN: It's amazing experience and we're going to be talking about it a little bit later but in the meantime we want to talk about this. Look at that.
HOLMES: Yes. A sight people in Oklahoma just do not want to see. Waking up to more rain and more flash flooding.
NGUYEN: And smiles while suffering. I'm going to share some of my journey in the world's second poorest nation. That is Sierra Leone. You don't want to miss that. Stay tuned.
But first, we do want to start with a legendary voice who has been silenced. Now friends and families saying their last good-byes to legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti. His funeral in Modena, Italy this morning.
CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is there live as we are watching the crowds come in and she's going to be joining us very shortly to tell us what is going on with the funeral today, as well as the private viewing and all the crowds are going to come out to really pay their respects. This has been happening for several days now as his body's been lying there in the cathedral.
So as soon as we get Jennifer Eccleston up live, we will bring her in to give you a report on what is happening there in Italy. So stay tuned for that.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, to tell you what's happening in Australia, protestors raising their voices on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific summit. Police say 3,000 demonstrators were cooperative but they say 17 people were arrested and two police officers were injured. Those arrested face charges of assault, breaching a secured area, offensive behavior and resisting arrest.
(INAUDIBLE) without the traditional class photo. Yes, the attire for the Sydney summit, Australian riding coats and there is Mr. President looking dashing and awfully comfortable in that coat whose coat has all been used for sheep herding and horseback riding.
Meanwhile, we turn now to Osama bin Laden blasting the Bush administration for invading Iraq and mocking capitalism. But he makes no real threat in this newest video we're seeing. We've heard in this tape analysts say in fact it is from bin Laden. The first we have seen of the al Qaeda leader in three years. Earlier, we talked with CNN terrorism expert Peter Bergen and asked him why it's been so long between messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, I think he is certainly, apparently jihadi Web sites were -- a lot of people were asking, where is bin Laden? We hadn't heard from him for a period of time. Three years was the last videotape, about a year since the last audio tape. I don't think we put any special meaning to this. We've had periods before when bin Laden's been silent.
He's also rather disciplined and paranoid guy whose worried about his personal security. Every time he releases one of these tapes, it opens him up to the possibility of detection because these are taken out by couriers from the tribal areas in Pakistan to either al Jazerra or jihadi Web sites in a Pakistani city. And so if you can trace back the chain of custody of these tapes you can find bin laden. So he's keenly aware of that. That's why we don't hear too much from him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: President Bush reacted to the new tape, saying the message highlights al Qaeda's desire to establish a safe haven in Iraq.
NGUYEN: First Lady Laura Bush is undergoing what is being described as a minor surgery this morning. The White House says the outpatient procedure is aimed at relieving pressure on pinched nerves on Mrs. Bush's neck. The White House did not say exactly where or when the first lady will undergo that procedure.
In the meantime, I want to take you back to that story that we brought you just minutes ago, Pavarotti's funeral in Modena, Italy this morning.
CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is live with us now to talk about what is going to be happening today as so many have come out to say their final good byes. Good morning, Jennifer.
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
That's right, in just about an hour the funeral will again. We had, since Thursday afternoon, the lying in state of Pavarotti's body. The doors are now closed so that people can no longer go in. But by city estimates, up to 100,000 mourners passed by the open coffin of Luciano Pavarotti as it lay in state in the 12th century Romanesque church behind me here in central Modena, his hometown.
The opera star had requested that the funeral service be illuminous (ph), not a dark occasion, one that will reflect his zest for life. And as they passed by that body and as he will remain during his funeral, he was dressed in a tuxedo, allegedly one of the same tuxedos that he wore during one of his last performances. His hands were folded. He was clutching a handkerchief, his favorite prop during concerts and silver rosary beads. His body was also covered with a rose-covered veil and he was wearing theatrical makeup.
They say that's because they wanted people to remember him as one of the most famous opera stars in the world. There were also red roses at the head of his coffin. His four-year-old daughter, his youngest daughter, left a drawing of her father there at the end of the casket with open arms -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Jennifer Eccleston joining us live.
Let me ask you this, you've been there for a few days. What has been the mood? Has it been very sad or are people just simply coming out to remember a man known for such greatness?
ECCLESTON: I think it's a mixture of the two. Of course there's a sincere amount of grief here that such a luminary, such a vision, such an important person in the world of music and also such an important person for this lovely town has now passed. There's also a celebration of an incredibly successful life, someone that was a local hero who started out in modest means and became one of the most important musical figures in the world.
