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Duke Lacrosse Charges; Allegations Against Iran; Birkhead's The Daddy; Heading Home Hungry?; University Students in Baghdad; Bomb Threat in a Georgia School; Life Expectancies

Aired April 11, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And individuals who are looking to see if they can get a piece of it.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Getting a piece of it perhaps at students' expense. The New York attorney general says he's investigating hundreds of schools for possible kickbacks to financial aid advisers, for pushing students to use "preferred lenders."

ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: There should be no financial incentives to a financial aid officer, no gifts, no perks. Make the decisions based on what's in the best interest of the student.

ROMANS: Some of our nation's most well-known universities are under investigation for the ties between the financial aid office and the for-profit companies selling student loans.

The private loan arrangements that Cuomo is investigating are more important than ever. Government financial aid has not kept up with tuition increases.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Stay informed in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown this hour.

HARRIS: Is the case at an end? The sexual assault and kidnapping charges could be dropped today in the Duke lacrosse case. We watch the developments out of North Carolina.

COLLINS: The U.S. leveling a new charge at Iran. Are Iraqi extremists crossing the border to become expert bomb builders? Live to the Pentagon.

HARRIS: Want to live to 100? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us what you can do right now so that you will be around then.

It is Wednesday, April 11th and you are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The Duke lacrosse scandal, 13 months after a stripper accused three players of rape. An announcement could implode the case that divided a community. Defense sources tell CNN, they expect all remaining charges will be dropped. An announcement is now scheduled for a little bit later on today. And CNN's Jason Carroll is on the scene in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the very latest.

Jason, what can you tell us about today's announcement?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the announcement will come at 2:30 from the state attorney general's office. And you've already heard what we've been hearing from defense attorneys, which is that they expect all the charges against the three players, Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and Dave Evans, to be dropped.

What defense attorneys, Heidi, are trying to figure out at this point is what sort of announcement the attorney general's office will make in terms of how they decide the charges will be dropped. In other words, what they're hoping for, Heidi, is the type of strong announcement that will come which will exonerate, completely exonerate all three players.

What they don't want to see, Heidi, is the type of announcement that leaves a bit of a window open, the type of announcement which could say something like, we find no evidence at this time beyond a reasonable doubt that shows a crime was committed. That in some ways leaves a little bit of doubt in there. That's not what they want to see.

COLLINS: Hmm. Is there a possibility, though, that anybody could face civil suits if the criminal charges are dropped?

CARROLL: Absolutely. Defense sources telling me that regardless of what type of announcement comes down, they will most likely pursue civil charges against District Attorney Michael Nifong. You'll remember he was the D.A. who originally had this case, asked to be recused from the case. He now faces possible charges and an investigation from the state bar. And that perhaps they will also pursue charges against Duke University.

Defense sources also telling us, Heidi, though, they will not likely pursue charges against the accuser. They describe her as a troubled soul. They just didn't see what the point of doing something like that would be. But they would pursue charges against Nifong and against Duke University.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it's really an unbelievable story, everything that it leaves behind by way of the office of the district attorney, the campus relationships, racism, all of these things that have come up. So, obviously, we're glad you're there and you'll be following it for us. We'll check in with you a little bit later. Jason Carroll, thanks. HARRIS: The U.S. military leveling serious allegations against Iran about actions in Iraq. Live now to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, good morning to you.

What is being said today?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you know, we've heard a lot of these allegations in the past. But earlier today, Major General William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, offered fresh information about Iran's involvement in the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ: The fact that we know that they, in fact, manufactured and smuggled into this country and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them. And we know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainee debriefs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: General Caldwell talking about those advanced roadside bombs, the explosively formed penetrators, that the U.S. believes Iran has been shipping into Iraq. General Caldwell saying they have information now that within the last month there has been training by Iran inside Iraq.

He also went on to say that now they have additional information Iran is supporting Sunni extremists. And that would be an expansion, Tony. Up until now, what we've mostly heard about, is Iran's support, of course, for the Shia extremist groups.

And finally, General Caldwell saying that recent interviews with detainees they have captured indicate that some detainees are now saying they've received their training for attacks in Iraq. They've received their training in Syria.

Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, man. OK.

Barbara, extended troop duty now extended to everyone? Is that possible?

