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John Kerry Bows Out of 2008 Presidential Race; Dick Cheney Speaks Out; 'Grey's Anatomy' Star Enters Rehab
Aired January 24, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello once again. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.
Iraq's in a muddle. His former assistant is in court. What does a vice president have to say about it? Dick Cheney sits down with Wolf Blitzer. And we get a sneak peek.
PHILLIPS: The war of words escalates on Capitol Hill. A Senate committee lobs a verbal grenade at the president's plan to increase troops in Iraq.
LEMON: And from ruckus to rehab? We're hearing, Isaiah Washington from "Grey's Anatomy" is the latest celeb trotting a well- worn Hollywood path. We're checking it out right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Just want you to know, we still are monitoring Senator John Kerry there on the Senate floor. You're looking at live pictures. We are waiting for him to make that announcement -- our sources telling us he will announce that he is not going to run for the presidency in 2008. He's talking about Iraq right now. We will dip into that once he talks about the race of 2008.
LEMON: A no-vote on the troop surge -- a short time ago, senators on the Foreign Relations Committee put their opinions on record, voting 12-9 against a ramped-up deployment of American troops to Iraq. It's a nonbinding resolution, and the deployment has already started.
The committee's senior Republican wondered why they all voted at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: Usually, nonbinding resolutions are designed to show unity on an issue or to highlight an issue that few members know about. In this case, we are laying open our disunity, without the prospect that the vehicle will achieve meaningful changes in our policy.
This vote will force nothing on the president. But it will confirm to our friends and allies that we are divided and in disarray.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: This is not a defeatist resolution. This is not a cut-and-run resolution. We are not talking about cutting off funds, not supporting the troops. This is a very real, responsible addressing of the most divisive issue in this country since Vietnam.
Yes, sure it's tough, absolutely. And I think all 100 senators ought to be on the line on this. What do you believe? What are you willing to support? What do you think? Why are you elected? If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Democrats hold 11 seats on that committee -- the full Senate debate the resolution next week.
Now, let's go back to the Senate floor.
Senator John Kerry is speaking now about this very issue.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: ... are incorporated in the legislation I will offer, including launching a major diplomatic initiative, enforcing a series of benchmarks for meeting key political objectives, shifting the military mission to training Iraqi security forces and conducting targeted counterterrorism operations, maintaining an over-the-horizon presence to protect our interests, supported by a concerted effort to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate the militias, which must be undertaken by Iraqis.
This legislation includes an additional provision that I think is a critical component of the strategy.
Mr. President, I know a lot of colleagues were nervous about setting a date. Fewer are as nervous today. But I believe that there is a way to require the president to set that date, negotiate that exit, a way to do it constitutionally and also within the context of the reauthorization.
And I think that that is not an arbitrary deadline. In fact, the Iraq Study Group report effectively sets a goal of withdrawing United States combat forces from Iraq by the first quarter of 2008, or in approximately one year.
This date was based on the time frame for transferring responsibility to Iraqi security forces set forth by General Casey and on the schedule agreed upon with the Iraqi government itself for achieving key political and security objectives.
The president even said that, under that new strategy, responsibility for security would be transferred to Iraqis before the end of this year. That is how un-arbitrary it is. The president has said it. Our generals have said it. The Iraqi Study Group has said it.
Now, Mr. President, I want to repeat this, because it's important, because it's continually distorted. We all want success. But you have to examine the realities of the road to success. An effort that combines diplomacy with smart deployment of our troops is the only road to success.
And I ask my colleagues, where is the diplomacy? Many of us can remember, under a Republican president, Henry Kissinger shuttling back and forth, day and night, working to bring an end to the Vietnam War. Many of us can remember Jim Baker, in -- at the beginning of the decade, '90s, when he took 15 trips to Syria alone, and, on the final trip, got President Assad to actually agree to support what we were doing. That's diplomacy.
We don't have that kind of diplomacy. We lack even a special envoy there day to day, hour to hour, leveraging the Arab League, leveraging the United Nations, working with the U.N. perm five, working with the neighbor countries, doing the kind of significant, heavy diplomatic lifting that our sons and daughter who are dying deserve.
