Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Black Hawk Apparently Brought Down by Enemy Fire in Iraq; ADHD Patient Guides; Judge to Decide Who Has Right to Bury Anna Nicole Smith

Aired February 21, 2007 - 13:59   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

A final answer by Friday? A Florida judge promises to rule on who gets custody of Anna Nicole Smith's body. More on that, plus some strong allegations from Smith's mother.

LEMON: Plus, millions of children take them, but drugs that treat attention deficit disorders can pose serious risks. We've got the FDA's new guidelines.

WHITFIELD: And they say it prevents a very common cancer. But the maker of a new cervical cancer vaccine backs off a lobbying campaign that would have made the vaccine mandatory for young girls.

LEMON: And we begin this hour with some breaking news. That helicopter that made a hard landing north of Baghdad, new information from our Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, this information just coming in to CNN. Earlier today the military said a Black Hawk helicopter had made a so-called "hard landing" north of Baghdad. Everyone was fine, but they had no reason for it. Now the top U.S. spokesman in Baghdad, Major General William Caldwell, says the story is much different.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: We initially reported it as making a hard landing. Indications are now -- again, it's preliminary, but the indications are now that it was brought down by small arms fire and RPGs, rocket-propelled grenades.

It did land safely. All nine occupants were transferred to another helicopter, and the helicopter currently is secured and they are assessing the damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Everyone's safe on board that helicopter, Don, but the military clearly investigating and concerned, obviously, this may now be the eighth incident of a helicopter being brought down in Iraq in the last month or so -- Don.

LEMON: Barbara, you said the eighth incident. Tactics, will they change because so many have been brought down?

STARR: Well, the military has already said that it is looking at its tactics and procedures, trying clearly to alter its flying patterns, trying to stay out of any enemy fire. But what we do know is that several of these attacks, Don, have been preplanned and apparently very well planned by insurgents.

In at least two cases of the helicopters being brought down when ground forces tried to move to the crash sites to get to the wreckage and the victims as quickly as possible, they found the roads with fresh IEDs on the roads, that the insurgents had calculated where the rescue forces would be coming from and just mined those roads with IEDs. These kinds of things are very worrisome to the military. They believe that it's an indication that the insurgents certainly are getting more emboldened and are launching more attacks -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Barbara Starr.

And more from that interview with General Caldwell coming up in the 5:00 Eastern hour of "THE SITUATION ROOM".

Thanks, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And now this health story that is just developing. It involves the use of some popular medications used to treat ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is standing by.

What's going on, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this press conference is going on right now at the Food & Drug Administration. They are giving new warnings for people who are taking certain Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drugs, ADHD drugs. It is a long list, and we'll put that up for you.

The warnings, that there have been a small number, but still a significant number, of people who have taken these drugs and experienced two different kinds of difficulties. One is cardiovascular, heart attack and stroke problems. And these were people who already had some underlying heart problem or some other risk factor, but still, obviously a problem. They weren't having heart attacks and strokes when they weren't on these drugs.

The second problem is that some people are reporting that they are having some psychiatric disturbances when they take these drugs. That they take these drugs and they start hearing voices, or they take these drugs and they start becoming manic or becoming very suspicious of things around them.

Now, this is a very small number of people who have experienced either type of problem. But the FDA is saying that literature that's in the drugs when you get them from the drug store ought to explain these problems, and that doctors should explain these problems to their patients -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so now, Elizabeth, this is going to be really alarming to a lot of people if you are taking it or if your children are taking any of these types of drugs. So what do you do?

COHEN: Well, the first thing you want to do is not stop taking them. Do not stop taking them. You want to talk to your doctor about these problems.

Again, it's been a relatively small number of people who have experienced these problems. So talk to your doctor.

If your disease is very bad, if you are having problems functioning in life, you and your doctor may decide that it's worth taking these risks. However, if your disease isn't all that bad, if you think you can function without these drugs and maybe try some other treatments besides these drugs, you might say, there's a risk to these medicines and I don't want to take it. I'd rather go another route. But you really have to figure it out with your doctor.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for that update.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: We'll continue to watch that story and those developments.

