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CNN Live Sunday
New Round of Deadly Attacks in Iraq; March for Women's Lives
Aired April 25, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway in Atlanta. Thank you for being with us. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Coming up this hour, a new round of deadly attacks in Iraq against U.S. troops, as attack plans are readied for the besieged city of Fallujah.
Also, what led police to arrest a priest in the brutal murder of a nun? A murder that occurred a quarter after century ago.
And then later on...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN SKETCHLEY, U.S. ARMY MEDIC: We didn't know what was going to happen. The external fuel tanks had exploded. There was ammunition everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: A soldier's story of incredible bravery to rescue the crew of a crashed helicopter. We will have her story in her own words.
It is an issue that will not go away. And it is back again this election year. Thousands of abortion rights activists from across the country are marching in Washington today and there are also counterdemonstrations by anti-abortion activists. Following all of this for us is Elaine Quijano who is in the nation's capital. Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Catherine. While U.S. Park Police are not giving out any official crowd estimates, but it appears tens of thousands of demonstrators have turned out here at the National Mall for what they're calling the march for women's lives.
Organizers say that some 1,400 groups have worked for months to mobilize these demonstrators here. They gathered starting early this morning and now they are going through a series of speeches before the march actually gets under way in about an hour or so from now.
Now they are marching to show their support for women's health and reproductive rights, including abortion. They say they want to send a message to President Bush. They believe that under his administration, their reproductive rights have been under attack.
They point to the legislation that the president recently signed into law banning a type late-term abortion. They say they are also concerned about the future of the United States Supreme court with the anticipated retirement of justices. They say they fear a shift could mean that the court's 1973 Roe versus Wade decision legalizing abortion could be overturned.
Organizers here hope that a strong showing today will have an impact eventually on the ballot box come November. However, they're not the only ones who have turned out. WE understand that counterdemonstrations are set to take place. We talked to organizers of those counterdemonstrations yesterday. They say they plan to line the march route along Pennsylvania Avenue and meet and confront some of these protesters as they carry their protests through the streets of Washington later this afternoon. Catherine?
CALLAWAY: Thank you, Elaine.
Now we're going to move on to a well known activist attending that rally, that march going on in Washington, D.C. Gloria Steinem joining us. You have to be pleased with the turnout today. Looks like a sea of people.
GLORIA STEINEM, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yes. This is the first time ever in history that before the march began; the area of the march has already been filled up. It's really caught fire. And there are also representatives of 56 other countries here.
CALLAWAY: Gloria, why now? Why this now?
STEINEM: This now, because, after all, women's role in reproduction is the only difference really between women and men as human beings. And the desire to control reproduction is the mark of authoritarian governments around the world. Unfortunately, it's ours as well.
Our government goes to U.N. conferences and is so anti-woman and anti-reproductive freedom, that at the last conference, they only had two allies, the Vatican, and Muslim extremists. In addition, their policies would declare -- would open to prosecution for murder the 43 percent of women in this country who will have needed, or have need, an abortion sometime before they're 45.
I mean it's unspeakable. And that's the reason why we have such a huge and international demonstration here.
CALLAWAY: Clearly you're trying to get your issues to the forefront of this election year. Are you disappointed John Kerry did not appear today?
STEINEM: No, not at all. He has been excellent. He has a 100 percent voting record. This is a march of many, many different kinds of groups that are not specifically political. And I think that he was being respectful of that. But he made his statement yesterday. He received the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, the first time in the history of that illustrious organization that they've ever endorsed a presidential candidate.
CALLAWAY: Gloria Steinem, thank you very much for taking a minute on this busy day to speak with us.
STEINEM: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: A new and ominous warning this morning from the coalition in Iraq. Authorities say a dangerous situation is developing in Najaf, the city where a radical cleric and his militia are surrounded by U.S. troops. The coalition says weapons are being stockpiled in mosques, shrines, schools. Meanwhile, more U.S. casualties this morning in Baghdad. As CNN's Jim Clancy reports from the Iraqi capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A U.S. military humvee burned furiously churning up clouds of black smoke Sunday after a roadside bomb attack that sent the toll of dead and wounded higher in Iraq.
