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Obama's Big Money; Giuliani Speaks Out; Iran: Captives Free; A Growing Demand for Ethanol; Eddie Robinson Dies

Aired April 04, 2007 - 14:01   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.

Well, he may be the newest kid on the presidential hopeful block, but he sure seems to have the hang of fund-raising. We're going to hear more about Senator Barack Obama and his campaign stash from columnist and radio host Roland Martin.

LEMON: And more than a half a century of leadership, and the legacy that's about a lot more than college football. We're remembering Grambling State University's legendary Eddie Robinson.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: Just in now, an update on a story that we've been following all week, an American man missing from the Iranian island of Kish. His family has identified him as Robert Levinson, and they've issued a statement saying this: "As everyone now knows, Bob has been missing for more than three weeks. We miss him and love him very much. We are worried about him and want him home safe and sound as soon as possible. This has been a very difficult time."

"In the past 48 hours as this has become public, we've had heard from many of our friends. We are touched and so grateful for the support and prayers we've received."

And they go on asking for their privacy.

Now, Robert Levinson has been missing for about three weeks. He has been identified as a former FBI agent, but the U.S. government says he was not working for the government in any capacity when he went missing from this Iranian island of Kish.

And as we get more details, if we get more details, we will bring them to you.

LEMON: And Brianna, we go now to political news.

Barack Obama knows how to generate buzz, this time with his money. Obama reports raising at least $25 million just in the first three months of this year, almost $7 million via the Internet.

So what does this all mean for the Democratic presidential race? Our senior political analyst , Bill Schneider, joined me last hour with some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: It looks like we're going to have a real race on the Democratic side.

LEMON: Yes, a real race, and a horse race, I guess you could call it, because no one -- I mean, if you would have -- a couple months ago probably not have predicted this, Bill. So what does that say about Barack Obama's campaign style? Let's break it down. Let's compare this to Hillary Clinton's campaign chest.

Does this mean she's going to have to turn the fund-raiser to chief former presidential -- chief former president Bill Clinton to keep up the pace here?

SCHNEIDER: Well, she has used her husband quite extensively. I think he had 16 hosted -- or attended 16 fund-raisers in the past six weeks on behalf of his wife. As you see, she's got $26 million raised for her campaign.

Barack Obama is just behind her. He says -- he reports more than $25 million. In addition, more than a quarter of his money comes from fund-raising over the Internet. That's about -- and by comparison, she raised about 16 percent of her sum on the Internet.

Barack Obama has had particularly good success with small contributors. He's reporting that over 100,000 individuals gave him money. In the case of Senator Clinton, it was about 50,000 people who gave her money. So his support appears to be a lot of small contributors, a very broad-based support, but he's also able to pull in the big money, because he has a good fund-raising base in Chicago, his hometown.

He's a senator from Illinois. Also, Hollywood, where he raised a lot of money, Wall Street, and in Boston, where he went to law school. So he appears to combine both a lot of establishment contributors, as well as grassroots supporters.

LEMON: Yes, let's -- and you had that information up again, but Senator Clinton apparently raised, what, $4.2 million online.

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

LEMON: A total raised, $36 million. Of course, you know, $26 million from new contributions and then $10 million which she transferred from her senatorial campaign.

And then this is very interesting, Senator Barack Obama, $25 million in contributions, $6.9 million raised online. That's a lot of money. It seems like the Internet possibly making it easier for campaign contributions, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, and especially from people who feel passionately about a candidate.

Barack Obama has a lot of passionate support from people looking for a new style of politics and people who look to him as someone who can unify the country. And also, of course, a lot of strong anti-war supporters who see him as the strongest anti-war candidate who opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning.

In addition, unlike Senator Clinton, he did not accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees.

LEMON: Right. Right.

SCHNEIDER: So that also means he has got a broader base of support.

LEMON: Hey, Bill, just real quick, before we move on here, we talked about Mitt Romney raising $20 million yesterday, and then, of course, Senator Clinton and Barack Obama today.