As our combat troop levels wind down, Mr. President, we can have sufficient forces to confront the Sunni insurgency. We can still continue to prosecute al Qaeda. But our -- our -- our core security interests, the security interests of preventing another terrorists attack on our country, those interests lie where our troops can still play a positive role in confronting Sunni insurgents and their al Qaeda allies.
That will happen when we will focus on Al Anbar Province, not Baghdad. Mr. President, it is time for Iraqis to assume responsibility for their country. And that's not just a statement. This has been four years. Three hundred thousand troops are trained. When I talk to the military people I talk to, they don't -- they don't -- they don't tell me training is the problem. They tell me motivation is the problem.
Those 300,000 troops are not prepared to die for an Iraq yet. And they are mostly local militia and/or local tribe affiliated, which is their true allegiance at this point in time.
We need a timetable which forces Iraqi politicians to confront this reality. Americans should not be dying because Iraqi politicians refuse to compromise and come together. If they're not willing to do it today, Mr. President, with thousands of people dying around them, with this kind of sectarian violence, what will make them more willing to do that in a year?
They are using the security blanket of American presence in order to avoid making those compromises, and we need to understand that and get about the business of leveraging the compromise that is the only solution to what's happening in Iraq.
I believe a deadline will actually help provide the Iraqis with the motivation and the pressure to step up and take control. General Abizaid made it clear that that's essential to our strategy. Key to providing the motivation is making sure that they, in fact, begin to take control and begin to define their own future. Mr. President, as we give the Iraqis more control over their own destiny, we also have to hold them accountable for the fundamentals of leading their country on the construction, as well as the basic resolution of the political differences within the oil revenues, the federalism issue, which are the two great stumbling blocks, fundamentally, to a resolution.
Why the president didn't make a condition of providing additional security and putting additional Americans online, why he didn't make their resolution of those issues a precondition, is beyond me.
But American forces are now going to be put at greater risk, more kids at harm, without the fundamentals that are the essential, and that are completely out of the power of any squad or company or battalion to be able to resolve.
Mr. President, when Prime Minister Maliki took power in May, General Casey and Ambassador Khalilzad said, the new government had six months to make the political compromises necessary to win public confidence and unify the country, six months last May. They were right.
And, yet, with no real deadline to force the government's hand, that period passed without any meaningful action. And we are now seeing the disastrous results.
So, to ensure that history does not repeat itself, we need to put those benchmarks in place, and we need to have those benchmarks agreed upon. And that is the least, again, that we can ask on behalf of our troops.
Mr. President, I also believe a deadline is essential to getting Iraq's neighbors to face up to the realities of the security needs of the region. If we're going to be concerned about Iran, it should not be surreptitiously based on them using us. It should be all of us, together, defining a new security arrangement for the region. General Zinni has talked about that many times. He's one of the most respected hands in that region.
In addition, Mr. President, our own intelligence agencies tell us that the war in Iraq is fanning the flames of jihad. And we have to stop serving as an al Qaeda recruitment tool.
When are we going to take that seriously here in the United States Senate? We spent a lot of time and energy in order to reorganize the intelligence community. We supposedly have the best intelligence now. And that intelligence, in the conglomerate, is telling us, this current policy is putting America at greater risk.
PHILLIPS: We will continue to follow Senator Kerry there, as he speaks about Iraq -- still waiting, though, for that news that we got through our sources that he's going to announce soon that he will not be running for the presidency in 2008.
Once he starts to discuss that, we will take it again live. Meanwhile, from day one, he's been more than a second in command, calling plenty of shots in the Bush administration and wielding plenty of clout in Washington.
Dick Cheney doesn't give a whole lot of media interviews, but one's coming up in the -- CNN's "SITUATION ROOM."
Our Wolf Blitzer joins us now with a preview.
Of course Wolf would get that interview.
Tell me about it, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, the vice president invited me over to the old executive office building. It's now called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, right next to the West Wing of the White House.
We spent some time earlier today discussing a wide range of issues, mostly dealing with the war in Iraq, somewhat on the war on terror, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, potential -- potential -- war with Iran, Iran's nuclear issues on the agenda.
