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Severe Weather; Iraqi President's Health Violence; Florida Kidnapping Update

Aired February 25, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lord, all I want you to do is save us today, because it's in your hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Seeking shelter from the storm, severe weather strikes and now it's on the move. We're tracking it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE WELLS, SHERIFF MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: This man abducted Clay Moore. We are sure of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: On the hunt for a kidnapper. New information on the prime suspect and his possible motive.

And remember Y2K? How the upcoming daylight savings time change may affect millions of computers.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in THE NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: First this hour, breaking news out of Iraq concerning Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Widely viewed as a stabilizing force in a country mired in chaos, Talabani was rushed to Jordan today for medical treatment. We spoke with Talabani's son a short time ago.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

QUBAD TALABANI, SON OF IRAQI PRESIDENT: No, Fredricka, he did not have a heart attack. I spoke with him this morning. He was in good spirits.

He's suffering from fatigue and exhaustion, but the reports about him having a heart attack or a stroke are completely false.

WHITFIELD: So, how concerned are you about your father's health?

TALABANI: Oh, of course we're concerned about his health, but I've spoken with him. He's in good spirits, he's jovial. He's in Amman right now. His doctors were quite comfortable with his condition.

It's just that, because of the lack of some - the medical facility in the Kurdistan region, they thought it best for him to go to Amman where he could receive more in-depth treatment and checkups.

WHITFIELD: And so, our White House correspondent learned through White House sources that Mr. Talabani was taken to Amman, Jordan via U.S. military, a C-130 cargo flight.

Can you confirm that?

TALABANI: I cannot confirm that. I don't know the details, the exact details of the logistics. But I do know that he is in Amman now. It's likely that he received some help from our friends in the United States.

But he, again, is in good spirits.

WHITFIELD: And when you say he is in good spirits, is it your understanding that he is able to converse verbally, and that he ...

TALABANI: Oh ...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, we're sorry about losing that picture and sound. We'll try to retrieve that so you can hear the rest of that conversation with President Talabani's son.

The U.S. is watching closely. For more on the story now let's go to the White House and CNN's Ed Henry.

And, Ed, we heard from the son that, as far as he's concerned, there was no heart attack, but instead that he's suffering from fatigue, he's exhausted and he's getting that medical attention in nearby Jordan as a result.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good evening, Fred.

As you can imagine, even though it's Sunday, the National Security Council here is monitoring this story very closely. They want to make sure that there's not even more political instability in Iraq. So that's why they're keeping a close eye on this.

As you noted, a senior U.S. military official earlier had told CNN that the early word is that President Talabani may have had a heart attack. But as you noted, his son telling you just in the last hour here on CNN that it was just exhaustion, not a heart attack, that he's not stable, that the president of Iraq is in good spirits. He's even enjoying some meals, up and about.

But as you also noted in that interview, CNN has learned separately that the White House provided a military plane. I'm told it was a C-130 to get President Talabani to Jordan. As you can imagine, the White House does not want any more power vacuums popping up in Baghdad right now. They wanted to make sure he had the best of medical care.

That obviously begs the question, though, given the fact that the White House, Iraqi officials have repeatedly said there's been so much progress on the ground in Iraq, why would the president of Iraq have to go out of country for his medical care?

As you know, the president's son also told you last hour that it really was Saddam Hussein's fault, the late dictator, essentially. That over the last 15 years or so, basic services had been run down to the ground so much that health care and other needs really needed to be done out of country.

But obviously, there'll be some eyebrows raised about that, about why the medical care was not done in Iraq.

But the bottom line, the White House doing all they can to both monitor the situation and also provide this military plane to get President Talabani to Jordan. And also, you're hearing right there on CNN from the son of President Talabani that they believe he did not have a heart attack and they believe he's now in good condition, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Ed, just moments ago we were also showing the videotape, nighttime video, of the caravan, the motorcade taking President Talabani from the airstrip to King Hussein Medical Center there in Amman, Jordan.

