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Boston Bomb Scare Suspects Charged; Carolinas Facing Ice Storms; Senate Reaches Compromise on Resolution Against Iraq War Plan; British Police Look for Evidence in Foiled Terror Plot

Aired February 01, 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.

The P.R. stunt that triggered a terror scare. Were the guys arrested just doing their jobs or way out of line?

PHILLIPS: Joe Biden and Barack Obama, racial overtones or just a misunderstanding? Controversial words from a presidential candidate.

LEMON: Snow and ice are causing havoc in the south. Live reports and the latest from the severe weather center, right here live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

They wanted publicity and, boy, did they get it. Twenty-four hours after a marketing stunt shut down the city of Boston with a series of bomb scares, two people are facing charges. City leaders are up in arms, and Turner Broadcasting, this network's parent company, is apologizing.

Our Boston bureau chief, Dan Lothian, is covering it all for us.

Very interesting story, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very interesting story, bizarre from the very beginning. And then it sort of took another turn this afternoon, as two of the suspects -- two of the suspects, Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, they were released on $2,500 cash bail. They came out of the courthouse behind me. They approached the microphones. Everyone had been waiting to talk to them, and they were going to say -- make a statement.

Then they began by saying the only thing that the only thing they were going to talk about was hair. One of the young men had dreadlocks. The other one has shorter hair. And then they went into sort of this rant about afros and Mohawks and talking about hairstyles.

They kept getting peppered by reporters, saying, aren't you taking this entire thing seriously? And they said, "Well, that's not a question about my hair. That's not a hair question. We will only take hair questions."

So just a bizarre press conference, I guess, or press availability after the two suspects were able to post bail.

I talked to their attorney afterwards. And I said, listen, what was going on here this afternoon? And he told me that they were putting on a performance. And I said, well, are they not taking this seriously?

And he said, "All I can say is that perhaps this a result of the shock as to what has transpired over the last 24 hours in their lives."

Now, initially, they were being held on $100,000 bail. That was reduced to $2,500 bail at their -- each, at their arraignment today. They both pled not guilty.

This case obviously has been so unusual and has been stunning for many of the folks here in the Boston area, beginning yesterday morning, not far from here, when the first device was found. And then throughout the afternoon a number of these devices started showing up, bomb squads, both local, state, federal agencies, running around the city, shutting down roads and bridges, and even the Charles River had to be closed for quite some time.

Defenders of the two suspects who were here in quite large numbers today were saying these were just two young men who were doing their jobs. They were doing a marketing campaign for the Cartoon Network which, by the way, is owned by Turner Broadcasting, also the parent company of CNN. They said that they were just doing what they were paid to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON PALM, PROTESTOR: They were just doing their jobs really. This is part of an advertising campaign. They're getting paid to do this. They didn't go out and decide to plant these all over to make them look like bombs and to disrupt the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: The prosecutor in court today, though, said that, you know, while we know these were harmless devices in the end, they could have been bombs.

He said they were placed in places where, if you wanted to cause some damage, you would place a bomb, like under a bridge or in a transportation hub. And he said they had batteries and wires and duct tape. So therefore, they were taken seriously. That's why bomb squads were dispatched to various areas to explode these devices.

Obviously, the city is quite angered by what happened here. The mayor saying that Turner Broadcasting needs to be held accountable. And even the MBTA, the transit authority here, which had to shut down the trains and buses yesterday at certain times, has written a letter seeking some compensation for time lost and for the disruption of their service yesterday -- Don.

LEMON: And, Dan, we were watching back here, obviously, and I'm sure you can attest to this, as well. One of the most interesting and bizarre press conferences we've ever seen. You alluded to the fact that Turner is being asked to pay for some of the damages there, and I think it's upwards of $100,000, or a couple hundred thousand dollars for all of the law enforcement effort?

LOTHIAN: Right, and the particular letter -- I don't have an exact number on what they're looking for in terms of trying to get back. But the numbers that are being thrown around by the city, anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million for the resources that were used. And, you know, all those people who were needed to shut down roads, to go out and do these investigations.

LEMON: Right. All right. Dan Lothian, thank you very much for that.

And as Dan alluded to, Boston is still buzzing about the "Aqua Teen" bomb scare. Here's what some people are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that this is an outrage. You know, they send this one paragraph press release out, saying they apologize. But they didn't -- never gave us the locations of any of these packages in the city of Boston.

