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CNN Live Sunday
Ship Finds Man Floating on Raft in Ocean; National Summit to Find Ways to End Gun Trafficking; Teaching Teenagers to Eat Right; Protecting the Planet from Global Warming; New Mentoring Program in New York School
Aired April 23, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN LIVE SUNDAY and I'm Carol Lin. Straight ahead in this hour...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LIN: The world's most-wanted man gives us a new threatening message and the White House says it's real.
A new move to put prison moms with their newborns. Why it may save you tax dollars in the long run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you something. Where do you think big words come from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how many little words do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Yes. And how you can help your kids get this pumped up when it comes to achieving.
But first, let's catch you up on today's headlines. A new tape believed to be Osama bin Laden. Al Jazeera played the audiotape, which slams the West and calls for a new war in the Muslim world. We've got more about this tape in just one minute.
President Bush gives support and comfort to U.S. military families today, meeting with U.S. Marines and Navy seamen in 29 Palms, California.
In Nepal, pro-democracy protesters clash with police again. Two weeks of demonstrations have brought tens of thousands to the streets. Despite concessions and a vow to return power to the people, many hard-liners want the king to leave office.
Tonight, we know who the top candidates are for the New Orleans mayoral election. Mayor Nagin will face off against Mitch Landrieu. The run-off vote is May 20th.
And now to our top story. The White House says al Qaeda is on the run and under pressure. But it concedes a new audiotape said to be from Osama bin Laden is probably authentic. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports on the new tape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First broadcast on Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden's latest audio message ratchets up his anger at Americans. Unlike recent messages, he now says he holds American and Western citizens, not just their governments, responsible for conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Any war is the joint responsibility of the people and the government. While war continues, people renew their allegiance to the rulers and politicians and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us. They continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned, our homes are bombed and our people are killed.
ROBERTSON: Just three months ago in his last message, bin Laden directed his comments to the people of America. Offering a truce, if their troops got out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: In the past, bin Laden has sometimes made a distinction between the U.S. people and the U.S. government. In this tape, he's classing them in the same group or category as an enemy, which is a little worrisome because it implies that it gives religious sanction to al Qaeda to go after American civilians again.
ROBERTSON: Bin Laden's latest verbal offensive also attempts to rally Muslim support for al Qaeda's main message, that Muslims are under attack from the West. The al Qaeda leader claims U.S. opposition to the newly-elected Hamas government proves his point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Their opposition to the Hamas victory proves that this is a crusade against Islam. The sanctions imposed by the West on the Hamas government prove more that there is a Zionist crusader war on Islam.
ROBERTSON: After silence in 2005, the new audiotape is bin Laden's second message this year. Last year he left all the talking to his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Now he praises al-Zawahiri's analysis.
BERGEN: It seems that bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are quoting each other, but from the media. So the implication of that is that they may not actually be together, but they are listening to each other through the medium of these audiotapes.
ROBERTSON: Bin Laden also attempts to rally support for al Qaeda in Africa. He warns Muslims to prepare for a long fight in Sudan against what he calls crusaders and plunderers. His aim, he says, not to defend the Sudanese government but Islam.
(on camera): While bin Laden offers no explicit threats in the message, his offer of a truce to the Europeans in April of 2004 was ultimately followed up 15 months later by an attack on the London transit system in July of 2005, killing 52 people. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well here in America, a sampling of what people have to say about bin Laden today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We ought to be very concerned, continue to be concerned about his impact on us and on Islam. And take hopefully actions that we can address both his threat, but also the threat that he represents.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I don't know about his abilities right now. I'm not focused on that at the present time. My focus is on Iraq. But I believe that we need to take him seriously.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: My reaction is that it underscores the failure of this administration to capture him. This is one of the reasons that Donald Rumsfeld should resign. The design of the attack on Afghanistan, which had insufficient troops to surround Tora Bora, insufficient effort to commit American troops, was one of the great catastrophes of this entire effort in the war on terror. Osama bin Laden is loose today because we allowed him to escape at Tora Bora. It's that simple.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: It's a tiny needle in a giant haystack and very, very intensive efforts have been made. But frankly I'm very dissatisfied that we haven't brought him to justice. And I think it has to be a top priority. But one day we'll catch him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And remember to stay with CNN day and night for up-to-the- minute information on the war on terror and homeland security.
