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Orders to Kill?; Baghdad Bombing; Day After Beirut Clashes

Aired January 26, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. You're informed.
Good morning, everyone.

I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Heidi Collins is off today.

HARRIS: Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM for Friday morning, January 26th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

NGUYEN: Check it out. New anger in New Orleans. No mention of the Katrina disaster in the State of the Union speech. We're going to talk with a New Orleans radio newsman about that.

HARRIS: A pet market bombed in Baghdad. Birds used to lure victims to the blast. One of several attacks across Iraq today.

NGUYEN: And get this. How to rob a bank with a little unwitting help from the post office, of all places. Previewing this weekend's report from the CNN Investigative Unit.

You are in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: At the top this morning, tough talk from President Bush, just minutes ago defending his new Iraq strategy and a new get-tough policy to kill or capture Iranian agents in Iraq.

White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is following these new developments, and she joins us live.

Suzanne, good morning to you.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HARRIS: The president not backing down one iota from this new stance, this new policy toward Iran.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely not, Tony. I mean, he's defending it quite strongly here.

We heard from national security officials earlier this morning who actually confirmed that this is the case, that the Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to not only capture, but kill Iranian agents inside of Iraq if there's actionable intelligence that shows that they're going after, targeting American forces or Iraqi forces or coalition forces, this is something that the Bush administration has been thinking about for quite some time back in the fall or so. And high-level meetings between the president, the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence. The decision made just within the last few months, we're told, because of the deteriorating conditions on the ground.

Now, President Bush was not specifically asked about the capture or kill policy, but he was asked about these stepped up -- these stepped up actions against the Iranians inside of Iraq and whether or not he thought they were going to be provocative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Does it make sense that if somebody is trying to harm our troops or stop us from achieving our goal or killing innocent citizens in Iraq that we will -- we will stop them? It's an obligation we all have to protect -- is to protect our folks and achieve our goal.

Now, some are trying to say that because we're enforcing, helping ourselves in Iraq by stopping outside influence from killing our soldiers or hurting Iraqi people that we want to expand this beyond the borders. That's a presumption that simply is not accurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Tony, there are also a number of important points here.

He says that, yes, there is no intention for the United States to cross the Iraqi border into Iran to continue this kind of policy, this capture or kill policy. That being one of the things.

But another thing here is that, you know, White House officials are talking about the fact that you have these Iranian agents working with these Iraqi militia, supplying these Iraqi militia, training them, that that is the reason why they're getting tough. But there's another good reason here. That is, the Bush administration wants to weaken the Iranian government to get them to comply, to give up their nuclear program, which the Bush administration thinks is a weapons program.

And that is also what they're trying to do, to put pressure on the government. They think that this is another way they can do that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Can't wait to hear some of the reaction to this new policy. We'll watch it roll in to the NEWSROOM.

Suzanne Malveaux for us.

Suzanne, thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, Democrats in charge of Congress are sending a stern message to the president: Don't forget about us when it comes to Iraq policy. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has delivered what he called a major address on the war. He talked about what the Democratic-controlled Congress can do about President Bush's Iraq war plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MAJORITY LEADER: I believe the administration's Iraq policy is the most incompetent implementation of American foreign policy in my lifetime. And when the history of this war is recounted, I believe one colossal misjudgment will stand out -- the failure of the administration to heed the advice of military experts to put enough troops on the ground at the outset of hostilities to secure and stabilize a nation of 26 million people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And we do have some video of House Leader Nancy Pelosi in Baghdad, speaking there with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. She's shaking hands. And this meeting obviously talking about the situation on the ground.

She is also there joined by other congressional members. This is a meeting that took place a little bit earlier today. They're going to be in Baghdad for a little while. In fact, they're not even coming back to Washington until Monday.

But, again, Nancy Pelosi there on the ground in Iraq, along with three other congressional members in Baghdad. And as news develops out of this, of course we'll bring that to you.

HARRIS: Dozens dead and wounded in Iraq, victims of another market bombing. This time, a pet market.

