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Woman Rescued from Wrecked Car; British Kidnapping Plot Thwarted; Florida Sheriff's Wife, Sheriff's Deputy Murdered; Dissent on the Rise in Iran?; Bush Visits Stock Exchange

Aired January 31, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

Murder mystery in Florida. A sheriff's wife and a deputy killed in cold blood. What was the motive?

PHILLIPS: British terror plot foiled. Suspects accused of trying to mimic attacks in Iraq. Who's bringing this new terror tactic to the west?

LEMON: And this might come as a surprise: heart disease the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S. What you need to know that could save your life.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Violence hits home for a sheriff in the Florida Panhandle. The law man's wife, a deputy and two alleged gunmen are died after a shootout at the sheriff's own home. We'll have a live report in just a minute.

LEMON: But first straight to the NEWSROOM now, Fredricka Whitfield working on a developing story for us -- Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, I want to show you some pictures of an incredible rescue taking place in California. Apparently, a woman in her car somehow went off an embankment off the La Tuna Canyon Road off-ramp, just east -- near the eastbound Foothill Freeway, also called the 210.

You're looking at the rescue video right here of the woman being pulled out of her car, which was pretty mangled. I don't know how long this drop is, but you can see it's a significant, steep climb up this hill to get her out of this area. There's the wide shot view right there.

We don't know the woman's condition. We are continuing to make calls. Look, that's the vehicle that she was in. Miraculously, she has been cut from that vehicle and taken out, as you saw in the video that we just showed you, taken up the hill, where they -- right there -- were able to get her to the ambulance and take her to a nearby hospital.

We're still trying to find out the condition of this woman and exactly what happened to send her car over this embankment -- Don.

LEMON: Fredricka, looking at that mangled car, it's amazing that she's still around. I mean, it's just -- it's huge.

WHITFIELD: Right. It's a pretty ugly looking accident, but again, we don't know her condition right now and just how she managed to survive it.

LEMON: Yes. We'll certainly hope that she is OK. Fredricka Whitfield in the NEWSROOM, thank you so much for that report.

PHILLIPS: Iraq-style terror in Britain? Well, police there rounded up nine people accused in a plot involving kidnapping, torture and beheading.

CNN's Nic Robertson, Paula Newton and Jim Bolton are following developments in Birmingham. And Paula Hancocks is in London -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sorry. This is Paula Newton, and I'm reporting now from Birmingham.

Police did confirm to us that they did make, as you say, Kyra, that ninth arrest. And that capped, really, today what was a very dramatic day here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice-over): It is an unnerving terror tactic taken right from the streets of Iraq and possibly imported here to Birmingham, England.

DAVID SHAW, ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE: I can confirm that just in the very last few minutes we have arrested a ninth suspect on the motorway in the Birmingham area. I think that illustrates to you that this remains a dynamic, fluid operation, and this is by no means finished.

NEWTON: After arresting nine suspects, police fanned out in the early morning hours to at least a dozen locations, not just where the suspects lived but where they worked, scanning computers, documents, mobile phones, searching for any evidence they could find in what could be a new twist on terror.

Security sources tell CNN the plot involved snatching a British Muslim soldier and torturing and executing him in the most gruesome of ways, a videotaped beheading that would have been posted on the Internet.

The allegation that some in the Muslim community wanted to make an example of one of their own stung many here. This man is a good friend of one of those in custody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very good chap. I can't believe, you know, this happened on our own doorstep, you know. It's just a bit of a shock. NEWTON: This is a close knit Asian community with strong ties to Pakistan. Friends of those in custody say the allegations are startling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He used to work in the shop (UNINTELLIGIBLE). That's all I know of him. But he was all right. He said hi to everyone, no problem whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a good guy. I have known him for -- since I was a little kid. And I shop here. That's about it. That's it, really.

NEWTON: Kidnappings resonate globally. The plot, if proven, carries a political motive. Sources with knowledge of the investigation say demands would have been made that British troops pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, a message to those described as traitors of Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would not be a total surprise, because we know that their ideological brethren have carried out these tactics before. We all know about Iraq and Zarqawi, how he has really made this tactic into a strategy almost. And how devastating the effect was of the various kidnappings that were carried out in Iraq in 2004. It really put him on the map, media wise. It really established his reputation.

So I'm not surprised at all that they are trying to learn from what their brethren are doing in other parts of the world and are trying to adapt and imitate these tactics and bring them to other arenas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Sources also tell CNN that, in fact, they were -- these men would have been under surveillance for months and that police believe that this was the time to arrest them. They thought that, in fact, this plan could have been very close to execution.