Meantime, tainted peanut butter made hundreds of people sick, but has it now claimed a life? A Pennsylvania family is suing ConAgra Foods, maker of Peter Pan peanut butter, claiming a family member died after eating it. Federal officials have linked the peanut butter to a salmonella outbreak nationwide.

The family's lawyer said they bought four jars of Peter Pan last fall. He says the mother became violently ill and died last month. Her husband and daughter were also sickened. ConAgra issued a recall.

LEMON: And we have new information and new video coming in to the NEWSROOM about Anna Nicole Smith maybe closer to resting in peace. A Florida judge presiding over the tug-of-war over Smith's body says he'll make his decision soon.

In the meantime, more emotional testimony. The family and friends of Anna Nicole Smith, Susan Candiotti, are visiting the morgue right now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. At this hour, a somber and undoubtedly emotional time at the medical examiner's office because of a viewing of Anna Nicole Smith's remains by her mother and by the two men who claim to be the father of her daughter, Dannielynn. This is a court-ordered visit that was permitted to happen by the judge, as well as the medical examiner's office, for any family members who wished to see her remains. And these three people did. That's because the medical examiner said that even though her body has been embalmed, it is beginning to decompose and, quite frankly, he said this would be the time for the family to make a visit, if they wanted to.

Now under normal circumstances, I understand that families, when they view a body at the medical examiner's office, are not allowed to enter the room. The body is wheeled into a separate room and the family is able to see the body via a monitor set up to look at the body or through a window, a picture window.

Now, in the meantime, Virgie Arthur spent the morning -- that's Anna Nicole smith's mother -- on the witness stand. Very emotional testimony from her as she said why she thinks she ought to have custody of her daughter's remains to bring her back to Texas.

She testified that her daughter did at one time want to be buried in Texas, but ass she grew older, she also expressed a desire to be buried in California, where she was living at that time, as she put it, to be close to the stars, close to her idol, Marilyn Monroe. She said that she does not believe her daughter -- if anyone says that she wanted to remain in the Bahamas, even though her son is buried there because she said her daughter was influenced by drugs.

And she also faced tough cross-examination by Howard K. Stern's lawyers about whether she'd ever been paid for any interviews.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S MOTHER: I did an interview with "ET."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you paid for that?

ARTHUR: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you expect to be?

ARTHUR: It doesn't look like it, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean by it doesn't look like it?

ARTHUR: Well, Howard, or someone in that capacity, said that if I talked to "ET" that they would not let them -- they would not have "ET" have the exclusive rights of Vickie's life, her baby's being born. Now her death.

He's the one that's getting the money. I'm not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, Howard K. Stern is also expected to take the witness stand again this afternoon, when court resumes sometime after 3:00. And the judge has said he will make a decision on this case and announce it on Friday.

Back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, we'll get back to you for any breaking developments.

And we're going to talk to a legal analyst about what's going on in this case right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

CNN's Pipeline service is streaming those proceedings in Florida live for you. Just go to cnn.com/pipeline and you can start watching it there.

WHITFIELD: So some of her majesty's troops in Iraq are going home. Not all of them. But more than 20 percent of the current British presence there. Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons today that 1,600 are expected to be out in the coming months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The British forces that remain in Iraq will have the following tasks: training and support to Iraqi forces, securing the Iraq-Iran border, securing supply routes, and, above all, the ability to conduct operations against extremist groups and be there in support of the Iraqi army when called upon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Blair said Iraqi forces control most of Basra today. And a further withdrawal could happen before the end of the year.

LEMON: The White House sees the British drawdown as a good thing, a sign Iraqis are getting a handle on Basra and are ready to take over control and security. It's a sign that's been misread in the past.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Compared to the rest of the country, southern Iraq is relatively calm, less plagued by the sectarian violence and spectacular al Qaeda and Iraq attacks so common elsewhere. Most of Britain's 7,000 troops are clustered in the south around Basra.

JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Basra is much more stable than Baghdad where the American troops are. Their feeling also is that you can't win a civil war, and you certainly can't win a civil war as an outsider.

DAMON: What does exist here is a war of a different nature. Here it's a power struggle between Shia factions. Many of them supported by Iran. And in the past, when British troops have moved on or shifted position, the power struggle fully manifested itself in the streets. Take, for example, al-Amara, close by the Iranian border. Last summer, British troops based there dispersed into the desert after their main base came under a barrage of mortar fire, handing the city over to the Iraqis.

It took less than two months for clashes to break out between the militia-controlled Iraqi police and gunmen loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Iraqi security forces eventually restored calm described by the British military as being a delicate balance.

LT. COL. DAVID LABOURCHERE, BRITISH ARMY: There's a balance of militias and there's a balance of politics going on.

DAMON: And that balance was also aggravated by the presence of British troops.

LABOURCHERE: We were a constant reminder of everything that the locals had decided was bad about the British.

DAMON: The Iraqi population here has increasingly decided there is a lot bad about the British. And now with a British pullout looming, there is concern that handing control of southern Iraq over to the largely militia-dominated Iraqi security forces might open the door wider to Iranian influence.

(on camera): A power vacuum filled by Iran or Iranian influence militias may not mean more violence in the south. But it could create a gateway to transport fighters and Iranian weapons to other parts of the country.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, Iraq's deep and deadly ethnic divide is even deeper this week. An alleged crime is rattling the highest levels of leadership in Baghdad. An Iraqi woman, a Sunni, accuses several policemen, presumably Shiite, of raping her.

CNN senior Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr is here.

Octavia, rape is normally a taboo subject, something that people don't talk about. So how did this come about that this became so public?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. ARAB AFFAIRS EDITOR: And this is -- this is...

WHITFIELD: An allegation still.

NASR: ... what makes this story -- a huge story, really. I mean, we've heard of honor killing. In the Arab world, women, even if they are raped, even if they are victims, this is a subject that shouldn't be discussed, that shouldn't be made public, because a woman's life is at risk.

The closest relative has the right to go out and kill her in order to cleanse the honor of the attack. So for a woman to go on, you know, international television, in this case -- she went on Arab networks, started with Al-Jazeera and then Al-Arabiya, and basically, she described what happened to her, that she was raped and assaulted.

Now as you mentioned, this created an immediate rift between Sunnis and Shiites in this Iraqi government. The Iraqi government of Prime Minister Maliki issued a statement saying she's a liar, she's making this up, this is politically motivated, in order to undermine their new security policy in Baghdad.

The Sunnis went on the offensive saying, no, her story is true. And it shows the weakness, the bankruptcy of that plan.

So, of course, you have -- you know, anyone who understands the Arabic culture is saying there is no way, it's unimaginable to see a woman go publicly and talk about rape if she wasn't indeed raped. But, of course, the -- right now, the question is, who is telling the truth in all of this?

WHITFIELD: Now, we saw the videotape of, you know, her revealing herself. But she's covered. So does that mean that people know who she is, or was that revealed by some government officials?

NASR: You know, there was a name that was given, but now we're hearing that that name is a fake name. That is not a real name.

WHITFIELD: OK.

NASR: Her face is pretty much covered. So if you are watching Arab networks, you kind of get the sense that her identity is still covered.

Now, the prime minister's office apparently released a name. We're not sure which name it was, but also they said that that woman is wanted on other charges, which makes the story even more interesting.

You say, if this is a fake name that they are using, then which woman are we talking about? Is this woman wanted for anything? And why are we hearing about her being wanted at this time.

It's a very, very weird case. But what it shows here -- the main thing here is that it shows you how the Iraqi government is split. And now you are hearing more Shiites versus Sunnis within the government, and observers say this is a scary thing for Iraq.

WHITFIELD: And making it weird, too, somehow Americans are caught in the middle of this. How?

NASR: Exactly. Americans are caught in the middle because they admitted that woman. They found her during a raid, and they took care of her and they gave her medical attention and then released her.

