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Prince Harry to be Deployed to Iraq; Anna Nicole Smith's Mother, Companion Battle Over Place of Burial; Libby's Fate

Aired February 22, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins this morning.

HARRIS: For the next three hours, watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on Thursday, February 22nd.

Here's what's on the rundown.

WHITFIELD: He's in the army now. Confirmation from the British royals a short time ago, Prince Harry will serve in the Iraq war

HARRIS: Two White House hopefuls caught in a Hollywood melodrama. The Clinton and Obama campaigns getting really nasty really early.

WHITFIELD: A remarkable woman locked in a world without speech. Now she's teaching others her language, the language of autism. Amanda's story, that's in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And our top story this hour, Prince Harry heading to Iraq. The confirmation coming just this morning. Britain's third in line to the thrown is going to war.

Live now to CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh at Buckingham Palace in London.

And Alphonso, good morning to you. Obviously, risky for the prince to go to war. Risky for anyone to go to war. But let's be clear about this. This is something the prince wants to do.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. All along he said he would join the army. He was not willing to join a desk job. He said that if he was in the army, he wouldn't be prepared to twiddle his thumbs.

So it looks like Prince Harry will be getting his wish to be treated like any other British soldier. He'll be joining thousands of them in Iraq. As you mentioned, getting confirmation from military sources here that he will be deployed possibly as soon as May or June to spend probably six months in this southern city of Basra. Now, it's important to mention that this is a long-planned rotation of British forces in Iraq. But it does come a day after the British prime minister mentioned they wanted to phase out a partial withdrawal of British troops in Iraq. More than 100 of them have died in the line of duty there.

Now, as you mentioned, it would be considered kind of a risk for a royal prince to be in a war zone, but a former military commander says if that's what he wants to do, you should let him go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. TIM COLLINS, FMR. ARMY COMMANDER: His regiment is going there, and he will wish to do his duty. And I should think the nation would like to see him doing his duty. And I'm certain his father and the queen would like to see him there with his men. They will look after him and he will look after them, and together they will do their duty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN MARSH: And do his duty, he will. As we mentioned, we understand that he may go as soon as a few weeks and will probably spend six months in the southern Iraqi city or outside the southern Iraqi city of Basra, putting that military training, possibly being in charge of up to 11 soldiers and four tanks -- Tony.

HARRIS: Alphonso, it feels like a big deal, but isn't there a royal precedent for this?

VAN MARSH: Well, there is a long tradition of royals being active in the military. Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, served as a pilot in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

Prince Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy. And on top of that, Prince Harry's uncle, Prince Andrew, also known as the Duke of York, was the last royal to serve in combat almost 25 years ago, the war in the Falklands -- Tony.

HARRIS: Alphonso Van Marsh with us from Buckingham Palace in London.

Alphonso, appreciate it. Thank you.

Prince Harry joins some 7,100 British troops in Iraq as his government prepares to start withdrawing about a quarter of its forces. The U.S., meanwhile, has more than 140,000 troops currently serving in Iraq. And President Bush plans to send 21,000 additional troops to the country.

Mixing chemicals with explosives may be a new weapon of choice for insurgents in Iraq. Twelve people have been killed and more than 200 hospitalized this week in two poison gas attacks. Officials say insurgents detonated a car bomb packed with chlorine gas near a Baghdad hospital. That happened yesterday.

And there was a similar blast in Taji on Tuesday. A third chlorine bomb attack took place last month in Ramadi.

WHITFIELD: And now in this country, the courtroom drama on the docket this morning in south Florida. The emotional and often explosive tug-of-war over Anna Nicole Smith's body is now winding down. The hearing resumes at 10:30 Eastern.

Our Susan Candiotti is outside the courthouse in Broward County, Florida.

And Susan, the testimony yesterday got pretty emotional, pretty inflammatory as well yesterday.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pretty much. We saw a full range of emotions from crying, from tears, to anger.

One of the people to take the stand yesterday, Larry Birkhead. He's the photographer who said he met Anna Nicole a few years back, they became romantically involved, and then he said she became pregnant with his child.

