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Explosive Charges Leveled Against Iran; Australian Prime Minister Blasts Obama; 'The Police' Slated to Open Grammy Awards; 'Profiles of Excellence'; Black-Market Arms; Hillary Clinton's Conversations; Breast Cancer Test

Aired February 11, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. military says these 81 millimeter mortars can be directly linked back to the Iranian military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now explosive charges leveled against the government of Iran. The United States is alleging today that American troops are dying from bombs made in Iran then smuggled into Iraq on Tehran's orders.

CNN's Michael Ware is in Baghdad, where experts outline the case at a long-awaited briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The focus was on EFPs, explosively-formed penetrators. This is the most lethal kind of roadside device currently being used in Iraq and can punch through the heaviest American armor on its battlefields like a fist through a wall.

The U.S. military has long claimed that these are provided by Iran. Today, examples were proven. Indeed, the explosives expert said that one component of this bomb has to be so specifically machine-tooled, they can trace that back to Iran. And they are certain, says this military expert, that these components are not being made here in Iraq.

They also pointed to this elite special forces unit, the Kuds force, or Jerusalem force, within the Iranian military providing weapons to attack American troops, to assist Shia insurgent groups. Specifically, they focus there on mortars.

Here is an example that CNN obtained and aired late last year. The U.S. military says that these 81-millimeter mortars can be directly linked back to the Iranian military. Eighty-one millimeters is a particular signature of the Iranian armed forces in this region, they say.

The make and model, this single piece, tail-fin designed, is particularly a signature of the Iranian armed forces, as are the geometrics, says the explosives expert. Another direct link to the Iranians.

They also claim that in the arrests of Iranian officers here in Iraq since December, the Americans claim they found proof that they are providing weapons to a prominent Iraqi political organization. That political organization says the weapons were being given for its own defense. However, the U.S. military counters and says that mortars and sniper rifles of the kind being provided are not for defense.

And finally, among the Iranians who were arrested in Irbil just a few weeks ago in the north of the country, the U.S. military now claims one of them was the senior operations officer for the Iranian Kuds force, that special forces unit answering directly to the supreme leader guiding the attacks against the Americans.

Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And later from Baghdad, CNN's Michael Holmes fills us in on the Iraqi capital's booming weapons market.

Their words are heated and spanning the globe today. Why is the Australian leader criticizing a Democratic presidential hopeful?

Our Ed Henry is at the White House.

What are you digging?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good evening, Fred.

You know, what's interesting is it's so shocking to see the Australian prime minister get involved in a U.S. political race. I think probably Senator Barack Obama would be expecting a hit from maybe Hillary Clinton or another senator like that in this race right now, but not a blast from down under. And Senator Obama is not taking this lightly.

Today he already fired back, basically telling the Australians, if they want to really get serious about Iraq, then they should send 20,000 troops to Iraq instead of 1,000.

Also interesting, the White House is now weighing in on this. You might think they would want to stay out of this spat, but they're weighing in on this, and we'll have that later this hour -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that.

Thanks so much, Ed.

Also, the conversation keeps right on going. Senator Hillary Clinton talks with the voters of New Hampshire. You are looking at live pictures right now of her town hall meeting in Keene. We'll take you there.

(MUSIC)

And a very familiar artist. Mary J. Blige, she has the most Grammy nominations of any artist this year, and she's joining us live straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brooke Anderson at the Grammy Awards, the 49th annually Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Can't wait to speak to Mary J. Blige.

And also, one of the big nominees here we're told is under the weather, and he is supposed to take the stage tonight. I will have that story when the CNN NEWSROOM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I-Reporters are sending us some incredible pictures of the New York snowfall. This picture was taken by Steve Teifke from Mexico, New York. He says he went up to clear the snow from his roof of his house when he noticed his dog, Duke, had walked up the pile of snow he had cleared on to the roof.

And Jane Beltrano estimates that seven to eight feet of snow outside of her home in Mexico, New York, just seems to sit there. She says it took her sons four and a half hours to clear the driveway with shovels and snow blowers.