So they have records of this woman. We just asked -- in an interview with U.S. Major General William Caldwell, we asked him what comments he has about this story, and he said basically that she was treated at an American facility and she was released with her documents and her records. And he says if she chooses to release those records, this is her business. But at this point, General Caldwell is saying that they are talking to the officers on the ground to see if they have any more information to give to the Iraqis to continue the investigation.

So right now if you listen to Arab media, everyone is saying the Americans hold the answers. Will they reveal the truth?

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, what a mess.

All right. Thanks so much. And caught in the middle, sadly, this woman.

Octavia Nasr, thanks so much.

NASR: Any time.

LEMON: Anna Nicole Smith's loved ones visiting the morgue as a judge's decision looms. And the legal twists just keep coming. More on this straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Then, wounded in the line of duty, and this is where they are sent to heal. Does that seem right?

Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, outrage at what's supposed to be the Army's top medical facility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you in any fashion profited at all from the death of your daughter?

ARTHUR: I'm trying to process that question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In other words, have you...

ARTHUR: He has.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. We're not going to point fingers.

ARTHUR: Yes he has.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question really is, are you going to get income from her death?

ARTHUR: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The answer is?

ARTHUR: I am not getting any income. He's the one that -- Howard is the one that lives off of Vickie Lynn. I don't...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we don't want to do this. I tried to stay away from this. I tried to stay away from this. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Counsel wants to turn this point in the trial into more of a circus than it is. Stick to the issues...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there's no circus here, my friend. There's no circus here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Raw emotions in a Florida courtroom. That was one of the exchanges today in the tug-of-war over Anna Nicole Smith's body. A judge says he'll make a decision by Friday, one he suggests will be quite a compromise.

And joining me now is criminal defense attorney B.J. Bernstein, who is also a former prosecutor.

They say it's not a circus. It appears to many of us as a circus.

B.J. BERNSTEIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A circus, elephants, clowns, every animal that you could have in the book.

LEMON: Why do you say that?

BERNSTEIN: It was absurd. The judge, first of all, starts off this morning saying that he's going to move fast, that he's got to make a decision by Friday, the body is deteriorating. And then when I counted in the first hour, I think there were 12 minutes of relevant testimony.

Most of the time was the judge just talking. The judge is asking all the questions instead of the lawyers. And he switches from witness to witness at a whim.

LEMON: You say the judge is asking. How unusual is that for the judge to do that? The judge doesn't usually moderate -- he just sort of -- well, moderates. He doesn't lead, right? Is that...

BERNSTEIN: Exactly. I mean, usually a judge, sometimes they'll listen to the testimony...

LEMON: Right.

BERNSTEIN: ... and then they'll ask one or two questions. But literally, the lawyer will get up. He calls one of the lawyers "Texas".

LEMON: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: That's Ms. Virgie's lawyer...

LEMON: OK.

BERNSTEIN: ... and says, "Texas," you know, after two questions, and then he takes over and asks all the rest of the questions.

LEMON: All right, let's stick with this real quick. We want to talk about the testimony that's been going on. A lot of accusations flying back and forth...

BERNSTEIN: A Whole lot.

LEMON: ... especially with Virgie Arthur, the mother. Let's take a listen real quick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR: My grandson did not overdose. And Howard was there when he died. And Howard was there when my daughter died. And he has my granddaughter now. It's not even his child, and I'm afraid for her life as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And that -- this is new video in now. You can see -- it appears to be -- is that Howard K. Stern? Yes. It's Howard K. Stern. I couldn't make it out with the monitor there.

They are outside, B.J., of the morgue where Anna Nicole Smith's body is being held. Just a short time ago the mother walked out. So they all went in and they were -- they were viewing the body.

But it appears that Howard K. Stern is being a bit emotional there. It looks like he's wiping away tears, or at least using a handkerchief or something to wipe away. That is the mother, Virgie Arthur, walking out now and being hugged by possibly a family member, or at least a friend of the family.

