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Scooter Libby Found Guilty; Bluffton Bus Crash Survivor Speaks Out

Aired March 06, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello once again. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

Guilty verdict for a White House aide -- will Vice President Cheney's top adviser go to prison?

PHILLIPS: Suicide or something sinister? Some say a journalist is dead because he asked too many questions about the Russian government.

LEMON: Damage and death in the wake of a powerful earthquake and its aftershocks -- Indonesia's government says it's preparing for the worst as it surveys the damage.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Lying, perjury, obstructing justice, guilty, guilty, guilty -- the jury speaks, finally, and it's not what Scooter Libby wanted to hear.

Now, as you know, if you have been with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM, the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney has been convicted of most, but not all of the charges against him, charges arising from what he said to the feds about what he said or didn't say to journalists about former CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Now, if you have tried to follow all of that, then you know why all of it took 10 days to get to a verdict. The defense maintains the verdicts won't be the final word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED WELLS, ATTORNEY FOR LEWIS SCOOTER LIBBY: We believe, as we said at the time of his indictment, that he is totally innocent, totally innocent, and that he did not do anything wrong. And we intend to keep fighting to establish his innocence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And CNN's Brianna Keilar has more from the Washington courthouse -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don.

Well, I was in the courtroom as this all unfolded this afternoon. And it was very interesting to see the change before this verdict was read and after. Lewis Scooter Libby walked into the courtroom. From the very beginning, he had a smile on his face, a very relaxed gait as he walked over to the defense table, sat down with his attorneys.

Then the prosecution came in. And this was interesting, because Peter Zeidenberg, one of the prosecution attorneys who actually gave the body of the closing argument, was actually sitting there looking at some papers. He had his hands on his head, and he was rubbing his temples with his thumb.

So, certainly, you saw some anxiety there at that table, and -- and certainly a lot of anticipation over at the defense table -- but, when this verdict was read, not too much emotion from Libby. He blinked a couple times. He blinked a couple times more emphatically, where he was obviously affected, or shaken, by the fact that some of the counts being read, four of the five, were coming out as guilty.

And then his defense attorneys, Ted Wells and William Jeffress, comforted him. They patted him on the shoulder. And Libby kind of looked off into the distance. He looked down a few times.

But where we really saw the emotion was with his wife, Don, Harriet Grant. She -- throughout the whole trial -- this is not particularly surprising, because she certainly was more emotional throughout the trial, just sort of more affected by some of the testimony, by some of the things going on, than Libby was.

But she was teary when she went -- after the jury had left, she went over to the defense table. She hugged all of the defense attorneys. And, when she held on to Ted Wells, she gave him a kiss on the cheek -- Ted Wells being, of course, the main defense attorney. And she told him twice, "I love you."

I mean, obviously, she was very emotional, a very difficult time, when she's considering that she might be seeing her husband go to prison, potentially for years -- Don.

LEMON: All right.

Brianna Keilar, you know what I want to ask you, what about the jurors in all of this, their reaction?

KEILAR: We did hear a response from some of the jurors.

And, certainly, this is what everyone wanted -- wanted to hear, aside from just the five counts as they came down.

Denis Collins, the only juror who spoke to the media today, is actually a former "Washington Post" reporter. He said there was a sense of: Why are we here, making this decision on this man, Scooter Libby? Where is Karl Rove?

Ted Wells, defense attorney, asserted throughout this trial that Libby was the fall guy for the Bush -- Bush administration on this CIA leak. And it seemed that Collins, at least, certainly agreed with that. He said that the jurors were sympathetic to Libby, but they believed that he had made bad judgments, that he had lied. And he said that politics didn't play any role in this verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENIS COLLINS, LIBBY TRIAL JUROR: I never heard anybody on this trial mention a political belief or they were coming from anywhere. We had no idea what our -- anybody's politics were.

I just think he was a very sympathetic guy, sitting over there day after day. His voice on the grand jury testimony was very -- very even and polite and nice.

And we -- you know, nobody had any animosity towards him, you know, like, oh, here's the guy that did X or Y. I don't think people even realized what he had done in -- in this administration. He was -- he was sort of under everybody's radar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The defense's key witness in this -- or -- pardon me -- the prosecution's key witness was NBC's Tim Russert.

