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White House Aides may Testify U.S. Attorney Firings; Christian Protest Iraq War; CNN Poll shows Americans think Iraq War not Worth it; Chlorine Gas Attacks near Fallujah; Bush Accusing Democrats of using Troops as Fodder; More Fire Power Over Iraq; Valerie Plame Wilson Blames White House; NYPD officers Face; Keeping Rodents Outside; Helicopter Pilots Train in Alabama

Aired March 17, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Coming up next in the NEWSROOM, chlorine gas attacks by suicide bombers send hundreds to a hospital in Iraq.
Plus, new concerns that terrorists might be targeting school busses. Is your child at risk?

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message that's being sent by the indictments is -- will have a chilling affect, not only on New York City detectives and New York City police, but law enforcement throughout the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Three New York police officers indicted for killing an unarmed groom-to-be hours before his wedding.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the NEWSROOM. Troubling new developments in Iraq -- suicide bombers unleash chlorine gas attacks near Fallujah; 350 civilians, six U.S. troops are now undergoing treatment for exposure. Our Kyra Phillips is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's a fairly new tactic, these chlorine filled trucks, that I'm told, and now we're seeing three bombings coming forward through U.S. military information. Suicide bomb, we are told, detonated three chlorine filled trucks in the Anbar province killing two police officers and sickening about 350 Iraqis and six coalition force members.

I can tell you that the bombings occurred at three separate places, one a checkpoint just north of Ramadi. A number of these checkpoints are not safe. You don't know if good guys or bad guys manning these checkpoints. Today is proof they are not completely safe even though it appears to be manned by police or military. The other one happened in Amiriya, that's about 10 miles south of Fallujah and then also in the Abu Esa (ph) region, just south of Fallujah. Now, why chlorine? Well, it causes difficult in breathing, coughing, vomiting. It causes burning to the skin also in the nose, throat and the eyes. It's very common to find chlorine here, in the Iraq -- in the country of Iraq. It's used to purify the water and to deal with the sewage and also, believe it or not, to clean the chicken, one of the main staples here in Baghdad and throughout the region.

I'm being told that suicide car bombers have used this tactic, this chlorine, against Iraqis in Sunni dominated Anbar Province region a total of five times since the end of January.

Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Chlorine gas was first used a chemical weapon in France in 1915 during World War I. According to the CDC people exposed experience choking, difficulty breathing, fluid in the lungs, burning pain, and skin blisters, nausea and vomiting. There is no antidote and generally there appear to be no long-term effects for those who survive exposure.

Four years ago Monday the war in Iraq began, a newly released CNN opinion research poll now shows that 61 percent of Americans now say it wasn't worth it. Today, anti-war protests are taking place across the country. They began last night in Washington. Christian protestors gathered at Lafayette Park across from the White House calling the war morally wrong. Some people were arrested. Earlier these demonstrators prayed for peace during an anti-war service at Washington National Cathedral.

Meantime President Bush is spending the weekend at Camp David, the war chest on his mind. He's accusing Democrats of using troops as fodder in the domestic political battles. Our Kathleen Koch is live from the White House -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fredericka, next week Congress begins debating an emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some $95.5 billion, but President Bush in his radio address, this morning, criticized Democrats for tacking on billions of dollars in additional spending for what he called "unrelated programs," like peanut storage, NASA, the Farm Service Agency, causes that he supports, but not in an emergency bill like this.

Now President Bush also, in his radio address, condemned moves in the bill that would impose certain benchmarks and conditions not only on further funding for Iraqi troops, but also for funding to keep U.S. Forces in Iraq.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even if every condition required by this bill was met, all American forces except for very limited purposes would still be required to withdraw next year regardless of the situation in Iraq. The consequences of imposing such an artificial timetable would be disastrous.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

Koch: Now Democrats in their radio address point out that Monday is the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq and they say that after four years it is time to bring the war to a close.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: Our troops, who have served bravely under difficult conditions, have done everything we have asked. As we enter the fifth year it is time for the Iraqis to step up, secure their own country and finally take responsibility for their own future. The war raging in the streets of Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq is a civil war. It can't be won by military force alone.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOCH: President Bush taped his radio address before he headed to Camp David for the weekend, late yesterday afternoon, so he has not seen the anti-war protests underway. Today the protestors have scheduled a march that will begin at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. They have a permit for some 30,000 to gather there before heading onto the Pentagon. It's important to point out, though, that along the way there are also numerous counter-protests supporting the war and the troops.

