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Police Murder Charges?; Dangerous District in Baghdad; Upstate New York Could Have 100 Inches of Snow by Sunday

Aired February 08, 2007 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, February 8th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Iraq hit by a wave of violence today. Dozens of people dead just as a retooled security plan launches.

On patrol with Charlie Company.

HARRIS: Crisis in the African-American community. Unnecessary pain, unnecessary death. Why the shortage of bone marrow donors?

COLLINS: The dating game. Technology turning it into a nightmare for some young people. IMs, texting and e-mail at the rate of 10, 20, 30 times an hour. Teens harassed, in the NEWSROOM.

A botched drug raid. A 92-year-old woman gunned down by police in her home. And now, more than two months later, those officers looking at possible felony murder charges.

Details now from reporter Ryan Deal of CNN affiliate WGCL in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN DEAL, REPORTER, WGCL (voice over): In two weeks, Fulton County district attorney Paul Howard will ask a grand jury to charge three Atlanta police officers with murder following the November shooting death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston. In a so far unsigned indictment obtained by CBS 46 News, the D.A. will try to prove the officers committed burglary when they broke down the elderly woman's door while executing an illegally obtained, no-knock drug search warrant.

RAND CSEHY, ATTORNEY FOR ACCUSED OFFICER: There will be no plea agreements, there will be no cooperation with regard to this...

DEAL: Saying in now way was it murder. That attorney for one of the officers calling the D.A.'s actions overboard and premature, citing the prosecutor's pledge to assist in a federal investigation that is far from over and some now fear in jeopardy.

CSEY: All Paul Howard has done at this point is stop the investigation in its tracks.

DEAL: The move took the FBI, even the U.S. Attorney's Office by surprise. Their federal probe had been garnering cooperation from the officers to arrive at what sources call the real problem, a culture of corner-cutting and poor training. Tonight, a spokesperson for the Johnston family is outraged at the D.A.'s action.

REV. MARKEL HUTCHINS, CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE: He did so without the support, without the knowledge of the family of the federal investigators that oversaw this investigation, and one can only deduce that he's being motivated by his own political interests and not what is best for this community.

DEAL: Howard is not commenting.

I'm Ryan Deal, CBS 46 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN's Rusty Dornin joining us now to talk more about this.

And Rusty, I know you've been following this story. I mean, this -- were you expecting charges to come so quickly in this?

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No one was. In fact, we just got a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office here that neither the U.S. Attorney's Office, nor the FBI, who were involved in this entire investigation, neither one of them were apprised that these notices about taking it to a local grand jury...

COLLINS: Well, that's highly unusual, right?

DORNIN: It is in some cases. I mean, you do have these problems when you have local authorities and federal officials on the same investigation. Sometimes problems come up. But they had agreed to work together on this.

Now, the problem is, if you take this to a local grand jury and the federal officials are upset about it, they do have the right to go to a judge and get an injunction to try and stop this.

COLLINS: So they can step in. Right.

DORNIN: Because he really doesn't have any rights to the federal witnesses in the case or any of the federal evidence that has been gathered. But the other point is, that he -- that in the local case, Paul Howard, the district attorney, has filed felony murder charges.

Now, of course federal officials can't do that. They can charge violation of civil rights resulting in murder. COLLINS: Which is what they were pursuing.

DORNIN: Right, which is what they were pursuing in the first place. But this could just -- we're going to have to see how this shakes out, whether they're going to get back together and try to work some of these things out.

The D.A.'s office is not commenting so far. And it's one of the attorneys for the officers that did leak this information.

COLLINS: What could happen? I mean, if the feds step in and they go ahead and try to put a stop to these proceedings, what could happen to the district attorney of Fulton County?

DORNIN: Well, first of all, as I said, they could get an injunction from a federal judge which stops the whole process.

COLLINS: Right.

DORNIN: Or they could even -- and this is very serious -- they could charge the local district attorney with obstruction of justice in a federal case.

COLLINS: Because they feel that he was getting in the way of the investigation?

DORNIN: That's right, because now what it's done is it's complicated things so that witnesses can't talk to one another, the feds can't -- you know, certain witnesses can't come forward on the federal side, they can't come forward on the local side. It just makes things very complicated.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, we know that you are on top of this one. We'll check back with you if anything else should change.

Rusty Dornin following this story for us here in Atlanta.

