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Iran Arming Iraqi Insurgents?; The Iraq Factor in '08; Dixie Chicks' Grammy Wins Politically Motivated?
Aired February 12, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, more than five years after 9/11, the World Trade Center site has yet to see any major construction. But that could soon change.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details on that.
This has been the source of much controversy, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much controversy in the past -- and I'm sure it's not over yet, Don.
We have all seen models of the Freedom Tower, which is the signature skyscraper at ground zero. But only the foundation is actually under way -- "The Wall Street Journal" now reporting that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is the owner of the World Trade Center, is working to shop the Freedom Tower -- the idea, to spur development by attracting private equity or hedge funds into owning all or part of the $3 billion tower.
So far, the project has been dependent on government support and insurance proceeds -- Don.
LEMON: What about the private sector? Because a lot of people say it won't happen unless there's interest there. Is there any interest in the private sector?
LISOVICZ: Yes and no.
I mean, this is -- this is a project unlike any other. I mean, it goes without saying. The Trade Center has yet to attract any private sector tenets, but analysts say, investors will be interested because of the mere fact that real estate in Manhattan is so desirable.
Still, some investors may have trouble getting over the World Trade Center's legacy, not just the site of one terrorist attack, but two, not to mention the Freedom Tower's potential as a new terrorist target. The tower's design is meant to withstand attack. The first 18 stories will be protected by a concrete structure to protect the building from possible truck bombs.
As for potential investors, "The Journal" says J.P. Morgan Chase may buy the development rights to tower five, another skyscraper to be built on the World Trade Center site. And that could spark private sector interest in the project. Turning back to the action here on Wall Street, shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb are certainly in motion, a lot of pressure to the downside. They are falling nearly 4 percent -- this after a report that French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis has ended talks to buy the U.S. drugmaker -- and a $2 drop in oil prices doing little to lift the major averages.
So, we're seeing a little bit of sell-off on Wall Street.
And that is the latest from Wall Street right now.
You're watching NEWSROOM. The next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
The U.S. says it has proof. Iran says the claims are all lies. What is the truth about Iranian weapons turning up in Iraq?
PHILLIPS: Hit the rewind button in the Midwest. A new storm promises tons of new snow. We have got the latest forecast from the Severe Weather Center.
LEMON: And a concrete tour that has got everyone -- a concert, I should say, tour that has got everyone and their mothers talking. The Police are hitting the road again. And we have got all the juicy details for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Iraqi insurgents stronger, coalition casualties higher -- is Iran partly to blame? U.S. defense officials say yes.
They are using these pictures to back an explosive claim that an elite military force is arming Iraqi Shiite groups. The photos show weapons recovered in Iraq, bombs that can punch through tank armor.
Earlier in the NEWSROOM, we spoke with CNN's Michael Ware in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. military intelligence says 170 British and American troops have died as a result of this Iranian- supplied weapon since it first appeared in May 2004.
They also talked about the supply of all sorts of weapons, including mortars, exactly like these ones. Indeed, the -- the analysts held these kind of mortars up at the briefing. CNN obtained these last year, and we aired them at that time.
These, say U.S. military intelligence, come from Iran, the caliber, the -- the assembly, and its geometry all indicators that it comes from Tehran. Essentially, they are saying that Iran is fighting a surrogate war with America here in Iraq, ironically, precisely what the CIA did with the Mujahedeen when they fought the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, Michael, this is actually the first time we're actually seeing something for real. You have got a piece of the weaponry.
But we have heard these accusations before. Why is the U.S. laying out this case now, and why are we actually getting visuals from reporters like you?
WARE: Well, that's an interesting question. I'm sure it's not coincidental. I mean, this evidence has been out there for two or three years.
I mean, we have been coming across materials like this for at least that long. And, even in the military's audiovisual display, some of the examples they showed dated back two years. So, this evidence has definitely been out there.
Now, for example, in the past, when you asked U.S. military intelligence about materials like this, which are here in the country, clearly having been made in 2006 -- they're not being made here -- they cross the border -- in the past, officials would say, well, they come from Iran, but we can't say whether the government did it or not.