What's your understanding as to just how closely the U.S. is watching developments? Meaning, would U.S. envoys be on the way, or perhaps U.S. military personnel on the way, to observe or get close tabs of his medical treatment while in Jordan?

HENRY: Well, I know I've been told by the White House that the U.S. ambassador in Iraq has been on top of the situation, has been closely monitoring it. I don't know whether or not he is on the way to Jordan. I would suspect that he's going to be staying in Baghdad.

But nonetheless, absolutely, U.S. officials both in Baghdad and here at the White House watching this very closely.

Obviously, the initial reports that we're getting from the family suggest that maybe the situation is not so grave, that maybe, in fact, President Talabani is on the road to recovery.

But obviously, as a 73-year-old, given the initial reports that it could have been - I stress could have been - a heart attack. The son saying it's actually just exhaustion.

Still, at the age of 73, it's something the family, as well as U.S. and Iraqi officials want to keep a very close eye on, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we're keeping watch of his condition there at the hospital in Amman, Jordan, as well. Thanks so much, Ed Henry, at the White House. HENRY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And now to our other major story. In this country, the devastation in Dumas, Arkansas. That town looks like a war zone. Dozens of people are injured after a storm ripped through the area.

Homes have been leveled and buildings destroyed.

Amid the chaos a new worry - looting.

Our Sean Callebs is there.

Looting is always a concern and a problem following kinds of natural disasters like this. But it has reached a fever pitch, hasn't it, there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, DUMAS, ARKANSAS: Well, actually, what we're hearing from all the emergency officials is, they have looting under control. But it was right after the storm hit.

Here we're standing in front of what was basically a Dollar Store and a pharmacy. There were reports that looters went in right after the storm. But the local sheriff says that they almost immediately had National Guard troops in here. They had a lot of "boots on the ground," and they were able to keep the looting down.

It was something they were concerned about yesterday. Today they're just trying to get their hands around the sheer scope of this devastation.

If you look up in the rafters, just of this building, how they're twisted and bent down here, the windows blown out in a vehicle. As you continue to pan off in this area, the devastation is so widespread. And really, they have done with the search and rescue operations.

But what they're concerned about is the fact that this storm hit the teeth of the economic lynchpins in this area, simply devastating this economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

CALLEBS: It only took a couple of minutes for two powerful bursts - possibly twin tornadoes - to turn Brandy Lay's life upside- down. Her home destroyed. Brandy's job gone, too, when the pet food factory where she worked was mangled by punishing winds.

She says the outlook for Dumas, Arkansas, is bleak.

BRANDY LAY, STORM VICTIM, DUMAS, ARKANSAS: I think it'll devastate it. My place of employment is demolished. And they're one of the biggest employers in this town.

I just don't know if it'll recover.

CALLEBS: Friends and family helped the Lays salvage what they can, no matter how random.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) did seem to make it. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CALLEBS: The fact that the mother of two kept her wits in a time of crisis paid off. Seconds before this, Brandy rushed next door to lead an elderly neighbor to safety, just as emergency warnings blared.

LAY: By the time we got to the grass, the sirens went off. And we made it from her driveway to our house and into the hallway, and it happened that quick.

CALLEBS: "It" was a violent rumbling Brandy will never forget.

LAY: You know, you hear people say it sounded like a freight train. It sounded like there was a freight train right on top of my head. And it was just like someone took the house and just shook it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the roof just blew off?

LAY: And the roof just blew off.

CALLEBS: Powerful winds scored a direct hit on the town's major power substation, meaning it will be days before electricity is restored.

Sheriff Jim Snyder says the economic damage to his town of about 5,000 will last much longer.

JIM SNYDER, SHERIFF, DUMAS, ARKANSAS: It's kind of crippled a small town like this. We probably have - we're looking at probably 800 people out of work. Probably a third of our businesses are gone.