Libby told the grand jury and FBI investigators that he learned of Valerie Plame Wilson's identity from Russert. Russert testified that wasn't true. And, Don, obviously, the jurors believed him.

LEMON: All right, Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for that.

PHILLIPS: Of course, the White House had a close eye on this trial and crossed fingers.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is there -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the White House is right now following the same strategy that it has since this trial began, and that is, say as little as possible.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino today described how the president learned of the jury's verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The president was informed by -- he was in the Oval Office. He saw the verdict read on television.

Chief of staff Josh Bolten and counselor Dan Bartlett were with him. He said that he respected the jury's verdict, that he was saddened for Scooter Libby and his family, and that the White House direction from here on out -- and I know that there's going to be a lot of disappointment with this, but there is an ongoing criminal proceeding. Scooter Libby's attorneys just announced that they are going to ask for a new trial and that they are going to -- failing that, they would appeal the verdict. And, so, our principled stand of not commenting on an ongoing legal investigation is going to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, the White House has not had much to say, but Democratic reaction has been plentiful, most of it welcoming the verdict, portraying it as an indictment of the president's decision to go to war -- many Democrats also saying the president should pledge not to pardon Scooter Reid -- or -- or -- excuse me -- Scooter Libby.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke out just minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: I believe in the jury system.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Could I ask you the money question really quickly?

REID: Yes.

So, my -- my -- my feeling about this is that I think it needs to shift to the White House now, shift to the White House and find out what the president is going to do about this. He has said in the past that anyone who was a leaker would be relieved of duty in the White House. He should follow through on that now, because we have sworn testimony that there were people within the White House, in addition to Libby, who were leaking information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And, on the question of a pardon, Perino today said that there's been no request for a pardon, that, right now, speculating on what she called a -- quote -- "wildly hypothetical situation" is inappropriate at this time -- back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kathleen Koch, from the White House, appreciate it.

KOCH: You bet.

LEMON: We have been following developments on that deadly bus crash. It happened Friday morning. Several Bluffton University football players, a bus driver and his wife died in that -- baseball players died in that.

Kyle King spoke just moments ago from his bedside, with his parents looking on, about his experience and how it's been for him over the last couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE KING, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I was actually sleeping on the bus.

And I woke up to the -- the bus -- the driver's wife screaming. And it was all slow motion from there. I was being tossed around in the seats, and I -- I felt my head hitting off everything. And that's my black eye.

And I actually did get up and walk off the bus, too. And I walked out of the bus through the windshield. And I turned, and all the traffic stopped, and I'm down on the bottom. But we actually fell 30 feet from the top down to the bottom, and I was able to walk off.

QUESTION: Where were you seated?

KING: In the front, the fourth row back.

QUESTION: You mentioned that you woke up and the bus driver's wife was screaming.

KING: Yes, she was screaming.

She said something like, "This -- this isn't the exit or the on- ramp" or something.

And then I remember hearing the bus driver saying something. Then I actually heard the tires squeal of him trying to get it back on control, and then felt the bus turn into the guard, felt the whiplash from that, and then I actually felt the bus tumble over the side, down to the lower ground.

QUESTION: So, was her screaming that woke you up? Were you somewhat sleepy or sleeping?

KING: I was actually sleeping. I was listening to a C.D. And her scream was very distinct that woke me up.

QUESTION: Do you remember, when you got out of the bus, what it looked like around you, what you first...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: It was kind of like the deer in a headlight -- deer in a headlight.

You get out, and there's like a perfect row of cars lined back for however long. I just see all these headlines shining on me. And, then, like I said, I broke my back, and I couldn't move. And I just collapsed.

And I'm sitting there laying, shaking in the road, and I can't move or anything. And all these people are running out and helping me. And then there comes my teammates, the ones that could move, and they were doing everything to help me and...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: What was going through your mind at those moments, you laying there, all of this happening, probably like a -- a bad dream?

KING: It was a bad dream. I thought -- I honestly thought I died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was Kyle King, one of the Bluffton baseball players who was injured on that bus when it went over that overpass on Friday right here in Atlanta, speaking from his hospital bed, with his parents looking on.

Four of his teammates died in that bus crash, as did the -- the bus driver and his wife. Tyler Williams, David Betts, Scott Harmon, and Cody Holp all died. And, again, so did the bus driver and his wife. We will continue to follow this developing story.

