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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Insurgents Set Off Numerous Bombs in Iraq; Remembering the Armenians Killed by Ottomans; Thirty Years After the Fall of Saigon

Aired April 29, 2005 - 17:00   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a search suspended and an emotional plea, as a family holds out hope for their missing bride.
And tough sale: The president's plan to change Social Security is spelled out, but who will benefit more?

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Insurgent onslaught: dozens dead and wounded in a nonstop barrage of car bombings. And a warning of more to come from the most wanted man in Iraq.

Shuttle flight shelved: weeks after its roll-out, new safety concerns may have Discovery rolling back in.

Buried treasure: they said they found it under a tree. Now they find themselves in a lot of trouble.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, April, 29, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Thank you for being with us. I'm Judy Woodruff. Wolf has the day off.

Again and again, the blasts echoed through Baghdad. And there was more of the same in other cities. Car bombs, an ambulance bomb, roadside bombs; A day after Iraq got a new government, the insurgents showed they are still a force to be reckoned with.

And there was a chilling message said to be from al Qaeda's ally in Iraq, threatening more attacks. We begin in Baghdad with CNN's Ryan Chilcote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They went off one right after the other -- 11 bombs in all, before lunch in Baghdad. This one just as a television crew filmed the aftermath of an earlier bomb just yards away. The camera crew was OK, but one Iraqi civilian was killed and eight Iraqi policemen believed to be the target were wounded. All in all, it was a dizzying display of suicide attacks on Iraq's security forces. Dozens were killed, and nearly 100 wounded, many of them civilian bystander bystanders.

Despite appearances, the U.S. military says insurgent violence is actually down overall -- the attacks, the U.S. military insists, a sign of an increasingly desperate insurgency.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM WEBSTER, U.S. ARMY: Some of these attacks appear to be very spectacular and well coordinated, but, in fact, they're not. These attacks today, although they occurred over a span of about four hours, were widely separated and not coordinated very well at all.

CHILCOTE: Iraq's Special Forces say they are not intimidated by the attacks. For security reasons, we could not show this recruit's face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is our country. We will not be intimidated. We will fight till the last man.

CHILCOTE: And the U.S. military says recruitment for Iraq's elite troops, who face the toughest missions, remains steady.

(on camera): Despite an ongoing man hunt, their nemesis, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant in Iraq, remains on the loose. And today another audiotape purportedly from him surfaced on the Internet. And it called to the insurgents to keep up their attacks on Iraqi and U.S. forces.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The voice on that audiotape directs his message to the quote "fighters in the land of the two rivers," telling them they will triumph in their jihad one way or another.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AUDIO ATTRIBUTED TO ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI (through translator): Dear brothers, be patient. It is only a matter of a few days, and you will be the ultimate winners either by way of martyrdom or victory.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: And that voice, presumably al Zarqawi himself, heaps scorn on President Bush. It calls him a dog. And it warns, quote, "we are coming."

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AUDIO ATTRIBUTED TO ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI (through translator): We pledge to God, oh, you Bush, the dog, that you will not have tranquility, nor will you ever be content and happy as long as we have blood flowing in our veins and beating hearts. We, God willing, are coming.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Here in the United States, President Bush today focused on his campaign to overhaul Social Security. As Republican law makers announced plans to draft new retirement legislation by June, Mr. Bush was once again taking his pitch to the public.

Let's go live to our White House correspondent Dana Bash. Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

And you know, until last night, the only idea the president had really embraced to reform Social Security was the idea of private accounts in this system. And that hasn't proven to go over that well with the public.

Now, he is still pushing that idea, but Mr. Bush is also trying now to reframe the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): The president's been trying to convince Washington, Social Security is no longer the you touch it and you die third rail of politics. In his retooled sales pitch, he's now grabbing that third rail with both hands, embracing benefit cuts to help solve Social Security's funding problem.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a duty to put ideas on the table. I'm putting them on the table.

BASH: The plan, known as progressive indexing, would peg higher income workers to inflation, effectively cutting their benefits. But low income workers' benefits would be based on their wages as they are now so they would be protected.

BUSH: If Congress were to enact that, that would go a long way towards making the system solvent for a younger generation of Americans.

BASH: Embracing cuts is a huge political risk, but Mr. Bush believes a necessary one as he tries to advance a debate he has staked so much on.

Ffity-two percent disapproved of the president's plan in February. Now 60 percent of Americans dislike his proposal -- that, despite months of travel in 20-plus states, mostly focusing on his controversial plan to offer younger workers private investment accounts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing?

BUSH: Pretty cool, yes. So-so, you know.

BASH: Mr. Bush isn't backing off personal accounts, but acknowledges they don't deal with the long term solvency issues.

Some conservatives worry talk of trimming benefits would only add to Mr. Bush's political worries, and Democrats quickly called it an attack on the middle class. But the president and his allies say shaking up the debate, while risky, is a way to force Democrats to come up with their own plan.

KEN DUBERSTEIN, FRMR. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Democrats can't just say no. I mean, the old Nancy Reagan, just say no, you can't do it. Put something on the table. Where are your suggestions?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Well, the White House does not like the term benefit cuts. They say that benefits would fall even more if Social Security goes into the red. And Bush aides say that, since Congress is now moving on legislation, it is now finally time for the president to offer some specifics on a solution, after spending months trying to convince the American people, Judy, that there's a problem.

WOODRUFF: This one is one we are going to keep on watching.

Dana Bash, thank you very much.

BASH: Thank you.

WOODRUFF: President Bush is beginning the second hundred days of his second term in office. What can we expect? CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is here with his "Inside Edge."

So Carlos, we heard the president last night waxing for an hour. What does come next?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think three interesting, and maybe in some ways, surprising things. Number one, you heard a lot more concern about North Korea and Iran than many of us expected. We certainly knew there were nuclear issues there, but you heard the president say that things seem to be breaking down maybe with Iran in the process there in terms of European negotiation. And so I wouldn't be surprised to see him lean on the United Nations a little bit more, which seems ironic given all the trouble we're having with John Bolton.

But you clearly heard various officials talk about approaching the U.N. Security Council for a resolution regarding North Korea. So that's one to think about.

Two, when it comes to the Social Security fight, you're clearly going to see him not only more engaged himself, but I wouldn't be surprised to see new faces help him sell that. Remember, the president during his last campaign used a number of interesting new faces, whether it was Curt Schilling, as you may recall, or his mother or others to play a key role. So I would look for that carefully over the next 100 days.

Last but not least, this is a president who, in terms of his legislative style, has sometimes remained above the fray a little bit. But look for a little of LBJ, a little bit more arm twisting.

Now, remember he's got other bills to work with here, whether it's the energy bill, whether it's the transportation bill, whether it's the appropriations bill. So there's a lot that he can trade back and forth in addition to making the very public argument on behalf of Social Security.

WOODRUFF: Well, he certainly has got his work cut out for him on Social Security as well as other things.

Let's talk about the budget. Didn't get a lot of attention yesterday with everything else that was going on, but both the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution. Where do the Democrats come in on this?

WATSON: Well, Democrats, you didn't hear a lot. But a $2.6 trillion -- roughly $2.6 trillion budget was passed over the next five years. We'll see budget deficits anywhere from $200 billion to $400 billion. And Democrats, you would have thought, would have piped up a bit more.

But they didn't. And part of that was because of their minority status not only in the House, but in the Senate. Partly, their plate was full with Social Security.

But three big thoughts, as Democrats look forward maybe to the budget fight next year and even the appropriations fight. One, you didn't see churches involved. And given the increasing importance of churches in various cultural and political fights that we're having, from Schiavo to the pope, you would think there's an opportunity for Democrats to rally churches to talk about the budget, if you will, as a moral document.

