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Jury Having Difficulty Reaching Decision in Tyco Case; Condoleezza Rice Requests to Give More Testimony to 9/11 Commission; New Mexico to be Battleground State in Elections; Pakistani Officials Not Worried over Assassination Threats; Hot Topics on AOL Include "American Idol," Controversial T-shirts

Aired March 26, 2004 - 11:00   ET

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


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


DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, trouble at the Tyco trial. Jurors are at odd, and the outcome of the nearly six-month trial is in doubt this morning.
Our Allan Chernoff is outside the courthouse in Manhattan with the latest.

Allan, good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

And the judge has just given a pep talk to the jurors, telling them to play nice, telling them to avoid incendiary accusations.

All of this after notes yesterday afternoon from the jury indicating that's exactly what's been happening within the jury room, accusations flying back and forth. The foreperson saying that the atmosphere has turned poisonous and saying that one juror has stopped deliberating in good faith.

That juror, apparently the holdout here, saying that the other jurors simply have avoided thinking that the defendants just may be innocent of the charges here.

All of this raising the possibility that, after nearly six months of this trial and more than a week of deliberations now, we may end up with a deadlock, a possibility of a hung jury.

But the judge told the jurors, "I don't think this is a deadlock situation." He told them, "You can work this through." So certainly trying to get them to go back into the jury room, work out their differences, and come to some conclusions.

Now, Mr. Kozlowski, Dennis Kozlowski, former chief executive of Tyco, and his No. 2 man, Mark Swartz, are charged with looting the company of $600 million through unauthorized bonuses, also for giving loans and illicit stock sales.

They each are facing 13 counts of grand larceny, in addition to other charges, and they could face up to 30 years in prison.

So Daryn, right now, the jury is back in its room, and they are deliberating. KAGAN: And, Allan, since we can't ourselves go inside the courtroom, give us a feeling of what the tension, or what the feeling is inside of there, and how the jurors appear when they come back in the courtroom.

CHERNOFF: It was very interesting this morning, because they came in sort of resigned to hearing what the judge had to say. They were very frustrated. You could read the frustration on their face yesterday afternoon. And obviously, there has been lots of acrimony in there.

But they walked out after the judge spoke to them with smiles on their face. At one point, the judge said to them, "Look, I know you've been through this for so long, and you easily could have gotten out of this." And that elicited a lot of laughter in the courtroom. The judge said, "Now I tell you."

So he certainly put a smile on the jurors' faces. And perhaps now, they will be able to work out their differences. It remains to be seen.

Clearly, a complicated case. It has dragged on for quite some time. And let's see if the jury can come to some conclusions.

KAGAN: All right. Allan Chernoff, tracking it for us from Manhattan. Thank you.

French authorities say they have detained three people in connection with the threat to bomb the country's rail lines.

A group that called itself AZF threatened to blow up French railway target lines and unless it was paid $4 million. France says the three people arrested today were associated with that group.

The latest bomb was found yesterday. The same day the interior ministry received a letter from AZF, saying it was suspending its plot.

The Bush administration says Condoleezza Rice wants to set the record straight. The White House has formally asked for another meeting between Rice and the commission investigating September 11.

Here's our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more on that -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, President Bush is traveling today. He is going to New Mexico, as well as Arizona. He's going to be focusing on his economic policy. He's going to talk about training and home ownership.

But also, the White House, very -- making it very clear that they are defending this administration against those allegations that they ignored the threats prior to September 11.

A big part of that is Dr. Rice's formal request to go, again, before the 9/11 commission to meet with them privately to answer questions, not to publicly testify. as the commission had requested.

She met back with them in February for about four and a half hours.

Now, one important point to make here is that, back then, she said she would be willing to go before the commission again. The commission, too, as well, said that they would like to hear from her.

Now, it was just yesterday that White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez sent a letter to the chair and the vice chair of the commission saying -- and I'm quoting here -- "In light of yesterday's hearings, in which there were a number of mischaracterizations of Dr. Rice's statements and positions, Dr. Rice requests to meet again privately with the commission."

But Daryn, again, the White House is maintaining that she will not testify publicly. The reason why, they say, is she is an advisor to the president, that she is not under the Senate confirmation process, and, therefore should not have to testify before a legislatively created body -- Daryn.

