Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iraq War Protest; Securing Iraq; Katrina Lawsuit

Aired January 27, 2007 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS, PROTESTER: Silence is no longer an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking out, 34 years after she spoke out against the Vietnam War. Actress Jane fonda calls for an end to the Iraq war ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Tens of thousands rally on streets of our nation's capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I know the warnings are there. I know the problems. My dad has emphysema. So...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Are tobacco companies making it harder for you to quit smoking? A new report suggests nicotine levels are once again being boosted in cigarettes.

Also, a wild ride reminiscent of country western song, but this is real. Taking center stage in this tale, Crystal Gayle's tour bus.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: A massive anti-war protest on the National Mall today. Celebrities and civil rights leaders among those demanding an end to funding the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS, PROTESTER: I say to those who tell me that we are fighting this war over there so that it doesn't come here, listen to the sons and daughters who are returning and their families and you will know that the war is being fought here, in the hearts and minds and bodies of those that are returning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Gary Nurenberg is on the National Mall.

And so, Gary, did organizers of this demonstration, do they walk away feeling like this was a successful day?

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I really think they did. Anti-war demonstrators are ending a day of protests here in Washington and took the opportunity to make their feelings very clear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Here's the way that George explains our mission in Iraq: They tried to kill my daddy, so I had to hit them back

NURENBERG (voice over): The singers call themselves the Raging Grannies. They were among tens of thousands of demonstrators who rallied on the National Mall demanded an end to the war and protesting President Bush's plan to send additional American troops to Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!

CROWD (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): We remember Vietnam.

CROWD (SINGING): We remember Vietnam.

NURENBERG: The comparison to peace rallies to end another war 40 years ago were a constant theme among demonstrators who want to end the war in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stopped the war in Vietnam, didn't we?

NURENBERG: One notable opponent of the Vietnam War said her appearance today was first at an anti-war rally in 34 years.

FONDA: I'm so sad that we still have to do this, that we did not learn the lessons from the Vietnam War.

NURENBERG: Fonda's presence brought a couple of dozen counter- demonstrators to an event at the Navy memorial.

Supporters of the president's policy see the demonstration as counterproductive.

CLIFFORD MAY, FDN. FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: There is something they don't understand. Ho Chi Minh at its worst never thought he was going to send suicide bombers to America to kill American children. The people we're fighting in Iraq, they intend to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Democracy!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do we want it?

CROWD: Now! NURENBERG: The march on the Capitol is just the first stop for many of the demonstrators who plan to stay in town to lobby congressional representatives Monday before what could be the first test vote on an anti-war resolution. The White House issued a statement saying of President Bush, "He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NURENBERG: Some of the biggest applause today came to members of military families who are here speaking out against the war. Many of them with the support of their loved ones who are serving in the armed services. One of the organizations responsible for putting this rally together said there were about 3,200 military families here today -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Gary, in your piece you talk about the resolution. What else are these demonstrators lobbying for or against?

NURENBERG: Well, Fredricka, we talked about loud applause. And again, some of the loudest applause came for Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a presidential candidate who says it is time now cut off all funds for the war. A couple California congresspersons were here calling for that as well. And although those calls for a funding cutoff received loud applause, even the strongest opponents of the war on the Hill don't see that as a realistic possibility anytime soon.

WHITFIELD: Gary Nurenberg in the nation's capital.

Thanks so much.

Well, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to securing Iraq today in a call to that country's leader.

Our Kathleen Koch is at the White House with more on that -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, the president is spending the weekend here at the White House. And this morning he made a call to Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki. According to National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, the two men "discussed steps being taken to implement security plans in Baghdad and reaffirm their mutual commitment to move forward."

Of course, President Bush is very much aware that his new strategy for Iraq is under attack. Polls showing a majority of Americans oppose it. His own approval rating slumping.

So President Bush is very staunchly defending his plan, while at the same time acknowledging that he understands the country is deeply divided on how to move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told the American people I fully understand there are differences of opinion. But one of the things I have discovered is in Washington, D.C., most people understand the consequences of failure. And if failure is not an option, then it's up to the president to come up with the plan that is more likely to succeed.