PALM: They were just doing their jobs, really. This is part of an advertising campaign. They were getting paid to do this. They didn't go out and decide to plant these all over to make them look like bombs and to disrupt the city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's guerrilla marketing it should have been approved by the city and it should have been something that the city knew was happening and that it was fine and that it wasn't going to cause a big scare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that I hear that it's the Mooninites, I think it's kind of hilarious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was mentioned in the context of, can we get home? Is the traffic going to be really bad? And so that's what people were concerned about. And then you think what kind of world do we live in?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the term is guerrilla marketing, an increasingly popular form of nontraditional advertising. Karl Carter is co-founder of GTM Inc. and a pioneer in the field. You've probably seen his work, his team's work.

One of the better-known media blitzes that they did was the truth campaign. It was a series of events and ads speaking out against smoking. His company has done campaigns for Turner Broadcasting also in the past.

But my guess is you've never pushed the edge like this. KARL CARTER, CO-FOUNDER, GTM INC.: Not this way, no.

PHILLIPS: We'd know about you a lot sooner. Let me ask you, how do you define guerrilla advertising?

CARTER: You know, what's interesting, I think whenever we get this question, especially as media has evolved, it's really more about a nontraditional mind state, so even traditional media can be done in nontraditional ways. So you can do a billboard in a nontraditional way. Even the Internet, which is semi-traditional today, can be done in nontraditional contents. So guerrilla marketing is really all about nontraditional ways to market.

PHILLIPS: All right. This was definitely a nontraditional publicity stunt that we saw happen yesterday. How do you define nontraditional? I mean, do you sit down with your employees and say, "OK, look, we have some ethics we have to talk about. And we've got to talk about people's security. And we've got to talk about not pushing the envelope to where it's going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money and get the United States scared"?

CARTER: Well, you know, it's interesting. I think the end of the day, the goal is buzz. The goal is for you to break through all the clutter. It's becoming increasingly, increasingly more difficult to reach consumers. And so that's why guerrilla marketing is as popular as it is and has become increasingly more and more popular.

And so I think, you know, it's all part of the process, really sitting with your client and understanding what their goals are and then understanding, well, what can I do that's most creative and innovative, still stays in the confines of the law, because, you know, this kind of P.R. is not necessarily what they were looking for.

PHILLIPS: So you do talk about the law? You say, look, we have legal guidelines we have to work within?

CARTER: Absolutely, absolutely. You know, one of the things that -- when we were talking earlier, one of the things we talked about earlier was current TV and the big take-back TV events that they did. And so a very big one was done in Philadelphia.

PHILLIPS: This is the one you did. Let's tell our viewers. I asked you what's the most risky campaign that you ever took on. And it was Take Back TV.

CARTER: Take Back TV.

PHILLIPS: Why was this risky? Tell me about this.

CARTER: Well, just because there was so many moving parts, you know. The event itself drove about 7,000 people. It was all marketed online virally. We did it, you know, according to subculture segmentation, which is basically marketing to a person on the basis of their culture, versus race or class, ethnicity, anything of that nature. And so, you know, you had to work with the police department, the mayor's department, the film commission, SEPTA, which is essentially MARTA (ph) in Philly.

And so, you know, it was just this situation where everything had to be coordinated with all these different government agencies. And of course, whenever you're convening 7,000 people in front of City Hall, you know, you're going to have these sort of concerns from the city naturally.

And so I think as the agency, it becomes your job is to go in and connect with these people and say, "You know what? We're professionals. We understand how to do this in a way that would be safe, in a way that will be entertaining. And at the end of the day, reflect positively on the brand."

PHILLIPS: What was the purpose of Take Back TV, this campaign?

CARTER: It was really to make people aware of current TV. We were currently, at that particular moment in time, a new network. It's been on air a little bit over a year now as of August 5 -- 1, rather.

So at that point, it's really about connecting people that were interested in user-generated content and having a new way to impact television. So you know, whenever you're a brand, you're doing something like a branded experience like this. You really walk the fine line between delivering a brand message and also making it entertaining to the audience, so they don't feel like they're sort of sitting through a big commercial.

PHILLIPS: Have you ever been arrested?

CARTER: No.

PHILLIPS: Any of your employees ever been arrested?