KAGAN: But here's the problem that I think some Americans might have with that explanation. We've seen Dr. Rice on just about every single television network over the last few days.

So how does the White House claim it's OK for her publicly to go on and answer journalists' questions, but she won't answer the commission's questions in public?

MALVEAUX: Well, they certainly say that it is executive privilege on the part of the president. They say that if she were to go before this commission and publicly testify, it would compromise her role in giving advice to the president, that this would set a bad precedent.

And they are not going to essentially deter from that position. They've made that very clear.

But as you bring up a point, we heard from Senator -- Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and a number of the commission members who say she has called reporters back into her office, that she has been on television, making her case. Therefore, she should make her case before the commission, the full commission publicly.

Should let you know, however, that I spoke with a number of commission members. And they say, of course, you know, before this hearing -- it's all very political -- but before the hearing, Dr. Rice was willing and offered to go before the commission.

What they're having a hard time with here is that they don't want to get caught up in the politics of all of this. They say there's a sense of urgency on the part of the White House. They are going to take their time in getting their schedules together, because they don't want to become what one of them said, was embroiled in the politics -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you.

President Bush's campaign stop in New Mexico, evidence that it is a battleground state. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has some surprising facts about New Mexico and its role in the race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Quick, which state had the closest vote in 2000? Wrong. The correct answer is New Mexico. Strange, but true.

CHRIS GARCIA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: We're closer than Florida, but of course, Florida got all the attention.

SCHNEIDER: Al Gore carried New Mexico by 366 votes. By comparison, George W. Bush's 537-vote margin in Florida was a landslide.

New Mexico is not just a swing state, it's a bellwether state. Since joining the union in 1912, New Mexico has voted for the winner in 21 out of 23 presidential elections.

GARCIA: It is an amazing thing that we are such a bellwether state and have been since statehood. And when one looks at the demographics, one wouldn't think so because we certainly are not typical.

SCHNEIDER: strange but true.

BRIAN SANDEROFF, NEW MEXICO POLLSTER: New Mexico is a battleground state, because of the fact that we're 40 percent Hispanic and we're eight percent Native American.

SCHNEIDER: Even the Hispanic vote is strange but true. A lot of it is not Mexican-American.

SANDEROFF: Hispanics in New Mexico can trace their lineage for over 400 years to Spain, particularly in northern New Mexico. And so sometimes people call Hispanics in northern New Mexico minority groups, and they look at you funny.

SCHNEIDER: Taos and Santa Fe look like northern California: artists, environmentalists and counter culture voters, the base of New Mexico's thriving Green Party.

Ralph Nader took four percent of the New Mexico vote in 2000. That's why it was so close. And why Nader threatens the Democrats again this year.

For a small state, New Mexico is getting a lot of attention in 2004.

GARCIA: Both on English media and on Spanish language media. So yes, we're being, I'd say, almost saturated with ads this early in the campaign. SCHNEIDER: So how does the 2004 race look in New Mexico? Close. George W. Bush and John Kerry get about equal favorability ratings.

Kerry has an important ally, the highly popular Democratic Governor Bill Richardson. Hispanic, former U.N. ambassador, a potential Kerry running mate.

SANDEROFF: If Kerry put Richardson on the ticket that would sew New Mexico up, yes.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Speaking of strange but true, there is Roswell, New Mexico, site of the International UFO Museum. No polls yet of the space alien vote. But in a close race...

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: While President Bush is looking for votes in the west, his Democratic challenger is getting support from his party's heaviest hitters. A show of force and unity, coming up.

Also, is al Qaeda's second in command talking again, calling for the overthrow of Pakistan's government? And even more troubling, some people are listening.

And you say you can't get enough of "America Idol" reject William Hung? Well, we're bringing his new full-length record to you anyway. Part of today's buzz on the Web when CNN's LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The CIA says today the voice on a purported al Qaeda tape is probably that of No. 2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The recording was first played on the Arabic network Al Jazeera. It comes a week after Pakistan suggested that al-Zawahiri might be cornered in the country's mountainous tribal region.

On that tape, the speaker says that Pakistan's president has betrayed his people by siding with the U.S. and he should be overthrown.

Let's bring in our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, who is in Islamabad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, Pakistani officials have been holding off making comment on that until they've heard that there was confirmation that this tape was, in fact, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

I'm joined now by Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Sir, this is a direct threat against your government. President Musharraf himself has received two attacks by al Qaeda. Does it worry you?

SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTAN INFORMATION MINISTER: Not worry you, but you know, as he did before, he supplied this explosive to the people who attempted on president twice as a suicide attack.

But it's a false and a baseless statement. It's the third time which he has given. And he cleared it -- he wants to create trouble, as he creates a holy war.

But we are ready to face all the consequences, because we are committed that we finish all these terrorists, wherever they are, and this is commitment and -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) people are behind President Musharraf, think that he did the right thing, to getting them past time, and will not allow anybody to use our country for any terrorist actions.

ROBERTSON: But it does seem that there is some support for these calls against the government. Today, for example, demonstrations in Lahore, Pershawa, Islamabad, against the government, against President Musharraf.

AHMED: Very small protests. They were very strong and very huge before this. I have seen them -- they have blocked the streets. Only one single block, both sides. There were not -- few hundred people only. And they were arranged from these other areas. The Mahdi-Koata (ph) and other areas. But they are very small numbers.

ROBERTSON: But these demonstrations are against President Musharraf's actions in the tribal area, which is the support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the hunt for al-Zawahiri, the hunt for al Qaeda.

These demonstrations appear to be against this association, this help being given in the war on terrorism to the United States.

AHMED: Yes, of course, they are a few people. They are a small number of people. They are extremists. They want to create troubles, problems. But on whole, the country is with President Musharraf on this issue.

And in tribal area, of course, they have elected from there. They have been elected from these areas. And they have some political following there.

But people -- even the fatah people, fatah people know that Pakistan army don't want to have any action against them.

But because they people that these terrorists staying there for a long time, they've been there for many years, they have some influence. They have some social contacts. And that's why they got some 10, 20 people support from that area. But we are going to sort them out of these terrorists. We have given them a lot of time, opportunity, to surrender. But they have decided to -- not to surrender, and they have decided to fight. And that's why the army is there, and after hundred and hundred years, even the Moguls, even the sheikhs (ph) and the Britain were not in a position to enter there, but the Pakistani troops entered there, will fulfill their commitment against the terrorism.

ROBERTSON: Minister Ahmed, thank you very much indeed.

Daryn, despite those threats, the government here says it's absolutely resolute to continue its commitment against the war on terrorism, and to continue routing al Qaeda from its border areas -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson with the latest from Islamabad, thank you.

Could you soon be able to travel from the East Coast to the West in about 45 minutes? A test of an experimental plane is about to push that barrier literally. We'll take a look, coming up.

Later, on screen he is the angel of death. But what's the real Thomas Jane like? We'll find out. Thomas Jane is going to be in the house with us, star of "The Punisher," coming up live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We like to take time on Friday to check out the topics that are hot online. Checking the buzz on AOL with Regina Lewis.

Regina talking "America Idol" and a certain finger salute, I won't say which one, from Simon Cowell.

REGINA LEWIS, AOL: You meant malfunction.

KAGAN: Oh, finger malfunction, got it.

LEWIS: Yes. That's what they go by these days.

KAGAN: Yes, yes, yes.

LEWIS: Now, Simon has called it a passing moment. Of course, these days, with the advent of TiVo and digital photography, there's no such thing. It takes about two seconds for any malfunction to end up online.

So a lot of people were clamoring for this. It seems to be subsiding a little bit.

What -- there you go, hello.

KAGAN: He did it more than once though.

LEWIS: You know, I swear I've seen him do this before. He says it's a habit. Sometimes he uses two fingers, sometimes he even uses the whole hand. But judge for yourself. Certainly a sign of the times that we're even talking about this.

KAGAN: There you go. OK. But also about "America Idol," somebody who's not even on the show anymore is getting a lot of buzz.

LEWIS: William Hung, a.k.a., the "She Bangs" guy, released four songs on iTunes this week as singles. "She Bangs" is No. 5. Also, "Rocket Man," the Elton John remake that he first performed on the Ellen DeGeneres show, also climbing the charts. It got five stars on AOL TV's top five; it is classic. You've got to check this out.

The full album comes out April 6, complete with an appearance on Leno. So he seems to be climbing the charts.

For people who are still on the show, sort of interesting to see what's happening there. LaToya has been deemed the favorite to win in big online polls. But there's a guy named Jon Peter Lewis.

KAGAN: What's the deal there?

