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Teenager Killed at High School in Massachusetts; More Winter Misery; Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Second Trip to Iraq

Aired January 19, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You are with CNN. You are informed.
I am T.J. Holmes. I'm sitting in today for Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to have you.

And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM. A lot going on this Friday, January 19th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

The Plains on ice. Today, winter gets ready to spread more misery. Another big storm heading for west Texas and Oklahoma.

HOLMES: Space strike. China sends a missile into space to knock out a satellite. The test alarming the U.S. American spy satellites, perhaps they're at risk. We have guest here who's going to discuss that with us.

COLLINS: Islam in the West. Fire and brimstone from radicals. Christiane Amanpour previews her new CNN special live here in the NEWSROOM.

We are following a developing story this hour out of Massachusetts. Police in Sudbury, near Boston, Massachusetts, say one person was killed in a stabbing at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. Police are not saying whether the victim was a student or an employee, nor are they saying whether the suspect is in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE LACY, REPORTER, WCVB: Susan, we're right around the corner from the high school at an athletic field that doubles as a student parking lot. As you mentioned, there was a fight in the high school around 7:45 in the men's bathroom this morning. And we do know that a teenager was transported from the high school to Emerson Hospital in Concord and pronounced dead at 8:12.

Now, the presumption is that it was a student at the school. The hospital giving us no information, and we cannot confirm that. We do not know their identity.

But we do know that that fight broke out in the men's bathroom around quarter of 8:00 this morning. And we are told from students on scene that it was a 17-year-old male that was stabbed to death.

Now, at 7:45, that's when students are coming into school. So, school officials essentially put the school on lockdown. And students were taken either to the auditorium or cafeteria so they could be accounted for.

They stayed there for approximately two and a half hours. And about 15, 20 minutes ago, they were just released from school. We saw a number of students walking by here, being reunited with their parents, getting in their cars, taking off.

They all looked very dazed. Many did not know much about what had happened. But we do know that a student -- or teenager, rather, was transported to Emerson Hospital in Concord, just down the road from the high school, from Lincoln-Sudbury High School, and pronounced dead at 8:12 this morning.

Now, this is a school of about 1,600 students. And obviously parents and teachers, everyone in the community, very upset. This is not a place you would expect anything like this to happen, although, I must say, I don't think you would really expect something like this to happen anywhere.

That really is the latest information. We are waiting word from school officials, who are scheduled to hold a press conference any moment now. That was supposed to happen at 10:30. It did not.

So we just await more information. But that is the latest, that a teenager, presumably a student at Lincoln-Sudbury High School, was stabbed to death in the school bathroom earlier this morning -- Susan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Steve Lacy reporting for us from WCVB. That's our affiliate there on the ground.

Just to confirm quickly here, a press conference apparently is expected. Not sure of the time of that. We, of course, will monitor it for you, and bring you any new information.

But a fatal stabbing there, a high school in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The name, Lincoln-Sudbury.

Police not confirming whether that victim was a student or employee, but according to our affiliate, as you just heard there on the ground, apparently saying it was a student, a 17-year-old student, stabbed in the bathroom.

Again, we'll follow the story for you.

HOLMES: Oh, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know.

HOLMES: Oh. You know that's all I have to say and you know what I'm talking about. WOLF: I know, man. We're on the same wavelength.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And CNN's Reggie Aqui is reporting for us now on the situation there. Generators being delivered, bottles of water being delivered. The governor actually coordinating disaster relief efforts now in the state of Oklahoma.

Reggie Aqui reporting now live from Krebs, Oklahoma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This portion of southeast Oklahoma is still recovering from last week's ice storm. In fact, you'll see that the icicles are still clinging to the trees, many of them down. And many of these icicles affecting the power lines.

The mayor here in Krebs expects that anywhere between 80 to 100 percent of the people who live here won't have power for the rest of the day. He's very concerned about what's going to happen for this next round of storms, whether or not that's going to be just as powerful as it was last time.