Now, while he was on the witness stand, Birkhead testified that Anna Nicole Smith at one point, while she was pregnant, was hospitalized, was on all kinds of medications, and then he said at one point while she was already on meds in a hospital and on a drip, that Howard K. Stern, her partner, came into the hospital room with a duffel bag and gave her even more medication on top of what she was already receiving. At one point, the judge asked Birkhead if it turns out that he is indeed the biological father of this child -- because there's been no test yet -- where he thinks Smith should be buried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY BIRKHEAD, SMITH'S FMR. BOYFRIEND: I would say that since she always had a desire to be in California, and that was her home, outside of just the paternity battle, that that's where I would have preferred her to be.

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN: In California?

BIRKHEAD: That's where I would prefer her to be. However, since she's -- since her son has passed away, I know he didn't want to go to the Bahamas. I know he didn't -- he called California his home. I hate that he's there, but I'm having a tough time with the decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, in the middle of the day's proceedings, after some emotional testimony from Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who testified she wanted her daughter buried in Texas, back home where they're from, some very odd timing. During the lunchtime recess, the mother, Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead all went over to the local morgue, where the three of them had a private viewing of Anna Nicole Smith, set up more or less like they were in a funeral home, in a conference room, with lots of flowers. And they saw her body laid out in an open casket.

They spent some time with her. Each seemed to be visibly upset when they left the morgue.

And then it was back to the courtroom. The judge ultimately will be deciding whether someone will be allowed to take her body ultimately back to the Bahamas, where her son is buried in a plot there in the Bahamas, or whether she will be able to go with her mother, perhaps be buried in Texas, or perhaps in California. There's been testimony that that's where she ultimately would like to be. That's what Larry Birkhead testified to, anyway.

Now, back out live, as we indicated, testimony gets back under way in about an hour and a half. You can see a lot of -- a lot of people out here. However, we must point out that a lot of this is normal activity, people lined up for the usual business inside the courthouse every day. But, of course, lots of photographers who are waiting for all the parties to arrive, the attorneys, the mother, Stern, Birkhead, all of that, and that will be happening within the next hour or so before court begins.

And to give you a little flavor of where we're standing, next door, here is Mike Miller -- be careful, Mike. Down here we have a number of different news media outlets actually going in both directions. Court TV right next door to us, others represented down the road there.

And then, coffee shops, people taking in the sights, having a cup of coffee and watching all this going on. Next door, a convenience store. And in the window, yes, look what they're selling -- it doesn't take long, capitalism at its best -- a T-shirt that reads, "I'm the baby's daddy."

HARRIS: Oh, man.

CANDIOTTI: And you know what, Tony and Fredricka, I don't know how much they're asking for it...

WHITFIELD: Why am I surprised about that?

CANDIOTTI: ... I don't want to know.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I know. Oh gosh. All right.

I don't know. Pretty bad taste, though.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti, thanks so much outside the Broward County Courthouse.

Well, a number of different personalities are emerging from the Anna Nicole Smith case. No surprise there, including...here comes the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEIDLIN: There's no circus here, my friend. There's no circus here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, really? Antics or audition? The Anna Nicole Smith judge has a lot of people talking. His story and his critics straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And is that Brooklyn? The Bronx? It's one of those.

WHITFIELD: It's New York...

HARRIS: It's New York.

WHITFIELD: For sure.

HARRIS: Britney Spears out of rehab again, reportedly checking out for the second time in a week. Custody of her two children possibly in the balance today.

Spears' estranged husband, Kevin Federline, will be in family court this morning for an emergency hearing. He is seeking sole custody of 5-month-old Jaden James and 17-month-old Sean.

Oh, stay tuned.

Meantime, you may not believe who's coming to Britney Spears' defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FERGUSON, "THE LATE LATE SHOW": She's 25 years old. She's a baby herself. She's a baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We will tell you what else this late night talk show host had to say, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And let's check in right now with Chad Myers, because we've got some pretty severe weather that's aiming a bull's eye on the Midwest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, back at work this morning, jurors in the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby face their first full day of deliberations considering the fate of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff.

CNN's Brian Todd looks at the jury deciding Libby's fate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Judge Reggie Walton sends 12 citizens off to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. One instruction stands out: Consider "... your assessment of the memory capacity of the person whose memory is in question." GUY SINGER, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: In this case it's obviously critical. This is a case where, if the jurors are going to focus on any one instruction, that one goes to the defense's entire argument.