Is this going to be -- are we getting close to the billion-dollar presidential campaign?

SCHNEIDER: Well, we're far from that now, but people are expecting by the time the campaign ends in November 2008, yes, this is likely to be the first billion-dollar presidential campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And Senator Barack Obama is on the campaign trail as we speak. He is scheduled to be in Mason City, Iowa, at a community college rally later today.

KEILAR: Republican Rudy Giuliani is off to a quick start in the polls and in the fund-raising race, but it's still very, very early in the '08 race for the White House. Giuliani spoke with CNN's Dana Bash for an interview in "THE SITUATION ROOM," and she joins me now from Florida.

Hi there, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

Well, Rudy Giuliani was here in Tallahassee to pick up an endorsement from a former Republican congressman, to speak to local legislators here in the state of Florida. And his message here was the same as it was the past couple of days in Iowa, in New Hampshire, and likely will be for the next couple months, is that he -- what he says is that there's a lot that he and the Republican Party agree on, things like lowering taxes, things like fiscal responsibility, security, the Iraq war. But the reality is, in addition to that, there are some -- some issues, some pretty big issues for many Republican voters that he disagrees with many in his party on, and those are social issues.

And we talked about some of them, especially the issue of abortion. He is a self-described pro-choice Republican, and says that he has been since he first ran for mayor 12 years ago, still is. I asked him the question, though, about -- specifically about taxpayer funding for abortion, whether or not he supports it now like he did when he was mayor.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There's something, you know, on YouTube from 1989, it's flying around the Internet. It's a clip of you, and I'll read it to you. I'll read it to you.

On abortion -- "There must be public funding for abortions for poor women. We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources."

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, I have to re- examine all those issues and exactly what was at stake then. It is a long time ago. But generally, that's my view.

Abortion is wrong, abortion shouldn't happen. Personally, you should counsel people to that extent.

When I was mayor, adoptions went up, abortions went down. But ultimately, it's a -- it's a constitutional right. And therefore, if it's a constitutional right, ultimately, even if you do it on a state- by-state basis, you have to make sure that people are protected.

BASH: So you support taxpayer money or public funding for abortion in some cases?

GIULIANI: If it would deprive someone of a constitutional right, yes. If that's the status of the law, then I would, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There you hear Rudy Giuliani saying that he does support taxpayer funding for abortion. And that will definitely put him at odds with many in his party. But he's also careful to say whenever the issue of abortion comes up, Brianna, that he personally is against it, he says he hates it, he argues against it.

He says if anyone would come to him and ask the question, he would say, go put the baby up for adoption, I can help you do that. So that is his personal stance, but for sure his stance as a politician and as a policymaker is very much somebody who still supports abortion rights -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Dana, you asked him some hardball questions there. And I'm curious, because there has been a lot of talk about Giuliani's relationship with his son Andrew, did he talk about that?

BASH: He did. You know, I asked him, since, you know, as you mentioned, his son Andrew came out -- went public a few weeks ago and said that he doesn't have a relationship with his father, that he is not going to campaign for his father, and talked about the fact that they have this rift between them, I asked him if he, the mayor -- former mayor has reached out to his son.

He said of course, they have spoken. He said, though, that he wants to keep those conversations private. And then he immediately launched into the question that he knows is out there, so he just sort of goes after, and that is the whole issue of his public life versus his private life, the scrutiny that he is under not just because of the relationship, or testy relationship with his son, but also the fact that he has had three wives. That is something that does not sit well with many conservatives who are voters in the Republican primaries.

But he said several times that what voters need to do is judge him by his public record, not his personal life. He said -- he said, you know, "I'll open it up. You can go and you can look and you can see what I would do."

He said, "I have made mistakes. You can examine the mistakes I have made." He said, "My personal life, I've made mistakes, I regret them. They are between me, God, my conscience, and the people involved" -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Dana Bash, live for us from Tallahassee, Florida, where she's following Rudy Giuliani.