Details from CNN's Michael Holmes in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry says that at least 15 people were killed and 39 others were wounded when this bomb exploded. It was hidden in a box that's normally used to carry pigeons to the marketplace, the animal market, a very popular place, especially on a Friday. And that's when this bomb went off, in the morning.

There are birds, dogs, cats, sheep, goats, and even exotic animals such as snakes and monkeys at this market. A very popular place.

It has been hit three times in recent months. And this really is the latest in a series of attacks in the last couple of weeks on very busy commercial areas in the capital.

Many believe that this is an attempt by insurgents before the new push by Iraqi and U.S. forces to crack down on the insurgency. A push to paralyze the society even further to show that no one is safe, and to show that the government is ineffective, really destabilization.

There were several other bombs around the capital today. One only 500 meters from where I stand now. That targeted a police patrol. A suicide bomber, car bomb, it killed two people, wounded more than a dozen.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The general commands unanimous votes on Capitol Hill. The Senate voted 81-0 a short time ago to confirm Lieutenant General David Petraeus as the new commander of coalition forces in Iraq. Petraeus will be in charge of carrying out President Bush's new Iraq strategy.

While he won widespread approval in the Senate, the president's policy is under fire from lawmakers. Congress is considering resolutions opposing his plans for a troop buildup.

NGUYEN: Tense but calm. So far, that is. The streets of Beirut, Lebanon, one day after deadly student clashes. Four people were killed, more than 150 hurt.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The streets are a little quieter than they would be normally, but the curfew does seem to have tamped down that violence that erupted. But it was a day just like this yesterday when the violence was sparked off around the Arab University here in Beirut.

(voice over): Armed with rocks and intent on a fight, hundreds of ferocious and angry young men converged on Beirut's Arab University. The violence started late in the afternoon -- clashes inside the campus between students loyal to Lebanon's government and anti-government Hezbollah supporters.

As the situation escalated, vehicles were set on fire. Anyone who could scrambled to save them. Dense, black smoke billowed up from the university.

Lebanese army soldiers on foot and in armored personnel carriers pushed forward towards the rock-throwers. From the tops of vehicles in the midst of the chaos, appealing for calm.

(on camera): Right now the army is holding back here. The violence is there where the students are. There's a lot of gunfire going on. At the moment, the army holding back, measuring what they should do.

(voice over): At one point, the crowd of angry, young, pro- government men set fire to a Hezbollah flag, as inflammatory an insult as any here can be. From within the battle zone, both soldiers and civilians stretch it out as the confrontation continued to flair. Volley after volley of gunfire blasted into the air by soldiers in an effort to calm and separate the rock-throwing crowds.

In nearby side streets and on highways, the Lebanese army flooded the area with troops to contain the violence close to its epicenter at the university. Not long after, they called a curfew from 8:30 in the evening until 6:00 in the morning.

After several hours of clashes, the army was able to bring enough calm to get a fire truck into the university. And the burning vehicles, belching black smoke, signaling chaos across the city, extinguished.

(on camera): The concern is, not knowing exactly what triggered and sparked this particular outbreak of violence, is that this is now slipping from a political confrontation to a sectarian confrontation very reminiscent of the civil war here that lasted 50 years in the 1970s and '80s.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Making the ultimate sacrifice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You love your family so much. He said, "Yes, but I love my country. And I love the soldiers."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Families grieve. Their loved ones lost in a helicopter crash.

That story in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also, words never spoken. What President Bush did not say sparks outrage in New Orleans.

We're going to take a closer look, coming up here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, some people in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast region are fuming about President Bush's State of the Union Address. Not about what the president said, but what he didn't say about the Katrina catastrophe. One man taking the pulse of the city is Dave Cohen of WWL Radio in New Orleans.

Dave, great to see you.

DAVE COHEN, WWL RADIO NEWS DIRECTOR: Thank you. Good morning.

HARRIS: You know -- good morning. You know our Bob Franken hit the streets for reaction to the State of the Union Address. I want to have you take a listen to what one woman in Washington said about Katrina and the president's State of the Union Address, and then I want to get some of the reaction of some of your callers.