Back to you, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: So Kathleen, while the president may not have seen the protests face to face because it's right across the streets in parts from the White House and he's in Camp David is the White House responding to the fact that there are such large gatherings taking place across the country in protest of this war?

KOCH: No response from the White House yet, at this point, Fredericka. Certainly the president in his radio address, focusing on the subject of Iraq, pointing out that he believes that advance have been made with this new plan that he says is still in its early stage, this new surge of troops arguing that the U.S. citizens and Congress all need to give the plan a chance to work. So that indeed is standing as a response to the protests.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch at the White House, thanks so much.

KOCH: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Boots on ground and more help from above. The military moves to put more fire power over Iraq as soon as possible. CNN's Barbara Starr tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has signed orders speeding up the deployment of up to 3,000 additional forces, most of them from a combat aviation brigade.

Armed with dozens of attack helicopter gunships and troop transports, the brigade will likely leave the U.S. in May. Their main job, airborne support for the 20 brigades of ground combat forces there just aren't enough helicopters in Iraq right now to keep the so- called "troop surge" on the ground going.

General David Petraeus, the new commander in Iraq, has made it clear, he wants to mass as many troops as fast as he can. While some levels of violence are down, there are still many skeptics.

LAWRENCE KORB, CTR FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: The Petraeus doctrine is too little too late. If we were going do this, we should have done it right from the beginning, listen to General Shisheki, had enough troops on the ground to get the situation under control after the fall of Saddam Hussein...

STARR: And for the first time, the Pentagon has openly acknowledged in a congressionally mandated report, that some of the violence in the last quarter of 2006 in Iraq is "properly descriptive of a civil war."

With signs the troop increase is making a difference, that acknowledgement is winning kudos from at least one long-time Pentagon critic.

REP JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I just read the report that we get every quarter, we're starting to get realistic reports. Since Secretary Gates came in, we're getting much more realistic reports.

STARR (on camera): The kept for the helicopter unit was made just a few weeks ago. For now, it means a plus-up in overall troop levels in Iraq.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Kidnapping, torture and murder, this weekend on an all new CNN Special Investigations Unit, the brutality of rogue Shia militias secretly operating within the Iraqi government security forces. Are they putting U.S. troops in danger and can they be stopped? Don't miss an all new CNN SIU DEATH SQUADS, Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 Eastern.

It's the Calvary to the rescue in Afghanistan. These Army pictures show troops delivering food, medicine, clothes and even toys to families in eastern Kunar Provinces. It's a joint project between the U.S. military and U.S. local governments. An Army spokesman said they're building something very special there.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider, where we've already been reporting, there are protests across the country, what kind of weather are folks encountering.

(WEATHER REPORT) WHITFIELD: Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. And while a lot of folks might, you know, miss the snow, they're not going to miss the shoveling. I don't think anybody ever does.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, METEOROLOGIST: No.

All right, thanks a lot, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, going public, for the first time, an outed CIA operative answers questions about the leak that exposed her identity and as CNN's Brian Todd reports, she's pointing fingers and naming names.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Valerie Plame Wilson blames the White House for blowing her CIA cover.

VALERIE PLAME WILSON, FMR CIA OPERATIVE: My name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior government officials in both the White House and the State Department. All of them understood that I worked for the CIA.

TODD: But did anyone know she was covert or was blowing her cover the accidental side effect of a spin war.

REP TOM DAVIS (R), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: There's no evidence here that anybody that anyone out there had any idea that it was an undercover agent.

TODD: A special prosecutor did not charge any administration officials for knowingly leaking classified information and the leakers themselves did not testify today. But two White House security officials did.

REP HENRY WAXMAN (D), CHMN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Because the president said he was investigating this matter and was going get to the bottom of it. You're not familiar that any -- you're not aware that any investigation took place?

JAMES KNODELL, DIR WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF SECURITY: Not within my office, sir.

