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CNN Live At Daybreak

Remembering the Horror; Latest Attacks by Insurgents as Country's First Election Approaches

Aired January 27, 2005 - 05:00   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Buckle up -- in 90 seconds, we'll take you on a dangerous ride with U.S. Marines in western Iraq.
Plus, remembering the horror -- 60 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, high school students learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

And simple stick figures with a message. Now two Florida boys will face a judge. They're nine and 10.

It is Thursday, January 27.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Now in the news, a suicide bomber, this time riding a tractor. It blew up near a Kurdish political party office in the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar. Four Iraqi soldiers and a guard are dead. National elections are now three days away.

The cold brutality of Auschwitz. Sixty years ago today, the Nazi death camp was liberated. Members of the European Parliament stood silent for a minute today in memory of the millions of Holocaust victims.

In the cold Pacific Southwest of Alaska, a research ship is temporarily disabled by huge waves. Almost a thousand people are on board, more than half of them students associated with the University of Pittsburgh. Coast Guard vessels and aircraft from Alaska and Hawaii are en route.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair does a little finger pointing at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He says the United States must work more closely with other nations on such issues as global warming.

To the forecast center now.

Rob Marciano in for Chad today -- good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: A somber mood at Camp Pendleton, California after 34 Marines were killed on the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq. Thirty Marines died in a helicopter crash and four in an ambush.

WABC's reporter Jim Dolan and photojournalist Joe Tsaro (ph) covered the ambush.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, be advised, commencing actions on the objective at this time.

JIM DOLAN, WABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Night ops, Haklenia (ph), a small village outside Haditha in remote western Iraq. The Marines search, but the objective building is empty and they head out.

It starts as a few shots, but in seconds it is an all out barrage -- rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire, machine guns. Tracers light up the night sky from, it seems, every direction. A transformer gets hit and for a moment there is quiet.

(on camera): But it was a costly mission. In the gunfire that followed, three Marines were hit, none of them apparently seriously. Right now, they're rushing to get them back to the base so they can get medical attention as soon as possible.

(voice-over): But it is so far from over. The RPGs and gunfire start up again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They must have come out of some hiding positions, fallen on equipment that they had already propositioned and then they waited for the word, for a initial boom. When that first RPG shot went off, that's what was signaling the ambush.

DOLAN: That one hits the vehicle armor between photographer Joe Tsaro and me. Finally, the echoes fade under a full winter's moon and there is quiet. But the casualties are high. The injured are Medivaced out. But four Marines died out there in the firefight -- young men, young American men a world away from home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These Marines served together and they fought their way out together. The casualties that we took last night, our wounded n our KIAs, that's something that we carry with us forever.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: That report from Jim Dolan and Joe Tsaro of CNN affiliate WABC.

In addition to the Marine deaths, a Navy corpsman and two soldiers were killed in Iraq. And that pushes the U.S. death toll in the war to 1,418.

Let's get more now on that suicide tractor bomb in Iraq. CNN's Jeff Koinange live in Baghdad today -- hello.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Carol.

And it seems like the insurgents are changing tactics in these waning days before Sunday's crucial poll. In the town of Sinjar up in the north, in Kurdistan, this is a farming territory, an insurgent got himself a tractor and drove right up to the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party and detonated it right at the main gate, killing up to five, wounding 17.

And in Ba'qubah, in the Sunni Triangle, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle right outside the governor's office, killing one Iraqi policeman, wounding up to four. And here in Baghdad, insurgents fired a rocket propelled grenade at the house of the deputy interior minister. The RPG missed its target, but several vehicles were damaged in that incident. No casualties reported there.

So as the country slowly limps toward Sunday's election, it seems like the insurgents aren't letting up on their attacks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jeff Koinange live in Baghdad this morning.

Thank you.

A suicide car bomb exploded in the Iraqi city of Ba'qubah early this morning. You heard Jeff mention it. This was a day that was to be celebrated as Peace Day in Iraq. The bombing was just outside the governor's office there.

CNN senior international correspondent Jane Arraf is in Ba'qubah.