But take a listen first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wildly disappointed that the rebuilding of New Orleans was not mentioned at all. There's this supposed ongoing commitment to it, and yet it gets no attention. He talked about how important economic development is in Iraq, and there's no urban policy, and specifically there's no policy for New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The idea of being wildly disappointed that there was no mention of New Orleans in the State of the Union Address, did you find that sentiment echoed among your callers?

COHEN: Oh, overwhelmingly. When we asked folks what they thought of the State of the Union, many told us the same kinds of things.

They said, you know, when -- in a State of the Union Address that was billed on being so much on domestic policy and dealing with homeland issues, the fact that the president did not even mention for one moment the continued effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast and see New Orleans rise again, as he promised to do, really irked a lot of people.

Now, whether or not it should have been more prominent than things like Iraq and things like that, I think callers were pretty evenly split. But most said, hey, listen, if he's going to spend a couple of minutes honoring Dikembe Mutombo...

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: ... he could at least, at least mention the rebuilding in Iraq. And then in the Democratic response, when the Democrats mentioned one of their top three domestic policies, I think its just highlighted the issue. And that's why our governor, a Democrat who happens to also be in a political fight for her life, also got very angry and took a very vocal public stance...

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: ... saying that the president really did let down the people of the Gulf Coast.

HARRIS: Was there any suggestion from your callers as to what the president might have said?

COHEN: You know, all they said is they just didn't want to feel ignored, they didn't want to be left out. They weren't looking for him to suddenly commit millions of extra dollars or to specify any new plans or approaches, but just to recognize that it was an ongoing effort here, some 17 months after Katrina, that in the State of the Union he could have at least mentioned it.

And, you know, still feeling a little left out. Because last year in the State of the Union the president gave very little time to Katrina, and that was immediately after the disaster. So I think they were looking maybe for some retribution.

HARRIS: Are you feeling a bit, Dave -- maybe you heard this expressed by your callers, that you're living in a bit of a time warp, that perhaps you are the city that has been lost and forgotten?

COHEN: You know, there's a lot of anger right now against the federal government and the state government, not for a lack of effort, but for a lack of results. One of the biggest programs post-Katrina is what they call here the Road Home Program, which is using federal community development block grant dollars and supposed to be giving money to homeowners to rebuild their homes for uninsured losses and underinsured losses.

And that money has only gotten to a handful of people so far here. More than -- nearly a year and a half after the storm.

Everyone's pointing fingers at somebody else, blaming somebody else for why that money hasn't gotten into the hands of homeowners. But the bottom line is, it hasn't. And we're seeing that in those neighborhoods most devastated by Katrina there's next to no progress.

HARRIS: And Dave, is that the little told truth of this story, 17 months later, that the folks in New Orleans are being poorly served by the city government and the state government?

COHEN: Well, the city blames the state. The state blames the feds. Everybody is blaming somebody else.

Bottom line is, the people aren't getting the cash and the recovery is not happening fast enough. I mean, there are glimmers of it. There are areas that are thriving now in New Orleans. But overall, some of the most devastated areas -- I mean, you go there today and it looks like it did a weak after the storm.

And it's just -- it's very disheartening to a lot of people. But they do see hope. You know, the city just launched a program to loan that people that money ahead of them getting their federal grant so they can at least start rebuilding their homes.

We seen the tourist-driven areas that have bounced back well and the economy starting to rebound, and efforts to diversify the New Orleans economy. There's glimmers of hope, but overall, yes, people are just scratching their heads, wondering why is this taking so long?

HARRIS: Dave Cohen, news director, WWL radio in New Orleans.

Dave, thanks for your time. Good Friday to you.

COHEN: Thank you. NGUYEN: Black Hawk down. A dozen troops killed. The Iraq crash one week old now, but for the families of the fallen, closure is still far off.

CNN's Barbara Starr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Colonel Brian Allgood (ph) was the Army's chief surgeon in Iraq. His troops saved hundreds of lives.

Colonel Paul Kelly was called "The Senator". He was always shaking hands with his soldiers.