We did have a chance to talk to a business owner here in Krebs. He runs a barber shop. And he tells us he believes that Oklahomans are strong and can get through this together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just slept here last night. And woke up this morning and they said the power's out again. They said two towers went down again, or two more towers went out or something, you know. Something happened to them.

I don't know what it was. But they're hoping to get it back on today sometime. So, you just deal.

AQUI: FEMA and the Red Cross have descended upon the towns that we are surrounded by. They are here for the long haul and they're ready for it to get worse before it gets better. So the Red Cross has already opened up several shelters for those who have no heat at home.

Reggie Aqui, CNN, Krebs, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Back in Iraq, new Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on his second trip to the war zone in less than a month. This time, he is in southern Iraq, Basra and Nasiriyah, meeting with U.S., British and other coalition officials. His visit comes as U.S. and Iraqi forces work to restore law and order. Overnight, they arrested a top aide to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. His Mehdi army is thought to be in the middle of the sectarian violence in Iraq.

HOLMES: And for more now on defense chief Robert Gates' return to the war zone, and a big arrest there, we're going to go to our Arwa Damon, who is in the Iraqi capital for us.

Arwa, the defense secretary is in southern Iraq. What do we make of that?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., it's interesting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, other than the obvious security meetings that are taking place -- and he is also accompanied by General George Casey, the top U.S. commander here on the ground -- southern Iraq is predominantly Shia. And British and American military intelligence officers believe that there is a concentration of Iranian influence in that area.

In fact, they go as far to say that their intelligence indicates that Iran is directly responsible for funding and training and arming militias, Shia militias that mainly operate in that area. They also say that they have evidence that Iran is directly responsible for these more sophisticated IEDs, those deadly roadside bombs that we are seeing. And they also believe that Iran is exploiting the warring Shia factions that exist down in that area.

Now, throughout his trip, we have seen Secretary Gates talking about the Iranian influence here in Iraq. In fact, going as far as to say that Iran actually now has the upper hand, so that this trip that he is taking to the southern portion of the country is really a great opportunity to get a better grasp on the depth of the Iranian influence in this country -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, there's also been tons of talk, of course, about cracking down on the Shiite militias there, specifically the one being run by the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Well, one of his associates now -- and a big arrest is what we're hearing now.

So, is this part of that crackdown? Are they doing what they say they're going to do? What's the reaction to this?

DAMON: Well, T.J., that's what's really interesting about it. The Iraqi government, the prime minister promising that this time they'll be cracking down on all militias, with no exceptions, including the militia of Muqtada al-Sadr.

Now, U.S. and Iraqi forces did detain one of Muqtada al-Sadr's aides in a raid that happened over midnight. He has been identified as Abdul Hadi al-Daraji (ph) by al-Sadr's group itself. They, however, claim that he is the director of their main office located in Sadr City.

Now, what the Iraqi government is going to do at this point is where it really gets interesting. In the past, we have seen the Iraqi government apply pressure on the U.S. and on Iraqi forces to release individuals that have been associated with the Mehdi militia. What we are seeing thus far is that the Iraqi government appears to be standing firm.

We did hear from Alida Bawan (ph), the spokesman for Nuri al- Maliki, saying that al-Daraji (ph) will be investigated. And this really is an indication that perhaps this time the Iraqi prime minister is going to stand by his word that all militias will be targeted. Of course, this remains to be seen how this all plays out in the days to come -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. We shall see. Our Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad for us.

Thank you so much, Arwa.

COLLINS: Growing violence and dwindling faith. The Bush White House and top Democrats increasingly questioning Prime Minister al- Maliki's leadership in Iraq. The latest critic, likely presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Here now, part of her talk with CNN's John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, do you have any faith that he is the guy who can -- who can bring Iraq back to a state of security?

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I don't have any faith.

ROBERTS: No faith in al-Maliki?