CARTER: No.

PHILLIPS: Did the guys achieve what they wanted to do yesterday? Do you think they went about this in the right way?

CARTER: I think that, you know, they probably did not go about this in the right way, obviously. You know, I don't think this is what they were looking for. They were looking for buzz. They didn't expect to wind up in, you know, jail.

I think that, of course, you know -- I'm assuming that their agency is backing them, their employer is backing them and helping them with their legal fees and making sure that they get out of jail promptly.

PHILLIPS: They got the publicity they wanted.

CARTER: They got the publicity that they wanted. You know, there's definitely a lot of people -- because you know, when you talk about "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", and we were laughing in our office about this, because I love "Aqua Teen Hunger Force". And you know, a situation where people were asking, well, what is it? What is it about? And that talk factor, that buzz, is definitely a byproduct of this whole incident.

So I would say, you know, if you're sitting on the client's side, in that respect, you know, you probably have way more impressions, more hits on your site, more buzz. But I think that they didn't do enough to really sort of understand exactly what they were getting into from the standpoint of the agency, and that's really the agency's job, and that agency's prior relationships, to help them out.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this. How important is their response? Let's take a listen to how they acted in front of the cameras just a little while ago. And I want to get your opinion on this.

CARTER: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BERDOVSKY, ACCUSED IN ALLEGED INCIDENT: We're ready to make our official statement. And we would like to be more of a conversation with everybody here. Because...

SEAN STEVENS, ACCUSED IN ALLEGED INCIDENT: We value -- we value your thoughts and your opinions.

BERDOVSKY: What we really want to talk about today, it's kind of important to some people. Yes, it's kind of important to some people. It's haircuts in the '70s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. These guys are goofballs. Give me a break.

CARTER: Right.

PHILLIPS: They just scared the whole United States by what they did. I mean, they should at least come forward and go, "Look, the move was to get buzz. We got the buzz, but we are really sorry about the havoc that it caused."

CARTER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I mean, would you hire these guys? Is this what you want?

CARTER: No, of course not. No. But I think also, too, you know, for them, they're artists. And so you have to sort of understand an artist's energy and a mind state. And so, you know, they're just doing what they're doing, you know. They're being artists.

If I'm the agency that employed these guys, I would be, you know, upset because, you know, here's an opportunity, where there's essentially at this point ambassadors for Turner, as well as for the agency. And you know, instead of acting in a mind state like crisis management, these guys are just using it as an opportunity to crack jokes.

PHILLIPS: Final question, because I've got to ask you this. Do you think they actually had in their minds, "Well, let's see, post- 9/11, we put these underneath bridges. They're kind of weird-looking. It may create a little trouble. We're going to get what we want in the end"?

CARTER: I don't think that anyone would set out for this, you know.

PHILLIPS: OK.

CARTER: I mean, there's P.R., there's buzz, I can't assume that. I think -- I think this is an example of not thinking about every single possible contingency.

And while, you know, the actual devices themselves -- like, if you're fans of it, of the show, then you will see the character and it's funny, because you where it relates to. But if you're the general public, you don't have any context.

So this is probably better set up for, like, nightclubs and other sort of scenarios where the people that are receiving the message, one, would know what it's about, but also, two, wouldn't be frightened, you know. If you put this in certain environments, like public spaces in this -- with this post-9/11 sensitivity, then of course, you're going to -- you know, you're going to wind up in trouble. And I just don't think that they thought it all through.

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what. There's a cultural gap, because there were a lot of people that just did not understand the whole guerrilla marketing, hence why we're talking to you.

CARTER: Right, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Karl Carter, thanks so much.

CARTER: No worries.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate your time.

CARTER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right.

LEMON: Well, so much for the sunny south. Folks are slipping and sliding today from just north of Atlanta well into the Carolinas. Snow, sleet, icy rain. Well, they mean a day off for some, but not for this guy. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf braving the elements as always in Charlotte, North Carolina.

How's it going there, Reynolds? REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's going -- it's going pretty well. It's going pretty well, Don.

I have to tell you, conditions have really improved since this morning. This morning, when we first came out here, just to give you a quick blow by blow of this thing, it started off with absolutely nothing happening. And then very quickly, we had heavy -- I'd say heavy to moderate snowfall that piled up to about an inch and a half at our location here. And then we had a mix of some snowflakes, a little bit of sleet, some rain mixed in. And right now, it's, for the most part, it's pretty quiet.