Time and time again, Betty, they have been telling me that this is a man, this is a hero for them, that never forgot his roots. Throughout every stage of his career, he always came back to Modena and he respected the people and he enjoyed the people and he opened himself up to the people. So that has really been a constant theme that we have been hearing all along, that and a mixture of sadness of course -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Jennifer Eccleston joining us live from Italy, thank you.
HOLMES: The remnants of hurricane Henriette producing flash flood in parts of Oklahoma. In Tulsa, streets temporarily turned to rivers in some neighborhoods early this morning. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood watches for about 30 Oklahoma counties. Thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected across the state until tomorrow.
NGUYEN: So let's take you live now to CNN's Reynolds Wolf who's been watching it. He's got his sleeves rolled up, actually, not anymore. Is the threat over, Reynolds?
WOLF: No, not by a long shot. They are going to be seeing more rain throughout much of the day, in fact, they could see in parts of north eastern Oklahoma, maybe another three to four inches of rainfall. You see -- look at this right now. That pretty much tells the story for you.
Guys, the official rainfall total is just over five inches of rain at Tulsa international airport and it fell in just three hours time. So when you have that much rain in a very short duration, hey, you're going to have some flooding.
Flooding might be an issue in parts of the Carolinas later on as we deal with Gabrielle. Gabrielle at this point with winds that are just around 45 miles per hour. However, there have been some stronger gusts, approaching 60. We can anticipate this storm to strengthen as it makes its way to the northwest.
In fact, by 2:00 in the morning on Sunday, maximum sustained winds, 60, still a tropical storm and then veering right off the outer banks. If it follows this path and then veering deeper in the Atlantic into Tuesday and into Wednesday, at the minimum, you can expect again as I mentioned, heavy surf for the Carolinas, rain anywhere from say, three to five, maybe as much as six inches of rainfall for the Outer Banks as well as South Carolina.
And we currently have a tropical storm watch that is in effect from Edisto Beach northward to Oregon Inlet, certainly an area that we're going to watch for you very carefully. And one of the reasons why we can anticipate this storm just really to remain right, around 60 miles per hour, maybe 65 is because it's not going to have a lot of time really to build up and become something strong, a powerhouse like say for example Felix or even Dean earlier in the season.
We're going to watch this for you very carefully plus we're going to keep a sharp eye on the central plains. More flooding possible for Oklahoma. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds, thank you.
Well, new this morning, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel may be ready to announce his retirement. The influential Republican has scheduled a news conference Monday presumably to discuss his future. A Hometown newspaper, the "Omaha World Herald" reports that Hagel will announce that he is not running for president and will retire from politics. CNN is working to confirm this story.
HOLMES: I'm not a guy usually people say, boy, you're glowing today. But I've been getting it a lot this morning.
NGUYEN: You're glowing.
HOLMES: I'm glowing.
NGUYEN: Why are you glowing?
HOLMES: I got my Betty back.
NGUYEN: Betty back, yeah, from Africa.
HOLMES: Straight out of Africa, yes.
NGUYEN: I can't believe it's been a month. I didn't think I would be gone that long. But the stories and the experience is just simply amazing. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of those stories with you. A little bit later this hour, a look into my trip to Sierra Leone, a country that has been struggling to recover from its brutal past.
We're going to be talking to Veronica.
Good morning, Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: Hey Betty, it's nice to have you back. Welcome back.
We are taking a check of the most popular stories this morning. A few Hollywood couples headed for splitsville. Who might they be? I am Veronica de la Cruz at the dot com desk and I will have that answer coming up -- T.J.
HOLMES: Oh, somebody else broke up in Hollywood. No, I hate to hear that.
NGUYEN: Say it isn't so.
HOLMES: This is good news. Football is back. And so is our sports business analyst, Rick Horrow. He's joining us to talk NFL kickoff. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Happening in about 45 minutes from now Mike Nifong will be released from a North Carolina jail. Nifong is the former DA who falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape. He reported to jail yesterday to spend 24 hours behind bars for a contempt conviction.
Now last week, a judge ruled Nifong lied about the evidence he gave to the players' defense and Nifong resigned and was disbarred a little bit earlier this year, if you recall. Charges against the Duke lacrosse players, well those were dropped and the players declared innocent.
HOLMES: What a weekend we have ahead of us. The NFL finally ready to kick off a full slate of games on Sunday. Of course Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts officially kick off the season Thursday night with a whipping that only a mother could put on a child. They beat down the Saints 41-10 and our sports business analyst Rick Horrow, pretty Ricky is what they call him.