And Scott Parkhurst sends this picture of his father, Bob Parkhurst, shoveling snow in Mexico, New York. He says the family has shoveled nearly 11 feet of snow since the storm started, which now seems like a pretty long time ago.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: So let's talk Grammys, shall we?

Excitement is certainly building for tonight's awards in Los Angeles. And adding to the hype, the reunion of the legendary rock group The Police.

Are Brooke Anderson is live on the red carpet, where folks are so excited about hearing from them.

ANDERSON: Oh, boy, everyone is so excited, anticipating the arrival of The Police. Yes, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland are back together again to take the stage here at the Grammys tonight for the opening performance. This is to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary.

You know, I'm hoping to hear a little bit of "Roxanne," a little bit of "Don't Stand So Close to Me." But they keep a tight lid on their plans. We will not know what they're planning to sing, what they're planning to do until we see it tonight during the telecast.

Now, the reunion isn't going to end tonight, and that's because The Police have called a special press conference tomorrow. We will be there live covering it, and it is expected they are going to make an announcement of an upcoming tour.

So get ready for more Police 22 years after they split up. It really is something.

OK, tonight here at the Grammys as well, Justin Timberlake. He is one of the leading contenders. He's up for four Grammy nominations. He's expected to take the stage tonight with one of three finalists who entered a contest to win the opportunity to perform live with Justin Timberlake on the stage. What an opportunity for one of those ladies -- they are all women.

But listen to this. We were at record producer Clive Davis' pre- Grammy annual party last night, and Justin was supposed to be there to perform at the party, but Clive told everyone, told the audience that he was sick, feeling under the weather, had a fever of 103 degrees.

So we haven't seen Justin here yet today, but as far as I know, he will be here to perform with one of those winners. Hopefully he is feeling a little bit better.

I also want to mention the Dixie Chicks because, you know, controversy has plagued these ladies for several years since Natalie Maines' harshly critical comments of President Bush several years ago. But they are the leading country contenders here at the Grammy Awards, with five nominations, including one for album of the year for "Taking the Long Way."

They also will be performing here at the Grammys tonight. We're looking at a little bit of their rehearsal footage from this week right now.

Fredricka, also Mary J. Blige is going to stop by. We're going to speak to her live in just a little while here on CNN. She is the leading Grammy nominee tonight, with eight nominations.

WHITFIELD: I know. And we all look forward to hearing from her. And I'm so impressed that given that she's got quite the evening ahead of her, that she is willing to take a moment and talk a little bit about how it all feels.

ANDERSON: You know what? She's a very nice lady. I spoke with her at the Grammy nomination announcements back in December, and she is just so humbled by this entire experience.

Her seventh album, "The Breakthrough," really successful, selling nearly three million copies. She said it's the story of her life and the obstacles that she has overcome, and she wants to tell the world about it.

So I'm not surprised. She is a great person.

WHITFIELD: Well, we look forward to that.

Brooke Anderson, thanks so much.

Meantime, he has been in the race just about 24 hours now, a little more than. But Barack Obama is already drawing fire from some pretty interesting places. The latest salvo 15 minutes from now.

And, of course, there's Rick Sanchez and the team working and planning on later on this evening and what they have. He will be joining me a little bit later to give us a few more specifics about what else to look forward to in the NEWSROOM.

You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New details in the wake of Anna Nicole Smith's death that may elicit more questions in the coming days. Take a look at these photographs.

The Web site TMZ.com has acquired and says it verified as authentic of Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator in the Bahamas. Most notable is the white-colored bottle labeled "methadone," alongside a pair of vials of undetermined injectable medicines.

Additionally, a couple of cans of Slim-Fast were found above the methadone. Also pictured on the refrigerator door, yogurt, Worcester sauce, spray butter, and a bottle of nutritional supplement known as Miracle 2000.

You will recall methadone was noted in the death of Smith's son, Daniel, some five months ago. According to TMZ, Bahamian law enforcement is aware of the refrigerator contents. Again, we want to reiterate that these photographs are from Smith's home in the Bahamas and not from the Florida hotel room where she was found dead.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: February is Black History Month, a time to honor the struggle and celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans. Part of that history is being written now in a new generation of African- Americans.