TODD: The argument that Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, did not lie to investigators as is charged, but misrembered conversations with reporters about the CIA job of Valerie Plame-Wilson, the wife of an administration critic. Jurors are told, "Don't hold Libby's decision not to testify against him."

The defendant's fate in the hands of an educated panel of two African-American women, six white women, and four white men. They include a museum curator, a Web architect, a government lawyer, and a former "Washington Post" employee who once worked for Bob Woodward, the reporter who testified for the defense.

A studious group that pulled off one of the most bizarre displays ever seen from a jury. Valentine's Day, they return from a break wearing identical red T-shirts with hearts on them. All but one juror.

Another, a retired math teacher, reads a statement thanking the judge and declaring, "While we're united in this, this is where our unity ends." He then says they're committed to looking at the evidence independently. It draws uneasy smiles from the attorneys.

SINGER: You know, both sides are -- the wheels are spinning inside and they're thinking about what this means. And they're smiling along because that's all you can do.

TODD (on camera): Now all either side can do is wait. Scooter Libby waits, knowing that if this doesn't go in his favor he could spend up to 30 years in jail.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash, in Carson City, Nevada. The Democratic presidential caucuses are 11 months away, but already the top two contenders have the gloves off and they're going after each other.

I'll have more on that coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Also, an adult lying about his age. No big deal? Well, police in Arizona say it was a crime for this man. The alleged con in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And could a popular energy drink pack a dangerous punch? A story parents need to hear, that's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And downstairs neighbor, meets the upstairs guy. Hey, upstairs guy, turn your TV down. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He comes in with his three-foot-long sword and starts pointing it at me and going, "Where is she?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh boy.

HARRIS: Well, she was screaming and, well, otherwise excited, but she wasn't in the house. A case of Sunday morn porn...

WHITFIELD: Oh, god.

HARRIS: Do I have your attention in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Criticism, complaints and calls to take it back. Campaign 2008 off to an early and rather contentious start. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in the middle of a Democratic dustup.

Here's CNN Dana Bash, part of the best political team on television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice over): It may have been all smiles at the Democrats first 2008 cattle call in Nevada, but it was the unusually sharp exchange between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the one candidate not here, that caught everyone's attention.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I want to run a very positive campaign, and I sure don't want Democrats or the supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction.

BASH: Clinton's campaign lashed out at Obama for scathing comments made by his Hollywood fund-raiser, David Geffen. Geffen called Clinton "polarizing," saying she can't bring the country together, and slammed President Clinton as a "reckless guy".

CLINTON: I believe Bill Clinton was a good president. And I'm very proud of the record of his two terms.

(APPLAUSE)

BASH: While refusing to say it herself, Clinton's campaign is demanding Obama denounce Geffen's remarks and give back his $2,300 campaign contribution.

Campaigning in Iowa, Obama said no.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS : My sense is that Mr. Geffen may have differences with the Clintons. That doesn't really have anything to do with our campaign. I have said repeatedly I have the utmost respect for Senator Clinton.

BASH: The Obama campaign wasn't the only one taking shots at Hillary Clinton. John Edwards took thinly-veiled jabs at her, too, for refusing to call her 2002 vote to authorize the Iraq war a mistake.

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a leader who will be -- who will be open and honest with you and with the American people. Who will tell the truth. Who will tell the truth when they've made a mistake, who will take responsibility when they've made a mistake.

BASH: All this led New Mexico governor Bill Richardson to renew his call for Democrats to pledge not to attack each other.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: The Democratic Party too often has been negative. Let's be positive. And these little name callings, these little -- don't help. So let's get over that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Dana Bash joins us live from Nevada right now.

Dana, these comments were made by David Geffen, not by Barack Obama. So why did the Clinton campaign pounce?

BASH: Well, if you ask Clinton campaign aides, they say it's simple. They say that Barack Obama is centering his entire campaign around the idea of changing the tone in politics, having a new kind of civil discourse. And if that this is case, then he should simply denounce these comments by a guy who just a couple of nights ago helped him raise over a million dollars.

But like many of these stories, there's a lot more beneath the surface. And, you know, in terms of the dynamics from the Clinton campaign, it's pretty interesting, Fredricka. And that is that there has been building frustration by Clinton aides that they think Barack Obama has simply gotten a free ride, that he has an image of Mr. -- a squeaky clean image, and they want to try to crack his Teflon image and crack it pretty early. And that is exactly what you're seeing here.

