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U.S. Takes Stronger Tack Against Iranians in Iraq; Bomb Explodes in Baghdad Market; More Troops Requested in Afghanistan; Bone Chilling Temps Hit Massachusetts; Murder Suspect Finally Arrested in Cold Case; Serious Candidates Need Serious Money

Aired January 26, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

Shoot to kill. Is there a U.S. directive against Iranians in Iraq? Who are the targets? The White House reacts.

PHILLIPS: Going underground, the struggle to cross the border. CNN's Gary Tuchman takes us into the dingy tunnels. Immigrants and drug smugglers, desperate to get in.

LEMON: And imagine if you could flip a switch to stop smoking. It may be all in your head.

We are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A new commander for coalition forces in Iraq and new rules of engagement for insurgents who come from Iran: capture or kill. More on those fronts from CNN's White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you may recall about two weeks ago in the president's outline, there was a line that really captured people's attentions, raised eyebrows, if you will, when the president said we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advance weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

The president was talking about this new policy of capturing and even potentially killing Iranian agents inside of Iraq. That is what national security officials are saying, that he basically was giving the signal to those folks, that they could be captured or killed and that they, in fact, the U.S. military has the authority to do just that.

Now, this has involved lots of discussions, lots of meetings from back in the fall involving the president, top level officials at the Pentagon, the State Department and intelligence all looking at this possibility of changing the policy. The president making up his mind, signing off on this just a couple of months ago. We are told because of the deteriorating situation on the ground in Iraq.

Now, of course, very controversial, and even some suggest provocative when it comes to dealing with Iran and perhaps creating more attention between Iraq and the Iranian government. President Bush was asked about that earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Makes sense, that if somebody is trying to harm our troops or stop us from achieving our goals 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 goals.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Don, while the president is insisting this doesn't mean that Americans would cross the Iraqi border into Iran, but he's certainly asserting that they now have authority, the U.S. military has the authority not only to capture, but now to kill those Iranian agents they believe are assisting these Iraqi militia.

In the situation, whether or not they would have actionable intelligence. That, of course, is the condition, that they would have actionable intelligence that they were going to reach out and threat Iraqi forces or American forces.

And Don, to let you know the big story, the back story here, of course, is it's not only about reaching out here and attacking these folks, because they're aligned with the Iraqi militia, but also because they're trying to weaken the Iranian government, very frustrated that they have not been cooperating in dismantling their nuclear program -- Don.

LEMON: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you, Suzanne.

PHILLIPS: A surprise visit and all too familiar violence in Baghdad today. VIPs are talking security with another deadly bombing as a back drop.

First to politics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading a seven-member congressional delegation. Like all such visits, it wasn't announced until the group arrived. They and Iraq's prime minister talked about troop strength, training schedules and timelines to hand over.

On the streets, more violence, more civilian casualties. Here is CNN's Michael Holmes.

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 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 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, suicide bomber, a car bomb that killed two people, wounded more than a dozen.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Four more months for more than 3,000 troops who thought their tour in Afghanistan was ending. Our Kathleen Koch is standing by with that at the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, and yes, those are some 3,200 troops from the Army's 10th Mountain Division, and they're going to be spending an extra four months in Afghanistan, in part, to help deal with the mounting attacks by the Taliban. The situation there, their attacks have been really spiraling upwards over the last year.

Major General Benjamin Freakley, one of the top U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, gave a briefing to reporters today, and he defended the performance of U.S. troops of the Afghan government, saying that they are achieving their goals and that the Taliban is, quote, "quickly running out of time."

Now, still Freakley acknowledged that the Taliban has been changing its tactics on the battlefield from massing on the battlefield to really more guerilla warfare type tactics, using roadside bomb attacks. Those -- those have doubled over the last year. Suicide attacks quintupled over the last year. And he acknowledged, also, that more violence could come this spring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN FREAKLEY, COMMANDER, JOINT TASK FORCE 76: I do believe that the Taliban will try this spring and summer to do some so of the things that Mullah Omar said they would do last year. You remember, he announced that he would have a summer of blood and that he would take back Kandahar to despite -- to spite the president, who was from Kandahar. He failed in that.