One American soldier was killed and two others injured. Iraqi police reported one schoolboy killed and eight others injured when they gathered around the burning vehicle. The wounded boys told police they had been fired on by U.S. troops. That version of events could not be confirmed.
Iraqi civilians and coalition troops came under fire from insurgents across Iraq creating an atmosphere of insecurity, even as the capital welcomed a staunch supporter of the war, Prime Minister John Howard. Australia's prime minister laid a wreath during a short visit to Baghdad. A visit kept secret until he landed at the capital's international airport. John Howard's trip coincide with Anzac day when Australia remembers its war dead and those who serve in its armed forces.
JOHN HOWARD, PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: I want to say from the bottom of my heart to the men and women of the Australian defense force who are serving in the name of their nation, here in Iraq, thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing.
CLANCY: Howard's political opponents at home want the remaining 850 Australian troops back by Christmas, saying their work is air traffic controllers at the airport is not critical to the Iraq mission.
Apparent suicide bombers attempted to hit Iraq's main oil terminal overnight. About ten kilometers offshore in the gulf. The Alimia (ph) terminal is Iraq's main oil export route for loading crude on to tankers. Two U.S. servicemen were killed and at least three others wounded when they attempted to board a Dow that was entering an exclusion zone around the terminal. The Dow exploded as they approached. Two other vessels that tried to enter the zone later also exploded as they came under fire.
The troubled town of Fallujah was relatively quiet west of Baghdad Sunday as coalition troops said they would allow more than 60 families to return as part of the uneasy truce there. That truce has been extended, although coalition commanders threaten, unless progress is made, U.S. Marines could storm the city. At the same time, the coalition has been straining to reinforce that truce and get gunmen off the streets and Iraqi police back in control.
CLANCY (on camera): The coalition is trying to defuse the situation in Fallujah and the surrounding area through talks. They are also holding out the carrot of tens of millions of dollars in reconstruction aid. Still, the problem remains, getting the gunmen to lay down their arms in return.
Jim Clancy, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And as Jim just reported, Fallujah is relatively quiet today. But the situation there is volatile from day-to-day. If not hour-to-hour. President Bush is following that situation closely in Fallujah. Let's go right to the white house. Of course, correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, who gives us the latest on the situation -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is hunkered down at Camp David. That is where is he conferring with his top military advisers, his national security team through these video conference calls, a series of them over the weekend.
Now we've been told by military officials as well as coalition officials that, yes, the military is holding off in terms of going into Fallujah. This is a difficult decision for the administration, both militarily as well as politically, of course. It has a cost. They say that the negotiations, however, over the last 24 hours, that they have bared some fruit. At least they feel that until Tuesday is the time in which they will extend their offer for those insurgents inside Fallujah to turn over their weapons.
Also on Tuesday, it's expected that the coalition forces will partner with the Iraqi police and go in on joint patrols inside of that city. What they say, they call it combat patience. They want to go down the political track. But military leaders earlier today making it very clear that the military option remains just that, an option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: If we don't start seeing delivery, we will cease the discussions and we will take other options.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now certainly they say that is not what they want to do, they don't want to go in militarily. They realize as well not a only military cost but also a political one, that if you have a situation inside of Fallujah that simply explodes, this will of course is going to complicate matters turning power back to the Iraqi people on June 30.
CALLAWAY: All right, Suzanne, thank you very much. Time now to check stories making headlines around the world. You are looking at some of the first pictures from North Korea of that deadly train explosion. The Red Cross today raised the death toll to 161 people, including 76 children. North Korea is blaming the blast on an electrical problem caused by carelessness.