Thanks for that report.

LEMON: Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson is in Iowa this afternoon in a day-long kick-off to his Republican campaign for president. He's talking education, Iraq, and health care. But when it came time for the big announcement, he invoked the name of a revered fellow Republican.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Reagan had great expectations for America, because he had such great expectations for the American people. He believed that we were capable of anything, and so do I. And so must America once again.

And so it is with the greatest expectation for the future of our great country that I officially announce today my candidacy for president of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Thompson says he is a dark horse, and a recent CNN poll proves it. Against the other GOP hopefuls, he's favored by one percent of Americans.

KEILAR: Elizabeth Edwards has encouraging news about her recent cancer diagnosis. The wife of presidential hopeful John Edwards says she learned on Friday that her cancer is a type that is more likely to be controlled by anti-estrogen drugs. She said she considers this "a good sign."

And as you know, Mrs. Edwards revealed two weeks ago that her breast cancer had returned, this time in a bone. She and her husband insist they have no plans to call off his campaign. She also vows to keep a regular campaign schedule herself while undergoing treatment.

LEMON: Fifteen British sailors and marines are expected to leave Iran tomorrow. Iran's president announced today that he's granting amnesty to the Brits held captive since March 23rd for allegedly trespassing in Iranian waters. Now, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is revealed.

CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley joins us now from London.

Robin, relieved is probably a good way of putting it.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, it certainly is, Don. And Tony Blair knew what a strain this was on the families of the 14 men and one woman who had been held captive by the Iranians through this period, but there was relief for him and the government, too, which was evident when he greeted the announcement on Downing Street just a couple of hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm glad that our 15 service personnel have been released. I know their release will come as a profound relief not just to them, but to their families, that have endured such distress and anxiety over these past 12 days. Throughout, we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating, but not confronting either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OAKLEY: Tony Blair was at pains to stress his respect for the Iranian people as an ancient civilization, I think seeking to a degree to mend fences with Iran, which had taken offense very much over the way in which Tony Blair had taken this issue to the U.N. Security Council and to the European Union, seeking their support in condemning Iran for taking the captives in the first place. Iran insisted all through that this was a bilateral matter for negotiation between the two countries.

And there's no doubt Downing Street was taken by surprise by the actual timing of the announcement. Only last night, Margaret Beckett had said we shouldn't be looking for any early results in the resumed talks between the two sides, and Tony Blair had said if there wasn't progress after 48 hours, then British tactics may have to be changed once more.

But in the end, they got the result they wanted. The whole business has been about getting these 15 back to British soil safe and sound. They now expect them to be here tomorrow -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Robin Oakley, thank you so much for that. Of course we'll check back with you throughout the day here.

We've got some new video, Robin, we want to show you. These are the British captives. This is from Iranian television, and these are the captives celebrating just moments after finding out that they were going to be released.

Let's see -- Al Alam (ph), Iranian television. Arabic language TV.

Let's see if we can hear any of this. Let's listen.

It's an announcer there, it's not them. But obviously they're very happy, as they should be. They were held captive 12 days. It was almost 13 days after being taken, we should say, in waters that -- the Iranians say they were in their waters, we were saying that they were -- or the British were saying that they were in Iraqi waters, so that has obviously been worked out, diplomacy has won out here.

So moments after finding out that they were going to be set free, that's them celebrating right there -- Brianna.

KEILAR: President Bush has blasted her visit to Syria, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not the only lawmakers defying the White House.

Ahead in the NEWSROOM, who else is pushing for aggressive diplomacy?

LEMON: And tracing the pet food scare. The possible source of the contamination found in rural China.

We'll take you there straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Pet owners on both coasts are going after the company at the center of that monumental pet food recall. Today, though, add fraud allegations to a class action lawsuit against -- already filed in Chicago, I should say.