CALLEBS: The sheriff says, right after the storm looters hit. From a distance, Snyder saw people break into this drycleaner.

SNYDER: Then I watched them go in, and when I saw them coming out of that, they had ransacked the cash register and gotten the money out of that.

CALLEBS: The sheriff says nearly three dozen people were taken to local hospitals. But he says it could have been much worse.

Brandy Lay escaped injury, her sense of humor intact as she tried to calculate the odds of losing her livelihood and her house at the same time.

LAY: About 80 million to one, but it happened to me.

(END VIDEO)

CALLEBS: You know, and the people of Dumas are going to need to keep their sense of humor in the coming days and weeks ahead.

Now, they wrapped up the search and rescue operation. The sheriff tells me he is confident that they have accounted for all the people considered, listed as missing yesterday.

In the coming days and weeks ahead, the shift is going to focus in a big way. They're going to try and get basic services back up immediately, try to get the electricity restored to this area, but that could take pretty much a good portion of this week.

And after that, then they try to determine when or if they're going to be able to get the businesses relocated back to this area - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And we wish them the best there in Dumas, Arkansas. Thanks so much, Sean.

Well, more weather trouble in the Midwest and the Great Lakes region. A huge winter storm has left tens of thousands of people there without power. Freezing rain downed power lines across several states, and eight traffic deaths are blamed on the wintry mess in Wisconsin and Kansas.

All the bed weather has grounded hundreds of flights in Chicago, as well. It is the second day of cancellations at O'Hare International Airport. About 1,000 passengers have been stranded at the airport, sleeping on the floor or on the benches - very miserable.

A big story we're following out of south Florida, the search of a kidnapper. Deputies in Manatee County, Florida, have an arrest warrant in hand for Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, following a search of his home early this morning.

And investigators can't say enough about the 13-year-old kidnap victim who they say gave them dead-on information.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: This is how 13-year-old Clay Moore described his kidnapper to investigators.

Florida police say Moore's description was dead-on. They issued an arrest warrant Sunday for this man, identified as 22-year-old Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, also known as Nacho.

CHARLIE WELLS, SHERIFF, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: This man abducted Clay Moore. We are sure of it.

WHITFIELD: Moore told police that Beltran-Moreno took him at gunpoint from a school bus stop in Parrish, Florida, about 30 miles from St. Petersburg, and forced into a red pickup truck.

Police say the suspect drove Moore to a wooded area near a farm where he once worked and tied him to a tree with duct tape before driving away.

Moore used a safety pin and his teeth to free himself, then looked for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very creative. And when he sat down and told me, he talked to us about it, it was pretty ingenious for a 13-year-old, kind of MacGyver-like.

WHITFIELD: Police also credited Moore with keeping his wits about him and remembering details of his ordeal.

WELLS: He was extremely helpful and observant during that short time that he was with this suspect, and he gave us valuable information.

WHITFIELD: Information that led police to search Beltran- Moreno's Florida home on Sunday morning. Video provided by the police department shows what appears to be the red Ford Ranger truck that Moore described.

Police say they also found a clue to a motive - a handwritten ransom note that might have been intended for Moore's parents.

WELLS: I was shocked. I was shocked. And I think every one of us that read that - I can't even describe it. I don't think, like I said earlier, I don't believe I've ever read a real one before.

WHITFIELD: Florida officials believe that Beltran-Moreno has fled the state. But the Manatee County sheriff says his work on the case isn't over. He believes there's a good chance police will capture the suspect soon.

WELLS: I believe that, at the end of the day, we'll be able to either determine where he is or locate him and bring him to justice.

(END VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: Historical ties. A new report links civil rights activist Al Sharpton's relatives to slave owners in Strom Thurmond's family.

And imagine tons of hundred dollar bills on pallets just like this, all headed to Iraq. Some of that money now is unaccounted for. What lawmakers are doing about it straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And now to an unbelievable story out of Iraq, billions of dollars missing. Just after the U.S. invasion, more than 360 tons of cash on pallets like this was airlifted to Iraq - nearly $12 billion total - in $100 bills.