CLINTON: Whether there is a gap between his intentions and his will and capacity is the real problem, or whether he's doing what he intends to do to sort of mark time and further, you know, the dominance of his sectarian supporters, it's hard to tell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: You can see John Roberts' full interview with Senator Hillary Clinton this weekend. Tune in to "THIS WEEK AT WAR," Saturday evening 7:00 Eastern, and again Sunday afternoon, 1:00 Eastern.

HOLMES: The threat from space.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we, for instance, got into a conflict over Taiwan, one of the first things they'd probably do would be to shoot down all of our lower orbit spy satellites, putting out our eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: China launches a killer missile and brings down a howl of protests. Our guest talking about it here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Hold on, right? Europe ripped by hurricane-force winds. The gusty day and the details in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And Christiane Amanpour, her intriguing look at radicalism flourishing in the West.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anjem, basically a lot of what you're saying is, it's my way or the highway. I mean, how does that kind of logic fit into a democratic state like the one we live in now and like the one you live in? You live here by choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Yes, Christiane leading off this weekend premier of CNN's "Special Investigations Unit." She joins us live shortly here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Out of time and options. A man with heart problems takes a shot at experimental surgery. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A new threat in space. The U.S. protesting China's apparently successful test of a satellite-killing weapon. The test could pose a danger to satellites vital to the U.S. military.

More now from senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Low Earth orbit satellites have become indispensable for the U.S. military for communications, for GPS navigation to guide smart bombs and troops, and for real-time surveillance. But they are also extremely vulnerable, as the just revealed test of a satellite killing weapon by China ominously demonstrates.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: If we, for instance, got into a conflict over Taiwan, one of the first things they'd probably do would to be shoot down all of our lower orbit spy satellites, putting out our eyes.

MCINTYRE: According to U.S. government officials, after three misses, China last Thursday succeed in shooting down one of its own aging weather satellites with a medium range ballistic missile fired from the ground. U.S. censors tracked the satellite as it disappeared from its polar orbit 537 miles above the Earth and was reduced to hundreds of pieces of space debris after impact with a kill vehicle carried by the missile.

The U.S. has lodged a formal diplomatic protest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was this a provocative move by China?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Don't know that, but we are concerned about it and we have made it known.

MCINTYRE: Under a new space policy authorized by President Bush last August, the U.S. asserts a right to freedom of action in space and vows to deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests.

Experts say the concern is not as much about Chinese capabilities, as their long-term intentions.

PIKE: The thing that is surprising and disturbing is that they have chosen this moment to demonstrate a military capability that could only be aimed at the United States.

MCINTYRE (on camera): In effect, the Chinese have fired a shot across the bow of the United States and made it clear they feel no constraints in developing space weapons. Some observers feel this may mark the lowest point in U.S.-China relations since the downing of a U.S. spy plane back in 2001.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. We're going to look into this a bit more with John Tkacik. He's a former State Department official and Asian studies fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Sir, thank you for being here.

Tell us, who was the primary audience for this test by China?

JOHN TKACIK, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Well, the primary audience, I think, was the Chinese people's liberation army themselves. They wanted to see that they could do this. Of course, the secondary audience was the United States to say we're -- for China to say we're here, we're an emerging space power, and you have to deal with us.

HOLMES: So they're not really trying to show any intentions here, they're just trying to show their capabilities?

TKACIK: Well, what are -- what are intentions? You never know somebody's intentions. But if somebody shows you a capability, I think you can pretty well divine from that that they have the intention of using that capability.

HOLMES: OK. Well, why now? What about the timing?

TKACIK: Well, who knows why now? They've been trying to do this for a while. I suppose this is the third time. Third time's the charm.

Last August, they blinded one of our satellites. Well, who knows if they blinded it? They certainly painted one of our reconnaissance satellites, a U.S. military reconnaissance satellite, illuminating it, probably for the purposes of testing their kill vehicle targeting systems.

HOLMES: All right. And nobody is ever going to say that the U.S. and China are best friends forever, by any means. The relationship can be icy, no doubt about it. But...