While, police here will try and portray this as a victory for counter terrorism it actually is a chilling reminder that this campaign of terror has been very, very stubborn. It's been shown to be able to adapt and mold itself to do what people involved in these plots believe will be the most effective. Certainly, the most terrifying tools that they can use -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Paula, who exactly was the target?

NEWTON: That's an interesting question. As you said before, CNN has confirmed that it was a British soldier who is a Muslim, who most likely served in Afghanistan. We are also -- our sources also say that that person is also now under police protection.

And Kyra, there aren't many Muslims that serve in the British forces. There are many more that serve in the British police forces. And this will send a chill to all of them, certainly reminding them that they, at any point in time, could become a target -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Paula Newton, thanks so much.

LEMON: Now back now to the case of the sheriff's wife gunned down at her own home. The first deputy on the scene was also killed. It looks as if the two gunmen targeted the sheriff's home in the Florida Panhandle town of Marianna, but it's not clear why.

We get the latest from reporter Lauren Davis of CNN affiliate WTVY.

LAUREN DAVIS, WTVY CORRESPONDENT: Don, here at the Jackson County sheriff's department, flags are flying at half staff this afternoon. There are also yellow flags on the door handle of the sheriff's department in honor of the fallen sheriff's deputy.

Behind me you can see a memorial they are erecting right now in the honor of the sheriff's wife, who was killed yesterday afternoon. Investigators are still trying to figure out right now a motive for the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS (voice-over): Family and friends visited the home of Jackson County Sheriff John McDaniel Wednesday morning to pay their final respects. The sheriff's wife, Mellie McDaniel, was shot and killed Tuesday evening after being followed home by two men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not believe this was random. We believe that the sheriff's home was selected and targeted.

DAVIS: Officials say Mellie called the sheriff, who dispatched investigators to his house. As officials responded, a gun battle ensued, leaving one Jackson County deputy dead and the two suspects dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have identified them. We're not releasing their identity at this time.

DAVIS (on camera): What happened here last night has shocked this close knit, tiny community.

(voice-over) Lucille Spate (ph) has lived next door to the sheriff for 20 years. Now she stays locked inside her home most of the time, afraid to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was hysterical. There was neighbors crying because, you know, that's like our -- it's a family neighborhood. We love everybody. My heart goes out to the McDaniels family, because you know, you never know.

DAVIS: A lot of people are showing their concern for the sheriff's family and the fallen deputy's family during this especially difficult time.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DAVIS: Here in Jackson County we're awaiting a press conference this afternoon at 4 p.m. There we're hoping to find out, A, the identity of the two suspects who were killed yesterday as well as the fallen deputy.

Back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you so much for that report.

PHILLIPS: So, what exactly -- so what exactly happened in Karbala 11 days ago? The answer could take the U.S. relationship with Iran from bad to really bad.

Karbala is in Iraq. It's a Shiite holy city just south of Baghdad. And on January 20, five U.S. soldiers were kidnapped and killed there, or near there, in or after an ambush by gunmen wearing American style uniforms.

Some in the U.S. military say the attack was Iran written all over it. They say the sophistication and coordination could suggest either the gunmen were Iranian or Iranian trained. For now that's only a theory. Investigators say they've reached no hard conclusions.

Iraq's prime minister flatly accuses Iran of targeting American forces in Iraq, that in an exclusive interview with CNN, parts of which you'll hear later in the NEWSROOM.

But first let's bring in CNN's Aneesh Raman, a reporter who knows Tehran like few others.

Aneesh, why does the U.S. administration single out Iran as the source for most of the problems in Iraq when we know there are other players such as Syria?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an important question. First, you've got a longer list of accusations, Kyra, when it comes to Iran. Syria, for example, is charged with not doing enough to secure that border with Iraq, allowing foreign fighters to continue and infiltrate into Iraqi soil.

But when it comes to Iran, you've got allegations of over political influence with the government in Baghdad, also allegations that Iran continues to arm, train and fund Shia factions within Iraq.

Now we've had that accusation out there for some time from the U.S. military. Iran for some time continually has denied that. And every denial points to the fact that the U.S. suggested Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion in 2003, and that turned out not to be true.