Two, one of the other things you didn't see from Democrats as much is leaning, if you will, on bipartisan organizations like the Joint Taxation Committee that has a series of ideas about closing tax loopholes in order to say, hey, these are bipartisan ideas that should at least be considered as we think about closing the deficit, not just cutting Medicaid or cutting education.

And last but not least, do you remember Ross Perot's charts? Do you remember those...

WOODRUFF: How can we forget?

WATSON: Well, you know, now-a-days, the Democrats have at least one of their members, Kent Conrad, the senator from North Dakota will hold up charts, but they really need a much more public figure who can drive home what these deficits mean in terms of your and my ability to have the police -- kind of police protection we need in our neighborhoods or the fire protection you're looking for. Or what does it mean for college tuition bills? And that still isn't there. The big public argument that may, in part, come through a Ross Perot-like chart.

So, three thoughts for Democrats going forward. WOODRUFF: Well, speaking of Democrats, you've identified somebody who may be a new, what you call, power player for the Democrats. Who do you have in mind?

WATSON: Well, it's not Harry Reid, neither is it Howard Dean, the new DNC. But interestingly enough, maybe the newest and one of the most significant Democratic power players is Frank Rich, a columnist for the "New York Times."

Some of our viewers may have read some of his work, maybe not. But often, you'll find he's one of the five most-read stories in the "New York Times" and on their Web site. And increasingly, whether it's in Senate caucus meetings for the Democrats or whether it's out in various parts of the country, his is the voice that's heard, whether it's talking about John Kerry's response to the Swift Boat Veterans ad, whether it's Tom DeLay, whether he's talking about the pope, or he's talking about Schiavo.

Really what he does, which is so interesting is remember, he's an arts and culture critic who's bringing, if you will, culture and entertainment arguments often into the political spectrum.

WOODRUFF: Giving the Democrats a little backbone that way?

WATSON: And I think giving a little more colorful language than sometimes they have.

WOODRUFF: OK. Some of that language, we can even listen to here in Washington.

WATSON: You bet you.

WOODRUFF: OK. Carlos, thank you very much.

WATSON: My pleasure.

WOODRUFF: Missing bride: a devastated family offers a reward and a plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE SATTERFIELD, WILBANKS FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We would give our life and everything that we own to have her returned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Police have few clues, but a lot of questions to ask.

Shuttle delay: why NASA is putting a hold on its latest launch plans. Our Miles O'Brien explains.

And 30 years after the Vietnam War ended, fallout for a new generation. Why one veteran feels compelled to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WOODRUFF: New concerns about an old problem are delaying the Space Shuttle's return to flight. Our space correspondent Miles O'Brien is standing by at CNN Center with details.

Hello, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

It's a problem as old as the shuttle program itself, but so was falling foam. And that is why the agency is taking a new look at the threat of ice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Nearly 27 months since the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated, NASA is standing down and rolling back. The first shuttle slated to fly since the disaster, Discovery, soon headed back to the repair station instead of the space station.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I think the decision of the team to delay from the end of May until mid-July is exactly the sort of decision that indicates the team is working well, the culture is improving and no one has launch fever.

O'BRIEN: NASA engineers still have lingering concerns about the shuttle's fuel tank, which was, of course, was the origin of the foam debris that caused the mortal wound to Columbia's left wing on its fatal flight.

On the top of the worry list, ice. The tank is filled with super cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen. That's why it's covered with insulating foam in the first place. But there are still some spots where ice build-up remains a problem on an external oxygen pipe.

WAYNE HALE, DEPUTY SHUTTLE PROGRAM MGR: We're going to have to deal with it. And that's kind of the bottom line. It's the last set of tests that we've been doing that are in fact still continuing on, are showing that we have more concern over this ice than everyday intuition would tell you we need to have.

O'BRIEN: Ice is a big deal for the shuttle. Check out this test. A thimble-sized piece of ice fired at high speed toward a piece of the material that protects the leading edge of an orbiter's wing. Ice can easily cause a fatal breach in the heat shield.

BILL PARSONS, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: I know that we will be looking to make changes in any area that's growing ice, we're going to try to eliminate that. And that will be done over time. Even if it's a little bit of ice, we would like to eliminate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: So, why did it take NASA so long to realize the severity? Well, the engineers said they were overwhelmed by other issues, like fixing falling foam, and just recently started looking at the threat from ice in detail. What they found left them cold. And so now Discovery is headed back to the hangar, where they will install some heaters. The next opportunity to fly will be at least July 13.

NASA insists, whenever the shuttle launches, Judy, it won't be a moment too soon.

WOODRUFF: So this is something that makes us wonder if NASA has enough people to do the kind of research and the kind of work that we know needs to be done. But that's a subject for another conversation.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

WOODRUFF: Miles O'Brien, thank you very much.

The fall of Saigon 30 years later. For some, the war lives on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUEL JONES, FORMER U.S. MARINE; We really thought the war ended in 1975. We went home. The war does not end when we go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: A former Marine wounded in Vietnam now helping the people he once fought.

HIV scare: 19 elementary school students pricked by the same needle.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN RUNNION, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty! And that feels really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Raw emotion: a mother speaks out after her daughter's killer is convicted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: It is already April 30th in Ho Chi Minh City. Thirty years ago, it was called Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. On that day, North Vietnamese troops stormed the presidential palace, ending a long and bloody battle that claimed the lives of 58,000 Americans, and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese.

As the end drew near, Americans and many Vietnamese fled Saigon. Over two days, U.S. helicopters made 662 evacuation flights to ships offshore. More than 6,200 people were aboard those flights. Early on April 30th, the U.S. ambassador and Marines defending the U.S. Embassy were on the last flight out of Saigon.

Thirty years later, another generation bears the scars of war. There's continuing fallout from the chemical defoliant that was sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam by American forces. CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Hanoi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The children of Friendship Village are living reminders of war, victims of Agent Orange, suffering from a range of disabilities. Physically and mentally, this little boy seems to be about seven, he is actually 21 years old. Suel Jones (ph) is popular with the kids. A former Marine who was wounded in Vietnam, he now lives in Hanoi now working with Friendship Village. He recalls his first visit here.

JONES: I was just really torn up. Really -- one side of me was so happy that we were doing something, and the other side of me was so devastated that I was part of this -- these kids being damaged like this.

SHUBERT: Children are taught skills like embroidery and tailoring, handicrafts to earn money but also a sense of accomplishment.

JONES: This was all done by the children.

SHUBERT: The newest project, organic farming.

JONES: We very strongly, because this is all organic now, no chemicals. And the concept being is that these kids that were hurt by chemicals during the war. We try to teach them that, look, you may be disabled, but you are not separated from society.

SHUBERT: Stationed in the Demilitarized Zone in 1968, Suel was exposed to some of the heaviest spraying of Agent Orange. He was told at the time it was harmless.

JONES: I've heard people try to tell me that Agent Orange was only effective for 72 hours.

SHUBERT: But after learning from other veterans of birth defects linked to Agent Orange, he opted at the age of 33 for a vasectomy. He says the kids of Friendship Village are his children now.

JONES: Here are some of the people that I fought against at one time.

SHUBERT: Suel is also friends with their parents, men he once fought against. He calls them his brothers.

JONES: If I had seen you, I'd have killed you. But I'm not mad at you. I understand that. These men were -- they just want to survive. They don't blame me. It's been a good lesson for me.

SHUBERT: But, he says, the effects of war linger long after the guns go silent.

JONES: We really thought the war ended in 1975. We went home. The war does not end when you go home. The war continues, and it continues through generation and generation and generation. The best thing we can do is come back and open our hearts and say we made a mistake. I want to help you with some humanitarian aid. That's all we can do.

SHUBERT: One Marine's way of reconciling America's and his past with Vietnam's future.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Hanoi, Vietnam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: That's a real inspiration.

And now a quick look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

Taiwan's opposition leader met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing. Lee Kuan Yew says, he wants to improve relations between Taiwan and China. But his visit was criticized back in Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a renegade province. Some in Taiwan would like to declare full independence.