She's with the U.S. commanding officer.

She joins us live now -- hello, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

We are at the governor's office, where just a short while ago, a suicide car bomb has exploded. Now, this just literally a few hundred feet away from events inside billed as Peace Day.

We have with us the senior U.S. military official here in Ba'qubah, Colonel Dana Pittard, from the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division.

Thanks very much.

COL. DANA PITTARD, U.S. ARMY: Thank you.

ARRAF: You were standing on the roof when this car bomb exploded.

Can you tell us what happened?

PITTARD: Yes, I was. A convoy of police vehicles was driving by. In fact, we just finished waving at the second to the last vehicle. The last vehicle, a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle on that vehicle. The suicide bomber was killed. Unfortunately, an Iraqi police officer was killed, or a police lieutenant, and three others were wounded.

ARRAF: Now, this is just a very strange sequence of events in the normal world, a suicide car bomb at the same time as an event billed as Peace Day is taking place.

How is this all going to come together? Who's going to win here?

PITTARD: I agree. I mean it's certainly a complex situation that we have here in the province of Dialla. But what it's showing is that with the people who have come here, former insurgents, some are actually insurgent supporters, Baathist leaders, former Iraqi military leaders are here reconciling prior to the elections. We also have Sunni and Shia imams inside, again, reconciling before the elections.

What we're seeing is that people want the freedom to vote. Let the people make the choice. The insurgents are not going to be able to stop them.

ARRAF: This is a major Sunni center. Sunnis who had power in Iraq now have very little power.

Are they going to vote here? There have been some developments. You've been explaining about that.

PITTARD: Well, I believe that the people will vote. What's been very important is what happened last week when the Sunni clerics from the province of Dialla, along with the governor, went down to Baghdad and received permission from the national Sunni clerics council to get an exception for people to vote here in Dialla. I mean that's huge. It's the first of its kind in all of Iraq.

So now we have the dynamic of the Sunni clerics urging Sunni Arabs to vote here in Dialla.

The Iraqi Islamic Party was so impressed by that, that now they are participating in the election, also, just for Dialla Province. And that will make a big difference as far as Sunni Arab voters.

ARRAF: It's fascinating that you have Baathists in there. You have, perhaps, supporters, former supporters of the insurgency.

Will this actually make a difference that you've gathered them all in one room with other leaders?

PITTARD: I think it will make a difference. And it'll be a visible difference to the people of Dialla. It'll be shown on Dialla TV and, of course, TV throughout Iraq. I think it will make a difference, because we have the leadership of the province along with those people inside.

ARRAF: Thank you so much.

PITTARD: Thank you.

ARRAF: That was Colonel Dana Pittard talking to us about the suicide car bomb that exploded just a short while ago and the events behind us, a day of reconciliation, including former Baathists, current Baathists and former supporters of the insurgency -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane Arraf live in Ba'qubah, Iraq this morning.

Thank you.

Iraq at the crossroads -- our Christiane Amanpour and Anderson Cooper are there, and our Paula Zahn is in New York, for tonight's prime time special on the Iraq election. Be sure to catch it, 7:00 to 9:00 Eastern time. That's in the p.m.

An interesting development perhaps overlooked in the run-up to Iraq's historic election. No one will be looking over anyone's shoulder during or after the voting. We'll get more on the lack of election observers in 23 minutes.

And lessons of the Holocaust -- an Atlanta teacher tries to make sure it is not forgotten. But are her students listening? Kyra Phillips has that in six minutes.

And it may be the dark side of having a baby. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on depression during pregnancy in 44 minutes.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is 5:13 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair offers this advice to Washington -- work more closely with other countries on their priorities if you want the rest of the world to support your agenda. You're looking at a live shot out of Davos, Switzerland now. Blair is speaking at the World Economic Conference, which is in Davos, Switzerland.

Condoleezza Rice takes over today as the new secretary of state and already she's got plans to hit the road. Rice is expected to travel to the Middle East and Europe as early as the first week in February.