But that was just some amazing, amazing -- an amazing interview from his hospital bed.

And we want to tell you about a special report we're going to have on Saturday and Sunday. It's called "Fatal Journey." And it is about this bus crash. It will air at -- Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

PHILLIPS: Over the past week, it's been a rare sight on Wall Street, green arrows. But U.S. financial markets are rallying today. There's less than an hour left in the trading day.

And, for all the latest, let's get to Susan Lisovicz, live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

You know, one week ago, at this hour, the Dow had plunged nearly 550 points, and we were on the beginning of a wild ride that was mostly selling. In fact, last week was the worst point loss for the Dow industrials in nearly five years -- very different story today, this Tuesday. Let's call it turnaround Tuesday.

Take a look at the Big Board. The Dow industrials are gaining strength in the final hour of trading, up 165 points right now, strong volume. Twenty-nine of the Dow 30 stocks are higher.

But, you know, the -- the prevailing wisdom here on Wall Street is that we're not out of the woods yet. And one example of that is, an hour before the opening bell today, Kyra, we got a report on productivity, which was revised lower, sharply lower -- in some ways, not a surprise. The U.S. economy is slowing down.

But, within that report, labor costs shot up much higher than expected. That is not the kind of thing that investors like to see. So, why is the market rallying? Well, one trader said to me that it's really still momentum and emotion. So, expect this volatility to continue. And, you know, Asia did rally today, after five days of losses. Europe rallied as well -- and Wall Street once again taking the cue. But we have got a very nice rally going on in the final hour of trading -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan, we will see you as the closing bell reaches in about 45 minutes.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

LEMON: Would you line up to work on a bomb squad? Well, that's what some Iraqis are doing. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we bring you the story of one Iraqi who gave his life to prevent more death. It is a story you can see only on CNN.

PHILLIPS: Vice President Cheney has a case of what some call economy-class syndrome, a serious condition. Are you at risk? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta steps into the NEWSROOM with a closer look coming up.

And the Mega Millions lottery living up to its name, long shot, long shot. Would be nice, though -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Wow.

Betty, you can see the live pictures. Just take it away.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it pretty much tells it all.

We have got a huge fire going on in Tucker, Georgia, which is about 15 or 20 miles northeast of Atlanta. You can see it here, the smoke just billowing into the air. We don't know exactly how this apartment fire started, but we do know it's at the Highland Glen apartments, which, again, is near Atlanta, in Tucker, Georgia.

The good news is, despite what you are seeing, and how the -- the fire is just coming out of the building, the smoke rising into the air, there are no injuries. So, that's the good news out of this. The question is, how did this fire start and how long is it going to take for firefighters to get control of the situation?

Well, that's yet to be determined -- but, again, a large apartment fire taking place right now in Tucker, Georgia. And, Don, we will keep a watch.

LEMON: Looks like it's taken -- eaten a big chunk out of that building.

NGUYEN: A huge part of it.

LEMON: Yes.

NGUYEN: The good news, though, I mean, amazingly, luckily, people at work at this time -- no one was at home. Or at least no one was injured.

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

NGUYEN: So, that is the good news out of all of this.

LEMON: All right. Betty, thank you very much.

NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.

LEMON: It is 16 past the hour. That's one of the stories we're working on.

And we're working on this for you as well here in the CNN NEWSROOM, a developing story: Lewis Scooter Libby guilty. A jury convicts the former White House aide of obstructing a probe into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Libby's lawyers plan to ask for a new trial -- sentencing set for June 5.

And Mega Millions really living up to its name -- the jackpot for the multistate lottery has jumped to a record $370 million. The drawing is tonight.

NGUYEN: They're bitterly divided on the war, but seemingly united on the need to take care of the troops. Members of Congress held their second hearing in two days on the vet care crisis.

CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has been listening -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as you can imagine, senators had a lot of tough questions for top Pentagon and Army officials about the problems at Walter Reed, how they are going to be fixed, and, in particular, how widespread those problems may be at other facilities.

But one subject kept coming up. And that is the future of Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, the Army surgeon general, who is the Army's top medical officer -- a lot of people wondering why he still has his job.

But it came down to South Carolina's Lindsey Graham to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: General Kiley, should you resign?