So, what happened to all that money?

Earlier this month, Democrats put that question to the president's former top man in Iraq.

Here's CNN correspondent Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Democrats wasted no time putting the former top U.S. official in Iraq on the spot. REP. HENRY WAXMAN, D-CALIFORNIA, CHAIRMAN, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM: Who in their right mind would send 360 tons of cash into a war zone? But that's exactly what our government did.

KOPPEL: Chairman Henry Waxman said, during Paul Bremer's 13 months in charge, as these photographs released by the committee show, the U.S. Federal Reserve had flown in planeloads of cash totaling nearly $12 billion, money Waxman accused Bremer and his colleagues of then handing over to Iraqi ministries without proper oversight.

WAXMAN: Did it go to pay off corrupt officials? Or worst of all, did some of this money get in the hands of the insurgents and those who are fighting us today in Iraq?

KOPPEL: Bremer responded, his mandate in post-Saddam Iraq made strict accounting rules next to impossible. He said most of the money went to, among other things, paying civil service salaries and pensions.

L. PAUL BREMER, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: As so often in Iraq, the ideal clashed with the reality we faced.

We had to find a way to get the Iraqi people's money working quickly for them rebuilding their country.

KOPPEL: And Republicans also pointed out that money came from sales of Iraqi oil and frozen Iraqi assets, not U.S. taxpayers.

But Democrat Diane Watson wasn't buying it.

REP. DIANE WATSON, D-CALIFORNIA: ... given to the agencies (ph), where it went. We do not have a paper trail.

I think that's absolutely unacceptable at a time we're asking for a surge of troops and we're asking for hundreds of billions of dollars to be sent down that gofer hole that apparently was not accounted for in the past.

(END VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: And earlier today I talked to Representative Henry Waxman about the missing money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAXMAN: The United Nations put the United States in charge of that money as trustees for the Iraqi people. It was the Iraqi money. But because it was their money and we were in charge of it, that didn't mean we should have been handing it out without any kind of accounting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can see more of that interview later on tonight. Join Rick Sanchez in the NEWSROOM at 10 Eastern.

The Reverend Al Sharpton today is sharing a poignant piece of his family history. A leading genealogist has traced the civil rights leader's great-grandfather to a slave plantation in South Carolina, which was owned by the family of the late segregationist, Strom Thurmond.

Coleman Sharpton was apparently owned by Julia Thurmond in South Carolina's Edgefield County before he gained his freedom.

At a news conference today, Sharpton professed amazement and spoke of some of his thoughts upon first hearing the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: I thought about how just in '04, when I ran for president without a TV commercial and a radio ad.

I got 10 percent of the vote in South Carolina. I beat Howard Dean and Wesley Clark in South Carolina. I wonder what my great- grandfather would have thought about that, even though I didn't get near winning, I certainly got a substantial vote in South Carolina where he was a slave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: After Thurmond's death in 2003, it was revealed that he had fathered a mixed race child with a family maid. Years before he died, Thurmond softened his public stance on race relations.

Well, tonight, the biggest night in Hollywood.

So, who will take home a golden statue? Sibila Vargas has an Oscar preview from the red carpet.

And you could say the Supremes star, Mary Wilson, was the original dream girl. What she says about the movie and why she was left out.

And there in the mix in the middle of the NEWSROOM, Rick Sanchez meeting up with his producer is getting ready for all that straight ahead this evening in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news. He'll be joining us later for a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So, with the movie "Dreamgirls" nominated for eight Academy Awards, you might think one of the real-life singers who helped inspire the story would be in the audience - at least one, or at least maybe glued to the TV set to count the wins.

Well, as Gary Nuremberg reports, Supremes singer Mary Wilson, well she has something else to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO) GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON: As the Academy Awards show gives "Dreamgirls" movie clips an audience of millions ...