In money news, Budweiser has put the cap back on one of its Super Bowl ads. The "Wall Street Journal" reports the ad is meant to explain the real story behind Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during last year's Super Bowl. In the ad, a stagehand accidentally rips the costume while using it to open a can of Budweiser. Oh. The company says it doesn't want to offend anyone, but it has posted it on the Web site in case you really do want to see it.

In culture, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is upset with PBS for spending taxpayer money on a cartoon featuring lesbian characters. In the episode of "Postcards from Buster," the animated bunny Buster meets kids in Vermont who have gay parents. PBS says it will not distribute the cartoon, but adds Spelling's criticism has nothing to do with its decision.

In sports, Serena Williams rallied from a set down to beat Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the Australian Open. It was a replay of the Wimbledon final match, which Sharapova won. Serena will face number one seed Lindsay Davenport in the final -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Carol, tennis on TV, golf tours getting going and pitchers and catchers report to work next month. It's almost like spring is here. But winter weather remains across the Northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Vice President Dick Cheney is among the world leaders in Auschwitz to commemorate the anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The death camps were created by men with a high opinion of themselves, some of them well educated and possessed of refined manners, but without conscience. And where there is no conscience, there is no tolerance toward others, no defense against evil and no limit to the crimes that follow.

The story of the camps reminds us that evil is real and must be called by its name and must be confronted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But do today's school kids know what really happened at the Nazi death camps?

CNN's Kyra Phillips talks with one teacher who is making sure they do.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been things that hit you that keep repeating itself.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST, "LIVE FROM": When it comes to the Holocaust, students at Pope High School just outside Atlanta have lots to say. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look around the room and I think about how devastating it would be if two thirds of us were gone all at once. I can't understand how that could happen.

PHILLIPS: One student saw how it happened. She visited Auschwitz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a barn house. And it still -- it smelled awful, that you could smell the -- just people still there, I mean 60 years later.

PHILLIPS: After 60 years, the Holocaust is not forgotten. Not here. BETH MULLING, HISTORY TEACHER, POPE HIGH SCHOOL: One of the most important things that we talk about in world history is tolerance.

PHILLIPS: These high schoolers are passionate about the past because of this woman, Beth Mulling, a history teacher with a personal connection. Her father fought in World War II. He brought back the photos, a Nazi flag and a message for his daughter. She was to take his evidence of an evil past and teach.

MULLING: You can see anguish and agony. Their eyes are still open. You can see physical features on their faces. And you see capos, Jewish guards, dragging their victims to the ovens. And those photographs, when the kids see them for the first time, are quite shocking.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Do the kids start crying?

MULLING: Yes. Absolutely. It's terribly emotional.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The lessons have given her students new perspective.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If someone is strong enough to overcome something of that magnitude, if we can take that hope for life and that reason to live and we can bring that all together, we can definitely change the way that the future is headed.

PHILLIPS: And a new sense of responsibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the most powerful thing is stuff like we're doing right now, getting together in groups, talking about it. Why did it happen? How can this never happen again? What can we do to make sure that this doesn't happen again?

PHILLIPS (on camera): Why do you think it's so important to remember that time in history now, you know, decades later, 60 years later?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't just let a day like this pass without appreciating the significance of it. It can't be, you know, something that you turn on the news and you see it on the bottom of the screen and then you change the channel. People have to really come to terms with what happened so that we can make sure that it doesn't happen again.

PHILLIPS: You know, you take on a tremendous responsibility teaching the Holocaust.

MULLING: Absolutely, and one that I relish. I get emotional about it. I get upset about it. I cry. I cry in front of my kids. It's embarrassing. My nose turns red. My makeup runs. And I do it gleefully twice a year because it's the most important thing I'll ever tell my kids. And I tell them from the very get-go, I'll never tell you anything that matters any more than this. And you don't have to remember any dates and you're not having a test on it. This is about basic humanity. And that's why it matters so very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And many world leaders have gathered in Poland, too, to commemorate today's anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Those ceremonies get underway in just a few hours.

There are just three days to go before the Iraqi elections. But how will the world know the vote is safe and fair? We'll get you some details, just ahead.