That is why this investigation into what happened in Karbala is potentially so significant. If the U.S. produces direct evidence that links Iran to attacks in Iraq, attacks directly on U.S. forces there, it will ratchet things up, adding to the sectarian strife, Iraqi versus Iraqi, that already exists here. It will add this proxy war of sorts between Iran and the U.S. If evidence does not get produced it will just further embolden Iran who will say that these allegations are false. But Iran's broader power within the region is a clear concern for the U.S., and all of that leads back to Iraq, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, how is Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt responding to this?

RAMAN: Yes, for the moment, all three of those countries you mentioned, all U.S. allies, all Sunni countries, are increasingly wary of Iran's influence in Iraq and also, again, in the broader Middle East, in Lebanon through Hezbollah, in the Palestinian areas through Hamas.

All of these governments told Secretary Rice on her last visit here that they won't do a lot, essentially, to help out in Iraq until the U.S. commits to helping the Israelis and Palestinians down a path towards peace.

So they have preconditions. And they all have also warned that, if the situation gets untenable, if the U.S. either leaves Iraq or all-out civil war in their mind breaks out, the Saudis have said they might have to start supporting the Sunni minority in Iraq that they feel is being essentially killed on a daily basis by Shia death squads. And the Jordanians have warned that, if the Saudis -- sorry, Sunnis aren't in a real sense in the Iraqi government the violence will only increase.

So you've got that broader Sunni-Shia divide playing into this, as well, in terms of support from key U.S. allies who have their own preconditions.

PHILLIPS: Now, we've monitored some protests within Saudi -- inside Iran, some of the younger parts of the generation at the universities. Can you gauge at all the opposition to the president's policies at this point?

RAMAN: Yes, it is very significant, Kyra. It has been mounting, and it has grown more public by the day.

We saw in December elections where Iranians voted out hard line conservative allies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in city elections and voted in those who wanted the government to focus instead on domestic issues like the economy.

We saw in the past few weeks a majority of members of Iran's parliament tell the president to focus on domestic issues. And we saw a paper owned by the country's supreme leader, really the be-all, end- all of authority, chastise the country's president for his handling of the nuclear dispute.

Clearly, any political honeymoon that existed for Ahmadinejad is over. He still remains the wild card. Will he listen to this growing voice of dissent that exists among Iranians, who every time I've gone there have grown increasingly concerned that military action of some kind is going to come against their country, because they feel that the U.S. is intent on regime change but also because of the statements by Iran's president?

So he's not up for re-election until 2009. Does he change his stance, does he soften his tone between now and then is really a key factor in all of this.

PHILLIPS: Our Aneesh Raman via broadband.

LEMON: It is not so much what he said as when he said it. In "Scooter" Libby's perjury trial, timing is everything. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: It's the NO. 1 killer of women in the U.S., but it may not be the first disease that comes to mind. Ahead from the NEWSROOM, what women need to know about heart disease.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, normally, Susan Lisovicz is the most exciting thing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, but she has a little competition today -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, in the 214 years of the New York Stock Exchange, the world's biggest exchange has seen a lot of famous people -- world leaders, CEOs, athletes -- but only one sitting president of the United States came during trading hours. That was Ronald Reagan in 1985.

That is changing at this moment. President George W. Bush, we believe, has just entered the building, and he may pass right behind me. Of course, the president of the United States using Wall Street as his stage to talk about his economic policy, and there's a lot to talk about that is quite favorable to the Bush administration.

We've had 7.2 million jobs created since 2003. The jobless rate historically low, 4.5 percent. We just got the first look at the fourth quarter GDP coming in better than expected at 3.5 percent.

Of course, the stock market itself has been hitting record after record. We've been talking about it for the last couple months. Gas prices have been getting lower. And certainly, that is something that the president wants to talk about, Kyra.

And I can tell you that I think the reception that he will get here on Wall Street will be a little bit more enthusiastic than perhaps the reception he gets with the new Democratic majority in Congress.

The president saying today and, certainly, leading up to this visit, that he will certainly try his best to make sure that there are no tax increases. That is something that investors favor. They also like the fact that President Bush has been a proponent of more liberal trade policies. That is something that he's talked about earlier this week when he visited the headquarters of Caterpillar in Peoria -- East Peoria, Illinois.

And I'll you, leading up to this visit, there were a lot of whispers about this, Kyra, that he might be coming here. Federal Hall is where he gave his remarks earlier this morning. In his speech, Federal Hall, where George Washington took his first oath of office, is just across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. So there were a lot of people hoping that he would, in fact, be coming to the New York stock exchange.

And a lot of people who feel that it's about time that a sitting president of the United States visit the NYSE. Laura Bush herself was here at the New York Stock Exchange just a month ago. And...