Also inside of this, we talked about all the different players involved in this, B.J. -- Larry Birkhead, who also says he is the baby's father. He's in court as well today.

But as we look at this video of the family coming out here, essentially she's accusing Howard K. Stern of poisoning Anna Nicole Smith and also her grandson, Anna Nicole's son, Daniel.

BERNSTEIN: Exactly. I mean, it was very, very dramatic testimony this morning. It was really strange, because on the one hand, Virgie starts out very lighthearted in the morning, talked about her career as a police officer, how she literally went from a doughnut shop to law enforcement.

Then she switches into this very emotional piece that you just heard, accusing Howard K. Stern of murdering her child, her grandchild, and then avoiding the number one question, which was -- it was very cagey of her. They kept pressing her about whether she had ever profited from her daughter. And that's when all of a sudden, she need to take breaks off the witness stand. She got more emotional and she never really answered that question.

LEMON: It's -- this particular hearing in Florida is about who gets custody of the body. But we're hearing all this other stuff. What's -- what is this accomplishing by hearing all of this stuff about who said -- you know, a cliche, who shot John? You know what I'm saying?

BERNSTEIN: Well, I mean, it's making some fascinating television, I think, today.

LEMON: Right.

BERNSTEIN: And, you know, you don't need to watch soap operas this afternoon. Just tune in and watch this.

LEMON: Right.

BERNSTEIN: But in terms of the legal part, the lawyer in me has been going nuts all day watching this, because the real issue is, does the body go to the Bahamas? Does the body go to Texas?

LEMON: Right. Let's stick with the body part, because the judge says he's going to have a decision by tomorrow, and then hopefully -- I think he says he wants Anna Nicole buried by Friday, or at least a viewing, because her body is quickly deteriorating, or decomposing, and that's one reason they went today to the morgue.

BERNSTEIN: Exactly. The medical examiner called in again today during the middle of the hearing and said, listen, judge, the -- I am going to continue to tell you the body is deteriorating, that it does need -- this needs to get resolved by the end of the week, and she needs to be buried.

So that's why this strange visitation. And this is another strange picture here, because you've got Howard K. Stern, who clearly has no love for Anna Nicole's mother, or vice versa, at the same place looking at this body. And you see the emotions.

LEMON: And just moments ago we saw them. He walked out first, she walked out right after him, very close together, and there was no judge there to keep them apart and no bailiff as well.

BERNSTEIN: Exactly.

LEMON: Thank you so much, B.J. Bernstein, for bringing us up to date on this.

BERNSTEIN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: A battle of another sort brewing between two presidential hopefuls? What's going on between Obama and the Clinton camps?

More on that straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. The next hour begins right now.

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Take two fund-raising Democrats, add a Hollywood heavyweight and the "New York Times" and you've got the ingredients of a political pot boiler. We're naming names and you're in the NEWSROOM.

Some more on that story in a moment. But first, earlier in the NEWSROOM we reported on appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, including mold, bugs and plumbing problems. U.S. military officials are reacting.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us live -- Barbara.

STARR: Well, Fredricka, this entire story continues to be a significant embarrassment to the U.S. military, especially the U.S. Army, which runs the Walter Reed Army Hospital here in the Washington, D.C. area, where there are hundreds of severely wounded troops who are living in that area. They are in on out-patient basis. They've already finished their primary care in the hospital, but now living in these buildings that are in terrible shape.

The U.S. Army -- the no. 2 man General Richard Cody reacting to that today, saying it's going to get fixed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD CODY, ARMY VICE CHIEF OF STAFF: We are absolutely disappointed in the status of the rooms and found the delays and lack of attention to detail to the building's repairs inexcusable.

I am disappointed that I had to learn about the conditions of that building through media reports, despite frequent visits to Walter Reed facilities, informal and formal discussions with patients and their families and the medical staff.

I have never been made aware of Building 18, its condition or complaints by any of our wounded warriors over the last five years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But, Fredricka, here's the obvious question many people are asking: aren't Army facilities inspected? Isn't there routine inspection where these kinds of problems would come to light?

