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Are We Less Safe?; Ramadan In Iraq; Pope & Muslims; Superdome Reopens; Iraq Tour Extension; Gerri's Top Tips; Clinton's War

Aired September 25, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: An intelligence report ignites a new war debate. Did the invasion inspire a new generation of Islamic radicals?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Record pump prices now a bad memory. Gas tumbles nearly a dollar a gallon in some places. Some smell a whiff of conspiracy.

HARRIS: And a New Orleans landmark back in business. The Superdome reopened today with a star-studded party. Oh, yeah, a football game, too.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The debate over the Iraq War. New political battle lines this morning. They're drawn from a leaked intelligence report that suggest the war is increasing the terror threat here at home. CNN's Elaine Quijano now with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The stories appeared on the front pages of "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post," outlining conclusions selectively leaked from a classified National Intelligence estimate dealing partly with Iraq. The estimate, completed in April, cites the Iraq War and insurgents as the main recruiting vehicle for new Islamic extremists, yet former deputy CIA director, John McLaughlin, who has not seen the estimate, says the information is sobering but not surprising.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Frankly, I didn't find a lot new in this press article. We've known for months that the movement is decentralizing. It's clear that Iraq is a major problem and that the only real question is, what do you do about Iraq at this point.

QUIJANO: Six weeks away from congressional midterm election, Democrats are using the leaked report to argue that Republicans have mismanaged Iraq and the larger war on terror

REP. JANE HARMAN, (D) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Even capturing the remaining top al Qaeda leadership isn't going to prevent copycat cells and it isn't going to change a failed policy in Iraq.

QUIJANO: But Republican Senator John McCain, who just last week reached an compromise with the White House after a public rift over a detainee legislation, says success in Iraq is still crucial.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: They didn't need any encouragement to attack us on September 11th. These people are after us anyway and we've got to win the war both psychologically as well as militarily.

QUIJANO: And in a rare occurrence, director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, waded in to the political debate, saying, "the estimate highlights the importance of the outcome in Iraq on the future of global Jihadism, judging that should the Iraqi people prevail in establishing a stable political and security environment, the Jihadists will be perceived to have failed."

In a statement, a White House official reiterated the administration's policy of not commenting on classified documents. But in a sign of the high political stakes, this official did go on to comment, saying that "The New York Times" characterization of the intelligence estimate was not representative of the complete document.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Ramadan. It is supposed to be a time of peace and kindness. But in Iraq, there is no break from the bloodshed today. CNN's Arwa Damon has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): On the last Thursday before Ramadan, a wedding guest commented that it was celebrations like these that would eventually change the tide in Iraq.

DR. ALI HUSSEIN, BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY, (through translator): The terrorists have to understand. All those that are detonating themselves, let them look to Thursday, see someone getting married, see a man with his bride, they will remember humanity.

DAMON: But far from any act of humanity, the first Ramadan weekend brought more familiar Iraqi sights. Ramadan is normally a month of kindness and peace. A time of compassion. As residents here try to salvage what they can from the aftermath of one of the attacks, frustration quickly turns into anger

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): All the government cares about is their position and it's the poor people trying to make a living who pray the price. And this is a happy Ramadan?

DAMON: These images, now common, seared into Iraqis' minds keep many at home, away from crowds. During better times, this popular Baghdad marketplace would be packed with people. Now, Iraqis only hit the streets out of necessity. This marketplace has been hit before, so it's not hard to imagine what a single bomb here can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): Ramadan used to be fun. Families shopping. Now, with no security, it's just like every other day in Iraq -- bombs and death.

DAMON: Shop owners have noticed a significant change from Ramadan's past. Each Ramadan, the shopping is less and less, he says.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And Arwa Damon joins us now from Baghdad.

And, Arwa, I have to ask you, how are Iraqis coping with all of this violence at a time that is supposed to be dedicated to peace and reconciliation?

DAMON: Well, to put it simply, Tony, they're spending as much time as they can indoors. A lot of Iraqis, right now, feel that that is the only place where they have a certain measure of security. But even that is all relative.

It is not uncommon right now with the increasing sectarian violence for families that live in mixed neighborhoods to receive death threats right to their door. Threats that they need to evacuate their homes or else they will be killed. And we have seen cases of that time and time again where residents are getting gunned down outside of their homes.