Well President Bush went one-on-one with troops at a Californian military base. CNN's White House correspondent Elaine Quijano, part of the best political team on television, is covering the president's trip.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Carol. And President Bush learned of the existence of that latest Osama bin Laden tape around 6:30 Pacific time. Senior officials say that the al Qaeda leadership is still on the run and under pressure.
Of course intelligence officials told President Bush that in fact they believe the tape itself is authentic. Meantime, President Bush spent the day visiting with troops on the Marine Corps base at 29 Palms here in California. The president spending time with Marines, sailors and their families. He attended Sunday services at a chapel on the base. And later had lunch in the mess hall with the troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only way we can lose in Iraq is if we lose our nerve. And I'm not losing my nerve and I know that the United States Marine Corps will not lose their nerve, either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now White House officials say that President Bush, this morning, called the Iraqi leadership to congratulate them on taking the next steps towards forming a unity government. But at the same time, also urging them to do as lawmakers have said is so crucial in ensuring that that country is secure -- Carol?
LIN: Elaine, thank you very much. A bizarre story for you here. A ship plucks a man floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean. He says he was thrown overboard. And the story gets even more bizarre. Shanon Cook has been working this one. Shanon?
SHANON COOK, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, bizarre is the operative word here. This could have from a Hollywood script writer. It's kind of a cross between the movie "Castaway" and the T.V. show "Lost."
Here's what happened. On Friday morning, the crew of an oil tanker spotted a man floating in the icy waters between Norway and Denmark. As you mentioned, Carol, he was floating on a raft made of oil barrels and wooden plank. I think we've got a -- there's a shot of him there sitting on the raft. He was scooped up and taken to the hospital in southern Sweden. And there he's been treated for dehydration and a frost-bitten food. Very cold conditions in that part of the country at the moment, Carol.
LIN: So who is he, Shanon, do they know?
COOK: Well that's the big question. He's really got people scratching their heads over this one. He's not really saying much. He told police he was thrown from a ship several days earlier. And he said they also threw the raft in so he could climb on it. And he calls himself a stateless American. He says his name is George Williams, though he didn't have any identification on him. And he apparently told authorities he was born in South Africa and that he's not seeking asylum in Sweden, but rather he wants to go New York. And Carol, he's kind of behaving quite strangely because he always covers his head whenever the press is nearby. He sort of seems like he has something to hide.
LIN: Yes, because we just saw him on that and he was covered up in a towel or something. This is just too strange to believe.
COOK: I know. Well funny you should say that because now authorities in Sweden are looking into the possibility that maybe it's a hoax. They just have a hard time believing that he could be in such good health for someone who had -- was out in the middle of the ocean, the freezing cold ocean for about four days. So they're checking into that. In the meantime, they're keeping him in police custody. And on Monday, tomorrow, they're going to check with the U.S. embassy to verify his identify.
LIN: Keep us posted on that one.
COOK: Yes, interesting story.
LIN: In the meantime, so how many birthday parties is Queen Elizabeth going to have?
COOK: She gets as many as she wants, Carol. She's the queen of England. She turned 80 on Friday, you may have heard. And five days of celebrations came to an end today. A Thanksgiving service was held in her honor at the chapel at Windsor Castle. Not the same Thanksgiving that we celebrate here in the U.S. The queen's family and friends attended the service. And during the sermon, she was praised for her calmness, serenity and stillness. The queen has, of course, reigned for 54 years in Britain and Carol, she's had quite a celebration. In fact yesterday, 80 cars went on display at Buckingham Palace, her London home. One car honoring each year of her life.
LIN: Well you know, 80 is the new 60, I hear.
COOK: That's what I'm hearing, too.
LIN: She was looking good. Thanks, Shanon.
COOK: Thank you.
LIN: All right, well feeling the effects of global warming on America's farms. I'm going to talk with the producer of a new documentary who believes it's not about politics, it's about survival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these men, bringing each other back alive is mission accomplished, no matter what the public and America may be saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Arwa Damon is with the U.S. troops on the street of Ramadi. We're going to join her.
And is your teenager eating his vegetables? Not. Tomorrow kicks off a national competition and 50 Cent is one of the judges. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: A half a dozen seventh graders are custody in North Pole, Alaska. Police said they plotted to kill classmates and teachers. The students allegedly planned to cut power and phone service to their school in order to carry out the attack and escape. Police chief Paul Lindhag says that the kids wanted revenge for being picked on.
