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U.S. Military Halts Offensive Against Insurgents in City of Fallujah; 'The Apprentice' Building Toward Big Finale

Aired April 09, 2004 - 11:30   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, CNN ANCHOR: We're at 30 minutes past the hour. Time we go ahead and check the headlines, beginning with a day after testimony from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. The White House today saying it's working to declassify an August, 2001 intelligence memo prepared for President Bush. Some on the 9/11 commission contend the memo warned of al Qaeda plans to hijack an American airplane. The White House suggests the memo may be taken out of context, leading to distorted conclusions.
U.S. authorities plan talks today with insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. The Marines are holding their fire during the pause in operations. Troops went into Fallujah after four civilian security contractors were killed and their bodies were mutilated last week.

Vice President Dick Cheney is leaving today on a week-long trip to Asia, with Iraq high on the agenda. He'll make personal appeals to Japanese and South Korean leaders to stay the course. Both countries saw their citizens kidnapped in Iraq this week. Three Japanese are still being held hostage.

And federal investigators plan to wrap up their work at a derailment site in Mississippi today. One person was killed when the Amtrak train fell of off a trestle into a swampy area. Investigators are looking at the possibility the track was not properly aligned.

The headlines out of Iraq at this hour. A large explosion shook Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel today. CNN crews say that it appears a large mortar crashed in or near the building. There's damage to the tennis court, but no injuries are reported.

The U.S. military halted its offensive against insurgents in the city of Fallujah today. That pause will allow talks that could lead to a cease fire and to allow humanitarian aid.

In Baghdad, today, U.S. troops pulled down posters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Supporters put them up in the same square where Saddam Hussein's statue was pulled down a year ago today. Al Sadr is blamed for much of this week's surging violence in Iraq.

And in the southern city of Al Kut, tribal leaders say that they are helping the U.S. beat back al Sadr's militia. The U.S. military says it should control the city by tomorrow.

And with that, let's go right to the Pentagon and correspondent Barbara Starr, with the latest military movements in Iraq.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. A briefing just concluded a few moments in Baghdad a few moments ago, and a lot of new details about what is going on in Iraq.

Now, coalition officials say they are regaining control of almost every area where this violence and insurgency has taken place. Two places they're still working on, of course, Najaf, which is the holy city, and they are largely staying out of that. Also, trying to finalize regaining control of Karbala and Al Kut.

Now, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt says about 1,000 U.S. troops, heavily armed troops, in the last couple of days have moved south from Baghdad to Al Kut. A major effort to retake that city, and they now believe they are close to doing that.

Reports are also coming in, they say, from across Iraq, that Iraqis are turning against Muqtada al Sadr, that they are getting tired of the violence, and that they may be trying to regain control themselves of their own cities. But in Fallujah, the Sunni stronghold, of course, the fighting has continued to some extent.

Now, officially, the coalition has declared a unilateral halt to offensive operations while the Iraq Governing Council talks to leaders in the city, while they give them some time to take care of their dead and wounded and move in relief supplies, but there has been gunfire heard, of course. Not all the insurgents, apparently, getting the word.

General John Abizaid in that region, talking about the fight across Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: One year later, we've got clearly a good-size fight going on here in Fallujah with the Marine Corps, and we've got other operations going on throughout the country against Sadr's militia. It's certainly not the same level of intensity that we had during the movement phase of the war, but it is a counter-insurgency operation up here, and it's an operation against an illegal militia force down in the south. A lot of military activity going on, but still a level of activity that can be handled with the troops available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And back in Baghdad, as you say, a very different picture in the same square, one year later. Soldiers now taking down pictures of Muqtada al Sadr that were put up in the same square where one year ago that statue of Saddam Hussein came down. Today, the square is largely empty, a lot of tension in Baghdad as the Shia holy days come up. As the tension does continue, U.S. officials insist they are regaining control bit by bit.

Daryn?

KAGAN: And with Arbayeen (ph) right around the corner, we're going to check in in Baghdad.

Barbara, thank you for that. Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon.