TKACIK: Well, there's no...

HOLMES: Yes -- go ahead.

TKACIK: There's no question in my mind that there's a large faction in the U.S. -- in the Bush administration that is trying to downplay this. Last year, when they blinded our satellite, or illuminated it, there was an effort on the part of the administration to play it down. I think now the administration certainly cannot -- cannot ignore this -- this development.

HOLMES: All right. Give us an idea of just how many satellites the U.S. has, if you can -- has floating around up there and just how crucial they are to us.

TKACIK: Well, words fail me to describe the effect on U.S. military operations if within a matter of hours the Chinese were to bring down 40 or 50 of our reconnaissance and communication satellites. It simply would -- it would blind us. And I think that the Chinese are showing that they have that -- that they're working toward that kind of a capability.

HOLMES: Well, how does the U.S. need to play this particular incident? You said in the past they played them down.

What are the options now for handling China?

TKACIK: Well there are, I think, three options that we can take. One is to -- the first option is to start looking at small satellites. And it's going to take a lot of resources. But we have several dozen very large target satellites that could be replaced by several hundred or so small micro satellites I think in this new day and age.

The second way that we can deal with this is by -- is by ceasing to treat China as some kind of benevolent power in the Western Pacific and start to look at them, I think, in the way that we really should. And start to look at them in a way that their actions and behaviors would demand.

The third thing, I think, is something we could do immediately, which is to discuss the Chinese proposal for the prevention of arms race in space, the Paris draft statement that the Chinese have been pushing.

The Paris statement is specifically designed to effect and to undermine America's missile defense capacity. The Paris agreement, the Chinese have said, is specifically not verifiable. And I think we have to really confront the Paris agreement diplomatically head on.

HOLMES: Well, man, another diplomatic dance to be done, it sounds like. Well, John Tkacik, former State Department official, and Asian studies fellow at the Heritage Foundation, sir, we appreciate your expertise and lending us some of that today. Thanks so much.

TKACIK: Thanks.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, we're going to tell you about the public face of Islamic extremism in Britain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANJEM CHOUDARY, MUSLIM EXTREMIST: One day you will conquer Rome! One day -- one day you will conquer the White House!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Christiane Amanpour investigates "The War Within." She'll join us live from London.

That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Hurricane-force winds. Northern Europe trying to recover today from a powerful and deadly winter storm.

Details now from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): It was the strongest storm Europe has seen in years. In London, hurricane- force winds blew people off their feet. Others had to cling to streetlights and try to claw their way forward. Moving around outside was difficult and dangerous as storm front Carol (ph) raged for almost 24 hours.

Help came just in time for 26 crew members of a British container ship. Royal Navy helicopters were able to pull them from the rough North Sea after their vessel had been damaged.

Others were not so lucky. More than two dozen people across Europe were killed. And a day later, a whole continent is licking its wounds.

There was extensive damage in the Netherlands. German authorities told people to stay indoors in the afternoon hours. One man died in this car crash after trying to avoid an uprooted tree on the road.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to hold on after landing in London for a meeting with Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair. The storm caused massive travel delays across Europe. Hundreds of flights were canceled, and the German National Railroad suspended its entire service.

At Europe's largest train terminal in Berlin, service will be down for at least another day after steel girders from the building dropped almost 120 feet, hitting a car and several bicycles. To ensure the safety of the travelers, the federal police closed off the station and evacuated the passengers. This Berlin police official says thousands of passengers were left stranded and had to spend the night in waiting areas in the terminal building.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Berlin Bureau Chief Frederik Pleitgen is joining us now live.

Frederik, I wonder, what does that travel situation look like now?

PLEITGEN: Still very bad, Heidi. Really, what we're still dealing with is hour-long delays, especially for people who want to take the railroad in Europe, and in Germany especially.

Railroad service here was down, completely down for the first time in the history of this country for nine hours last night. And really, just now the railroad is starting to sort of recover. But still, they're way behind schedule on almost all trains.