MARY WILSON, ORIGINAL SUPREMES SINGER (singing): Spring is here.

NUREMBERG: ... a smaller audience gets to see one of the originals at a Washington D.C. nightclub. The Supremes singer, Mary Wilson, called her first book "Dreamgirl."

WILSON: I think the movie was really good, you know. But I also said that it was not the story of the Supremes. But it was based upon the Supremes' model of, you know, the three girls, three black girls, who became successful.

NUREMBERG: Successful? At one point the Supremes sold more records than anyone except Elvis and the Beatles. The gowns, the glamour.

In the early '60s, the Supremes were an inspiration for a generation with a bigger dream.

WILSON: Obviously, this was at a time when black people were still drinking out of for-colored water fountains. You know what I mean?

So, it actually lifted, helped lift black women up into the eyes of the rest of the world.

NUREMBERG: Wilson performs three or four times a week - mostly standards, no Supremes songs at this sound check. The fans recognize the voice, the face - a real-life dream girl with a real-life legacy.

WILSON (singing): Tell them I remember you.

NUREMBERG: Hard to forget.

Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: And CNN's live special from the red carpet, Hollywood's gold rush, starts tonight at 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And after you've seen the big show and all the winners, CNN is your all-access pass to the after party, the winners and all the Oscar action. That's tonight at midnight Eastern, Hollywood's after-party.

So, who do you think will take home an Oscar? Play inside the envelope on CNN.com. You can win big prizes, including a home theater system and a plasma TV.

So, he's been called a little MacGyver. How a young kidnapping victim escaped using only a safety pin and a lot of ingenuity. Plus, new information on the suspect, who is on the loose. It's an all too familiar sight in Iraq, dozens of deaths after a bombing. But this location and these victims, very different. The report from Baghdad straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More now on our top story. Florida police say they are hoping for a quick arrest in the hunt for a kidnapping suspect. We get the latest now from reporter Emily Maza with CNN affiliate Bay News 9. She's live from Manatee, Florida.

EMILY MAZA, BAY NEWS 9 TV CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, law enforcers say they know who kidnapped Clay Moore. They say he lived in this home behind me in Bradenton, Florida. They say his motive, he wanted money. And now the sheriff is calling this a kidnap for ransom. At 5:30 Sunday morning, sheriff's deputies searched this home. The suspect's red truck was in the driveway but the suspect was nowhere to be found. Deputies say he fled Florida but he left a handwritten ransom note behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: I don't believe I ever read a real one before. To see that and to see that spelled out and written out, yeah, it was shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAZA: Sheriff Charlie Wells says this man, a former farm worker who was employed by an aluminum company, kidnapped Clay Moore hoping to make money. His name is Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno. The 22 year old also went by Nacho and a number of other names. Neighbors told us in Spanish he was muy loco, which means very crazy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He used to drink a lot, I think. When all your friends were there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can know your neighbors forever and then something snaps and they do something like this so you don't ever really know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAZA: Detectives here say Beltran-Moreno didn't know the 13- year-old. He randomly picked Clay Moore out of a crowd of kids at a bus stop, drove him to a wooded area near a farm and tied him to a tree.

Moore waited for the suspect to leave, then freed himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. DENNIS VALONE, MANATEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: He actually had a safety pin with him and he was able to use that to assist himself. Obviously, using his teeth and his own hands and he was very creative. When he sat down and told me -- talked to us about it, it was pretty ingenious for a 13-year-old. Kind of MacGyver-like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAZA: Now the sheriff hopes law enforcement from around the country will help them locate this suspect. Let's take a look at that suspect one more time.

He has brown hair, brown eyes, Hispanic, 140 pounds and 22 years old. Once again, brown hair, brown eyes, 140 pounds, 22 years old and he's a Hispanic.

Now the sheriff believes by the end of the night they should have a better idea of where he is. Live in Manatee County, Emily Maza, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: So Emily, I realize that they have a vehicle that they have detained. But what makes law enforcement believe he's no longer in the area?