And now live to Baghdad. Our Jim Clancy has been with us through much of the morning, talking primarily - a lot of news across Iraq, but especially the explosion that took not that far from where you are, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let me just say that I don't think there is a lot of tension in Baghdad today. I think that a lot of people in Baghdad expected some kind of action today. I think that most people are pretty calm about the situation. They're disturbed about what's going on in Fallujah more than they are about what's going on in Baghdad. I think a lot of the observers on the sidelines very concerned about the situation with the Shia in the south and happy to see that the U.S. is taking some direct action there.

They may also be wondering whether the U.S. has given the green light to the Badr Brigades, another Shia militia, also outlawed, but still holding its arms. They may have been given the green light to take on Muqtada al Sadr's brigades, his Al Mehdi (ph) Army, as he calls his private militia there. Because a lot of the Shia Muslims do not support Muqtada al Sadr. He is not a bona fide cleric in their view. He is not a substantive religious leader. What he is is the son of a major figure in Iraq religious circles, a figure who was assassinated by Saddam Hussein.

Still, they do not feel that his leadership is representative of their future, and that is the problem. But again, in Baghdad today, the tension is no more than normal. For all of the last year, they have been trying to get the U.S. to take control of the situation on the ground security-wise. They want either the United States to back off or to crack down on the militants that have been disputing their lives with roadside bombs, suicide bombs, car bombs that have been claiming, after all, hundreds upon hundreds of Iraqi lives, more Iraqi lives than coalition soldiers' lives. So you can understand what their situation is.

That's why, perhaps, many are happy to hear that there's negotiations going on in Fallujah, that town, after one week of pitched battles, five, six days of it between U.S. Marines and Sunni insurgents there. You have a situation where now they have a respite, at least for 24 hours. The U.S., according to top military commanders here on the ground, telling CNN that they were going to be conducting talks. Those talks were underway between the member of the Iraqi Governing Council, some of the local leaders, religious and tribal there, in Fallujah, the U.S. military, and hopefully, they said also, representatives of the insurgents themselves.

What will come of it all? We're not certainly. But certainly, the people of Fallujah have been able to get in supplies of food, drugs, medicines, medical supplies, as well as to tend to their dead and wounded.

Now, you talk about what happened here in Baghdad today, and there was a 120-millimeter mortar that was fired into this complex that includes two journalists' hotels, if you want to call them that. There's also some contractors in these hotels. They're heavily defended. The 120-millimeter mortar impacted on the tennis courts of the nearby sporting club, just adjacent to the Sheraton-Ishtar hotel. There were no casualties.

This really meant, and directed here to Fidrows (ph) for Paradise Square, because this is where the U.S. marked really the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, that on one hand. The other hand, because here is where all of the media are, and what better way to underline, to punctuate the fact that one year later the U.S., the coalition, does not have a firm security control on Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

Back to you.

KAGAN: And that's where we find our Jim Clancy, as evening sets there on the Iraq capital. Jim, thank you for your reports today. Appreciate it.

Want to go to one of the military leaders, U.S. military leaders on the ground in Baghdad. Brigadier General Mark Hurtland (ph). He was with us on the line the last hour, we're bringing him back again.

General, thanks for coming back. Appreciate it.

BRIGADIER GEN. MARK HURTLAND (ph): Thank you, how are you doing?

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and look forward toward this weekend, toward the religious holiday of Arbayeen (ph), and what that's going to mean in terms of a military strategy and a challenge as potentially more than a million people will be on the move.

HURTLAND (ph): Would you (DELETED) Howard Stern?

KAGAN: All right, well, there we go.

Once again, trying to bring some serious news, and the Howard Stern people seem to find better things to do with their time.

We're going to take this opportunity to get a break to clean up our air lines from that nastiness, and we'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, a new start here. "The Apprentice," it's building toward its big finale. It's also generating a lot of buzz on the Web. That's why we call on AOL's Regina Lewis. She is here in New York with more on that and other hot topics of the week.

Regina, good to see a friendly face.