Well, now they're saying, yes, we can. They're saying that, in Iran, munitions like this are so well-controlled, you just can't ship them wholesale across the -- the border without government complicity. And they're saying, we have the evidence that it's the Quds Force, indeed, that's doing it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Iranian government calls the allegations all lies. And some Democrats in Congress worry, the U.S. is looking for an excuse just to attack.
Now, the war in Iraq is really two wars in Iraq, at least. There is the daily array of car bombs, aimed at killing and spreading terror, and the more conventional types of urban combat, street by street, building by building.
CNN's Arwa Damon spent yesterday in the thick of a battle like that for territory just north of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A fierce battle for Buhriz, a Sunni stronghold on the outskirts of Baquba -- al Qaeda in Iraq claimed control of this area in December, driving out Iraqi security forces.
But, now, with American support, Iraqi forces are here to claim it back. Insurgent gunfire intensifies. The soldiers can't move. Their route is lined with roadside bombs, real and fake.
CAPTAIN DAMON HOLDITCH, U.S. ARMY: Yes, we have been here an hour now trying to clear this. And, if they're going to be waiting for us -- and we have heard reports of RPG teams moving in.
DAMON: The sense of urgency increases. American Bradleys fire at suspicious objects. An Iraqi army soldier launches a rocket- propelled grenade at the alley where troops believe the gunfire is coming from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Captain, finally, let's go get them.
DAMON: Movement is rapid, but cautious, troops taking cover behind their vehicles -- right now, the biggest threat, besides the roadside bombs, snipers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slightly south, but mainly east of us, all armed. An aero-weapons team said they went into a house.
DAMON: Buhriz has seen this before, caught in the vicious cycle of coming under coalition and Iraqi control, only to eventually fall to the insurgents.
(on camera): The advance has come temporarily to a halt right now. The Bradleys that were moving in front on the road just below spotted a tire that they believe could be a roadside bomb, and a number of other suspicious objects that also look like roadside bombs. So, they have called in for the explosive-ordnance-disposal teams to come and check out the situation.
(voice-over): A robot moves in and carefully places explosives.
We see few civilians. Many appear to have left in a hurry. But, in this house, we find a petrified family, too afraid to appear on camera, quivering with each explosion outside, but they tell us they have nowhere else to go.
Apache helicopters pick off insurgent gunmen on the ground. But, in eight tough hours, these troops advance less than half-a-mile. They promise, the battle will go on until the fear in these people's eyes goes away.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Buhriz, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Sleet and snow on the ground or on the way from Montana all the way to Maine -- winter warnings and watches all over the place. It could be the biggest storm of the season.
Chicago, Indianapolis, and other parts of the Midwest are bracing for blizzard conditions in just a matter of hours. In Upstate New York, deep snow is old news, but it is still piling up, nine days and counting along the shores of Lake Ontario. Unofficially, 146 inches have fallen on the village of Redfield. People are just trying to tunnel out before the next storm hits.
With all that sleet -- sleet and snow and the bitter cold, it is a wintry week that is in store for a lot of folks.
Our Jacqui Jeras checking it out.
Monumental, we have been calling this. Is that correct? Can we do that?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, close, anyway.
It certainly will be a huge deal for a lot of people. That's for sure Not all of the big cities are going to get in on the worst of the storm. But, for example, we saw those pictures up at Lake Ontario, towards Mexico, into that area here.
That area is done with the lake-effect snow, but they're getting a double whammy now, because, as this storm gets itself together and organizes, it is eventually going to make its way into the Northeastern corner, and they could be looking at as much as maybe another foot on top of what they already have.
So, you know, you get rid of one weather phenomenon, and here comes a whole new ball game coming right at you. And this is coming at a lot of people, taking a swing, and certainly going to be a big hit, we think, especially across the Corn Belt states, into the Ohio River Valley, and then interior parts of the Northeast.
You know, you look at this today, it doesn't look like all that big of a deal. Well, we are just in the very beginning stages. And one of our biggest concerns today is the threat of severe thunderstorms in the eastern part of Texas and into the Lower Mississippi River Valley.