LIEUTENANT GENERAL KEVIN C. KILEY, U.S. ARMY SURGEON GENERAL: Well, sir, that's -- that's a difficult question to answer.

I certainly serve at the pleasure of the senior leadership of the department, and would respect their decisions. I am accountable for what happened at Walter Reed, as I'm accountable for Landstuhl and accountable for Brooke and the Center for the Intrepid, for the quality of the doctors and nurses that go to the combat zone. If I could step away from myself, I think, at this time, with us still at war, and our (INAUDIBLE) at war, we have had some changes in the leadership already in the medical command. I -- I still think I have got the right skill sets and the right experience to fix these problems.

But, as I said, I stand ready for decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Among those who thought Kiley should go, Missouri's Claire McCaskill, who read an e-mail from a wounded soldier, who charged that, while Kiley was the commander of Walter Reed back in 2004, and now as surgeon general, he was in as good a position as anyone to know what was going on, and that he swept those problems under the rug.

Kiley defended himself. Although he admitted multiple failures, he said that he continues to believe that he can be part of the solution to fix the problems at Walter Reed and in other facilities around the country as they are discovered -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jamie McIntyre, live from the Pentagon, appreciate it.

And, if you would like to watch the hearing live and commercial- free today, just go online to CNN Pipeline, where it's being streamed. That's at CNN.com.

LEMON: The changing voice of politicians -- adopting accents in order to capture the crowd? Well, we will take a look and a listen as only our Jeanne Moos can. It's a good one...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: ... straight ahead in the CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Look at that.

You're looking at a live picture. This is a 7-Eleven in New York City. And folks are probably buying some food and a whole bunch of lottery tickets, as well. Oh, boy, $370 million, you see it flashing there to the right of your screen.

This is where you can buy them, all these states. Kyra, help me out. I'm not that good at geography.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Texas, California, New York. Is that Georgia?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: A bunch of states. PHILLIPS: Let's see.

LEMON: Illinois. So, you can buy them all there, Mega Millions. So...

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: They're telling me to move on.

PHILLIPS: Did you notice how I remained quiet?

LEMON: It is called Mega Millions...

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: ... but it's never been as mega as this one, $370 million for anybody who matches all six numbers in a drawing now less than eight hours away.

And what are the odds, you are asking us? Well, microscopic, at best, one in 176 million. You are much more likely to be killed in a car accident -- let's hope that doesn't happen -- or...

PHILLIPS: Oh.

LEMON: ... date a supermodel -- let's hope that does happen. Hurting yourself while shaving, relatively speaking, it is pretty -- a pretty good bet.

But look at this. Winning Mega Millions is statistically more likely than being killed by a shark. OK. Still, it's far easier to get a royal flush on your first five cards and for an asteroid to collide with planet Earth. If a meteor hits your house, however, run out and buy a lottery ticket.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: That could be your night.

PHILLIPS: I still was trying to figure out the states.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, we have been asking you, what would you do with $370 million? Here's what a few of you had to say.

Patricia Hebert of Ovilla, Texas, says that: "I would keep $3 million and give the rest to Enron employees that were duped out of their retirement."

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: That's good, actually.

PHILLIPS: Now, that is nice.

LEMON: That's good.

PHILLIPS: Greg Porter of San Jose, California, responded by saying: "I would go back to my hometown of Centerville, Iowa, and pay off the bills and loans of any of the people who helped me when I needed a place to live when I was young."

LEMON: Nice.

PHILLIPS: Aww.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: These are nice.

Thomas Tasker of Levittown, Pennsylvania, he e-mailed and said: "I would travel to 20 major U.S. cities over the extended period of time and appear unannounced to their largest homeless shelter. I would lock in whomever is currently in that building in -- at that time, and hand out envelopes with $5,000 cash each."

OK, these are like all the few nice people in the world.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Where are all the money-hungry -- all right.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Michael Nichols of Caledonia, New York, says that he would "hide." OK. There you go. There's one.

We would love to hear from you. Go to CNN.com. Click on I- report and send us your wish list.

LEMON: What would you do?

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow. I would have to think about that for a minute.

LEMON: All right.

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of things going through my mind. I definitely wouldn't buy anything. Seriously. Think about it. We have everything that we need.

LEMON: Speak for yourself.

PHILLIPS: I would probably -- I would...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Come on. We're both close with our moms.