Well, the General Cody says, yes. Can't quite explain how it is that the higher-ups did not know about this. He says some people have been reprimanded. They are moving in, trying to get these problems cleaned up as quickly as possible.

But there is no controversy, no dissension or disagreement. There were U.S. troops, wounded troops from the war living in rooms with mold, peeling paint and rat infestations -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And surely, Barbara, there had to have been complaints coming from, if not some of those wounded soldiers then maybe some family members who made the same observations? STARR: This is one of the mystifying things according to top level Army officials. They point out that they regularly do get concerns voiced to them by patients, by family members. But they say in particular -- you are seeing a place called Building 18. Building 18, they say no one ever told them about the conditions there.

But General Cody says that some of the personnel simply were not senior enough, qualified enough to really raise these concerns and bring them to the attention of top brass.

It should also be said that General Cody says this is not due to lack of resources. There's plenty of money, plenty of funds available to fix these problems. They're doing that. He said it is a failure of leadership -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Does that mean that people will lose their jobs over this?

STARR: Well, he was asked at that press conference today and so far no one has lost their jobs, according to the Army. There has been some indication that people have been reprimanded. To say that the top brass all the way to Defense Secretary Robert Gates are unhappy about this would be a significant understatement from everything we understand. They are embarrassed, furious. They want it fixed.

But still the question, Fredricka, how could it be that wounded soldiers from this war were living in these types of conditions and nobody seemed to notice?

Fred.

WHITFIELD: Barbara, thanks so much.

LEMON: Well, we knew it was going to happen at some point, but not 11 months out from the election. A battle brewing between two presidential hopefuls. What's going on between the Obama and Clinton camps? More on that straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The conflict simmers and boils. The campaign to stop it waxes and wanes. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Europe for a meeting of the so-called quartet that's been trying to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Our State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is in Berlin, where she interviewed Rice earlier today -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meeting right now with the quartet. The main issue of the meeting is this: how to deal with the new Palestinian unity government?

Basically, what's happened is that the militant group Hamas has joined forces with the Fatah party and they've decided to share power and try to end the Palestinian on Palestinian violence. In an exclusive interview with Secretary Rice just a short while ago, she said that the unity government has to prove itself first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're here in Berlin to meet with the quartet, which established principles, international principles for a Palestinian government, principles that are there because they are really prerequisites for peace. They're foundational for peace.

We've said and continue to believe the best thing to do is to wait until this government is formed and then to make decisions about it because we understand that there is still a process going on. But when that government is formed, we will make our decisions based on adherence to the quartet principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Europeans see it a little differently to the United States. They're not so sure about the, "Let's wait and see" approach. What they say is, "Look, this is an opportunity." One E.U. official said the glass is really half full.

What they want to do is they want to try and engage the more moderate elements of this unity party and the unity government and really try and influence its platform and maybe, they say, it could be a moderating influence on Hamas.

The United States', though, as you know, Fredricka, policy has been to try and isolate and pressure Hamas. They view it as a terrorist group.

Secretary Rice was meeting in Jordan with Arab leaders yesterday. And what she's really trying to do is to get their help to try and pressure Hamas and get them to back down.

So those are the differences the Europeans and the United States are working out right now here in Berlin -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Zain, can the Palestinians expect to get any kind of aid or assistance out of this meeting?

VERJEE: They were hoping to by the formation of this unity government, but that really seems unlikely, Fredricka. The international community cut off about $1 billion in aid to the Palestinians after Hamas came to power in January of 2006.

The international community basically says this to Hamas. Just do three things. Recognize Israel, renounce violence and make sure you abide explicitly to all the agreements that were made in the past between Israelis and Palestinians.

Hamas has not said that they would do that, so that's been a major problem. The international community, though, Fredricka, has set up a temporary mechanism by which they do give money to the Palestinians directly and bypass Hamas -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Zain Verjee, thanks so much, from Berlin.