Large hail and damaging winds will be the biggest problem there, but we could see some isolated tornadoes. Cold air is coming in from the north. And, when that moisture hits up with it, that is when the snowflakes are going to start flying. And we do expect to see some awfully -- awfully hefty accumulations.
The snow showers that we're seeing at this time, really very light -- Cleveland, there you can see some spotty snow showers on our radar map. We have got a live picture to show you the ground truth, overcast, foggy conditions there, temperature, 31 degrees. Twenty- three is your wind chill, but that cold front dropping on through. So, watch for those temperatures to drop on down over the next couple of days.
Cleveland, your big weather event is going to be taking place tomorrow. By tomorrow night, the winds will be picking up, and we will see near blizzard conditions there.
Snowfall accumulations will be heaviest in the Ohio River Valley. Everywhere you see purple on this map, guys, that is where we could see more than eight inches of snow. And many locations within this band are going to go to see up to a foot.
So, big story tomorrow morning in the Ohio Valley, Wednesday, Thursday, into the Northeastern corridor.
LEMON: Oh, you're going to be busy. JERAS: I am.
LEMON: And when you see, like...
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: When you see that -- that picture of Cleveland, it is just so gray. It looks like winter, no color.
JERAS: It really does, doesn't it?
LEMON: Look at that.
JERAS: And, you know, you might not even...
LEMON: Where is the color?
JERAS: You might...
LEMON: Where is the sun?
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: You might not even be able to see that much, I don't think, this time tomorrow.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. All right. Jacqui...
JERAS: Yes.
LEMON: ... thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, you heard Jacqui talk about the blizzard conditions possible in some cities. Indianapolis is one of them.
And that's where we find our Allan Chernoff.
Hey, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, we don't have any snow here yet. But, boy, do we have salt, really a mountain of it over there. We have just had another delivery. And, if we can sneak in there and have a look, it is just a big pile. You could really see down that mountain of salt.
And what they do over here is, they take the salt, and they add food dye to it, so, green food dye, same sort of stuff that you would have in Jell-O. But you certainly do not want to eat that.
Now, the snowfall over here in Indianapolis is supposed to begin about midnight. They're expecting about 10 inches about a foot north of the city. And they already have the plows, as you can see, packed with the -- with the salt. And, so, about 7:00 this evening, they will start spreading that salt all over the city. They have got more than 80 trucks just like that piled up, ready to go. And they have about seven big sheds like this filled with salt. So, they are certainly ready for this big storm, which is likely to be the biggest of the season thus far.
Of course, the big question for the parents and for the kids, will there be school tomorrow? The decision is going to be made about 5:00 in the morning. But I will tell you one thing. They do enjoy the snowplows over here. They have an annual contest called Snowplow Palooza.
The students actually paint the snowplows. And you can see over here, a little sun, hard to make out everything else. But they were -- they were real nice before the winter started. By the end of the winter, it has to be done all over again. So, next year, they will have the fourth annual Snowplow Palooza -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, what do they win from the contest? Do we know?
CHERNOFF: I think just the pride...
(LAUGHTER)
CHERNOFF: ... of having their art flowing...
PHILLIPS: Going down the street?
CHERNOFF: ... through the streets of the city.
PHILLIPS: The only time a parent would want to see a snowplow coming right at them, to see their kid's art.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Allan.
CHERNOFF: That's right.
LEMON: Did you or didn't you support the war? No matter your response, you will fail somebody's litmus test. Ahead in the NEWSROOM: the Iraq factor in the '08 presidential race.
PHILLIPS: And forget the tiger. Is there a terrorist in your tank? Ahead in the NEWSROOM: The new breed of gas station takes aim at Middle East oil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: An Illinoisan in Iowa, a New Yorker in New Hampshire -- one issue on everybody's minds: Iraq.
Here is CNN's Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's all give a really big welcome to Hillary Clinton.
(APPLAUSE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Senator Hillary Clinton took her presidential campaign literally into the living rooms of New Hampshire. There, in a town hall meeting, she was peppered with questions about Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know if, right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance, you can say that that war authorization vote was a mistake.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Well, I have said -- and I will repeat it -- that, knowing what I know now, I would never have voted for it.