TODD: That does not sit well with Valerie Plame Wilson.

WILSON: Karl Rove clearly was involved in the leaking of my name and he still carries a security clearance to this day despite the president's words to the contrary that he would immediately dismiss anyone who had anything to do with this.

TODD: In an interview with CNN in 2004, Rove denied that he leaked her name. But columnist Robert Novak testified in the Scooter Libby trial that Rove was one of his course sources for Plame Wilson's identity. What's the point of her testimony now? JIM VANDEHEI, POLITICO.COM: What Democrats want to do is put a human face on was been a long and complicated scandal. They want people to know that this wasn't just an about subtrasubtract case about nothing. It's about somebody whose identity was blown and who's career was essentially ruined.

TODD (on camera): We contacted the White House about Plame Wilson's remark that the administration did nothing to discipline Karl Rove for his alleged involvement in leaking her identity, a spokesman there would not comment.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So when you watch tape of testimony of Valerie Plame right there, did you notice the woman in the back in pink? How could you not notice her? She was in every shot. Find out who she and why she was there.

Also, are terrorists targeting your child's school bus? A disturbing new warning is coming up.

And in the wake of a bridegroom's killing, will indictments change the way New York City police officers do their jobs? That's straight ahead in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, a look right now at what's happening. Iraq's Anbar province, the scene of deadly chlorine gas attacks. Two Iraqi police officers were killed and 350 civilians and six coalition troops were sickened when suicide bombers detonated three chlorine filled trucks. Two of the attacks were near Fallujah, the third near Ramadi.

Also happening right now, well, take a look at this. The folks in Syracuse, they are die-hards. So what it's snowy, so what it's cold? It's 22 degrees but it feels like 10. They're still out there in full force celebrating St. Paddy's Day.

And now just south of that in New York, a new development in a case that has stirred outrage in New York City. Three NYPD officers now face indictments by a grand jury in the November shooting death of an unarmed man on his wedding day. That word from the officers' attorneys. They say the indictments are expected to be announced on Monday. Right now, the charges have not been officially revealed. The victim, Sean Bell, died in a barrage of gunfire as he was leaving his bachelor party at a strip club in queens. His death parked protests and charges of excessive force by police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PALLADINO, PRES DETECTIVES ENDOWMENT ASSN: The message that's being sent now is that even though you're acting in good faith and pursuant to your lawful duties, there is no room, no margin for error. And they want to indict our officers and they have done that and I firmly disagree with it. But let me just say this, the only thing that's been done today is they have been indicted. They have been convicted of nothing, they have simply been indicted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So let's talk a little bit more about these indictments. And what NYPD is facing now. With me now from Miami to discuss the case, former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey.

Good to see you Kendal.

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR U.S. ATTORNEY: Hey, thanks Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, no doubt a lot of New Yorkers and even outside of New York are very skeptical of investigations involving NYPD when it involves cases like this. When there's outrage over what doesn't seem to be justified shoot-outs. So, in this case, with these indictments, what needs to take place here to reassure New Yorkers that justice indeed will prevail?

COFFEY: Well, I think we'll find out Monday exactly what the charges are and I think what we'll see is some very thoughtful, well reasoned charges, fitting what appear to be the elements of the crime. You can't overstate your case when you do that, you undercut your chances for winning any conviction at all, but...

WHITFIELD: But what do you mean, you can't overstate the case?

COFFEY: Well, I don't think you're going see murder charges. I don't think, for example, when you come up with the most extreme charge, what you sometimes run the risk of not getting a conviction on any charge at all. What I think you're going see focused on is recklessness. Police officers who have a responsibility to perform their awesome duties with a certain degree of responsibility, absolutely overreacting in a way that was fatal, that was lethal that could not be justified. That's the charge.

WHITFIELD: So when you say no murder charge, you're also including or excluding something like involuntary manslaughter or manslaughter?

COFFEY: I think what we will see will be manslaughter-type of charges, negligent homicide-type of charges, Fredricka degree of responsibility, absolutely overreacting in a way that was fatal, that was lethal that could not be justified. That's the charge.

WHITFIELD: So when you say no murder charge, you're also including or excluding something like involuntary manslaughter or manslaughter?