A U.N. plan to end the 30-year division of Cyprus fails. Greek Cypriots rejected the reunification plan and referendums yesterday. The Turkish Cypriots meanwhile endorse that plan that would allow Cyprus to join the European nation.
And remembering the war dead. Tens of thousands of Australian veterans are marking Anzac day, it marks the anniversary of the first significant battle fought by Australian and New Zealand troops against Turkish forces during World War I. Some 10,000 Anzac soldiers were lost during that battle.
Stay with us, everyone. Just ahead, a nun's murder goes unsolved for more than 20 years. Find out why a priest is now the focus of attention.
then later on, instead of crossing in the night, two famous cruise ships set sail side by side across the Atlantic.
And spreading her message of inner beauty and self-acceptance. Oprah takes to the road.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: A Catholic nun is brutally killed more than 24 years ago. Now the priest who presided over her funeral will be charged with her murder. Father Gerald Robinson will be arraigned tomorrow in Toledo, Ohio. CNN's Collins Spencer has details of this baffling case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS SPENCER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-four years after the stabbing death of Sister Margaret Ann Paul, police in Toledo, Ohio, say they finally found their man, arresting 63-year-old Roman Catholic Priest Gerald Robinson, five months after reopening the murder case.
CHIEF MIKE NAVARRE, TOLEDO POLICE CHIEF: Utilizing new technology and expert witnesses, the detectives were able to establish probable cause resulting in the arrest of father Gerald Robinson.
SPENCER: The crime led to outrage in the community. On the morning of April 5, 1980, Holy Saturday, her body was found by another nun in The Chapel of Toledo's Mercy Hospital. Chief Navarre described the Lucas County prosecutor's autopsy report.
NAVARRE: He stated she had been strangled and stabbed between 27 and 32 times. Most of those stab wounds we believe were postmortem.
SPENCER: Navarre says Father Robinson was the primary suspect back in 1980. He had been the chaplain at the same hospital where the sister was working, and he was the priest who presided over the funeral. But at the time, Navarre says there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. The chief says he won't go into detail about what new information they found in fear of jeopardizing the case. Katherine Flegal says she was shocked when she was told of the arrest in her sister's case.
KATHERINE FLEGAL, PAUL'S SISTER: After all these years, I could hardly believe it that they finally found someone. I had just given up hope of ever know who it was.
SPENCER: Father Gerald Robinson is being held in the Lucas County jail. At 9:00 a.m. eastern time on Monday, he'll appear for his arraignment. That's when the judge will set bond.
Collins Spencer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And here is a look at stories making news across America today. America's focus on security has led to a hiring push at the National Security Agency. The NSA wants to hire 1,500 people by September, and the same number each of the next five years.
Searchers are trying to find the body of a 2-year-old boy. He was in a car when it was washed off a bridge into a rain-swollen creek in Arkansas. The body of the boy's sister was found and his mother survived. More than a foot of rain had fallen in that area.
There is a unique pair of queens in New York City today. The cruise ships Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II are both in town. The Queen Mary is leaving for England today and the QII will follow later, making it the first time that the two ships have actually crossed the ocean going in the same direction.
And several thousand women got together in Atlanta this weekend to join Talk Show Host Oprah Winfrey. She was in town as part of her four city "Hi, Gorgeous" tour. Winfrey is promoting health body acceptance and individuality.
Looks like a great weather day out west. A live check of the weather from Meteorologist Rob Marciano coming up after the break.
Also coming up, a true hero in the war in Iraq. How one soldier helped rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. And the award that she earned for bravery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Much more ahead at the bottom of the hour on reliable sources. Here is Howard Kurtz with a preview.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, Bob Woodward takes on critics of his new book. Just why did President Bush and top administration officials sit down with him? What does he make of the mounting criticism of the book? And what does he say to those who argue he's gotten too close to the White House?