They saw these Geffen comments as something that they felt in the Clinton campaign that they needed to try to hit back on and hit back on hard, but they also saw it as an opportunity to try to take away the kind of walk-on-water image that they think that Barack Obama has. Well, Hillary Clinton, everything she says is really dissected with a fine tooth comb.

WHITFIELD: Well, most agree it's pretty surprising, and perhaps there are others who argue even disappointing, because we're talking about two folks who have been seen as being real comrades in the Senate chambers, and now the gloves coming off like this? BASH: You know, it is -- it is just one of the latest examples of everything that is happening so earlier in the 2008 cycle. This is the kind of thing that we certainly e expected to see maybe a couple of months from now. But as I said, this is the kind of dynamic where -- especially from the perspective of the Clinton campaign -- they want to try to sort of get their -- get their ducks in a row in terms of the perspective and perception of some of the people who are coming up on her heels very quickly, and one of those is Barack Obama.

So that is a big part of the dynamic in what you saw in this scathing press release that came from her campaign yesterday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dana Bash, it's only the beginning.

Thanks so much.

HARRIS: And still to come, an adult lying about his age. Well, what do you think? Big deal?

WHITFIELD: A lot of adults do it.

HARRIS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: But this is a big deal, right?

HARRIS: It is. Police in Arizona say it was a crime, actually, for this man. The alleged con coming up in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And President Bush in a case of Tennessee kiss and tell. Ooh, wait a minute now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me where he kissed you. Show me where he kissed you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He kissed me right here, right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, a sweet kiss. The volunteer gets an award and a presidential peck on the cheek. Embraceable in Chattanooga in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. I want to bring you up to speed on some news coming out of a Pentagon briefing that is ongoing right now with Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, the commanding general of the multinational corps in Iraq.

We have just learned from that briefing that another chopper, another U.S. chopper has gone down in Iraq. Specific details are still figuring those outs, still learning the very specific details on -- of this latest downing of another U.S. chopper in Iraq. This would make approximately eight choppers -- eight choppers down in Iraq in a month. And, of course, not all those choppers military choppers.

So, once again, eight choppers down with this latest news since January 20th. There you see a live picture of the briefing going on right now, a Pentagon briefing with Lieutenant General Odierno, and the news of another chopper down in Iraq making approximately the eighth chopper in Iraq since January 20th.

Kathleen Koch is in that briefing, and we will be talking to her in just a couple of moments. But if we could, let's see if we can -- do we have this ready? All right.

Listen to a little bit of sound from the briefing just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, COMMANDING GENERAL, MULTINATIONAL CORPS.: One other issue of late, as many of you know, is the downings of eight helicopters since 20 January. This has included three UH-60 Black Hawks, one of which resulted in 12 soldiers killed in action north of Baghdad.

The third Black Hawk came down yesterday north of Baghdad. The cause of that downing is still being investigated; however, initial reports that I have seen indicate enemy fire. We are aggressively examining the conditions of each incident and adapting tactics and techniques to address the issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. And live now let's listen in.

ODIERNO: Convoys are related to anything -- and just convoys in general, is that your question?

QUESTION: Sure. Ground convoys, yes.

ODIERNO: Yes. We have seen nothing out of the ordinary against ground convoys. We still see where are we getting most of our casualties from. We continue to get the majority of our casualties from IEDs, hands down -- U.S. coalition casualties. And so, we continue to work to understand why that is and to work against that, so we can defeat it.

So if that's your question, that's what I'm telling you, IEDs are still by far causing the most casualties.

QUESTION: Thanks.

General, it's Ken Fireman (ph) from Bloomberg News.

The reason given for the British drawdown is that southern Iraq is relatively quiet compared to Baghdad and Anbar, and so less troops are needed there. That raises the question of why those extra troops aren't being transferred to Baghdad, where obviously there is a need for more troops because the United States is sending more.

Would you like to have those extra British troops in Baghdad?

ODIERNO: Listen, that is something that's done by CENTCOM. I'm not going to answer that question.

What I will tell you is I agree with the fact that Basra is to a state where we believe that they will be able to turn over to Iraqi control very soon. And that should allow them to draw down a certain number of forces.