PHILLIPS: Susan, kind of give us a feel -- I know -- I see that security is -- hopefully won't shuffle you out of the way here, but it looks like to your right, go ahead and pay attention to what's going on because I think the president might possibly be coming through there.

But as you're looking for the president, maybe the photographer can zoom out, give us a feel -- there we go.

LISOVICZ: OK.

PHILLIPS: We can actually see a wide shot now of all the reporters. Has everything just come to a standstill as everybody awaits the president?

LISOVICZ: That is a very good point. This is a -- the world's biggest stock market, Kyra, and for the last 30 minutes, trading has just about come to a halt. It's extremely quiet. People are very excited.

I can see traders holding baseballs, baseballs in their hands for the president to sign. They're just very excited about the president coming here. This is a very rare occasion, and it's a historic moment.

And the one thing about this is there are people on this trading floor, there are people and they're excited about someone.

PHILLIPS: Like the guys right there next to you.

LISOVICZ: Exactly. I know.

PHILLIPS: The guys right there to your left.

LISOVICZ: I'm going to have to do my best.

PHILLIPS: Can you talk to them? Ask these guys, are these some of the traders to your left, Susan?

LISOVICZ: Yes. How do you feel about the president of the United States?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm excited to see him. I'm excited to see him. The president of the United States, one of the greatest presidents we have. LISOVICZ: What are you thinking of -- presidents don't come here more often. This is typically a place where he'd be excited about this kind of business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come out, and he wants to be seen. I think it's a great thing.

LISOVICZ: What do you think about the -- about the economy of the United States right now? How are we doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's doing great. It's booming. Look at the market right now.

LISOVICZ: It is so quiet. I never hear it this quiet on the trading floor except when the Fed is about to announce a decision, which it's also about to do in another hour.

What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very exciting.

LISOVICZ: OK, Kyra, I'm hearing a lot of applause right now, a lot of -- a lot of people cheering. And I don't know if you can see me anymore...

PHILLIPS: Actually, I can see the president right now, Susan. He's actually -- and I'm not quite sure where you are in proximity -- in...

LISOVICZ: There are four -- OK, there are four trading rooms. This is the main trading room. This is the most famous trading room, the original trading room, Kyra. This is where the platform for the opening bell and the closing bell are here.

And so there is another room that the president will be walking through. It's called the garage. And...

PHILLIPS: Why is it called the garage?

LISOVICZ: Because it's just one of these extensions. The New York Stock Exchange has grown over its more than 200 years. It's just outgrown itself. And so there is something like five trading rooms. And the main room where I'm standing right now is the first, obviously, and the garage is the one that I think that the president would be entering. It's a very -- it's a very big buildup to a very big visit, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I can imagine. And I'll give you an idea of what's going on right now. Everybody is flocked around him, Susan. He's shaking hands with all the various traders. And you can see the Secret Service is, of course, all around him, and kind of working him through the crowd.

Is he going to actually ring the bell today?

LISOVICZ: No, the opening bell -- actually, it's an historic day at the NYSE anyway, Kyra, because the CEO of the NYSE and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the second biggest stock exchange, rang the opening bell because they announced a strategic alliance. So it was a very big day.

The opening bell is rung at 9:30. I'm sure that the president has a welcome mat any time when he wants to ring the opening or the closing bell. But I think he's on a very tight schedule. And I think he -- I think this was not something that was part of the schedule that was listed, but there were whispers, certainly, pretty much ever since we knew that he was going to be coming to Wall Street and to Federal Hall, in particular, which is -- again is right across the street.

PHILLIPS: And you mentioned the last president to come visit the New York Stock Exchange -- there's only been two, right? Ronald Reagan, and now president Bush.

LISOVICZ: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: What kind of effect did Reagan have when he came to visit? Is this -- do you think this is more of a P.R. move, or does this really affect things economically, trading wise, investor wise? I mean, what type of effect do you think this has truly outside of a P.R. move?

LISOVICZ: President Reagan was here in 1985 during trading hours. Kyra, he actually came again in '92 with Mikhail Gorbachev, but he came to talk about his economic policy. And he's absolutely beloved on Wall Street, as you can imagine.

And it's almost stating the obvious that -- that this is his audience. This is a conservative crowd. This is the kind of community where less government intervention is something that is applauded. Lower taxes, that's something that investors like. More trade policies, that's something investors like. They want to see it translate to the bottom line. And, Kyra...