He joins us now from New York, but for the first question, since Rick threw such a fit because Betty is back and she's not doing this interview, for the first question, we will go to our miss Betty Nguyen.
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this Rick, because I was still recovering from jet lag. How did that start off? How did the season opener begin?
RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: You don't know the score, T.J. just gave you the score. By the way, thank you for coming back. I think this is really important. And these are the pithy journalistic questions that I missed.
NGUYEN: You'll get a little more sarcastic as we go.
HORROW: Here's the score, Colts, 41, Saints, 10, Peyton Manning (INAUDIBLE) Sprint ads, two Mastercard ads, $11 million a year for Peyton. Some say he's goofy, but he's the endorsement king of the NFL. How is that?
NGUYEN: That's not too bad for Peyton.
HORROW: Definitely not.
HOLMES: So are things starting off the way things are supposed to start off? We've been talking about Michael Vick the past few months, but the season's ready to go. People are excited about football. Are we off to a good start?
HORROW: $7 billion business, couldn't get off to a better start. The ratings are a little down in Indianapolis but it's the smallest market since Green Bay to win a Super Bowl. There is that celebration of a Super Bowl win on the Thursday night that opens the season. That's been a traditional, Pittsburgh last year, New England the year before. A great party at Monument Circle in Indianapolis.
We didn't talk about only Peyton Manning. We're talking about Kelly Clarkson and John Mellencamp. This was truly an entertainment experience. And of course, Peyton Manning, as I just said, basically stole the show and the Colts looked darn good.
HOLMES: What else do we have to look forward to this season? Any surprises, maybe some surprise teams you might get behind. Of course we had the Saints. Everybody was kind of cheering for them last year, but what do we have to look forward to early in the season?
HORROW: The Saints are America's team. We're looking to some diversity as far as jersey sales giving us an indication of that. Take a look at the top five for example, from five to number one. Vince Young is number 5, the Titan quarterback. Troy Polamalu, the Steelers safety is number four, Brian Urlacher, the Bears linebacker number three, Reggie Bush, the Saints running back, number two, number one, Daniel Tomlinson (ph) and Chargers, five diverse individuals, different races, different positions, different teams.
That's what the NFL is all about. So we're looking for new teams to emerge. It's a wonderful day, by the way because except for the Saints, nobody has a loss. And if you look at local media, everybody is going to the Super Bowl. Mathematically impossible, but that's what they're saying.
NGUYEN: Let's go back to those jerseys just for a second if we could Rick, because where are my Cowboys?
HORROW: Your Cowboys, I thought your Longhorns. Let me tell you something, another league. TNS sport talked about the most popular logos, remember the NFL, $3 billion in merchandise. Guess who is number one -- Cowboys.
NGUYEN: Dallas Cowboys. That's all I need to hear.
HORROW: Steelers three, Yankees four of all sports and then the Raiders got to win, Cowboys, let's prove it on the field.
NGUYEN: Oh, I knew you were going to go there. It's still early. We can come back. Don't worry.
HORROW: You've lost none so far. Welcome back.
NGUYEN: Thanks. Off to a good start.
HOLMES: Rick Horrow, always good to see you. Are you happy you got to talk to Betty? There you go now. Enjoy the rest of your day pretty Ricky. We'll see you next time.
NGUYEN: See you Rick.
HOLMES: And of course everybody knows by now Betty is back from Africa.
NGUYEN: I have some really special stories I do want to share with you today. I spent a week in one of the world's poorest countries, Sierra Leone. And a little bit later this hour, I'm going to show you what I learned about the people and their struggle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it is a fact, you go to cnn.com (INAUDIBLE)
DE LA CRUZ: We're just going to hang out like this. (INAUDIBLE),
NGUYEN: But we are going to be talking about some of the multi- taskers, something that we (INAUDIBLE). Veronica joins us now with the latest on that.
DE LA CRUZ: We're talking about some high profile splits in Hollywood this morning. One of your favorite topics, T.J.
HOLMES: I love the Hollywood stuff.
DE LA CRUZ: OK, I know, two pairs of Hollywood stars going their separate ways. We're going to start with the break up of Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger. Williams' father says the actress has split up with Ledger whom she met on the set of "Brokeback Mountain." The two starred as husband and wife in "Brokeback" and together they have a daughter named Matilda.