SNOW: In Keene, she urged the crowd to turn up pressure on President Bush and Republicans to change the course in Iraq and redeploy American troops.
CLINTON: We will not be there to baby-sit this multi-pronged civil war. They have to decide they want to end the sectarian violence.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SNOW: As Senator Clinton campaigned in New Hampshire...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SNOW: ... the man considered her top Democratic rival was doing the same in Iowa, the other early deciding state in the presidential races. Senator Obama headed there right after he announced Saturday he is running for president. There, too, came questions about Iraq.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am proud of the fact that I opposed this war from the start. I thought it was...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: ... I thought -- I thought it was a tragic mistake.
SNOW: Senator Obama has the distinction of never having to cast a vote to authorize the war, since he was not in the Senate at the time. But, at a campaign event Sunday, protesters were a reminder that no candidates are exempt from voters angry about Iraq.
Mary Snow, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And Senator Barack Obama is following in Senator Clinton's footsteps. This is new video of Obama campaigning in New Hampshire today, after his weekend visit there, after the Clinton weekend visit there. This is Obama at a house party in Nashua. And he holds a town-hall meeting in Durham in a few hours from now. And Obama officially -- officially joined the presidential race on Saturday.
PHILLIPS: So many presidential hopefuls, so few issues that people seem to want to talk about -- one actually, Iraq.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins me now from Washington to talk about the politics of war.
Now, Bill, Senator Clinton made her first trip as a candidate to New Hampshire this weekend. We saw that. And the war question came up more than once.
Let's just take a listen one more time to this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know if, right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance, you can say that that war authorization vote was a mistake.
CLINTON: Well, I have said -- and I will repeat it -- that, knowing what I know now, I would never have voted for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, what do you think? Is the war vote going to haunt her the rest of her campaign?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Very likely, it will.
This war is not going away very quickly. The issue is not going away as long as that is true. This campaign is likely to have that as the issue front and center in the debate. And, most importantly, her rivals for the Democratic nomination are going to keep that issue front and center, and remind voters of -- of that, and put her on the spot as often as they can, just like Barack Obama did in the clip we just saw.
PHILLIPS: Well, the war in Iraq also came up, like you said, for another Democratic contender. That's Barack Obama. But, this time, it came from an unlikely source, Australian's prime minister.
Let's hear his statement and the senator's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: He's a long way from being president of the United States. I think he is wrong. I think that would just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq and create chaos, and create a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory.
OBAMA: I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, Bill, why is Australia's prime minister butting in?
SCHNEIDER: He has troops committed in Iraq. He has committed himself to George Bush's strategy.
And I think he has to defend his own policy, not just Bush policy, but he has adopted that as his own policy. So, like President Bush, he is very angry at critics, like Obama.
It happens that, of course, Obama is an American; he is an Australian. And a lot of Americans take offense at an Australian criticizing an American politician.
PHILLIPS: So, the way Obama came back and responded, what do you make that? What -- what is this saying about his strategy?
SCHNEIDER: I think it's very effective.
He played off Howard's comment very skillfully by saying: All right, if he is signed on to Bush's policy, if he's a supporter of this war, why doesn't he supply the additional troops that are needed to pacify Baghdad and to pursue Bush's strategy for resulting in a victory? Why doesn't he put his money where his mouth is?
And I think Barack Obama can score some points very effectively on that.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about tomorrow -- Republican and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney expected to officially announce his run for the White House.
What do you think? Are voters ready to vote a Mormon as president?
SCHNEIDER: That's kind of interesting, because there was a poll done recently by "Newsweek" in which they asked Americans: Would you vote if a -- if a party -- if your party nominated a woman for president, would you vote for her if she were qualified? Only 8 percent said they wouldn't vote for a woman. Just 3 percent said they wouldn't vote for an African-American if their party nominated one who is qualified.
But, when asked about a Mormon for president, 25 percent said that they wouldn't. My guess is -- that they wouldn't vote for a Mormon, that is -- my guess is that a lot of Americans are unfamiliar with Mormonism. They don't know much about that church. And they don't know what the right answer is to that question.