PHILLIPS: Are you close to him, Susan? Is he coming toward you?

LISOVICZ: I don't see him yet, but I see a lot of Secret Service people, and I'm edging in, and I have my tiny wireless microphone, and I'm going to extend it if I see him.

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. As he makes -- and I'll try to monitor this other shot that we have, Susan. If I can see that he's making his way toward you, getting closer toward you, we're expecting you to stick that mic out. You never know what he might say to you.

LISOVICZ: I am definitely going to do it. And I'm glad that I have two athletic brothers that trained me well for reporting from the floor of the stock exchange, Kyra. That is for sure.

PHILLIPS: You're going to do a body block for us to get yourself in there, and get a word with the president?

LISOVICZ: You know, it's interesting. This is a very busy day, as I mentioned. We have the Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. We have a lot of corporations reporting their earnings today, like Boeing, for instance, very nice earnings.

And the GDP -- it was a logical place for the president to come. The GDP, which is broadest measure of the economy, Kyra, came in much better than expected. The president really has some evidence to say that the U.S. economy is in good shape.

I can't see him just yet, but I think he is close by, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I think he is making his way toward you, because I recognize some of the monitors and the lead Secret Service guy that's right in front of him is -- he's got a kind of a light blue tie. You'll see about...

LISOVICZ: Actually...

PHILLIPS: Can you see him?

LISOVICZ: I see -- I see the -- yes, I do see him. I see his gray head. I'm gutting pushed back, but I'm...

PHILLIPS: What do you want to know from the president, Susan?

LISOVICZ: I would like to know what he thinks he can achieve with the majority -- with the Congress he can no longer count on to support him in terms of some of the policies he's proposing.

I don't know if you can hear that, Kyra. There's a chant of "Bush, Bush, Bush", and here he comes.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to let you try and get the moment, Susan. Go ahead.

LISOVICZ: He's about 15 feet away, and he's shaking hands. He looks like he's in good spirits. And he has plenty of people who are trying to expedite his walk. Almost like a gauntlet, but it's a very friendly gauntlet.

PHILLIPS: I can imagine. It's a tough time right now. Everything has been centered on Iraq and the Iraq strategy and what is he going to do as he appoints his new head for the military commands in Iraq and Afghanistan and that region. He always seems...

LISOVICZ: Five feet away, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Go for it, Susan.

LISOVICZ: President Bush, welcome to Wall Street. Welcome to Wall Street.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good to be here, thanks.

LISOVICZ: What do you think of the reception here?

BUSH: I'm impressed and grateful.

LISOVICZ: Do you think it's warmer than on Capitol Hill right now? Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz, I knew you could do it. You of all people got the president live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

LISOVICZ: I don't know -- I don't know if you saw the glance he gave me after I asked him if he would have an easier time with Capitol Hill, but it was sort of a suspicious glance, and he covered the microphone.

PHILLIPS: He covered your microphone?

LISOVICZ: He did. He did. He said -- he is -- probably about ten feet away from me right now. Anyway, it's a historic day on Wall Street, and I'm moving forward because I'm being pushed forward.

PHILLIPS: OK. We got you, Susan. We can actually see the president. He's moving his way past you, but you had the one-on-one with him. You were able to ask him -- tell our viewers again what you asked him and what he said to you. He tried to cover the mic, but you got him live on CNN there.

LISOVICZ: I was amazed actually because he's got a lot -- got a lot of heavy-duty security around him, but I stuck the mic out and asked him if he liked his reception on Wall Street. He said he did.

And I asked him if he thought that he would get equally good reception on Capitol Hill with the new Congress. And I think he just -- his -- his expression, his facial expression really gave the answer, not quite as sure, I think is what the president of the United States indicated. He's walking past us again.

PHILLIPS: OK. Here we go, Susan. Go ahead and gear up, and see if you can get another question or two to the president there.

LISOVICZ: OK, OK.

PHILLIPS: Our Susan Lisovicz there on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as the president of the United States is making his way across -- coming closer to Susan there on the floor, meeting and greeting with the traders and various employees there on the floor.

The second president ever to visit the New York Stock Exchange. The first president was President Ronald Reagan.

As you know, this is a time that has been very controversial for the president with regard to his policy in Iraq, a lot of criticism about how he's handling the war. He has appointed a new secretary of defense and also various military leaders in the Middle East region, Iraq, Afghanistan. We've been talking about following the hearings in those change in Iraq policy.