Plus Bush beats Kerry, at least in cable land. Heads roll at "USA Today" in the aftermath of Jack Kelly's lies. All that and more ahead on "Reliable sources".
CALLAWAY: Army medics are used to saving lives so it takes something extraordinary for them to earn medals. We'll tell you how this soldier won hers. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: A California woman joined the army to pursue her dream becoming a medic. And ten years later, the war in Iraq has tested her in a way she had never imagined. CNN's Casey Wian has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Kristin Sketchley is at home in Danville, California for the first time in over two years. She's been to Iraq twice, flying Medivac, treating soldiers and Iraqi civilians.
KRISTIN SKETCHLEY, U.S. ARMY MEDIC: In medicine you can never say you've seen it all, but I sure saw a lot.
WIAN: Saving lives is routine for Sketchley, but one particular rescue earned her one of the army's highest honors, a Soldier's Medal for Bravery. Holed up during a sand storm, Sketchley and her team hear a helicopter, and scramble outside to see it trying to land.
SKETCHLEY: All of a sudden you just hear this bam, bam, bam. We just hit the ground, we thought we were being attacked, we didn't know what was happening. Then this sound -- I will never forget for as long as I live of just crunching metal. And just this turning and churning. It sounded like just something from outer space.
WIAN: The helicopter crashed and Sketchley rushed to pull the pilot from the wreckage.
SKETCHLEY: We didn't know what was going to happen. The external fuel tanks had exploded. There was ammunition was everywhere.
WIAN: The pilot survived with only minor injuries. Weeks later Sketchley learned there would be another reward for her heroism.
SKETCHLEY: My commander pulled me aside, and he said, congratulations, sergeant Sketchley. And I'm like what for? I'm thinking, great, what did I do? He said that you were awarded the Soldier's Medal." My jaw just dropped. I couldn't believe it.
WIAN: Sketchley plans to be a nurse when her military career ends next spring.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And there is much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. "Reliable Sources" is coming up next. Today in-depth on the controversy over allowing photos to be shown of caskets holding the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in action.
And "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER." Among his guests today, Saudi Prince Bandar, and the controversy over Saudi Arabia's policy on gas prices.
Coming up at 2:00 Eastern Time, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," profiling pop star Michael Jackson, and Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 25, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway in Atlanta. Thank you for being with us. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Coming up this hour, a new round of deadly attacks in Iraq against U.S. troops, as attack plans are readied for the besieged city of Fallujah.
Also, what led police to arrest a priest in the brutal murder of a nun? A murder that occurred a quarter after century ago.
And then later on...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN SKETCHLEY, U.S. ARMY MEDIC: We didn't know what was going to happen. The external fuel tanks had exploded. There was ammunition everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: A soldier's story of incredible bravery to rescue the crew of a crashed helicopter. We will have her story in her own words.
It is an issue that will not go away. And it is back again this election year. Thousands of abortion rights activists from across the country are marching in Washington today and there are also counterdemonstrations by anti-abortion activists. Following all of this for us is Elaine Quijano who is in the nation's capital. Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Catherine. While U.S. Park Police are not giving out any official crowd estimates, but it appears tens of thousands of demonstrators have turned out here at the National Mall for what they're calling the march for women's lives.
Organizers say that some 1,400 groups have worked for months to mobilize these demonstrators here. They gathered starting early this morning and now they are going through a series of speeches before the march actually gets under way in about an hour or so from now.
Now they are marching to show their support for women's health and reproductive rights, including abortion. They say they want to send a message to President Bush. They believe that under his administration, their reproductive rights have been under attack.
They point to the legislation that the president recently signed into law banning a type late-term abortion. They say they are also concerned about the future of the United States Supreme court with the anticipated retirement of justices. They say they fear a shift could mean that the court's 1973 Roe versus Wade decision legalizing abortion could be overturned.