LEMON: Yes. PHILLIPS: I would probably pay off all her bills first, get her whatever she wanted, and then go forward from there.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I have a lot of nephews and godsons, and got to pay for their college education.

LEMON: Yes. And then you would buy me, like, you know, a nice Porsche or something.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

LEMON: That's so nice of you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Midlife crisis car.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Playing to the crowd -- the message -- what are the odds of becoming president, right?

Well, playing to the crowd -- the message may be the same, but, for some politicians, the accent is ever-changing.

CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What seemed to overcome both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was a more down home drawl of an accent.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't tell me I'm not coming home when I come to Selma, Alabama.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MOOS: Here's Obama in front of a mostly white crowd in New Hampshire.

OBAMA: There's nothing we can't do.

MOOS: And here he was at a black church in Selma, Alabama.

OBAMA: We got too many daddies not acting like daddies.

MOOS: And here's Hillary speaking at a different black church.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: That pulse that you found so faint, you have brought back to life. MOOS: Her delivery led The Drudge Report to dub her "Kentucky- fried Hillary," though the example everyone's been citing was actually Senator Clinton quoting James Cleveland's freedom hymn. Doesn't seem quite fair to portray a soulfully-delivered quote as an acquired accent.

CLINTON: I come too far from where I started from.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MOOS: Still, Hillary's modified her delivery before in front of a black audience.

H. CLINTON: It has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about.

MOOS: Someone asked John Edwards the other day how he would win a couple of Southern states.

JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it helps to talk like this.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Even presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was inspired at a Jesse Jackson event to sing that old spiritual.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (singing): ... sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.

MOOS: Dialect instructor Sam Chwat coached Robert De Niro in Cape Fear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAPE FEAR")

ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: Big, friendly, shaggy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: He says politicians make a strategic choice to adapt, so the audience feels he or she is one of us, even if Barack Obama is already black on his father's side.

OBAMA: Get some of that Oprah money.

MOOS (on camera): The dialect coach we spoke with said Oprah, for instance, has three accents, one for whites, one for blacks, and one for the Academy Awards.

(voice-over): And critics malign Madonna for affecting an accent on Oprah's show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW")

MADONNA, SINGER: It's pretty shocking. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: There's even a medical condition called foreign accent syndrome. This woman suffered a stroke and came out of it with a British accent...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like I was going bloody crazy.

MOOS: ... though she's an American who has never been to Britain.

But there's one politician who never changes his accent.

RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With George Bush as our leader ...

H. CLINTON: I don't believe he brought me this far.

MOOS: It's no wonder politicians adopt an accent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Have a little talk with Jesus.

MOOS: Wonder what accent Jesus would adopt.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, new details in the case of the jilted astronaut -- we will have that straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I honestly thought I died. That's how a survivor of last week's horrific bus crash in Atlanta is recalling his ordeal. The bus was carrying members of the Bluffton University baseball team when it plunged off an overpass. Four players were killed, as were the bus driver and his wife. Another 29 people on board were hurt. Kyle King was among them. He spoke from his hospital bed today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE KING, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I was actually sleeping on the bus. And I woke up to the bus driver's wife screaming. And it was all slow motion from there. I was being tossed around in the seats. And I felt my head hit off everything. And that's my black eye and I actually did get up and walk off the bus, too. And I walked out of the bus through the windshield. And I turned and all the traffic stopped and I'm down on the bottom. But we actually fell 30 feet from the top down to the bottom, and I was able to walk off.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The baseball team's coach and four other players remain hospitalized in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to Betty Nguyen; she's working another story for us in the NEWSROOM. Betty?

NGUYEN: Yeah, we're getting more information on that bizarre love triangle that led to a NASA astronaut being arrested and then charged with kidnapping. Let me get you some information that we are learning from court documents involving Lisa Nowak. You see her mug shot right here. Well according to those documents, NASA pilot who is at the center of this love triangle said that Lisa Nowak seemed a little disappointed when he told her that he was dating another woman. But she seemed to accept it, according to Bill Oefelein, the man that you just saw there. The woman you're looking at right now is Claire Shipman, she is the woman that Lisa Nowak drove some 900 miles to -- or Colleen Shipman I should say, to confront. And all of this stems from this relationship between Lisa Nowak and Bill Oefelein. According to these documents, Oefelein said that he had had a romantic relationship with Lisa Nowak since 2004.