LEWIS: Yes. He's really charming. I read the Q&A, and they have these videos online on the official "America Idol" site, where it's kind of up close and personal. He says all the right things. I think he could be the winningest, you know, non-winner, a.k.a. Clay Aiken, who is now, you know, headlining tours.

So I could see him resurfacing and having quite the career, whether he wins or not.

KAGAN: Well, Simon has said that he could be the surprise winner, the surprise underdog and all that. But LaToya and Fantasia, for the record, are so talented and so above the rest.

LEWIS: They sure are.

KAGAN: OK. We can't get all wrapped up in "American Idol" here. Another topic online, something called free cycling. It sounds like kicking something to the electronic curb.

LEWIS: Very close actually. It's eBay without the money. And the word "free" has long been one of the most clicked through terms online.

This one is surprisingly noncommercial in that it really seems to be motivated by people who really want less things to go into the landfill. So the idea here is you're right. Instead of taking it to the curb I say, "I've got a coffee table. If you want it, pick it up on this curb at this time."

And the numbers are startling. Forty-thousand participants in more than 200 cities so far.

Fair warning, if you're going to do this, it's all by e-mail. Open a separate e-mail address, particularly if you do it in a major city. Because hello, you can imagine the things you're giving away. Your e-mail box fills up real quickly.

KAGAN: OK. That's actually a very good tip.

The state of West Virginia was hoping that some t-shirts would just go away.

LEWIS: They sure were. This is classic.

Leave it to Abercrombie & Fitch to cause a little controversy. They're famous for this. The T-shirt says "It's all relative in West Virginia."

Now, the governor of West Virginia, to your point, said look, get rid of these. Of course, what ended up happening is they sold out of them. We probably could have told him that would happen.

Abercrombie said, "Look, you're not the only one. We do this to all kinds of people in states." There's one for New Hampshire that says "40,000 squirrels can't be wrong."

KAGAN: Not nice. Look like you've been checking some place sunny online, Regina.

LEWIS: Thank you, yes, I recently went skiing. Thanks for noticing.

KAGAN: There you go.

LEWIS: Can't get the tan online. If I find that out, I'll be sure to let you know.

KAGAN: They can come up with that, too. They've got everything online. Regina Lewis, from AOL, thank you so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: It was a Democratic fund-raiser like no other. The goal, to show a united front. We'll have that, along with your complete political wrap up just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 26, 2004 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, trouble at the Tyco trial. Jurors are at odd, and the outcome of the nearly six-month trial is in doubt this morning.
Our Allan Chernoff is outside the courthouse in Manhattan with the latest.

Allan, good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

And the judge has just given a pep talk to the jurors, telling them to play nice, telling them to avoid incendiary accusations.

All of this after notes yesterday afternoon from the jury indicating that's exactly what's been happening within the jury room, accusations flying back and forth. The foreperson saying that the atmosphere has turned poisonous and saying that one juror has stopped deliberating in good faith.

That juror, apparently the holdout here, saying that the other jurors simply have avoided thinking that the defendants just may be innocent of the charges here.

All of this raising the possibility that, after nearly six months of this trial and more than a week of deliberations now, we may end up with a deadlock, a possibility of a hung jury.

But the judge told the jurors, "I don't think this is a deadlock situation." He told them, "You can work this through." So certainly trying to get them to go back into the jury room, work out their differences, and come to some conclusions.

Now, Mr. Kozlowski, Dennis Kozlowski, former chief executive of Tyco, and his No. 2 man, Mark Swartz, are charged with looting the company of $600 million through unauthorized bonuses, also for giving loans and illicit stock sales.

They each are facing 13 counts of grand larceny, in addition to other charges, and they could face up to 30 years in prison.

So Daryn, right now, the jury is back in its room, and they are deliberating. KAGAN: And, Allan, since we can't ourselves go inside the courtroom, give us a feeling of what the tension, or what the feeling is inside of there, and how the jurors appear when they come back in the courtroom.

CHERNOFF: It was very interesting this morning, because they came in sort of resigned to hearing what the judge had to say. They were very frustrated. You could read the frustration on their face yesterday afternoon. And obviously, there has been lots of acrimony in there.

But they walked out after the judge spoke to them with smiles on their face. At one point, the judge said to them, "Look, I know you've been through this for so long, and you easily could have gotten out of this." And that elicited a lot of laughter in the courtroom. The judge said, "Now I tell you."