If you look at the last 24 hours, there were at least 48 bodies that were found just in Baghdad. Victims of sectarian violence. All bearing torture signs, all blindfolded and all individuals that died of gun wounds. So it really is spiraling towards a situation where many Iraqis stay inside, behind locked doors and that is the only place that they can really feel safe.

HARRIS: CNN's Arwa Damon for us. Arwa, thank you.

COLLINS: Pope Benedict XVI extends an olive branch to Muslims. He greeted Muslim envoys at his summer residence outside Rome this morning. The Pope hoping to ease anger over recent comments. Word that ignited outrage throughout some of the Islamic world. Our Delia Gallagher joining us now from Rome with the very latest.

It might be good, Delia, to begin by reminding everybody what exactly was said by the pope when he was quoting this medieval text.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Heidi.

Let's take viewers back to those words that sort of began the whole problem, which was "show me just what Mohammed brought that was new," the pope said, "and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Now the pope, before today, in the last few weeks, came out and said he was misinterpreted, misunderstood. Those remarks were taken out of context. Interestingly, this morning, Heidi, he said he was not going to go back over those remarks or the question of an apology. He wanted to move forward with the question of dialogue and setting forth his agenda for Catholic-Islamic dialogue in which he says that he thinks it's imperative in the modern situation of the world today that Catholics and Muslims work together to overcome violence.

Let's take a look at some of what he had to say this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT, (through translator): We are in great need of an authentic dialogue between religions and between cultures capable of assisting us in a spirit of fruitful cooperation to overcome all the tensions together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: The pope also raised the legacy of John Paul II. There had been some speculation when he came out with these remarks that he was setting back Catholic-Muslim relations that John Paul II worked so hard to achieve. And the pope said that he hopes to continue building that bridge of trust that his predecessor had managed to do in 26 years.

Heidi.

COLLINS: And as he tries to build that bridge of trust, talk to us, Delia, a little bit about who exactly these Muslim envoys are. I mean what kind of impact could he have with them?

GALLAGHER: Well, what's so unprecedented about this, Heidi, is that the pope has called together the ambassadors to the Vatican from Muslim countries. There are 175 ambassadors posted here at the Vatican. There were about 20 or so from Muslim countries who were in attendance today, as well as other Italian Islamic leaders, in a kind of exclusive face-to-face with the pope.

And the Iraqi ambassador to the Vatican told us, just following the meeting, that even though they didn't have a chance to speak directly and say what their concerns were, they were very happy that the pope took this step because it obviously puts their relations in high relief in this pontificate of Benedict. So they see that as a very important step.

And certainly the Vatican intends, with this meeting today, to start the dialogue. To restart it, they say. And the real work will be left to those Vatican officials who will have day-to-day contact with these Muslim representatives. The Vatican hoping that they will be able to go back to their countries and say, here's the pope's good intentions, he's reiterated his respect and esteem for the Muslim world, let's move forward.

COLLINS: All right. Hopefully that will be the case. Delia Gallagher live from Rome. Delia, thank you.

HARRIS: How about this? A super day for the folks in New Orleans.

COLLINS: It's good news.

HARRIS: It is good news, isn't it. The Superdome is reopening more than a year after Hurricane Katrina. And that's cause for a lot of celebration. A live report straight ahead.

COLLINS: And gas prices taking a tumble. Some more good news for you. But will the dip last through the fall season? Find out coming up next in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Two more people are now sick after eating bad spinach. One hundred seventy-three people across 25 states now confirmed with E. Coli poisoning. Investigators have traced the contaminated spinach to three counties in California's Salinas Valley. FDA experts say spinach grown outside that area is safe, but note the industry needs to let consumers know the origin of the spinach before it goes back on sale.

HARRIS: Well, you know, New Orleans hasn't had a lot to cheer about since Hurricane Katrina. That's not the case today. The Superdome's rebirth now complete. After a massive renovation, the arena reopens tonight when the city's beloved saints take on the Atlanta Falcons. CNN's Gulf Coast correspondent, Susan Roesgen, is with us now on the field of the Superdome.

Good morning, lady. Good to see you.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, can you believe it? Good morning, Tony.

You know, the last time the Saints played here in the Superdome was just two days before the hurricane hit. And I remember that nobody here in town was paying any attention to that hurricane. We all thought it was going to Florida and then it turned. And this Superdome became a shelter for nearly 30,000 people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN, (voice over): These were not football fans filing into the dome last August. These were people who were running from the hurricane with nowhere else to go.