They know perfectly well that it's a sign of bigotry to say, "I wouldn't vote for an African-American; I wouldn't vote for a woman." But they just haven't learned the norms in the case of a religious group, many of whom many Americans haven't heard of. And that is the Mormon Church. Whether they would vote for one in the end, I don't know. But my suspicion is, a lot of people, one -- once they see Mitt Romney, they would be more inclined to support him and say, well, there is no problem there.
PHILLIPS: All right, Dixie Chicks, they are not the norm.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And what I'm told -- I'm told that you are the Dixie Chick-ologist...
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... and that you have been following...
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: ... this sort of political humdrum here.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: You know, we were -- we have been doing this "Quick Vote," asking our viewers, the Dixie Chicks, do you think they won for their quality of music or their political stance with regard to the Grammys?
And, so far, Bill, 50 percent of those who voted said that they think it's their politics that helped them win, not their music.
What is your take on all this?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I did do a piece some months ago about the -- the Dixie Chicks, which I supposes qualifies me as a Dixie Chicki- ologist.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHNEIDER: The fact is, it does say something political here.
Whether that is the reason they won, I don't know. I'm not a Grammy voter or member. But I will -- I will say that their views, which were once considered way out on the fringe, when one of them criticized President Bush and said she was ashamed that he came from her state of Texas, and they were virtually read out of the music industry, particularly the country music industry, now their views have become much more mainstream.
And I think this is a signal of that, that they were given several Grammys. They were the top winners at the Grammy Awards. Their views are not just mainstream in the music industry. They are mainstream in America, because so many Americans have become critical of the war. And the music industry thought it may be time to say, we're proud of them.
PHILLIPS: All right, 'fess up real quickly. Do you listen to them? Do you have the C.D. in your car? (LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Do you have your favorite song?
(LAUGHTER)
SCHNEIDER: I don't want to answer any of those questions, for fear they would all get me into trouble.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Bill Schneider taking the Fifth -- thanks, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: OK.
PHILLIPS: Well, that brings us to our e-mail question: Do you think the Dixie Chicks' big night at the Grammys was politically motivated?
You can e-mail us at CNNNEWSROOM@CNN.com. We will be reading your responses throughout the day.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Are you addicted to your BlackBerry? Of course you are, like we all are, if you have one. Well, that company that makes it has a new reason to keep those thumbs a-moving. The newest version is here.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange...
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: ... tell us about it. Is it here? Is it -- is like that -- what is that new thing that Apple is doing, the iPhone, or whatever?
LISOVICZ: Yes, I think we have discussed that at length, Don.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: And this one is different, because this one is not so much for entertainment, but for productive purposes, for -- that is, that the boss distributes these.
Research In Motion has named it the BlackBerry 8800, the new versions of the ubiquitous handheld e-mail device unveiled today. And it offers several new features, like a built-in GPS system -- everyone knows where you are -- a media player, and a front trackball, instead of the signature side navigation.
But one feature that is still missing, there is no camera. Why? RIM says, many corporate clients don't want their employees to have a camera for security reasons -- Don. LEMON: Now, GPS, though, actually will be good for, you know, when people get lost traveling, and that kind of thing, when they are out in the wilderness or in bad weather.
But you know what? Is -- if it doesn't have a camera, is it going to compete with the Apple iPhone, then?
LISOVICZ: Probably not. It's for different customers, Don.
The BlackBerry is really geared toward business customers. But competition is still an issue. The market for smart phones is more crowded than it was when the BlackBerry 8700 came out just two years ago -- Motorola, Nokia, Samsung all in the game now.
Still, "The Wall Street Journal" says, Research In Motion holds nearly half the market for smart phones. By the way, the new BlackBerry will cost about 300 bucks. It's really nice if the boss is picking up the tab.
Shares of RIM -- R-I-M-M -- are slightly lower, as are the major averages, but airline stocks are getting a boost from falling crude oil prices, down 3.5 percent today, or two bucks -- a round of fare increases over the weekend and an upgrade of Southwest Airlines.