Well it's no secret that big-city mayors want illegal guns off the streets. Tuesday, they are holding a national summit to find ways to end gun trafficking. And the stakes are high. Our Christopher King talks to family members who lost a little girl to a stray bullet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA CRUZ, NAIESHA PEARSON'S AUNT: I can show you five different points in this neighborhood where people have been shot and killed.
CHRISTOPHER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Gloria Cruz, the agonizing memories of gun violence are vivid. Her niece, Naiesha Pearson, was shot dead last Labor Day by a bullet intended for someone else. Rene Bonilla was arrested and charged with her murder. He was 19-years-old at the time. Naiesha was only 10. Cruz says guns, many of them illegal, wind up on the streets of her Bronz neighborhood and in the hands of young people. The flow of guns is steady and young people can them, Cruz says, with alarming ease.
CRUZ: It costs $10,000 to bury a child. It costs $50 and one minute to kill a child from the weapons. And we have to stop the weapons. And we have to stop the cause.
KING (on camera): Little Naiesha was riding her brand-new bike here in the Saw Mill playground, doing what 10-year-olds do just before she was fatally shot. Gloria Cruz says this type of needless gun violence happens all too often in her neighborhood.
(voice-over): According to the Bronx district attorney, the gun used to kill Naiesha was never found, thus never traced, leaving her mother with a wound that won't heal.
TAISHA PEARSON, NAIESHA'S MOTHER: Her birthday just passed. Instead of being a joyous occasion, it was an occasion that the family went to the cemetery to visit my daughter, and that hurts.
KING: Cruz has organized a march through these mob-haven streets, set for the day before Mother's Day. Cruz wants to get illegal guns out of her community.
According to the ATF, the vast majority of all guns used in crime in New York City come from out of state, often shipped up Interstate 95. The agency believes some 17 percent originate in Virginia, 12 percent from North Carolina, another 12 percent from Pennsylvania. The figures have prompted New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, to call for a summit on illegal guns.
On Tuesday more than a dozen mayors from around the country will meet in New York to talk about how to curb illegal gun trafficking.
JOHN FEINBLATT, NYC CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORINDATOR: In New York City, 82 percent of our crime guns come from other states. And the 15 other cities that are participating in the gun summit, about 50 percent or more of their crime guns come from other states. If that's not a national issue, I don't know what is.
KING: The National Rifle Association called the summit, quote, "a publicity stunt." The NRA says the mayor should instead more aggressive prosecute gun crimes. But outside a political debate...
CRUZ: ... This is where she died. And this is where we feel is the last place that she took her last breath. And it's important for us to let everyone know that she did not die in vain.
KING: Cruz wants to end the killing so that no mother has to feel the anguish of losing a child to gun violence again. Christopher King, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Taking a look at stories across America this Sunday. All you city folks, it looks like pigeons aren't going to be carriers of bird flu. Researchers found them to be resistant to the virus, even the deadly H5N1 strain.
This is not a honey of a story. A Miami-area home owner is still buzzing over what he found in the back of his house, two million bees who live in seven-foot hive. To be safe, the homeowner called a professional pest removal service. Good luck there.
And MySpace takes up too much space at Del Mar College in Texas. The school is blocking students from accessing the Internet social site, saying so many students were logging on, it slowed down campus computers.
All right, I don't know, Jacqui, are you going to let your kids go on MySpace?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Well the power of a mentor can change lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you something, where do you think big words come from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how many little words do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That a scene from the movie "Akeelah and the Bee," which is coming out this week. But we're going to delve a little bit deeper. Find out how mentors are changing lives at a New York City school and how you can take those lessons home. She and her husband Larry David helped make hybrids cool in Hollywood. Find out how Laurie David wants to change the rest of America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: This is a normal occurrence for this location in downtown Ramadi. Attacks like this happen on a daily basis, sometimes four or five times a day, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to hours long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That's our Arwa Damon. We're going to take you onto the frontlines of Iraq to hear what the people are saying. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: This week calls for Donald Rumsfeld resignation by several retired generals. The military battle goes on in places like Ramadi, Iraq. It is a fight that puts life and death in a fragile balance. And its something the troops hope isn't forgotten back home. CNN's Arwa Damon is with those troops and has a story you will only seen on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's call the (inaudible building. That's what we call it, the one that's -- OK, we'll need to be down from here.