REGINA LEWIS, CNN ONLINE ADVISER: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and talk about "The Apprentice." It is down to two. LEWIS: Absolutely. The showdown begins, and with that, a lot of online reaction. Last night, Nick and Amy got voted off, and Bill and Kwami entered the finals. They brought back some former contestants, including the controversial Omarosa. She had the line of the night - yes, oh is right - when she said, how do you lose a rock star, in reference to Jessica Simpson, there you see here, who was on - I'm sorry, that's not her. It looks like her, though - who was in transit to Atlantic City. Now, someone very cleverly posted a message overnight that said, wait a second, she might have ended up in your neck of the woods - Atlantic City, Atlanta, we are after all talking about Jessica Simpson.

KAGAN: Chicken of the Sea.

LEWIS: So we'll see how that plays out.

KAGAN: There you go. Also online, and also a big story this week, Jennifer Lopez's mother winning big, and speaking of casinos - at the casino, a huge jackpot, as if she needs the money. Come on.

LEWIS: Exactly, and that was the overwhelming reaction. There is such a thing as too lucky. People had really clever postings. Some saying, you know, we thought Ben was the gambler in her life, or as they always say, the rich get richer. So sort of interesting. It really spiked very quickly and then went right down, but almost everybody had something to say about that. There they are.

KAGAN: And how she should spend the money. Speaking of money, it's that time of the year when we need to pay out to the IRS and people using the Web for doing their taxes.

LEWIS: Yes, in record numbers. We see it every year, a last- minute tax rush to get the forms. IRS now reporting more than 50 million forms filed electronically this year, and that's a double- digit year over year increase. Watch for that trend to continue. There's actually a congressional mandate for 70 percent of tax forms to be filed electronically by the year 2007 because it's so much more efficient.

For consumers, the big draw is this: average refund check, $2,500 - big cash this year. Single fastest way to get your hands on the money, file electronically. You'll get it in about 10 days, versus four to six weeks, so really a significant draw. It also tends to be more accurate - the error rate, less than 1 percent versus 20 percent, because, frankly, not all of us are very good at math, and they do the math for you.

KAGAN: There you go. Have you done yours?

LEWIS: I haven't, but ...

KAGAN: Oh.

LEWIS: Which brings me to my next point. You can file for an extension online.

KAGAN: OK. Attention IRS, Regina will be asking you for an extension.

LEWIS: There you go. All the way to 12:00 midnight on the 15th you can do that.

KAGAN: Exactly. Thank you. We will be checking back with you. Regina Lewis from AOL. We're going to get a break in. Maybe Regina will get her taxes done in that break.

Much more news ahead, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Want to show you live pictures of the Vatican on this Good Friday. Don't see Pope John Paul II right now, but we did see him earlier in the day. He is leading this afternoon's service. The Pope used to carry a wooden cross during the procession, but he had to stop three years ago because of difficulty walking. He will deliver a blessing at the end of the service. He'll also preside over Easter Vigil Mass tomorrow, and celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, and then of course deliver his Easter message and his Easter blessing.

Back here to the U.S. The Pink Panther, turning 40 years old. Can you believe it? There is an anniversary collection of the classic film series. It stars Peter Sellers. It's being released this week, and that's when I had the chance to talk with actor Robert Wagner. Do you know that he was in the original Pink Panther movie.

Here's Robert Wagner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: First of all, the Pink Panther we think of as a cartoon character, but if you go back to that original movie that you starred in 40 years ago, Pink Panther was a diamond.

ROBERT WAGNER, ACTOR: Pink Panther was a diamond, and really the star of the picture was David Niven, and when Peter came in to it and they started to create the character of Clouseau, then Clouseau kind of took over the whole picture because of - he was such a dynamic character.

KAGAN: Also interesting, I was interested to learn, speaking of Peters, that actually Peter Ustinov was supposed to star in that role.

WAGNER: Yes.

KAGAN: He dropped out the week before filming was about to begin, and here comes Peter Sellers.

WAGNER: Yes, well, that's right, Daryn, and what happened was that Blake is a very inspirational director. He does a lot of improvisational work, and the script wasn't - there were some areas of the script that were kind of left open, and that was a concern for Peter Ustinov. And so that ended that - his involvement in it, and Peter Sellers had done a picture called "The Mouse that Roared," which Blake had seen. And he always felt that Peter Sellers was the real character of Clouseau.

So when the two of them got together and both of their talents were brought to this character of Clouseau, I mean, it was so exciting to watch it all come together.