You know, there's so many other variables in that question outside of Iraq, I think that question needs to be asked to either the chairman or CENTCOM. Because it's bigger than Iraq. And you know that and I know that. So I'm not going to say anything further.

QUESTION: One quick follow-up.

HARRIS: All right. Let me take a moment here and sort of clarify my comments about what General Odierno has been explaining to us. I may have mentioned that there was a new chopper down in Iraq. Completely not the case.

General Odierno is relaying more information, more details about a hard landing of a chopper that occurred yesterday in Iraq. So no new chopper down in Iraq, just more information, further clarification of yesterday's hard landing of a chopper in Iraq, making this the eighth chopper down. This part of the reporting is correct, the eighth chopper down in Iraq since January 20th.

And I apologize for any misinformation in that reporting -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, Tony, you have heard of teens trying to pass themselves off as adults maybe to buy beer. Well, what about this, a 29-year-old man accused of pretending to be 12 years old? Well, what has he after?

CNN's David Mattingly reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He mumbles in a voice so soft and childlike, you can't understand what he's saying. But at the time, investigators clearly believed they were dealing with a frightened 12-year-old boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your last name Casey... Price?

And your date of birth again?

Neil Rodreick

NEIL RODREICK, POSED AS 12-YEAR-OLD BOY: 9-22-95. MATTINGLY: The kid who called himself Casey Price had been a seventh grader bouncing from school to school in central Arizona. Looking old for his stated age, school officials became suspicious of his enrollment papers and called detectives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Explain to me what has happened. And you can use any words you want, because I've heard them all.

MATTINGLY: On tapes just released to the public, you can hear the concern as detectives dug for evidence that Casey possibly had been abducted and molested by the adult men he reportedly lived with.

(On camera): The story of the kid who called himself Casey Price would soon unraveled and all of it caught on tape. Turns out, they had all been taken in by a colossal lie.

NELLIS: You want his real name?

DETECTIVE: Give me his real name.

NELLIS: Neil Havens Rodreick.

MATTINGLY: At first detectives can't believe what they were hearing. Twelve-year-old Casey Price, was in reality, Neil Rodreick, a convicted sex offender from Oklahoma. Listen as they continue to question Rodreick's roommate and former cell-mate Bryan (ph) Nellis for the biggest surprise of all.

NELLIS: That young man that just walked out the door? He ain't 12 years old.

DETECTIVE: How old is he?

NELLIS: He's 29.

(LAUGHTER)

DETECTIVE: 29?

NELLIS: He was born November 22nd, 1977.

MATTINGLY: It's hard to believe looking at the handcuffed adult in the orange prisoner jumpsuit that anyone ever believed he was only 12 years old. But Rodreick managed to pass himself off as an adolescent by shaving his body hair, wearing makeup, and keeping a cap low over his face.

DETECTIVE: You're kind of big for a 120-year old aren't you?

RODREICK: Just tall.

DETECTIVE: Just tall?

MATTINGLY: The lie had been so convincing, he tried to keep it going even as he was confronted by detectives.

DETCTIVE: I can see that you're shaving. You got a lot of make- up going. That's why you look so freaking weird.

MATTINGLY: Rodreick has since entered a plea of not guilty on charges including child pornography, fraud, forgery, and failing to register as a sex offender.

There have been no charges of sex assault on children in Arizona. What the tapes do not hold is an explanation, anything from Rodreick saying why he lived among children, or what he did while he was in their confidence. David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Good morning once again. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

Fred, where are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredericka Whitfield. I'm in the NEWSROOM, but just in a different section. I'm not alongside you. But I'll be back.

HARRIS: OK, OK.

WHITFIELD: So here comes the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, CIRCUIT COURT, FLORIDA: There's no circus here, my friend. There's no circus here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Some might call it a circus, indeed. Antics or audition? What is this? Anna Nicole Smith's judge has a lot of people talking, that's in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Could a popular energy drink pack a dangerous punch? A story parents need to hear, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: He had nearly 80 years of tenure at the school, but dancing no more. So why was the long time University of Illinois mascot shown the door? Winners and losers in the battle of political correctness, next in the NEWSROOM.