COFFEY: I think what we will see will be manslaughter type of charges, negligent homicide-type of charges, Fredericka, as opposed to a case some years ago in New York where 41 bullets were fired into an armed man, they charged murder, but the jury came back with no conviction at all...

WHITFIELD: That was the case of the Diallo (ph) case, right?

COFFEY: Exactly, Diallo (ph) case. This time I think they're going to be more careful. They want to get convictions. They've done, in effect, a careful assessment. There were five officers involved initially. They're just indicting three of them and they're going to focus the heavier of the charges on the two officers that seem to have the most culpability here.

WHITFIELD: And two officers are black, one white. While there may have been some knee-jerk reaction to think that race may have been involved in these shootings, that they were presumably white cops targeting these black victim, that argument cannot be made.

COFFEY: Yeah, I don't think that's going to be the argument at all. What they're going to focus on is how many bullets can each officer fire. The more bullets, the more trouble, because that really measures the extent of the reckless conduct. And with respect to officer, Isnora, who double loaded -- who fired away he's going to be in a certain amount of trouble. Another officer, who actually loaded a second magazine with bullets, he's going to be in double trouble. I think that's how it's going to play out in front of the jury.

WHITFIELD: What about this witness who came out earlier in the week saying that he thought he saw firing of weapons from the vehicle where Sean Bell and his friends were in and that perhaps that precipitated the exchange of gunfire between that vehicle and cops?

COFFEY: Well, we may see that witness at trial. I don't think the grand jury was buying into that witness, came up at the last minute, this case has been in the press, a huge amount of controversy for months. Why does somebody come in right at the very, very final moment of an investigation like this? But if the witness shows up at trial and if he creates a reasonable doubt, could you get some acquittals.

WHITFIELD: Do you think this is the case in which so much is riding; perhaps more than any other case involve NYPD in recent years, because of what has preceded this case like the Dialla case, for example?

COFFEY: Well, I think this a very important case and it's a defining case in terms of whether or not law enforcement can police its own. That's how the community's going to see it. The cops get off because they're part of the system. Can prosecutors bring police officers to justice? And it's a tough kind of case because even when 51 bullets are fired, police officers go in front of a jury with a certain amount of bullet proofing that takes only the strongest cases to win...

WHITFIELD: And that underscores that whole argument of, you know, do NYPD, in particular, because that's what we're talking about, have that license to kill?

COFFEY: And they don't, but they get a lot of license to make mistakes if they're not, in fact, intentional mistakes and if they're not truly reckless, that's what the jury will decide. WHITFIELD: Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

COFFEY: Hey thanks, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Well how about this? In Washington, what role did Karl Rove play in the decision to fire U.S. attorneys? We're following the e-mail trail straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales now front and center in a growing political firestorm. He's facing new pressure to resign over last year's firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Some members of Congress say Gonzalez should step down if it's revealed that he misled lawmakers over those dismissals.

The big question now, before the House Judiciary Committee, were the firings politically motivated? The panel will vote next week on whether or not to subpoena a number of current and former White House employees. The White House says it needs more time to decide whether those employees will indeed testify.

Karl Rove is among the top White House aides who may be called to testify about the U.S. attorney firings. Some newly revealed e-mails are putting the heat on Rove. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The e-mail shows that Karl Rove raised the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys earlier than the White House previously acknowledged. The e-mail released by the Justice Department contains the subject line "Question from Karl Rove."

The electronic conversation between two White House officials dated January 6, 2005 says, "Rove stopped by to ask you how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. attorneys...allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some, or selectively replace them..."

The message was then forwarded to Justice Department official, Kyle Sampson. Sampson who resigned this week replied on January 9, 2005 that he and Alberto Gonzalez discussed it a few weeks earlier. Sampson outlined several scenarios and ends the note by saying, "...if Karl thinks there would be political will to do it, then so do I."

This e-mail exchange came nearly a month before the administration had said the issue was raised, still the White House stuck by its claim that it was Harriet Miers, the president's staff secretary at that time, who originally suggested getting rid of all 93 U.S. attorneys and Rove dismissed it as a bad idea.