And I spent a lot of time on this subject, because I understand how serious the issue is. And the plan I outlined to the American people is one that I believe can succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is just back from leading a congressional delegation to Iraq, in a press release called for U.S. troops to switch from a combat role to focus on -- to being focussed on training, force protection, and border control. Pelosi saying that there must be a political solution to the problems in Iraq.

Now, as Gary Nurenberg mentioned, on Tuesday, the Senate will take a test vote on a resolution, a non-binding resolution on the troop increase, saying, "It is against the national interest," and it would take 60 votes, Fredricka, to pass that resolution.

WHITFIELD: And meantime, Kathleen, the White House just a few blocks away from where the anti-war demonstration took place on the Mall. Is there any reaction from the White House?

KOCH: Well, I think you saw the reaction earlier from Gordon Johndroe. I know there were some very strong statements I believe that Gary used from Jane Fonda. We sent those on to Johndroe to see if the White House had any further reaction and he said no.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch at the White House.

Thanks so much.

KOCH: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Well, the U.S. military has announced the deaths of seven more U.S. troops in Iraq. All were killed in roadside bombing bombings. Two of the troops died Thursday, two yesterday, and three more today.

Also today, two large explosions rocked a downtown market in Baghdad.

With that part of the story, let's go to CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The violence here just serving to underscore how dangerous even the simplest of tasks can be. Twin explosions at a busy marketplace killed at least 15 Iraqis and wounded another 55. The first, a suicide car bomber. The second, coming minutes late, a vehicle packed with explosives. And Iraqi police found 40 unidentified bodies strewn throughout the capital believed to be the latest victims of sectarian violence.

Iraq's heavily fortified Green Zone was hit by two rockets, wounding at least two people, just days after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, from the very same location, urged lawmakers to support what he is saying is going to be his plan to target all militias and insurgent groups. But one of the cornerstones for the Iraqi government to be able to implement this plan is going to be the re-establishment of trust, trust between the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people, between the Iraqi people and their own security forces. And for the Iraqi government itself to start trusting its own members, which seems to be proving very challenging.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In this country, police say he broke out of prison, hid in plain sight at a NASCAR event, and then stole a tractor. But that's not all. The rest of the story behind an escaped inmate's wild ride straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been paying premiums for 17 years. And to just say no, we're not going to pay you anything, you know, look at the house. It's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The court battle over insurance for Hurricane Katrina victims. New information about rebuilding efforts.

Plus, international intrigue and a teapot. We have got new details surrounding the death of a former Russian spy.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Compensation for the damage and destruction on hold. A judge's ruling stops for now payments of millions of dollars in insurance money to Katrina victims in Mississippi. State Farm had agreed to a proposed settlement but the judge wouldn't OK it.

The latest now from CNN Gulf Coast Correspondent Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the beachfront 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)

WHITFIELD: An extra boost of nicotine -- was it done to make it harder to kick the habit? Still ahead, a new study raises a few concerns.

Plus, a teapot, but it holds new information about a major international mystery. The poisoning of a former Russian spy straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And join us tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern here in the NEWSROOM. We'll sneak a peek at some of the new commercials you'll see next week on Super Bowl Sunday.

And remember last year's working with monkeys spot? Well, they were great, but as Donald Trump might say, they're fired. We'll take a look at what may be the first pre-Super Bowl ad campaign.

So it's never been easy to quit smoking. If you tried before and are finding it even tougher now, it might not be your willpower that is waning. Are nicotine levels rising, again?

CNN's Drew Griffin investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is dispute over how much and what may or may not be causing it, but ask smokers like these coachmen in New Orleans if they would be surprised to learn tobacco companies have been boosting nicotine to make it harder for them to quit. The answer, they say, no surprise at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. Not at all. Not at all.

GRIFFIN: Surprise maybe to some, not to others.