VELENA COCO, KATRINA SURVIVOR: Jeffrey would sits in front of us sometimes. And it was Lecy (ph) and her duffel bag and my momma and her purse and me.

ROESGEN: Velena Coco and her daughter Lecy were rescued from the roof of a church and wound up with two other family members in the stadium stands. This is where they stayed and slept for four days.

BRIAN MILLER, KATRINA SURVIVOR: This is the -- what they call the warehouse.

ROESGEN: Brian Miller was also in the Superdome. As the relative of a Superdome employee, he had a little privacy and a couch to sleep on, but he was stuck here like everybody else.

MILLER: I called it the island of Katrina, because it was like we were on an island right here in the dome.

ROESGEN: The island was dark, hot and crowded. The city anticipated a few thousand people in the Superdome -- 30,000 came.

VELENA COCO: As you passed the bathrooms, it was like just . . .

LACY COCO, KATRINA SURVIVOR: And it was like one light might be working here, and then you go down to the next set of restrooms and that might be where the next light is.

MILLER: As hot as it was outside, you wanted to go outside because it was actually cooler. At least the air moved. There was some circulation. In the dome there was none.

ROESGEN: Finally, both Brian and the Coco family were evacuated to other cities. Today, they say they'll be glad to see the Saints come marching back in.

VELENA COCO: It's wonderful because life goes on, but, you know, we'll remember. We'll always remember. And we'll leave the next time something that big gets into the Gulf.

MILLER: You've got to accept the bad with the good. And we just put the bad behind us, as the Saints should do. If you got a losing game, you put it behind you and you move on. Well, we can just move on now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And, Tony, here we are again now back in the Superdome. I remember that I was in the Superdome those first early days after the hurricane hit and it was so hot and so dark in here. I snuck in with a national guardsman. But some people in the crowd here in the dome recognized me and they said, can I borrow your cell phone? Can I call my mother? Can I call my father. What can you tell us? And, of course, cell phones had died at that time, Tony. There wasn't really anything I could do for anybody. And it's so hard to be here, so strange to be here and hard to believe that I'm actually here again for a football game, believe it or not

HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Susan, how much did it cost to totally renovate that Superdome? And where did the money come from? Was it a system of grants?

ROESGEN: Well, sort of. It's going to be about 185 million total and it isn't quite finished yet. They're still doing some improvements on top of the repairs. FEMA has paid about $100 million. The state of Louisiana will fork over the rest.

But, Tony, I've got to tell you, this isn't just cosmetic. This isn't just to make the city look good. This is a huge economic boost for the city. This Superdome with the concerts and the football games brings in a lot of people, employs a lot of people, a lot of tourism here in New Orleans and for this area. And also, of course, the state gets a cut off of every ticket that's sold here. So it's good all the way around. HARRIS: Who's performing tonight?

ROESGEN: Goo Goo Dolls, U2, can you believe it or not? And then we've got some . . .

HARRIS: U2, OK.

ROESGEN: Yes, U2. And then we've got some hometown favorites. We've got Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint are going to sing the national anthem. So it's going to be a nice game.

HARRIS: Yes, it's going to be. What a night. What a night.

All right, Susan Roesgen for us. Susan, thank you.

ROESGEN: You bet.

HARRIS: Heidi.

COLLINS: We want to get straight to the Pentagon now and our Barbara Starr is standing by with new information coming in about troop rotation in Iraq.

Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, some very difficult news for some military families. Pentagon military officials all now confirming that family members of the First Armored Division in Ramadi, their family members are being notified that the first A.D. is going to stay in Iraq, have its tour of duty extended by several weeks. They were supposed to come home after the first of the year. They may now stay an extra four to six weeks.

Why is all of this happening, Heidi? Well, last week the Pentagon made the decision that basically troop levels would be maintained in Iraq through the spring, about 145,000 troops. That's making the troop schedule have to shift a bit.

The Third Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia, was scheduled to come in and replace the first, but the third hasn't had its full 12 months at home back in Georgia with their families. The Army feels very strongly that a soldier coming out of the combat zone should at least have 12 months at home before they go back. So in order to make that happen, the first A.D. is going to spend a little more time in Iraq than it expected to. This is the second time that unit has had its tours extended in Iraq since the war began.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Always tough news for the family, of course.

Barbara, also some information about General John Abizaid over the weekend.