However the White House has provided no documentation supporting that. Democrats pounced on the newly surfaced e-mail, accusing the White House of not being upfront about Rove's role. SEN CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The new e-mails show conclusively that Karl Rove was in the middle of this mess from the beginning. It is now imperative that he testify before Congress and give all the details of his involvement.

MALVEAUX: CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And since Suzanne filed that report, the White House now says it's not sure that former counsel Harriet miers got the ball rolling on the dismissals. Press secretary Tony snow citing, "hazy memories."

Back from the headlines and the front lines into the classrooms. Veteran chopper pilots teach the rookies life-saving lesson, going to the school in the NEWSROOM.

And it's still a bit chilly in parts of the country and that means some critters may be trying to find shelter under your roof. In today's "Modern Living," some ideas for keeping rodents outside where they belong. That's if they're not in a cage with a name like "Mickey." Here's Gerri Willis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Your home is also a favorite nesting place for mice and rats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The best thing it do is what we call rodent proofing. It's going around basically and making sure that every single hole in the house is filled with something. I recommend copper because steel, you know, a the lot of people use steel to cover things, but that rusts and they can actually eat through that.

WILLIS (on camera): Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you want to use copper, copper plate, copper wool. There's a foam that can be inserted into holes especially behind the stove, especially if you have a radiators in your house, you need to make sure those holes are completely sealed, and that'll keep them out. That's the only way to do it.

WILLIS: Grossing me out completely. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best way to do it. Grossing myself out.

WILLIS (voice-over): I'm Gerri Willis, that's his week's modern living.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: They're celebrating St. Paddy's day and then there's celebrating St. Paddy's day. On the left, you're seeing the die-hards in Syracuse, where it's 22 degrees and it feels like 10 and they're in the snowy bluffs of Syracuse, New York. And then let's go to the contrast which is the second largest St. Paddy's day parade in the country and they're really celebrating because look how sunny and mild it is there. It's a lovely 55 degrees, which feels like 55 degrees. How they're celebrating St. Paddy's day across the country today.

Meantime on Monday, that marks the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. A newly released CNN Opinion Research poll shows 61 percent of Americans now say it wasn't worth it. Today protests are planned across the country. They began last night in Washington. Christian protestors gathered at Lafayette Park calling the war morally wrong. Some were arrested just across the street from the White House. Earlier, they parade for peace during an anti-war service at Washington national cathedral.

A new group of helicopter pilots learning lessons from the battlefield. Our Jamie McIntyre visited the army's top helicopter flying school and this is a report you'll only see on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE McINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the army's aviation war fighting center in Fort Rucker (ph), Alabama, it's the job of aging veterans to keep rookie students from getting shot down. The pilots and students are all well aware that this year in Iraq, U.S. helicopters have become a favorite target of insurgents, too often with deadly results. But it's not the first thing on their mind.

1ST LT. CURTIS WILLIAMS, APACHE STUDENT PILOT: I want to focus on training to make sure that I'm ready for when my time comes if something like that is to arise.

McINTYRE: First Lieutenant Curtis Williams has been a soldier since the first Gulf war in 1991 and now he's itching to fly an Apache in the war zone. In particular, he's grateful his IP instructor pilot is just back from the front lines. Did you have any close calls when you were in Iraq?

CWO GREG SANDERS, APACHE INSTRUCTOR PILOT: I sure did

McINTYRE: You're flying in Iraq. You're in a combat situation. You're the pilot. What are you thinking?

SANDERS: Self-preservation. You have to take care of yourself and the aircraft to be effective in the combat multiplier.

McINTYRE: Alan Mays is another veteran instructor with Iraq experience. He sat down in the cockpit of his Kiowa scout helicopter to show me how not to get shot of the skies.

CWO ALAN MAYS, KIOWA INSTRUCTOR PILOT: Air speed is life, we never stop flying. We never come to stationary hover. We don't have to as a scout (INAUDIBLE) , because we go forward on the battlefield.

McINTYRE: Mays is reluctant to give away the latest tactics, he knows anything he reveals on CNN could help the enemy, but he confirms that the reports from the front lines are incorporated into every lessen.

MAYS: We pass it off to our students, say these things are happening. These are the tactics that the enemy are using and this is how we can combat some of those tactics.