Here's CNN's Rick Sanchez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If you drop by the Atlanta home of D.J. Wimberly, you are sure to get something baked, shaken...

D.J. WIMBERLY, CHAIRMAN, WIMBERLY MEDIA GROUP: On a mesa that is all good and fresh.

SANCHEZ: ... or fried. Wimberly is cooking up a whole lot more than what's in his kitchen. He says he has got the ingredients now for success in life.

WIMBERLY: You have to have patience, determination and commitment. Anything is possible.

SANCHEZ: It's a recipe that's led Wimberly to become the CEO of his own business, a business Wimberly says grossed $4 million last year. And at just 30 years of age, he's chairman of Wimberly Media Group, a multifaceted company.

WIMBERLY: We have four divisions. One is Internet. One is also music. One is fashion. And our media sector, which is everything else we do and we didn't have a name for, so we decided to place it all in there.

So, our company is kind of like a one-stop company. A one-stop entertainment media company.

SANCHEZ: But Wimberly says that at 19 years of age he began simply investing money he made from modeling in J.C. Penney catalogues into starting a small Web design company.

WIMBERLY: I decided that I wanted to work for myself. I decided that being a boss was my dream. You know? But I wanted to use my leadership role not just to be a boss, not just to say I'm the boss, but I wanted to use my position to help others.

SANCHEZ: His dream flourished over the next decade, blossoming into a full-fledged business with 60 employees in the United States and abroad, currently designing and managing Web sites for 250 clients worldwide, including Atlanta Falcons football player Warrick Dunn.

Wimberly is quick to stress anyone can enjoy the same success.

WIMBERLY: The American dream doesn't have to come when you are 40 years old. The American dream can come as early as 19 or 20 or 25 if you are committed to it. You know, you have to buckle down and say this is what I want to do.

SANCHEZ: Still, he admits the role of businessman can be tough.

WIMBERLY: Sometimes it might take that you have to work 20 hours a day to achieve that goal. But you know what? At the end of the day, when you are at the success level that you wanted, that 20 hours a day seems like I could -- I would do it again.

SANCHEZ: Of course, it's February, Black History Month. And we couldn't help but ask, how does he consider himself a part of black history?

WIMBERLY: There's a lot of African-American CEOs. But I think the difference is I'm a CEO that thinks out of the box. I like to have fun.

SANCHEZ: Patience, determinenition, commitment, it's a recipe that always has D.J. Wimberly cooking up something new.

WIMBERLY: Martha (ph), you've got something to look forward to now.

SANCHEZ: Rick Sanchez, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And we'll have several more "Profiles of Excellence" throughout the month. Next Saturday we'll take you inside the CIA. Our tour guide, one of the men who oversees the agency's international spies. He's one of the first African-Americans to ever hold that position. And an intriguing twist -- his mother paved the way.

And then we are on the catwalk with fashion designer Tracy Reese. You may not recognize her face, but you will probably recognize her designs. Her clientele reads like a who's who of the Hollywood elite from Paris Hilton to R&B singer Mia (ph).

Plus, a superior court judge who is ruling out hunger. He's taken the idea of giving back to a whole new level.

Watch these profiles at 4:00 p.m. Eastern every Saturday this month.

Name-calling is nothing new during political campaigns, unless it's coming from a U.S. ally. Coming up in about five minutes from now, harsh words from down under, and they are directed at this man, presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

And then, need a grenade launcher? How about an AK-47? All you have to do is ask one of Iraq's neighborhood arms dealers. And CNN's Michael Holmes did just that.

The story from Baghdad to black market straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: So we've heard it before, U.S. forces drive insurgents out of a city, only to have them return when the Americans pack up and leave. Well, today, a U.S.-Iraqi contingent went to reclaim a town near Baquba, just northeast of Baghdad.

A CNN crew was with them. Here's what happened.