So, really, people that want to travel in Europe, they better see if they can really get to where they're going. Now, the same is really -- the situation, when you look at flights, many flights have been canceled. They're trying to normalize that right now, but of course there's still a massive backlog for many of the flights that were canceled yesterday -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Frederik, were you out in this at all? If you were, tell us what it felt like as we look at this video that's pretty incredible.

PLEITGEN: Well, it was amazing. I mean, I've covered a couple of these storms in Germany before. But I have to tell you, I've never seen one like this.

I'm sure many Europeans have not seen one like this in many years. Really, there was just torrential rain pouring down and very, very heavy and very gusty winds, up to 120 miles an hour gusts, really hurricane-force winds here.

And the amazing thing about the storm is that it just engulfed the entire continent and caused so very much damage. German authorities told people it was best to stay inside. And the people who did that were safe. But the people who didn't were really living very, very dangerously, and dozens of people actually did die in the storm -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. All right. Well, we continue to look at those disturbing pictures, to say the least.

Frederik Pleitgen, our Berlin bureau chief.

Thank you, Frederik.

HOLMES: Bracing for the next blast. The central U.S. reeling from the last storm. More winter weather on the way now. The bone- chilling details ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: We continue to follow a developing story this hour out of Massachusetts. Police in Sudbury -- that's near Boston -- say one person was killed in a stabbing at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. It's a school of about 1,600 kids.

Police are not saying whether that victim was a student or employee, but we should tell you, according to our affiliate on the ground there, WHDH reporting, and also WCVB reporting, that it was, indeed, a 17-year-old student.

Let's go ahead and listen in to some sound of what happened on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened? I just came in to school today. It was a normal day.

And then, like, I don't know, around 7:30, 7:40, all these people came into the cafeteria. I guess they were trying to evacuate a whole section of the building.

So, what they did was they separated us all into, like, different sections to try to keep us safe while the police, like, you know, looked around for evidence and everything. So, I guess right now one kid is in jail or he got arrested, and the other kid is assumed dead. That's what we heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We are looking now at some microphones there, anticipating a press conference. Likely to speak at that press conference, Middlesex district attorney Jerry Leoni (ph). And again, we are waiting for more details on that.

Not sure exactly what happened, but you heard from some of the students there, obviously very, very upset to have something like this happen at their school. We know there is one fatality. It happened around 8:15 in the morning, Lincoln-Sudbury High School, just outside of Boston.

We'll continue to follow it for you.

HOLMES: We want to give you some new pictures that we're just getting in here to CNN of that raid we've been telling you about in Baghdad in which a prominent -- a senior spokesperson someone very close to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was taken into custody.

Again, this is a close associate, a prominent spokesperson for the cleric Shiite Muqtada al-Sadr. These are new pictures we're getting in. This was a late-night raid. This was in Baghdad, Sadr City, last evening. This is some of the new video we're getting. Of course looks like after the raid, folks gathered in that area.

But some in the Shiite community are calling this a provocation, an American provocation, and American forces, of course, and Iraqi forces have been going up against it in trying to get a control of some of these Shiite militias, in particular the Mehdi Army, which is controlled by Muqtada al-Sadr, and believed to be responsible for most of the sectarian violence. The U.S. certainly trying to get a handle on some of these militias and crackdown, and therefore possibly cut down on some of that sectarian violence. But again, just some of that new video we want to bring to you. Of course continuing to follow that story.

COLLINS: Judgment day for a former Ohio congressman snared in a bribery scandal. Bob Ney sentenced to 30 months in prison for influence peddling. In November, Ney Pleaded guilty to accepting cash and gifts from disgraced lobbyists Jack Abramoff, in exchange for official favors. When Ney leaves prison, he can still collect his congressional pension. We've been reporting on stories like this as of late. Taxpayers will shell out about $20,000 a year if he starts collecting in 2010. The payout climbs to $29,000 if he waits until 2016 to collect.