(BELL CLANGING)

HARRIS: Let's get the business day started. Sound that bell. The good folks at Navios Maritime Holdings, a sea-borne shipping company, ringing the bell, getting us started this morning.

The Dow up 13 points in the earliest of early trading. A lot of businesses, Microsoft news, Google news. We're following it all in the NEWSROOM with Susan Lisovicz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In the hands of eight women and four men in that D.C. federal courtroom right now is the case of Lewis Scooter Libby. He is the former chief of staff of the vice president. They are trying to determine whether he is not guilty, or guilty, of obstructing justice in the 2003 case of CIA operative Valerie Plame, her identity being revealed.

Of course, when there is a verdict, if there is a verdict, we'll bring it to you live right here on CNN.

HARRIS: A popular energy drink. Have you heard about this? A ban at several high schools after one student got sick. Is the drink dangerous? CNN's Greg Hunter joins us from New York, with more about this beverage known as Spike Shooter.

Greg, what is this?

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we went out and bought it, comes in an 8 ounce can. The drink has pretty strong warnings. Some of the warnings include don't use if you're pregnant. Don't use if you have blood pressure problems. Don't use if you have psychiatric problems. And to begin with, they tell you on the can, only start by drinking a half a can, that's 4.2 ounces.

We did a little research of our own and found out it includes a dietary supplement, Yohimbe. Here's some information on Yohimbe, and it's from the FDA website.

Yohimbe is a tree bark containing a variety of pharmacologically active ingredients. It is marketed in a number of products for body building and enhanced male performance. Serious adverse effects, including renal failures, and seizures, death have been reported to the FDA. Products containing Yohimbe currently are under investigation at the FDA.

HARRIS: Huh, so Greg, who makes this? And what's the company saying?

HUNTER: Well, it's a company, Spike Shooter, makes it. And we asked the makers at Spike Shooter, why they think some kids are getting sick out in Colorado. They responded, in party, by saying "We firmly believe the product is safe and therefore the only explanation for kids becoming sick is they're not following label instructions or are abusing the product.

"There are thousands of people drinking Spike Shooter daily with no negative effects and we see overwhelmingly positive feedback."

Now, the company said they have sold about a million cans of this stuff nationwide, in a short period of time. It's only been on the market since October. And the company says they don't have any other complaints and of course, absolutely no deaths and no serious injuries.

HARRIS: Are these drinks, sort of these energy drinks regulated? Monitored in any way?

HUNTER: They fall under a dietary supplement. Unfortunately, the FDA, or unfortunately for some, the FDA has no regulatory powers, or very little regulatory powers over herbal supplements. So --

HARRIS: That's where it stands.

HUNTER: That's where it stands.

HARRIS: All right. Well, parents get a vote. We get a say in all of this.

Greg Hunter for us in New York. Greg, appreciate it. Thank you.

HUNTER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: A lot of folks have a say in this, a battle over Anna Nicole Smith's body. Apparently that case, or at least a decision, could come tomorrow. A decision is expected from the judge, who is now also in the media spotlight. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE, FLORIDA: There's no circus here, my friend. There's no circus here.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Spoken by the ring master himself. In short time, Judge Larry Seidlin is raising eyebrows with oddball comments like this:

SEIDLIN: I want to get to a rebuilding. I want to build the child.

TUCHMAN: This:

SEIDLIN: Remember in school, you had this big French labyrinth (ph) and you tried to get to the center of it, that's all we're trying to do.

TUCHMAN: And this:

SEIDLIN: Let's face it, money is the root of all evil, am I right?

LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR, COURT TV: He's long-winded, repetitive, and preachy. And that's on a good day. When judges like Judge Seidlin interrupt, it's very hard to get to the end. It's very hard to make your point. These attorneys are all taking a deep breath. They're all showing respect, but I'm sure that they're very frustrated.

TUCHMAN: Just who is this guy? Judge Seidlin is 56 years old. He grew up in the Bronx. And once worked as a cab driver.

SEIDLIN: Instead of fighting, you should join hands, join hands. Because it's only in this country that you can join hands. We don't have these kinds of religious wars and all these other issues that take place around the world.

TUCHMAN: His 29-year history on the bench is interesting. In 1981, Judge Seidlin cited someone for contempt of court. The penalty? Write 10 times on a black board, I will not talk in court. His over the top antics may be part of his personality, or perhaps part of an audition.