A new Harvard study says either way, it is a fact. The study found from 1998 to 2005, there's been an 11 percent increase in the amount of nicotine in a cigarette's smoke.

DR. GREG CONNOLLY, HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: And that was significant.

GRIFFIN: And Dr. Greg Connolly says that doesn't matter what you smoke. Menthol, light, regular or mild, nicotine levels have increased 11 percent since '98.

CONNOLLY: Does that mean that more nicotine is getting into the bloodstream of a consumer, 11 percent more? We don't know that.

GRIFFIN: What do the tobacco companies say?

Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro, the world's biggest selling cigarette, sent a statement, saying the Harvard study "raises legitimate public and scientific concerns." But the company says it did not change "the design of our cigarettes with the intention to increase nicotine yields."

(on camera): But while we're keeping the cigarette companies honest, let's be honest with ourselves. For generations now Americans have been warned, have been told, have been taught that cigarettes are bad, cigarettes cause cancer.

(voice-over): And yet right here in Harvard Square, supposedly home to some of the best and brightest of our youth, we found young people smoking.

JOHN SMITH, SMOKER: Well, I know the warnings are there. I know the problems. My dad has emphysema.

GRIFFIN: Take John Smith. He says his dad is sick from smoking, yet he smokes. Learned all about the dangers of smoking in high school, yet he smokes. He's a student, yet he shells out nearly $5 a pack to buy a product that warns him he'll get sick, yet he smokes.

SMITH: I don't want to sound like I'm cold or anything, but you're doing it to yourself.

GRIFFIN: This 18-year-old says he started at 14.

(on camera): You've known that your whole life, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So does everybody, though.

GRIFFIN: Yeah. So do you blame the tobacco companies or do you blame yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely myself.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): They admit they are now addicted. They also say they started smoking because smoking was then and is now legal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not smoking crack.

GRIFFIN: It should be illegal, correct?

CONNOLLY: If you look at consumer attitude polls, I would think the majority of Americans agree with you on that. We tried banning alcohol in the '20s and it just didn't work.

GRIFFIN: What the Harvard School of Public Health wants to do instead of making cigarettes illegal and creating a black market is to regulate the product into oblivion.

If a government agency regulated what's in cigarettes, Dr. Connolly says that agency could force tobacco companies to remove addictive nicotine, not increase it.

You might be surprised, even Philip Morris said it supports a bill that would allow cigarettes to be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Until then, the best advice from this New Orleans coachman who began when he was just 11 is to never start in the first place.

Do you wish you didn't?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day, worst doggone habit I could have ever started.

GRIFFIN: And now admits he just can't stop.

Drew Griffin, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And in a little more than 10 minutes from now, we'll talk to Dr. Bill Lloyd about a new discovery in nicotine addiction. Some eye-opening research that says kicking the habit is all in the mind.

Is America ready for a woman as commander in chief? What Hillary Rodham Clinton said today on the campaign trail to try to put the question to rest.

Plus, steeped in intrigue, does a teapot hold the secret to an international spy mystery? That story next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Scooter Libby says he's a scapegoat. The former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative.

CNN's Kelli Arena describes another aide's testimony that could hurt Libby's defense.

WHITFIELD: Kelli Arena describes another aide's testimony that could hurt Libby's defense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kathy Martin's testimony offered rare insight into the inner workings of the vice president's office. And the personal efforts by the vice president himself to control information.

SCOTT REED, GOP POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What you're seeing is this -- for first time some real disarray at the senior levels of the White House.

ARENA: Martin, who was Vice President Cheney's communications chief, suggested that her boss and his chief of staff Scooter Libby were obsessed back in 2003 with gathering information about Joe Wilson, a Bush critic. At the time, Wilson was challenging the administration's justification for the war in Iraq, based on information he uncovered during a trip to Africa.

REED: They obviously didn't want to let any little spark catch in the fire and weren't going to let one of these frontal attacks go unanswered.