STARR: Well, anything is possible. Here is the dilemma. We've been talking about this an awful lot as well. The U.S. military has got to find a way now to keep that higher number of troops on the ground for the security plan, at least through the fall of this year. That's what General Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, is saying he wants. So there's only so many ways you can do it.

There is an option out there. The Army looking at whether or not they possibly want to extend the tour of duty from 12 months to 15 months for all of their troops. That would be a way to basically mass more force, assemble more people for a longer period of time that could go to Iraq and be on the front lines.

But 15 months on the ground, Tony, for everybody, that is going to be a morale buster, especially because the Marines only serve currently an average seven-month tour of duty. So there's no easy answers to this question, how to keep enough forces on the ground in Iraq.

HARRIS: No easy answers.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thanks.

COLLINS: The battle over paying for the Iraq War is intensifying. Top Democrats in Congress turning down President Bush's offer to meet about a $123 billion spending bill. The president says he will veto any bill setting a timetable for troop withdrawal. The White House adding that a meeting would not be an opportunity to compromise, but Democrats want to negotiate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: The president wants a blank check and the Democrats will not give it to him. Contrary to what the president is saying, Democrats are accountable. And we want to hold the administration accountable as well. They want a blank check for a war. They've walked away from their own benchmarks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Bush is meeting this morning with a group of lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who have just returned from Iraq.

Risking their lives for a college degree. Our Kyra Phillips gets an unexpected lesson on the Iraq War. She's live ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: More fallout from those racially charged remarks by radio shock jock Don Imus. Several advertisers on his show say they're pulling their commercials off. The supply chain Staple, Proctor & Gamble and the Bigelow Tea Company are dropping their Imus sponsorships for now. The Rutgers University women's basketball team agreed to a private meeting with Imus. They say they want to know what prompted his hurtful description of the young women. MSNBC And CBS Radio slapped a two-week suspension on Imus. That starts on Monday.

COLLINS: Want to take a moment now to look at the weather.

It looks like a few things are swirling and whirling behind you there, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT) COLLINS: And also want to report this story once again for you here on CNN. We have confirmed through a source very close to former senator and actor Fred Thompson, you see him there, our Candy Crowley has confirmed that he does indeed have a treatable form of lymphoma. He apparently has sort of been talking about this privately for quite some time. Not really sure what it means for his possible presidential bid. But that same source telling our Candy Crowley that this disclosure should indicate to everyone interested in seeing Fred enter the race for the White House, how serious he is taking this in the next steps toward launching a campaign.

So 64-year-old Fred Thompson, former senator and actor, has announced that through sources close to him that he apparently has a treatable form of lymphoma. We'll watch this one for you and bring you more developments should we get them.

HARRIS: Another thaw in what's been an ice cold relationship. North Korea says it will unconditionally return the remains of six American troops killed in the Korean War. That word from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, which just wrapped up a four-day trip to the communist country after his visit. Richardson also talked about the nuclear issue. He says North Korea promises to allow U.N. nuclear inspectors back into the country, but first it wants funds that were frozen by sanctions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: The BDA issue is resolved and now we need to move forward. The North Korean government told us that with that issue resolved, the DPRK would move promptly within a day after receiving the funds. And therefore within that day invite the IAEA to Pyongyang (ph), an inspector or inspectors to draw up the terms for shutting down the Pyongyang (ph) reactor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: North Korea agreed in February to shut down it's main nuclear reactor if the funds were released and a number of concessions were agreed to, including energy aid.

COLLINS: Wanted, a four-star heavyweight to manage the war in Iraq from the White House. Any takers? In the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: He told us so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY BIRKHEAD, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S FORMER BOYFRIEND: It's been a long road and I'm just happy to have this behind me and just to be able to start a life with my daughter. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: What's ahead for the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter? That story coming up in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: A picturesque bed and breakfast with a scandalous secret. Why some guests are outraged. We'll tell you coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You're in the NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.

Coming up, the Duke lacrosse scandal and what may be the most explosive development of all. Stay with us in the NEWSROOM as we bring you the latest from North Carolina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Don Imus' apology on "The Today Show" raising questions about a racial double standard. Does the fact hip-hop music and some African-Americans using the same hateful language exonerate the embattled talk show host? Comedian Whoopi Goldberg doesn't think so. She spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I may be a white man, but I know that these young women and young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by their own black men and that they are called that name and I know that -- and that doesn't give me, obviously, any right to say it, but it doesn't give them any right to say it.