CNN's Arwa Damon was with that unit during all of that. She'll be along later this evening to describe this ferocious battle.

Like everything else in Iraq, the economy is a casualty of war, except for one niche market.

CNN's Michael Holmes reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Before we buy a weapon, we always check its quality.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In a country where unemployment is rampant, one business is booming, often literally. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This path found me. I didn't choose it. I want to help people defend themselves.

He goes by the name of Abu Hiba (ph). He used to go to university. He's young, smart and for two years now a black market arms dealer in Baghdad, with no shortage of customers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone demands. Neighborhoods, militias, Jihadi groups. Everyone demands.

HOLMES: He's a proud salesman and knows his wares. In this case, the heavy duty PKC machine gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an effective long range weapon. Its nickname in the army and among militias is the reaper.

HOLMES: Say I wanted to buy some grenades. How long would it take to you get them to me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you need three hand grenades, you can get them in two hours.

HOLMES: And how much?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more than 25,000 to 30,000 Iraqi dinars. Around $20.

HOLMES: A rocket-propelled grenade launcher, around $130. But his biggest seller is the AK-47. The weapon of choice for most Iraqis. On a busy month, maybe 50 pass through his hands and onto the streets, adding to an already unnerving level of fire power in the capital. This a fairly routine sound in the city.

(on camera): Iraq is a place where every household is entitled to have one AK- 47. That's one of them there our guard is holding. You see, with all the sectarian and criminal violence, ordinary people feel that no one can adequately protect them. Not the police, not the army, not the Americans. So for about $400, they try to protect themselves.

(voice over): Abu Hiba (ph) says those people are his market, not insurgents, although later he does admit to having rockets, hardly a defensive weapon, in his inventory. And with the new Baghdad security plan underway, Abu Hiba (ph) says many militiamen are laying low, getting rid of some of their weapons. Abu Hiba's (ph) happy. With so many weapons around, prices are low for him. He'll store them until those prices rise.

Meanwhile, he tells us that while militia members supply him, they are often supplied from places within Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What comes in from Iran is disastrous. Big trucks stacked with mortar bombs, 135 millimeter and 136 millimeter, Iranian- manufactured 120 millimeter mortars stamped 2006.

HOLMES: It's not like there's a shortage of weapons in Iraq. During the invasion, American troops left vast armories unguarded, later to be looted. Only a couple of years ago outdoor arms market thrived. They were shut down and so now the market is black. Underground.

(on camera): Are you ever worried you're going to get caught?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can buy and hide weapons easily. When the Americans come in, they can't find anything and leave. I'm afraid only of God.

HOLMES (voice over): Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And just one day after entering the presidential race, Senator Barack Obama finds himself in a war of words about the war in Iraq. Firing the first volley, the prime minister of Australia.

But as CNN's Ed Henry reports, it didn't take long for the White House to jump into that fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice over): Just one day after Democrat Barack Obama launched his bid for president of the United States, a blast from down under.

JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: If I were running Al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March, 2008, and pray as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats.

HENRY: A fierce ally of President Bush, conservative Australian prime minister John Howard was firing away at Obama's call for pulling all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by the end of March, 2008.

The senator quickly fired back.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: If he's ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq.

HENRY: A two-fer. A shot at the fact that about 1,000 Australian troops are in Iraq, and a poke at the plan to send more U.S. troops being pushed by the president, who is tight with Howard.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said don't you -- "You and John Howard appear to be so close. Don't you have any differences?" And I said, "Yes, he doesn't have any hair."

HENRY: White House aides express surprise over Howard's criticism of Obama. But one official weighed in with support for the Australian, saying, "Prime Minister Howard knows that setting a timeline for a withdrawal sends the wrong signal to our enemies..."

Democrats, however, told the Aussie to butt out of the U.S. debate.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: The most charitable thing you can say about Mr. Howard's comment is it's bizarre. You know, we'll make our own judgments in this country with respect to elections.