ARENA: Wilson claimed that he was sent on his mission by the vice president. But Martin described how Cheney tried to distance himself from Wilson, how the vice president personally dictated talking points for dealing with the press. Her notes in evidence, telling her to say quote, "He did not travel at my request, don't know him."

She testified Libby told her to actually call the CIA to get names of reporters working on stories about Wilson, so that the vice president could direct a spin operation with Libby as the front man.

TIMOTHY HEAPHY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: The intrigue at the White House is playing out in the course of this because it is generally so secret.

ARENA: Martin's story flies in the face of Libby's defense which claims he was caught up in so many other issues, he didn't pay much attention to Wilson.

HEAPHY: The bigger deal this was inside the White House, the less credible his explanation of mis-recollection becomes.

ARENA: Libby is charged with lying about how and when he found out that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked at the CIA. Martin testified she told him in June of 2003. But Libby claims he didn't find out until a month later.

HEAPHY: This is a case about deception. This is a case about lies.

ARENA: It is also a case that has most of Washington wondering what other secrets are about to be exposed. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now to the race for the White House '08. It looks like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is testing the waters for 2008. He's expected to form a presidential exploratory committee next week. That is seen as a crucial first step to making a run for the white house.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is on the campaign trail this weekend, laying what many see as the groundwork for his own presidential bid. Giuliani is urging Republicans in New Hampshire to stand firm and support the war on terror.

It has been more than three years since Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Iowa. But this weekend she's back. And she has a full agenda. The state holds its presidential caucuses about a year from now. Seen by some as the Democratic front-runner, Clinton says she is in it to win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NY: When people tell me, you know, I don't think a woman can be elected president. I say I don't know that but we'll find out. And when people tell me I don't think America can really face up to its problems, deal with this new global environment, make the hard decisions, I say don't you count us out. We might not have had good leadership the last six years, but we're still the best, most able, can-do country in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Candy Crowley is on the campaign trail with Senator Clinton.

She will have a full report on her day in Iowa coming up in our next our at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

And now to a flurry of new reports about a major international mystery, the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. British media says investigators have identified a suspect and an everyday household item that may have been used in the killing. Reporting from London, CNN International correspondent Alfonzo Van Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALFONZO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reporter: in a country famous for its high tea, there is new speculation that the British tradition of a cuppa was the clandestine cover to kill a former Russian spy in London. British investigators say a teapot at the Millennium Hotel tested so high for polonium 210, a radioactive poison, they had to seal off areas where it was in use.

Now the British press are quoting police sources who say the tea Alexander Litvinenko drank from that teapot eventually killed him last November.

Local press are reporting that British authorities want to extradite the Russian businessman who met Litvinenko for tea at the hotel on November 1st. Scotland Yard says it has no comment on the local reports.

Russian businessman Andre Lugovoi, on left, denies any involvement in Litvinenko's murder. Lugovoi in Moscow now but he left a trail of radiation at a number of offices and hotels around London last year. Traces of polonium 210 were also found on an aircraft on which Lugevoy traveled.

Alexander Litvinenko was a vocal critic of the Kremlin, just before his death on November 23rd, he blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his poisoning. Russian authorities denied the accusation.

(on camera): In a statement to the Millennium Hotel says areas where traces of polonium 210 were detected are still not accessible to guests or their staff. Whether police consider the hotel bar where the tea the scene of an alleged assassin's hit, well that's not publicly known. Alfonzo Van Marsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, a stroke of genius. Researchers say stroke survivors may point the way to ending nicotine addiction. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM room. Kicking the habit may be all in your head.

Then a country music song in the making. It starts with an escaped convict on a mission to visit his mom. Adding to the mix, Crystal Gayle's tour bus. How to all ends straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK).

WHITFIELD: The need to light up, could it all be in your mind? A new study indicates an area deep in the brain may control the urge to smoke. It is called the insula. And researchers say it acts like a headquarters for cravings. The study was inspired by a stroke victim who says he forgot about his two pack a day habit.