WO ERICK KNARZER, KIOWA STUDENT PILOT: I'm extremely confident. The IPs we have here I think are the best pilots around and the machine is fantastic. I wouldn't want to fly this helicopter if I wasn't confident and I love this helicopter.

McINTYRE: It won't be long before Erick Knarzer and his fellow Army pilots test their mettle in Iraq or Afghanistan. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Fort Rucker, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Let's check in now with Bonnie Schneider in the weather center where we really need to focus on a lot of snow out there, right?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It's hard to believe the snow is still falling but it is. It won't last too much longer though. We're seeing kind of each county pop off in terms of having an advisory posted for that county. Earlier this morning, this was all covered in red and purple. Winter storm warnings still in effect though for parts of Maine. That will go through 7:00 p.m. tonight and the flood watch continues for Boston and that will go until 2:00 p.m. later today. So eventually we see some major improvements.

In the meantime, I was mentioning Boston because we actually had a terrific i-report not too far from away Westford, which is a suburb of Boston.

Check this out. This is from Anne Robertson. She opened her basement door to not only find the snow piled high, but the actual imprint of her door. That's her door. You can see it in the snow. So some really tightly compacted snow in Westford, not just, there but plenty of snow fell across much of the region, across many states even. Looking towards the Catskills, we have 20 inches of snow. In the Boston area, eight inches. Harrisburg at central Pennsylvania, 9.5, New York Central Park, 5 1/2. But remember there was sleet on top of the rain.

Looking to the south, we still have a little bit of snow popping up through Pennsylvania. Not snowing right now in Baltimore, but I wouldn't rule out a snow shower for you into the forecast for the latter part of the day but we are seeing some airport delays in the Baltimore area. Only 30 minutes, not weather related, volume related. So there you go. So far no delays due to weather but call your individual airline because there still could be backlog from all the flights that were canceled yesterday, something that you'll have to contend with. But the weather will be warming up Fred, spring begins March 21st, just around the corner.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait. Just when we thought we had a taste of it earlier in the week, then back to reality. I'm patient enough to wait until next week.

SCHNEIDER: OK, just a few days.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Bonnie.

Well here's something to think about, really think about -- are terrorists targeting school buses? An alarming warning from the FBI and homeland security. Our Justice Department correspondent Kelli Arena reports on a potential new threat in today's CNN security watch. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This bulletin says that some school districts have reported what they call an unusual increase in the number of foreign nationals that are seeking positions as school bus drivers. FBI investigators have revealed that a number of those applicants had other connections to or sympathized with known terrorist groups. It's not saying that these people are terrorists and that's an important distinction. The bulletin does go on to say though that the most troublesome to investigators were these individuals who the FBI reported had expressed an interest in the terrorists' use of explosives.

That's important because historically, terrorists prefer to use large vehicles to conduct their attacks. At this point, this is just a concern. The bulletin says there's no information indicating that these individuals are involved in terrorist plots or ever would be. FBI spokesman Richard (INAUDIBLE) insisted that parents and children have nothing to worry about. He says that this bulletin was sent out to educate law enforcement about trends that Federal authorities are seeing so they'll be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And CNN security watch keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

OK. There was the outrage over spending your tax dollars to builds to well -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a horror movie where the villain just doesn't die. You think it's killed. You think it's killed and it just keeps coming back from the dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Go away already. We thought that $450 million project was gone? Well, think again. Keeping Congress honest, next in the NEWSROOM. AMY ZIF: For travelers who are staying in a hotel, there are a couple of things you want to remember. When you often get a hotel key, you want to keep that actually separate from your wallet because you don't want someone to be able to identify who you are, go to the front desk and find out what room you're in. Never ever give out your room number. Don't repeat it out loud. Keep that information to yourself. Know where the fire exits are, what would I do in case of an emergency because in the worst case scenario that fire alarm goes off and you have to take the fire exit, you want to know kind of how to get there. If the hotel you're staying at has a dark parking lot, you might want to valet your car instead of parking it in the evening hours especially or early in the morning. It's just a safety precaution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So you remember, the bridges to know where? Well, you may have thought Alaska's pet projects died, gone, kaput, well think again. CNN's Joe Johns is keeping them honest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Building a bridge connecting a mainly uninhabited island in Ketchikan in Alaska became a metaphor for raiding taxpayers in the last year. You remember the project became infamously known as one of the bridges to nowhere. In the face of growing opposition, Congress boldly said the so-called earmark for funding was just too much.