Plaintiffs say executives at Menu Foods knew weeks or more in advance there was a problem, yet said and did nothing about it. If they could prove it, they could collect punitive damages. Some pet owners no longer trust any pet food they find in stores. Instead, pet food -- pet food cookbooks they say are flying off of the shelves.

KEILAR: Yes, and off amazon.com, I understand.

So, as you may know, Menu Foods and the FDA traced the problem to contaminated gluten from rural China. And CNN's John Vause has followed this story all the way there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The pet food scare across the U.S. can be traced back here to a rundown warehouse in rural China. According to local residents, this operation belongs to the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Company, named by the FDA as the source of the chemical melamine, which somehow contaminated wheat gluten, an ingredient in almost a hundred different brands of pet food which have now been recalled.

When we arrived, employees began covering what appeared to be sacks of grain. Every year, 9,000 tons of wheat gluten are reportedly exported from here, but all work has come to a standstill after an FDA ban on imports from this private-owned company.

This office worker, who would only give her name as Ms. Gurr (ph), seemed overwhelmed by the allegations.

"Of course it's not good for us," she told me. "We want to clear our name."

The company's senior management has been locked away in crisis meetings for days, but denies any wrongdoing during 12 years of operation. "In China, all factories that make white gluten follow a strict testing procedure. The situation, as depicted by these rumors, has never occurred."

But questions are being asked about the safety of China's food supply. Three hundred million Chinese every year, according to the U.N., suffer food poisoning. Last summer, nearly 100 restaurant patrons were hospitalized after eating bad snails. A company was recently prosecuted from making lard from sewage. Farmers have been caught adding a cancer-causing dye to duck feed, turning the egg yolk red, which apparently is more appealing to Chinese consumers.

HENK BEKEDAM, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In China, some of the safety and sanitary issues needs to be addressed. Spitting at its friends is something what the Chinese do. That is not good.

VAUSE: Even so, government officials here stand by their health regulations, insisting China is not to blame for the deaths of American pets.

John Vause, CNN, Xuzhou, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: If you're a pet owner, this is probably weighing on your mind. And we can help you out. There's a complete list of all the recalled cat and dog food products and other helpful information at cnn.com/petfoodrecall.

LEMON: All right. And look at this. I guess you can really say that's out on a limb, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

LEMON: A bird owner, guess what he's doing? Trying to rescue his exotic pet. He could have used some wings himself there.

The story is coming up straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Cell phones and the dreaded cell yell. They seem to be everywhere, but there's still one place that remains a sacred no-call zone, and we like it that way.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details on that.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips. Just in, we have an update on a story that we've been covering all week long. An American man missing on the island of Kish. This is an Iranian island.

Now the family of this man has identified him as Robert Levinson of Coral Gables, Florida. They have also issued a statement. This is a statement from his wife Christine. She says: as everyone now knows, Bob has been missing for more than three weeks. We miss him and love him very much. We're worried about him and want him home safe and sound as soon as possible.

Levinson, obviously, has been missing for a little while now. He's been identified as a former FBI agent, although the U.S. government says he was not working for the U.S. government in any capacity when he did go missing. And we'll bring you the latest details as they become available.

LEMON: Let's talk now, Brianna, about those 15 British sailors that were being held in Iran. This morning President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announcing that he would release them. This is new video of just a short while ago of them celebrating after they found out they were going to be released. You can see the jubilation and happiness on their faces. They're hugging each other.

And just moments ago, our sister television station, ITV caught up with the parents of Lieutenant Felix Carmen (ph), their names are Paul and Allison Carmen. And they describe how they feel, now knowing their son is about to come home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLISON CARMEN, MOTHER OF DETAINED BRITISH SAILOR: We are both so proud, he's such a lovely guy and he is so professional and optimistic, he's got such a lovely smile, and we are just delighted. We can't wait to hug him and kiss him and keep him safe.