Putin promises: continuing his visit to the Middle East, Russia's President Vladimir Putin met with Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Putin promised to provide equipment and training for Palestinian Security Forces and to help rebuild infrastructure in Gaza.

Russian floods: back in Mr. Putin's homeland, a state of emergency has been declared in Siberia. Authorities say spring floods destroyed 24 homes in one village and at least two people were killed.

Thailand test: hundreds of volunteers and tourists participated in an evacuation drill in Phuket. Thousands died in Thailand in December's tsunami. And this was the first test of a new tsunami evacuation plan. And that's our look "Around the World."

Back here in the United States, needle scare: the health concerns after 19 children were pricked at school.

Missing bride: an emotional plea from the family of Jennifer Wilbanks on the day before she was supposed to wed.

Buried treasure hoax: this real life bundle of cash results in misfortune and two arrests.

And yanked out of retirement: why canines are heeding the call of duty in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. Wolf is off today.

Missing bride: the search is suspended, but has the trail grown cold? New details on the investigation. But first a quick check of other stories "Now in the News." Relief may be on the way for Americans reeling from high oil prices. The price of a barrel of U.S. light crude fell below $50 today to its lowest level in ten weeks.

An investigation into last month's death of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq is over, but the United States and Italy remain at odds. U.S. troops said they opened fire on the car the agent was in after the driver ignored repeated warnings to stop at a checkpoint. A joint U.S.-Italian probe has been completed. The State Department says investigators were unable to reach shared conclusions.

There are fears of a major polio epidemic in Yemen, once considered polio free. The United Nations is reporting 18 new cases in the Arabian Peninsula country, bringing the confirmed total to 22.

A suburban Chicago mother is charged with first degree murder of her nine-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. Police in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, say the children were found dead in their home, both stabbed dozens of times.

Some significant developments today in the case of the missing Georgia bride-to-be who mysteriously vanished this week. The family of Jennifer Wilbanks says her fiance, John Mason, has taken and passed a lie detector test. Police, however, said that that test was done privately, and they still want him to take one administered by law enforcement investigators. Also in an emotional news conference, the family announced a reward. While police said they are suspending their search pending new clues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATTERFIELD: The family has established an initial reward of $100,000. We love Jennifer very much. We would give our life and everything that we own to have her returned.

You can only search so much and so many times until something gives you a direction to go in. And I'm speculating here on something that I'm not involved in with the police department. They are making the decision. We trust their decision and what they're doing and support it fully.

CHIEF RANDY BELCHER, DULUTH, GEORGIA POLICE: At this point, we have searched what we can search. We've exhausted our manpower. We've turned over probably every leaf in this city. So I have suspended all future searches as of this moment unless some other evidence is brought forward.

Mr. Mason did take a polygraph today by a private examiner. We have requested that he take a polygraph now through the GBI. He has agreed to take the polygraph, but under certain conditions.

SATTERFIELD: One of the things that kept the family, I guess, their minds at least, diverted was being involved in the search and being active. Now that we're sitting around, it really -- the time there, you reflect on the past, the good times. And it becomes very emotional at that point. It basically is like a roller coaster. We laugh, and then we cry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Jennifer Wilbanks was last seen Tuesday night by her fiance who says she told him she was going jogging. They were supposed to be married tomorrow.

An emotional outpouring of grief and relief from the mother of Samantha Runnion. She is the five-year-old Southern California girl whose disappearance and death made national headlines in 2002. Yesterday 30-year-old Alejandro Avila was convicted of kidnapping, murder and sexual assault in the case. Afterwards, Samantha's mother made this impassioned statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN RUNNION, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty! And that feels really good. Because nobody should get away with this. And in honor of Samantha, in honor of Jessica and Molly Fish (ph) and Poly Klaas and Adam Walsh -- how many children do we have to take away before we as Americans get organized? We outnumber you so many times over, there is no excuse, and we're not going to let you get away with this anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: The mother of Samantha Runnion.

The penalty phase of the trial begins next Wednesday. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

Marking the anniversary of a country's darkest days. A brutal but almost forgotten campaign of killing stirs emotions and controversy almost a century later.

Plus, the truth behind the treasure: How two men went from fame and fortune to national humiliation and misfortune.

And later, called back to duty: One dog's story of being pulled out of retirement ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: A few days ago, there was a news story about some men who discovered a real-life buried treasure: old bank notes and bills worth up to $125,000. Was it too good to be true? Well, that's what police are saying. CNN's Mary Snow joins us from New York.

Hi, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Judy.

Well, police say the money is real. But, they say, the buried treasure story is a hoax. Two arrests have been made. Police are looking to make two more.

One of the lawyers for the defendants say the police are jumping to the wrong conclusions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Police in Massachusetts agree Barry Billcliff and Timothy Crebase told a great story of digging in their backyard and discovering a buried treasure of antique bills. But, they say, it was a little too good to be true. Police suspect it was stolen from an attic at a site where the men were doing construction. They've arrested both men accusing them of a hoax, a charge both men deny.

On Wednesday, both men appeared on numerous national television programs. And the police chief of Methuen, Massachusetts, says the interviews led detectives to do some digging of their own.

JOSEPH E. SOLOMON, METHUEN CHIEF OF POLICE: The sad thing is they turned something that could be like the American dream into a big fraud.

SNOW: Their story was compelling but conflicted, according to police. Billcliff and Crebase said they were shoveling up a bush in a backyard when they hit pay dirt, but police note in another story the men claim they were planting a tree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started digging away, and I hit some kind of box. And so I like keep digging, and like I uncover this box and like the shovel went right through the box.

SNOW: Eighteen hundred bills estimated to be worth $100,000 found in canisters. The men became instant celebrities. The police say they were suspicious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based upon the condition of the cans that we saw, and the report that it was just a foot below the surface and knowing -- we're from New England -- that money doesn't stay in that condition in cans a foot underneath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buried treasure live from Boston!

SNOW: The men were both scheduled to be on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel show last night, but missed their appearance.

JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST: This is where the buried treasure was found. As you can see, Barry and Tim's names are up there, but Barry and Tim are not up there. Is anyone there actually. Is there a producer or anybody out there?

SNOW: The 26-year-old Billcliff and 24-year-old Crebase pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property over $250, conspiracy to receive stolen property and being an accessory after the fact. Attorneys for the men say they are sticking by their story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And one of the suspects attorneys saying that there is no evidence to support the police's claims. However, police tonight are insisting that the money was really found at a barn on the home of a family that has owned the land for several generations -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: So the people were snookered by this, right?

REPORTER: Well, that is pretty much what police are saying, that they say that these guys went to a newspaper, they did an interview, and that the story snowballed, it kept getting attention. They said the money is real, that it was at this home in a barn found in Massachusetts.

WOODRUFF: Whoa. Truth stranger than fiction. OK, Mary. We appreciate it. Thanks very much.

SNOW: Sure.

WOODRUFF: A painful past, a present controversy. Why millions of people and some powerful nations are still embroiled in a dispute over what happened to the Armenians almost a century ago. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: This week, Armenians around the world mark the 90th anniversary of a nightmare. They and many others call it genocide, but some powerful governments do not. Please note, the following story contains some pictures that may be disturbing to some viewers.

CNN's Brian Todd looks at this long-ago event that continues to stir deep emotion and deep controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We shudder at images from Darfur, Sudan; wince at memories of Rwanda; look at grainy pictures of the Holocaust and say, never again. Almost forgotten is a brutal campaign nearly a century ago that historians say may not have been a model for those genocides, but certainly provided a rationale.

CHARLES KING, AUTHOR "THE BLACK SEA: A HISTORY": The fact that a state could, in fact, carry this out under the eyes of the international community and get away with it became, in fact, a hallmark of what the 20th century, the tragic 20th century really was all about.