So I think they'll continue to try, but innocent men -- or not innocent but misguided men will fail and, for the power of the few, many will probably be killed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And the White House is asking for an additional $11 billion in funding for Afghanistan, most of it, $8.6 billion, is going to go toward training and equipping Afghan security forces there. And right now, the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is in Brussels trying to also get more NATO troops and funding from NATO members.

Back to you.

LEMON: And now, Kathleen, the secretary of defense is expected to hold a briefing later on today. Can we expect to hear more about this in that briefing?

KOCH: Certainly you will. I'm sure he'll also get quite a lot of questions about Iraq and certainly about Iran, about his meeting with the president today. That briefing is going to be happening at 2 p.m. But it will be different. It will not be in the normal briefing room, will not be live, so CNN will be airing it, I'm sure, as soon as we get the tape in hand.

LEMON: Kathleen Koch, thank you so much for that.

KOCH: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Bone chilling cold in the Bay State. It was below zero in much of Massachusetts this morning and it's not getting much warmer. Steve Cooper of our Boston affiliate, WHDH, is braving the chill along with a few other folks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE COOPER, WHDH REPORTER (voice-over): Bone chilling temperatures in downtown Boston. Not the best of times, especially if you're like Richard Bucci (ph), and you have to be out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hurts. That's what it's like. It hurts.

COOPER: Let's face it, even along places like trendy Newberry Street, it's tough to be trendy on a day like today.

(on camera) How did you dress today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of layers. Lots of layers and a down jacket and hat under there and gloves and everything and a couple layers underneath.

COOPER: Tell us about your hat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It came as a gift from Paris for those cold, New England winters.

COOPER (voice-over): The harsh winds meant taking down the flags outside the Elliot Hotel instead of putting them up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to take them down today. Staying up against the building.

COOPER: This could have been national jump start your neighbor's dead battery day. A normally uncommon scene seemed common.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what we're going to do if it won't start. We'll have to have it towed again.

COOPER (on camera): This is one of those days in New England where looks can sort of be deceiving, and here's the reason why. It's sunny out. In fact, blue skies here over Boston, which would seem like a good thing, but when you see this stuff coming out of your mouth, you know it's cold.

No hat, no hat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It doesn't go with the hair.

COOPER: You can't mess up the...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still have to keep the style up. We do work on Newberry.

COOPER: Well, you know it's pretty nasty when even hearty runners along the Charles are nowhere to be found on a day like today. It has us wondering what's in store for the rest of the winter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: February, I think I expect it to be colder. Because we're going to make up for the time that we missed.

PHILLIPS: Well, how long will that arctic air be hanging around, and where will it blow next?

LEMON: Oh, you know who knows about that. Rob Marciano with the answers for us in the CNN Weather Center.

Hey, Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You bet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS MOORE, BROTHER OF MURDER VICTIM: I promised in 2005 at his grave in Franklin County, at the cemetery, that I would fight until I die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A promise kept, will it finally mean justice for a brother lost so many years ago? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, Thomas Moore's quest for resolution.

PHILLIPS: A stroke of genius? Researchers say stroke survivors may point the way to ending nicotine addiction. Kicking the habit may all be in your head. Next from the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Look at that. Lots of sugar and fat. Well, if you thought doughnuts were already nature's perfect food, wait until you hear about one man's quest to improve them. Don't believe it. The NEWSROOM can hardly wait to dig in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Under suspicion for years, under indictment today. James Ford Seale, 71-year-old former sheriff's deputy, remains in a Mississippi jail, charged with kidnapping and conspiracy in the killings of two young black men 43 years ago. He pleaded not guilty, with trial set April 2.