DAMON (voice-over): In Iraq, the real firefight is between the troops and insurgents; a world away from the political battle now raging at the Pentagon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear.
DAMON: Here, there is no talk of Rumsfeld, no talk of retired generals. This is active duty.
(on camera): This is a complex attack. Mortars were fired followed by what U.S. Marines initially believed to be a suicide car bomb and then a sustained gun battle for a couple of minutes. This is a normal occurrence for this location in downtown Ramadi. Attacks like this happen on a daily basis, sometimes four or five times a day, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to hours long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
DAMON (voice-over): The next moments at the governor's compound are hectic.
Platoon Commander Lieutenant Carlos Goetz (ph) puts two phones to his ears, trying to figure out exactly what is going on, resupplying ammunition to the fighting positions almost as fast as Marines are firing it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey Nana (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to the right. Move me.
DAMON: The attack coming from all directions. Quick reaction forces respond, firing two main tank rounds into a mosque where they say they were receiving heavy fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's main tank. Gone. Gone.
DAMON: The gunfire ends. A victory smoke is lit up. Celebrations down below.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need the grease. We don't need the battle of Stalingrad, man. We got the battle of Ramadi right here in modern times, baby. Stalingrad ain't got nothing on us.
DAMON: Security patrols launched in the area are described as being more intense than face to face combat. For these men, bringing each other back alive is mission accomplished. No matter what the public in America may be saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all back alive.
CORP. NATHAN BUCH, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS: We know what we got to do. We know what we're doing. You know, it's a job we got to do. And you know, we sacrifice what we do for the people back home and hope they appreciate that.
DAMON: All these men know the fight will be back again, no matter who stays or goes inside the Pentagon. Arwa Damon, CNN, Ramadi, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Back home, a different kind of fight. Politics in the Big Easy. A live report from Susan Roesgen when we come back.
And listen to this, it's the sound of music, but it's also the sound of learning at a new kind of public school.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Now in the news. U.S. intelligence confirms they believe a new audiotape was made by Osama bin Laden. It aired on the Arab news channel Al Jazeera. Bin Laden slams the West for not giving money to the Palestinian Authority.
More clashes between pro-democracy demonstrators and police in Nepal. The protesters want Democratic reforms and they want a referendum on the monarchy.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson says that the country's nuclear program is irreversible. Iran faces an April 28th U.N. deadline to stop enriching Uranium. Iran says it has no intention of complying.
In Belgium, some 80,000 people protest the murder of teenager. The 17-year-old was killed when he refused to hand over an MP3 music player to a pair of thieves. Police have yet to make an arrest in the case.
And there are no survivors in a collision involving two small planes near the town of Palmer in Alaska. Troopers and volunteers are on the scene trying to remove victims from the wreckage. We'll keep you posted.
And they're off, the race for mayor gets a little bit tighter, it looks like there's going to be a run-off. So let's go to Susan Roesgen and find out what is the very latest. Susan, there must have been counting late into the night.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: They sure were until about midnight. And you know actually Carol, the election results won't be official until Tuesday, after they have inspected every single voting machine, that's by state law. It is a very interesting race here, it's going to be very exciting, never a dull moment in New Orleans politics. And New Orleans voters have two candidates who are very different even in their personal styles.
Mayor Ray Nagin has a kind of laid back kind of style, while Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu is like the Energizer bunny. Very different men with very different political careers. Mayor Nagin had never run for political office until four years ago when he ran for mayor and won, he was very popular before hurricane Katrina, he has struggled since then.
Mitch Landrieu, the lieutenant governor, a long history in politics, most people though before Katrina that he would run for the top spot that he would run for the governor's job. But after the hurricane he decided to come back to his hometown and run for mayor. Landrieu says simply it's time for Nagin to get out, we need better leadership here, while Nagin says this city should stick with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: Four years ago, we started on a journey to reform New Orleans, to change it for the better. We were making progress and then Katrina happened. We now have a lot of work to do. We have to bring this city together. We have no magic wand to wave.