TODD: Adolf Hitler himself was reported to have made a reference to it in 1939 as he prepared to invade Poland -- quoted as saying "Who after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

April, 1915, the Ottoman Empire, covering the general area of what is now Turkey, is battling on two front in World War I, and is disintegrating in the process. Armenians, long part of that empire, are restless for independence and get encouragement from Russia. The Ottoman Turks, fearful of a Russian invasion on their eastern front, see the Russian/Armenian alliance as a huge threat and target the Armenian population inside their borders.

HARUT SASSOUNIAN, EDITOR, "THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE": They embarked on an extermination plan by deporting the entire population -- closer to a little under 2 million Armenians in the empire -- into the deserts and by killing and starvation and disease.

TODD: Between 1915 and 1923 Armenian leaders are rounded up in cities and executed. Villagers are uprooted en masse, driven south towards the deserts of what are now Syria and Iraq -- many shot or butchered outright by Turkish forces, but most die in forced marches -- the numbers to this day still hotly in dispute. Armenians say 1.5 million were killed. The Turkish government says not more than 300,000 perished, and the Armenians shouldn't count themselves as the only victims.

FARUK LOGOGLU, TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S: These few years, both sides suffered -- lost an incredible number of people to war, to famine, to harsh climate.

TODD: Objective historians say the Armenian death toll is likely between 600,000 and a million.

(on camera): The fight is not only over numbers, but words -- one word in particular. Neither the Turkish government nor any American president, except Ronald Reagan, has ever called this event genocide.

Harut Sassounian is the grandson of survivors.

SASSOUNIAN: It's described as a deep wound and in the psyche of every Armenian that is not healing, is not going away. Because it's like an open wound as long as the denial is there.

TODD: The U.S. Government says between 60,000 and 146,000 people have died in Darfur, Sudan over the past two years. And former Secretary of State Colin Powell called that a genocide. Historian Charles King believes what happened to the Armenians was genocide by any definition but...

KING: Labeling it a genocide among politicians has very severe political ramifications, particularly in terms of the U.S. relationship with Turkey, an important strategic partner in southeast Europe and the wider Middle East.

TODD: As Armenians mark the 90th anniversary of their darkest days, many say all they want is acknowledgement. The Turks say they're willing to set up a commission to examine the historical record. Two countries with a closed border and no formal relations inching closer. A super power caught in the middle -- all haunted by a distant tragedy that we somehow never managed to learn from.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Thank you, Brian. By the way, the Turkish government says close to a million Turks died in that region during World War I. As for current relations, Turkish officials tell CNN, although the border is closed, there are daily flights between Turkey and Armenia. And tens of thousands of Armenians, they say currently live and work inside Turkey.

Coming up at the top of the hour, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Lou is standing by in New York with a preview. Hi there.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Judy. Thank you.

At 6:00 p.m. Eastern tonight here on CNN, we'll be reporting on a deadly series of insurgent attacks in Iraq today. Three American troops and 41 Iraqis were killed.

Also tonight, President Bush is not backing down on his Social Security initiative. The president today, in fact, escalated his offensive, telling Democrats, they should back down.

And we'll have the latest on whether North Korea has or does not have nuclear weapon ready missiles. The latest on what U.S. intelligence is saying.

And "Exporting America" tonight, one law maker's campaign to strip government subsidies from companies that ship American jobs to cheap overseas labor markets. All of that and more coming up in just a few minutes at the top of the hour. Please be with us.

Now back to Judy Woodruff -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thank you, Lou. We will be watching.

A group of Philadelphia schoolchildren and their parents are caught up in a health scare. They are facing an agonizing next few months as they wait to find out whether any of the kids has contracted HIV. CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Philadelphia with the details. Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

School officials here are trying to ease parents' concerns, basically saying that the risk here was minimal. Still, there is a great deal of worry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): On an early Friday afternoon, Mike Gonzalez is usually at work, but not today. He picks up his daughter and son from school. He's worried about them. They are two of 19 students at Bayard Taylor Elementary School in Philadelphia that were stuck by a diabetic pinprick needle. A third-grader brought the needle to school, and it belonged to her mother. According to some students, she poked her classmates as a joke.

MIKE GONZALEZ, PARENT: I'm very concerned. Like I said, you know, my daughter, you know, the way she was yesterday, so emotional, crying. And the way my son was.

CARROLL: What concerns parents most -- health officials told them one of the 19 students pricked by the needle was HIV positive. Now, parents wonder if one of their children may have been infected. GONZALEZ: That's falling heavy on me and also on my wife, because she tells me what if this, what if that. Everything is just a hypothetical question.

CARROLL: Maritza Ponce is angry at school officials. Her son Jonathan was poked twice. Ponce says her son's complaints and the complaints of other students who were stuck were ignored by their teacher and staff.

MARITZA PONCE, PARENT: They let 14 other kids get poked by the same needle by the same girl. Once one student told her they got poked, she should have taken that away from that girl and put it away. Maybe so many kids wouldn't get poked and now mothers don't have to suffer and worry about something the kid might have.

CARROLL: Parents were visibly upset after they met with school administrators Thursday night. District officials met with parents again on Friday and tried to ease their concerns, saying health officials informed them the chance of infection by the needle prick is small.

PAUL VALLAS, SCHOOL OFFICIAL: It's extraordinarily remote. I think it's one-third of 1 percent. But, again, if it's one-third of 1 percent, you still take -- you still exercise precaution.

CARROLL: The district is paying for all related health care, including prescriptions for anti-viral medications. All 19 students will be retested in a few weeks. For their parents, the wait for the results is unbearable.

GONZALEZ: I can't focus right. I can't sleep right. Neither can my wife. It's just constantly, constantly thinking, what if this, what if that? And to have that on you is very uncomfortable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: The district superintendent says disciplinary action against the school staff is not out of the question. He wants to know why it took so long to stop that student with the needle -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Such an awful story. Jason, thank you very much.

Pulled out of retirement and sent back to work, why Bill the dog, is now back on active duty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: With the United States military stretched thin these days, it's not unusual for former service members to be recalled to active duty. And it seems few are exempt, as CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Pentagon, security is maintained not just by the human police officers, but by 15 working dogs who sniff for explosives. One dog is back for a farewell tour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Bill. Hey, Julie.

STARR: Bill, a nine-year-old German shepherd, retired four months ago to live with his handler, Sergeant Cecil Richardson.

SGT. CECIL RICHARDSON, PENTAGON POLICE OFFICER: Basically, he has done his time.

STARR: He is 63 years old in dog years. But now the Air Force, which owns Bill, wants him back at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's coming back on active duty, like a lot of other soldiers and sailors and Marines.

STARR: The military has 1,500 dogs around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. But they need more.

(on camera): When Bill gets to Lackland Air Force Base, his mission will be to train human handlers on how to work with dogs just like him.

(voice-over): Officer Richardson knows dogs are need in these tense times, but he is devastated at losing his friend.

RICHARDSON: I've literally put my life in his hands on more than one occasion.

STARR: Bill is already a combat veteran.

RICHARDSON: He was here during 9/11 and worked many, many, many long hours there, clearing vehicles.

STARR: But in these busy hallways, in the offices which run wars, Bill has always been a friendly ambassador.

RICHARDSON: A lot more know him than know me. I'm usually referred to as Bill's handler or the guy that walks Bill the dog.

STARR: For many in uniform, he is a respected colleague.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Good boy. He's a great dog. I mean, he spent his dog years protecting us and sniffing for bombs and bad stuff. And all he asked for in return is a little wet sloppy kiss.

STARR: A bond between an elderly working dog and the people he has looked out for, even as national security calls him out of retirement.

RICHARDSON: That's my buddy.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: No ordinary citizen, he. Thanks Barbara. Well, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time, 5:00 pm Eastern. Wolf will be back this weekend for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among his guests, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

Thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. And Lou is standing by.