And later, stick figures tell a chilling tale. We'll explain why police in Florida are taking child's play very seriously.

You are watching DAYBREAK for Thursday, January 27.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh, Rob Marciano, it's that time of the morning where we can laugh and have a little fun.

MARCIANO: Is this where we see the things that we slept through last night?

COSTELLO: Exactly. Exactly.

MARCIANO: Leno or Letterman or both?

COSTELLO: Well, this time it's just Jay Leno, because he said a lot about what's happening in the news.

MARCIANO: OK.

COSTELLO: So let's let him catch you up on some news of the day.

MARCIANO: Great.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)

JAY LENO, HOST: Michael Moore announced his latest project, a film looking at voter fraud at the Oscars, you know what I'm talking about? Have you heard Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 911," did not get one nomination for an Oscar, not one? Well, in fact, today President Bush said does this mean I can't get best actor now? Hey, what happened? I was the star of that movie. What happened?

Well, it is now official. Today in the Senate, the vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as the next secretary of state was 85-13 in favor, 85-13. No, I'm sorry, kid. That's what the score for the Super Bowl is going to be when the Patriots beat the Eagles. I'm sorry.

And yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft said his farewell to Washington. He said in retirement, he's going to do some of the things he never had a chance to do, like read the constitution, you know, some of the things, some of the little things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You can see where Jay's politics lie.

MARCIANO: You can? No.

COSTELLO: Yes. Jay also added this about Donald Trump. You know, he just got married?

MARCIANO: Yes. Yes. We've been showing pictures of his lovely bride.

COSTELLO: She's quite lovely, isn't she? And Donald Trump's hair is just interesting. But anyway, Jay said when his new wife, his new wife got quite a scare when she woke up and for the first time saw his hair in the morning.

MARCIANO: Oh!

COSTELLO: Well, let's just imagine that for a second, Donald Trump's hair in the morning. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MARCIANO: Well, you know, there's a large debate, you know, is it a piece, is it a comb over, is it just, you know, a bad style? And I'm not sure what it is and I don't really want to be -- I don't want to know what it looks like in the morning either.

COSTELLO: I don't either. I think it's a comb over.

MARCIANO: I'm sure it's true love, though. I mean they make a lovely couple.

COSTELLO: Don't they?

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, that warms my hearts this morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: It's a storybook marriage.

COSTELLO: Get out of here.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers" now. A Florida man is waiting to hear if a newspaper ad can save his marriage. Larry, who didn't give his last name, took out a $17,000 full page ad to apologize to his estranged wife. She left him two weeks ago. A relative told Larry that his wife cried when she read the ad, but Larry has not heard from her yet.

A Michigan woman is blaming Listerine for her drunk driving charge. She says she had three glasses of the mouthwash before rear- ending another car at a red light. Her blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. She pleaded guilty and now faces up to 93 days in jail after pleading guilty. But, don't laugh, because I bet you didn't know, Listerine contains up to 26 percent alcohol. I just didn't realize that people drank it.

And look at this. A large humpback whale came surprisingly close to the Florida coast. Humpbacks are rarely seen near Florida. This one came within 100 yards of the coast near Lantana, Florida. Experts are not sure what drew this 30-foot whale this close to shore. What a sight, though.

Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Something key will be missing in Iraq's upcoming election. The United Nations hopes it won't be Iraqi voters.

And later, two grade schoolers in Florida get taken away in handcuffs. We'll tell you what prompted police to draw the line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning and welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, a suicide bombing with a twist in the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar. A stolen tractor exploded outside the office of the Kurdish Democratic Party. Four Iraqi soldiers and a guard were killed. Seventeen other people were wounded, nine of them Iraqi soldiers.

People from 30 nations are gathered in Poland to observe the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The Nazis killed more than a million people there before Soviet troops arrived on January 27, 1945.

The new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was to deliver what he called a special message today to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. But Abbas postponed his visit, giving no reason for the postponement.

A research ship with nearly a thousand people on board is disabled in 35 foot seas south of Alaska. Six hundred eighty-one of those aboard are students. Coast Guard cutters and planes are heading for the scene.