Six foot five Staff Sergeant Daryl Booker (ph) was simply "Big Daddy" to his unit.

Twelve souls lost last weekend when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in this empty patch of desert northeast of Baghdad. All indications are it was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile.

Now, for 12 families, the wrenching grief is just beginning.

Paul Kelly had a wife and two small children. His brother John knows how the colonel did not easily leave them behind.

JOHN KELLY, BROTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: You love your family so much. He says, "Yes, but I love my country. I love the soldiers." And that's it.

STARR: Reverend Ernest Hardy talked to his son, Daryl Booker (ph), at Christmas. The reverend says his son loved being a soldier.

REV. ERNEST HARDY, FATHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: I think -- somebody asked me earlier, "Well, do you think we ought to still be here?" But my answer is, I think we should have never been there.

STARR: Brian Allgood (ph) was the Army's top doctor in Iraq. His mother Cleo got the phone call every military mother dreads.

CLEO ALLGOOD, MOTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: He's been killed, and all I could do was scream and cry.

STARR: For the Army, 30 years of medical expertise had just died. For his family...

ALLGOOD: Empty feeling for a long, long -- forever.

STARR (on camera): Ten of the 12 on board the Black Hawk were members of the Army National Guard from towns all across America. This is now the single largest combat loss for the Guard in more than half a century.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Let's talk now about the waiting game. Air travelers are playing a lot of it lately because airport delays are reaching a new peak. We're going to tell you all about in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: "The Queen" gets censored. A curiously edited version of the Oscar-nominated film pops up on some airline screens. And you will be outraged by what they bleeped.

Find out just ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. It's an absolute must for air travelers these days. And we're talking about patience and plenty of it.

"USA Today" reports airline delays soared to a record high last year. The paper says the numbers come from federal data. And according to "USA Today," 22 percent of flights were delayed at least 15 minutes. The slowest city, New York City. All three main airports had the largest percentage of delayed flights.

And who's to blame? Well, Mother Nature, for one. A slew of bad weather shut down several airports at the end of 2006. And a jump in the number of flights is also contributing to those delays.

HARRIS: Four-letter words, Betty. Always a target of censors, but it's a three-letter word that got bleeped from some versions of the Oscar-nominated film "The Queen."

NGUYEN: Three letters?

HARRIS: Yes. All mentions of "God".

NGUYEN: What?

HARRIS: Yes, all mentions of "God" were taken out of the movie's in-flight showings on Delta and other airlines. The company that edited the film says it was a mistake made by an overzealous and inexperienced employee -- scapegoating, scapegoating.

All seven of the bleeped "Gods" are now being put back in, and the new version of the film will be redistributed.

NGUYEN: Can you imagine the wrath on the person who took "God" out?

HARRIS: Yes. Hello?

NGUYEN: You will pay one day. Yes, you will.

Chad Myers joins us now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right. So, you have no credit? No problem. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told that I was under restriction at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Yes, restriction all right. She couldn't get a credit card in her name, so someone else did.

We have a preview of our Emmy-award winning documentary, "How to Rob a Bank."

That's ahead right here in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Kicking the habit. Could a knock on a noggin help you put down those cigarettes?

NGUYEN: You want to try it, Tony? Not that you smoke.

HARRIS: That story in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: And a serious story to tell you about. Another bombing in Baghdad. Look at this. This time, animal lovers attacked.

We're going to take you live to the Iraqi capital. That is in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: "How to Rob a Bank." That's right, we're not condoning, just cautioning. The CNN special investigations unit has been looking into how thieves steal your good name. And our Drew Griffin has one story from the Emmy Award-winning documentary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): David George (ph) was a modern day alchemist -- he could turn junk mail into cold cash. Postal inspector Matthew Boyden and Harris County investigator Mike Kelly finally stopped him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably the most prolific criminal I've ever arrested.

GRIFFIN: When they searched David George's suburban home, bundles of stolen mail were everywhere, in the drawers, the closets, and attic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it had to do with identity theft and credit card fraud, we found it at that house.

GRIFFIN: There were credit card applications in the bathroom, and 115 credit cards in every name but David George.