So he certainly put a smile on the jurors' faces. And perhaps now, they will be able to work out their differences. It remains to be seen.

Clearly, a complicated case. It has dragged on for quite some time. And let's see if the jury can come to some conclusions.

KAGAN: All right. Allan Chernoff, tracking it for us from Manhattan. Thank you.

French authorities say they have detained three people in connection with the threat to bomb the country's rail lines.

A group that called itself AZF threatened to blow up French railway target lines and unless it was paid $4 million. France says the three people arrested today were associated with that group.

The latest bomb was found yesterday. The same day the interior ministry received a letter from AZF, saying it was suspending its plot.

The Bush administration says Condoleezza Rice wants to set the record straight. The White House has formally asked for another meeting between Rice and the commission investigating September 11.

Here's our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more on that -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, President Bush is traveling today. He is going to New Mexico, as well as Arizona. He's going to be focusing on his economic policy. He's going to talk about training and home ownership.

But also, the White House, very -- making it very clear that they are defending this administration against those allegations that they ignored the threats prior to September 11.

A big part of that is Dr. Rice's formal request to go, again, before the 9/11 commission to meet with them privately to answer questions, not to publicly testify. as the commission had requested.

She met back with them in February for about four and a half hours.

Now, one important point to make here is that, back then, she said she would be willing to go before the commission again. The commission, too, as well, said that they would like to hear from her.

Now, it was just yesterday that White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez sent a letter to the chair and the vice chair of the commission saying -- and I'm quoting here -- "In light of yesterday's hearings, in which there were a number of mischaracterizations of Dr. Rice's statements and positions, Dr. Rice requests to meet again privately with the commission."

But Daryn, again, the White House is maintaining that she will not testify publicly. The reason why, they say, is she is an advisor to the president, that she is not under the Senate confirmation process, and, therefore should not have to testify before a legislatively created body -- Daryn.

KAGAN: But here's the problem that I think some Americans might have with that explanation. We've seen Dr. Rice on just about every single television network over the last few days.

So how does the White House claim it's OK for her publicly to go on and answer journalists' questions, but she won't answer the commission's questions in public?

MALVEAUX: Well, they certainly say that it is executive privilege on the part of the president. They say that if she were to go before this commission and publicly testify, it would compromise her role in giving advice to the president, that this would set a bad precedent.

And they are not going to essentially deter from that position. They've made that very clear.

But as you bring up a point, we heard from Senator -- Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and a number of the commission members who say she has called reporters back into her office, that she has been on television, making her case. Therefore, she should make her case before the commission, the full commission publicly.

Should let you know, however, that I spoke with a number of commission members. And they say, of course, you know, before this hearing -- it's all very political -- but before the hearing, Dr. Rice was willing and offered to go before the commission.

What they're having a hard time with here is that they don't want to get caught up in the politics of all of this. They say there's a sense of urgency on the part of the White House. They are going to take their time in getting their schedules together, because they don't want to become what one of them said, was embroiled in the politics -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you.

President Bush's campaign stop in New Mexico, evidence that it is a battleground state. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has some surprising facts about New Mexico and its role in the race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Quick, which state had the closest vote in 2000? Wrong. The correct answer is New Mexico. Strange, but true.

CHRIS GARCIA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: We're closer than Florida, but of course, Florida got all the attention.

SCHNEIDER: Al Gore carried New Mexico by 366 votes. By comparison, George W. Bush's 537-vote margin in Florida was a landslide.

New Mexico is not just a swing state, it's a bellwether state. Since joining the union in 1912, New Mexico has voted for the winner in 21 out of 23 presidential elections.

GARCIA: It is an amazing thing that we are such a bellwether state and have been since statehood. And when one looks at the demographics, one wouldn't think so because we certainly are not typical.

SCHNEIDER: strange but true.

BRIAN SANDEROFF, NEW MEXICO POLLSTER: New Mexico is a battleground state, because of the fact that we're 40 percent Hispanic and we're eight percent Native American.

SCHNEIDER: Even the Hispanic vote is strange but true. A lot of it is not Mexican-American.

SANDEROFF: Hispanics in New Mexico can trace their lineage for over 400 years to Spain, particularly in northern New Mexico. And so sometimes people call Hispanics in northern New Mexico minority groups, and they look at you funny.