Can't come soon enough for the brother of one of the victims. CNN's Rusty Dornin has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 43 years, this was the only marker of the death of 19-year-old Charles Moore, a misspelled tombstone in the outer reaches of the local cemetery. Then two years ago, his brother, Thomas, decided that was it.

MOORE: I promised him in 2005 at his grave in Franklin County, in the cemetery, that I would fight until I die.

DORNIN: So Thomas Moore went home to Meadville, Mississippi, with a CBC documentary filmmaker and Donna Ladd, a reporter from the "Jackson Free Press". She took us to where it all began on Main Street.

DONNA LADD, REPORTER, "JACKSON FREE PRESS": This spot is where they were hitchhiking.

DORNIN: According to FBI informants in documents dating from 1964, the African-American teens were picked up by James Seale and Charles Edwards, reputed members of the Ku Klux Klan. The documents alleged Seale and Edwards took the young men here to the Homochitto National Forest.

LADD: They took them out of the car. They tied them to a tree and kind of around their waist, and then they took these long, skinny sticks that we call bean sticks and just started beating them.

DORNIN: When Thomas Moore went with CBC filmmaker David Ridgen to this spot, the impassioned brother acted out the deed.

The two young men are believed to have been alive when they were reportedly then tied to an engine block and thrown into the old Mississippi River.

Edwards and Seale were arrested in 1964, charged with kidnapping and murder. The FBI turned the case over to local authorities. But a justice of peace said witnesses refused to testify, and the charges against Seale and Edwards were dropped. There just wasn't enough evidence, they said.

When Thomas Moore vowed justice for his brother, James Seale was thought to have died years earlier. Then to his utter shock, Moore found out otherwise.

MOORE: They said, "No, he hasn't passed away." They directed us to where he lived. That changed our mission.

DORNIN: Seale lived here, in an RV on his brother's property.

MOORE: I'm calling for James Ford Seale.

DORNIN: Moore did everything but walk up to Seale's door. He even planted signs outside the property.

In July 2005, the U.S. attorney's office agreed to take a fresh look at the case. Then, 19 months later, James Seale was arrested.

Seale has consistently denied involvement in the murders.

Almost exactly 42 years after charges against him were dropped, James Seale was walked into federal court under heavy guard, arraigned on kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the deaths of Charles Moore and Henry Dee.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Meadville, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're getting some new details in on the attack of some U.S. soldiers last week. Senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, joining us now with the details.

Jamie, what do you know?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you remember this brazen attack in which militants disguised as American soldiers were able to pass an Iraqi checkpoint in Karbala and launch an attack at a government building where U.S. military personnel were meeting to discuss security.

CNN has learned that contrary to the initial report, which said that -- which indicated that the soldiers who were killed there, five U.S. soldiers were killed at the scene. In fact, it turns out that four of the five were taken from the scene, and their bodies were found inside the GMC Suburban vehicles that were used to -- to be passed off as American vehicles in this attack.

The bodies were found some distance away, as much as 20 or 25 miles away from the scene later when they apprehended some of the suspects, as well.

What's unclear is whether the U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded at the scene, whether they were killed en route to the second location, which we are told was in Babil province, or whether they were killed shortly before the vehicles were discovered. Again, these details are being confirmed by Pentagon officials, but something that Iraqi officials have been talking about, apparently, for the last couple of days. So it turns out that four of the five U.S. soldiers apparently had been abducted in this brazen attack on January 20 -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre. Thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: People are still talking about the bomb shell dropped by Ford yesterday, a nearly $13 billion annual loss. Today it's GM's turn to jolt Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz, who always jolts Wall Street, joins us live from the New York Stock exchange.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: I'm going to leave it up to Detroit today, for sure, Kyra.

The world's biggest automaker says it's delaying its fourth quarter earnings report and restating several years of results because of accounting issues.

General Motors' report had been slated for release next Tuesday, but there is some good news. GM says it will post a quarterly profit, its first since the end of 2004. The company lost more than $3 billion in the first nine months of last year and more than $10.5 billion in 2005 -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Microsoft caused a bit of a jolt in the headlines.