KAGAN: And of course you're talking about Blake Edwards, who was honored just this year at the Oscars, back in February, for his lifetime achievement, and so much of that being the Pink Panther series.

Blake Edwards do you think was truly the spirit of Inspector Clouseau? He was kind of the fumbling, klutzy guy?

WAGNER: Absolutely. It would be Blake who wrote it, created the character. And even though the character of Clouseau was bumbling and stumbling, he was never embarrassed by himself. That's the way he was. That was his - he was that way. He never made excuses for himself, and I think that's one of the great charms about Clouseau, is that he is what he is, and the audience just absolutely loves him. And this will introduce a whole new audience to it. A lot of people haven't seen Clouseau.

KAGAN: And so you have the DVD set. Going back 40 years, did you realize how funny the series could potentially be, on that first movie?

WAGNER: Daryn, it was such a joy for me. You just can't imagine what a thrill it was for me to be involved in this picture. And I was with my friend David Niven, who I loved dearly, and I was with him up until the time that he left us. And Peter and I became very, very good friends, and Blake and I are still very good friends. So a lot of it came out of it for me, aside from being in the picture that was so important and made up a lot of my life.

KAGAN: And looking ahead, I understand Steve Martin is supposed to do the next Pink Panther, and he's going to be Inspector Clouseau. Funny guy. Do you think he'll be able to take on that role?

WAGNER: Well, that's what I understand. Well, he's a very talented man. I mean, Steve Martin has got a great, great gift, and I'm sure that he'll put a different spin on it in some way, and it should be interesting to see. I think it'll be a very interesting project.

KAGAN: Well, happy anniversary.

WAGNER: Thanks.

KAGAN: Congratulations on being a part of film history, really, with the Pink Panther series.

Robert Wagner.

WAGNER: Thank you so much, Daryn. It's so nice to talk to you again. You are such a great lady.

KAGAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Always great to have Robert Wagner on. We've been through almost two hours of news. Have yet to get to weather. We are going to fix that when we come back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: That is going to do it for us. It has been a very busy news morning. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here on Monday morning, you have a great weekend.

Wolf takes over from Washington, D.C.

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 9, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're at 30 minutes past the hour. Time we go ahead and check the headlines, beginning with a day after testimony from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. The White House today saying it's working to declassify an August, 2001 intelligence memo prepared for President Bush. Some on the 9/11 commission contend the memo warned of al Qaeda plans to hijack an American airplane. The White House suggests the memo may be taken out of context, leading to distorted conclusions.
U.S. authorities plan talks today with insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. The Marines are holding their fire during the pause in operations. Troops went into Fallujah after four civilian security contractors were killed and their bodies were mutilated last week.

Vice President Dick Cheney is leaving today on a week-long trip to Asia, with Iraq high on the agenda. He'll make personal appeals to Japanese and South Korean leaders to stay the course. Both countries saw their citizens kidnapped in Iraq this week. Three Japanese are still being held hostage.

And federal investigators plan to wrap up their work at a derailment site in Mississippi today. One person was killed when the Amtrak train fell of off a trestle into a swampy area. Investigators are looking at the possibility the track was not properly aligned.

The headlines out of Iraq at this hour. A large explosion shook Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel today. CNN crews say that it appears a large mortar crashed in or near the building. There's damage to the tennis court, but no injuries are reported.

The U.S. military halted its offensive against insurgents in the city of Fallujah today. That pause will allow talks that could lead to a cease fire and to allow humanitarian aid.

In Baghdad, today, U.S. troops pulled down posters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Supporters put them up in the same square where Saddam Hussein's statue was pulled down a year ago today. Al Sadr is blamed for much of this week's surging violence in Iraq.

And in the southern city of Al Kut, tribal leaders say that they are helping the U.S. beat back al Sadr's militia. The U.S. military says it should control the city by tomorrow.

And with that, let's go right to the Pentagon and correspondent Barbara Starr, with the latest military movements in Iraq.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. A briefing just concluded a few moments in Baghdad a few moments ago, and a lot of new details about what is going on in Iraq.