Now Lisa Nowak said that she had really nothing more than just a working relationship with Oefelein that is what she told NASA and investigators. So all of this is really coming out in court documents, the details of this relationship. And we're learning more, too, that Oefelein told Nowak not only that he was involved with another woman but that other woman Colleen Shipman says, quote, according to these documents, I point blank asked him when he told me that he had this relationship that he broke off with her, meaning Nowak. I asked him, are you sure that she's ok with this because you know how these things go. I said is there going to be some crazy lady showing up at my door trying to kill me and he said no, no, no, she's not like that. She is fine with it, she is happy for me. And as we know, again, that Lisa Nowak drove some 900 miles to confront Colleen Shipman, the woman that you see there.

One other thing I want to point out Kyra, just so interesting in this information that we're getting from court documents is that, in fact, Lisa Nowak wrote a letter to Oefelein's mother in which she said that she was divorcing her husband so that she could be with him. So apparently they did have a romantic relationship, and that is what led to this bizarre love triangle and to the kidnapping charges that Lisa Nowak now faces.

PHILLIPS: All right Betty Nguyen thanks.

LEMON: Well it was a long time coming and for Lewis "Scooter" Libby it was not worth waiting for. A string of guilty verdicts in the trial that taught many Americans more than they ever wanted to know about politicians dealings with the media and with federal investigators. The former top aide to Vice President Cheney could face years in prison for lying, perjury and obstructing the probe into the outing of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. On one count of lying he was acquitted. His lawyers plan to ask for a new trial.

PHILLIPS: Lewis Libby is expected to face prison time, but how much and when? We talked with our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin just a short time ago in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The case will be evaluated under the federal sentencing guidelines. The federal sentencing guidelines for a case like this one will probably suggest something like 18 to 24 months in prison, about two years. Under -- the Supreme Court ruled just two years ago that those federal guidelines are now no longer mandatory, that they're advisory. Almost all federal judges honor them anyway. But there is a possibility that because those guidelines are not mandatory that Judge Walton could give him no prison time at all, probation, or he could give him a longer sentence. Under the laws for which he was convicted, he could get 25 years. There's no way in the world he's going to get 25 years, but he could get somewhat more than the 18 to 24 months that the guidelines might suggest. So before two years ago we could say almost certainly what prison term he was going to get. But now, the judge has a little more discretion.

PHILLIPS: So to determine the sentences, the judge ordered a pre-sentencing report. So is that what helps determine all of that and how long could that take and what goes into that?

TOOBIN: Right, well what happens in a pre-sentence report is the United States Department of Probation interviews the defendant about his background, about his history. The probation officer also takes into consideration the evidence that was put forth in the trial, and then there's a chart, literally, a numerical chart, where each crime is assigned a number, depending on the severity of the crime and sometimes that number is adjusted up based on certain factors or down based on other factors. When there's a guilty plea you always get two points less for what's called acceptance of responsibility. You acknowledge what you did, that's considered to your advantage. Here there was no acceptance of responsibility because Scooter Libby maintained his innocence throughout. So, you know, the lawyers often argue about what's the correct number to be assigned. But once you get a number, it's called an offense level, there's then a number of months that are equal to that offense level. By my calculations, this one should be in about an 18 to 24 months.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Lewis Libby will be allowed to stay free while awaiting sentencing scheduled for June 5th.

You can get more on the CIA leak investigation verdict online at cnn.com. Watch reaction to today's verdict. See the key players and view a timeline of the major events in the case. You can get more at cnn.com.

LEMON: An attack leaves scores of Iraqi pilgrims dead or wounded and leaves puddles of blood on the streets of Hilla south of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of Shiites heading for the holy city of Karbala. At least 93 people are dead and nearly 150 are wounded. Shiites are walking to Karbala to mark a Muslim holy day.

Defusing bombs in Iraq hard to imagine a more dangerous job, but there are Iraqis who actually volunteer to do it. All of them are heroes. Some of them become martyrs. Here's CNN's Jennifer Eccleston with an exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi police officer Ali Hamid went face to face with the weapon even most soldiers are desperate to avoid. As an explosive ordinance disposal technician, he diffused dozens upon dozens of explosives, roadside bombs, bombs in cars and explosive belts suicide bombers strap to their bodies. On the 15th of December, in a crowded corner of Sadr City, god is great his colleagues shout angrily. We lost him. He is gone. A bomb planted in this minibus took Ali's life. He did not want a controlled detonation, the blast, the risk of injury to civilians was too great. His commander, General Jihad, says that before Ali could disarm the bomb by cutting the trigger wire, insurgents remotely detonated it.