LISOVICZ: Yes. Well, you know, it's interesting. Microsoft, when Microsoft comes out, there's plenty of places to look. The software giant's quarterly profits and revenue came in better than expected, thanks not to software, but to brisk sales of another key product, the Xbox 360 video game console.

But profits fell from last year. That's because Microsoft has been offering computer buyers coupons to upgrade to its new Windows Vista operating system for free.

And here's something you don't see every day. Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, is scheduled to appear on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart next Monday to promote Vista's Tuesday release.

It's actually not the first time Microsoft has paired up with a late night TV host. "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno appeared on stage with Gates for the launch of Windows '95.

We assume that Gates will leave the comedy up to Mr. Stewart.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: And that's the latest from Wall Street.

Coming up, electronics retailers could end up big winners in the week before the Super Bowl, but it might come at the expense of employers. I'll explain why in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, live from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

Trying to kick the habit? Well, new research says the solution might be in your head. If so, it could be a stroke of genius.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Air strike on the Taliban. NATO says a precision guided weapon may have killed a senior Taliban leader and some of his deputies in southern Afghanistan. It happened yesterday in Helmand province. No other details were released. We'll follow it.

Billions more for America's other war. The Bush administration wants to cut a big check to Afghanistan, where U.S. forces toppled the Taliban more than five years ago.

Toppled, it turns out, isn't the same as eradicated. To fill us in, our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kyra.

The U.S. wants to increase a substantial amount of aid to Afghanistan, really to give a boost to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He's had a really difficult time controlling the country. The money is also intended to counter a growing Taliban insurgency ahead of an anticipated spring offensive.

What that basically means is the snow melts and the Taliban come out of the mountains and they fight harder and they target NATO forces. Let's take a look at some of the numbers though Kyra that we're talking about. The State Department is going to ask Congress for $10.6 billion in new aid to Afghanistan.

This is how that breaks down, $8.6 billion basically to beef up security, things like training and equipping soldiers and police. You're talking $2 billion for reconstruction, so things like roads, powers, schools, clinics and other rural projects.

Now, all in all, in addition to this $10.6 billion request that's going to be made, the U.S. has put $14 billion in Afghanistan since they toppled the Taliban back in 2001. So all of this is going on in a very important context. Firstly you have the resurgence of the Taliban, you have increasingly fierce attacks on NATO troops.

Also, poppy cultivation is growing and it's funding the Taliban insurgency. And finally, you have this whole problematic issue of the differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan that are creating a problem in dealing with the Taliban.

PHILLIPS: So let's talk more about the role of NATO troops. Support for those NATO troops and then having to deal with that drug trafficking and obviously, the money that's being made off the poppy seed.

VERJEE: Yes, the NATO troop issue is extremely important and that's something Secretary Rice brought up in Brussels. Basically, what's going on is there's a division within NATO about who has got to handle the burden, the fighting in Afghanistan. You have a lot of countries in NATO and you only have four countries actually doing the dirty work, going to the south in Afghanistan and digging themselves in and fighting the Taliban and taking a lot of heavy casualties.

You have the United States, you have Canada, the Netherlands as well as the British who are there. What they want essentially is for other NATO countries, the Europeans, the French and the Germans to take on that burden as well, and fight the troops there. Nick Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, talked about that just a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS BURNS, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States is doing what it must do to help the Afghan authorities and to help the NATO effort. We now are asking our European allies to do more, to be present in the field. We certainly are going to need European troops ready to deploy to the south in the future, as well as the east, because that's where the major part of the fighting is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: The U.S., for its part, is committing they have about 24,000 troops in Afghanistan. About half of those are for now under NATO control. You're going to see extended stays of about 120 days for some U.S. forces in Afghanistan. As well as possibly more troops overall sent there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Zain Verjee from the State Department. Thanks.