Now, coalition officials say they are regaining control of almost every area where this violence and insurgency has taken place. Two places they're still working on, of course, Najaf, which is the holy city, and they are largely staying out of that. Also, trying to finalize regaining control of Karbala and Al Kut.

Now, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt says about 1,000 U.S. troops, heavily armed troops, in the last couple of days have moved south from Baghdad to Al Kut. A major effort to retake that city, and they now believe they are close to doing that.

Reports are also coming in, they say, from across Iraq, that Iraqis are turning against Muqtada al Sadr, that they are getting tired of the violence, and that they may be trying to regain control themselves of their own cities. But in Fallujah, the Sunni stronghold, of course, the fighting has continued to some extent.

Now, officially, the coalition has declared a unilateral halt to offensive operations while the Iraq Governing Council talks to leaders in the city, while they give them some time to take care of their dead and wounded and move in relief supplies, but there has been gunfire heard, of course. Not all the insurgents, apparently, getting the word.

General John Abizaid in that region, talking about the fight across Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: One year later, we've got clearly a good-size fight going on here in Fallujah with the Marine Corps, and we've got other operations going on throughout the country against Sadr's militia. It's certainly not the same level of intensity that we had during the movement phase of the war, but it is a counter-insurgency operation up here, and it's an operation against an illegal militia force down in the south. A lot of military activity going on, but still a level of activity that can be handled with the troops available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And back in Baghdad, as you say, a very different picture in the same square, one year later. Soldiers now taking down pictures of Muqtada al Sadr that were put up in the same square where one year ago that statue of Saddam Hussein came down. Today, the square is largely empty, a lot of tension in Baghdad as the Shia holy days come up. As the tension does continue, U.S. officials insist they are regaining control bit by bit.

Daryn?

KAGAN: And with Arbayeen (ph) right around the corner, we're going to check in in Baghdad.

Barbara, thank you for that. Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon.

And now live to Baghdad. Our Jim Clancy has been with us through much of the morning, talking primarily - a lot of news across Iraq, but especially the explosion that took not that far from where you are, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let me just say that I don't think there is a lot of tension in Baghdad today. I think that a lot of people in Baghdad expected some kind of action today. I think that most people are pretty calm about the situation. They're disturbed about what's going on in Fallujah more than they are about what's going on in Baghdad. I think a lot of the observers on the sidelines very concerned about the situation with the Shia in the south and happy to see that the U.S. is taking some direct action there.

They may also be wondering whether the U.S. has given the green light to the Badr Brigades, another Shia militia, also outlawed, but still holding its arms. They may have been given the green light to take on Muqtada al Sadr's brigades, his Al Mehdi (ph) Army, as he calls his private militia there. Because a lot of the Shia Muslims do not support Muqtada al Sadr. He is not a bona fide cleric in their view. He is not a substantive religious leader. What he is is the son of a major figure in Iraq religious circles, a figure who was assassinated by Saddam Hussein.

Still, they do not feel that his leadership is representative of their future, and that is the problem. But again, in Baghdad today, the tension is no more than normal. For all of the last year, they have been trying to get the U.S. to take control of the situation on the ground security-wise. They want either the United States to back off or to crack down on the militants that have been disputing their lives with roadside bombs, suicide bombs, car bombs that have been claiming, after all, hundreds upon hundreds of Iraqi lives, more Iraqi lives than coalition soldiers' lives. So you can understand what their situation is.

That's why, perhaps, many are happy to hear that there's negotiations going on in Fallujah, that town, after one week of pitched battles, five, six days of it between U.S. Marines and Sunni insurgents there. You have a situation where now they have a respite, at least for 24 hours. The U.S., according to top military commanders here on the ground, telling CNN that they were going to be conducting talks. Those talks were underway between the member of the Iraqi Governing Council, some of the local leaders, religious and tribal there, in Fallujah, the U.S. military, and hopefully, they said also, representatives of the insurgents themselves.

What will come of it all? We're not certainly. But certainly, the people of Fallujah have been able to get in supplies of food, drugs, medicines, medical supplies, as well as to tend to their dead and wounded.