A shell packed with 80 kilograms, 176 pounds of explosives. He is a true martyr for Iraq General Jihad says. Ali Hamid was also a husband and a father, three boys and 13-year-old girl Zahraa.

ZAHRAA ALI, DAUGHTER: We found out he died when the mosque announced Ali is a hero. She fights back tears. Our mother didn't want him to do this job, but he loved it because he was rescuing many people. Iraqi bomb squads represent a fraction of explosive detonation teams here, but increasingly they're called upon to tackle the massive threat of bombs across the capital, often without assistance. We do this job with no advance technology. We diffuse nearly 1700 IEDs and 128 car bombs last year. It's amazing we only lost four men. Amazing I've got men lining up to be on our bomb squad. Young boys lining up as well. "I want to be like my father," says Ali's 9-year-old son. I want to save Iraqi lives. Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Let's go straight to the NEWSROOM now, Betty Nguyen working the details on a developing story. Hey Betty.

NGUYEN: Yeah we're still watching that fire out of Tucker, Georgia, which is just northeast of Atlanta. Look at this Don. When we checked in on it a little bit earlier you can still see parts of the building left. Now it's really just the frame is all that you see. This fire has gutted this three-story apartment building. It's the Highland Glen Apartments. Good news here, all the residents were able to escape, despite the damage that you see there. And there are no injuries. Firefighters still trying to get a handle on this two- alarm blaze at the Highland Glen Apartments in Tucker, Georgia. Again, no injuries, that is the good news here, but boy is this fire just burning.

LEMON: And it looks like it's gone. There is no --

NGUYEN: There's nothing left to burn.

LEMON: Oh, my goodness. We're glad -- so far you said no one hurt, right? NGUYEN: No one hurt, everyone was able to escape.

LEMON: Ok Betty, thank you. We'll check back with you.

PHILLIPS: President Bush has three words for the mess at Walter Reed, unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable. In a speech this morning to the American legion, the commander in chief declared war on the red tape, deaf ears, mold, rats and filth that faced many wounded troops and vets at Walter Reed and beyond

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Fine doctors, nurses and therapists work day and night to help the wounded. Yet some of our troops at Walter Reed have experienced bureaucratic delays and living conditions that are less than they deserve. It's unacceptable to me. It's unacceptable to you. It's unacceptable to our country and it's not going to continue.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Mr. Bush named two big guns to head up an investigative and advisory panel, former Senate Majority Leader and wounded World War II veteran Bob Dole and former HHS Secretary, now president of the University of Miami, Donna Shalala.

As one Republican congressman put it, the Walter Reed hospital scandal may just be the tip of the iceberg. Here's a look at some of the daunting issues facing veterans seeking care.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The numbers alone are simply staggering. Today, there are nearly 25 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces. Every day, veterans seek treatment at more than 200 VA hospitals and clinics across the country. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have helped create a huge backlog of VA claims, more than 400,000 and growing. And the time it takes to process a claim averages six months. Bottom line, VA hospitals are overwhelmed. The VA says that in 2005, more than 5 million people receive care at its facilities. Those seeking treatment are among vets of past wars. More than 4 million who were in the armed forces during the Gulf War, nearly 8 million from Vietnam, 3 million from the Korean War and more than 3 million who served in World War II. As more and more wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan return home for treatment, vets of past wars are finding it harder to get the treatment they need at VA centers. As for the future, the challenges will grow. According to a Harvard University study, the number of vets needing medical treatment will continue to soar, as will the cost of caring for them, which could total as high as $662 billion over the next 40 years.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Bitter enemies for generations coming together to try to forge ties. History in the making for the U.S. and North Korea right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: From the axis of evil to diplomatic partner? That's the goal of landmark talks under way this week between the U.S. and North Korea. But what are the chances? The State Department is warning against expecting too much right away. Speaking in South Korea, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says any deal depends on North Korea keeping its word over scrapping its nuclear arms. Our State Department correspondent Zain Verjee explores that and other potential roadblocks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bush administration has invited the enemy to New York for a one on one.

CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: The U.S. is prepared to begin that process now and to begin to begin talking to the North Koreans.

VERJEE: U.S. negotiator Chris Hill, will talk to the North Koreans about restoring diplomatic ties and tackled remaining questions on the tough nuclear issues. Does North Korea have a highly enriched uranium program to make bombs? U.S. intelligence says there's evidence North Korea bought the equipment but details on the program are sketchy. How exactly will the north shut down its main nuclear reactor and what's going to happen to all the plutonium material North Korea has already used to make and test a nuclear device? In a deal last month, North Korea says it will end its nuclear program. In return, it gets cash, $300 million in aid and oil and could get its name off a U.S. list of countries that support terror. It's a breakthrough deal that could always break down.

MIKE CHINOY, PACIFIC COUNCIL OF INTL. POLICY: The big question mark is, having tested a bomb, having produced enough plutonium for eight or 10 or 12 bombs, having declared themselves a nuclear power, will the North Koreans, in fact, be ready to account for everything they've done and give it all up?

VERJEE: Skeptics in the U.S. say no, North Korea's just playing games. U.S. financial sanctions have threatened to derail the deal. Washington has frozen $24 million in North Korean assets at a bank in Macau accusing it of counterfeiting U.S. dollars and money laundering. But some of that money could be released as early as this week.

(On camera): A senior administration official tells CNN that U.S. negotiators are concerned the deadlines set for the first part of the deal may be too short. Each side has to take some significant steps in just 60 days. The official says the U.S. wants to live up to its promises so that the North Koreans meet theirs. It's one of the reasons for these talks. Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The mega millions lottery living up to its name, long shot, in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, there it is. I like that, $370 million. That's what's at stake tonight. You're looking at a live shot, New York City, 7-Eleven, they're selling those tickets like hot cakes, obviously. You can buy these mega millions tickets all over the U.S., Texas, California, New York, a bunch of states, Georgia. I plan to get one right after work.

PHILLIPS: All right, get me one, too pal.

LEMON: I'll get you one.

So what's it like to be an instant millionaire that is the question. Brad Duke, well he doesn't have to wonder. After taxes, he took home $85 million in the Powerball lottery that was back in 2005. But he's not satisfied with that. He wants to turn those millions into a billion. He assembled a team of advisers and here's what he did with the money. He put $45 million into low-risk investments like municipal bonds. He then slid $35 million into high-risk investments like oil, gas and real estate. And in the past year and a half, Duke's worth has grown to between 128 and $130 million. He says he's on track to hit his billion dollars within 12 years of hitting the jackpot. But it's not all. He's not all serious about investing. Here's what he's done with his money, something else. He set up a $1.3 million family foundation. He spent $63,000 on a trip to Tahiti for 17 of his friends. I was not invited. He paid off his $125,000 mortgage on his 1400 square-foot home. Bought a used Jetta and gives a $12,000 annual gift to each family member. And Duke still teaches spin classes at the Gold's Gym franchises that he owns in Idaho. And is he married? Is that what you asked?

PHILLIPS: Yeah, is he single.

LEMON: I don't know, you're not.

PHILLIPS: Closing bell and a wrap of action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Closing bell about to ring on Wall Street. We know what that means.

LEMON: Yeah, Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day. Hi Susan.

LISOVICZ: Look at the big board, I mean it says it all, turnaround Tuesday. You know, a week ago at this time there was booing on the floor, there was a lot of confusion and emotion. And we have a nice snap-back rally. I mean, we have triple-digit gains. We have almost all the Dow 30 stocks higher with good volume and this is something we really haven't seen in the past week. Of course, we got some direction from Asia. Asia rebounded after five days of losses there. The yen fell back, that had been a factor as well. And folks are ready to, I guess, do some bargain hunting and that's what we had play out today. But a lot of folks saying it's too early to say we're out of the woods yet. The next big report really is on Friday. We get the jobs report for the month of February. And a lot of folks are saying they really want to get a good read on job creation and that may be a better indication of how things stand. There's the closing bell and there's no booing to be heard from.

PHILLIS: See you tomorrow, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Kyra and Don, see you tomorrow. We have triple-digit gains and the three major averages up all nicely on the day. Now it's time for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

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