MAZA: They told us that they followed that vehicle to a certain area and they found the vehicle in this home behind me right here in Manatee County. And they were pretty confident he is out of the area. That's why they have law enforcement from around the country keeping theirg eyes and ears out for this suspect.

WHITFIELD: Emily Maza, thanks so much from Manatee, Florida.

And more now on this developing story concerning the health of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He was rushed to a hospital in neighboring Jordan earlier today. We get the latest now from CNN's Jennifer Eccleston in Amman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN COPRESONDENT: Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has arrived here in Amman, Jordan for medical tests. He was taken to the King Hussein medical center not too long ago and he was able to walk off the plane, get into a compound, and walk into the hospital.

Now a statement from his office in Iraq said that he was feeling ill due to the continuing hard work over the last few days, that he's in stable condition. And that they hope he will recover soon and return home soon.

We do not know the exact nature of the illness. But we do have word from the doctors in Sulamaniya in northern Iraq that he's feeling dizzy today and they he had low blood pressure and he was advised by his doctors in Iraq to come to Jordan to the medical center here to seek further tests. We understand that he was reluctant to do so and did not want to leave Iraq but his doctor cautioned him due to his advanced age, he is in his early 70s, that he should come to this country and receive further medical treatment.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Amman, Jordan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It has happened before in Iraq but it's rare. Officials say the suicide bomber who attacked a Baghdad university today was a woman. A least 40 people died. Most of them students. More now from CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the main entrance of the business in and management campus of Mustansiriya University (ph), a chilling reminder of the insurgency's power to strike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A suicide bomber walked into the college and killed innocent people.

DAMON: The attack killed and wounded dozens of students and employees. The carnage left behind bringing back memories of the devastating January 16th attack when twin explosions ripped through another campus of the same university, killing at least 70 students and employees.

The Iraqi government has been trying to hail a recent crackdown on the violence in the capital as a success but attacks like this one makes that more difficult. Iraqi Prime minister Nouri al Maliki telling the nation on Saturday of positive results of the Baghdad crackdown. A statement taken one step further by Iraq's national security advisor at about the same time, emergency workers were evacuating the wounded.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We've got a reduction in the violence and we have got a huge considerable reduction in the execution style killings. And the charged IEDs and we have got the confidence of our people in the Iraqi security forces is sky high.

DAMON: But for the second weekend in a row, less than 24 hours after such statements, the capital has been hit by renewed waves of violence. Further damaging the government's already shaky credibility.

(on camera): While there appears to be a decrease in sectarian killings, a trend that we have seen in the past, once U.S. troops enter an area with more than 50 people killed and under -- in under four hours, the insurgency is reminding Iraqis of its brutal power and continuous ability to strike. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A veteran journalist says the Bush administration is serious about confronting Iran. In a piece in the current "New Yorker" magazine, Seymour Hersh says the Bush White House will take military action if necessary over the Iran's nuclear program and its alleged interference in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEYMOUR HERSH, "THE NEW YORKER": There's no thought in this administration letting Israel do it. If Israel feels it has to do it, we will do it.

Because that's the last thing they want. Israel of course is capable of firing some cruise missiles from the Indian Ocean. But we are certainly just as capable of dong that and much more.

So I think if it goes, and one doesn't know, it is going -- I have been writing the same story for a year. Sort of like I would call my friends and say it is Chicken Little. The sky is falling in the last year.

Now, obviously, it seems to be much more serious. There is much more intent. My own instinct is, Wolf, that this president is not going to leave office without doing something about Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Seymour Hersh's conversation with Wolf Blitzer earlier today.

Well today a Defense Department spokesman n denied Hersh's claims that a special Iran group has been established at the Pentagon. U.S. officials repeatedly stated there are no current plans to attack Iran. But on his trip to Asia last week, Vice President Dick Cheney reiterated all options remain on the table.