Now, you talk about what happened here in Baghdad today, and there was a 120-millimeter mortar that was fired into this complex that includes two journalists' hotels, if you want to call them that. There's also some contractors in these hotels. They're heavily defended. The 120-millimeter mortar impacted on the tennis courts of the nearby sporting club, just adjacent to the Sheraton-Ishtar hotel. There were no casualties.

This really meant, and directed here to Fidrows (ph) for Paradise Square, because this is where the U.S. marked really the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, that on one hand. The other hand, because here is where all of the media are, and what better way to underline, to punctuate the fact that one year later the U.S., the coalition, does not have a firm security control on Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

Back to you.

KAGAN: And that's where we find our Jim Clancy, as evening sets there on the Iraq capital. Jim, thank you for your reports today. Appreciate it.

Want to go to one of the military leaders, U.S. military leaders on the ground in Baghdad. Brigadier General Mark Hurtland (ph). He was with us on the line the last hour, we're bringing him back again.

General, thanks for coming back. Appreciate it.

BRIGADIER GEN. MARK HURTLAND (ph): Thank you, how are you doing?

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and look forward toward this weekend, toward the religious holiday of Arbayeen (ph), and what that's going to mean in terms of a military strategy and a challenge as potentially more than a million people will be on the move.

HURTLAND (ph): Would you (DELETED) Howard Stern?

KAGAN: All right, well, there we go.

Once again, trying to bring some serious news, and the Howard Stern people seem to find better things to do with their time.

We're going to take this opportunity to get a break to clean up our air lines from that nastiness, and we'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, a new start here. "The Apprentice," it's building toward its big finale. It's also generating a lot of buzz on the Web. That's why we call on AOL's Regina Lewis. She is here in New York with more on that and other hot topics of the week.

Regina, good to see a friendly face.

REGINA LEWIS, CNN ONLINE ADVISER: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and talk about "The Apprentice." It is down to two. LEWIS: Absolutely. The showdown begins, and with that, a lot of online reaction. Last night, Nick and Amy got voted off, and Bill and Kwami entered the finals. They brought back some former contestants, including the controversial Omarosa. She had the line of the night - yes, oh is right - when she said, how do you lose a rock star, in reference to Jessica Simpson, there you see here, who was on - I'm sorry, that's not her. It looks like her, though - who was in transit to Atlantic City. Now, someone very cleverly posted a message overnight that said, wait a second, she might have ended up in your neck of the woods - Atlantic City, Atlanta, we are after all talking about Jessica Simpson.

KAGAN: Chicken of the Sea.

LEWIS: So we'll see how that plays out.

KAGAN: There you go. Also online, and also a big story this week, Jennifer Lopez's mother winning big, and speaking of casinos - at the casino, a huge jackpot, as if she needs the money. Come on.

LEWIS: Exactly, and that was the overwhelming reaction. There is such a thing as too lucky. People had really clever postings. Some saying, you know, we thought Ben was the gambler in her life, or as they always say, the rich get richer. So sort of interesting. It really spiked very quickly and then went right down, but almost everybody had something to say about that. There they are.

KAGAN: And how she should spend the money. Speaking of money, it's that time of the year when we need to pay out to the IRS and people using the Web for doing their taxes.

LEWIS: Yes, in record numbers. We see it every year, a last- minute tax rush to get the forms. IRS now reporting more than 50 million forms filed electronically this year, and that's a double- digit year over year increase. Watch for that trend to continue. There's actually a congressional mandate for 70 percent of tax forms to be filed electronically by the year 2007 because it's so much more efficient.

For consumers, the big draw is this: average refund check, $2,500 - big cash this year. Single fastest way to get your hands on the money, file electronically. You'll get it in about 10 days, versus four to six weeks, so really a significant draw. It also tends to be more accurate - the error rate, less than 1 percent versus 20 percent, because, frankly, not all of us are very good at math, and they do the math for you.

KAGAN: There you go. Have you done yours?

LEWIS: I haven't, but ...

KAGAN: Oh.

LEWIS: Which brings me to my next point. You can file for an extension online.

KAGAN: OK. Attention IRS, Regina will be asking you for an extension.

LEWIS: There you go. All the way to 12:00 midnight on the 15th you can do that.