HENRY: But a Republican presidential candidate declared that given their own sacrifice in Iraq, the Australians have a right to speak out.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that John Howard, while it wasn't a very complimentary statement, he is basically stating the truth, and that is that what we say on the Senate floor or on the House floor goes to a world audience, and it has an impact on not only allies, but also our adversaries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our Ed Henry is joining us live.

Sorry, Ed. Did I cut you off? You were about to give us a thought right away.

HENRY: No problem at all, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, how did this come about? Did the prime minister of Australia decide to do this on his own, or did the White House have any involvement in -- I guess in encouraging his remarks?

HENRY: Well, it appears that he did it on his own. But clearly, the White House has a rooting interest here, which is the fact that John Howard is facing re-election in Australia, he's right now down in some polls to the Labor Party. And the White House wants to make sure that he doesn't lose, because they have already seen Tony Blair in Britain announce he's leaving early from office in part because of his being such a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, standing side by side with President Bush.

The White House can hardly lose another key ally -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: But this is very unusual. Everyone is in agreement, for a leader of a country to make these kinds of remarks about a candidate for presidency -- and we are talking about two years away from voters actually making a selection of a nominee -- pretty striking.

HENRY: Absolutely. It almost seems unprecedented.

What's interesting as well is that Vice President Cheney was already planning to head to Australia later this month for sort of a "thank you" tour, to thank Mr. Howard for sending troops to Iraq, being an ally in the war on terror. You can bet that trip is now going to get a lot more significance -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Henry, thanks so much, from the White House. HENRY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So, expressing her opinion on Iraq and other pressing issues, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, say some, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The senator at a town hall meeting in the politically critical state of New Hampshire.

CNN's Mary Snow is covering the Clinton campaign and joining us now from Keene, New Hampshire -- where it looks like a little activity behind you. Perhaps this town hall meeting has broken up. It's over?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has, Fredricka.

And if you can see behind me, somewhere in that crowd is Senator Clinton. And this is pretty indicative of the events she has been doing up here.

People gathering around her to try to take pictures, get autographs. And there was just an announcement that about 800 people are waiting in the auditorium that haven't gotten to see her yet. And she is going there.

So, certainly a very warm reception throughout here in New Hampshire. Although she has been peppered with questions about Iraq, particularly about her vote to authorize the war.

This crowd was not as combative, although she did get some questions about Iraq. One woman stood up saying that she's against the war and that she wanted Senator Clinton to pledge to take the lead in stopping this war.

Among some of the things that Senator Clinton talked today -- about today was the need for diplomacy. And she talked about her husband's days in the White House, saying, "That's what Bill always did," going to talk to people. She wants to be able to engage the neighbors of Iraq.

And she called -- she brought up her husband a number of times in today's talk, really stressing her experience. And she told the crowd here and she did in other towns in New Hampshire that she's very familiar with New Hampshire and her trips in the 1990s when her husband was running for president.

Now, this is in contrast to Senator Barack Obama, who is positioning himself as the Washington outsider. Senator Obama will be coming to New Hampshire tomorrow for a similar town hall meeting, and also some of these house parties that Senator Clinton did today, where the candidates talk one on one with the residents of New Hampshire -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Mary, since Senator Clinton made mention of her husband quite a bit, you have to wonder when he's going to start making some public appearances alongside her since he always does bring in quite a crowd.

SNOW: Yes. And she was asked about him at one of event yesterday. And she joked that her husband looks for any reason to come to New Hampshire. So she certainly signaled that he would be campaigning for her in this state.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mary Snow, thanks so much, in Keene, New Hampshire.

Well, it's a new weapon in the fight against one of the leading killers of women. Find out how a mammaprint -- bet you never heard that before -- it's fairly new -- how that could change the way doctors battle breast cancer.

And on a much lighter note, it is the biggest night of the year for the music industry. A live update from the red carpet for tonight's Grammys 10 minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some pretty exciting medical news. The government has just approved a new test for breast cancer. The test looks at the genetic makeup of a tumor and helps measure the risk of recurrence. It could also help determine how to best treat existing tumors.

Joining me to talk more about this test is Dr. Harold Burstein. He's with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Good to see you, Doctor.