LT. GOV. MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS MAYORAL CANDIDATE: One thing that separates me and I think there are others from Mayor Nagin, is the ability actually to get the job done. To work with other people, to understand how the process works, to take an idea from nothing, to turn it into suits and nuts and actually make it happen, as opposed of just floating it out there, hoping somebody picks it up and then blaming people when it doesn't get done. This thing takes work, it takes elbow grease, it takes commitment every day and that is something that the people of the city of New Orleans are going to get from me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: And that's sugar coating it right now Carol. You can be sure that the rhetoric is going to get a lot more heated between now and the run-off election on May 20th.
LIN: All right, look forward to it. Thanks very much Susan.
We found out about a fascinating story. Newborns behind bars. That may happen at one southern California women's prison. CNN's Kareen Wynter on the proposal to allow inmates to bond with their babies, instead of separating them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's six months pregnant due in July.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that the heart is 145.
WYNTER: The California inmate Lucinda Hernadez is counting down another date. When she gets out of prison in August. Until that happens, she won't be seeing much of her new baby.
LUCINDA HERNADEZ, INMATE: Just because we're in here doesn't mean we're bad mothers. WYNTER: Hernadez has been in and out of prison all her life. She is 33, has seven children. The oldest is 18. She is serving an eight- month sentence for theft. Had her youngest child two years ago while facing another prison term. That infant ended up in state custody, because there were no family members available.
HERNADEZ: It was very hard because I -- she was with me the whole time just like this pregnancy. Baby was with me my whole term and to be separated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I got two she got two.
WYNTER: Oleta Simmons is another mother who lost custody of her children born while she was behind bars.
OLETA SIMMONS, INMATE: I built resentment, heavy resentment with myself.
DAWN DAVISON, WARDEN: It just broke my heart that when a woman, a pregnant woman went out, went to the hospital, that she had to give her baby up.
WYNTER: That's why Warden Dawn Davison proposed building the region's first newborn unit here at the California Institution for Women. The state's oldest prison for female felons. Inmates will be able to care for the babies instead of being separated from them after just three days like they are now.
DAVISON: They will be able to stay there with their child up to 18 months and have full wrap around services. This is really going to give them an excellent base to be able to have that relationship with their child.
WYNTER: There are two babies born from this prison each week. Not all inmates also qualify for the program, which begins in January. Only those with at least a year left in their sentence so they can complete parenting and drug treatment classes. What kind of hope does it give to other women that are in your position?
HERNADEZ: I think it is good to other women as far as because it's hard to depart from a child so there can be a bond and that they can't just take your child away.
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Corona, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well America's teens are fat. So how do you teach them to eat right and be healthy? Weight loss expert and author, Jorge Cruise, has a plan. He and rapper 50 Cent have a plan, a contest actually, they're going to offer teens big money to come up with some healthy alternatives to vending machines. And here he is, Jorge Cruise, to talk about how it's going to happen.
Hey Jorge, great idea. This is a nationwide effort to teach these kids how to eat healthy. First, tell me why you think a teenager who's used to eating a lot of junk food is going to care?
JORGE CRUISE, FITNESS EXPERT: Well I'll tell you, right now in our country, more teens, more kids than ever before are overweight and it's really kind of crazy. I mean the statistics show that by 2010, 1 out of 2 kids is going to be overweight. So it's something that we really, really need to address. And the trick is, this is the big thing, is making it enjoyable, making it so food is actually good for kids to enjoy. Because if it doesn't taste good, the truth is, teens aren't going to eat it.
And so what we've done is we've put together a really great program, it's called Vitamin School. And Vitamin School's put together in partnership, I did this with 50 Cent, you know obviously he's a well known rapper, I bet a lot of kids love him, a lot of young people, and Vitamin Water, which is a wonderful product that I use with all my clients, which is all about nutrients. And so our goal in a nutshell is to make sure that kids out there, put on their chefs hats, because we're going to be giving away $100,000 school scholarship for college to the student that comes up, or the high school student that comes up with the most tastiest and healthiest lunch.
LIN: Really? Now, it's not a brown bag number then you're talking about? No, you're talking about outside burners and you know them cooking it up?
CRUISE: Well I brought some samples to show you, but in a nutshell what we're looking for is things that teens can actually enjoy that are healthy. Let me show you a few things. Now this is one of my favorites, but it's redone in a healthy way. This is actually a submission that was redone here. This is actually a pizza, but it's on whole wheat bread, it's got some wonderful mozzarella. This instead of some junk or something like that are some cranberries, dry fruit.