Now, take a look at I-77 behind me. This is one of the major arteries that zips right into the Queen City. I got to tell you this structure of roadway has been in pretty decent shape. It's been just humming along.

And as you look at this video some of the traffic that we've had in parts of Charlotte, not just I-77, but also I-40 -- beep beep, thank you very much -- we've had, really, some decent conditions out there.

Now, that isn't to say we haven't had accidents. There have been some fender benders out there. In fact, we've had over 100 accidents. However, no fatalities to report, which is a great thing when you have these kinds of conditions.

Now the reasons why we've had decent conditions on the roadways, well, this video tells the story. We had some brine trucks from the city of Charlotte that came out yesterday, and they coated many of the main thoroughfares with that brine solution. It's a combination of both water and salt.

Then we've had salt trucks, some 30 salt trucks from the city of Charlotte that have gone through and put down a layer of that salt to help fight off the icing. And that's pretty much done the trick.

What the North Carolina Department of Transportation is advising people do is, if at all possible, simply stay off the roadways, and conditions will be, certainly, easier to deal with on the roads themselves.

Now, we're not fully done yet. We've got another chance of some freezing rain to come in through the evening hours. And that could cause all kinds of issues on trees and on power lines.

But I must tell you that Duke Power, the power provider for the city of Charlotte, has reported that they're only about 1,000 people without power. And considering what has come through here, that's pretty good. A city of nearly 2.5 million people to have only 1,000 without power, that's a banner day. During a strong thunderstorm coming through, normally you'd have more power outages from that alone. But that is certainly some good news for them.

Also, what's been interesting about the snow, is it's been really -- a really wet, a really thick snow. Not like the powder that you have out in Colorado. So it has been really soggy. But what's interesting is by tomorrow, by midday and into the afternoon, temperatures could go up into the mid-40s, possibly some low-50s, and all the snow will be long gone.

Back to you.

LEMON: I saw you earlier, Reynolds, and you had a snowball. And you know, that really thick, wet snowball, that hurts. Not much snow on the ground, though, so can't make one, though. It doesn't look like you can really make one.

WOLF: No, it is melting. And let me tell you, also, point of interest. Do not, under any circumstances, eat yellow snow. Not a good thing to do.

PHILLIPS: God!

LEMON: OK.

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy.

LEMON: Oh, boy.

PHILLIPS: Let's get back to the weather center.

LEMON: Reynolds, there you go, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Deep advice, let me tell you. Let's go back to the weather center. Rob Marciano tracking the storm system. He probably agrees with Wolf, but we'll move on.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We will. Usually Reynolds has -- he's a wealth of useless information, but that is actually pretty useful.

PHILLIPS: Steel trap, baby. Steel trap.

MARCIANO: Want to teach your kids that one.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: You bet.

LEMON: Joining forces against sending forces. Senate leaders, Democrat and Republican, pushing back against the president's troop surge plan for Iraq.

The latest from our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, where do things stand on the bipartisan Senate resolution we've heard so much about?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, where things stand, Don, is that everything has kind of receded behind the scenes. Senators on both sides of the aisle are trying to figure out whether or not they can support what is -- what hatched last night, a deal that hatched last night, a joining of forces, as you said, between leading Democrats and leading Republicans, who both oppose the president's plan to send more troops to Iraq.

They had been supporting competing proposals. But they decided to get together with one goal, and that is to try to pass a bipartisan rebuke of the president.

Now, I'm going to show you what the key language of this will be. It is: "The Senate disagrees with the plan to augment our forces by 21,500." Now, that -- the thinking there is that that is a little bit less confrontational than what Democrats had originally proposed, which was that it's "not in the national interest of the United States to increase troop levels in Iraq."

Now this was done for, really, practical political purposes when it comes to the Democrats. What they were hoping to do with this is to try to pick off Republican votes and get this passed.

But what we're seeing today, Don, is that some Democrats are saying that this is not good enough for them. For example, Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, he released a statement saying that he opposes this, because he said it rejects deploying U.S. troops and supports moving a misguided U.S. military strategy.