DR. HAROLD BURSTEIN, BREAST CANCER ONCOLOGIST.: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So if you already had breast cancer, you are aware of the possibilities of any kind of recurrence. What is it about this test that better solidifies that, that -- and pretty good educated guess doesn't?

BURSTEIN: Well, always in the case of a newly diagnosed breast cancer, we are keen to determine the stage. That means how big the tumor is and whether or not the lymph nodes are involved. And we also measure things like the estrogen receptor and the so-called HER2 status.

What this test is a 70-gene assay that allows us to refine the prognosis for newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer to give us extra information that isn't immediately apparent just based on the size of the tumor.

WHITFIELD: So how do you get this kind of information? You are actually extracting DNA from the tumor tissue from someone's breast cancer, and then you are able to analyze it further?

BURSTEIN: That's right. This test requires special preparation of the tissue, that it be placed immediately into a freezing solution. And then it allows for the genes that are expressed within the tumor to be analyzed and characterized by a specialty lab.

WHITFIELD: So while it has gotten FDA approval, its accuracy rate is one to be argued. You have better accuracy rates of this test in women who are considered low risk. So you have divided the population into high risk and low risk.

Explain what that means and why you don't have closer to 100 percent accuracy from this kind of product.

BURSTEIN: Well, no test is perfect. And what we expect from this test and from a series of tests that also look at multiple genes all at once is that they are going to supplement the information we already have from traditional staging such that we will be able to say to a patient, we actually think your prognosis is better than you may have expected, or by contrast, that you need more intensive treatments because we are more concerned than we might have originally been.

It is that kind of refinement that we are looking for from these sorts of tests.

WHITFIELD: So, if I understand this properly, out of, say, 10 women who are considered high risk, who were told there is a pretty great chance of a recurrence -- after your -- the studies conducted on your product, two out of 10 of those women actually had a recurrence. So I wonder if that unnecessarily alarms those who are considered high risk when the studies show that the chances are pretty small, according to your test.

BURSTEIN: Well, first, it isn't my test, but it is an important step forward.

I think what we are looking for from, again, these molecular assays, is the opportunity to bring the right amount of treatment to a patient. And the best thing we can do for a patient is to either figure out if they have a very good prognosis such that they don't, for instance, need extra treatment with chemotherapy, or by contrast, if their tumor is riskier than we otherwise had estimated, in which case chemotherapy might be a very important part of their treatment.

WHITFIELD: So...

BURSTEIN: What we hope from these is that we can individualize the treatment for the individual patient.

WHITFIELD: So it's called a mammaprint. When might this be available to everyone?

BURSTEIN: Well, the test is available in Europe, and it's going to be increasingly available in the U.S. There are competing products already available in the United States. And I think that increasingly doctors and patients who take care of women with breast cancer will be interested in having this type of information from these multi-gene expression assays so that we can sit down with patients, share them with even greater detail about their prognosis, and help guide their treatment decisions even better.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Harold Burstein, thank you so much.

BURSTEIN: A pleasure. Thanks for having me on. WHITFIELD: Much more from the NEWSROOM later on this evening with Rick Sanchez.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So they are getting ready for tonight's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Especially big-name performers like Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, and Earth, Wind and Fire. The show kicks off at 8:00 Eastern, with the long-awaited reunion of the British trio The Police.

Our Brooke Anderson is live on the red carpet where the excitement is building.

Already tons of people there just hours before it is all to begin -- Brooke.

ANDERSON: That's right, Fredricka. Already a lot of excitement here. And I'm joined right now by one of the big nominees tonight, Wyclef Jean. You all know him, and he's performing.

Good to see you.

WYCLEF JEAN, HIP-HOP ARTIST: You, too. How are you?

ANDERSON: I'm doing well. You're looking sharp.

JEAN: Yes. Yes. I'm chilling. Ferragamo, a gift for me, shoes to the suit. It's the Grammys. You have got to look good.

ANDERSON: You do. You have to look sharp.

And you are up for "Hips Don't Lie" with Shakira.