SEN. TOM COBURN (R) OKLAHOMA: That was an authorized earmark that doesn't pass the smell test.

JOHNS: But guess what? The project never did die. In fact, Congress still gave Alaska your tax money to pay for it.

ED FRANK, AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY: It's like a horror movie where the villain just doesn't die. You think it's killed. You think it's killed and it just keeps coming back from the dead.

JOHNS: So how did we get here? The Alaskan bridges became the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with the practice of earmarking. That's when Congress approves money for law makers' pet projects back in their home states. You'll recall two Capitol Hill heavyweights, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young were pushing the bridges in their home state and they have a lot of sway. It all built up to a huge congressional showdown. The Congress took on the two powerful Alaskans and said absolutely no to the earmark for the bridges but said Alaska could keep the money, $450 million for anything it wants. And in Alaska the governor decided to use the money for guess what, the bridges to nowhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're got to start protecting the taxpayers.

JOHNS: The watchdog group Americans for Prosperity devote a lot of their time trying to kill congressional pet projects. They toured 30 states, trying to bring a megaphone to call out what they see as the biggest examples of wasteful spending and that took them to Alaska.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to spend $223 million of our tax money to connect this uninhabited island to that island in the middle that has about 50 people on it.

JOHNS: And when you look at it that way, it's well a pretty good deal for a few people, but if you don't live in this part of Alaska, you're wondering what am I getting out of this? But what about the other bridge? It's supposed to connect a remote wilderness area to Anchorage. It's not dead either and if it goes up, real estate developers are hoping this area will be wilderness no longer. Basically, if they build it, people will come.

DARCIE SALMON, BRIDGE BOOSTER: Over here, we can offer a half acre, acre lots, private well, private septic, recreational, lakes, river, streams, snow machine, they're going to want to come here.

JOHNS: So what we learned when we were there is that a lot of people who live in Alaska aren't completely sold on the idea of the bridges and don't like this kind of attention. There is opposition, especially to the bridge in Anchorage. So the fight goes on. But the bridges are not dead yet. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A protest in pink, you remember seeing that this week or her. The person posing, making a pretty loud statement without saying a single word. But wearing that prominent pink, the new twist to the Valerie Plame Wilson Senate hearings next in the NEWSROOM.

SCHNEIDER: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your cold and flu report for Saturday. Looking off to the west, major improvement for California and the desert southwest. That's where we have reports of regional outbreaks of the flu so far. Widespread outbreaks though through parts of the central and southern plains, also into the northeast where the weather of course hasn't been too great lately. Looking towards Florida though, you only get reports of local activity at this time. That's a look at your cold and flu report for Saturday. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, of course you see the blonde in the front, but how about that blonde in the back wearing pink, stealing some of the limelight perhaps. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes you behind the news or in this case behind the news maker for the revealing details. Who is that?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first all eyes were on the blonde who came to testify. But there was another scene- stealing blonde we couldn't take our eyes off of, whose heart felt nodding kept us from nodding off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we went to visit Walter Reed, every member was appalled at what we learned. Our treatment of the troops didn't match our rhetoric.

MOOS: Whenever the witness moved, the blonde in pink sidled over to stay in the shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?

MOOS: Valerie Plame Wilson raised her hand to take the oath. The other blonde raised her hand to make a peace sign. Later, a shame on you gesture.

VALERIE PLAME WILSON, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: In protecting me and every CIA officer.

MIDGE POTTS, CODE PINK ACTIVIST: My name is Midge Potts, M-i-d-g- e, P-o-t-t-s. I'm from Springfield, Missouri.

MOOS: Midge describes herself as a transgender woman. She's also a Navy veteran from the first Gulf war and is now a member of the antiwar group Code Pink. No matter how hard the camera tries to frame them out, the Code Pink protesters have made an art form out of staying in the picture to displays saying "got impeachment" sign or a T-shirt that says impeach Bush now.