Among them, Jessica Durrow (ph), 22 years old, a student with a poor credit record.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted a credit card, but I was told that I was under restriction at the time, that I could not apply for any or get any until I had some hospital debts cleared up.

GRIFFIN: But if Jessica couldn't get a card in her name, David George would do it for her. It took a combination of junk mail, a stolen identity and a phony address. Days later, he had a credit card in Jessica's name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gold, like money.

GRIFFIN: Gold, like money, for Bank of America. It would charge as much as 64.58 percent in finance charges and interest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's ridiculously high. They figure they got a sucker. They should make a ton of money off of that.

GRIFFIN: But in fact, it was the other way around.

COMPUTER VOICE: What would you like to do?

GRIFFIN: David George used the credit card for cash advances, essentially loans, totaling $2,100.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: So you see what he did? He stole an identity of somebody with bad credit. He got a 68 percent credit card and the bank thought they had a sucker who was going to pay 68 percent, when all the time he was getting cash advanced, and actually turned out that David George, the crook, got about a 3,000 percent return from that bank. That's just one way that these crooks operate.

NGUYEN: It is appalling. But here's a question for you, Drew. The special is called "How to Rob a Bank." Is there any fear by putting this information out there that you're teaching people how to do this?

GRIFFIN: No. Actually we're teaching you what happens, how this works. Everybody has talked about identity theft. What do they do with your identity? Why do they want your identity? They can't just take your identity and walk somewhere and somehow cash in the identity. They have to do something with it, and this special is how about they steal your identity, my identity, and more importantly, how they really steel the big fish identity. We're talking about corporate identity theft, in the millions and millions of dollars. Unbelievable.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, Speaking of all this money, though, how big of a problem is this actually for the banking industry? Because I tell you what, if someone steals my identity and runs up my credit cards, I'm not paying for it; my credit card company is paying for it.

GRIFFIN: That's absolutely true. But in most cases, in all cases, we all pay in the end. This is costing the economy now about $50 billion a year.

NGUYEN: Wow.

GRIFFIN: The banks will make you whole if your identity is stolen, if they raid your account, but in the end, in terms of fees, price hikes, all the things...

NGUYEN: It gets passed around.

GRIFFIN: It gets passed around, and the whole economy pays for it. Believe me, banks are still making a big profit in this economy, and they are absorbing the cost of this, trying to stay ahead of the thieves, but really, they're just passing it on.

NGUYEN: Yes, it's really a shocking piece. It's an eye opener, something we all have to see. It's great stuff, Drew. We appreciate it. And just for you at home, it is a show that you must see. It's called "How to Rob a Bank," from the CNN special investigations, and it is this Saturday and Sunday, two opportunities. Be sure to watch at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, the underground search for illegal immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an awful lot to hide behind.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's nothing to hide behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a whole lot.

TUCHMAN: Yes. So if you're claustrophobic, afraid of the dark, this ain't the job for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No, I guess not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN's Gary Tuchman, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also some troubling news in the fight against breast cancer. The findings of a new health study, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And get up and get moving, new researchers on diabetics who don't heed their doctor's advice to exercise, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Illegal immigrants go underground and border patrol agents go after them.

CNN's Gary Tuchman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the left side of this wall, Arizona, on the right, the Mexican state of Sonora -- huge numbers of illegal immigrants scale the wall to get into the U.S.

On the Mexican side, this man turned back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's two down here.

TUCHMAN: But this mother and child squeeze through a hole in the wall, just two of the roughly 400,000 people just in this part of Arizona nabbed in the last year.

The desperation of many Mexicans and the Border Patrol's effectiveness on the ground has moved the battle underground, to the huge sewers and storm drains that connect the cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see, there's not a whole lot to hide behind. So, you just got...

TUCHMAN (on camera): There's nothing to hide behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a whole lot.