But, as far as the vice president is concerned, he says it doesn't make any difference what resolutions emerge from the U.S. Senate. The administration is going forward with its plan to increase its troop levels in Iraq.
Listen to this exchange, Kyra, that we had.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What if the Senate passes a resolution saying, this is not a good idea; will that stop you?
RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It won't stop us.
And it would be, I think, detrimental, from the standpoint of the troops, as General Petraeus said yesterday. He was asked by Joe Lieberman, among others, in his testimony, about this notion that, somehow, the Senate could vote overwhelmingly for him, send him on his new assignment, and then pass a resolution at the same time and say, but we don't agree with the mission you have been given.
BLITZER: So, you're moving forward no matter what the consequences?
CHENEY: We are moving forward. We are moving forward.
The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But, in terms of this effort, the president has made his decision. We have consulted extensively with them. We will continue to consult with the Congress. But the fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done. I think General Petraeus can do it. I think our troops can do it. And I think it's far too soon for the talking heads on television to conclude that it's impossible to do; it's not going to work; it can't possibly succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The vice president.
We had some serious exchanges on this issue of Iraq, some other issues. He -- he was pretty firm, Kyra, in saying he does have confidence that the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, will do the right thing, get tough on the various death squads, including the Shiite militias of Muqtada al-Sadr.
He said that things were moving in the right direction. But, as far as the big picture in Iraq, he -- he -- he was determined to show there is absolutely now wiggle room; he was moving forward.
PHILLIPS: What else were you able to talk about, besides Iraq, Wolf? Of course, the president up now against a Democratic House and Senate, a lot of issues coming forward. Will he be able to work with them?
BLITZER: Well, you know, he was generous in speaking about sitting next to Nancy Pelosi, the new speaker of the House, last night.
He used to speak -- used to sit next to the former speaker, Dennis Hastert. He liked sitting with Nancy Pelosi. It was a new thing for him, obviously, although he did recall, when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Democrats were in the majority as well.
We got into the issue of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and why, five years-plus after 9/11, 3,000 Americans killed, the U.S. has still not been able to find him. And he made the case that he's hiding someplace; he's not communicating; he's not going on television. It's a rugged terrain along the Afghan-Pakistan border, wherever he might be hiding.
I pointed out to him that the -- the number-two al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, he is appearing on television all the time. Why not find him?
And I -- I sensed he didn't have a good answer on that, other than they're looking; they're trying to find him. But there's no real reason, no real explanation, of why they can't.
PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer, we look forward to the full interview, coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thanks.
BLITZER: Thank you.
LEMON: Don't be so fuel-ish.
(LAUGHTER) LEMON: The president stumps for pump alternatives, greener vehicles, and other ways to meet America's energy needs. We will help you top off your news tank just ahead.
And from ruckus to rehab? We are hearing Isaiah Washington is the latest celeb trotting a well-worn Hollywood path. We're checking it out in the CNN NEWSROOM.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Familiar setting, different tone -- President Bush went to Capitol Hill last night to report on the State of the Union and to look for support, support and, in the case of Iraq, a little more patience. He asked lawmakers in both parties to back the new surge in U.S. troops and called his plan the best chance for success.
And he warned of the consequences of failure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We went into this largely united in our assumptions and in our convictions. And, whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure.
Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq, and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field and those on their way.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, unlike Iraq, the immigration issue has given the president some common ground with Democrats. Last night, he called on members of both parties to secure the borders, but also to welcome new arrivals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country, without animosity and without amnesty.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the president staked out new ground on the environment, calling global climate change a serious challenge. He proposed a 20 percent cut in gasoline usage over the next decade and a dramatic increase in the use of ethanol and other alternative fuels.
Well, those alternative energy goals fueled Mr. Bush's trip today to a research site in Delaware.
Let's get more on the plans and the politics from our own Brianna Keilar in Washington -- Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don.
Ambitious goals from President Bush last night, but the concern from some experts who want to decrease America's dependence on foreign oil is whether the president's plan...
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hey, Brianna, sorry. We have to interrupt you.