Also, on the line we have Mike Brooks. He has handled quite a bit of security for us here at CNN.

Mike, I'm just curious, with your law enforcement background, remembering this story, what did we have here? A no-knock warrant, officers broke into the home, and this woman, Kathryn Johnston, fired back.

What's happening from a law enforcement perspective here?

MIKE BROOKS, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I tell you, I'm very, very surprised at D.A. Paul Howard's actions. You know, the first thing that came to my mind, is he caving to community pressure?

There's been so much outrage in the community to -- you know, to come to some conclusion on this. But Chief Pennington, who's the chief of the Atlanta Police Department, he, rightly so, turned the investigation over to the FBI, an impartial investigative unit. And they have not completed -- they're almost done. Some of my sources tell me that they're just about completed with their investigation. And I think this -- this could hurt the case.

I mean, I just also think it's going to hurt the relationship between the FBI and the district attorney's office. I just don't understand this at all.

And I can also tell you that Chief Pennington is right now taking a look at all the training, all the procedures, to see what they can do to better improve their training procedures so something like this doesn't happen again. But again, Heidi, this is highly, highly unusual.

COLLINS: Yes. And again, back to the law enforcement background, Mike, I mean, you have to work closely with the feds when something like this is going on and there's an investigation pending as a law enforcement officer.

BROOKS: Absolutely. I mean, you know, and then for -- just for Howard to go off on his own and do this, I just think he's -- it sounds to me like he's caving to community pressure. But no, you have to work together.

And my FBI sources have told me here in Atlanta that the Atlanta Police Department, Chief Pennington, Assistant Chief Dreher, they have been totally cooperative with the FBI investigation into this, as well as the officers who were involved. You know, there may be some things come down that may not shed so light -- a good light on the police department at the end of the FBI investigation, but I think that D.A. Howard should have waited until the FBI completed their investigation and came out with their report before he took any action such as this.

I mean, we're talking about felony murder here. This is unbelievable.

COLLINS: All right. And, of course, we are watching this very closely here at CNN.

Mike Brooks, we appreciate your time, law enforcement analyst for us here at CNN.

Mike, thanks again.

HARRIS: Iraq now. Insurgents strike, the U.S. strikes back. Militants detonate two car bombs, killing and wounding dozens.

This is the aftermath from one of the explosions outside a mosque in Baghdad. Another bombing 100 miles southeast of the capital in a meat market. The day's toll, at last count, at least 27 dead, 61 wounded.

Also this morning, the military reporting that a coalition air strike has killed 13 militants. The target, they say, a senior militant in Amiriyah. Officials also say they nabbed five suspected terrorists and an arsenal that includes armor-piercing ammunition. A raid by U.S. and Iraqi forces has netted the arrest of a government official. The deputy health minister is a senior member of the political group loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's militia, the Mehdi army, is blamed for sectarian violence in and out of Iraq.

Now CNN takes to you the front lines and what is called one the most dangerous districts in Baghdad. It is the turf of Charlie Company and the base they call the Alamo.

Our Michael Holmes spent two days embedded with the troops and has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Adhamiya is one of Baghdad's oldest neighborhoods, birthplace of the Ba'ath Party, once very upper class, home to kings.

(on camera): But not anymore. This is a Sunni stronghold, and it's surrounded by Shia areas. Now, both of those areas have hard- core insurgents who fight each other and target the Americans.

SGT. KENNETH HENDRIX, U.S. ARMY: A lot of hand grenades, a lot of improvised explosive devices.

HOLMES (voice over): So many hand grenades tossed from buildings, that the men have built homemade protection for their exposed gunners.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of our guys got hit by a grenade in here. And an IED went off two days ago here right behind our truck.

HOLMES: We're with Charlie Company, 126th Infantry, based at forward operating base Apache. Although it's not really a base, it's actually a house. A hundred and twenty men in the middle of probably the city's most dangerous area.

HENDRIX: Some guys call it the Alamo, you know. It's just a house in the middle of Adhamiya. Nobody else around. No other units.

HOLMES: They are fired on regularly by insurgents, both Sunni and Shia. The house shows the scars.

A couple of months ago, insurgents attacked her. Charlie Company killed 38 of them. Around here, something as simple as leaving a house after speaking with the owners requires smoke grenades for cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We unfortunately, you know, learn some hard lessons.