According to the entertainment website TMZ, Seidlin wants to join the ranks of Judge Judy and wants his own Court TV show. TMZ says he even went so far as to have demo tapes made of his musings.

SEIDLIN: When I used to teach tennis, I used to wear white shorts and a white top. It always looked good. You look good.

TUCHMAN: To some, he may be eccentric, but fair.

SEIDLIN: Request denied. It muddies my water.

TUCHMAN: Others think he is making a mountain out of a molehill.

BLOOM: This is a hearing that could have been resolved in a hour. The legal issues are clear. We don't need 19 attorneys arguing about what the law is. There's a statute, there's some case law. The judge can look at it and make a decision.

TUCHMAN: What does his boss think of all of this? The Chief Judge Dale Ross tells CNN, that it's not appropriate for him to make a comment. Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Everybody else is certainly talking, that's for sure.

Imagine this, the president of the United States coming to your town, to honor you.

WHITFIELD: Who doesn't love that?

HARRIS: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got to go meet the president!

HARRIS: She and the president got together. Look at this moment!

WHITFIELD: Look, she's like, come back for more, honey.

HARRIS: The moment -- a kiss.

WHITFIELD: That's sweet.

HARRIS: In the NEWSROOM -- and a hug.

WHITFIELD: You may not believe who's coming to Britney Spears' defense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's 25 years old, she's a baby herself. She's a baby.

WHITFIELD: We'll tell you what else this late night talk show host had to say, straight ahead in this NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: There's the man, Chad Myers.

Chad, your maps behind you are painting this picture, winds, rain, possibly tornados. That sound so much like a springtime pattern.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Unless you're Laura Bush, you probably don't get a kiss from the commander in chief.

WHITFIELD: That's exactly what one very special lady from Chattanooga got. Sarah Jennings has the story behind the presidential smooch. She's with CNN affiliate WTVC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH JENNINGS, REPORTER, WTVC NEWS (on camera): What it feels like today?

CHADWICK: I gotta go meet the president!

JENNINGS: Can you believe it?

(Voice over): It's the moment Debbie Chadwick has been waiting for, a special meeting with President George W. Bush, when he presents her with the president's volunteer service award, she tells us she's going give him a thumbs up and a high-five.

But after Air Force One lands at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, and the big moment finally happens, it seems Debbie has a change of heart. No high-fives here, she goes in for a kiss.

(On camera): Debbie, show me where he kissed you? Right there.

CHADWICK: He kissed me right here, right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right there.

JENNINGS: Even I got more than a high-five and a hand shake from Debbie. It's not very often I get kissed after an interview. Debbie's especially proud of her pin and she has one more memento from the president.

(On camera): Did he give you a big bear hug?

CHADWICK: A big bear hug.

JENNINGS: And big bear hugs will likely be going around at the Chadwick household for quite a while. Debbie's mother, Mary, says she's more than proud of her daughter and found herself a little out of sorts, when it all went down.

MARY CHADWICK, DEBBIE'S MOTHER: I'm really thrilled. In fact, I was speechless to begin with. You don't usually catch me speechless.

JENNINGS: That's just fine with Debbie, who will go on making a difference in the lives of others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I love that Debbie is giving the commander in chief orders, like, come on, give me a kiss, put the pin right here.

HARRIS: Right here.

WHITFIELD: And she got her way.

HARRIS: That was great.

WHITFIELD: How about this? Royal marching orders now. Britain's Prince Harry, headed to Iraq.

HARRIS: And a woman with autism struggling to live in the typical world, but keeping her humor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you define yourself as an autistic person, Amanda?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the word for people whose brains look like mine, last I checked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Our Doctor Sanjay Gupta has a story you won't want to miss. Coming up, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The Britney Spears saga moves to an L.A. courtroom this morning. Her estranged husband asking for a hearing in family court. Despite all of the lurid headlines, one late-night comedian says no more Britney jokes. It's time to leave her alone. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Britney!

MOOS: Britney in and out of rehab so fast even the tabloids can't keep tabs. On Britney'shair.com, her locks are for sale. It's all enough to turn a late-night comedian dead serious.

CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST, "LATE LATE SHOW CRAIG FERGUSON": She's 25 years old. She's a baby herself. She's a baby.