Also, another Democratic senator, Chris Dodd, we understand, is about to announce he is not going to support this. And in a situation where every single vote matters, it's razor-thin here, and they could need 60 votes for this to pass, losing those Democrats could hurt -- could hurt the Democratic leadership in their overall strategy, which is to pass something out of the Senate that sends a bipartisan message to the president that they reject this idea of increasing troop levels in Iraq -- Don.

LEMON: And Dana, the Iraq field commander, General George Casey, is on the Hill today, trying to win confirmation as the next Army chief of staff. And we understand he's getting a grilling.

BASH: He is getting a grilling. He was, of course, the commander in Iraq for the past 2 1/2 years. And now he is up to be Army chief of staff, as you said.

And what Republicans and Democrats are doing in this hearing is, in a way, venting their frustration with what they think has been a failed execution and prosecution of war in Iraq. And specifically asking about him.

Senator John McCain has been one of the leading critics of General Casey. And today, he said he had strong reservations about Casey's promotion, because he questions the decisions that he made in Iraq.

The other thing that's going on in that hearing, Don, is that the senators are drawing him into the debate that we were just discussing, which is the debate over whether to raise troop levels in Iraq. Senator -- General Casey said that he asked -- had asked for fewer troops than the president is sending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Do you believe that the job, the new job, can be done with less than five bringing brigades that General Petraeus says he needs?

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF NOMINEE: I do -- I believe that the job in Baghdad, as it's designed now, can be done with less than that. But having the flexibility to have the other three brigades on a deployment cycle gives us and gives General Petraeus great flexibility. It allows him to make assessments on whether the plan is working or not, and to either reinforce success, maintain momentum, or put more forces in a place where the plans are not working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And, later, under questioning from Republican Senator John Warner, a chief opponent of sending more troops to Iraq, General Casey said that he did not want to bring one more American soldier into Iraq than was necessary to accomplish the mission -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Dana Bash, thank you so much for that.

The hand of Iran in Iraq?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any doubt in my mind that the Iranians are involved in Iraq. Everyone knows that. The question is, are the Iranians the ones that are supporting the groups that are killing Americans?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A closer look, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: It's her baby, not your business. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, Vice President's Cheney's lesbian daughter draws a line between pregnancy and politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A British Muslim soldier under guard. More than 300 others on guard and terror suspects in court. All in what police call a chilling plot to kidnap and kill.

CNN international security correspondent Paula Newton on the scene in Birmingham, England.

Paula, still a lot happening.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are. Latest developments here, Kyra, is that several of the suspects under heavy guard, Kyra, went to court. What is happening here is police need to set them before a judge to request that they be questioned for another seven days. That was done, Kyra. But some of the suspects did waive their right to appear in court.

And just to explain, again, that here in Britain they can hold these suspects for 28 days, possibly, before charging them, and that's why they're having these procedures in court.

On top of that, Kyra, the community here continues to look on, and all of these developments cap what was a very tense day here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice-over): Into the early morning hours here, police were still searching for evidence and keeping their silence, even as forensic experts continued to sweep a dozen properties for a second day. Police have confirmed very few details of the alleged plot, saying the investigation is still active, more arrests are still possible.

The dramatic raids here in Birmingham have left this Muslim community anxious and on edge.

The details of the alleged plot are bad enough. The kidnap, torture and beheading of an innocent. But the accusation that the target was a Muslim serving in the British army, it is too hideous a detail for many here to believe without proof.

IMAM MUHAMMAD SAJJAD, MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADER: Take the proper way. Take them to the court and prove and then say that they are guilty. Don't think that every Muslim is potentially danger.

NEWTON: And there is another issue nagging at people here, too. For some Muslims, being a foreign soldier fighting on Muslim land is still a spiritual struggle. There are about 300 Muslims serving out of a total of 180,000 in Britain's armed forces. It means at times choosing to serve your country over the Koran.

But some see no contradiction. Zeeshan Hashimi is a British Muslim soldier whose brother has already lost his life serving in Afghanistan. He says he isn't rattled and won't be intimidated.

ZEESHAN HASHIMI, BRITISH MUSLIM SOLDIER: And I like to stand by my beliefs, and I'm not going to let or allow anybody to use their forcefulness into changing my views. If that had happened and if I was a young -- a British Muslim who joined the military, I would have still joined it. I live my life by my rules. I'm not going to let anybody else dictate my life.

NEWTON: But the British ministry of defense will be reviewing security for its Muslim recruits.