WILSON: As a covert operations officer for the central intelligence agency.

MOOS: Nothing covert about Midge. She once ran up unsuccessfully for Congress as a Republican. She popped up. She sat down. She popped up again. Being a human billboard at a congressional hearing can be exhausting. Earlier this month the Code Pink protester gave peace sign rabbit ears to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Those Code Pink folks really know how to positions themselves to get on camera. A spokesman told us they even study videotapes to try to find the perfect spot. Midge resorted to standing on her tip toes.

POTTS: I don't think that the importance of the message is diminished by the antics or the clownish things at all because it's grave. Our situation is grave.

MOOS: Sometimes they get ejected. Sometimes they get arrested. More often than not, it's a dance with police. Midge even did a few stretches.

WILSON: I do feel passionately.

MOOS: Midge got passionate when the hearing recessed.

UNKNOWN: Impeach now. Impeach now.

MOOS: Witness the double take Midge got from the star witness. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: From pink to how about some green, like in green apple pie, green ice cream, green cookies, milk. You just can't have one without the other right? That's what some people say about a cold Guinness on St. Paddy's Day. The story next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So on a day like today, there's a little bit of Irish in all of us across America, green is certainly the color. As St. Patrick's Day celebrations hit their stride. you're looking at live pictures right now out of Savannah, Georgia, the second largest St. Paddy's Day parade and they're out in full force. The weather is beautiful. Why not? It's only 55 degrees. That's very nice, very mild. They don't get much bigger than this in terms of the festivities. Every year tens of thousands of people fill the streets of Savannah, Georgia and they're doing it again today as well. Happy St. Paddy's day.

And it's not unusual to see folks tipping a pint and toasting the saint at all those festivities. Our Veronica de la Cruz taps into the sudsy tradition. You know what I'm talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They go together like peanut butter and jelly, green eggs and ham. What I'm talking about here is Guinness beer and St. Patrick Day. Just ask the president and CEO of Guinness USA, Jim Young.

JIM YOUNG, CEO, PRES, GUINNESS USA: There's something in the vicinity of 13 million glasses of Guinness raised on St. Patrick's Day and if my math is correct, that's about 150 glasses per second. That's a lot of Guinness.

DE LA CRUZ: Wait, what did he say?

YOUNG: That's about 150 glasses per second.

DE LA CRUZ: He's right. That is a lot of Guinness. The popular Irish beer is a mainstay around the world, but especially in the United States on St. Patrick's Day. But what makes the Irish beer so popular?

YOUNG: It is the way it's poured. It's the way it's treated. It's the way people relate to the beer. A couple of minutes to make the perfect pint of Guinness. It's the care and the attention that really makes it special.

DE LA CRUZ: Um, OK. Let's start at the beginning. Meet Fergal Murray. He's the head brew master for Guinness beer as well as the expert on all things Guinness.

FERGAL MURRAY, GUINNESS BREW MASTER: We've been brewing in St. James Gate in Dublin for 248 years now. What a legacy. The world has changed dramatically since then. We've had world wars. We've had extraordinary changes in the planet, but we've been doing exactly the same thing for those 248 years.

DE LA CRUZ: Did we mention that Fergal loves his job? I mean who wouldn't. When not at the brewery in Ireland testing the wares, Fergal travels around the world teaching young bartenders the proper way to pour a beer and believe it or not, there is a science to pouring a pint of Guinness.

MURRAY: It takes 119.5 seconds exactly to create the perfect pint. Take a perfect glass at a 45 degree angle under the tap. Allow the pour to occur, keeping the glass tilted, straightening it up now. Now you're watching the surge and the settle. So now that we've built the strength in the head, you just top it up and you create this proud of the head, this dome that gives you the perfect look.

DE LA CRUZ: There are rules for drinking a Guinness, too.

MURRAY: Allow -- look to the horizon, lift the glass to your lip, let the liquid go through.

DE LA CRUZ: Fergal Murray, head brew master for Guinness beer, brightening the world one pint at a time.

MURRAY: There you are, sir, a perfect pint of Guinness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I'm really parched, thirsty.

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