So, the president, not surprising to a lot of people here, would make this move, an unexpected move, to sort of pump up American investors, pump up those on the New York Stock Exchange which, of course, are pivotal with regard to our economy and.

And Susan, he's sort of stopped off. He's chatting with some of the traders there. But I mean, that seems to be what the president does. He takes a break from one issue and moves into the next. And this is an issue, of course, that gets Americans very fired up when he visits what exactly -- the place that makes our economy tick.

LISOVICZ: Kyra, as you said, there's a lot on the president's plate and a lot of things that have been very challenging for the president of the United States. But the economy is something that he really can point to and say that -- whether he deserves all the credit or the Bush administration deserves all the credit is another story, but the fact is that the U.S. economy has been very resilient and there are a lot of things that are going just right for the U.S. economy.

We have a low unemployment rate. Interest rates are being held steady. The labor market has been surprisingly strong. Corporate profits have been going gangbusters for the last several years. Energy prices, well, they did hit their all-time highs last year, oil prices, but they've been coming down.

And while there's certainly plenty of critics that say they don't like the growing gap between rich and poor, they feel that some of these trade policies ignore environmental and human rights issues, the fact is that there are some very good things that are going on in the U.S. economy -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. I'm being told that he's actually at a trading post right now. Could you describe to me what a trading post is, how that operates, the computers that are around the president and what...

LISOVICZ: That's a very good question, Kyra. The New York stock exchange is not only the world's biggest stock exchange, but it's unique in the sense that all of the major stock exchanges, there are still people on the trading floor. It's not automated, and that's what makes -- really one of the things that makes this so exciting. You see the people that make up Wall Street, and these people have been through some very tough times, given not only the recession and the dot-com bust, but September 11th, which shook this community to the core. The president of the United States came to Wall Street. He spoke at Federal Hall in the immediate days right after September 11th, so this is a community that remembers that day and those challenging times very well, and they like the fact that the U.S. economy and the American consumer have been resilient.

Trading posts are where stocks trade. They are nearly 3,000 stocks that trade at the New York Stock Exchange, and there is a specialist assigned to each individual stock. I believe that the president might have been at the Disney stock, which is an iconic American company, and one that's very actively traded, and certainly a great success story in its own right.

PHILLIPS: Now is he making his way back toward you?

LISOVICZ: Yes, he is.

PHILLIPS: All right. I will let you gear up to go for another question or two, Susan.

LISOVICZ: I will do my best, Kyra.

You know, it's interesting because these traders which handle such -- so many complex issues, they're reduced to children. Most of these traders are obviously men, but they're like little boys. I saw one trader had a baseball. Actually you could see it. He's holding up a baseball. Pictures with -- one trader had a picture with President Bush, No. 1. So, you know, it's a very exciting day. For someone who has a very big impact...

PHILLIPS: Here you go, Susan.

LISOVICZ: ... on their lives.

President Bush, what is your No. 1 economic priority right now?

PHILLIPS: See, the president's a little nervous with our Susan Lisovicz there asking questions about the economy. He's wanting to shuffle his way out of there, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Yes, I think he's done taking questions from me.

PHILLIPS: Well, we should point out, Susan, it is so rare that you ever get a chance to toss out questions to the president in a venue like this, unprepared, and so what you just did is something that we hardly ever see.

LISOVICZ: I think that my knees will be shaking quite honestly, Kyra, about five minutes from now. But it is exciting, there's no question about it, because this is a man that I talk about, and a man that we talk about in the abstract. To be up close to a person who has a big impact on our lives is a very exciting moment, and, frankly, it's a very exciting moment for the Wall Street community.

PHILLIPS: Susan, stay with me for just a second. You were the only journalist there on the floor that got some Q&A with the president, live, right here on CNN. We want to replay it real quickly, we will come back right to you. Stay with us, Susan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: President Bush, welcome to Wall Street. Welcome to Wall Street.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Good to be here, thanks.

PHILLIPS: What do you think of the reception here?

LISOVICZ: I'm impressed and grateful. PHILLIPS: Do you think it's warmer than on Capitol Hill right now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You could hear our Susan Lisovicz. And of course she -- yes, you asked the softball, then you went in for the fast pitch and he didn't want to go there, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Well, Kyra, that's not surprising. I think that he really is here to meet the people that make up the New York stock exchange, and that's understandable. But I'm a reporter, and I'm on the floor, and I would be talking to you, and I just made sure of that, I was in a position to ask the question even if it went unanswered.