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 January 27, 2005 - 05:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Buckle up -- in 90 seconds, we'll take you on a dangerous ride with U.S. Marines in western Iraq.
Plus, remembering the horror -- 60 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, high school students learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

And simple stick figures with a message. Now two Florida boys will face a judge. They're nine and 10.

It is Thursday, January 27.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Now in the news, a suicide bomber, this time riding a tractor. It blew up near a Kurdish political party office in the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar. Four Iraqi soldiers and a guard are dead. National elections are now three days away.

The cold brutality of Auschwitz. Sixty years ago today, the Nazi death camp was liberated. Members of the European Parliament stood silent for a minute today in memory of the millions of Holocaust victims.

In the cold Pacific Southwest of Alaska, a research ship is temporarily disabled by huge waves. Almost a thousand people are on board, more than half of them students associated with the University of Pittsburgh. Coast Guard vessels and aircraft from Alaska and Hawaii are en route.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair does a little finger pointing at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He says the United States must work more closely with other nations on such issues as global warming.

To the forecast center now.

Rob Marciano in for Chad today -- good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: A somber mood at Camp Pendleton, California after 34 Marines were killed on the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq. Thirty Marines died in a helicopter crash and four in an ambush.

WABC's reporter Jim Dolan and photojournalist Joe Tsaro (ph) covered the ambush.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, be advised, commencing actions on the objective at this time.

JIM DOLAN, WABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Night ops, Haklenia (ph), a small village outside Haditha in remote western Iraq. The Marines search, but the objective building is empty and they head out.

It starts as a few shots, but in seconds it is an all out barrage -- rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire, machine guns. Tracers light up the night sky from, it seems, every direction. A transformer gets hit and for a moment there is quiet.

(on camera): But it was a costly mission. In the gunfire that followed, three Marines were hit, none of them apparently seriously. Right now, they're rushing to get them back to the base so they can get medical attention as soon as possible.

(voice-over): But it is so far from over. The RPGs and gunfire start up again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They must have come out of some hiding positions, fallen on equipment that they had already propositioned and then they waited for the word, for a initial boom. When that first RPG shot went off, that's what was signaling the ambush.

DOLAN: That one hits the vehicle armor between photographer Joe Tsaro and me. Finally, the echoes fade under a full winter's moon and there is quiet. But the casualties are high. The injured are Medivaced out. But four Marines died out there in the firefight -- young men, young American men a world away from home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These Marines served together and they fought their way out together. The casualties that we took last night, our wounded n our KIAs, that's something that we carry with us forever.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: That report from Jim Dolan and Joe Tsaro of CNN affiliate WABC.

In addition to the Marine deaths, a Navy corpsman and two soldiers were killed in Iraq. And that pushes the U.S. death toll in the war to 1,418.

Let's get more now on that suicide tractor bomb in Iraq. CNN's Jeff Koinange live in Baghdad today -- hello.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Carol.

And it seems like the insurgents are changing tactics in these waning days before Sunday's crucial poll. In the town of Sinjar up in the north, in Kurdistan, this is a farming territory, an insurgent got himself a tractor and drove right up to the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party and detonated it right at the main gate, killing up to five, wounding 17.

And in Ba'qubah, in the Sunni Triangle, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle right outside the governor's office, killing one Iraqi policeman, wounding up to four. And here in Baghdad, insurgents fired a rocket propelled grenade at the house of the deputy interior minister. The RPG missed its target, but several vehicles were damaged in that incident. No casualties reported there.

So as the country slowly limps toward Sunday's election, it seems like the insurgents aren't letting up on their attacks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jeff Koinange live in Baghdad this morning.

Thank you.

A suicide car bomb exploded in the Iraqi city of Ba'qubah early this morning. You heard Jeff mention it. This was a day that was to be celebrated as Peace Day in Iraq. The bombing was just outside the governor's office there.

CNN senior international correspondent Jane Arraf is in Ba'qubah.

She's with the U.S. commanding officer.