LEMON: As if his plate weren't full enough already, Afghan President Ahmed Karzai is assuming new duties. He's a first-time dad at the age of 49. The president's wife gave birth last night to a son who was named for the leader of an 18th century Sunni revolt. Mother and child are said to be doing fine.

Pakistan's capital city suffers its first terror attack in nearly two years. Authorities say a suicide bomber detonated an explosion today at an entrance to the five star Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. A security guard was killed, seven others wounded. Officials say the guard prevented the bomber from entering the hotel, averting a much more deadly attack. Last week, a militant leader vowed to avenge a recent Pakistani air strike on a suspected al Qaeda hideout.

Beirut is breathing easier, but soldiers are still on the streets of the Lebanese capital after yesterday's deadly violence between pro government and opposition supporters. Security sources say four people were killed, 151 hurt in fighting at Beirut Arab University. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warns confrontations only play into the hands of Lebanon's enemies.

PHILLIPS: The battle for America's borders, the hardest ones to protect may be the ones we never see, most of us, any way. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports from one of the underground gateways to America.

(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.

But this mother and child squeezed 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 lot to hide behind. So you just have to --

TUCHMAN: There's nothing to hide behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a whole lot.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, I guess not.

TUCHMAN: The west 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 an (INAUDIBLE). This is an HKUMP-40.

TUCHMAN: And you're ready to use it if need be?

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

TUCHMAN: 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 endpoint, 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. All is quiet as the team approaches the international border. We pass tunnels in 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.

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: We go back to darkness, part of the tunnel system is rushing sewage water flowing through. We find shoes and cell phones discarded and then the agents command us to be quiet. They see something.

Who is it? Who is it, the agents yell in Spanish? And listen to this whisper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a body south.

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 border.

We are American police, slow down, say the agents. It's hard to make sense of their soft responses and it's still not clear who these people are. 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, TUSCON: It's them against the smugglers inside those tunnels. It's 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. Back in our tunnel, the agents see lights, Mexican authorities have arrived. The six suspicious people have disappeared on the other side of this yellow borderline 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)

LEMON: Deal or no deal? A Russian citizen goes for $1 million but his game plan involved uranium, not Howie Mandell. The NEWSROOM has the explosive details at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: Show me the money, and lots of it. The race for the White House takes a lot of cash and raising it is becoming a private matter now. That story is ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fredricka Whitfield, what's going on in New Orleans?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, just moments ago, Mayor Ray Nagin, along with the police superintendent, Warren Riley, had a press conference trying to assure people that they were trying to get to the bottom of the growing crime rate there in New Orleans, not only trying to solve the 14 homicides that have taken place in that city since December 29th, but they're trying to assure residents and even tourists that they have taken measures to try and at least stop or catch other crimes as they are happening.

And this is how. They have put 50 crimes cameras in various locations throughout New Orleans. They are up and running. They have identified 20 other what they call hot spots, where cameras will be installed. Cameras are on St. Charles, a very popular street for tourists, and it will be a popular street for Mardi Gras routes when they take place. Just moments ago, this was Ray Nagin, the mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Well what I want to tell them is that we are concentrating on crime abatement, particularly violent crime throughout the entire city. That's the first message. The trends that we're seeing over the past two-and-a-half weeks, you know, are not where we want them to be, but they're definitely trending in a positive direction.

In addition to that, through all the visitors that are coming here, we want you to understand that we're doing everything in our power to make this a safer city. If you're here visiting us downtown in a normal tourist related areas, those are probably some of the safest areas in the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And the mayor, as well as the police superintendent also underscored of the 14 homicide cases, only one of the cases has led to an arrest. They continue to look for suspects in the other 14 homicides. Some of the other measures that are being put into place to try to maximize the personnel among the police department that they have right now, it means that every police officer now is also walking the beat.

There are foot patrols, one to one and a half hours per day. That's something that they weren't doing prior to this string of homicides. Sixty additional officers who have been administrative officers being behind the desk are now out on the street and undercover officers and sergeants, their days have been extended.