PHILLIPS: You pointed out a lot of the positive things that are happening within the economy. The president is definitely wanting to play that up at this time as things are very controversial with regard to the war in Iraq right now, and you have mentioned what's going right, but there have also been challenges as well. When you and I talk about what's happening in the Middle East, it affects the price of oil, it affects wall street.

PHILLIPS: That's something we didn't talk about, and that's an excellent question. Ben Bernanke, who we'll talking about it in the next hour, the chairman of the federal reserve, has warned that the entitlement programs that are so important to Americans, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, they're in deep trouble. Because we have such deep federal deficits, and we are spending lot of money -- two wars that are going on, a tax cut which, you know, a lot of people like understandably, but the fact is we have these huge entitlement programs, and that's something that people like Ben Bernanke, who study the economy, warn about. They're very worried about the future. As so many Baby Boomers retire, the people who are taking their place in the workforce are just a much smaller number.

PHILLIPS: Our Susan Lisovicz right there on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, side by side with the president of the United States. Folks, what you saw was a moment in broadcast television, our Susan Lisovicz, the only reporter there on the floor to get live Q&A with the president as he makes an unexpected trip across the New York Stock Exchange floor, meeting with traders right now, pumping up the economy. Tough time for the president when it comes to Iraq, but as you can see, he's getting a warm reception when it comes to the economy.

Susan Lisovicz, we will talk to you again. With the fed rate announcement, you and Ali Velshi are going to join us.

Great work, Susan. Really appreciate it. We are going to take a quick break and continue to monitor all the president's moves as he leaves New York and goes on to his next venue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DEMON: Reconstructing Iraq, a monumentally expensive proposition under the best of conditions, which these are certainly not. Apart from security issues, waste, negligence and possible corruption are said to be hindering the process and bleeding the U.S. treasury.

CNN's Brianna Keillar has the a bottom line on the latest government audit -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don.

Stewart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, billed last year, 2006, as the year of transition, but this latest quarterly report that he released today paints a very different picture. One of the most glaring examples of waste in this report involves a company called DynCorp. This is a company that on its Web site says it's a private corporation that supports military and government operations. So what this report says is that the Department of State paid Dyne Corp $43.8 million for a residential camp for police training personnel. Turns out that camp was never even used.

What's more, this report says that about $4 million of that was spent by Iraq's ministry of the interior on 20 VIP trailers and an Olympic-size pool.

These were projects that were not authorized by the Department of State as they should have been. Furthermore, the report says the Department of State paid DynCorp $36 million plus for weapons and equipment, equipment like armored vehicles and body armor and all of this is unaccounted for.

The report says there was no proper paper trail and in this case, the inspector general says Department of State officials didn't monitor this contractor as they should have done so. Now, a spokesman for the Department of State says that they should be responsibly spending taxpayer dollars and they're going to take corrective action, but wasn't specific exactly about what corrective action would be taken. Now, in terms of DynCorp, no response from them at this point. We've put in a number of phone calls and none of them, Don, have been returned.

LEMON: And you know, Brianna, this was supposed to be year of transition, but obviously it hasn't turned out that way. Does this report identify the main obstacle to reconstruction?

KEILAR: This report says that the lack of security is really the main obstacle and that doesn't really come as a surprise to anyone, but this report does move towards looking at quantifying exactly what a toll that lack of security is taking.

For instance, in the oil industry, the inspector general's office says that improvements to oil pipelines could put an extra billion dollars in the coffer of the Iraqi government for reconstruction. But, of course, those oil pipelines would have to be secured and protected.

LEMON: Brianna Keilar, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: It's the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S., but it may not be the first disease that comes to mind. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, what women need to know about heart disease.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you ask women which disease that they worry and most and will probably say breast cancer. Actually though, heart disease is the most No. 1 killer of woman and today, there's even more sobering news from the Mayo Clinic. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been talking with researchers to tell us what they found.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is indeed an interesting story. You've got to pay attention if you are one of the many women who think, oh, heart disease, I'll worry about my husband, I'll worry about my brother.

Well, women also need to worry about themselves. Let's take a look at some of these statistics on women and heart disease. Well, what you see here is the red dress event. This is -- took place last year, will take place again on Friday. And they're going to be alerting people to these statistics, that nearly 700,000 Americans die each year of heart disease and that 51 percent of them are women.

That is very surprising to a lot of people, that more women than men actually die of heart disease. It's surprising to women and it's even surprising to doctors. The American Heart Association found that about one out of every five physicians recognizes that heart disease kills more women than men. That means that four out of five physicians don't recognize that reality.