TUCHMAN: Yes. So, if you're claustrophobic, afraid of the dark, this ain't the job for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I guess not.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The U.S. Border Patrol is a specially- trained unit that scours the dark underbelly of this border region, searching for illegal immigrants and the smugglers who bring them and bring drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a Heckler & Koch. It's an H.K. UMP- 40.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And you're ready to use it, if need be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely, to protect myself or anyone else on the team.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Tense moments are about to come, but, first, a look at where the journey begins, a strip joint in Nogales, Mexico, and, underneath it, a wide-open sewer, where many journeys to America start.

And this is where many of them conclude, a taco restaurant on the U.S. side, the tunnel's end point, where Border agents are preparing to begin their patrol. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You literally can't see your hand in front of your face.

TUCHMAN: Without special equipment, this is what you see as you're stepping in sewage muck. And this is what it looks like with the night-vision goggles the agents wear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's clear.

TUCHMAN: All is quiet as the team approaches the international border. We pass tunnels on the sides of the wall with welded grates that are often broken by the Mexicans.

We encounter a short burst of daylight under a welded grate. A startled citizen sees me from above.

(on camera): Are you used to the fact that there are immigrants passing under your city?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really.

TUCHMAN: It's kind of strange, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We go back to darkness. Part of the tunnel system is rushing sewage water flowing through. You find shoes and cell phones discarded.

And then the agents command us to be quiet. They see something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "Who is it? Who is it?" the agents yell in Spanish.

And listen to this whisper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have got a body south of us.

TUCHMAN: A body south.

As it turns out, the night-vision goggles reveal at least six moving bodies just feet away on the other side of the board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "We are American police. Slow down," say the agents.

It's hard to make out their soft responses. And it's still not clear who these people are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

TUCHMAN: "What are you doing?" they ask. The moments are nerve- racking. Weapons are ready. The silence lasts minutes. There's always concern that smugglers with nothing to lose will fire first.

CHIEF MICHAEL NICLEY, U.S. BORDER PATROL, TUCSON SECTOR: It's them against the smugglers inside those tunnels. It is a very dangerous job.

TUCHMAN: This night-vision video was shot by the Border Patrol a couple of months ago -- on the right, Mexicans who have crossed over into the U.S. They can't see the Border Patrol agents on the left or the bats flying in circles.

Watch what happens when one of the agents jumps down to catch them. Chaos ensues. But, ultimately, the agents arrest them and others they find in the tunnel. They're brought out of the sewer. And the ones without criminal records are sent back to Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you back here, behind me.

TUCHMAN: Back in our tunnel, the agents see lights. Mexican authorities have arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on down, dude. It's clear.

TUCHMAN: The six suspicious people have disappeared on the other side of this yellow border line in Mexico. It's still not clear what they were up to.

So, I leave the sewer the same way many illegal immigrants do: climb through a side tunnel, and exit into blinding sunlight in the middle of a busy American street.

(on camera): It's not known how many people escape into Nogales, Arizona, without ever being seen. But it's clear a lot of them come through sewers, like I just did. And it doesn't even shock the people in the city, because it happens so frequently.

(voice-over): Most of the arrests are still of the traditional variety, but the number of people captured in the tunnels every month now sometimes approaches 1,000.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Nogales, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy standing by with a preview for us.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, Betty and Tony.

Well, coming up at the top of the hour on "YOUR WORLD TODAY," we're going to take a look at President Bush's latest orders, wanted dead or alive: Iranian operatives in Iraq who are aiding insurgents or targeting American troops have been put on notice.

The terrorist who wasn't. Canada, prepares to apologize to one of its own mistakenly sent to Syria on suspicion of being a terrorist. He wasn't. And he says the Syrians tortured him to make sure.

And women abused. What's being done to help Muslim women whose husbands mistreat them. Now this isn't a problem of religion, it's a problem of getting the help they need. All the news with an international perspective, coming up at the top of the hour.

Betty, Tony, back to you.

NGUYEN: Thank you.

HARRIS: All right, Jim, thank you.

Laugh it up. Beer for dogs.

NGUYEN: What?

HARRIS: Setting off a lot of, Betty, tail wagging.

NGUYEN: I'd imagine.

HARRIS: We've got the...

NGUYEN: Look, they love it.