SCHNEIDER: Taos and Santa Fe look like northern California: artists, environmentalists and counter culture voters, the base of New Mexico's thriving Green Party.

Ralph Nader took four percent of the New Mexico vote in 2000. That's why it was so close. And why Nader threatens the Democrats again this year.

For a small state, New Mexico is getting a lot of attention in 2004.

GARCIA: Both on English media and on Spanish language media. So yes, we're being, I'd say, almost saturated with ads this early in the campaign. SCHNEIDER: So how does the 2004 race look in New Mexico? Close. George W. Bush and John Kerry get about equal favorability ratings.

Kerry has an important ally, the highly popular Democratic Governor Bill Richardson. Hispanic, former U.N. ambassador, a potential Kerry running mate.

SANDEROFF: If Kerry put Richardson on the ticket that would sew New Mexico up, yes.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Speaking of strange but true, there is Roswell, New Mexico, site of the International UFO Museum. No polls yet of the space alien vote. But in a close race...

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: While President Bush is looking for votes in the west, his Democratic challenger is getting support from his party's heaviest hitters. A show of force and unity, coming up.

Also, is al Qaeda's second in command talking again, calling for the overthrow of Pakistan's government? And even more troubling, some people are listening.

And you say you can't get enough of "America Idol" reject William Hung? Well, we're bringing his new full-length record to you anyway. Part of today's buzz on the Web when CNN's LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The CIA says today the voice on a purported al Qaeda tape is probably that of No. 2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The recording was first played on the Arabic network Al Jazeera. It comes a week after Pakistan suggested that al-Zawahiri might be cornered in the country's mountainous tribal region.

On that tape, the speaker says that Pakistan's president has betrayed his people by siding with the U.S. and he should be overthrown.

Let's bring in our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, who is in Islamabad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, Pakistani officials have been holding off making comment on that until they've heard that there was confirmation that this tape was, in fact, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

I'm joined now by Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Sir, this is a direct threat against your government. President Musharraf himself has received two attacks by al Qaeda. Does it worry you?

SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTAN INFORMATION MINISTER: Not worry you, but you know, as he did before, he supplied this explosive to the people who attempted on president twice as a suicide attack.

But it's a false and a baseless statement. It's the third time which he has given. And he cleared it -- he wants to create trouble, as he creates a holy war.

But we are ready to face all the consequences, because we are committed that we finish all these terrorists, wherever they are, and this is commitment and -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) people are behind President Musharraf, think that he did the right thing, to getting them past time, and will not allow anybody to use our country for any terrorist actions.

ROBERTSON: But it does seem that there is some support for these calls against the government. Today, for example, demonstrations in Lahore, Pershawa, Islamabad, against the government, against President Musharraf.

AHMED: Very small protests. They were very strong and very huge before this. I have seen them -- they have blocked the streets. Only one single block, both sides. There were not -- few hundred people only. And they were arranged from these other areas. The Mahdi-Koata (ph) and other areas. But they are very small numbers.

ROBERTSON: But these demonstrations are against President Musharraf's actions in the tribal area, which is the support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the hunt for al-Zawahiri, the hunt for al Qaeda.

These demonstrations appear to be against this association, this help being given in the war on terrorism to the United States.

AHMED: Yes, of course, they are a few people. They are a small number of people. They are extremists. They want to create troubles, problems. But on whole, the country is with President Musharraf on this issue.

And in tribal area, of course, they have elected from there. They have been elected from these areas. And they have some political following there.

But people -- even the fatah people, fatah people know that Pakistan army don't want to have any action against them.

But because they people that these terrorists staying there for a long time, they've been there for many years, they have some influence. They have some social contacts. And that's why they got some 10, 20 people support from that area. But we are going to sort them out of these terrorists. We have given them a lot of time, opportunity, to surrender. But they have decided to -- not to surrender, and they have decided to fight. And that's why the army is there, and after hundred and hundred years, even the Moguls, even the sheikhs (ph) and the Britain were not in a position to enter there, but the Pakistani troops entered there, will fulfill their commitment against the terrorism.

ROBERTSON: Minister Ahmed, thank you very much indeed.

Daryn, despite those threats, the government here says it's absolutely resolute to continue its commitment against the war on terrorism, and to continue routing al Qaeda from its border areas -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson with the latest from Islamabad, thank you.