We're going to get to John Kerry on the Senate talking about not running for president.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
KERRY: ... three years ago, I said that Iraq was the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time, proud that we defined energy independence and made it, for the first time, part of the presidential race, proud of a health care plan that we laid out that, to this moment, remains viable and waiting to be used in order to lower the health care costs for our fellow Americans.
We came close, Mr. President, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again. There are powerful reasons to want to continue that fight now.
But I have concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign. It is the time to put my energy to work, as part of the majority in the Senate, to do all I can to end this war and strengthen our security and our ability to fight the real war on terror.
The people of Massachusetts have given me an incredible privilege to serve. And I intend to work here to change a policy in Iraq that threatens all that I have cared about and fought for since I came home from Vietnam.
The fact is that what happens here in the next two years may irrevocably shape or terribly distort the administration of whichever candidate is next elected president.
Decisions are being taken and put into effect today and in the days to come that may leave to the next president a wider war, a war even more painful, more difficult, more prolonged than the war we already have.
Iraq, if we senators force a change of course, may yet bring stability and an exit, with American security intact. Or it may bring our efforts in the region to a failure that we will all recognize as a catastrophe.
I don't want the next president to find that they have inherited a nation still divided and a policy destined to end, as Vietnam did, in a bitter and sad legacy. I intend to devote all my efforts and energies over the coming two years not to another race for the presidency for myself, but to doing whatever I can to ensure that the next president can take the oath with a reasonable prospect of success for him or her, for the United States.
And I intend to speak the truth, as I find it, without regard for political correctness or partisan advantage, to advise my colleagues and my fellow citizens, to the best of my ability and judgment, and to support every action the Senate may reasonably and constitutionally take to guide and direct the ship of state.
This mission, this responsibility is something all of us must accept. And, as someone who made the mistake of voting for the resolution that gave the president the authority to go to war, I feel the weight of a personal responsibility to act, to devote time and energy to the national dialogue, in an effort to limit this war and bring our participation to a conclusion.
LEMON: John Kerry speaking on the Senate floor, saying, basically, he's not running for president.
Here's how he put it. He said, it's not the time to run for president. He said, now is the time for him to put his energy into working in the Senate. He also brought up Vietnam, and broke up there, an emotional moment for him, saying that he wanted to continue the fight that he started in Vietnam, and the fact is that what happens in the Senate in the next two years is important, especially when it comes to the war in Iraq -- so, again, John Kerry saying he is not -- it is not the time for him to run for president. He will not be running in '08 -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, Sibila Vargas has a couple of developing stories out of Hollywood.
Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
A fatal car accident puts R&B singer Brandy in the headlines.
And could this be the final chapter in the Isaiah Washington gay- slur controversy?
All that when the NEWSROOM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two more celebs making serious news, one in a terrible accident, the other in counseling, after a controversy over his -- his own making -- of his own making.
Let's go straight to Sibila Vargas in Hollywood for the details. Sibila, it seems like everyone goes to -- after they do something, they go to rehab or something like that.
VARGAS: They have to, I guess, right?
LEMON: Yes.
VARGAS: That's right, two big stories coming out of Hollywood today, Don.
And let's start with R&B sensation Brandy. Sadly, CNN has confirmed that the singer was in a serious traffic accident last month that resulted in a fatality. According to a police report, Brandy was traveling 65 miles per hour down L.A.'s 405 freeway when her 2007 Land Rover struck a 2005 Toyota.
Now, the impact resulted in a series of collisions. And, ultimately, the driver of that vehicle was sent to the hospital in critical condition, where they later died.
CNN Entertainment reached out to Brandy and her publicist, who gave us the following statement: "Brandy was involved in a car accident December 30, 2006, in Los Angeles, where there was a fatality. She wishes to publicly express her condolences to the family of the deceased. Brandy asks that you respect the privacy of everyone involved at this time."
Currently, there have been no criminal charges filed against the singer.
Also coming out of Hollywood are reports that "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington has entered into a treatment facility to address his issues following his anti-gay slurs directed at his fellow co-star. Washington has been in the news a lot lately, following his admitted use of the anti-gay slur in reference to co-star T.R. Knight.