LIN: Are you in California? Was that a California recipe?
CRUISE: Well this is healthy and tasty. As hard as it may sound, it's healthy, but tasty. And then a nice Vitamin drink instead of a Coca-Cola or something like that with soda.
LIN: You're going to get some cranberries into a 14-year-old boy?
CRUISE: Well it's possible if you do it right. And so this is a great example, because it actually tastes good and it's good for you. Because the biggest thing out there, a lot of times we think nutrition and we think young people and we think, gosh, just as long as they eat, we're happy they're eating? Right?
LIN: Right.
CRUISE: Well a lot of times what they're eating is food with empty calories, you know, things that get processed and refined.
LIN: And you know because you grew up a little chubby didn't you Jorge?
CRUISE: Yeah, I was an overweight kid and I was overweight for many years as a young man as well, and I've been through that struggle. And I'll tell you the hardest thing --
LIN: Look at you.
CRUISE: Do you have a picture of me there, where am I, oh there I am. Well, it was hard, it was, growing up and being picked on was hard. But I'll tell you, it's thinking outside of the box that's going to help kids think this way. So the Web site we've created where kids can actually submit and I'll show you one other recipe I brought you.
LIN: Real quick.
CRUISE: Now this is an easy one. This is Sushi with actual tuna in them, which is super healthy, high omega 3s, really yummy.
LIN: You are not going to get a teenager to eat that?
CRUISE: Well, you never know.
LIN: If you do, I'm going to have you come back and I'm going to interview that kid to see what you put in his milk.
CRUISE: Well then here's what we want. The biggest challenge ever is to get these recipes submitted and they can do that by going to our Web site, it's called freelunchmoney.com and that's where they can do their submissions for their lunches. And we're doing this all throughout May. It's going to be a great thing, we'll be announcing it in June as well, the winner.
LIN: Jorge, come back and tell us who won, okay, we'll talk to the kids.
CRUISE: I will, I'll bring them on.
LIN: Terrific idea, good luck. All right. A new HBO documentary brings home the real-life impact of global warming. I'm going to talk with the film's producer about her mission to get America energy savvy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: In case you missed it, the best of the Sunday morning talk shows. On "CBS Face the Nation," predictions about what strategy presidential aide Karl Rove will take to get republicans elected this fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PODESTA, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: I think that Karl Rove has a real dilemma. You know he's tried to run the last two elections by appealing to the base. But right now if you look outside the republican base, the president's job approval rating is at 17 percent. And so I think they have a dilemma if they try to do what they did in 2002 and 2004, he deepens his problem with the center of this country. On the other hand, if he moves sensibly towards the center or tries to create a policy on immigration, for example, that's tough but fair, then I think he further depresses his base.
If the election were held today, the republicans I think would be defeated and be in real danger of losing both houses. I think what Rove will do and the president will do, is instead of turning this into a referendum on Bush, turn it into an us or them. You disagree with us, we made mistakes, but look at what the democrats offer, it is amnesty for illegals, it is censure of the president, et cetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: On CNN's "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer," senators talked about sky-high gas prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEVIN: We need a windfall profits tax because these profits have been absolutely obscene, they're out of control and I think I hear more about the price of gas from back home than just about any subject these days.
SPECTER: There is no doubt about the seriousness of the issue. In the short run, it's hard to deal with it for tomorrow, but I think windfall profits eliminating the antitrust exemption, considering the excessive consecration of power or all items, we ought to be addressing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LIN: And the environmental impact of gas and other fossil fuels is what Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about today. The California governor told "ABC's This Week," global warming is a problem that cannot be ignored.
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GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: It's not any more a debate, is it real, is it not, are we guessing, is there different opinions out there. The science is in. The facts are there. We have created -- man, it' s a self inflicted wound that man has created the global warming because of the kind of pollution that we create because of the emissions, the levels that are being raised all the time.
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LIN: Is global warming affecting the planet? That's the subject of a new HBO special called "Too Hot Not To Handle."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
We're standing on the shoreline of Mindinhall Lake. Behind me, is Mindinhall Glacier. 70 years ago, I would have had 150 to 200 feet of ice above my head because where I am right now -
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LIN: Well the show's executive producer is Laurie David, a champion of the environment. You can barely see her there in the purple dress. She's also the wife of comedian Larry David, which is why she's at an awards ceremony. Now earlier, I asked her about why she's so passionate about protecting the planet.