ANDERSON COOPER, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Does it sound to you like he's trying to make an excuse on that?

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, COMEDIENNE: Well, yes. Yes. I mean, because, you know, especially talking to some of the folks that he's been speaking to over the last few days, you know. All of these reverends and, you know, the civil rights leaders, they have been clenching about the lyrics for years. Years and years and years and years.

COOPER: Right. Al Sharpton has had demonstrations about hip-hop lyrics.

GOLDBERG: Please. I mean, for years. So it's a little bit weak. And I always want to ask folks, why do you want to say it? I mean, it's like the "n" word. People say, well you all say it. Well, yes, but why do you want to say it? Why do you want to say it? Because, you know, Imus is not a rapper. So we know he's not putting together some material. It's one thing if you're on a stage or you're a rap singer and you're singing some lyrics about some general thing.

But when you zone in on a specifics like these girls, this team, you take it to a whole other level. These girls did nothing to encourage this. They didn't invite it. They played the game. They played their heart out.

And it's disheartening, in a way, because we now have to explain to all kids, all little girls, that this is not the way it is. This guy, yes, this is a famous guy. This guy has a television show. This guy has a radio show, but he does not speak for the majority of the people. And you got to -- it's like five steps forward and 12 steps back (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER: So if he was black, would it have been OK?

GOLDBERG: No. Those parents would have been on him much faster if he had been black because you -- you know, you don't -- you don't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Fairly hateful words no matter who they come from. But these from a man who thrives on shock. So how do they play among young African-Americans? We're going to talk to the host of a top urban radio show, Frank Ski (ph), coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Two months after Anna Nicole Smith's death, the father of her baby daughter revealed. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports from the Bahamas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When the moment came, Larry Birkhead emerged from the courthouse in Nassau and played the crowd.

LARRY BIRKHEAD, SMITH'S FORMER BOYFRIEND: I hate to be the one that told you this, but I told you so.

DORNIN: A DNA expert in court confirmed Birkhead, Smith's former boyfriend, is Dannielynn's father. At least four men had made the claim. Among them, Howard K. Stern, Smith's long-time companion and attorney, who filed an appeal to stop the DNA results from being revealed. But that battle was lost. Stern was fined $10,000 for his effort. Now the paternity is final. No more fighting says a disappointing Stern.

HOWARD K. STERN, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S COMPANION: I am not going to fight Larry Birkhead on custody. We're going to do what we can to make sure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out.

DORNIN: Then there is Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole's estranged mother. She's lost nearly every court battle since her daughter died. Following this revelation, she put on a brave face.

VIRGIE ARTHUR, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S MOTHER: I'm happy that Dannielynn will know her who real father is.

DORNIN: Before the announcement, the tension mounted. There were plenty of tourists, gawkers and a full-scale international media scramble to catch the major players. In the court of public opinion, Birkhead was the undisputed winner, especially here in the Bahamas. For local resident, Silver Wood, it was a piece of tabloid history.

Were you surprised?

SILVER WOOD, NASSAU, BAHAMAS, RESIDENT: No, not at all. Not at all. DORNIN: Are you happy about it?

WOOD: I'm very happy. For me, it was a very emotional moment.

DORNIN: For tourist Lori Logan, forget the feature shopping.

LORI LOGAN, TOURIST: I'm glad it's Larry.

DORNIN: Why?

LOGAN: I just think he presents a little more wholesome character on the outside.

DORNIN: Now he will try and convince a Bahamian judge of that at a custody hearing on Friday, that not only is he the biological father, but he can be a good father as well. A good father to a baby girl that just might inherit a fortune.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Nassau, the Bahamas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The cupboard is bare. A program started though No Child Left Behind may leave some children hungry, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's go ahead and take a look at those numbers now. The Dow Jones Industrial average down about 54. Still above 12,000, though. So it's hard to complain to much, but 12,519. The Nasdaq apparently down 10 as well. We'll watch all these numbers for you, talk more about those layoffs at Citigroup, too.