HOLMES: The public face of Islamic extremism in Britain.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour investigates the war within. She will join us live from London. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, want to let you know now that the House representatives taking action now to overhaul the House congressional page program, a new resolution. They're going to do things a little differently up there with the House pages. Of course the pages are teenagers who come there to work in Congress. Of course, got a lot of attention during the campaign last year after the whole Mark Foley e- mail and sex scandal, if you will.

But the House has voted unanimously, 416-0, to overhaul that program. And now both parties, Republicans and Democrats, will have more of a say in this program and oversee it. There were some debate, and questions and criticism over just one side, the Republicans, and information now getting around with the Mark Foley page scandal. So now they're just going to overhaul the program. They're going to make sure that both parties have equal say in overseeing that program. They're trying to make sure that these young people who go there to work are safe and remain safe, but again, trying to pretty much close a chapter here, an ugly chapter from last year in that whole page sex scandal.

But overhauling that program, again, trying to keep these young people safe who go there to work for Congress.

COLLINS: The war within. Muslims fighting for control of the voice of Islam in Britain. Radicals spouting hate. Moderates struggling to be heard.

This weekend, chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour takes an in-depth look at this war within. Here now, a preview of her report which airs Saturday night, the premiere of our new program, "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANJEM CHOUDARY, ISLAMIC ACTIVIST: One day you will conquer Rome. One day, one day you will conquer the White House.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anjem Choudary is the public face of Islamic extremism in Britain. His group, Amwar Jaroun (ph) disbanded before the British government could outlaw it under its new anti-terrorism rules. But that hasn't shut Choudary up.

CHOUDARY: Who are thyself, Islam or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Prophet Muhammad. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) deserves capital punishment.

AMANPOUR: That was Choudary's inflammatory rhetoric just days after Pope Benedict's controversial speech about Islam.

CHOUDARY: Pope Benedict, you will pay.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Pope Benedict, you will pay.

CHOUDARY: The Mujahadeen are on their way.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: The Mujahadeen are on their way.

AMANPOUR: Outside Westminster Cathedral, British Catholics looked on in disbelief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can stand outside our church and abuse us and abuse our religion and people we hold dear, with absolute impunity.

AMANPOUR: The simple question to the Christians is, do you condemn what the pope said? Do you condemn the pope?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he said...

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Yes or no?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If any of us was to amble up to, you know, the mosque at Regent's Park and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) regards to Allah or Mohammad or what have you. Best case, though, they take away the police for (UNINTELLIGIBLE) racial hatred. Worst case scenario, attacked by a bunch of thugs wearing towels on their heads.

AMANPOUR: Even away from the bully pulpit, Choudary, who is a lawyer, not a cleric, continues to advocate extremist views, like calling for Sharia, Islamic law for Britain.

CHOUDARY: All of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) belongs to Allah, and we will live according to the Sharia where we are. This is a fundamental belief of the Muslims. You know, if I was to go to the jungle tomorrow, I'm not going to live like the animals.

AMANPOUR (on camera): Basically, a lot of what you're saying is, it's my way or the highway. I mean, how does that kind of logic fit into a democratic state like the one we live in now and like the one you live in? You live here by choice. Do you not believe in democracy?

CHOUDARY: No, I don't at all. We believe that people must live according to the Sharia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And joining us now, chief international Christiane Amanpour.

Christiane. "One day you will conquer Rome. "One day you will conquer the White House." I have to ask, what do mainstream Muslims there say about Anjem Choudary?

AMANPOUR: Well, you can imagine it makes them extremely uncomfortable. Really, we know there's a minority, and Anjem Coudary is amongst them, which is prone to violence, to extremism, obviously to bigotry and to intolerance, and they openly talk about "cuffers," which is word for non-Muslims, and it's ugly, and in mosques and all the other kind of places we regularly see this stuff. But we have to keep emphasizing that this is a minority. Of course, the issue is, what about the mainstream? When are they going to get up, seize back the religion and actually control the debate, which is being completely hijacked right now by the radical wing of Islam. This is a challenge that faces not just Britain, but the United States, because of what Islam is doing around the world. And it challenges all the countries where the majority are being silenced by the minority.