Organizers here hope that a strong showing today will have an impact eventually on the ballot box come November. However, they're not the only ones who have turned out. WE understand that counterdemonstrations are set to take place. We talked to organizers of those counterdemonstrations yesterday. They say they plan to line the march route along Pennsylvania Avenue and meet and confront some of these protesters as they carry their protests through the streets of Washington later this afternoon. Catherine?
CALLAWAY: Thank you, Elaine.
Now we're going to move on to a well known activist attending that rally, that march going on in Washington, D.C. Gloria Steinem joining us. You have to be pleased with the turnout today. Looks like a sea of people.
GLORIA STEINEM, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yes. This is the first time ever in history that before the march began; the area of the march has already been filled up. It's really caught fire. And there are also representatives of 56 other countries here.
CALLAWAY: Gloria, why now? Why this now?
STEINEM: This now, because, after all, women's role in reproduction is the only difference really between women and men as human beings. And the desire to control reproduction is the mark of authoritarian governments around the world. Unfortunately, it's ours as well.
Our government goes to U.N. conferences and is so anti-woman and anti-reproductive freedom, that at the last conference, they only had two allies, the Vatican, and Muslim extremists. In addition, their policies would declare -- would open to prosecution for murder the 43 percent of women in this country who will have needed, or have need, an abortion sometime before they're 45.
I mean it's unspeakable. And that's the reason why we have such a huge and international demonstration here.
CALLAWAY: Clearly you're trying to get your issues to the forefront of this election year. Are you disappointed John Kerry did not appear today?
STEINEM: No, not at all. He has been excellent. He has a 100 percent voting record. This is a march of many, many different kinds of groups that are not specifically political. And I think that he was being respectful of that. But he made his statement yesterday. He received the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, the first time in the history of that illustrious organization that they've ever endorsed a presidential candidate.
CALLAWAY: Gloria Steinem, thank you very much for taking a minute on this busy day to speak with us.
STEINEM: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: A new and ominous warning this morning from the coalition in Iraq. Authorities say a dangerous situation is developing in Najaf, the city where a radical cleric and his militia are surrounded by U.S. troops. The coalition says weapons are being stockpiled in mosques, shrines, schools. Meanwhile, more U.S. casualties this morning in Baghdad. As CNN's Jim Clancy reports from the Iraqi capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A U.S. military humvee burned furiously churning up clouds of black smoke Sunday after a roadside bomb attack that sent the toll of dead and wounded higher in Iraq.
One American soldier was killed and two others injured. Iraqi police reported one schoolboy killed and eight others injured when they gathered around the burning vehicle. The wounded boys told police they had been fired on by U.S. troops. That version of events could not be confirmed.
Iraqi civilians and coalition troops came under fire from insurgents across Iraq creating an atmosphere of insecurity, even as the capital welcomed a staunch supporter of the war, Prime Minister John Howard. Australia's prime minister laid a wreath during a short visit to Baghdad. A visit kept secret until he landed at the capital's international airport. John Howard's trip coincide with Anzac day when Australia remembers its war dead and those who serve in its armed forces.
JOHN HOWARD, PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: I want to say from the bottom of my heart to the men and women of the Australian defense force who are serving in the name of their nation, here in Iraq, thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing.
CLANCY: Howard's political opponents at home want the remaining 850 Australian troops back by Christmas, saying their work is air traffic controllers at the airport is not critical to the Iraq mission.
Apparent suicide bombers attempted to hit Iraq's main oil terminal overnight. About ten kilometers offshore in the gulf. The Alimia (ph) terminal is Iraq's main oil export route for loading crude on to tankers. Two U.S. servicemen were killed and at least three others wounded when they attempted to board a Dow that was entering an exclusion zone around the terminal. The Dow exploded as they approached. Two other vessels that tried to enter the zone later also exploded as they came under fire.
The troubled town of Fallujah was relatively quiet west of Baghdad Sunday as coalition troops said they would allow more than 60 families to return as part of the uneasy truce there. That truce has been extended, although coalition commanders threaten, unless progress is made, U.S. Marines could storm the city. At the same time, the coalition has been straining to reinforce that truce and get gunmen off the streets and Iraqi police back in control.