STARR: Yes. General Abizaid -- you know, we've seen so many stories about food poisoning in the news. General Abizaid, the top commander of the U.S. central command, got hit by food poisoning here in Washington. He was here in town for a number of meetings and he -- his staff now confirming that General Abizaid was hospitalized for two nights at Walter Reed Army Hospital here in Washington with food poisoning.

The Army may travel on its stomach, but apparently General Abizaid had a very bad experience at a local Washington, D.C. restaurant. A doctor was called to look at him. The doctor said, you need to go to the hospital, sir. He spent two nights at Walter Reed. He is now back at his headquarters in Tampa, Florida, this morning. We're told he's feeling fine.

But let me add on, he wasn't the only Army general hit. Lieutenant General Carl Ickenberry (ph), the top commander in Afghanistan, also in Washington, was eating with General Abizaid. General Ickenberry also became ill with symptoms of food poisoning. He didn't have to go to the hospital, but both men are now said to be fine, Heidi.

COLLINS: Barbara, you're not naming the restaurant?

STARR: No. The Army travels on its stomach, as we say. It doesn't often happen to these two guys, . . .

COLLINS: That's true. That's true.

STARR: But two nights in the hospital for a top general gets people's attention.

COLLINS: No kidding. Yes, that's for sure. All right. We're glad they're doing better today. Thanks so much, Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon today.

STARR: Sure.

COLLINS: To Gerri Willis now. We've got some "Top Tips" about Internet safety and children making choices as to what's smart to post and not post on the Internet.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.

Imagine if every dumb thing you ever did as a teenager followed you around for the rest of your life. Up next on "Top Tips," what parents need to know about social networking sites.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Just about an hour to the trading day for a Monday. Trying to get the day off to a fast start. Not happening so far. Pretty flat there for the Dow. And the Nasdaq down 2. We will get another check of Wall Street from the New York Stock Exchange with Cheryl Casone in just a couple of minutes.

COLLINS: There's a reason why it's called the World Wide Web. A survey shows a quarter of colleges and employers are trolling the Internet now to research candidates. That means those teenaged rantings and rebellions on popular sites like myspace.com could actually come back to haunt you. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is in New York this morning.

Gerri, you've got to be careful what you put out there for the public.

WILLIS: I'm telling you. Hi there, Heidi. Good to see you.

Yes, by now you've probably heard the horror stories. The cyber stalkers chatting up children online and using social networking sites like myspace and facebook as a virtual hunting ground. But there is a new threat and this time your child could be their own worst enemy. Kids are being haunted by their own misguided postings, school suspensions for threatening language, police problems for bragging about vandalism. How about not getting into your dream school because you posted pictures of a prom night bender?

OK. So what do you do if you're a parent? Well, tip number one here, you've got to get informed. As a parent, you've got to get in the loop and stay there. Start by going to wiredsafety.org. It's the biggest organization dedicated to helping protect kids online. They have everything you need to know about networking sites and even tools to report suspicious activity. Another great place to go is the website of the National Crime Prevention Council at ncpc.org.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Also, you've got to keep talking to your kids. Whether it's about smoking or drugs or whatever. I mean the Internet certainly is one of those items to discuss.

WILLIS: You bet. You know, you've got to ask them to show you their profiles. And when they do, open up a dialogue about how their postings may follow them around for a lifetime. Remember, just because your kids can surf circles around you doesn't mean your rules don't apply online. So work out some real world limits to web posting. The less personal information, the better. Be careful not to scare them off, though. They need to understand it's all right to turn to you if they encounter anything disturbing.

COLLINS: What about privacy protection? There's got to be something out there that can help with this.

WILLIS: Well, there are. Most networking sites offer some kind of privacy protection. Kids can set up preferences that offer control over who can access their post or communicate with them. Some sites like myspace even have a tool for parents to delete a child's post. Every site is different, but the best protection is not posting anything that might get them into trouble at all.

COLLINS: If you can't beat them, join them. Get your own myspace space.

WILLIS: I'm telling you. Absolutely. Look, if a teen knows that mom or dad is checking out profiles online, they'll think twice about what they post. So why not get your own my space page? Maybe a group of other parents or people at work would like to set up a page so that you can prove to your kids you know what you're doing and you've got an eye out, you're watching them.

COLLINS: Might just get you some cool points, too. You never know.

WILLIS: Always difficult for parents to score, but it could happen.