END

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 29, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a search suspended and an emotional plea, as a family holds out hope for their missing bride.
And tough sale: The president's plan to change Social Security is spelled out, but who will benefit more?

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Insurgent onslaught: dozens dead and wounded in a nonstop barrage of car bombings. And a warning of more to come from the most wanted man in Iraq.

Shuttle flight shelved: weeks after its roll-out, new safety concerns may have Discovery rolling back in.

Buried treasure: they said they found it under a tree. Now they find themselves in a lot of trouble.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, April, 29, 2005.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Thank you for being with us. I'm Judy Woodruff. Wolf has the day off.

Again and again, the blasts echoed through Baghdad. And there was more of the same in other cities. Car bombs, an ambulance bomb, roadside bombs; A day after Iraq got a new government, the insurgents showed they are still a force to be reckoned with.

And there was a chilling message said to be from al Qaeda's ally in Iraq, threatening more attacks. We begin in Baghdad with CNN's Ryan Chilcote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They went off one right after the other -- 11 bombs in all, before lunch in Baghdad. This one just as a television crew filmed the aftermath of an earlier bomb just yards away. The camera crew was OK, but one Iraqi civilian was killed and eight Iraqi policemen believed to be the target were wounded. All in all, it was a dizzying display of suicide attacks on Iraq's security forces. Dozens were killed, and nearly 100 wounded, many of them civilian bystander bystanders.

Despite appearances, the U.S. military says insurgent violence is actually down overall -- the attacks, the U.S. military insists, a sign of an increasingly desperate insurgency.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM WEBSTER, U.S. ARMY: Some of these attacks appear to be very spectacular and well coordinated, but, in fact, they're not. These attacks today, although they occurred over a span of about four hours, were widely separated and not coordinated very well at all.

CHILCOTE: Iraq's Special Forces say they are not intimidated by the attacks. For security reasons, we could not show this recruit's face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is our country. We will not be intimidated. We will fight till the last man.

CHILCOTE: And the U.S. military says recruitment for Iraq's elite troops, who face the toughest missions, remains steady.

(on camera): Despite an ongoing man hunt, their nemesis, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant in Iraq, remains on the loose. And today another audiotape purportedly from him surfaced on the Internet. And it called to the insurgents to keep up their attacks on Iraqi and U.S. forces.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The voice on that audiotape directs his message to the quote "fighters in the land of the two rivers," telling them they will triumph in their jihad one way or another.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AUDIO ATTRIBUTED TO ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI (through translator): Dear brothers, be patient. It is only a matter of a few days, and you will be the ultimate winners either by way of martyrdom or victory.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: And that voice, presumably al Zarqawi himself, heaps scorn on President Bush. It calls him a dog. And it warns, quote, "we are coming."

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AUDIO ATTRIBUTED TO ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI (through translator): We pledge to God, oh, you Bush, the dog, that you will not have tranquility, nor will you ever be content and happy as long as we have blood flowing in our veins and beating hearts. We, God willing, are coming.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Here in the United States, President Bush today focused on his campaign to overhaul Social Security. As Republican law makers announced plans to draft new retirement legislation by June, Mr. Bush was once again taking his pitch to the public.

Let's go live to our White House correspondent Dana Bash. Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

And you know, until last night, the only idea the president had really embraced to reform Social Security was the idea of private accounts in this system. And that hasn't proven to go over that well with the public.

Now, he is still pushing that idea, but Mr. Bush is also trying now to reframe the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): The president's been trying to convince Washington, Social Security is no longer the you touch it and you die third rail of politics. In his retooled sales pitch, he's now grabbing that third rail with both hands, embracing benefit cuts to help solve Social Security's funding problem.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a duty to put ideas on the table. I'm putting them on the table.

BASH: The plan, known as progressive indexing, would peg higher income workers to inflation, effectively cutting their benefits. But low income workers' benefits would be based on their wages as they are now so they would be protected.

BUSH: If Congress were to enact that, that would go a long way towards making the system solvent for a younger generation of Americans.

BASH: Embracing cuts is a huge political risk, but Mr. Bush believes a necessary one as he tries to advance a debate he has staked so much on.

Ffity-two percent disapproved of the president's plan in February. Now 60 percent of Americans dislike his proposal -- that, despite months of travel in 20-plus states, mostly focusing on his controversial plan to offer younger workers private investment accounts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing?

BUSH: Pretty cool, yes. So-so, you know.

BASH: Mr. Bush isn't backing off personal accounts, but acknowledges they don't deal with the long term solvency issues.

Some conservatives worry talk of trimming benefits would only add to Mr. Bush's political worries, and Democrats quickly called it an attack on the middle class. But the president and his allies say shaking up the debate, while risky, is a way to force Democrats to come up with their own plan.

KEN DUBERSTEIN, FRMR. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Democrats can't just say no. I mean, the old Nancy Reagan, just say no, you can't do it. Put something on the table. Where are your suggestions?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Well, the White House does not like the term benefit cuts. They say that benefits would fall even more if Social Security goes into the red. And Bush aides say that, since Congress is now moving on legislation, it is now finally time for the president to offer some specifics on a solution, after spending months trying to convince the American people, Judy, that there's a problem.

WOODRUFF: This one is one we are going to keep on watching.

Dana Bash, thank you very much.

BASH: Thank you.

WOODRUFF: President Bush is beginning the second hundred days of his second term in office. What can we expect? CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is here with his "Inside Edge."

So Carlos, we heard the president last night waxing for an hour. What does come next?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think three interesting, and maybe in some ways, surprising things. Number one, you heard a lot more concern about North Korea and Iran than many of us expected. We certainly knew there were nuclear issues there, but you heard the president say that things seem to be breaking down maybe with Iran in the process there in terms of European negotiation. And so I wouldn't be surprised to see him lean on the United Nations a little bit more, which seems ironic given all the trouble we're having with John Bolton.

But you clearly heard various officials talk about approaching the U.N. Security Council for a resolution regarding North Korea. So that's one to think about.

Two, when it comes to the Social Security fight, you're clearly going to see him not only more engaged himself, but I wouldn't be surprised to see new faces help him sell that. Remember, the president during his last campaign used a number of interesting new faces, whether it was Curt Schilling, as you may recall, or his mother or others to play a key role. So I would look for that carefully over the next 100 days.

Last but not least, this is a president who, in terms of his legislative style, has sometimes remained above the fray a little bit. But look for a little of LBJ, a little bit more arm twisting.

Now, remember he's got other bills to work with here, whether it's the energy bill, whether it's the transportation bill, whether it's the appropriations bill. So there's a lot that he can trade back and forth in addition to making the very public argument on behalf of Social Security.

WOODRUFF: Well, he certainly has got his work cut out for him on Social Security as well as other things.

Let's talk about the budget. Didn't get a lot of attention yesterday with everything else that was going on, but both the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution. Where do the Democrats come in on this?

WATSON: Well, Democrats, you didn't hear a lot. But a $2.6 trillion -- roughly $2.6 trillion budget was passed over the next five years. We'll see budget deficits anywhere from $200 billion to $400 billion. And Democrats, you would have thought, would have piped up a bit more.

But they didn't. And part of that was because of their minority status not only in the House, but in the Senate. Partly, their plate was full with Social Security.

But three big thoughts, as Democrats look forward maybe to the budget fight next year and even the appropriations fight. One, you didn't see churches involved. And given the increasing importance of churches in various cultural and political fights that we're having, from Schiavo to the pope, you would think there's an opportunity for Democrats to rally churches to talk about the budget, if you will, as a moral document.

Two, one of the other things you didn't see from Democrats as much is leaning, if you will, on bipartisan organizations like the Joint Taxation Committee that has a series of ideas about closing tax loopholes in order to say, hey, these are bipartisan ideas that should at least be considered as we think about closing the deficit, not just cutting Medicaid or cutting education.