KAGAN: Exactly. Thank you. We will be checking back with you. Regina Lewis from AOL. We're going to get a break in. Maybe Regina will get her taxes done in that break.

Much more news ahead, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Want to show you live pictures of the Vatican on this Good Friday. Don't see Pope John Paul II right now, but we did see him earlier in the day. He is leading this afternoon's service. The Pope used to carry a wooden cross during the procession, but he had to stop three years ago because of difficulty walking. He will deliver a blessing at the end of the service. He'll also preside over Easter Vigil Mass tomorrow, and celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, and then of course deliver his Easter message and his Easter blessing.

Back here to the U.S. The Pink Panther, turning 40 years old. Can you believe it? There is an anniversary collection of the classic film series. It stars Peter Sellers. It's being released this week, and that's when I had the chance to talk with actor Robert Wagner. Do you know that he was in the original Pink Panther movie.

Here's Robert Wagner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: First of all, the Pink Panther we think of as a cartoon character, but if you go back to that original movie that you starred in 40 years ago, Pink Panther was a diamond.

ROBERT WAGNER, ACTOR: Pink Panther was a diamond, and really the star of the picture was David Niven, and when Peter came in to it and they started to create the character of Clouseau, then Clouseau kind of took over the whole picture because of - he was such a dynamic character.

KAGAN: Also interesting, I was interested to learn, speaking of Peters, that actually Peter Ustinov was supposed to star in that role.

WAGNER: Yes.

KAGAN: He dropped out the week before filming was about to begin, and here comes Peter Sellers.

WAGNER: Yes, well, that's right, Daryn, and what happened was that Blake is a very inspirational director. He does a lot of improvisational work, and the script wasn't - there were some areas of the script that were kind of left open, and that was a concern for Peter Ustinov. And so that ended that - his involvement in it, and Peter Sellers had done a picture called "The Mouse that Roared," which Blake had seen. And he always felt that Peter Sellers was the real character of Clouseau.

So when the two of them got together and both of their talents were brought to this character of Clouseau, I mean, it was so exciting to watch it all come together.

KAGAN: And of course you're talking about Blake Edwards, who was honored just this year at the Oscars, back in February, for his lifetime achievement, and so much of that being the Pink Panther series.

Blake Edwards do you think was truly the spirit of Inspector Clouseau? He was kind of the fumbling, klutzy guy?

WAGNER: Absolutely. It would be Blake who wrote it, created the character. And even though the character of Clouseau was bumbling and stumbling, he was never embarrassed by himself. That's the way he was. That was his - he was that way. He never made excuses for himself, and I think that's one of the great charms about Clouseau, is that he is what he is, and the audience just absolutely loves him. And this will introduce a whole new audience to it. A lot of people haven't seen Clouseau.

KAGAN: And so you have the DVD set. Going back 40 years, did you realize how funny the series could potentially be, on that first movie?

WAGNER: Daryn, it was such a joy for me. You just can't imagine what a thrill it was for me to be involved in this picture. And I was with my friend David Niven, who I loved dearly, and I was with him up until the time that he left us. And Peter and I became very, very good friends, and Blake and I are still very good friends. So a lot of it came out of it for me, aside from being in the picture that was so important and made up a lot of my life.

KAGAN: And looking ahead, I understand Steve Martin is supposed to do the next Pink Panther, and he's going to be Inspector Clouseau. Funny guy. Do you think he'll be able to take on that role?

WAGNER: Well, that's what I understand. Well, he's a very talented man. I mean, Steve Martin has got a great, great gift, and I'm sure that he'll put a different spin on it in some way, and it should be interesting to see. I think it'll be a very interesting project.

KAGAN: Well, happy anniversary.

WAGNER: Thanks.

KAGAN: Congratulations on being a part of film history, really, with the Pink Panther series.

Robert Wagner.

WAGNER: Thank you so much, Daryn. It's so nice to talk to you again. You are such a great lady.

KAGAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Always great to have Robert Wagner on. We've been through almost two hours of news. Have yet to get to weather. We are going to fix that when we come back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: That is going to do it for us. It has been a very busy news morning. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here on Monday morning, you have a great weekend.

Wolf takes over from Washington, D.C.

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