LEMON: All right, America Votes 2008. We want to take you to California, some pictures there. Arizona Senator John McCain and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- some say this is an unofficial campaign stop for John McCain, who has filed papers, exploratory papers to form a presidential campaign.

But they are supposedly supposed to talk about efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. That will be highlighted at a news conference they are holding now or they held a short time ago. I believe that news conference is still going on. They're going to talk about that, and then afterwards they're going to take a short helicopter tour.

So there you go, Senator John McCain and also California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger there holding a press conference today.

This is a very interesting one. The first presidential primary is almost a year away, but the sniping has already started. The campaigns for two leading Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, they are trading words today.

The Clinton camp wants Obama to disavow criticism of Clinton by Hollywood mogul David Geffen. Now, that was first reported in the "New York Times" as a matter of fact, by Maureen Dowd. Obama's team has refused and a spokesman in fact notes a comment this week by South Carolina state senator backing Clinton who said Obama can't win the White House because he is black.

Well, that man later apologized. It goes on and on. Let's bring in now CNN political editor Mark Preston in Washington and, Mark, what is this all about? Why are the gloves coming off so early?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, look, there is so much at stake right now as we have more than 18 candidates running for president. We've got about eight to 10 on the Democratic side. There's a lot at stake. We have Hillary Clinton, we have Barack Obama. Two front-runners who are vying, you know, not only for the support of the voters, but they're also vying for crucial campaign dollars.

LEMON: Yes, a lot of money there in Hollywood. We know that Senator Obama was in Hollywood there last night, at least drumming up some support and some campaign dollars.

Now here's the thing. David Geffen has said and has been reported in the "New York Times" and in other papers, he has said that it's not that he was against Hillary Rodham Clinton. It's not that he had anything bad to say about her. He just didn't believe she could win and now all of a sudden this. Why is this changing? In fact, the Maureen Dowd column says his first line is "Hillary is not David Geffen's dream girl."

PRESTON: Apparently not. But you know something, what it appears now is that Barack Obama is going to be David Geffen's dream candidate now for the presidency.

And I'll tell you, it has the Clinton campaign up in arms. They are furious. They want Barack Obama to come out and to refute what Mr. Geffen said, to distance himself from Mr. Geffen and to return any money that Mr. Geffen has given to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama's campaign flatly refuses. And this is going to be quite a fight we're going to see go on for some time now.

LEMON: I don't know if I've ever heard of any one candidate saying give the money back because they said something bad about us. Is that unusual?

PRESTON: No. At this point, again, there is so much at stake. There's millions and millions of dollars in California. There's millions and millions of dollars particularly in L.A. and around Hollywood.

Mr. Geffen can deliver a lot of money. And certainly that's what Mr. Obama's people hope. I will tell you this now, Mr. Obama's advisers, I was on the phone with an adviser with close ties to the Obama campaign just shortly ago. He told me that they're not surprised that Hillary Clinton is upset about this. They were more surprised that she would actually come out and deliver a statement on it. They suggest, actually, that Mrs. Clinton is very much worried about Mr. Obama winning the nomination.

LEMON: Yes and Mark, we know that Senator Obama was in California and Hollywood last night. Where are the candidates now? Where is Senator Clinton and where is Obama? Where are they today?

PRESTON: Well interestingly enough, Hillary Clinton is in Nevada right now. She's at a candidates forum, a union candidates forum where she's taking some questions. As long as -- as well as with several other Democratic candidates.

Mr. Obama chose not to go to that candidates forum. He is now in Iowa actually meeting with supporters and with activists in Iowa. So they're certainly in different parts of the country. We will see them together next week in the Senate. And that will be really interesting to see how these two are able to interact and how they can talk given this spat today.

LEMON: Mark Preston, political editor, thank you so much for guiding us through this and this is only the beginning. I'm sure you can attest to that.

PRESTON: Absolutely.

LEMON: All right, thank you, sir.