So they're trying to maximize the personnel that they have trying to maximize the city and state dollars, as well as federal funding, all to try to address the growing crime rate that this city has seen. The murder rate alone, 30 percent higher than in any other city in the country. So it's a big problem, a very serious undertaking for the officials there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and Fred, we all knew New Orleans they had a serious crime problem for decades and decades, and a lot of the police officers thought, OK, after Katrina, smaller city, lost a lot of that element and they were thinking, this was a chance to start over and it would get better and it's pretty shocking to see that it's going right back to where it was prior to Katrina.

WHITFIELD: If not worse. Really, everyone has been blind-sided by the crime rate, particularly the homicide rate being so brutal as it has been just in the past couple of weeks, to start the new year. Residents who have been coming back trying to start over, and then areas that had not been accustomed to the kind of crimes that are taking place now are trying to deal with what to do. And so that's why the city is now taking these steps at the urging of the residents there who have been very vocal in the past couple of weeks, that they want something done.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep following it. Thanks, Fred.

LEMON: Is a caucus crisis brewing on Capitol Hill? Republican congressman and likely presidential candidate Tom Tancredo says the congressional black caucus should be abolished. A Colorado conservative best known for his hard line on illegal immigration says the black caucus and other race-based legislative groups are discriminatory and divisive. The black caucus has 43 members, all of them African-American.

Missouri Democrat William Lacey Clay is one of them. He accuses Tancredo of using intolerance to promote his presidential hopes. The congressional black caucus was created in 1969 and it's not the only race-based caucus. The House has two Hispanic caucuses, one for each party. Other caucuses are issue oriented. Two hundred and eighty nine, you heard right, 289 have been recognized by the House Committee on Administration. That's one caucus for every 1.5 members. The Senate officially recognizes only one caucus, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics control.

Presidential hopeful Congressman Tom Tancredo will join us in the NEWSROOM on Tuesday to talk about his stance about race-based caucuses. Make sure you join us on Tuesday for that one.

PHILLIPS: The presidential race of '08 will be the most expensive yet, but probably not for taxpayers. So called serious candidates need serious money, which now equals more than the public campaign financing system can offer. Here is CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): 2008 is likely to be the country's first billion dollar presidential campaign. That became clear when Hillary Clinton let it be known that she would forego public financing.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: The system, unfortunately, is not working, and it doesn't have the confidence of the taxpayers who do not check the box on their tax returns to make the contribution, so I opted out.

SCHNEIDER: Senator Clinton would be the first candidate to reject public money for both the primaries and the general election, if she gets the Democratic nomination. Why is she doing it? If Senator Clinton accepted public money, she would have to abide by spending limits. About $50 million in the primaries and about $80 million in the general election.

Those limits have failed to keep pace with the cost of a presidential campaign you may not be able to win. She's also doing it because she can. Any candidate who expects to be taken seriously has to be able to raise $100 million this year. Sort of an entry fee. Senator Clinton may be able to raise as much as $500 million if she's the Democratic nominee. So would her Republican opponent.

CLINTON: Thank you all.

SCHNEIDER: That's far more than the just over $100 million each would get under public financing.

LAWRENCE NOBLE, CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWYER: If you sign up for the public system, the public funding system, you obviously don't have the ability to raise private funds. If you don't have the support out there, you're not going to be taken as a serious candidate.

SCHNEIDER: From now on candidates who accept public financing will put themselves at a serious disadvantage. They won't be able to compete. Will voters resent that? Probably not. NOBLE: On the first one, George Bush forewent the public funding and nobody seemed to care, it really opened up the door, so I don't think we're going to see any public outcry about it.