Checking the numbers, the Dow industrials are still grounded, down 29 points, or about a quarter-of-a-percent. The Nasdaq is down 10 points, or nearly half-a-percent.
And you can always get more information on these and other business stories at our Web site, CNNMoney.com. You will find several new features today, including live streaming stock quotes, a real-time portfolio, investment blogs, and access to over 100 news feeds.
I will be back in 30 minutes for the closing bell. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A frozen pond, cracks in the ice. One brother tries to save another. Reporter Lisa Bryant (ph) of our affiliate WBOC has the heartbreaking story from Cambridge, Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA BRYANT, WBOC REPORTER (voice-over): Jenice Robinson is living out every mother's worst nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just kept crying, hoping to see my babies. They kept telling me, no, you have to calm down. You can't see them.
BRYANT: Her two sons, 8-year-old Jarris and 12-year-old Aaron, drowned in this pond Sunday afternoon. Robinson says Jarris climbed this fence and was playing on this fence when it broke beneath him. His 12-year-old brother went into the water to try to save him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I could say that my 12-year-old lost his life trying to save his 8-year-old brother.
BRYANT: When neighborhood kids ran to Jenice to tell what had happened, she called 911 and ran to a neighbor for help.
ANTOINETTE SCHAEFER, NEIGHBOR: She was crying. She said, the boys are in the water.
BRYANT: Schaefer says it took rescue workers several minutes to get the boys out of the water. They were taken to Dorchester General Hospital where they were pronounced dead just before 6:00. A tragedy, friends like 9-year-old Ava McPhaul will never forget.
AVA MCPHAUL, NEIGHBOR: I prayed really hard, but they're still with us in our heart. That's all I can say.
BRYANT: Lisa Bryant, WBOC News, Cambridge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Tight security in a Miami courthouse, where jury selection is under way in the kidnapping and murder trial of John Evander Couey. A judge denied a defense request for more time to prepare. Couey's alleged victim is Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl snatched from her bed in the middle of the night two years ago. Her body was found less than a month later in a shallow grave within sight of her home.
LEMON: Check this one out, you can fill up your car with unleaded, premium and now terror-free. That's right, it's a terror- free gas. That is what a new gas station in Omaha, Nebraska is calling its brand of fuel. It sells gas from oil companies that don't do business in the Middle East.
Now the group that operates the station says money used to buy gas from the Mideast, oil funds, it funds terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE KAUFMAN, TERROR-FREE OIL INITIATIVE: When we go to the pumps, we are sending our hard-earned dollars to a part of the world that wishes to destroy us. That is why we did this, to send that message to the gasoline companies to say that we here in America are sick and tired of financing our own demise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: But you know what, no matter what kind of gas you buy, it's probably costing you more. The average price of a gallon of regular stands at $2.22 in a new survey. That's up four pennies in the past three weeks.
PHILLIPS: Smoking guns or shots in the dark? The Bush administration says that markings on mortars and sophisticated bomb designs reveal the hand of Iran in the war in Iraq.
CNN's Michael Ware has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a war meant to confront al Qaeda, the American military says its troops are being killed by Iran. In a background briefing in Baghdad that could not be taped, by three officials who cannot be named, the U.S. escalated its campaign of accusation against Tehran.
The U.S. officials laid out what they call a growing body of evidence that a largely covert Iranian special forces unit arms, trains and advises Shia insurgents attacking coalition soldiers. That unit is an element of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Its elite Quds Force, which, the U.S. officials claim, takes its orders directly from Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, himself.
Insisting the Quds Force is systematically funneling insurgents a range of arms, from mortars to sniper rifles, grenades to machine guns, the American officials highlighted one weapon in particular they blame the Quds Force for supplying, a roadside bomb pioneered by Lebanese Hezbollah, so powerful it punches through the heaviest American armor with ease. Called an explosively-formed penetrator, or EFP, the officials say the device has killed at least 117 soldiers since it first emerged on the Iraqi battlefield in 2004.
But like much of the declassified information released during the briefing, it's a claim U.S. officials have made many times before, insisting one of the bomb's key components needs fine machine tooling that can be traced back to Iran. As can markings on mortars and explosives found inside Iraq, which show they were manufactured by Tehran.