And remember, CNN is the place to see the first presidential debates of the new campaign season. Mark your calendar for April 4th and April 5th. That's when CNN will co-host Republican and Democratic presidential debates live from New Hampshire. And on November 4th, exactly one year from Election Day, CNN will a Democratic candidates debate live from Nevada. WHITFIELD: A police officer barely escapes a blast. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything went black. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and I knew I was still alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Whoa, look at those images. What he did to save others, that's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brooke Anderson is Hollywood. You know, Britney Spears has had a wild week, to say the least. If you can believe it, it got wilder this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: She's in, she's out. Britney Spears and her revolving door of rehab. Well, it looks like she's now two for two.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" Brooke Anderson joins me with the latest on this.

So, what kind of rehab are we talking about, anyway?

ANDERSON: Well, we're talking about a short stint in rehab apparently, Fred. It does seem she did it again, to take from one of her songs.

For the second time in a week, Britney Spears has reportedly gone in and out of rehab, staying less than 24 hours. Entertainment news websites, including TMZ.com, are reporting that Spears checked out of the Promises Rehab Facility in Malibu this morning just hours after checking in.

And then you know late last week she reportedly bolted from the Crossroads Rehab Center on the Caribbean island of Antigua before her first day was even finished.

Now, we all know this caps a wild week for Britney, who stunned even seasoned paparazzi Friday night when she popped into a hair salon in the Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana and shaved her head.

We're seeing video from that right now.

Then she visited a nearby tattoo parlor for some new body art.

Fredricka, I just hope Britney can turn this thing around and get her life back on track soon.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think everybody is hoping that for her.

So, speaking of tabloid favorites. "Dancing With the Stars", they've recruited someone else for the upcoming season. Who?

ANDERSON: Someone else who has been in the white-hot spotlight recently. Fred, word today from ABC that Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills will be putting on her dancing shoes for that hit TV show. Now, Mills will be the first contestant with an artificial limb to compete in the series.

The show returns for its fourth season March 19th. So not too far away. The model and activist lost her leg, of course, in a 1993 motorcycle accident.

Some other stars who will be competing include Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Ian Ziering. Also Leeza Gibbons is putting on her dancing shoes for that one. It should be exciting.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it should. It seems like a lot of folks go on the show and they kind of reinvent themselves.

ANDERSON: Exactly. Think Emmitt Smith, football player to ballroom dancer.

WHITFIELD: Exactly. Who knew? And he was, you know...

ANDERSON: He has quite the footwork on the dance floor.

WHITFIELD: That's right. So we're talking about all kinds of interesting folks you've got on tap tonight. What else?

ANDERSON: Including Britney Spears, we're going to be focusing on her a lot with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". Can she be saved with these reports that she has checked out of rehab for the second time. Is there anything that can be done to convince her that she does need serious help? Tough questions for Britney Spears on TV's most provocative entertainment news show. That is "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT", 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime. A.J. Hammer and I hope to see you then -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching. Thanks so much.

LEMON: Thanks to both of you.

Holy cow. And we're not talking about entertainment news here. An escapee turns the tables during a chase, heading straight for the police cruiser. This is no time to hoof it away from the NEWSROOM.

Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, he can't believe he is alive. Check this out. In Wisconsin, police officer's dashboard --wow -- camera shows what happened after a truck ruptured a gas main. The driver had run into a home's utility room. The officer were able to get the homeowners out, but when he tried to rescue the driver, he felt that blast.

Look at him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFC. BEN HENRICH, PRESCOTT, WISCONSIN POLICE: There probably isn't a reason I probably should not be dead right now. After seeing the force of the explosion, I guess I'm just beside myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow. Well, that blast was so big, the truck driver was killed in the explosion.

WHITFIELD: And this is not the usual chase caught on a dashboard video camera. For one thing, it's a slow speed chase, very slow. And the perpetrator is rather large. Maybe by a ton or so.

This Scottish highlander cow escaped from a farm in Massachusetts, and at one point, it almost walked into a car. Later, it did slam into a police cruiser, and the cow finally tired herself out, allowing the owner to finally take her home.

LEMON: Low speed chase.

WHITFIELD: That's right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com