She joins us live now -- hello, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

We are at the governor's office, where just a short while ago, a suicide car bomb has exploded. Now, this just literally a few hundred feet away from events inside billed as Peace Day.

We have with us the senior U.S. military official here in Ba'qubah, Colonel Dana Pittard, from the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division.

Thanks very much.

COL. DANA PITTARD, U.S. ARMY: Thank you.

ARRAF: You were standing on the roof when this car bomb exploded.

Can you tell us what happened?

PITTARD: Yes, I was. A convoy of police vehicles was driving by. In fact, we just finished waving at the second to the last vehicle. The last vehicle, a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle on that vehicle. The suicide bomber was killed. Unfortunately, an Iraqi police officer was killed, or a police lieutenant, and three others were wounded.

ARRAF: Now, this is just a very strange sequence of events in the normal world, a suicide car bomb at the same time as an event billed as Peace Day is taking place.

How is this all going to come together? Who's going to win here?

PITTARD: I agree. I mean it's certainly a complex situation that we have here in the province of Dialla. But what it's showing is that with the people who have come here, former insurgents, some are actually insurgent supporters, Baathist leaders, former Iraqi military leaders are here reconciling prior to the elections. We also have Sunni and Shia imams inside, again, reconciling before the elections.

What we're seeing is that people want the freedom to vote. Let the people make the choice. The insurgents are not going to be able to stop them.

ARRAF: This is a major Sunni center. Sunnis who had power in Iraq now have very little power.

Are they going to vote here? There have been some developments. You've been explaining about that.

PITTARD: Well, I believe that the people will vote. What's been very important is what happened last week when the Sunni clerics from the province of Dialla, along with the governor, went down to Baghdad and received permission from the national Sunni clerics council to get an exception for people to vote here in Dialla. I mean that's huge. It's the first of its kind in all of Iraq.

So now we have the dynamic of the Sunni clerics urging Sunni Arabs to vote here in Dialla.

The Iraqi Islamic Party was so impressed by that, that now they are participating in the election, also, just for Dialla Province. And that will make a big difference as far as Sunni Arab voters.

ARRAF: It's fascinating that you have Baathists in there. You have, perhaps, supporters, former supporters of the insurgency.

Will this actually make a difference that you've gathered them all in one room with other leaders?

PITTARD: I think it will make a difference. And it'll be a visible difference to the people of Dialla. It'll be shown on Dialla TV and, of course, TV throughout Iraq. I think it will make a difference, because we have the leadership of the province along with those people inside.

ARRAF: Thank you so much.

PITTARD: Thank you.

ARRAF: That was Colonel Dana Pittard talking to us about the suicide car bomb that exploded just a short while ago and the events behind us, a day of reconciliation, including former Baathists, current Baathists and former supporters of the insurgency -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane Arraf live in Ba'qubah, Iraq this morning.

Thank you.

Iraq at the crossroads -- our Christiane Amanpour and Anderson Cooper are there, and our Paula Zahn is in New York, for tonight's prime time special on the Iraq election. Be sure to catch it, 7:00 to 9:00 Eastern time. That's in the p.m.

An interesting development perhaps overlooked in the run-up to Iraq's historic election. No one will be looking over anyone's shoulder during or after the voting. We'll get more on the lack of election observers in 23 minutes.

And lessons of the Holocaust -- an Atlanta teacher tries to make sure it is not forgotten. But are her students listening? Kyra Phillips has that in six minutes.

And it may be the dark side of having a baby. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on depression during pregnancy in 44 minutes.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is 5:13 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair offers this advice to Washington -- work more closely with other countries on their priorities if you want the rest of the world to support your agenda. You're looking at a live shot out of Davos, Switzerland now. Blair is speaking at the World Economic Conference, which is in Davos, Switzerland.

Condoleezza Rice takes over today as the new secretary of state and already she's got plans to hit the road. Rice is expected to travel to the Middle East and Europe as early as the first week in February.