Remember Y2K when we feared our computers wouldn't keep up with the calendar? Well, this year our early Daylight Savings time could cause problems, say some. Plus, Jacqui is in the weather center.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, the latest on the powerful storm that spawned tornadoes and caused blizzard conditions. Where the storm is today and where it is going. Plus your I-Report. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: If your travel plans include renting a car, beware. Find out how not to be taken on a ride in today's "On the Go Ttravel" segment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM PARSONS, BESTFARES.COM: Reporter: the number one definitely don't do if you have an empty tank bring it back to the car rental company and say you fill it up. I was on a recent trip into Florida. It was $6.99 a gallon to refuel. In my case by filling up the gas tank - and it was pretty empty -- it was $35, $40. If they had done it it would have been over $140. This is where it is truly highway robbery. It is the way the car rental companies take advantage of you. The policy I take every time is when I leave the airport, I will mark down the first exit where I see a group of gas stations because there are usually never a gas station anywhere near the airport. And then I will come back and from there is where I will just pull over and make sure it is filled up. In my opinion right now, it is best you fill up the car. Don't ever bring that car back empty. Unless you like to refinance your home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, back to that major storm story and widespread damage in Dumas, Arkansas. People have finally wrapped up their house-to-house searches and happily everyone has been accounted for. Many homes and businesses were leveled when severe weather ripped through the area yesterday. And the town's mayor says a lot of residents are going to be out of work for quite some time. Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center. Kind of like a signs of spring already.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, the pictures are indeed pretty.

JERAS: Yeah. They are beautiful. Can't get around but, you know, have a cup of coffee. Watch the birds.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

So it sounded like a great idea. This is the year we start Daylight Savings Time three weeks early. A lot of Americans see it as an early start to spring. Well, it just might mean that your computers will get a little extra bug or two. Is that really true?

Joining us now, from San Francisco, Vauhini Vara, technology reporter for "The Wall Street Journal."

Well, good to see you Vauhini.

VAUHINI VARA, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So a lot of folks will say you know what, this sounds familiar. Y2K, a lot of hype. Nothing really happened, thankfully. So make me a believer that something is going to happen this time.

VARA: To be honest, this is expected not to be of the scale of the disasters predicted in the Y2K time in 1999 when people believed that computers would revert to the year 1900 rather than 2000. The time calendaring systems are likely at risk of being about an hour off. You know, your Microsoft Outlook calendar, if it is not patched properly may show an appointment to be an hour earlier or later then it really is.

WHITFIELD: How do you correct it if that happens?

VARA: It is actually a somewhat easy correction process. Businesses that use software are likely to already to have their I.T. administrators on this task, busy downloading the kinds of patches necessary to fix the problem.

Computer users at home might have to take a little bit more initiative on their own. Those with newer versions of Microsoft Windows operating system as well as the new apple operating systems are likely protected already. But those with older versions of the operating systems will have to apply the patches themselves.

WHITFIELD: So this does not mean wiping out your bank accounts and stuff like that. That's the kind of fear we all had at Y2K.

VARA: No, this certainly is not as dramatic as the problems around Y2K.

WHITFIELD: So, to try to avoid these glitches, preparations, a lot of systems are taking right now. But what about you as an individual, you know, P.C. owner or have you your blackberry at hand, what do you need to do and know to try to stave off any potential problems?

VARA: Well, there are several steps that individual computer users can use. Fortunately those of us who use software at work - Blackberries provided to us by our workplace are likely already protected. Our I.T. administrators are likely already taking care of the problem by downloading the appropriate patches.

But those of us who use, you know, personal computers at home, Blackberries or Trios for personal use, will have to take it upon yourself in some cases to visit the Web sites of those software makers and downloading certain patches that are necessary.

WHITFIELD: So your offline stuff like your Microsoft Word, is that stuff in danger?

VARA: Programs like Microsoft Word are likely not to be affected.