HOLMES: Since arriving here in August, Charlie Company has never left, never stopped patrolling, 24/7. They've lost five men, two dozen wounded, and earned a fistful of medals for bravery.

(on camera): Is there a day here where something doesn't happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

HOLMES (voice over): One soldier, 19-year-old Specialist Ross McGinnis (ph), is being nominated for his country's highest award, the Medal of Honor, after throwing himself on a grenade that had been tossed into his Humvee, saving the lives of four comrades.

LT. RYAN MARAVILLA, U.S. ARMY: I have four killed in action due to sniper attacks and roadside bombs, and four wounded in action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it slow.

HOLMES: But Lieutenant Ryan Maravilla says those losses brought the men who live and work here even closer.

MARAVILLA: You would not have even thought that we lost four guys. It's not because we don't remember them and we don't think about them. It's just we know that we've got to carry on.

HOLMES: Carry on in a place where the camaraderie might be ever present but so, too, the urban warfare that is Adhamiya.

HENDRIX: I'll look back on it as probably -- probably the hardest tour I've ever done. Hopefully that is my first and only year in Adhamiya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Michael Holmes joins us now from Baghdad.

Appreciate that look, Michael, so much.

How critical is it for the overall security of Baghdad for U.S. and Iraqi forces to get a handle on this district, Adhamiya?

HOLMES: You know, it's really a microcosm, and in many ways unique. I've got to tell you that this, as I said, is a place that is a Sunni stronghold, surrounded by Shia and militias on both sides.

If the Americans weren't there, I tell you, the Shia militias would overrun that place in probably two days. It would be a bloodbath.

There are other parts of Baghdad, as you know, that are equally problematic, but this is unique. It's the only Sunni stronghold on the east side of the river, a crucial place.

I've got to tell you, those guys there, they're living it rough there. They're literally in a house. There's not even units very close by. They're really out there -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. These are these joint security stations you told us so much about.

I have to ask you, with the additional U.S. troops heading to Baghdad and already deployed, in many cases, will they find themselves in a similar situation working in neighborhoods and districts like this?

HOLMES: Yes, they will, actually. And that's the whole idea. What we saw in Adhamiya is what's going to be repeated, perhaps in areas not quite as dangerous, but really the capital is dangerous. So nowhere is going to be safe.

But yes, those JSSs, those Joint Security Stations, Iraqi security forces and U.S. forces working together on the ground in the middle of suburbs trying to show the population they can be protected and that basically all the security services are going to play nice and they can be trusted. But yes, they all were right there.

We were out in Shaab, which is a Mehdi militia stronghold, just the day before yesterday, setting up another one there. They're getting it under way. The 82nd Airborne, they are new boots on the ground in this push. They're just about to move in there after the stryker boys clear it out.

So, yes, that's exactly what's going to be happening -- Tony.

HOLMES: CNN's Michael Holmes for us in Baghdad.

Michael, thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Bitter cold, blinding snow, dangerous arctic conditions keeping much of the East and Midwest in a deep freeze today. Never really can get used to looking at video like that.

Some small towns in upstate New York have recorded more than six feet of snow since Sunday, and forecasters say it ain't over yet. Parts of western New York could get a foot of lake-effect snow today alone.

Let's get an update now on the snowy forecast and the bone- chilling conditions. Meteorologist Chad Myers in the CNN weather center and meteorologist Rob Marciano out in the snow in Oswego, New York.

Rob, things looking a little bit better there now?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's just some flurries right now. The skies have brightened just a little bit, but that's kind of the nature of these lake-effect snow bands.

It's such a narrow band of heavy snow, maybe 10 or so miles. So you get that trajectory to move one way north or south, and then, boom, we're out of it. But that's been good, because road crews have been able to catch up just a little bit.

We're on the corner of Bridge Street and West 1st, where, you know, the questionable will sometimes pass through and say hello to the cameras. But other than that, you know, it's one of these just great upstate New York old towns that has kept its character here on Main Street.

About half the businesses are open for business. Schools are closed. Roads, they've got all the resources out to kind of -- to kind of take care of things here.

But with as warm as that lake has been because of the mild Northeast weather we've had the past two months, and now this bitterly cold air coming in, and the way the winds are set up, probably not going to be out of this, you know, until at least tomorrow, maybe even through the weekend. As a matter of fact, lake-effect snow warnings are still in effect through tomorrow night.