Scientists hope it will lead to new ways to help smokers quit. Dr. Bill Lloyd joins with us more on how to kick the habit include a new more conventional therapy now available. But first, Dr. Lloyd, let's talk about the results of this study. And how is it that researchers have put two and two together that it is the insula that does indeed control the cravings?

DR. BILL LLOYD, UC-DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER: They found out a group of smokers that suffered a stroke that involves specifically that small area deep inside the brain called the insula when the people recovered from their stroke, they didn't want a cigarette. They had no trouble quitting, they had no cravings. So they went out and found another large group of stroke victims, all of whom were smokers, and their strokes did not involve the insula. And when they recovered from their strokes, most went right back smoking. And when they tried quit, they had the urge.

We have known all along that the insula is a powerful center for urges, whether it's chocolate, alcohol and now tobacco as well.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So now all those folks who are saying I've been struggling to try to quit, a-ha, now tinker with my insula and help me kick the habit. Is it that simple?

LLOYD: Nothing is simple. There is no magic bullet. Of course there is a tug of war. And smokers were right. I know better. One part of my brain, my frontal lobe is telling me what am I smoking for? It could kill me. I could be one of those 45 million smokers who die from an early death. I know smoking is wrong for me. But yet I feel the need to smoke because a different powerful, more primitive portion of the brain is guiding their behavior.

Now guess what, Fredricka, the insula is responsive to biofeedback. So in addition to some of these more powerful medicines that are helping people stop smoking, other techniques that involve biofeedback, things like hypnosis and acupuncture and other biofeedback skills that can be taught to smokers may be useful to either supplement, work together with these medications, or may in fact with some people actually replace the need for medications and get nicotine out of their life for good.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Well let's talk about some other measures in which people are get some help to kick the habit. We know about the patch.

LLOYD: You bet.

WHITFIELD: But now you can take something orally, a pill.

LLOYD: You certainly can. The patch or the spray and now even the doughnuts are nicotine replacement. So you stop cigarettes and all the dangers of cigarette but you're still addicted to the nicotine and hopefully you can wean yourself off.

But as you mentioned, there are several pills on the market for several years, the newest one called Chantix which was approved last year in the United States has now undergone what we call a series of post-marketing tests and we've discovered that if you take this pill Chantix, you have a three times chance of quitting smoking compared to not using that pill. And nearly twice as more successful than using the competitor's pill called Zyban.

So this drug that we call Chantix works because it sits in the parking space that nicotine normally occupies. Nicotine can't get where it needs to be, the patient doesn't get a reward by smoking so they give it up.

WHITFIELD: Side effects, are there any?

LLOYD: There is some reports of nausea when people take Chantix. But it dissipates over time. It is a habit that people have been developing all their life and if you're going to stop smoking, you've got to have a plan. Don't do it alone. Talk to your doctor about what method is best for you. And if you choose to go with a medication therapy like Chantix, hang tough. Hang tough for a year and you'll be successful in breaking the habit.

WHITFIELD: All right. We like that. Very encouraging news especially for those struggling to try and kick the habit. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: Well, here's another way to help quitters, virtual smoking. What do you think about that? The modern day way to train against all those triggers that make smokers want to light up. That's tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern in the NEWSROOM with Rick Sanchez.

Amnesia left him wandering the Dallas streets, unknown and very alone. We'll tell you where he is now coming up.

Also, it's not your ordinary stolen vehicle story, the inmate, the tractor and the Crystal Gayle tour bus? The bizarre details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead. Rick Sanchez with me now to give us a preview.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking into this whole business of who is in our prisons all over the country and why? And are there cases where there are people in prison who really shouldn't be in prison? After 22 nearly years in prison for rape, by the way, he didn't commit, Pete Williams is now free. This is part of the Innocence Project. In this case, the Georgia Innocence Project. These are lawyers who pro bono try to help people where there is now cases of DNA or other types of evidence that has come in. They're absolutely smack-dab positive they didn't commit the crime and they're still behind bars for it.

WHITFIELD: The Innocence Project has helped to free a lot of people based on DNA.