All part, the U.S. officials claim, of a wide-ranging Iranian program to target Americans being carried by Quds Force officers of the kind American troops detained in Baghdad and the northern city if Irbil; including one as senior the Quds Force's operations chief.
While admitting there is no smoking gun of Iranian complicity, a Defense Department intelligence analyst says this is a sophisticated Iranian campaign being fought through a host of surrogate groups, maximizing Iran's deniability.
If so, it's precisely the same kind of proxy war techniques America's CIA used so successfully with Islamic allies against the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Though the much anticipated briefing was full of all delegations, there was a sprinkling of the new.
Including this: according to the U.S. military, the Iraqi government has confirmed a political faction within its ranks has, indeed, received arms from Iran, but only for its own protection. Something the military rejects, stating mortars and sniper rifles are weapons used for attack, not defense.
Either way, outlining Iranian involvement is one thing. Stopping it is another.
Michael ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Two Marines and five sailors, killed last Wednesday when their helicopter went down near Baghdad. Witnesses say they saw a missile. A militant group claimed responsibility, and the military is investigating.
Now we learn that Marine Captain Jennifer Harris was at the controls of that helicopter. We salute America's fallen heroes with her story today. An Annapolis graduate from Swampscott, Massachusetts, who dreamed of being a pilot since a little girl. Captain Jennifer Harris was on her third tour of combat duty in Iraq. She was 28.
Another Marine, another woman, another Jennifer, died in Iraq the same day. Corporal Jennifer Parcell, 20 years old, from Bel Air, Maryland. She was killed while supporting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province. Parcell followed her big brother's boot steps into the Corps and they actually crossed paths in Iraq last year.
The two women are fallen heroes today, are the fifth and sixth female Marines to die in the Iraq War, that is out of the 3,123 U.S. military deaths so far in Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, everybody is buzzing about it, it is kind of a comeback story. The Dixie Chicks won big last night at the Grammys and turning each of their five nominations into a win. Quite a comeback for a group that was shunned and worse after singer Natalie Maines criticized President Bush on the eve of the Iraq War. The Chicks awards include record of the year for "Not Ready to Make Nice," in which they refused to apologize for their remarks.
Our Brooke Anderson caught up with the trio afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Do you think the recording academy was sending a message in a sense that, hey, it's OK? It's OK?
NATALIE MAINES, DIXIE CHICKS: I think it wasn't political. I don't think it was -- we don't like the war either and we're Democrats or liberal. I think it was -- you know, musicians are very -- our whole industry is based on emotion and songwriting is supposed to be about -- you know, everyone said we shouldn't have written the songs that we wrote. Well, that's what songwriting is. That is our outlet. That's what we do as therapy and what we do to get our thoughts out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We asked if you thought the Chicks' big night was politically motivated. And here is what some of you had to say. Anita wrote: "I hope the win was politically motivated. When they were first criticized, I bought their CD. I never played it because I hate their music, but I will defend their right to sing and speak regardless of how twangy lyrically-challenged their music might be."
LEMON: Well, Jennifer put it this way: "The album was a real achievement and they were certainly recognized for their musical prowess. But I also think the music industry voted for the chicks as a mea culpa. It is as if they were saying, you were right all the way back in 2003, and we were wrong."
Chris is not ready to make nice, he writes: "These awards are nothing but another slap in the face of the president. The Dixie Chicks can be proud, but their awards are a hollow politically motivated victory. I hope our troops use the Dixie Chicks' CDs as target practice."
Deborah says to put away the guns. She writes: "The Dixie Chicks are talented, they should never have been blacklisted for having an opinion. That has made them a role model for my two daughters."
Thanks for all of your e-mails.
LEMON: Most unusual win for a Grammy last night? President Jimmy Carter. And he is not the first president to win a Grammy, nor the first politician. Here is a check of a small, but prestigious group.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): The 39th president won a Grammy in the spoken word category for the audio book version of his best-seller "Our Endangered Values." Carter shared the award in a rare tie with actress Ruby Dee and her late husband Ossie Davis for "With Ossie and Ruby." Carter is the second former president to be honored with a Grammy. Bill Clinton won twice. His first honor came in 2003, along with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and actress Sophia Loren in the category of best spoken word album for children, "Peter and the Wolf."