SCHNEIDER: Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: A stroke of genius? Researchers say stroke survivors may point the way to ending nicotine addiction. Kicking the habit may be all in your head. The news keeps coming and we'll keep bringing it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Part of the brain about the size of a silver dollar, it's called the insula. If you're a smoker, it may be the reason why. Some day, it may help you quit, believe it or not. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now with -- it was pretty much an accidental revelation, right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it really was. Doctors didn't set out to figure this out, but some very smart doctors realized that they had some patients who were smokers. They smoked like chimneys for decades. And then they had strokes and they stopped smoking. The urge was completely gone so they put two and two together, they gave MRIs to these former smokers and they found that all of them that had had strokes in the insula.

So take a look and you'll see the area of the insula. It'll show up in yellow. It's this tiny little area that controls emotions and urges and addictions and that people, when they had those strokes, it became deactivated, it didn't do anything. So all of a sudden, these people did not have the urge to smoke. It was really quite striking.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Now you're trying to think of all of the other types of addictions and that's a whole -- another question.

COHEN: Oh sure, obesity and absolutely.

PHILIPS: Wow, alcoholism, everything. Obviously, you don't want anybody to have a stroke just stop smoking.

COHEN: No, we're thinking about giving people strokes. That will be a bad thing. But what they are thinking about is ways in which to deactivate the insula besides a stroke. For example, the head of National Institutes for Drug Abuse, I was just on the phone with her and she said you could possibly do magnet therapy, you put magnets outside the head and that could possibly deactivate that insula. They've been using magnets for depression to deactivate other areas of the brain. So that may be one way to do it.

PHILLIPS: So how soon could we maybe see a treatment?

COHEN: Well, I asked Dr. Valkoff, I said, it will be years away right? It's going to be years before they figure out how to make this work? And she said, no, I think it really could be a matter of months. She is quite hopeful that they could get therapy to replicate what the stroke did in just a matter of months.

PHILLIPS: And it could fold in possible to other addictions besides smoking?

COHEN: Right, they're thinking about any kind of addiction because it all centers in that area of the brown. Other centers too, but the insula is really important.

PHILLPS: Wow. That's really interesting stuff. Thanks Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well not getting quite the jolt that you crave from that double espresso coffee? No a problem. Just grab a doughnut. A nuclear biologist has whipped up pastry with a punch. Caffeinated doughnuts and bagels, each packs more caffeine than a cup of coffee, only they're not supposed to have that bitter taste. They're not on the market yet, but they have a bit of a catchy name, Buzz Doughnuts and Buzz Bagels.

LEMON: They're movers and shakers, pioneers, leaders and decision- makers. Among them, they account for one fourth of the gross domestic product of the world. They're all under one roof this week in Switzerland, focusing on the world's biggest problems, including a climate change. CNN's Becky Anderson takes us to the World Economic Forum where participants are being told to lead by example.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the busiest week of the year in this ski resort. 2400 politicians and business leaders have come here to Davos to tackle the world's problems. And high on the agenda this year is climate change.

But while they're talking about saving the environment indoors, private jets are piling up at Zurich airports and the Audis are lining up on the streets. This year, the world economic forum is trying to reverse some of the damage that it causes.

ANDRE SCHNEIDER, COO, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: We have created an operations team to break it down for each participant. And we invite each participant to sign up for this initiative and actually give a money amount, which is equivalent to what it will cost to reduce CO2 in Indonesia in a nitro energy project.

ANDERSON: This deal tells us that a CEO flying from New York to Zurich produces either 6 tons of carbon dioxide. Once they hit, uses pay $90, self set their emissions and clear their conscience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, the aggregate doesn't make a big difference. But it does is it makes a statement and that's important. My wife flew down to Barbados the other day and she signed up and she made sure that she was zero carbon emissions. And I think it really is something that makes people think about how their everyday activities actually affect the environment.

ANDERSON: But one wonders just how many of these leaders will alter their every day activities. Once they make the journey home. Becky Anderson, CNN, Davos in Switzerland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A new tactic, but the same deadly results. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, pet lovers targeted in Baghdad.

LEMON: Seeing for herself, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi goes on a fact-finding mission in Iraq and has a face-to-face with the prime minister. Details on that visit, straight ahead right here on the CNN NEWSROOM..

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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