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LAURIE DAVID, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: Global warming is happening right this minute. And the effects of it you can see all over the world and all over the United States for that matter. The documentary focuses on the effects of global warming in the U.S. and I think people are starting to wake up that this is a problem we face right now.
LIN: The thing scientists can't seem to agree on is exactly what it is going to mean in 50 or 100 years. They can only project, but there's not enough data to really make a conclusion, that there will be mass flooding or that the city of Manhattan would be under water. Or why bother rebuilding the levees in New Orleans because that city's going to be under water too.
DAVID: What global warming is it's steroids for storms, and we're seeing the effects of that already. You know hurricane Katrina was a category 1 storm when it passed Florida and turned into a category 5 storm when it hit the abnormally warm waters of the gulf of Mexico. Why were those waters abnormally warm? Global warming. So the scientists, you know, there's more consensus by the way, that the globe is warming and humans are causing it than there was that smoking tobacco caused cancer. A thousands scientists from 100 countries are all in agreement on this. I mean the problem is, I really believe that the public's been misinformed to some extent and we have a lot of work to do to bring them the facts of what actually is going on.
LIN: I was talking with somebody in the building here who is not a journalist, but I was asking him about the segment and his thoughts about global warming and he shrugged and said, what can I do? You know I drive a fuel efficient car, but that's about all I can do to contribute. What do you do as an individual Laurie that you can share with others?
DAVID: That's the most exciting thing about this issue, because there is so much that we could be doing as individuals and obviously that we have to do as a country. But it starts with yourself. There's a whole list of things, I'll give you a couple of simple examples. Buying a fuel-efficient car obviously is one. Another one is that we all have all these electronics in our house, you know we have cell phones and we have iPods and digital cameras. And every time you leave them charge in the wall and you disconnect them, the charger's drawing energy. I mean just what we waste in energy alone could go a long way just to helping solve this problem. 10 percent of you energy bill goes to wasted energy. So everyone has to start getting in the mind-set of pulling those chargers out of the wall. Here's another really simple thing, they've come up with a better light bulb. I mean this is a great invention. The new light bulb, it's got a terrible name, it's called the compact fluorescent light bulb, but it's 66 percent more energy efficient. And if every American changed just five bulbs in their house, it would be equivalent to taking 8 million cars off the road.
LIN: Laurie is your husband still driving his Prius?
DAVID: He is still driving his Prius. And you know out in Los Angeles, every other car is a Prius or hybrid and hopefully that's going to happen across the country with gas prices going over $3 a gallon, I think the hybrid's a great alternative for people.
LIN: You know what, Hollywood may be very well the best billboard for that effort. Laurie, a pleasure to have you. Good luck with the documentary.
DAVID: Thanks so much for having me on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: CNN examines global warming in a new special at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS: Melting Point: Tracking the Global Warming Threat."
Then at 8:00 Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS: We Were Warned Tomorrow's: Oil Crisis." A busy night ahead, right here on CNN.
These are KIPP's kids, middle-school kids who are part of the knowledge is power approach to learning. I'm going to talk to the leader of that program about what he does to invigorate young minds.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
So why you home during the day, ain't you got a job?
Leave the ghetto talk outside, all right.
Ghetto talk, I don't talk ghetto.
Ain't you got no job, you use that language to fit in with your friends, here, people speak properly or you won't speak at all, understood?
Whatever.
You can leave now.
Excuse me?
I said you can leave.
How come?
Because, I don't have time to waste on insolent little girls.
Insolent? I ain't -- I mean I'm not insolent. It's just the first thing you do is start dogging on -- criticizing the way I speak. You know what, when I put my mind to it, I can memorize anything and I don't need help from a dictatorial truculent supercilious gardener. I'm sorry to be so insolent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: "Akeelah and The Bee" tells the story of a young girl who overcomes long odds with the help of a committed mentor. That story could apply to the lives of many students at the KIPP Academies in the Bronx and in Houston. KIPP stands for the Knowledge Is Power Program. And Dave Levin is the active mentor who founded the academy, he joins me from New York. Great to see you, Dave.