CNN Entertainment contacted Washington's publicist, who confirms the star has begun counseling.
In a statement, Washington says, "I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did, and making sure it never happens again."
We reached out to the show, who just released the following statement from executive producer Shonda Rhimes.
And she says: "I speak for all the executive producers here at 'Grey's Anatomy' when I say that Isaiah Washington's use of such a disturbing word was shocking and dismaying. We applaud and encourage Isaiah's realization that he needs help and his subsequent choice to seek immediate treatment for his behavioral issues."
So, it looks like, maybe now, Isaiah might be keeping his job at ABC, "Grey's Anatomy" -- back to you, Don.
LEMON: All right, thank you, Sibila. PHILLIPS: All right, we're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We had gotten word within the past hour and a half that Democratic Senator John Kerry was going to make news on two fronts today, the war in Iraq and also his own political future. We just heard moments ago when he announced that he will not run for the 2008 presidency. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Two years ago, I sought the presidency to lead us on a different course. I'm proud of the campaign we ran, proud of the fact that three years ago, I said that Iraq was the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Proud that we defined energy independence and made it for the first time, part of the presidential race. Proud of a health care plan that we laid out that to this moment remains viable and waiting to be used in order to lower the health care costs for our fellow Americans.
We came close, Mr. President, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again. There are powerful reasons to want to continue that fight now. But I've concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider was monitoring this, as well. Why is he dropping out now?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there are probably a number of reasons. One is the Hillary Clinton is a formidable front-runner in this field and she's absorbing a lot of the money. Now John Kerry's wife does have a lot of money, but he spent a lot of that money, his money, her money probably before. And they may not want to spend anymore.
So it's going to be fiercely competitive this time. There are eight or nine Democrats already exploring or in the race for 2008. So it's much more competitive than it was. It would not be a cakewalk. Our polling, we asked Democrats around the country, would you like to see John Kerry run for the Democratic nomination? These are Democrats. Only 45 percent said yes. Slightly more, 51 percent, said no.
Now, we asked that also about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Al Gore and in every one of those cases, most Democrats said yes, they would like to see them run for president. Much more than in the case of John Kerry.
PHILLIPS: So it just doesn't come down to the money issue, but also just a shift in focus of the American people and what they want and wanting something new?
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's another point he made, that there is some desire for something new. And remember, he made that famous botched joke during last year's campaign, which didn't come across very well at all during the last week of the campaign after he appeared to say something insulting to American troops in Iraq.
He had to stop campaigning because he was so -- that comment was so controversial. I think that probably hurt him, as well. He might have been able to get over that, but it clearly was a liability if he wanted to go into the 2008 race.
PHILLIPS: All right, Senator Ted Kennedy, well-known Democrat, known for his support of causes, big with women and minorities. He supported Kerry in the last election. Does Kerry's drop out of race leave a big del dilemma for him? And who does he support now, Clinton,Obama?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it's going to be real issue and something interesting to watch. Who does Ted Kennedy, who's the king of lion king of the liberals, the senior liberal Democratic senator in the Senate, Kerry's colleague. In a way, if Kerry had run, it would have made things very easy for Kennedy. He would have endorsed his colleague as he did before.
But now, is Kennedy going to endorse Hillary Clinton, is he going to endorse Barack Obama? Is he going to endorse someone else? It will be real interesting to see what Senator Kennedy does if indeed he endorses anyone.
PHILLIPS: Bill Schneider, thanks.
SCHNEIDER: OK.
LEMON: A shocking new claim in the Missouri missing boys case. But a top investigator says it is speculation. A St. Louis television station is reporting 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck may have helped the man who allegedly kidnapped him abduct 13-year-old Ben Ownby. Now both boys were returned to their families after police found them in the suburban St. Louis apartment of Michael Devlin. Hornbeck had been missing since 2002. Ownby disappeared earlier this month. The Franklin County sheriff says that report is not based on official sources and is harmful to the boys and their families. He says authorities aren't releasing details of the case and the media should wait for the facts to come out in court.