SANCHEZ: Fact of the matter is that prisons are big business in this country. With possible exception of China, we have got more people in prison than we do anywhere else. So I think it is incumbent upon us if you're a criminal and you deserve to be there, then by all means, stay there and we don't want you out. But if there is someone who shouldn't be in there, like this case we're looking at tonight, the Jamal Wilson case, I mean young man, 17 years old, has teenage sex with a consenting young female, consenting is a legal word we probably shouldn't use but they were both in on it and there he is now, we're looking at building a part of our news cast tonight about his story and others like it. Ten years in prison with rapists and murderers for having sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17? Seems a little outrageous.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. We've heard a lot from people who are saying it is outrageous and you have the other side who says, well that was the law.

SANCHEZ: He admits it. And his lawyers admit it. If it's the law, it is the law. But is the law right?

WHITFIELD: All right. You'll be exploring all that at 10:00.

SANCHEZ: We sure will. We'll have fund with it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Rick.

Time now to go global. How about that?

Headlines around the world. A horrifying scene in western India where at least 11 girls were killed when a school building collapsed. The school's principal says he had warned authorities that the building needed immediate repairs.

An uneasy calm is holding in Beirut, Lebanon. Mourners held funerals for three people killed in violent clashes this week between pro and anti-government supporters.

And British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates are joining forces at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They're urging wealthy nations to expand free trade to help developing countries.

An escaped prisoner who evaded a five state manhunt in part by stealing country singer Crystal Gayle's tour bus allegedly has now been arrested in Florida. Christopher Daniel Gay was arrested late yesterday in Daytona Beach, charged with among other things grand theft auto. More now from reporter Erica Lathan of affiliate WZTV in Nashville.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIP GATZIMOS, CRYSTAL GAYLE'S HUSBAND & MANAGER: We were amused and surprised and shocked. It's almost so unreal that -- you know, how can you react?

ERIKA LATHON, REPORTER, WZTV (voice over): Crystal Gayle's husband and manager was stunned to learn that the tour bus they left parked at a travel center in Whites Creek (ph) was stolen from the lot Thursday night.

GATZIMOS: We're concerned that somebody who may not be a great bus driver is driving our bus around. We hope nobody gets hurt.

LATHON: Police say the man behind the wheel is Texas prison escapee Christopher Daniel Gay. The tour bus showed up on surveillance video at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida. That's where Gay allegedly told track officials he was a bus driver for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we figured something was wrong. He didn't act the part. The bus didn't look the part.

LATHON: Track officials got suspicious when Gay couldn't produce any identification.

BARRY WILLIAMS, RACE TRACK MANAGER: And as I read the tag number, he said, "I'm going to McDonald's." And I said, "You're going to McDonald's in this?" "Oh, yes. Yes. I always do."

And I took the tag number down and walked back. He jumped in the motor home, locked the doors and pulled out.

LEANN NEWMAN, SUSPECT'S SISTER: He didn't mean no harm. He didn't. He's just scared. And the only thing he wanted to do is see my mom. That's all he asks.

LATHON: Police say on Monday Gay stole a Wal-Mart tractor- trailer in Manchester in an effort to visit his dying mother in northern Cheatham County.

(on camera): These tire tracks show you exactly where Gay abandoned that stolen 18-wheeler on Monday night. He stopped in this field, which is about 50 yards away from his mother's mobile home. It sits just on the other side of that wooden fence. But by that time, police were closing in and Gay was forced to run off into the woods.

NEWMAN: He needs to turn himself in because it's just getting worse. And I hope that the people that he took things from, I hope that they forgive him.

GATZIMOS: My heart goes out to the guy's mother, you know, and his family. It's an odd story. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, Gay is charged with grand theft auto which carries a $5,000 bond. He also faces three outstanding warrants from Tennessee and one from Alabama. And no word on the whereabouts of the tour bus.