Could you soon be able to travel from the East Coast to the West in about 45 minutes? A test of an experimental plane is about to push that barrier literally. We'll take a look, coming up.

Later, on screen he is the angel of death. But what's the real Thomas Jane like? We'll find out. Thomas Jane is going to be in the house with us, star of "The Punisher," coming up live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We like to take time on Friday to check out the topics that are hot online. Checking the buzz on AOL with Regina Lewis.

Regina talking "America Idol" and a certain finger salute, I won't say which one, from Simon Cowell.

REGINA LEWIS, AOL: You meant malfunction.

KAGAN: Oh, finger malfunction, got it.

LEWIS: Yes. That's what they go by these days.

KAGAN: Yes, yes, yes.

LEWIS: Now, Simon has called it a passing moment. Of course, these days, with the advent of TiVo and digital photography, there's no such thing. It takes about two seconds for any malfunction to end up online.

So a lot of people were clamoring for this. It seems to be subsiding a little bit.

What -- there you go, hello.

KAGAN: He did it more than once though.

LEWIS: You know, I swear I've seen him do this before. He says it's a habit. Sometimes he uses two fingers, sometimes he even uses the whole hand. But judge for yourself. Certainly a sign of the times that we're even talking about this.

KAGAN: There you go. OK. But also about "America Idol," somebody who's not even on the show anymore is getting a lot of buzz.

LEWIS: William Hung, a.k.a., the "She Bangs" guy, released four songs on iTunes this week as singles. "She Bangs" is No. 5. Also, "Rocket Man," the Elton John remake that he first performed on the Ellen DeGeneres show, also climbing the charts. It got five stars on AOL TV's top five; it is classic. You've got to check this out.

The full album comes out April 6, complete with an appearance on Leno. So he seems to be climbing the charts.

For people who are still on the show, sort of interesting to see what's happening there. LaToya has been deemed the favorite to win in big online polls. But there's a guy named Jon Peter Lewis.

KAGAN: What's the deal there?

LEWIS: Yes. He's really charming. I read the Q&A, and they have these videos online on the official "America Idol" site, where it's kind of up close and personal. He says all the right things. I think he could be the winningest, you know, non-winner, a.k.a. Clay Aiken, who is now, you know, headlining tours.

So I could see him resurfacing and having quite the career, whether he wins or not.

KAGAN: Well, Simon has said that he could be the surprise winner, the surprise underdog and all that. But LaToya and Fantasia, for the record, are so talented and so above the rest.

LEWIS: They sure are.

KAGAN: OK. We can't get all wrapped up in "American Idol" here. Another topic online, something called free cycling. It sounds like kicking something to the electronic curb.

LEWIS: Very close actually. It's eBay without the money. And the word "free" has long been one of the most clicked through terms online.

This one is surprisingly noncommercial in that it really seems to be motivated by people who really want less things to go into the landfill. So the idea here is you're right. Instead of taking it to the curb I say, "I've got a coffee table. If you want it, pick it up on this curb at this time."

And the numbers are startling. Forty-thousand participants in more than 200 cities so far.

Fair warning, if you're going to do this, it's all by e-mail. Open a separate e-mail address, particularly if you do it in a major city. Because hello, you can imagine the things you're giving away. Your e-mail box fills up real quickly.

KAGAN: OK. That's actually a very good tip.

The state of West Virginia was hoping that some t-shirts would just go away.

LEWIS: They sure were. This is classic.

Leave it to Abercrombie & Fitch to cause a little controversy. They're famous for this. The T-shirt says "It's all relative in West Virginia."

Now, the governor of West Virginia, to your point, said look, get rid of these. Of course, what ended up happening is they sold out of them. We probably could have told him that would happen.

Abercrombie said, "Look, you're not the only one. We do this to all kinds of people in states." There's one for New Hampshire that says "40,000 squirrels can't be wrong."

KAGAN: Not nice. Look like you've been checking some place sunny online, Regina.

LEWIS: Thank you, yes, I recently went skiing. Thanks for noticing.

KAGAN: There you go.

LEWIS: Can't get the tan online. If I find that out, I'll be sure to let you know.

KAGAN: They can come up with that, too. They've got everything online. Regina Lewis, from AOL, thank you so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: It was a Democratic fund-raiser like no other. The goal, to show a united front. We'll have that, along with your complete political wrap up just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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