COLLINS: All right, Gerri Willis, great information. Thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And still to come, a troubled city forgets its cares for awhile. The Superdome reborn. We will hear from someone who played a key role in the rebuilding process live from New Orleans ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And former President Bill Clinton fires back at critics of his terror record. His views on the hunt for Osama bin Laden ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Osama bin Laden. Are reports of his death greatly exaggerated? France's prime minister is the latest public official in Paris to question a leaked intelligence report. Now over the weekend, a French newspaper quoting the report claimed the al Qaeda leader died last month of typhoid. French authorities say the leaked intelligence was raw and unconfirmed. U.S. intelligence officials say they can't confirm the report either.

COLLINS: Former President Clinton delivers a fiery blast at critics who portray his administration as weak on terror. Clinton spoke to Fox News. He says he regrets not killing Osama bin Laden, but he insists he tried.

CNN's Gary Nurenberg has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former president Clinton was asked why he didn't do more to put Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business. He compared his efforts to the early months of the Bush administration.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Do you think you did enough, sir?

CLINTON: No, because I didn't get him.

WALLACE: Right.

CLINTON: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all the right-wingers that are attacking me now.

They ridicule for me trying. They had eight months to try. They did not try. I tried.

So I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti- terror strategy, and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke, who got demoted.

NURENBERG: Clinton says he particularly focused on bin Laden after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and then drew a contrast with the Bush administration.

CLINTON: What did I do? I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized the findings from the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him.

I got closer to killing him than anybody's gotten since. And if I were still president, we would have more than 20,000 troops here trying to kill him.

Now, I've never criticized President Bush, and I don't think this is useful. But you know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is only one-seventh as important as Iraq.

NURENBERG: The White House Sunday issued a statement saying only, "The records paints a very different picture than what President Clinton is suggesting. Looking forward, we will fight the war on terror by staying on the offense."

John McLaughlin helped run the CIA in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Clinton did aggressively pursue Osama bin Laden. I give the Clinton administration a lot of credit for the aggressiveness with which they went after al Qaeda and bin Laden.

NURENBERG (on camera): Five years after 9/11, presidents Bush and Clinton do have one thing in common. Each wants to avoid history's judgment that his administration is responsible for failing to stop bin Laden before the attacks.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Heidi, look at this.

COLLINS: Whoa.

HARRIS: Are you following me here? Gas prices taking a serious dive over the last, well, few, couple, several weeks, a months now. AAA says the national average for a gallon of unleaded gas is $2.30, nearly 50 cents less than early August. Some areas have seen prices drop even more sharply. The trend may not continue, though. And analysts for the Lundberg Survey says a big end-of-summer supply will thin out soon, and all of us could see some price hikes.

COLLINS: Well, we are all pumped over the lower prices, but why now, as a matter of fact? But why now, as a matter of fact, and why such a drastic decline? We've heard of supply and demand, a cheaper mix of gasoline and some other reasons, but there are those conspiracy theorists who are not buying it.

Ali Velshi has the buzz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cheaper gas, finally. But why? Well, the legendary summer driving season is over. No hurricanes have damaged Gulf Coast rigs and refineries. Things are calmer between Israel and Lebanon, and Iran, well, at least we're not at war with Iran.

But with a little more than six weeks to the midterm elections, the blogs are buzzing with other theories. Are lower gas prices a Republican plot? This blogger wonders if Republicans are trying to soften voters who have spent the last year angry about high gas prices.

"I predict it will work, by the way. The Republicans will retain control of Congress."

"Those Republicans need all the help they can get, and Big Oil is doing the best they can to assist."

"I would conclude that falling gas prices is just another example of manipulation of the public by Bush and company."

DOUG HENWOOD, "THE LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER": Certainly there is a strong statistical relation between Bush's approval rating and the price of gas.

9/11 approval spike...

VELSHI: Doug Henwood, editor of the liberal newsletter "The Left Business Observer," has charted President Bush's popularity against gas prices. He calls the correlation he found uncanny, but he stopped short of calling it a conspiracy.

HENWOOD: More than three quarters of the movement in bush's approval rating can be explained by movements in the price of gas.

VELSHI: But it's not just the blogs. A recent "USA Today"/Gallup poll asked voter, do you think the bush administration has deliberately manipulated the price of gasoline so that it would decrease before this fall's election? Forty-two percent said yes. Big Oil's P.R. operation calls the whole idea preposterous.

RAYOLA DOUGHER, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INST.: I think if politicians had -- were really if charge of oil prices, I think they would be low. They'd probably be free right now. And the very notion that we have some sort of command and control oil economy is silly.