JEAN: Yes. We're up for best pop record, "Hips Don't Lie" with Shakira. And we're also performing tonight.

ANDERSON: That's right. What are you planning for the performance? You know, a lot of people keep that secret and won't tell us very much. But can you?

JEAN: Yes, it's always hard. You know you are not supposed to say when you are going to perform. But it's going like to be, like, in the middle of the show somewhere.

ANDERSON: All right.

JEAN: Yes.

ANDERSON: Well, you're no stranger to these awards shows, Wyclef. You have been here and you have done this. Does it -- does it get to be old hat to you? Or is each and every time an honor?

JEAN: No, it's always an honor because you know you spend a lot of nights in the studio and the couch working. And this is, like, the accomplishment for all of your work.

ANDERSON: Yes. And a lot of people don't realize that record sales have nothing to do with this. This is an award, an honor voted on by your peers, by recording professionals in the recording academy.

So does that make it even more special?

JEAN: Yes, this is definitely the elite because it's your own musicians, your own peers that are judging you. And this one has nothing to do with record sales. It's the most artistic award show. It's all about your art and what you bring.

ANDERSON: You've met so many of these people who are here tonight. You have a lot of friends in the music business. But is there anyone that you are really looking forward to hanging out with?

JEAN: I mean, tonight I'm real excited about The Police. And...

ANDERSON: Aren't we all?

JEAN: Yes. Yes. I'm going to be up out of my seat like this through the whole Police performance.

And I'm very happy for Mary J. Blige, who worked real hard. She deserves everything she is going to get tonight.

ANDERSON: Yes. Music not only one of your big focuses, Wyclef. You also do a lot of philanthropic work. Tell us about that.

JEAN: Yes. Yes.

Well, we have a foundation in Haiti called Yele Haiti. We've been working, going back and forth to Haiti in the past two and a half years.

We have scholarships for kids. And we're just trying to bring awareness. And we always tell America, you know, we're right in your back yard. So it's not a smart idea to ignore the Haitian people, because we're only two -- we're an hour and 40 minutes from Miami. So definitely support the Haitian people and don't forget us.

ANDERSON: How do you encourage others to get involved with charitable efforts? Because I know Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been involved with your project.

JEAN: Yes. Well, I mean, what we try to do is we try to make it hip. We try to make it music-orientated. And our whole thing is not -- we're not saying, please, please, help Haiti, please help for our kids. We are saying help us bring the self-esteem of the country up. So that's what we are working on.

ANDERSON: What else are you working on music-wise going forward? We always look forward to all of your musical offerings.

JEAN: All right. This is the deal. "Carnival 2" (ph). Everybody that got the (INAUDIBLE) CD, I'm being doing part two to that CD, which is scheduled to come out in the fall. The lineup is going to be crazy. "Carnival 2" (ph) is going to be...

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Who's going to be on it, very quickly?

JEAN: Man, I'm going to have Mary J. Blige on there. Shakira is going to be on there. You know, certain beans I can spill. I'm getting ready to go in the studio with Will.i.am.

Wyclef, Will.i.am -- who's Clef, who's Will.i.am...

ANDERSON: Very good. Well, we will look forward to that.

Wyclef, great to see you again. Congratulations for being nominated once again.

JEAN: All right. Thanks very much.

ANDERSON: Have a great time tonight.

JEAN: All right.

ANDERSON: See you later.

And Fredricka, you know, he mentioned Mary J. Blige.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ANDERSON: We were expecting Mary J. for a scheduled interview.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ANDERSON: But we got word that she is stuck in traffic, which is not surprising because the traffic situation, the parking situation this year, is a bit of a challenge, because there's a $4 million -- four million square foot complex being built right across from the Staples Center, so it's caused a few kinks, shall I say.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, maybe we could have gotten her on the phone if she would have answered her phone, huh? All right.

ANDERSON: I know. Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will just have to listen and watch her tonight on the Grammys and everybody else.

Thanks so much.

Brooke Anderson.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Much more of the NEWSROOM later on this evening.

"LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK" is next.

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