So this little brief break here, at least in Oswego, is definitely a welcome deal.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Hopefully not too much of a calm before the storm yet again.

All right. Rob Marciano, thanks so much, live from Oswego in New York.

Chad Myers standing by now here in Atlanta at the forecast center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Tough talk out of Iran today. The threats from the nation's supreme leader in the NEWSROOM.

And losing a child because there's no donor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, like, are we killing ourselves with not helping each other?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The shortage of African-American donors, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Too many patients, not enough donors. A crisis in the African-American community. Does it have its roots in a dark period of America's medical history?

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These cancer patients are waiting, waiting for bone marrow transplants, a procedure that could save their lives. They will most likely wait longer for matching donors than white people. Is the American healthcare system racist? Actually, the reason is something that doesn't get talked about a lot.

(on camera): African-American donation rates are low.

JESSICA PASLEY, MOTHER: Low, low, low. It makes me angry, frustrated, and actually sad, because I think I take it personally.

COHEN (voice over): African-Americans usually need an African- American to donate bone marrow for genetic reasons. But there's a shortage of black donors.

Bone marrow is the soft material at the center of the bone. It's where blood cells are made. A transplant replaces a patient's diseased marrow with the donor's healthy marrow when people have diseases like leukemia, sickle cell anemia and breast cancer.

Jessica Pasley and her husband had to search for bone marrow for their identical twin daughters, Jillian (ph) and Jade (ph). Both had leukemia.

PASLEY: We went to black churches. We sought the help of black organizations.

COHEN (on camera): And did they come through?

PASLEY: No, not really.

COHEN (voice over): Jessica says they do a drive at a black church and register about 100 people, while a drive at a nearby white church would get 1,500 people. The Pasleys did finally found a match for Jillian (ph), who's in remission. But by the time they found a match for Jade, it was too late. She died when she was 2.

(on camera): Do you feel like your own community has let you down?

PASLEY: I feel that my own community is letting itself down. I might be overstepping my bounds here, but I just feel like, are we killing ourselves with not helping each other?

COHEN: Do you think you are?

PASLEY: Ask all the people whose loved ones have died because there was nobody there to help them.

COHEN (voice over): Jessica wondered why donor rates are so low. Her grandmother told her, Tuskegee. From 1932 to 1972, doctors in Alabama purposely withheld treatment from black men with syphilis, and black mistrust in the medical system still exists today.

Harriet Washington is author of the book "Medical Apartheid." She sees another reason. Black people overall don't get as good medical care as whites.

HARRIET WASHINGTON, AUTHOR, "MEDICAL APARTHEID": The resentment and mistrust that it fosters drives a wedge between African-Americans in all kinds of interaction with the healthcare system.

PASLEY: Did he even try to explain this to you guys?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

COHEN: Whatever the reason, Jessica says it's time for African- Americans to step up to the plate and volunteer to donate bone marrow.

PASLEY: There's got to be a time when you say, move forward. Move on to help your own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's the part with the math and the squares and stuff?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

We say it all the time, but this is -- this is a good story to tell. Let's sort of get at it a couple of ways here, Elizabeth.

Now, we know that donated bone marrow, it can be a difficult, painful process. But that alone, the difficulty of it, does not explain why more African-Americans aren't participating.

COHEN: Well, there are a lot of misperceptions about bone marrow donation, Tony, among the African-American community, among the white community, pretty much among everybody. So let's first look at, what is marrow?

Marrow is soft tissue that is inside your bones, and it's where blood cells are made. So when you donate bone marrow, doctors put you under general anesthesia and a needle goes into the bone in your lower back to extract the marrow.

Most people are out of the hospital in a day or two and are back at work in just a few days. And the marrow replaces itself in about a month. So it's not like giving a kidney, where you're never going to see that kidney again.

But the biggest misconception is that usually you don't even have to do this. Most of the time doctors manage to get the cells that they need simply by taking blood out of your arm and extracting the cells they need, and then they put the remaining cells back into your other arm. So that's a pretty new trend, actually, that usually they end up doing it that way.

HARRIS: And the first steps are even easier, simpler, than what we're talking about now.