VELSHI: Back in July, both crude oil and gasoline hit their highest recorded prices. Gas was averaging about $3 a gallon. By mid-September, oil had dropped about $15 a barrel. So gas should have dropped about 45 cents a gallon. It actually dropped 50 cents a gallon, and it's dropped more since then.

Could President Bush have had anything to do with plummeting gas prices?

We asked Professor Akshay Rao who studies pricing strategy.

DR. AKSHAY RAO, UNIV. OF MINNESOTA: Surely if you picked up the phone and made, you know, five or 10 strategic phone calls, he might be able to influence prices to some degree. But, you know, I think that's a fairly far-fetched theory.

VELSHI: What's more conceivable, according to Rao, is that the energy industry cut prices without any prompting from Washington. That's because they're worried that if the Democrats win, they'll follow up on threats to tax the energy industry more heavily. We put that idea to big oil's P.R. people.

DOUGHER: It can't be done. They couldn't do it if they wanted to do it.

VELSHI (on camera): The government says one more thing. Remember back to spring when much of the country started to use ethanol as an additive for summer gasoline? Well, that caused gas prices to spike. And now that we've switched to winter-blend gasoline, we won't have that added cost until next spring again.

Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: ANd Ali Velshi keeping a watch on gas prices. I'm going to be watching my tongue. Watch weekdays on AMERICAN MORNING at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

HARRIS: You're just caught up in this debate with me, that's what it is.

COLLINS: Screaming at me during break.

HARRIS: No, no, no.

Still ahead, a troubled city forgets its cares. Well, for a while. The Superdome reborn. We will hear from someone who played a key role int the rebuilding process. We are live from New Orleans.

COLLINS: And a closer look at the biggest reroofing job in U.S. history, just part of the Superdome restoration. A Fact Check ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Defending the airspace over the nation's capital, that job now in the hands of the U.S. Coast Guard. Until today, it was the responsibility of the Customs and Border Protections. Aircraft responded to unauthorized planes or helicopters in Washington's restricted airspace. Officials say that agency did not have the military authority to carry out the mission, something the Coast Guard does have.

Washington has some of the stiffest airspace restrictions, as you might imagine, in the country.

CNN Security Watch keeps you up to date on safety, so stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: For four decades, it stood big and bright near Boston's Fenway Park. Now some people want the landmark to go. Others are fighting back. What's caused the uproar, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: New hope today for weary firefighters in Southern California. They're expecting cooler weather and dying winds. That could help them get the upper hand against a big blaze. Right now it's an all-out battle, airplanes and helicopters are dowsing the flames with retardant. The fire has scorched nearly 210 square miles in the Los Padres National Forest. It has been on the move since it broke out on Labor Day.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: It's a huge hunk of history in Boston, more than 40 years old, but now a city council member say the famous Citgo sign in Kenmore Square has to go.

Here's CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Citgo sign has been a Boston landmark since 1965, towering over the city and historic Fenway Park.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, that's how I know I'm home.

LOTHIAN: But Boston City Council Member Jerry McDermott wants the sign removed.

JERRY MCDERMOTT, BOSTON CITY COUNCIL: I'd like to see the biggest American flag that we could put there.

LOTHIAN: The sign is owned by Citgo, which is a subsidiary of Venezuela's oil company. McDermott, a Democrat, is still hot under the collar after that country's president, Hugo Chavez, blasted President Bush at the United Nations, calling him the devil.

MCDERMOTT: I thought it was disgusting to see a head of state come to our country, on our soil, and basically spit on America and insult our president. LOTHIAN: The Chavez Citgo sign controversy heated up on talk radio.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP FROM WRKO AM RADIO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should we change the Citgo sign?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Like Boston's WRKO.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP FROM WRKO AM RADIO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the sign should stay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I say get rid of the sign. I just feel that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if we just put a -- draped a black cloth over it until there's a newly elected president of Venezuela?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Citgo tried to remove the sign more than 20 years ago, but the city fought to keep it. It has since undergone a $1 million facelift.

In a statement to CNN, a Citgo official said the company is proud of its American heritage, that goes back nearly a century. And he added that the Citgo sign is an important part of that heritage.