And last but not least, do you remember Ross Perot's charts? Do you remember those...

WOODRUFF: How can we forget?

WATSON: Well, you know, now-a-days, the Democrats have at least one of their members, Kent Conrad, the senator from North Dakota will hold up charts, but they really need a much more public figure who can drive home what these deficits mean in terms of your and my ability to have the police -- kind of police protection we need in our neighborhoods or the fire protection you're looking for. Or what does it mean for college tuition bills? And that still isn't there. The big public argument that may, in part, come through a Ross Perot-like chart.

So, three thoughts for Democrats going forward. WOODRUFF: Well, speaking of Democrats, you've identified somebody who may be a new, what you call, power player for the Democrats. Who do you have in mind?

WATSON: Well, it's not Harry Reid, neither is it Howard Dean, the new DNC. But interestingly enough, maybe the newest and one of the most significant Democratic power players is Frank Rich, a columnist for the "New York Times."

Some of our viewers may have read some of his work, maybe not. But often, you'll find he's one of the five most-read stories in the "New York Times" and on their Web site. And increasingly, whether it's in Senate caucus meetings for the Democrats or whether it's out in various parts of the country, his is the voice that's heard, whether it's talking about John Kerry's response to the Swift Boat Veterans ad, whether it's Tom DeLay, whether he's talking about the pope, or he's talking about Schiavo.

Really what he does, which is so interesting is remember, he's an arts and culture critic who's bringing, if you will, culture and entertainment arguments often into the political spectrum.

WOODRUFF: Giving the Democrats a little backbone that way?

WATSON: And I think giving a little more colorful language than sometimes they have.

WOODRUFF: OK. Some of that language, we can even listen to here in Washington.

WATSON: You bet you.

WOODRUFF: OK. Carlos, thank you very much.

WATSON: My pleasure.

WOODRUFF: Missing bride: a devastated family offers a reward and a plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE SATTERFIELD, WILBANKS FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We would give our life and everything that we own to have her returned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Police have few clues, but a lot of questions to ask.

Shuttle delay: why NASA is putting a hold on its latest launch plans. Our Miles O'Brien explains.

And 30 years after the Vietnam War ended, fallout for a new generation. Why one veteran feels compelled to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WOODRUFF: New concerns about an old problem are delaying the Space Shuttle's return to flight. Our space correspondent Miles O'Brien is standing by at CNN Center with details.

Hello, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

It's a problem as old as the shuttle program itself, but so was falling foam. And that is why the agency is taking a new look at the threat of ice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Nearly 27 months since the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated, NASA is standing down and rolling back. The first shuttle slated to fly since the disaster, Discovery, soon headed back to the repair station instead of the space station.

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I think the decision of the team to delay from the end of May until mid-July is exactly the sort of decision that indicates the team is working well, the culture is improving and no one has launch fever.

O'BRIEN: NASA engineers still have lingering concerns about the shuttle's fuel tank, which was, of course, was the origin of the foam debris that caused the mortal wound to Columbia's left wing on its fatal flight.

On the top of the worry list, ice. The tank is filled with super cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen. That's why it's covered with insulating foam in the first place. But there are still some spots where ice build-up remains a problem on an external oxygen pipe.

WAYNE HALE, DEPUTY SHUTTLE PROGRAM MGR: We're going to have to deal with it. And that's kind of the bottom line. It's the last set of tests that we've been doing that are in fact still continuing on, are showing that we have more concern over this ice than everyday intuition would tell you we need to have.

O'BRIEN: Ice is a big deal for the shuttle. Check out this test. A thimble-sized piece of ice fired at high speed toward a piece of the material that protects the leading edge of an orbiter's wing. Ice can easily cause a fatal breach in the heat shield.

BILL PARSONS, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: I know that we will be looking to make changes in any area that's growing ice, we're going to try to eliminate that. And that will be done over time. Even if it's a little bit of ice, we would like to eliminate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: So, why did it take NASA so long to realize the severity? Well, the engineers said they were overwhelmed by other issues, like fixing falling foam, and just recently started looking at the threat from ice in detail. What they found left them cold. And so now Discovery is headed back to the hangar, where they will install some heaters. The next opportunity to fly will be at least July 13.

NASA insists, whenever the shuttle launches, Judy, it won't be a moment too soon.

WOODRUFF: So this is something that makes us wonder if NASA has enough people to do the kind of research and the kind of work that we know needs to be done. But that's a subject for another conversation.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

WOODRUFF: Miles O'Brien, thank you very much.

The fall of Saigon 30 years later. For some, the war lives on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUEL JONES, FORMER U.S. MARINE; We really thought the war ended in 1975. We went home. The war does not end when we go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: A former Marine wounded in Vietnam now helping the people he once fought.

HIV scare: 19 elementary school students pricked by the same needle.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN RUNNION, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty! And that feels really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Raw emotion: a mother speaks out after her daughter's killer is convicted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: It is already April 30th in Ho Chi Minh City. Thirty years ago, it was called Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. On that day, North Vietnamese troops stormed the presidential palace, ending a long and bloody battle that claimed the lives of 58,000 Americans, and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese.

As the end drew near, Americans and many Vietnamese fled Saigon. Over two days, U.S. helicopters made 662 evacuation flights to ships offshore. More than 6,200 people were aboard those flights. Early on April 30th, the U.S. ambassador and Marines defending the U.S. Embassy were on the last flight out of Saigon.

Thirty years later, another generation bears the scars of war. There's continuing fallout from the chemical defoliant that was sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam by American forces. CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Hanoi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The children of Friendship Village are living reminders of war, victims of Agent Orange, suffering from a range of disabilities. Physically and mentally, this little boy seems to be about seven, he is actually 21 years old. Suel Jones (ph) is popular with the kids. A former Marine who was wounded in Vietnam, he now lives in Hanoi now working with Friendship Village. He recalls his first visit here.

JONES: I was just really torn up. Really -- one side of me was so happy that we were doing something, and the other side of me was so devastated that I was part of this -- these kids being damaged like this.

SHUBERT: Children are taught skills like embroidery and tailoring, handicrafts to earn money but also a sense of accomplishment.

JONES: This was all done by the children.

SHUBERT: The newest project, organic farming.

JONES: We very strongly, because this is all organic now, no chemicals. And the concept being is that these kids that were hurt by chemicals during the war. We try to teach them that, look, you may be disabled, but you are not separated from society.

SHUBERT: Stationed in the Demilitarized Zone in 1968, Suel was exposed to some of the heaviest spraying of Agent Orange. He was told at the time it was harmless.

JONES: I've heard people try to tell me that Agent Orange was only effective for 72 hours.

SHUBERT: But after learning from other veterans of birth defects linked to Agent Orange, he opted at the age of 33 for a vasectomy. He says the kids of Friendship Village are his children now.

JONES: Here are some of the people that I fought against at one time.

SHUBERT: Suel is also friends with their parents, men he once fought against. He calls them his brothers.

JONES: If I had seen you, I'd have killed you. But I'm not mad at you. I understand that. These men were -- they just want to survive. They don't blame me. It's been a good lesson for me.

SHUBERT: But, he says, the effects of war linger long after the guns go silent.

JONES: We really thought the war ended in 1975. We went home. The war does not end when you go home. The war continues, and it continues through generation and generation and generation. The best thing we can do is come back and open our hearts and say we made a mistake. I want to help you with some humanitarian aid. That's all we can do.

SHUBERT: One Marine's way of reconciling America's and his past with Vietnam's future.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Hanoi, Vietnam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: That's a real inspiration.

And now a quick look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

Taiwan's opposition leader met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing. Lee Kuan Yew says, he wants to improve relations between Taiwan and China. But his visit was criticized back in Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a renegade province. Some in Taiwan would like to declare full independence.