COHEN: Right. We saw the bone marrow drive in our piece for Jillian (ph). And during those bone marrow drives, what happens is, is you show up, they swab the inside of your cheek, and you go home. That is it. And the reason they're swabbing the inside of your cheek is they want to get your blood type, they need to get all sorts of other genetic markers so they can see if you're a match for the person you want to donate to.

Now, what's interesting and what's really great about bone marrow drives is that even if you don't match up with the person who you want to donate to, you're going to be in the registry. So you may match up with someone else. You may end up helping someone you don't even know.

HARRIS: Let's hope this helps. Just an explainer, a further explainer of this process for everyone.

Elizabeth, great to see you. Thanks.

COHEN: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.com/health.

COLLINS: It's the middle of the night. Is someone harassing your daughter?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He kept calling me over and over. He must have called me 100 times that night. And I would not answer the phone.

And finally I answered the phone. And I said, "Are you going to be nice to me now?" And he said, "I know where your classes are and I'm going to kill you."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: It's a pretty disturbing story. On the phone, on the Internet, teen dating abuse -- in the NEWSROOM.

A mantra of helicopter pilots over Baghdad. Fly low, fly fast if you can. The dangers facing choppers in Iraq, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.

So where are we, 11:30 a.m. Eastern, 8:30 a.m. Pacific.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Late at night, you think your teenage daughter's in her room, safe in bed, but she could actually be under attack, right there under your nose. Cell phones and the Internet opening a window to abuse.

Our Brianna Keilar explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAINA WEISBROT, VICTIM OF ABUSE: There's a lot of shaking. There's a lot of covering my mouth. He pulled my hair and pushing me.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shaina Weisbrot started dating her high school boyfriend when she was 15. At first things were great. But over the next four-and-a-half years he became more and more controlling, and she felt forced to tell him her every move.

WEISBROT: Where I was at all times. I always had to answer my cell phone.

KEILAR: Eventually the relationship turned violent.

WEISBROT: He kept calling me over and over. He must have called me 100 times that night, and I would not answer the phone. And finally I answered the phone, and I said are you going to be nice to me now? And he said, I know where your classes are, and I'm going to kill you.

KEILAR: Her story is terrifying but it's not unique. In a new survey, one in four teens in a relationship say their boyfriend or girlfriend has text messaged them at least hourly between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Even more say a partner who has text messaged them 10, 20, up to 30 times per hour to find out where they are and who they're with. The scariest part, almost half say their cell phones or computers make abuse easier to hide from her parents.

WEISBROT: I'd be in my room, I'd pretend to be sleeping, I'd shut the lights, and I'd be quiet, and no one would know the difference, because all you have to do is hide your cell phone.

M. O'BRIEN: Last year, Shaina severed all ties with her ex- boyfriend. She's now 20, and a sophomore at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and is a founding member of a non-profit organization called Teens Experiencing Abusive Relationships. Shaina tries to help other teens recognize the signs of teen-dating abuse so they, too, can escape it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Boy, Brianna Keilar joining us now live to talk more about this. I just wonder, the new research is it actually suggesting this emotional abuse, or even physical abuse, in teen dating relationships has gone up or increased because of the new technology?

KEILAR: Well, what this survey shows is that parents certainly think that perhaps it has. More than half of the parents surveyed said they think that technology, computers and cell phones in this case, make it easier for there to be this controlling and abusive behavior in relationships. But, Heidi, what's really interesting, is only about one in four parents said they've actually placed any restrictions on cell phone and computer use. And furthermore experts have said that this makes abuse more efficient for the abuser, and it also makes it easier for teenagers who are victims to hide it from their parents.

COLLINS: Well, and I think that's obviously the trick. I mean, if teens are trying so hard to hide it from their parents, how can the parents actually get an honest picture of what's happening.

KEILAR: Well, one of the things that I've heard some experts suggest is actually having your teen turn over their cell phone to you when they go to bed, so that it's not in their room where they can use it and you don't know. Also putting a password lock on a computer before they go to sleep. Sometimes these things might not occur to parents.

But another thing, of course, it's at the discretion of the parent how much they want to monitor their teenager's phone activity. But you can go online and look at a cell phone bill and most providers will give you a breakdown of the phone calls placed, where your teenager is calling, how long these phone calls have lasted, and perhaps, most importantly, Heidi when these calls are taking place.