CLANCY (on camera): The coalition is trying to defuse the situation in Fallujah and the surrounding area through talks. They are also holding out the carrot of tens of millions of dollars in reconstruction aid. Still, the problem remains, getting the gunmen to lay down their arms in return.
Jim Clancy, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And as Jim just reported, Fallujah is relatively quiet today. But the situation there is volatile from day-to-day. If not hour-to-hour. President Bush is following that situation closely in Fallujah. Let's go right to the white house. Of course, correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, who gives us the latest on the situation -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is hunkered down at Camp David. That is where is he conferring with his top military advisers, his national security team through these video conference calls, a series of them over the weekend.
Now we've been told by military officials as well as coalition officials that, yes, the military is holding off in terms of going into Fallujah. This is a difficult decision for the administration, both militarily as well as politically, of course. It has a cost. They say that the negotiations, however, over the last 24 hours, that they have bared some fruit. At least they feel that until Tuesday is the time in which they will extend their offer for those insurgents inside Fallujah to turn over their weapons.
Also on Tuesday, it's expected that the coalition forces will partner with the Iraqi police and go in on joint patrols inside of that city. What they say, they call it combat patience. They want to go down the political track. But military leaders earlier today making it very clear that the military option remains just that, an option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: If we don't start seeing delivery, we will cease the discussions and we will take other options.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now certainly they say that is not what they want to do, they don't want to go in militarily. They realize as well not a only military cost but also a political one, that if you have a situation inside of Fallujah that simply explodes, this will of course is going to complicate matters turning power back to the Iraqi people on June 30.
CALLAWAY: All right, Suzanne, thank you very much. Time now to check stories making headlines around the world. You are looking at some of the first pictures from North Korea of that deadly train explosion. The Red Cross today raised the death toll to 161 people, including 76 children. North Korea is blaming the blast on an electrical problem caused by carelessness.
A U.N. plan to end the 30-year division of Cyprus fails. Greek Cypriots rejected the reunification plan and referendums yesterday. The Turkish Cypriots meanwhile endorse that plan that would allow Cyprus to join the European nation.
And remembering the war dead. Tens of thousands of Australian veterans are marking Anzac day, it marks the anniversary of the first significant battle fought by Australian and New Zealand troops against Turkish forces during World War I. Some 10,000 Anzac soldiers were lost during that battle.
Stay with us, everyone. Just ahead, a nun's murder goes unsolved for more than 20 years. Find out why a priest is now the focus of attention.
then later on, instead of crossing in the night, two famous cruise ships set sail side by side across the Atlantic.
And spreading her message of inner beauty and self-acceptance. Oprah takes to the road.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: A Catholic nun is brutally killed more than 24 years ago. Now the priest who presided over her funeral will be charged with her murder. Father Gerald Robinson will be arraigned tomorrow in Toledo, Ohio. CNN's Collins Spencer has details of this baffling case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS SPENCER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-four years after the stabbing death of Sister Margaret Ann Paul, police in Toledo, Ohio, say they finally found their man, arresting 63-year-old Roman Catholic Priest Gerald Robinson, five months after reopening the murder case.
CHIEF MIKE NAVARRE, TOLEDO POLICE CHIEF: Utilizing new technology and expert witnesses, the detectives were able to establish probable cause resulting in the arrest of father Gerald Robinson.
SPENCER: The crime led to outrage in the community. On the morning of April 5, 1980, Holy Saturday, her body was found by another nun in The Chapel of Toledo's Mercy Hospital. Chief Navarre described the Lucas County prosecutor's autopsy report.
NAVARRE: He stated she had been strangled and stabbed between 27 and 32 times. Most of those stab wounds we believe were postmortem.