The main issue for individual computer users is likely to take place when it comes to calendaring systems, the calendaring software that allows you to make appointments.

WHITFIELD: You are not really worried about this, are you?

VARA: I'm not particularly worried about it. I think we will be OK this time around as we were with Y2K.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good. Vauhini Vara, "Wall Street Journal." Thanks so much. I'm encouraged.

VARA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: No need to be alarmed.

VARA: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rick Sanchez, never alarmed. Steadfast, slow as they go. RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Ice runs through my veins.

WHITFIELD: Ooh!

SANCHEZ: Cool as a cumber. I'm a little nervous. I'm about to be on TV.

WHITFIELD: Don't be nervous. What's up?

SANCHEZ: Well, 7:00, we will turn everything over to the Oscars. It's Oscar night. So we might as well take you to Hollywood. Some call it Hollyweird.

WHITFIELD: Really? I have not heard that before.

SANCHEZ: Oh my goodness. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Where have I been?

SANCHEZ: So, in Hollywood today, it is going to be Scorsese's night, many believe.

WHITFIELD: Let's hope so.

SANCHEZ: Others believe Eddie Murphy could have a big night. There's a lot of - "Dreamgirls" could have a big night. A lot of things could happen. That's what makes it so much fun to watch.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Well they've got eight chances to do well. Something tells me "Dreamgirls" will get something. One out of eight if not more.

SANCHEZ: Although you know what, following the story, kind of on the back end, just going to tell you this. Don't tell anybody.

WHITFIELD: OK.

SANCHEZ: There is this Web site out there that's saying that the information about the winners is already out. And they have printed it.

WHITFIELD: Don't spoil it, people. Come on. Can't we have a little fun? They are just curmudgeons out there that just want to meddle with things and ruin the surprise for folks.

SANCHEZ: They could be dead wrong.

Well, we are going to ...

WHITFIELD: Come on.

SANCHEZ: If it turns out that they are right on, we have got a problem. It's a big leak.

WHITFIELD: We have a big problem. We have a big problem that there are folks out there that want to spoil everybody's fun. Come on.

SANCHEZ: It could just be -- Al Sharpton and probably one of the best-known - Strom Thurmond, one of the best known segregationists may be somehow tied together, related so to speak ...

WHITFIELD: This is some bizarre stuff.

SANCHEZ: ... through slavery. We are going to focus on that story tonight and we are going to talk to a genealogist who is going to break down for us how many of us have different blood in us than we would not think perhaps we have.

WHITFIELD: Bizarre only because we are talking about two prominent people.

SANCHEZ: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Not so bizarre when we look at what American history is all about.

SANCHEZ: We are all mongrels one way or another, I suppose.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Yeah.

SANCHEZ: That's great stuff. So that's what we've got.

WHITFIELD: It is ...

SANCHEZ: Other than that, some tap-dancing and we will have a lot of fun with breaking news if and when it happens.

WHITFIELD: Oh yeah. We know it will. Thanks so much, Rick Sanchez.

Well it is the award nobody in Hollywood really wants to get. Who took home a Razzie for being the best of the worst? Details straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you kill her?

SHARON STONE, ACTRESS: If I said I didn't, would you believe me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Did you see this one? Sorry.

Actress Sharon Stone wins the Razzie for her performance in "Basic Instinct 2". The annual pre-Oscar event mocks the worst of Hollywood. In last night's ceremonies, the Razzies dishonored Stone for the worst performance of the year. Her film won worst movie. The tongue and cheek Razzies have been mocking Hollywood since 1980. Something tells me she does not care. So much more ahead on CNN. Up next at 6:00, on LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK, evidence may have been suppressed in the case of former Border Patrol agents.

Then at 7:00, "Hollywood's Gold Rush." We're live from the red carpet in Los Angeles. You don't want to miss "Hollywood's After Party" with the winners at midnight Eastern right here on CNN.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The latest on today's top stories in three minutes.

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