(on camera): Chances are the sign will stay put. But the Boston City Council will take up the matter at its next meeting on Wednesday. A public hearing could soon follow.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Still to come, a troubled city forgets its cares for awhile. The Superdome reborn. We will hear from someone -- where is Cynthia? I think she's in the chair. She's ready. There she is. There she is. This is a lady who played a key role in the rebuilding process. We will talk to her live from New Orleans in just a moment. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quick live shot now to something that we are waiting for, coming up in about five, 10 minutes or so. You are looking at Reagan National Airport, and we are awaiting the announcement from DHS deputy secretary and someone from the TSA about relaxing its ban on carrying liquids and gels on to airplanes. You see some of them there. You may have experienced this yourself at the airports.

Saying now that the government will allow passengers to bring on board those liquids and gels, as long as they have been purchased in secure areas of the airport. If you've gone through security and then you purchase once you are beyond security, apparently that will now be OK. We're going to get more details on it coming up in just a few minutes.

HARRIS: Well, great excitement today in a city down on its luck. Part of the heart and soul of New Orleans -- it's the city's famed Superdome -- is reopening after a massive makeover. With us now from the Crescent City, New Orleans city council member Cynthia Willard Lewis.

Cynthia, good morning. Thanks for your time.

CYNTHIA WILLARD-LEWIS, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Thank you and good morning to everyone.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, how excited are you?

WILLARD-LEWIS: I'm very excited. There's such positive energy in this city, and we're focusing in united fashion not only on the rebuilding of the Superdome, which we celebrate this day, but also it continues into the streets and into the neighborhoods. This is a good day for New Orleans.

HARRIS: Oh, Cynthia, come on. A good day for New Orleans? You're talking about a football game here, and I bet blocks away from there you still have homes that are destroyed, you still have people who are living in other cities. Aren't we making a bit too much of a football game?

WILLARD-LEWIS: No, let me share with you that immediately after the tragedies of August the 29th, many people were saying that the Superdome couldn't come back and wouldn't come back.

HARRIS: That's true.

WILLARD-LEWIS: And so what we celebrate today is the fact that if the resources are galvanized, the money made available, and the team pulled together, the will of this city is to rebuild not just the Superdome, but all of our infrastructure and all of our neighborhoods. So that's what we celebrate today, one victory that leads to many others.

HARRIS: The will to rebuild one city that represents a business interest in that community, but what about the other homes? What about rebuilding those other homes that were destroyed by Katrina?

WILLARD-LEWIS: Oh, you're absolutely correct and so we're very grateful for this event of national interest that keeps the focus on New Orleans and on our neighborhoods, and dialogue such as the one we're having this morning that says there's still a whole lot more work to be done, and we're committed to getting the work done.

We need those resources, we need that urgency and we need our infrastructure fixed. That's the next step. Let's get our pumping stations off of generators. Let's get all of our police department and firefighters in actual buildings rather than in FEMA trailers. And let's get all of our families home.

HARRIS: So, how about this? How about FEMA coming through with the money to help in the rebuilding process of the Superdome? Where was FEMA and where has FEMA been in the process over the last year to rebuild these neighborhoods?

WILLARD-LEWIS: You know, you are absolutely correct. And it's FEMA, it's the insurance companies, it's all of the delays and all of the blockages that, number one, have made individual homeowners, as well as small business people whole. And the Superdome represents one project that had a team with great capacity, so they were able to get the job done.

The heroes in this story are the individual citizens who will be here filling the Superdome, supporting and rooting for the team that, for 35 years now, they have been supporting.

And for this small moment in time, they will come together and say we're going to cross the victory line tonight, and we're going to continue to cross the victory line, and hopefully we'll be in our homes by January and watching our team in the Super Bowl.

HARRIS: So what do you say to those who say this small moment in time is indicative of priorities adrift?

WILLARD-LEWIS: Well, you know, I would say that's a very meritorious discussion because we do have to focus on the right proportion of strength and capacity. Building the Superdome, as I mentioned, is one project owned by the state, and so resources were galvanized at the legislature, our governor driving the team to get that job done.

With the individual homeowners and small businesses, really it's a struggle with the insurance companies as well as all of the multiple layers that are denying people the capacity that they need to get their money. It's about getting the money so that individual American citizens can get on with their lives.

And so we hope today that folks can see, just as they questioned should the Superdome be rebuilt, they should no longer question should neighborhoods be rebuilt but understand if we get the support we need, we will get the job done.

HARRIS: Councilmember Cynthia Willard-Lewis, bringing the energy this morning. Cynthia, enjoy the game tonight. We appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

WILLARD-LEWIS: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: And spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning, and stay informed.

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