Guess who is not coming to this year's White House correspondents dinner?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some thought he was a hero. Some thought he was rude. So this year they turn to a comedian some thought was dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Jeanne Moos has the story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some of the most popular stories on cnn.com today. The massive anti-war protest in Washington, tens of thousands of demonstrators demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Speakers included Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and Jesse Jackson.

After an amnesia nightmare, where he is now? Lots of you wanted to check in on a Dallas man who walked the streets for 25 days, unsure of his identity. The 59-year-old was finally recognized by an acquaintance today. He's doing well and is receiving treatment.

And British royalty on U.S. soil. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are visiting Philadelphia and New York this weekend. During their two day visit the couple will attend events dedicated to urban renewal, youth development and the environment.

Click on to cnn.com for details on these stories and more.

And last year, the White House correspondents' dinner turned into a presidential roast. You remember that. Now party planners were playing it safe and having an old school funny man do the honors. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From acid-tongued Stephen Colbert to Rich Little, who rarely belittles. What a difference a year makes. At last year's White House correspondents' dinner, president bush seemed amused, then un-amused, then bored as Stephen Colbert mocked him.

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. MOOS: Some thought Colbert was a hero. Some thought he was rude. So this year they turned to a comedian some thought was dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The legendary Mr. Rich Little.

MOOS: Wait a minute, that's an impersonator, pretending to be Rich Little impersonating Ronald Reagan talking about Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That country is in worse shape than Dean Martin's liver.

MOOS: But don't expect that from the real Rich Little.

(on camera): Are you going to mention the word "Iraq"?

RICH LITTLE, COMEDIAN: Probably not. I don't find anything funny about Iraq.

MOOS (voice-over): Rich Little does some 200 impersonations from Andy Rooney ...

LITTLE: Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?

MOOS: To the first President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think a fetus becomes a human being?

LITTLE: When it votes Republican.

MOOS: And the presidents he imitates seem to love it. But is Rich too little, too late in his career? Critics suggest organizers wimped out.

(on camera): The president of the White House Correspondents' Association didn't want to do an on-camera interview, but he summed up the goal of the evening's entertainment in three words, singe, not burn.

(voice-over): "You can't invite the president to dinner and then turn him into a political pinata," says Steve Scully. Besides Billy Crystal wanted $500,000 to do the gig. What they don't want is another Imus. At a different press dinner in 1996 he made jokes about Bill Clinton's womanizing tendencies.

DON IMUS, TALK SHOW HOST: Go, baby.

MOOS: That left the president stone-faced and the press at the head table almost staged a walkout.

IMUS: By the way, watching Dan Rather do the news, he looks like he's making a hostage tape.

MOOS: Now Rich Little is hostage to his nice reputation.

(on camera): Everyone seems to think, oh, he's going to be too tame. Maybe you should zing them now?

LITTLE: No, I'm not a zinger.

MOOS (voice-over): After-dinner insults are a little too rich for Rich Little.

LITTLE: Who the hell are you?

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. From Rich to our Rick, Rick Sanchez straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

SANCHEZ: No imitations needed by the way. Appreciate it, Fredricka. Here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: I haven't spoken at an anti-war rally in 34 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: There she is. A -- there she is, a familiar face, Jane Fonda. She's a familiar face in the peace movement, joining anti-Iraq War rallies. But what about the others? Who else is there? And will the president listen?

Also, wrongly accused and jailed for more than 22 years and there may be many like him. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, two people who are trying to bring justice to the innocent.

And robbing a bank 21st century style. Thieves using your name to get away with robbery.

I'm Rick Sanchez. You are now in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's first catch up on some of the headlines.

Now in the news the police chief and at least a dozen others killed in a suicide bombing near a Pakistani mosque. Another 60 people were wounded. Several thousand Shiite Muslims were in or near the mosque at the time.

Also high level talks about the situation in Iraq. President Bush is speaking with Iraq's prime minister by phone today. A statement from Nuri al-Maliki's office says the discussion focused on political and security developments.

Also, thousands of people filled the National Mall today for a protest against the Iraq War. Speakers including actresses Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Protesters want Congress to cut funding for the war.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com