PAUL CARMEN, FATHER OF DETAINED BRITISH SAILOR: We won't entirely relax until he's actually home.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: And that was Lieutenant Felix Carmen's parents, Paul and Allison Carmen, excited their son will be released and will be coming home. They start to leave tomorrow morning.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the road to Damascus is the road to peace. She led a delegation there today over White House objections. Trying to warm up U.S. and Syrian relations. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Brent Sadler has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN's SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Syria after holding three rounds of high- level talks with Syria's top leadership, including the president himself, Bashar al Assad (ph). This came after withering White House criticism, including rebukes from President George Bush himself that the Pelosi delegation's visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, was in effect undermining Bush policy to isolate Syria.

SADLER (voice over): Now the series of meetings included the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, one of the top agenda items: the continuing war in Iraq and ways in which Syria could help improve the conditions inside Iraq. Notably by a flow, alleges the Bush administration, of foreign fighters across the porous Syrian border with Iraq. This is one of the main dividing issues between the U.S. administration and the Syrians.

Also was discussed, the Arab Peace Initiative that was launched again last week to try to bring peace in the Middle East. Also, the issue of neighboring Lebanon, which is facing a political deadlock between political forces that are backed by Syria and Iran, and those that are backed by the United States and the West.

Later, at a news conference, Speaker Pelosi said that the Israelis had passed a message through her to the Syrians that the Israelis were ready for peace talks to resume with the Syrians. The Syrians responded in kind, saying they too were willing to talk peace with Israel, providing it was based on a just solution in the region. This is what Pelosi had to say to reporters here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: Peace in the Middle East is a high priority for the American people and indeed the people in this region and all over the world. We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process. He was ready to engage in negotiations with peace, with Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER (on camera): Speaker Pelosi made no reference to the raging political debate back home in Washington that's been following her trip during her stay here in Damascus. Syrians officials tell me that they were very pleased with the way the dialogue sessions went. They were also very pleased, they said, to note that after a Republican delegation came through here the weekend, followed by this very high-profile Pelosi visit. That in effect, the policy that's been led by President George W. Bush to isolate both Syria and Iran, by shutting off all dialogue with Syria, really has been proved not to work. Pelosi says continued dialogue with the Syrians should continue. Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And bad mouthing the Pelosi trip, neither President Bush nor his spokeswoman mentioned the Republican Congresswoman and her delegation nor the three Republican Congressmen who met with Syria's president last week.

KEILAR: An Atlanta man is facing murder charges today after a shooting right here at CNN center. Police say Arthur Mann (ph) was arguing with his ex-girlfriend yesterday when he pulled out a gun and shot her. Mann was then shot by a CNN security guard and is listed this hour in stable condition. Clara Riddles (ph) died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Two days ago in Seattle, you may recall, it was a similar scene, a 26-year-old woman had done everything she could to get away from an ex-boyfriend. She even had a restraining order. But that didn't stop him from coming to her office at the University of Washington, and killing her, then killing himself. Earlier, CNN's Tony Harris talked with the domestic abuse activist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NANCY GRIGSBY, GA. COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Many of these homicides are preventable. That's been proven in cities across the country. So the answer is, how did we reduce DUI, in this country, for example? The same sort of approach to making violence an unacceptable behavior. We haven't quite done that. We've done a good job of finding resources for victims. We haven't put the same political and financial will behind holding abusers accountable.

HARRIS: What do you mean when you say that Nancy? What would change? What is it, as we look at these pictures, what in legislation, what in action, what in resources, might have had an impact on that situation?

GRIGSBY: Talking globally, instead of just individual cases. We've got pretty good statutes in this country, I don't think that's really where we need to focus. It's more on resources and on really community will. On reorganizing how we respond with the existing resources we have with law enforcement, with courts, and frankly, with places of worship, with employers. It takes more than, this is not just a criminal justice solution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And there are some resources out there. And here's a good place to start. The National Domestic Violence hot line tells everyone not to wait until a crime is committed, to get help call 1- 800-799-safe, or log on to their Web site at ndvh.org.