Now, the other celebrity breakup I want to tell you about, Jenna Fischer of "The Office" and her husband film maker James Gunn. They have separated after six years of marriage. The 33-year-old actress was nominated for an Emmy this year for her work on NBC's "The Office" and she portrays mousy secretary Pam Beazley (ph). You probably know her and James Gunn, director of last year's (INAUDIBLE) which co- starred Fischer. So what does that say? That couples who work together ...
HOLMES: It doesn't work.
NGUYEN: What do you have to talk about besides work?
DE LA CRUZ: Exactly, right. All right and let's get you now to the next story on that list. One of the authors of the most beloved children's books has died. Madeleine L'Engle wrote "A Wrinkle in Time" back in the '60s and she said it was rejected many times before finally getting published. It went on to win the coveted Newberry medal. She was 88-years-old.
Finally, the last story I want to tell you about, also popular this morning, some nude photos which have surfaced of high school musical star Vanessa Hudgens. I don't have them T.J. (INAUDIBLE). For shame. What are parents going to tell their children now? Because it's no doubt that this scandal is costing the popular teen actress (INAUDIBLE) and this is the girl that's on that popular Disney program and I'm sure...
NGUYEN: She's, what, 18.
DE LA CRUZ: I think she's 18. I'm sure parents are now wondering how to explain this entire ordeal to their children who tune into this show. And apparently she is posing nude in a bedroom, so I do know that parishilton.com has those pictures, T.J. just in case you were wondering.
NGUYEN: So this is something that she actually posed for. I think there was a little confusion in the onset. It's just a snapshot that maybe someone took that she was unaware of.
DE LA CRUZ: Apparently she looks like she's posing in a bedroom and the pictures are on parishilton.com.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Veronica.
Next, I do want to talk about my assignment in Africa. I'm going to give you a behind-the scenes look at the elections in Sierra Leone and life in the world's second poorest country. That's right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Like we said, we are just thrilled -- we don't know what to do with ourselves.
NGUYEN: Oh, stop it.
HOLMES: Betty is back, an important assignment. We enjoy watching a lot of those stories. You moved a lot of us back here at CNN.
NGUYEN: It was such an amazing experience, a really unforgettable one. I spent a week in Sierra Leone, the world's second poorest country, a nation that is still recovering from one of the most brutal civil wars in history. And often, you the viewer only get to see what happens in front of the camera, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what it's like to cover a country with such a storied past.
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NGUYEN (voice-over): Welcome to Sierra Leone where chaos is a common sight at the airport. It's a good thing photographer Chevron Racer (ph) was ready for an adventure. With press credentials in hand, we purchased tickets for a ride into Freetown, the nation's capital. Our bags were quickly loaded into a van. And while we waited on a cab, producer Ken Norgaard took another look at our so- called travel tickets.
KEN NORGAARD, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: It's something. I'm not sure. These are worth a lot of money (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: Finally, the baggage bus was headed for the hovercraft. We followed close behind and got our first glimpse of the second poorest country in the world, a fact that stuck in my mind when I saw this. (INAUDIBLE) Yeah, it was a real gem, except we all started to get seasick on the choppy waves. It's 11:00 at night and we have got a very long day tomorrow, lots to get done. So now that you've gotten the nickel tour of this lovely room, which I will be calling home for the next two days, I'm going to try to get some sleep.
The next day we headed out for shots of the city. I was amazed at the things people carried on their heads. Now that's some skill. But what struck me the most is how poverty could be found on every corner. I could barely handle seeing children dig through trash dumps alongside pigs. No one should have to live like this, but they do and it's a daily routine. Those faces still haunted me the next day as we headed on a bumpy six-hour ride to the diamond mines which fueled this country's civil war. During a brief stop, children were eager to have their picture taken. It was nice to see smiles in a place known for so much suffering.
We spent days capturing their stories, working out of vehicles, recording my scripts over the sink and editing wherever we could. From live reports just as the storms rolled in, to election day coverage that drew crowds of people and even livestock. We may not have gotten much sleep, but we managed to keep our sense of humor. What we did find is an experience that we will always remember. So for everything that Sierra Leone lacks, this country has given us an opportunity to share its story while creating one of our own.
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NGUYEN: I really feel privileged to be able to go into a country that is so impoverished and see people smiling, see people with hope and just with a desire for a better future. And they really believe in the democratic process. Today they're heading to the polls for the presidential runoff election and they're hoping that's going to take place and they'll finally have a winner in that and so that this country can move on from a civil war.
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