COL. BOB STEWART, FORMER BRITISH COMMANDER: Clearly, soldiers might not be seen in public as often as they have been recently in uniform. Soldiers will be warned to be careful about their personal security, and alert states will be revised to consider this threat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Kyra, as you mentioned, there is one British Muslim soldier under protective custody. What we can confirm is are a few reports there could have been as many as 25 on a hit list.

Kyra, behind me they continue to comb through this house, looking for evidence. One the key things here the police now are interested in finding is whether or not this alleged plot had any links to al Qaeda -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And so far no evidence proving that?

NEWTON: No, I mean, we've had several reports -- and you can understand -- look, they've been in this house now almost 48 hours straight. They continue to go through it. This is just one property. They're searching several more. Certainly, sources do call in with some of the things that they find at their briefings that they have, morning, noon and night around here.

But really, Kyra, to stress, here in Britain, a lot of these details will not be confirmed until this case gets to trial -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paula Newton, live from Birmingham, England. Thanks.

LEMON: The Danziger Bridge killings: Two men shot to death, four others wounded in eastern New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina. About a month ago seven New Orleans police officers surrendered to face charges of murder or attempted murder. Today a major announcement from prosecutors. CNN's Susan Roesgen is in New Orleans and joins us live to tell us about an update -- Susan.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the big update is that the district attorney here now says he will not seek the death penalty for the four officers accused of first degree murder. He will still try them, prosecute them on first degree murder charges, but he won't seek the death penalty.

Instead, he's asking for life in prison without the possibility of parole. That shooting was five days after the hurricane, Don, a very chaotic time here. And it was on the Danziger Bridge, a big bridge, that spans the industry canal.

There were two groups of civilians on that bridge, but the police were responding to a call of gunfire, possibly an officer down. They actually shot two of the civilians, killing them, they seriously wounded four others.

But when the police officers were arrested recently and formally faced the charges, they were surrounded by more than 100 fellow officers who hailed them as heroes. That's the situation here. A big show of support for these officers and now their lawyers say they are very glad that four of them will not face the death penalty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANZ ZIBILICH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Not that we ever thought this was a really legitimate death penalty type case, you still don't want to have yourself even exposed to the possibility, so with that in mind, we are relieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: One of the seven officers has actually left the force. But the other six, Don, are back on the job.

LEMON: All right, Susan Roesgen, reporting from New Orleans, thank you.

Another New Orleans murder case just got murkier. Memorial Hospital, four critically ill elderly patients died there when Katrina swamped the city. Not long afterward, suspicious arose extensively reported by CNN that a doctor and two nurses deliberately killed those patients using morphine and sedatives.

State and local prosecutors investigated. But now the coroner says he found no physical evidence to support homicide charges. The grand jury is still scheduled to take up the case in two weeks.

PHILLIPS: It wasn't part of the Biden campaign playbook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D-DE) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African-American, who is articulate and bright, and clean, and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Details of Biden's Obama blunder straight ahead from the NEWSROOM

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we're watching shares of ExxonMobil. They're up 1 percent after reporting nearly $40 billion in annual profits, that's up nearly 10 percent from 2005. And it's the largest annual profit, ever, for an American company.

Break it down, and it comes to a profit of $108 million each day or more than $75,000 per minute. ExxonMobil also reported record high profits for a U.S. company in 2005, as well. However, the last three months of '06 were a bit of a disappointment. Its net fell 4 percent in the quarter, as oil prices retreated from the record highs of last summer.

Exxon not the only oil giant out with earnings today. European rival Royal Dutch Shell earned more than $25 billion last year. That's a company record.

There isn't much money being made on Wall Street right now. After yesterday's surge, stocks are little changed. Putting pressure on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, a more than 2 percent drop in shares of Google. The Internet search giant posting a sharp jump in quarterly profits, but the investors seem to be used to the company's large profit margins.

Checking the numbers: The Dow industrials right now are up 17 points. The Nasdaq is down just 2. That's latest from Wall Street.

Coming up, online betting is illegal in the country but gamblers are not yet ready to fold. I'll have details next hour. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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LEMON: At the Lewis Libby trial, a tug-of-war over videotape. Just moments ago, the judge agreed to let prosecutors show clips from a 2003 White House press briefing. Lawyers for Libby, the former top aide to Vice President Cheney, wanted the tape suppressed.