MOOS: Audience members expecting a funny monologue didn't know quite how to react.

FERGUSON: People are falling apart. People are dying. That Anna Nicole Smith woman, she died. It's not a joke.

MOOS: No wonder they tittered nervously. Craig Ferguson told of how he hit bottom 15 years ago and decided to quit drinking.

FERGUSON: I woke up on Christmas morning and I was, you know, I was soaked in my own urine. At least I think it was mine. I can't be certain.

MOOS: And now, he's giving up another addiction, to a certain kind of joke.

FERGUSON: It should be about always attacking the powerful people. Attacking the politicians, and the Trumps, and the blowhards of the world. Go after them! We shouldn't be attacking the vulnerable people.

MOOS: When a comedian gets serious, as David Letterman did after 9/11, it makes a big impression.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE NIGHT: It's terribly sad here in New York City.

MOOS: And Craig Ferguson's 12 heartfelt minutes rocketed to the top-rated video on YouTube. E-mailed reaction was overwhelmingly positive, "Pure class". Wow, Ferguson was anything but holier than thou.

FERGUSON: I am as guilty as sin about this. I made fun of the lady astronaut wearing the diapers, when she was driving. The mug shot comes in, I go, this woman is in trouble. She needs help.

MOOS (On camera): Talk about as guilty as sin, as I was deciding whether to do this story, I had one eye on the television set watching the Anna Nicole Smith hearing, trying to figure out whether I should to that story, or this one.

(Voice over): One fan called Ferguson's diatribe "The beginning of a revolution." But other comedians, though respectful, weren't exactly joining in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you feel sorry for everybody, you'll never get a laugh.

MOOS: Even as Ferguson made his promise.

FERGUSON: Tonight, no Britney Spears jokes, here's why.

MOOS: Folks were still laughing. Bigger names than Ferguson were still telling Britney Jokes.

LETTERMAN: Yesterday, she shaved her head, got a tattoo. Today she drove to Orlando in a diaper. Yes, in a diaper!

MOOS: It may take a 12-step program to teach the audience, Britney abstinence.

FERGUSON: Britney Spears!

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Toxic terror: A disturbing new tactic now used by insurgents in Iraq, details in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: A parent calls it hate speech. The school says it's free speech, anti-Islamic pamphlets handed out at a public high school. That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Running is a popular way to stay fit. As you age, does it start to hurt more than actually help? That is today's, "30 40 50". Here's Judy Fortin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Patrick Avon is a man obsessed with fitness. A marathon runner and tri-athlete, Avon works out daily to keep his body in shape.

PATRICK AVON, RUNNER: I like to approach it as simply, I want to use my body as if I was 15 years old again.

FORTIN: But he's not 15. After eight marathons, and 17 triathlons, two of which were Iron Mans, 44-year-old Avon had knee surgery. Yet that didn't stop him. Five months later he ran the Marine Corps Marathon.

AVON: I recovered wicked fast.

FORTIN: According to the Road Runner's Club of America, running is no longer just a young person's sport. The largest age group for male race entrants in 2005, was 45 years and older. But doctors warn running can put wear and tear on your joints and muscles as you age. In your 30s and 40s, you begin to lose bone and muscle mass.

DR. WIEMI DOUOGUIH, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CTR.: So all these things, over time, can gradually cause wearing away of the cartilage that protects the knee and allows smooth gliding. It can also cause inflammation of the tissues, and eventually it can reach a threshold, where the person feels pain. That's often what happens with runners.

FORTIN: Strength training can help. And like with other sports, stretch before and after workout. If you're new at running, talk with your doctor.

DOUOGUIH: Over the age of 40, if you haven't worked out five or 10 years, before you start any kind of exercise program, you should consider consulting a physician and to just get a general physical.

FORTIN: In your 50s, diet and cross-training can keep your bones and muscles healthy. Foods high in protein can keep you strong. And when running races, think carbs.

DOUOGUIH: The reason you want carbohydrates, is that it's the most efficient energy producer for the body.

FORTIN: Vary your exercise routine. Throw in swimming and some cycling so that you don't always work the same joints.

Patrick Avon says, he'll continue to do a daily routine, in order to keep on the road. And even though he may face a few setbacks, he hopes he'll be running when other men are using a cane to get around.

Judy Fortin, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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