PHILLIPS: An Indiana family is safe and sound after a four-day search. Elkhart police credit the Amber Alert system and an alert pizza delivery driver for helping find Kimberly Walker and her four children. They allegedly were kidnapped by Jerry White, the children's father on Saturday. All six were found last night at a motel about four miles away. Police say White tried to escape through an air duct when they entered the room. The children on the other hand, ran straight for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL WARGO, ELKHART POLICE: I see a young man who we've identified as Jaylan poke his head around the corner of what we found out to be the bathroom. I said Jaylan, it's the police. He cracked a big smile on his face and came running towards us. And right behind him came the next two. And it looked like a row of ducks right in a row as they came running out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well police have been specially concerned about the oldest child, who had severe asthma. They say he's OK. He had an inhaler with him. The father faces attempted murder and confinement charges.
LEMON: Remember that case of mercury we were telling you about? Well, they found their suspect. And now the FBI says a mercury spill on an L.A. subway platform last month doesn't appear to be terrorist related. The "L.A. Times" reports this 27-year-old homeless man told investigators he found the mercury while scavenging through commercial dumpsters. He was reportedly trying to sell it for drug money when he dropped the vial at a train station on December 22nd. Police say the man reported the spill immediately, by transit workers waited eight hours before attempting to clean all of it up.
Well the first day of freedom in many a year for Pete Williams. A Georgia man was freed last night after spending almost half his life in prison. Convicted by eyewitness testimony, Williams was cleared finally by DNA. Reporter Ryan Young of CNN affiliate WSB has more on Williams' 22-year ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE WILLIAMS, CLEARED BY DNA: I'm just happy. I'm just overwhelmed with joy.
RYAN YOUNG, WSB CORRESPONDENT: Pete Williams, free from conviction, free from prison, and able to share with the world something he's always known.
WILLIAMS: The moment they told me we found your DNA was like oh, my god. You know? I'm going home.
YOUNG: Thanks to help from the Georgia Innocence Project, Pete Williams had his DNA tested and finally proved that he did not rape a woman in Sandy Springs nearly 22 years ago.
Full of smiles, Pete Williams says he's looking forward to working again and that anger doesn't bind him.
WILLIAMS: I was for about 10 years and then I gave it over to the lord.
YOUNG: After enduring so much, he can enjoy some home touches and some new family moments.
WILLIAMS: I can't even explain it, not in words. You know? It's fantastic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well what's the first thing Williams wanted to do when he got home? Take a bath, he says. He only was allowed showers since 1985.
PHILLIPS: The state of the Gulf Coast never came up in last night's State of the Union speech, the second post Katrina State of Union. But that might not matter so much to hundreds of home and property owners who have just learned that they'll be getting settlements from State Farm Insurance after all.
CNN's Susan Roesgen reports from Mississippi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the beach front home of Claire and John Tuepker in Long Beach, Mississippi until a 29-foot wall of water from hurricane Katrina swept the home away. But even worse for the Tuepker's, State Farm refused to pay the $350,000 policy.
JOHN TUEPKER, HOMEOWNER: We've been paying premiums for 17 years and to just say, no, we're not going to pay anything. Look at the house. It's gone.
ROESGEN: The Tuepkers argued that State Farm hadn't required them to carry flood insurance and they argued that wind, which was covered by their policy, is what pushed the water that destroyed their home. Thousands of other property owners said the same thing and now facing a class action lawsuit, State Farm has agreed to settle.
JEFF JACKSON, STATE FARM ATTORNEY: This gives us an opportunity to resolve pending litigation and to insure that we can resolve other issues in the state and move forward.
ROESGEN: State Farm has agreed to pay at least $50 million to 35,000 policy holders and the settlement could climb to hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the amount of the claims. In return, the policy holders agree not to sue State Farm individually. Representing them is prominent trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs, who also lost his house to Katrina.
DICKIE SCRUGGS, POLICYHOLDER ATTORNEY: So many people were looking to us and our legal team to set it right and to give them a fighting chance and I'm so gratified because when you can have a chance to be a hometown hero, it means a lot more to you than almost anything.