Putin promises: continuing his visit to the Middle East, Russia's President Vladimir Putin met with Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Putin promised to provide equipment and training for Palestinian Security Forces and to help rebuild infrastructure in Gaza.

Russian floods: back in Mr. Putin's homeland, a state of emergency has been declared in Siberia. Authorities say spring floods destroyed 24 homes in one village and at least two people were killed.

Thailand test: hundreds of volunteers and tourists participated in an evacuation drill in Phuket. Thousands died in Thailand in December's tsunami. And this was the first test of a new tsunami evacuation plan. And that's our look "Around the World."

Back here in the United States, needle scare: the health concerns after 19 children were pricked at school.

Missing bride: an emotional plea from the family of Jennifer Wilbanks on the day before she was supposed to wed.

Buried treasure hoax: this real life bundle of cash results in misfortune and two arrests.

And yanked out of retirement: why canines are heeding the call of duty in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. Wolf is off today.

Missing bride: the search is suspended, but has the trail grown cold? New details on the investigation. But first a quick check of other stories "Now in the News." Relief may be on the way for Americans reeling from high oil prices. The price of a barrel of U.S. light crude fell below $50 today to its lowest level in ten weeks.

An investigation into last month's death of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq is over, but the United States and Italy remain at odds. U.S. troops said they opened fire on the car the agent was in after the driver ignored repeated warnings to stop at a checkpoint. A joint U.S.-Italian probe has been completed. The State Department says investigators were unable to reach shared conclusions.

There are fears of a major polio epidemic in Yemen, once considered polio free. The United Nations is reporting 18 new cases in the Arabian Peninsula country, bringing the confirmed total to 22.

A suburban Chicago mother is charged with first degree murder of her nine-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. Police in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, say the children were found dead in their home, both stabbed dozens of times.

Some significant developments today in the case of the missing Georgia bride-to-be who mysteriously vanished this week. The family of Jennifer Wilbanks says her fiance, John Mason, has taken and passed a lie detector test. Police, however, said that that test was done privately, and they still want him to take one administered by law enforcement investigators. Also in an emotional news conference, the family announced a reward. While police said they are suspending their search pending new clues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATTERFIELD: The family has established an initial reward of $100,000. We love Jennifer very much. We would give our life and everything that we own to have her returned.

You can only search so much and so many times until something gives you a direction to go in. And I'm speculating here on something that I'm not involved in with the police department. They are making the decision. We trust their decision and what they're doing and support it fully.

CHIEF RANDY BELCHER, DULUTH, GEORGIA POLICE: At this point, we have searched what we can search. We've exhausted our manpower. We've turned over probably every leaf in this city. So I have suspended all future searches as of this moment unless some other evidence is brought forward.

Mr. Mason did take a polygraph today by a private examiner. We have requested that he take a polygraph now through the GBI. He has agreed to take the polygraph, but under certain conditions.

SATTERFIELD: One of the things that kept the family, I guess, their minds at least, diverted was being involved in the search and being active. Now that we're sitting around, it really -- the time there, you reflect on the past, the good times. And it becomes very emotional at that point. It basically is like a roller coaster. We laugh, and then we cry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Jennifer Wilbanks was last seen Tuesday night by her fiance who says she told him she was going jogging. They were supposed to be married tomorrow.

An emotional outpouring of grief and relief from the mother of Samantha Runnion. She is the five-year-old Southern California girl whose disappearance and death made national headlines in 2002. Yesterday 30-year-old Alejandro Avila was convicted of kidnapping, murder and sexual assault in the case. Afterwards, Samantha's mother made this impassioned statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN RUNNION, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty! And that feels really good. Because nobody should get away with this. And in honor of Samantha, in honor of Jessica and Molly Fish (ph) and Poly Klaas and Adam Walsh -- how many children do we have to take away before we as Americans get organized? We outnumber you so many times over, there is no excuse, and we're not going to let you get away with this anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: The mother of Samantha Runnion.

The penalty phase of the trial begins next Wednesday. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

Marking the anniversary of a country's darkest days. A brutal but almost forgotten campaign of killing stirs emotions and controversy almost a century later.

Plus, the truth behind the treasure: How two men went from fame and fortune to national humiliation and misfortune.

And later, called back to duty: One dog's story of being pulled out of retirement ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: A few days ago, there was a news story about some men who discovered a real-life buried treasure: old bank notes and bills worth up to $125,000. Was it too good to be true? Well, that's what police are saying. CNN's Mary Snow joins us from New York.

Hi, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Judy.

Well, police say the money is real. But, they say, the buried treasure story is a hoax. Two arrests have been made. Police are looking to make two more.

One of the lawyers for the defendants say the police are jumping to the wrong conclusions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Police in Massachusetts agree Barry Billcliff and Timothy Crebase told a great story of digging in their backyard and discovering a buried treasure of antique bills. But, they say, it was a little too good to be true. Police suspect it was stolen from an attic at a site where the men were doing construction. They've arrested both men accusing them of a hoax, a charge both men deny.

On Wednesday, both men appeared on numerous national television programs. And the police chief of Methuen, Massachusetts, says the interviews led detectives to do some digging of their own.

JOSEPH E. SOLOMON, METHUEN CHIEF OF POLICE: The sad thing is they turned something that could be like the American dream into a big fraud.

SNOW: Their story was compelling but conflicted, according to police. Billcliff and Crebase said they were shoveling up a bush in a backyard when they hit pay dirt, but police note in another story the men claim they were planting a tree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started digging away, and I hit some kind of box. And so I like keep digging, and like I uncover this box and like the shovel went right through the box.

SNOW: Eighteen hundred bills estimated to be worth $100,000 found in canisters. The men became instant celebrities. The police say they were suspicious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based upon the condition of the cans that we saw, and the report that it was just a foot below the surface and knowing -- we're from New England -- that money doesn't stay in that condition in cans a foot underneath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buried treasure live from Boston!

SNOW: The men were both scheduled to be on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel show last night, but missed their appearance.

JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST: This is where the buried treasure was found. As you can see, Barry and Tim's names are up there, but Barry and Tim are not up there. Is anyone there actually. Is there a producer or anybody out there?

SNOW: The 26-year-old Billcliff and 24-year-old Crebase pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property over $250, conspiracy to receive stolen property and being an accessory after the fact. Attorneys for the men say they are sticking by their story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And one of the suspects attorneys saying that there is no evidence to support the police's claims. However, police tonight are insisting that the money was really found at a barn on the home of a family that has owned the land for several generations -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: So the people were snookered by this, right?

REPORTER: Well, that is pretty much what police are saying, that they say that these guys went to a newspaper, they did an interview, and that the story snowballed, it kept getting attention. They said the money is real, that it was at this home in a barn found in Massachusetts.

WOODRUFF: Whoa. Truth stranger than fiction. OK, Mary. We appreciate it. Thanks very much.

SNOW: Sure.

WOODRUFF: A painful past, a present controversy. Why millions of people and some powerful nations are still embroiled in a dispute over what happened to the Armenians almost a century ago. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: This week, Armenians around the world mark the 90th anniversary of a nightmare. They and many others call it genocide, but some powerful governments do not. Please note, the following story contains some pictures that may be disturbing to some viewers.

CNN's Brian Todd looks at this long-ago event that continues to stir deep emotion and deep controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We shudder at images from Darfur, Sudan; wince at memories of Rwanda; look at grainy pictures of the Holocaust and say, never again. Almost forgotten is a brutal campaign nearly a century ago that historians say may not have been a model for those genocides, but certainly provided a rationale.

CHARLES KING, AUTHOR "THE BLACK SEA: A HISTORY": The fact that a state could, in fact, carry this out under the eyes of the international community and get away with it became, in fact, a hallmark of what the 20th century, the tragic 20th century really was all about.