HARRIS: Wait, one more pun. I am the punisher, you know. We've got the brouhaha in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Oh, no.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: It's that time of year again. Offices are buzzing, talking about the big game. It may be fun for you and me but it could be bad news for your employer.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to talk to us not about the "Superbowl Shuffle" but the Superbowl slowdown.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A lack of productivity, it's the annual "Lack of Productivity Report" from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas (ph), Tony. It says excitement over the Superbowl could cost employers more than $800 million in lost productivity in the week leading up to the big game. And in Chicago and Indianapolis, the cities whose teams face off, losses could reach $85 million alone. That's because millions of Americans will be spending their time at work planning parties, organizing betting pools and talking to colleagues about which team is more likely to win, arguing sometimes, too -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. You know, maybe spending a little time researching the best buy in HD-TVs.

LISOVICZ: Yes, Best Buy is among the retailers, probably, that's capitalizing on it, tony. Superbowl XLI expected to generate a buying frenzy for those hi-def flatpanel TVs, according to the National Retail Federation. Two and a half million people say they plan to buy one of them before the game. That's well above the 1.7 million who said they'd upgrade last year. One reason why: prices have come down a lot since then, although analysts are warning that deals this week may not be as good as the blow-out prices many electronic chains offered during the holidays just a few weeks ago.

(MARKET REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, in an hour you're going to see the afternoon NEWSROOM with our very own Kyra Phillips.

HARRIS: Kyra, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, guys.

NGUYEN: Here to tell us what's coming up.

Hi there.

PHILLIPS: Well, he's up for a wall on the border, but not in the halls of Congress. Take a look at this. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado congressman and GOP presidential hopeful, wants to see groups like the Congressional Black Caucus abolished. He thinks race-based groups of lawmakers equals segregation. That story and the fallout. Tony's already interested in talking about this one.

all right. Stand by.

Plus this: could a zap to your gray matter satisfy your need for nicotine? An intriguing study found that stroke survivors with damage to a certain part of the brain completely lost the urge to light up. Now scientists wonder if they could help other smokers kick the habit by mimicking the effect with effect.

That ahead and the top stories straight from CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Outstanding.

NGUYEN: It's all about the brain.

All right. Thank you, Kyra.

Well, you may want to lap it up. Beer for dogs, can you believe it? It is setting off a lot tail-wagging, as you would imagine. And we've got the brouhaha. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": My guest tonight is a CNN pundit and a critic of illegal immigration. I wonder what his ratings are like on CNN en Espanol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That is right. Our own Lou Dobbs and Stephen Colbert talking about, of course, border security. And Colbert came to the table with some interesting suggestions, shall we say?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLBERT: By the way, do you like our fence?

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: It's very impressive and better than some of the fence along our border now.

COLBERT: I'm a border fence fan.

DOBBS: Excellent.

COLBERT: I just think we haven't done enough.

DOBBS: I couldn't agree with you more.

COLBERT: Flaming trenches filled with fireproof -- oh, no, Lou. Hey, Lou.

DOBBS: Yes, sir?

COLBERT: If that seems too far for you, then maybe you don't have the best interest of the country at heart is what I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Flaming trenches?

NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness.

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

NGUYEN: Just envision that. Not a pretty picture. And you don't see Lou at a loss for words on border security very often. And you probably won't again.

"LOU DOBBS" airs tonight, weeknights, every weeknight, in fact, 6:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

HARRIS: And people who drink too much sometimes seek the hair of the dog. OK. Here's the question. What hangover remedy is there for Fido? Well, some Dutch pet shop owners have unveiled Europe's first beer made exclusively for pooches. It doesn't contain any alcohol, but does feature a lot of beef. The brew, new competition for the American dog beer called Happy Tale Ale...

NGUYEN: All right. Let me get this. Beer for dogs, but there's no alcohol in it?

HARRIS: Yes, so it would -- what's the point? Is that the point?

NGUYEN: Exactly.

You know, it really doesn't matter, because a dog's going to like it anyway.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: And you're going to like this, because the CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.

I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.

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