ROESGEN: If a Federal judge approves it, policyholders could start getting some of the money in 60 days and the settlement gives hope to thousands of other property owners on the Gulf coast who've lost the fight with their insurance companies but might now have a second chance at getting something back.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Gulfport, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Don't be so fuelish. The president stumps for pump alternatives, greener vehicles and other ways to meet America's energy needs. We'll help you top off your news tank straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Familiar setting, different tone. President Bush went to Capitol Hill last night to report on the State of the Union and to look for support, support and, in the case of Iraq, a little more patience. He asked lawmakers in both parties to back the new surge in U.S. troops. He called his plan the best chance for success. And he warned of the consequences of failure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We went into this largely united in our assumptions and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field and those on their way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Unlike Iraq, the immigration issue has given the president common ground with Democrats. Last night he called on members of both parties to secure the borders, but also to welcome new arrivals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country without animosity and without amnesty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The president has staked out new ground on the environment, calling global climate change a serious challenge. He proposed a 20 percent cut in gasoline usage over the next decade and a dramatic increase in the use of ethanol and other alternative fuels.
Now, his alternative energy goals fueled Mr. Bush's trip today to a research site in Delaware.
Let's get more on the plans and the politics from our Brianna Keilar. She's in Washington.
Hey, Brianna.
KEILAR: Hi there, Kyra. The concern here from some experts who want to decrease America's dependence on foreign oil is whether the president's plan really has teeth. Environmentalists are concerned the plan won't really combat global warming and could even mean more pollution.
President Bush, as you said, visited a renewable fuel facility in Wilmington, Delaware today to promote his initiative. Here's some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: If you're dependent on oil overseas, it means that -- and a hostile regime, a regime hostile to the United States produces that oil, you become vulnerable to the activity of a hostile regime.
In other words, somebody doesn't like us, they produce oil, they decide to do something about it, they can affect us. That's -- when I talk about the national security risks, that's what I mean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The White House is calling this plan "20 in Ten". It's a goal to reduce U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next ten years. And there are two major parts to it. First is a goal to increase the fuel economy of vehicles. Critics here saying there are loopholes that carmakers could exploit to get around making all of their vehicles more fuel efficient.
Now, second, the goal of increasing the production of renewable and alternative fuels to an amount that would replace 15 percent, that's one-five percent of the gas we use each year.
One environmental advocate that I spoke with today says it's a great idea to increase renewable fuels, essentially those fuels that are made from plants like corn or switchgrass. But she gets very nervous when she hears the phrase "alternative fuels".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA AURILO, U.S. PIRG: One of the proposals that the president has made is to change the definition of renewable fuels to alternative fuels. It's a bad idea. It could mean a big increase in pollution because one of the things that would qualify under alternative fuels is liquid coal-based fuel. They would give you the same mileage and twice the pollution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: A White House spokesperson told me when it comes to figuring out which alternative fuels would be included here, nothing is in, nothing is out. And, Kyra, they said the administration would have to work it out with Congress.
PHILLIPS: All right. Tell me about this energy-related executive order that the president issued today. KEILAR: This is an executive order on the consumption of energy by the federal government. It's really the president saying, "Look, I'm leading by example."
So some of the aims here include using more hybrid vehicles as federal vehicles, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by federal agencies. Those are just a couple of several recommendations here.
PHILLIPS: Brianna Keilar, thanks.
LEMON: We want to get some new Defense Department video. This is from Haifa Street. As you know, Haifa Street has been one of the places that American and Iraqi forces have been trying to get under control. A lot of fighting going on there. New Department of Defense video from the 3rd Stryker Brigade of some fighting, some clashes there today.
Let's take a listen.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF FIGHTING)
LEMON: Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre standing by to give us the details on all this. Is this very -- this is right near the Green Zone. Am I correct, Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. Haifa Street runs right by the Green Zone, although much of the fighting is slightly to the north of the green zone. The Haifa Street neighborhood is a stronghold of Sunni insurgents. It's been the scene of quite a few battles lately. And it just shows how this idea of taking back and establishing security in Baghdad has quite a ways to go.