SPENCER: Navarre says Father Robinson was the primary suspect back in 1980. He had been the chaplain at the same hospital where the sister was working, and he was the priest who presided over the funeral. But at the time, Navarre says there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. The chief says he won't go into detail about what new information they found in fear of jeopardizing the case. Katherine Flegal says she was shocked when she was told of the arrest in her sister's case.
KATHERINE FLEGAL, PAUL'S SISTER: After all these years, I could hardly believe it that they finally found someone. I had just given up hope of ever know who it was.
SPENCER: Father Gerald Robinson is being held in the Lucas County jail. At 9:00 a.m. eastern time on Monday, he'll appear for his arraignment. That's when the judge will set bond.
Collins Spencer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And here is a look at stories making news across America today. America's focus on security has led to a hiring push at the National Security Agency. The NSA wants to hire 1,500 people by September, and the same number each of the next five years.
Searchers are trying to find the body of a 2-year-old boy. He was in a car when it was washed off a bridge into a rain-swollen creek in Arkansas. The body of the boy's sister was found and his mother survived. More than a foot of rain had fallen in that area.
There is a unique pair of queens in New York City today. The cruise ships Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II are both in town. The Queen Mary is leaving for England today and the QII will follow later, making it the first time that the two ships have actually crossed the ocean going in the same direction.
And several thousand women got together in Atlanta this weekend to join Talk Show Host Oprah Winfrey. She was in town as part of her four city "Hi, Gorgeous" tour. Winfrey is promoting health body acceptance and individuality.
Looks like a great weather day out west. A live check of the weather from Meteorologist Rob Marciano coming up after the break.
Also coming up, a true hero in the war in Iraq. How one soldier helped rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. And the award that she earned for bravery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Much more ahead at the bottom of the hour on reliable sources. Here is Howard Kurtz with a preview.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, Bob Woodward takes on critics of his new book. Just why did President Bush and top administration officials sit down with him? What does he make of the mounting criticism of the book? And what does he say to those who argue he's gotten too close to the White House?
Plus Bush beats Kerry, at least in cable land. Heads roll at "USA Today" in the aftermath of Jack Kelly's lies. All that and more ahead on "Reliable sources".
CALLAWAY: Army medics are used to saving lives so it takes something extraordinary for them to earn medals. We'll tell you how this soldier won hers. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: A California woman joined the army to pursue her dream becoming a medic. And ten years later, the war in Iraq has tested her in a way she had never imagined. CNN's Casey Wian has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Kristin Sketchley is at home in Danville, California for the first time in over two years. She's been to Iraq twice, flying Medivac, treating soldiers and Iraqi civilians.
KRISTIN SKETCHLEY, U.S. ARMY MEDIC: In medicine you can never say you've seen it all, but I sure saw a lot.
WIAN: Saving lives is routine for Sketchley, but one particular rescue earned her one of the army's highest honors, a Soldier's Medal for Bravery. Holed up during a sand storm, Sketchley and her team hear a helicopter, and scramble outside to see it trying to land.
SKETCHLEY: All of a sudden you just hear this bam, bam, bam. We just hit the ground, we thought we were being attacked, we didn't know what was happening. Then this sound -- I will never forget for as long as I live of just crunching metal. And just this turning and churning. It sounded like just something from outer space.
WIAN: The helicopter crashed and Sketchley rushed to pull the pilot from the wreckage.
SKETCHLEY: We didn't know what was going to happen. The external fuel tanks had exploded. There was ammunition was everywhere.
WIAN: The pilot survived with only minor injuries. Weeks later Sketchley learned there would be another reward for her heroism.
SKETCHLEY: My commander pulled me aside, and he said, congratulations, sergeant Sketchley. And I'm like what for? I'm thinking, great, what did I do? He said that you were awarded the Soldier's Medal." My jaw just dropped. I couldn't believe it.
WIAN: Sketchley plans to be a nurse when her military career ends next spring.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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