So, we chose to investigate this not just about the radicals, but also to see whether the moderates and the mainstreams were sick and tired of it enough to start challenging them and taking back the religion.

We do find that as we go on through this program.

COLLINS: Well, it's a fascinating program, that's for sure. It's a question I've been asking for awhile myself about the Muslim on Muslim violence in particular. And I wonder what type of urgency is there among the Muslim moderates to go ahead and, as you say, seize back the debate?

AMANPOUR: Well, there is an urgency because to be very frank since 9/11, most Muslims, mainstream, certainly the majority of them feel that they're all being tarred and tarnished by this rampant Islamaphobia that has really gone on all around the world.

And in Europe, 13 million Muslims really do feel it. And there's a tracking agency that says that actually threats, abuse, and such discriminatory practices are on the rise against Muslims. So there is this sort of sense of anti-Islam that is rampant.

And so the mainstream, they're saying what can we do? Of course, not everybody -- and that's the big issue. When will there be a critical mass of moderate and mainstream Muslims who say enough is enough. We're going to be in charge of the debate rather than the radicals. But we did find in England that it is starting, not just in London, but in places all over England with significant Muslim minorities, whether they be preachers and imams, whether they be artists, musicians, people in culture or in other parts of society, including one of only four Muslim MPs here in Parliament. It's a very big issue.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. We will be watching, Christiane. We want to remind everybody about the special, "The War Within." A CNN special investigations unit report. See that premiere Saturday night 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.

HOLMES: We want to head back to Massachusetts press conference now on that school stabbing. We'll listen in to the district attorney.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GERARD LEONE JR., MIDDLESEX CO. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Today, over the weekend to help the community and the members of the school through this difficult time. This time, we'll take any questions you have.

QUESTION: One or both members of the go team?

LEONE: What was that, Dan?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

LEONE: No, I don't have any other information to impart to you now about the students' status within the school other than they both attended Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School.

QUESTION: Was the suspect part of the program for emotionally challenged students?

LEONE: Other than the fact that they both attended and still attend Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School, that's all I can say about the two students.

(CROSSTALK)

LEONE: We don't know and we can't say anything about the motive or intent at this time. What we know is that there was an altercation between the two students and as a result of the altercation, James Allison died as a result of the stabbing. Jack.

(CROSSTALK)

LEONE: Jack.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

LEONE: At this time, what we know is that the stabber is 16 and a half years old and therefore, he will be arraigned in the juvenile session of the framing here of courts.

QUESTION: Where did it happen, though?

LEONE: The actual stabbing took place within the school in a bathroom hall area.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

LEONE: There were other people who were in the school at the time of the altercation who saw the aftermath of the altercation, reported that and calls were made from the high school to the local police departments and the Mass state police.

(CROSSTALK)

LEONE: The case will certainly work its way through the system. Any time a juvenile is charged with a crime as serious as this, there is always the option to bring that defendant through the system and charge him as a youthful offender.

QUESTION: Did anybody see the actual confrontation?

LEONE: The stabbing took place with a knife. Other than that, we will not disclose any other details at this time.

(CROSSTALK)

LEONE: Carl.

QUESTION: You say bathroom hall area. What does that mean in the bathroom or in the hall?

LEONE: Inside area of the high school along hallway corridor, which houses two of the bathrooms. Our belief now and our understanding is that the disturbance started in the bathroom, resulted in the hallway. At this time, I don't have anything else that I can impart to you, OK. Thanks.

HOLMES: OK, we're listening in there, had been listening into the district attorney, Gerard Leone giving us more information about that stabbing we've been keeping an eye on.

But the information he did confirm to us that in fact, yes, two students were involved in a stabbing in Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.