COLLINS: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much for that. We'll be watching this issue a lot closer, I think. Thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: Helicopters, a critical weapon in Iraq, and now increasingly vulnerable. The U.S. military says it is investigating yet another crash. A civilian chopper that went down last week. That makes six crashes in less than three weeks. And now, a troubling question -- are militants growing more sophisticated?

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A fifth helicopter down in Iraq in just over two weeks. This time, a Marine Corps CH-46 in Al Anbar Province. Military officials say it may have been mechanical failure. This, after four shoot-downs and the military trying to figure out if there is a new enemy threat against its helicopters.

GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: At this point in time, I do not know whether or not it is the law of averages that caught up with us, or if there had been a change in tactics, techniques and procedures on the part of the enemy.

STARR: January 20th: Twelve soldiers killed when an Army Black Hawk crashed.

January 23rd: Five civilians killed when a small private helicopter was brought down. January 28th: An Apache gun ship is downed. Two crewmen killed.

February 2nd: Two more Apache crewmembers killed north of Baghdad.

With Iraqis roads becoming IED killing zones, transport helicopters are increasingly relied on to move troops. Apaches provide vital airborne defense for troops in combat on the ground.

U.S. military helicopters often are large, slow-moving targets vulnerable to attack by shoulder-fired missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: In fighter aircraft, pilots have the opportunity to pull up and away and eject. In a helicopter, the only thing you can do is land.

STARR: The threat is readily seen in Baghdad. Helicopters fly low and fast, zigzagging across the city to avoid some threats.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: High altitude is more susceptible of surface-to-air missiles taking them down. Low altitude, it's better for small arms fire to take on a helicopter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Barbara Starr joining us now live from the Pentagon.

And, Barbara, as we just saw in your piece, the chairman of the joint chiefs saying, they're not really sure if this is law of averages or really a change in tactics on the enemy's part. How worried is the Pentagon about the recent state of downed choppers at this point?

STARR: Well, they're puzzled, Heidi, and they're kind of looking at what's going on. They don't see a pattern. All of these incidents are taking place in different parts of the country, different types of weapons bringing these helicopters down. No real pattern. They also that they don't really think there's any new weapon inside of Iraq that's being used. It may simply be a matter of, as the chairman said, the law of averages, so many hours of flying, or it may be that the insurgent tactics are getting better. There's an investigation into all of this. They're trying to figure out what's going on.

COLLINS: And as they try to figure all of that out, are the chopper pilots changing any of their tactics to counter these strikes?

STARR: Well, they don't talk a lot about it for obvious reasons. Let's point out two things. They can change tactics , what they try and do all the time is make sure they don't fly in a particular, predictable pattern, that they always do everything just a little bit differently so that they don't present themselves as a target.

But helicopters have some very highly classified electronics onboard that essentially act as electronic decoys, that they use to try and sort of fool any missiles or rocket propelled grenades to guide them away from helicopters. So there's a lot of work going on to try and make sure all of those electronic systems are up to speed, as modern as they can possibly be, to try and deflect any threats.

COLLINS: All right. Understood, thanks so much. CNN's Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon.

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. News out of Camp Pendleton in California. A Marine, Corporal Trent Thomas, who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man, we understand this morning, has moved to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he no longer believes he is guilty. His attorney now saying that Corporal Thomas believes he acted with lawful authority, and for that reason, he is withdrawing his plea.

Now, apparently this is dramatic this morning. The military judge hearing the case ordered a 30-minute recess and then asked that Thomas' defense team present their case as to why they no longer believe he is guilty.

A little background now, Thomas, he's 25 years old, pleaded guilty last month to eight felonies, including kidnapping, murder and assault. He was part of a squad of seven Marines and a sailor accused last year of plotting to kill an Iraqi in the town of Hamdaniya. We will continue to follow this story and bring you more information as we get it.

COLLINS: Never too young to do the right thing. Why this little guy is called a hero, right here in the NEWSROOM. .

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(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: And In just about 10 minutes, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" will be coming up. Hala Gorani is standing by to tell us more about what you'll be covering.

Hi there, Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi. Hi, Tony.

We'll take you around the around the world on YOUR WORLD TODAY, and we'll start in the U.K. A controversial Muslim figure has been arrested in England, and it's got people talking. He praised suicide bombers and heckled politicians. We'll talk to our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Her profile of Abu Izadeen (ph) was part of a documentary, "The War Within," on CNN.