In money news, Budweiser has put the cap back on one of its Super Bowl ads. The "Wall Street Journal" reports the ad is meant to explain the real story behind Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during last year's Super Bowl. In the ad, a stagehand accidentally rips the costume while using it to open a can of Budweiser. Oh. The company says it doesn't want to offend anyone, but it has posted it on the Web site in case you really do want to see it.

In culture, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is upset with PBS for spending taxpayer money on a cartoon featuring lesbian characters. In the episode of "Postcards from Buster," the animated bunny Buster meets kids in Vermont who have gay parents. PBS says it will not distribute the cartoon, but adds Spelling's criticism has nothing to do with its decision.

In sports, Serena Williams rallied from a set down to beat Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the Australian Open. It was a replay of the Wimbledon final match, which Sharapova won. Serena will face number one seed Lindsay Davenport in the final -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Carol, tennis on TV, golf tours getting going and pitchers and catchers report to work next month. It's almost like spring is here. But winter weather remains across the Northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Vice President Dick Cheney is among the world leaders in Auschwitz to commemorate the anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The death camps were created by men with a high opinion of themselves, some of them well educated and possessed of refined manners, but without conscience. And where there is no conscience, there is no tolerance toward others, no defense against evil and no limit to the crimes that follow.

The story of the camps reminds us that evil is real and must be called by its name and must be confronted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But do today's school kids know what really happened at the Nazi death camps?

CNN's Kyra Phillips talks with one teacher who is making sure they do.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been things that hit you that keep repeating itself.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST, "LIVE FROM": When it comes to the Holocaust, students at Pope High School just outside Atlanta have lots to say. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look around the room and I think about how devastating it would be if two thirds of us were gone all at once. I can't understand how that could happen.

PHILLIPS: One student saw how it happened. She visited Auschwitz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a barn house. And it still -- it smelled awful, that you could smell the -- just people still there, I mean 60 years later.

PHILLIPS: After 60 years, the Holocaust is not forgotten. Not here. BETH MULLING, HISTORY TEACHER, POPE HIGH SCHOOL: One of the most important things that we talk about in world history is tolerance.

PHILLIPS: These high schoolers are passionate about the past because of this woman, Beth Mulling, a history teacher with a personal connection. Her father fought in World War II. He brought back the photos, a Nazi flag and a message for his daughter. She was to take his evidence of an evil past and teach.

MULLING: You can see anguish and agony. Their eyes are still open. You can see physical features on their faces. And you see capos, Jewish guards, dragging their victims to the ovens. And those photographs, when the kids see them for the first time, are quite shocking.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Do the kids start crying?

MULLING: Yes. Absolutely. It's terribly emotional.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The lessons have given her students new perspective.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If someone is strong enough to overcome something of that magnitude, if we can take that hope for life and that reason to live and we can bring that all together, we can definitely change the way that the future is headed.

PHILLIPS: And a new sense of responsibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the most powerful thing is stuff like we're doing right now, getting together in groups, talking about it. Why did it happen? How can this never happen again? What can we do to make sure that this doesn't happen again?

PHILLIPS (on camera): Why do you think it's so important to remember that time in history now, you know, decades later, 60 years later?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't just let a day like this pass without appreciating the significance of it. It can't be, you know, something that you turn on the news and you see it on the bottom of the screen and then you change the channel. People have to really come to terms with what happened so that we can make sure that it doesn't happen again.

PHILLIPS: You know, you take on a tremendous responsibility teaching the Holocaust.

MULLING: Absolutely, and one that I relish. I get emotional about it. I get upset about it. I cry. I cry in front of my kids. It's embarrassing. My nose turns red. My makeup runs. And I do it gleefully twice a year because it's the most important thing I'll ever tell my kids. And I tell them from the very get-go, I'll never tell you anything that matters any more than this. And you don't have to remember any dates and you're not having a test on it. This is about basic humanity. And that's why it matters so very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And many world leaders have gathered in Poland, too, to commemorate today's anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Those ceremonies get underway in just a few hours.

There are just three days to go before the Iraqi elections. But how will the world know the vote is safe and fair? We'll get you some details, just ahead.

And later, stick figures tell a chilling tale. We'll explain why police in Florida are taking child's play very seriously.