TODD: Adolf Hitler himself was reported to have made a reference to it in 1939 as he prepared to invade Poland -- quoted as saying "Who after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

April, 1915, the Ottoman Empire, covering the general area of what is now Turkey, is battling on two front in World War I, and is disintegrating in the process. Armenians, long part of that empire, are restless for independence and get encouragement from Russia. The Ottoman Turks, fearful of a Russian invasion on their eastern front, see the Russian/Armenian alliance as a huge threat and target the Armenian population inside their borders.

HARUT SASSOUNIAN, EDITOR, "THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE": They embarked on an extermination plan by deporting the entire population -- closer to a little under 2 million Armenians in the empire -- into the deserts and by killing and starvation and disease.

TODD: Between 1915 and 1923 Armenian leaders are rounded up in cities and executed. Villagers are uprooted en masse, driven south towards the deserts of what are now Syria and Iraq -- many shot or butchered outright by Turkish forces, but most die in forced marches -- the numbers to this day still hotly in dispute. Armenians say 1.5 million were killed. The Turkish government says not more than 300,000 perished, and the Armenians shouldn't count themselves as the only victims.

FARUK LOGOGLU, TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S: These few years, both sides suffered -- lost an incredible number of people to war, to famine, to harsh climate.

TODD: Objective historians say the Armenian death toll is likely between 600,000 and a million.

(on camera): The fight is not only over numbers, but words -- one word in particular. Neither the Turkish government nor any American president, except Ronald Reagan, has ever called this event genocide.

Harut Sassounian is the grandson of survivors.

SASSOUNIAN: It's described as a deep wound and in the psyche of every Armenian that is not healing, is not going away. Because it's like an open wound as long as the denial is there.

TODD: The U.S. Government says between 60,000 and 146,000 people have died in Darfur, Sudan over the past two years. And former Secretary of State Colin Powell called that a genocide. Historian Charles King believes what happened to the Armenians was genocide by any definition but...

KING: Labeling it a genocide among politicians has very severe political ramifications, particularly in terms of the U.S. relationship with Turkey, an important strategic partner in southeast Europe and the wider Middle East.

TODD: As Armenians mark the 90th anniversary of their darkest days, many say all they want is acknowledgement. The Turks say they're willing to set up a commission to examine the historical record. Two countries with a closed border and no formal relations inching closer. A super power caught in the middle -- all haunted by a distant tragedy that we somehow never managed to learn from.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Thank you, Brian. By the way, the Turkish government says close to a million Turks died in that region during World War I. As for current relations, Turkish officials tell CNN, although the border is closed, there are daily flights between Turkey and Armenia. And tens of thousands of Armenians, they say currently live and work inside Turkey.

Coming up at the top of the hour, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Lou is standing by in New York with a preview. Hi there.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Judy. Thank you.

At 6:00 p.m. Eastern tonight here on CNN, we'll be reporting on a deadly series of insurgent attacks in Iraq today. Three American troops and 41 Iraqis were killed.

Also tonight, President Bush is not backing down on his Social Security initiative. The president today, in fact, escalated his offensive, telling Democrats, they should back down.

And we'll have the latest on whether North Korea has or does not have nuclear weapon ready missiles. The latest on what U.S. intelligence is saying.

And "Exporting America" tonight, one law maker's campaign to strip government subsidies from companies that ship American jobs to cheap overseas labor markets. All of that and more coming up in just a few minutes at the top of the hour. Please be with us.

Now back to Judy Woodruff -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thank you, Lou. We will be watching.

A group of Philadelphia schoolchildren and their parents are caught up in a health scare. They are facing an agonizing next few months as they wait to find out whether any of the kids has contracted HIV. CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Philadelphia with the details. Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

School officials here are trying to ease parents' concerns, basically saying that the risk here was minimal. Still, there is a great deal of worry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): On an early Friday afternoon, Mike Gonzalez is usually at work, but not today. He picks up his daughter and son from school. He's worried about them. They are two of 19 students at Bayard Taylor Elementary School in Philadelphia that were stuck by a diabetic pinprick needle. A third-grader brought the needle to school, and it belonged to her mother. According to some students, she poked her classmates as a joke.

MIKE GONZALEZ, PARENT: I'm very concerned. Like I said, you know, my daughter, you know, the way she was yesterday, so emotional, crying. And the way my son was.

CARROLL: What concerns parents most -- health officials told them one of the 19 students pricked by the needle was HIV positive. Now, parents wonder if one of their children may have been infected. GONZALEZ: That's falling heavy on me and also on my wife, because she tells me what if this, what if that. Everything is just a hypothetical question.

CARROLL: Maritza Ponce is angry at school officials. Her son Jonathan was poked twice. Ponce says her son's complaints and the complaints of other students who were stuck were ignored by their teacher and staff.

MARITZA PONCE, PARENT: They let 14 other kids get poked by the same needle by the same girl. Once one student told her they got poked, she should have taken that away from that girl and put it away. Maybe so many kids wouldn't get poked and now mothers don't have to suffer and worry about something the kid might have.

CARROLL: Parents were visibly upset after they met with school administrators Thursday night. District officials met with parents again on Friday and tried to ease their concerns, saying health officials informed them the chance of infection by the needle prick is small.

PAUL VALLAS, SCHOOL OFFICIAL: It's extraordinarily remote. I think it's one-third of 1 percent. But, again, if it's one-third of 1 percent, you still take -- you still exercise precaution.

CARROLL: The district is paying for all related health care, including prescriptions for anti-viral medications. All 19 students will be retested in a few weeks. For their parents, the wait for the results is unbearable.

GONZALEZ: I can't focus right. I can't sleep right. Neither can my wife. It's just constantly, constantly thinking, what if this, what if that? And to have that on you is very uncomfortable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: The district superintendent says disciplinary action against the school staff is not out of the question. He wants to know why it took so long to stop that student with the needle -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Such an awful story. Jason, thank you very much.

Pulled out of retirement and sent back to work, why Bill the dog, is now back on active duty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: With the United States military stretched thin these days, it's not unusual for former service members to be recalled to active duty. And it seems few are exempt, as CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Pentagon, security is maintained not just by the human police officers, but by 15 working dogs who sniff for explosives. One dog is back for a farewell tour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Bill. Hey, Julie.

STARR: Bill, a nine-year-old German shepherd, retired four months ago to live with his handler, Sergeant Cecil Richardson.

SGT. CECIL RICHARDSON, PENTAGON POLICE OFFICER: Basically, he has done his time.

STARR: He is 63 years old in dog years. But now the Air Force, which owns Bill, wants him back at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's coming back on active duty, like a lot of other soldiers and sailors and Marines.

STARR: The military has 1,500 dogs around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. But they need more.

(on camera): When Bill gets to Lackland Air Force Base, his mission will be to train human handlers on how to work with dogs just like him.

(voice-over): Officer Richardson knows dogs are need in these tense times, but he is devastated at losing his friend.

RICHARDSON: I've literally put my life in his hands on more than one occasion.

STARR: Bill is already a combat veteran.

RICHARDSON: He was here during 9/11 and worked many, many, many long hours there, clearing vehicles.

STARR: But in these busy hallways, in the offices which run wars, Bill has always been a friendly ambassador.

RICHARDSON: A lot more know him than know me. I'm usually referred to as Bill's handler or the guy that walks Bill the dog.

STARR: For many in uniform, he is a respected colleague.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Good boy. He's a great dog. I mean, he spent his dog years protecting us and sniffing for bombs and bad stuff. And all he asked for in return is a little wet sloppy kiss.

STARR: A bond between an elderly working dog and the people he has looked out for, even as national security calls him out of retirement.

RICHARDSON: That's my buddy.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: No ordinary citizen, he. Thanks Barbara. Well, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time, 5:00 pm Eastern. Wolf will be back this weekend for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among his guests, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

Thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. And Lou is standing by.

END

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