One student died, 17-year-old student was killed. 16-year-old being held and in custody right now. That is the headline there. They did confirm that information on the story we have been watching this morning. So a sad story, a sad time for a bunch of students there in that community.

COLLINS: Out of time and options. A man with heart problems takes a shot at experimental surgery. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Heart on the mend. One year after experimental surgery, a man has a lot to live for.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this report now from his series, "Saving your Life."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A year ago, Charlie Hoff was being wheeled into the O.R. His health had deteriorated to the point where he sometimes used a wheelchair to get around. He was taking part in a clinical trial that he hoped would improve his failing heart.

CHARLIE HOFF, HEART PATIENT: You know, I was feeling like an invalid, and thinking about that at my age, and I consider myself a young man at 60, you know, really disheartening.

It is up to the politicians to find a way.

GUPTA: A former CNN television reporter, Charlie suffered a heart attack in Jerusalem while he was bureau chief. And he admits, he ignored his symptoms.

HOFF: Bottom line was I waited too long and I did a lot of damage to my heart.

GUPTA: His medical history looked bleak. He had a stressful job. He smoked for over 30 years. He suffered three heart attacks and open-heart surgery. And his father died at the age of 47 from a heart attack. Time was running out, and he was running out of options.

So doctors took some muscle tissue from his leg and cultured those cells. Then they injected millions of his cells into the dead heart muscle in order to regrow his muscle, or at least booster his failing heart.

This is Charlie today, a year after his heart operation.

HOFF: I feel so much better. I can get out, I can do things. I've even played golf a couple of times.

GUPTA: And his cardiologist, Dr. Nick Chronos, is encouraged by his results.

DR. NICK CHRONOS, CARDIOLOGIST: His quality of life has dramatically improved. He's much less short of breath, he doesn't retain as much fluid, and his heart, on echocardography, appears to be functioning better.

HOFF: I'm optimistic. I feel like I can live a long time. I feel like I can watch my boys grow up. And life is good.

GUPTA: He says the surgery saved his life, and it gave him his life back.

HOFF: Good catch.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And for more information on what you can do to survive or prevent serious illness -- go to CNN.com/savingyourlife. Click on web extras. Included there, you'll see a link directing women to free or low-cost breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings.

And be sure to watch Sanjay's special, "Saving your Life," that one coming your way tomorrow, 3:00 p.m. Eastern and Sunday, 2:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

HOLMES: Winter signaling another numbing march into the plains. Yes, it is January in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Don Lemon is here with us now, going to be watching his show along with Kyra Phillips a little bit later today. Kyra, Right?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: No, not Kyra.

COLLINS: Fredricka.

LEMON: Fredricka Whitfield.

COLLINS: We'll be watching either way.

LEMON: A lot happening today, including this story: a couple of cold cases are back on the front burner in Missouri. Police are taking a hard look at least two unsolved kidnappings after the arrest of Michael Devlin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to do everything we can. We're going to cross our Ts and dot our I's to get to the bottom of if Devlin is involved or not with our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We'll have details on two other Missouri boys who went missing in 1988 and 1991. Could there be any connection between these cases and the alleged kidnappings of Shawn Hornbeck and William Ownby?

We'll also have this for you: why are some Texas ministers throwing the book at the president of the United States? Well, there's a Methodist to the madness at SMU in Dallas over plans for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. We'll have details on the ruckus.

That and a whole lot more coming up today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern when join us here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: You and Fredricka Whitfield.

LEMON: Me and Fredricka Whitfield.

COLLINS: We will be watching. Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Have a great weekend guy.

COLLINS: You too. Thanks.

Hear unforgettable stories of courage and carrying from America's heroes. Join Larry King next as he tours the Fisher House Foundation for wounded troops and their families. A special "LARRY KING LIVE" only on CNN.

HOLMES: And of course, Join Don Lemon and Fredricka Whitfield at 1:00 Eastern right here in THE NEWSROOM. Stick around, that special Larry King coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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