LEMON: Rising gas prices fueling a rise in the popularity and production of Ethanol. What does it mean for you? That's straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Remembering a man who changed America. It's hard to believe, but it's been 39 years since the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated. Civil rights activists are gathering at his tomb, here in Atlanta, to honor his life and legacy. Dr. King was just 39 years old when he was gunned down at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Two months later, escaped convict, James Earl Ray was arrested and he later confessed.

LEMON: This next person also made a big difference in America, Eddie Robinson stepped on to the football field at Grambling State University, back in 1941 and left, 57 years later. Was one of the most impressive records in college athletics. The 88-year-old Robinson died last night after struggling with poor health for years. Over the decades, more than 200 men who played for Robinson went on to the NFL. Yet his greatest accomplishments went far beyond football. CNN's Mark McKay takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EDDIE ROBINSON, LEGENDARY COACH: I wanted to give something back to our society, because some place I read that the foundation of any nation is predicated on the education of its youth. And to see them be outstanding men, good husbands, good fathers, good businessmen and that type of thing, and he's played for us, I tell you, it's something great.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eddy Robinson spent more than a half century teaching students at Grambling State University about the games of football and life. He arrived at the school in 1941, when it was stilled called the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute. In those early days, Robinson coached baseball and basketball as well as football. But his main job was coaching the football team. A job he had wanted since the fourth grade.

Robinson built Grambling into a power house, winning nine black college national championships. But he was most famous for surpassing Alabama's Paul Bear Bryant as the winningest (ph) college football coach at any level. His enduring legacy to the sport includes the more than 80 players he sent on to professional football including Hall of Famers Willy Davis and Charlie Joiner, as well as quarterback Doug Williams, who would be named MVP of Super Bowl XXII.

But the final years of Robinson's career were particularly hard. He was nearly forced out following the 1996 season after Grambling had its second straight losing season. The football program was penalized for violating NCAA rules, and several ugly off the field incidents involved his athletes. Robinson was eventually replaced by Doug Williams in 1997 after the team went 3-8. Despite the disappointing ending, Robinson continued to receive honors. Grambling renamed its stadium after him. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and the national coach of the year award now bears his name. Eddie Robinson, truly one of the greatest coaches to ever step on a field.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So every year there's this huge rivalry in my home. My sister went to Grambling and my uncle, where Eddie Robinson coached, my parents went to Southern University. Two big rivals, every year for the Bayou Classic. But Eddie Robinson was amazing, it was amazing watching him coach every year when I grew up. Eighty-eight years old, Eddie Robinson.

KEILAR: Yes. He obviously made an impact on you and he will certainly be remembered.

LEMON: Absolutely.

KEILAR: Alright. Moving on now, more storms today making for a miserable travel day. Reynolds Wolf on top of it all. What can you tell us Reynolds?

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: It's time to see what's happening in the showbiz world today. A.J. Hammer, what's on tap? He giveth and he taketh away. Don't take away anything.

A.J. HAMMER, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm not taking away anything, although Keith Richards might be taking away a confession, that's coming up. Also, an outraged Halle Berry reacting to the story about her attempted suicide. All that's coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Halle Berry, she's so beautiful, she's seeing stars, and one has her name on it. And one of the crowning moments of her very successful career, the Oscar-winning actress opens up about one of the worst times in her life.

A.J. Hammer now, the host of CNN "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" is in New York. A.J., what do you have?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, all eyes were on a very luminous Halle Berry yesterday, as the proud Oscar-winner was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was fighting back the tears as the emotional Berry thanked numerous friends, colleagues and her fans for the great honor.