You are watching DAYBREAK for Thursday, January 27.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh, Rob Marciano, it's that time of the morning where we can laugh and have a little fun.

MARCIANO: Is this where we see the things that we slept through last night?

COSTELLO: Exactly. Exactly.

MARCIANO: Leno or Letterman or both?

COSTELLO: Well, this time it's just Jay Leno, because he said a lot about what's happening in the news.

MARCIANO: OK.

COSTELLO: So let's let him catch you up on some news of the day.

MARCIANO: Great.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)

JAY LENO, HOST: Michael Moore announced his latest project, a film looking at voter fraud at the Oscars, you know what I'm talking about? Have you heard Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 911," did not get one nomination for an Oscar, not one? Well, in fact, today President Bush said does this mean I can't get best actor now? Hey, what happened? I was the star of that movie. What happened?

Well, it is now official. Today in the Senate, the vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as the next secretary of state was 85-13 in favor, 85-13. No, I'm sorry, kid. That's what the score for the Super Bowl is going to be when the Patriots beat the Eagles. I'm sorry.

And yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft said his farewell to Washington. He said in retirement, he's going to do some of the things he never had a chance to do, like read the constitution, you know, some of the things, some of the little things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You can see where Jay's politics lie.

MARCIANO: You can? No.

COSTELLO: Yes. Jay also added this about Donald Trump. You know, he just got married?

MARCIANO: Yes. Yes. We've been showing pictures of his lovely bride.

COSTELLO: She's quite lovely, isn't she? And Donald Trump's hair is just interesting. But anyway, Jay said when his new wife, his new wife got quite a scare when she woke up and for the first time saw his hair in the morning.

MARCIANO: Oh!

COSTELLO: Well, let's just imagine that for a second, Donald Trump's hair in the morning. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MARCIANO: Well, you know, there's a large debate, you know, is it a piece, is it a comb over, is it just, you know, a bad style? And I'm not sure what it is and I don't really want to be -- I don't want to know what it looks like in the morning either.

COSTELLO: I don't either. I think it's a comb over.

MARCIANO: I'm sure it's true love, though. I mean they make a lovely couple.

COSTELLO: Don't they?

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, that warms my hearts this morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: It's a storybook marriage.

COSTELLO: Get out of here.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers" now. A Florida man is waiting to hear if a newspaper ad can save his marriage. Larry, who didn't give his last name, took out a $17,000 full page ad to apologize to his estranged wife. She left him two weeks ago. A relative told Larry that his wife cried when she read the ad, but Larry has not heard from her yet.

A Michigan woman is blaming Listerine for her drunk driving charge. She says she had three glasses of the mouthwash before rear- ending another car at a red light. Her blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. She pleaded guilty and now faces up to 93 days in jail after pleading guilty. But, don't laugh, because I bet you didn't know, Listerine contains up to 26 percent alcohol. I just didn't realize that people drank it.

And look at this. A large humpback whale came surprisingly close to the Florida coast. Humpbacks are rarely seen near Florida. This one came within 100 yards of the coast near Lantana, Florida. Experts are not sure what drew this 30-foot whale this close to shore. What a sight, though.

Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Something key will be missing in Iraq's upcoming election. The United Nations hopes it won't be Iraqi voters.

And later, two grade schoolers in Florida get taken away in handcuffs. We'll tell you what prompted police to draw the line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning and welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, a suicide bombing with a twist in the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar. A stolen tractor exploded outside the office of the Kurdish Democratic Party. Four Iraqi soldiers and a guard were killed. Seventeen other people were wounded, nine of them Iraqi soldiers.

People from 30 nations are gathered in Poland to observe the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The Nazis killed more than a million people there before Soviet troops arrived on January 27, 1945.

The new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was to deliver what he called a special message today to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. But Abbas postponed his visit, giving no reason for the postponement.

A research ship with nearly a thousand people on board is disabled in 35 foot seas south of Alaska. Six hundred eighty-one of those aboard are students. Coast Guard cutters and planes are heading for the scene.

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