DAVID LEVIN, CO-FOUNDER KIPP ACADEMY: Hey Carol, how are you doing?
LIN: I'm doing just great. You know, this movie is coming out this week, and it's promising to not only just be a film, but to be some kind of a phenom, you know. Corporations are signing up like Starbucks putting dictionary words on cups. But I'm wondering, the story of one girl, triumphing over the odds, right? How often do you hear that story or see that story?
LEVIN: I mean it's exciting, isn't it, when you hear one story. But the remarkable thing about what's happening at KIPP, there are 46 KIPP schools around the country now. And there are over 9,000 kids and that's happening at almost every one of our schools and it's just really exciting when you see it happening. Not with just one, but with hundreds and thousands of kids. And it starts with the same premise, finding that thing that really excites and motivates each kid, and then using that to get them excited and motivated about school as a whole and their future.
LIN: Right, because you go into some of the toughest neighborhoods, some people might say. In Houston, I mean you took a group of kids, who were scoring only in perhaps the 40 percentile and by the end of the school year, they were up in the 90th percentile in math and reading. But these kids come from a culture. Because we don't want to make this about color, because it's really about culture. Culture in that community, even in this movie and I'm sorry to take Hollywood as an example here, but even her own mother, Akeelah's own mother was discouraging her from trying to compete in the national spelling bee. What is it out there that these families, that encourages these families maybe to hold the kid back? Is it fear?
LEVIN: Well I mean I think fear is part of it and I also think it's a misperception that families are trying to hold their kids back. I mean, as I've mentioned, we've worked with over 9,000 kids now. And you know in almost every example, the family is an encouraging factor, and often they just need to be shown how to help the kid succeed. And so I think one of the things that schools or mentors and community groups need to do, is they need to unite and work with families to engage kids, engage parents in what's out there for the children.
LIN: Because you make sure that happens right at the start.
LEVIN: Right, exactly.
LIN: Some people also say that KIPP's success is because you get to self select the kids, right?
LEVIN: Right.
LIN: They apply and then you decide which kid to take. But when that kid is accepted the parent has to sign a contract. Right?
LEVIN: That's right.
LIN: And what's in that contract? What do they have to -- what's their obligation that they have to meet?
LEVIN: Right, well the kids come to us via lottery, so there's really no screening involved. All the magic happens after that fact. In the contract we outline what the school promises to the families, and in return asks from the families, we're asking every family to make sure their kid gets to school by 7:25. School goes from 7:25 to 5:00. A couple hours of homework a night, couple hours of school on Saturdays and a month during the summer. And what we're promising the families is that together, if we all work together, our children will be ready for high school, college, and to be self-sufficient in the world beyond.
LIN: So, you have some bragging rights, too. Because KIPP was featured on "60 Minutes" and at that time, your first generation of kids were getting ready to go to high school. They were accepted to some of the best prep schools in the country.
LEVIN: Yes. So it was really, really exciting. We were featured on "60 Minutes" in 1999 and 2000, we were just getting kids to high school. And now out of our first group, we've had three and four groups go to college, over 80 percent of our kids are enrolled in four year colleges. And that's compared in the neighborhoods where we work, about 25 percent of the kids have plans to go. So it's been pretty exciting.
LIN: Dave, a success story and I know you fought hard for it.
LEVIN: Thank you Carol.
LIN: So, it's great to get the story out there. And I hope we both get to see the movie some time, because it's coming out on Friday.
LEVIN: Looking forward to it.
LIN: All right, tonight, in fact at the 10 o'clock hour, an interview with the Academy Award nominated actor Laurence Fishburne and Keke Palmer about the experience of winning the bee, about the quest to be the best.
(BEGIN VIDEO CILP)
LAURENCE FISHBURNE, ACTOR/PRODUCER: Education is really important and community is important and family is important. And, all of those things are what are our intentions were with the movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Be sure to catch my entire interview tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern.
Well from the arctic to the equator, temperatures are rising. Is it global warming? Up next - "CNN PRESENTS: Melting Point."
Then at 8:00, an in depth look at the world's oil supply in "We Were Warned: Tomorrow's Oil Prices." And at 9:00, Hollywood legend Jane Fonda opens up to Larry King about her childhood, Christianity and politics. The headlines when I come back and then "CNN PRESENTS."
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