After posing on her star for the press, Berry talked to CNN and she was reacting to that recent report in "Parade" magazine that she at one time had attempted to commit suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLE BERRY, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER: It wasn't my intention to come out with it right now. Unfortunately, a magazine decided to regurgitate some old information and sensationalize it a little bit and present it as if it were like, new. It's not what I want to talk about. I -- so not where I am. It's ten years ago and I'm in the best time of my life ever, so I'm focusing on what's good in my life and that's very much the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I do appreciate her setting the record straight on that. Presumably one of those good things in Berry's life right now is her new movie, it's called "Perfect Stranger." It's a thriller co- starring Bruce Willis, and it will be sneaking into theaters on Friday the 13th.

Well, here we are. It's Wednesday, and that of course means that water coolers all across America, people are no doubt talking about one thing, Sanjaya's performance on last night's "American Idol." Have a look for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANJAYA MALAKAR, AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANT (singing): I want my arm about you, the charm about you will carry me through. I'm in heaven I'm in heaven ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I got to say, compared to some of the performances in the past, not so bad from Sanjaya. The popular 17-year-old from Washington is there singing Tony Bennett's "Cheek to Cheek" as the weekly singing contest now prepares to whittle the nine remaining contestants down to eight.

LEMON: A.J.?

HAMMER: Yes, yes Don?

LEMON: Oh, come on.

HAMMER: You know, I'm just saying compared to past performances. I'm not saying overall, I'm not saying he should win the contest.

LEMON: You know what? It's painful sometimes. I tell people it's not a cute competition, it's a talent competition.

HAMMER: Well, the word is he's not going to win judging by how the voting has been going. They can't reveal how the votes are going, but producers are saying based on what they're seeing now, it's not going to happen, and if you were paying attention last night, may have been a little reverse psychology approach from Simon Cowell. Usually he utters very harsh criticism for Sanjaya. Well, last night Cowell simply called the singer's performance incredible. Take that for what it's worth. Let's move on now from one Brit to another. It appears rock sensation Keith Richards is pressing the rewind button on some of his own words. In a recent interview with the British music magazine "NME," the Rolling Stone's guitarist allegedly claimed he snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine. Well, now the musician is taking back the story, saying it's all a joke.

In a statement received by CNN from the rocker, Keith Richards is saying, "The complete story is lost in translation. The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak. I took the lid off the box of ashes, and he is now growing oak trees and would love me for it! I was trying to say how tight Bert," his father, "and I were. That tight! I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide." Candor indeed from Keith Richards, whose dad died back in 2002.

And coming up tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," if Keith Richards was really just kidding when he said he snorted the ashes of his father along with cocaine, why is he backtracking now? Well we have got an inside look at the wild and sometimes wacky world of the Rolling Stone's guitarist. That's tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news show. Catch us at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime.

Don, he is always a colorful guy.

LEMON: Yes, I have a lot to say, but you know what, I'm going to zip it, because I probably would get in trouble.

A.J., we'll be watching tonight. Thank you, sir.

HAMMER: You got it.

KEILAR: A stunning announcement by Iran, a planned release of 15 British troops. Now we'll hear from the sailors' parents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: And taking a look now at the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, $2.70. That is on average what you're paying, which brings us to our next story.

Cornfield or oil well? If somebody gave you a choice, you would probably take the oil, but there's gold in them thar cornstalks or at least opportunity, and ethanol is the reason.

CNN's Chris Lawrence reports from the heartland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush planted the seed.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ethanol has got the largest potential for immediate growth.

LAWRENCE: And the industry has been nurtured by government subsidies.

PHILIP FLYNN, ENERGY ANALYST: They want to believe that ethanol is a source and their spending a lot of our money to prove it.

LAWRENCE: Energy analyst Philip Flynn says it's fueling demand for ethanol's main ingredient. It could lead to the largest corn crop in 60 years.

FLYNN: This is a windfall for these farmers.

LAWRENCE: Flynn says corn growers are selling their crops for record prices, then they invest in the factories where corn is turned into ethanol and make more money off the tax credits.

(on camera): This has the potential to be a record crop. Are corn growers excited about a record profit?

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