The tape shows then-Press Secretary Scott McClellan discussing the leak that blew the cover off CIA operative Valerie Plame. The government hopes to show Libby was eager to cover up his discussion of Plame with reporters. He stands accused of lying to the FBI and obstructing the investigation.

PHILLIPS: A blessing from God, not a talking point. Mary Cheney, lesbian daughter of the vice president, is firing back at critics over her recently revealed pregnancy. She and her partner, Heather Poe have been together 15 years. At a Bernard College forum, sponsored by "Glamour" magazine, Cheney said that her baby should not be part of anybody's political debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY CHENEY, V.P. CHENEY'S DAUGHTER: I knew when Heather and I decided to have a baby that it was going to be not the most popular decision, ever. But the thing everybody needs to remember, this is a baby. This is a blessing from god. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate, by people on either side of any issue. You know, it is my child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Last week the vice president told our Wolf Blitzer he was over the line for asking about Mary's pregnancy. Mary tells "The New York Times" she agrees. In her words, "He, Wolf, was trying to get a rise out of my father."

LEMON: Run for office, say something offensive, apologize, and try to move on. It's a cycle as old as politics itself. But the newest contender in the 2008 presidential race may hold the record for speed. All three of those steps in just 24 hours. CNN's Mary Snow has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D-DE) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for president because -- MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): On the very day Senator Joseph Biden launched his 2008 presidential campaign, controversy kicked in. In an interview with the "New York Observer" questions were raised when Democratic presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden used the word "clean" in describing Senator Barack Obama.

BIDEN: I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African- American --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah?

BIDEN: Who is articulate and bright and, and clean and a nice- looking guy. I mean, it's -- that's a storybook, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

SNOW: And what did Senator Barack Obama think?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You'd have to ask Senator Biden what he was thinking. I don't spend too much time worrying about what folks are talking about during the campaign season.

SNOW: But hours after he made these comments to CNN, Senator Obama released a statement saying, quote, "I didn't take Senator Biden's comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate."

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who ran against Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 said Biden's comments called for an explanation.

JESSE JACKSON, PUSH RAINBOW COALITION: I don't think he meant anything intentional that was off-color, but it certainly is highly suggestive.

SNOW: In a conference call, Senator Biden said his comments were taken out of context.

BIDEN: My mother has an expression, clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack. That's the context, he's crisp and clear.

LARRY SABATO, UNIV. OF VIRGINIA CTR. FOR POLITICS: It's classic Joe Biden. It's really history repeating itself.

SNOW: Biden dropped out of the 1998 presidential race following charges he plagiarized a speech of a British Labor Party leader. Just last year, he caused controversy with comments that some had to hear for themselves to believe. The comments are still posted on the Internet.

BIDEN: You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. SNOW: Biden later explained the comment, saying he was referring to a vibrant Indian-American community in the state of Delaware.

(On camera): On this most recent flap, the Senator Biden says he deeply regrets any offense his remark about Senator Obama may have caused. And he expressed that to Senator Obama in a phone call after the headlines hit. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Biden's mea culpas continued last night on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I spoke to Barack today --

JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: I bet you did.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: I also spoke to Jesse, and Al Sharpton. And I also --

STEWART: And Michael Jordan and anybody you could get your hands on.

BIDEN: No, no, no.

STEWART: The Jackson 5, who else?

BIDEN: Michael didn't call me.

STEWART: Uh-huh.

BIDEN: Look, what I was attempting to be was, not very artfully, is complimentary. This is an incredible guy, this is a phenomenon. This guy is -- and look, the other part of this thing is -- the word that got me in trouble is using the word "clean". I should have said "fresh". I meant he's got new ideas, he's a new guy on the block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, lose weight, win votes, a weighty political topic. It's fresh right here from the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And clean.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: When you think of anorexia, or bulimia, you automatically think of women, right? A new survey, though, finds one-fourth of adults with those eating disorders are men. The problems have gone undetected in estimated 850,000 men, despite all the publicity over the past two decades. PHILLIPS: Then there's binge eating. Researchers say it beats anorexia and bulimia, combined as the most common eating disorder. Their study found 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men are binge eating at some point. That's when you to your fill and just keep eating, at least twice a week. The results of the survey are in the medical journal "Biological Psychiatry".