Also, we'll take you deep into the Niger Delta, and our Jeff Koinange, who meets a mysterious and shadowy group responsible for kidnapping foreigners in that part of the world, an exclusive CNN report.

And finally, among other things we'll be talking about, no more buttons. Look, isn't that Nic Robertson? In touch with your digital future. Tune in to find out what your text future will look like.

Hope you can join us. Top of the hour. Back to you guys.

HARRIS: I love that. All right, Hala, thank you.

COLLINS: Six-year-old Zachary is walking a little taller today. He was singled out by the state fire marshal in Rhode Island for doing what countless adults failed to do. He noticed a fire extinguisher missing in the Kingston train state and spoke up. Because of that simple act, Zachary was hailed as a young hero in front of all of his classmates. Very proud looking little guy and the parents, too, grandparents, whatever.

HARRIS: Having a moment, are you?

COLLINS: He's cute.

HARRIS: OK and still to come, movies, making fun of fat black women. One director says, chill out. Weight debate in the NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: Overweight, yes? But over the line? Critics contend movies featuring fat black women characters are no laughing matter. CNN's Sibila Vargas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENICE ARMSTRONG, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: Frankly I'm perplexed, as well as horrified.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jenice Armstrong is mad as hell. The object of her outrage, Eddie Murphy's upcoming movie, "Norbit."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NORBIT")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, ma'am, we have a 300-pound weight limit.

EDDIE MURPHY, ACTOR: I don't weigh no damn 300 pounds! I weigh 165! (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARMSTRONG: Think about who this movie is making fun of, it is black women, fat black women.

VARGAS: In the comedy, Murphy plays several characters, including an overweight, overbearing woman, who makes Norbit, also played by Murphy, the target of her affection.

The movie's billboard even features Norbit being squished by a larger than life character with these words above their heads: "Have you ever made a really big mistake?"

Some might find it funny, but Armstrong, a columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News, isn't laughing. She says it's a stereotype perpetuated for far too long.

ARMSTRONG: It kind of goes back to the 19th Century minstrel shows where people used to dress up in blackface and the black woman was always overweight with, usually her hair tied up in a rag. She was sassy and emasculating the black man. That's an old, old image that we've had with us for -- you know, it goes back to slavery times. You know, "Gone With the Wind," Mammy.

VARGAS (on camera): "Norbit" isn't the only flick that uses plus-size outspoken black women as punch lines. Two other prominent African-American stars have made millions playing these types of characters.

(voice-over): Martin Lawrence, who donned a fat suit in "Big Mama's House" and "Big Mama's House 2." And Tyler Perry as the fast- talking and elderly Madea in "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea's Family Reunion."

But Perry says it's more about appreciation than condemnation.

TYLER PERRY, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR & ACTOR: I think it has been the biggest form of absolute flattery to imitate our woman. My mother was a big woman. And her mother was a big woman. And all we're doing is mimicking what we've seen and what we know to be that was so hilarious in our household.

VARGAS: Perry says these characters are just a reflection of some people in the black community that he feels he shouldn't have to apologize for.

PERRY: I know a couple of women who are taller than I am and who are heavier than I am. What is the big deal? Relax people. It's not that big a deal. I mean, we are just having fun with what we know to be our lives, period.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Very interesting.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You know, recently I talked to Martin Lawrence. We're going to air it in the NEWSROOM later on next week. He said it sells.

COLLINS: What sells?

LEMON: It sells, playing a woman, playing a big woman. It sells. That's what I asked him -- I said what's this obsession of dressing up -- he and John Travolta, dressing up like women. He say it sells. It's empowering.

COLLINS: Sells tickets.

LEMON: Yes, people love it.

Now let's talk about what's coming up today at 1:00. We're going to need a bigger coat, not to mention some really long measuring tapes. There's a whole lot of flaking going on in upstate New York thanks to lake effect snow. Some places could see more than eight feet of the white stuff before it's all over. We'll take you live to mound zero in Oswego, New York.

Also, choppers down in Iraq. Six crashes in Iraq in less than three weeks. More than two dozen U.S. troops and civilians killed. Why the sudden spike in attack and what's bringing them down. Retired Air Force General Don Shepperd will join us to talk about that and his first-hand experiences aboard a chopper that came under fire in Iraq. All that today at 1:00.

COLLINS: Great. Thank you, Don.

And as Don just said, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great rest of the day, everybody.

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