Now, this lack of physician recognition may help explain this statistic, 38 percent of women die after a first heart attack, 25 percent of men die after the first heart attack.

Again, part of that reason experts believe is that doctors don't always recognize that heart disease, heart attacks can affect women as well as men, so at this red dress event, we saw those pictures of women in their red dresses, that will be taking place on Friday and that will be doctors and celebrities trying to call attention to all this.

PHILLIPS: We're looking at the video actually right now. OK, so raise awareness, raise money and all of that at this event?

COHEN: That's right.

PHILLIPS: OK, Ow, what about the symptoms? Are they the same with men and women or are they different?

COHEN: You know what, they're not the same, and that's one of the things that's come out of studies when they look at heart disease. With men, what they really mostly talk, what seems to be the biggest symptom with men is the severe pain. You sort of have this image of a man clutching his chest and falling to the ground.

That's more for men than for women. Women have pain also, but they tend to have less severe pain, and they also tend more to have these kinds of symptoms: neck, shoulder, back or abdominal pain, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, sweating and unusual fatigue.

Now, again, men can have these symptoms, too, but for women, many times this is what they show up with and not so much the severe chest pain. So, Kyra, I have talked to women who showed up at an emergency room with these symptoms and were told, oh, you are having stomach problems, you are having an anxiety attack and they are sent home and actually what's happened is they had a heart attack.

PHILLIPS: Wow, so you should challenge the doctor then, just knowing this new information, if someone says it's an anxiety attack or something of that sort you might want to mention, what about heart disease?

COHEN: Right. Maybe doctors aren't thinking about it because you are a 40-year-old woman and in the back of their head they're kind of like, oh, that's probably not what it is. But you've got to challenge it.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

LEMON: Let's get straight to the newsroom, now Fredricka Whitfield working on a developing story for us. What do you have, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Well, this is a very odd story, Don. Three weeks ago tomorrow, police in Fresno came across a boy wandering the streets on Ventura and G Streets near Freeway 99. The boy apparently could not remember his last name, but identified himself with the first name as Kyu and he said he was 9-years-old.

Well, hospital authorities checked him out, he didn't appear to be injured, but they said he seems more to be of a teenager, maybe 16- years-old. The big problem here is they don't know who he belongs to, where the family is that he may be attached to.

So, they have release this photograph, and this little bit of information, hoping that anyone who recognizes this child might call this number in Fresno, California, 559-621-2478. That is the number that you call if you have any information. If you want to call anonymously, perhaps you can call Crime Stoppers at same area code, 559-498-STOP, S-T-O-P.

So again, this young child wandering in the streets of downtown Fresno. The child says his name is Kyu and he also said that he found his way to Fresno after making his way through the Death Valley, through Las Vegas and through San Francisco.

So, authorities have quite the mystery on their hands. They're trying to find out just where the family may be to this young boy. Don?

LEMON: Fredricka, making his way, what does that mean? By car, did he hitchhike? Did he walk? Do we know that?

WHITFIELD: Don't know, they're not getting a whole lot of solid information out of this young man. He's only said that he's made his way. They don't know if it's by hitchhiking or walking. All those details seem to be a lot less important at this point to finding his family.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: That's the priority that they are putting out, is someone who knows him by recognition of his face to call.

LEMON: And you did say it was odd. Let's give them that phone number before we let you go, 559-621-2478. He said his name is Kyu, the little boy's name?

WHITFIELD: That's what he's pronouncing it to be, Kyu.

LEMON: All right, Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom, thank you so much, we'll check back.

PHILLIPS: Well more severe weather is headed toward many of you. A live look at the snow scene in Oklahoma City this hour, live pictures via our affiliate KOCO at Oklahoma City. Rob Marciano has the forecast next from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, boy. The deep south is in a deep freeze. It's not good for us here. It's not supposed to get cold. Rob Marciano tracking all the winter watches right from the Weather Center. Rob, what's going on?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: A walk on the wild side. Two astronauts onboard the International Space Station, they're trying to hook up a new cooling system. The space walk is the first of three over the next nine days. It's the first time ISS crew members have taken on such an ambitious schedule without help from a shuttle crew.

LEMON: Well, get it before it melts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to say we could stand here and watch the ice melt, but that's going to take awhile, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much time do you have?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A state's loss may be a park's gain. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: In the spotlight, new video of Fidel Castro, the first we've seen in months. What does it show about the Cuban leader's health? A closer look straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

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