LEMON: Now a weight story not about Tyra Banks. Do extra pounds make a difference in politics? Before you answer, try to name a really successful fat politician other than William Howard Taft. Maybe there's a few in there, but not many. CNN's Dan Lothian sizes up a candidate who's proud of the fact he's not the man he used to be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice over): When it comes to picking a president would you vote for this candidate --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a good bite of it.

LOTHIAN: Or this candidate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can come up with, but --

LOTHIAN: It's the same person. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee who announced he's forming an exploratory committee for the '08 presidential race.

Your choice could reveal what some say is an uphill battle for overweight candidates. In a nation obsessed with dieting and the perfect image. Some Americans see weight as an obstacle in the race for the White House.

ROBERT PIERCE, MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: It would be something I wouldn't actually consciously think about but I'm sure subconsciously it would affect me in some way.

FLORENCE IVES, BOSTON: I would hope to say no. But it might lead me to, you know, wonder about their habits.

SUZANNE DESANCTIS, BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS: Because people look at looks. Let's face it, they do. People are judged on their looks.

LOTHIAN: Some point out Huckabee jumped into the presidential race after an outstanding weight loss, shedding 110 pounds over the last few years. This is Huckabee in 2003 -- and now.

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) FMR. ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: I think image is important. But more importantly, is that people see that you can set goals, that you have a sense of discipline and focus.

LOTHIAN: Huckabee chronicled his weight loss from a peak of almost 300 pounds in this self-help book.

HUCKABEE: I was thrilled when people all over the state, and for that matter the country, were coming up to me and say, aren't you the guy that lost all the weight? I'll tell them, yes.

LOTHIAN: While diabetes and dire warnings from his doctor forced the two-term Republican governor to confront his weight problem, could the new look lead to more votes?

CATHERINE STEINER ADAIR, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It's not about looking like Hollywood. It's really about being vigorous enough to convince people that you're healthy and you're up to what can be a very demanding job.

LOTHIAN: Other politicians have seemingly taken notice. Like Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, who made political hay of his weight loss and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (ph), who went public with his efforts to slim down.

Even though there's no polling to back up the politics of obesity, experts say, sadly, weightism is happening.

ELAINE KAMARCK, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Weight is a means that we judge a person, based on the shape and size of their body.

LOTHIAN: Catherine Steiner Adair, a clinical psychologist at Harvard, says the young people she studied tend to see someone who's thin as in control, intelligent, and just the opposite for someone who's overweight.

KAMARCK: We're actually teaching weightism as a form of prejudice in our country. That's just as harmful and cruel, and hurtful, to people as is racism or sexism.

LOTHIAN: How does so-called weightism play out in presidential politics? America's most notably obese president was William Howard Taft, but he held office nearly a century ago. Bill Clinton wasn't obese, but comedians had a field day poking fun at his fast food habits.

CLINTON IMPERSONATOR: Hmm, (gulping food) that's a good question.

ADIAR: In Clinton's case, you know, the fact that he was kind of on the pudgy side actually helped people identify with him.

HUCKABEE: I think they want their leaders to be real, and authentic. They don't expect them to be perfect.

LOTHIAN: It's too soon to tell if Huckabee's weight loss will help him gain votes, but ultimately, experts say, voter shows test candidates on how they weigh in on the issues, not on how they weigh in on a scale. Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: What a hunk.

When this baby was born, he didn't just tip the scales, he almost tipped them over. LEMON: Wow, oh my.

PHILLIPS: Details from the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Oh, my goodness.

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LEMON: Wow, take a look at that. Everyone knows what that is, that is the Eiffel Tower. It's a moment of darkness in the City of Light. It was the picture, just a short time ago, just came in to the CNN NEWSROOM.

It was just before 8:00 p.m. the Eiffel Tower is one of several monuments going dark, for five minutes, as part of a campaign to spotlight global warming.

Scientists and representatives from 113 countries are meeting in Paris to release a strongly worded report on climate change, tomorrow. Climate Expert Heidi Cullen says rising sea levels -- that's a live shot right there. Looks, eerie dark, doesn't it? -- says that rising sea levels are a particular concern.

Some say today's blackout in Paris and other world cities is not a good way to conserve energy because there's a power spike when the lights are turned back on.

Next hour of NEWSROOM starts in two minutes.

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