This is also, by the way, not far from where that private helicopter crashed yesterday. And a senior Iraqi official claiming that the people in that helicopter had been shot, execution style, in the back of the head. It's not known exactly how they died, if they died from the crash or from the helicopter or from being shot on the ground.
But again, there's been intense fighting all day along Haifa Street. CNN has been shooting its own video of this, and this apparently is video that has been provided by the U.S. military, shot by U.S. military photojournalists who are along with the U.S. troops.
And you know, as you said, this is not far from the heavily secured fortified Green Zone, which shows that there's still a lot of fighting to be done. And I should point out, this is before the so- called, you know, new surge strategy has even been put into effect. Some of the U.S. troops have arrived there. Some of the Iraqi troops are arriving now for that expanded security operation, but it has not gotten into high gear. This is what would be called the shaping operations. They were a result of targeted raids, though, of targeted raids that the U.S. military, along with Iraqi forces, set out to go after who they believed were known insurgents. We're told as many as 30 suspected insurgent fighters have been killed in this operation so far.
But again, a day of intense fighting in Baghdad, including helicopters flying overhead and some intense firefights on the ground, as we see from this video and also from independent video we obtained earlier today.
LEMON: As you said, this is from the Department of Defense. Again, it's the 3rd Stryker Brigade.
We have one more piece of video. Let's listen into that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(FOOTAGE OF FIGHTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, good job!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And that is the middle of the fighting there. Jamie, the Associated Press is saying that there in this fighting 30 militants they believe were killed, 27 of those captured. And it's the second major attack, the third in a month on Haifa Street. On January 9th, 50 militants were killed there. January 6th, 27 bodies were discovered there. And now this.
MCINTYRE: Yes, and I guess we should point out that the U.S. military says that these are results of offensive operations, that is, the U.S. and Iraqi troops going after what they believe are insurgent strongholds. These are different from the sort of unexpected surprise attacks that we've seen in recent days when the insurgents were attacking the U.S. or Iraqi forces. So they're on the offensive in this operation.
And I don't know about you, but I'd feel better if that soldier put his helmet on.
LEMON: Yes, as well. But, you know, we're not there in the middle of the fighting.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre talking about that video, new video in from the Department of Defense of the 3rd Striker Brigade trying to take care of -- or get some control over the violence on Haifa Street.
Thank you, Jamie.
MCINTYRE: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Another U.S. air strike in Somalia. The Pentagon tell us that an Air Force gunship went after a mid-level al Qaeda operative in southern Somalia earlier this week. It was the second such attack this month.
We're told the target survived but was captured by Ethiopian ground forces. Ethiopians are supporting the fragile Somali government in its fight against Islamic rebels.
Jimmy Carter is taking it personally. The former president defended his controversial new book about Israeli-Palestinian relations at an appearance yesterday at historically Jewish Brandeis University. Now, critics say the book is slanted against Israel. Carter says some of that criticism is hard to take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I've been hurt and so has my family by some of the reaction. You know, I've been through political campaigns for state Senate and for governor and for president. And I've been stigmatized and condemned by my political opponents and their supporters. But this is the first time that I've ever been called a liar and a bigot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Carter's book is titled "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". The former president admits that apartheid is a provocative word, but says it sparked important discussions about the West Bank and Gaza. He received standing ovations at the beginning and end of his talk.
LEMON: The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, as a closet it's roomy. As a studio apartment it's cozy in the extreme, and pricey also in the extreme. We're talking 77 square feet on sale for $335,000 in one of London's most desirable neighborhoods. Here's the kitchen, sink, two hot plates. There's a bathroom in there. And did I mention there's no electricity or heating? So making the place livable even for the non- claustrophobic would cost about another $60,000. But there's a killer view, right?
Nope. Basement level. The real estate agent calls it an investment.
LEMON: $330,000?
PHILLIPS: Crazy, that's what I say.
LEMON: Unbelievable.
You can see the closing bell happening right there.
Kyra, you want to read the numbers? I can never read that board properly.
PHILLIPS: Dow Industrials, up 87 points.
You heard the closing bell.
Now Wolf's in charge.
LEMON: Yes, let's send it over to the "SITUATION ROOM" today and Wolf Blitzer.
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