Clinton's second Grammy was in 2004 for his audio book version of his autobiography "My Life." Clinton's wife and current presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, won her Grammy in 1996 for the audio book version of her best-seller "It Takes a Village."
One of her prime challengers in the race for the White House, Senator Barack Obama, won a Grammy in 2005 for his audio book "Dreams from My Father."
Back in 1989, former presidential candidate, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, received a Grammy for his speech at the Democratic Convention the year before in 1988.
The first politician to win a Grammy was veteran House and Senate Republican Everett Dirksen. He was honored in 1967 in the category best spoken word drama recording for "Gallant Men."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's official. The Police are back. And they're going on tour. They made the announcement today in Los Angeles. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STING, THE POLICE: So, OK, we're going to come clean. We're actually -- we're going to on tour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The 30th anniversary reunion tour kicks off May 28th in Vancouver. They're going to tour the U.S. this summer. Stops include Boston's Fenway Park, New York's Madison Square Garden, and the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. They are going to continue their worldwide tour this fall. Tickets range from $50 to $225. That doesn't include scalpers.
LEMON: Just in that little bit we saw, man, they sure still have it. Well, he says his sexuality -- his homosexuality was an open secret among some players when he played in the NBA, but now that he is officially come out, how are former teammates taking the news? Up next, John Amaechi will talk about it in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: John Amaechi is out of the closet. But it may say something about the National Basketball Association that it didn't publicly want to acknowledge about his sexuality until his career was over. Amaechi's last season was in 2003. He is the first player in the NBA, either current or former, to acknowledge being gay.
He spoke with us about his decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Why did you come out? What is the reason?
JOHN AMAECHI, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I think it's something that's important. I recognize that whilst an average NBA player there is something I can add to the debate. I can create discourse. I can allow people to talk about issues that perhaps they otherwise wouldn't be forced to talk about. And not just in the scheme of 300 people in the NBA, and not even within the scheme of 1,000 or so people within professional sports, but the global issue of the GLBT people and diversity as a whole I think is something that needs to be opened up and re-examined.
LEMON: What do you make of what -- how the players are reacting to this?
AMAECHI: I think many of the players have shown you that the NBA is not a league of Neanderthals. It's a league where there are some very well-considered, well-thought out individuals. And they've made comments that have reflected that. But, yes, there have been some disappointing comments.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Amaechi's book "Man in the Middle" is set for publication on Wednesday.
Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
PHILLIPS: Standing by in "THE SIT. ROOM" on the road in New York today. Tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour and why are you in New York, Wolf?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I'll tell you why I'm in New York in a moment. But coming up at the top of the hour, it's Senator Barack Obama versus Senator Hillary Clinton. They are each on the road seeking your support in key presidential proving grounds. But does either senator have the edge already?
And Congressman John Murtha, he will be joining us here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" as the House gets ready to debate the war in Iraq. I'll ask him what real effect the resolution against sending more troops to Iraq could have.
And did he lie to federal investigators or is a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney being made a scapegoat? Defense Attorneys for Lewis "Scooter" Libby opened their case in the trial that is gripping a lot of Washington.
All of that, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." And the reason I'm in New York is I'm speaking tonight to some of my friends at Reuters, the wire service. The first job I ever got in journalism was working for Reuters. They've invited me to speak tonight. And I'm happy to go back as an alum.
PHILLIPS: Do you remember your first story?
BLITZER: I remember everything. And the first story was a really bad one, but I stuck with it and here I am today.
PHILLIPS: Did the copy get all torn up? Did you have to rewrite it six times?
BLITZER: They ripped it -- it was hundreds of words and they finally approved 20 of them.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And Wolf is making up everything you just heard right now.
BLITZER: No, no, this is the truth. They really ripped it apart, as it should have been.
PHILLIPS: And now look at you, Wolf. You're rich and famous. BLITZER: Something like that.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, guys.
PHILLIPS: Closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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