HARRIS: More than an after school snack, a Redding, Pennsylvania, program provides dinner for hundreds of kids. But some may have to head home hungry. Karen Mallett of affiliate WFMZ has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN MALLETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): On the menu tonight, spaghetti and meatballs.

DEB MEST, GREATER BERKS FOOD BANK: You see these innocent little faces, you know, who are so -- they're so thrilled to get these meals because, quite frankly, that's what they get to eat. Some of them go home and they don't have anything in their refrigerator.

MALLETT: Partly funded by the Greater Berks Food Bank, Kids Cafe is an after school program that also provides a meal. There are 24 cafes in the city. But without more funding, four will close.

MEST: Four schools equals 300 kids. Three hundred kids that are not going to get something to eat. That is -- it shouldn't be happening. It should not be happening in this day and age. MALLETT: The Kids Cafes at Northwest Middle and Elementary, Riverside and Glenside Elementary will close. They were opened with grant money from the No Child Left Behind Act. The idea was that after a few years, when the grant money was gone, the communities would be able to sustain the cafes.

MEST: Well, that's a wonderful idea, except these programs are going on in communities that don't have the money to sustain anything really.

MALLETT: Every day, the meals are prepared at the Hispanic Center in Redding.

MARIA DELGADO, HISPANIC CENTER: We have from 400 to 1,200 meals a day. It's a lot of meals, yes.

MALLETT: This is the board that keeps it all in order. There are parent teacher conferences this week, so not all the schools are serving. But take a look at this. In just one afternoon, 535 meals are going out.

The Food Bank says the need is real and hunger a growing problem. Eighty-three percent of students in the Redding school district are on free and reduced lunches. And for 1,500, the Kids Cafe means dinner.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch as this man grabs arms full of candy, then runs. The store clerk chases after him and so the man pulls out a gun and fires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Thieves got a sweet tooth and a cold, cold heart. A bullet for candy, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we thought we were just sitting in on a history lecture until the bombs started dropping. I'm Kyra Phillips live in Baghdad. We're going to take you to a very unique day at the University of Baghdad, coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The Duke sexual assault case. It appears the charges are about to be dropped against three former lacrosse players. The North Carolina attorney general's office is scheduled to make an announcement later today. CNN will, of course, have live coverage of the news conference at 2:30 Eastern Time in the NEWSROOM. It's been just over a year since an exotic dancer accused three lacrosse players of sexually assaulting her at a team party. Rape charges were dropped in December when two DNA tests failed to link the suspects to the 28- year-old accuser. The case has stirred a firestorm of criticism over local prosecutor Mike Nifong (ph). The Durham district attorney faces charges of ethical misconduct, those allegations filed by the North Carolina bar. Critics say Nifong exploited racial divisions in the community by seizing on the case. The accuser is black, the three men charged are white.

COLLINS: Chad Myers standing by to give us more of a weather picture. Think (INAUDIBLE) so great here.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST (singing): Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

HARRIS: Let it snow. And he sings as well.

MYERS: I'm sorry, what?

COLLINS: I thought there was a rule after Easter no more snow, like anywhere.

MYERS: Yes, could you imagine what the crocuses look like and the paperwhites? I mean, just covered up. Oh man, coming down now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Thanks, Chad.

COLLINS: All right, thank you, Chad.

Something else to talk about here now, too. I want to let you know we are learning that CNN has confirmed that a school has been evacuated here in Georgia. About 50 miles east-northeast of Atlanta to be a little bit more exact.

Jackson County Comprehensive High School, 1700 students or so have been evacuated. We've confirmed that. But according to A.P., here's what happened. Apparently a male student walked into the school, about 8:30 this morning, carrying a device on the front of him, that he claimed to be a bomb.

This has not been determined yet. They have not blown up the device, whatever it may be. But they are apparently in the school negotiating with the student. That is about all we know at this time.

Some of the students are being moved now that they are outside of the school to another location because the weather is so poor down here right now. No injuries have been reported but we're going to continue to follow this one.

So once again, 50 miles east-northeast of Atlanta, a school there, 1700 students have been evacuated because of a male student walking in this morning, saying that he had a bomb on him. Our crews are on the way. We're going to bring you more details just as soon as they get to the scene.

HARRIS: Extending tours of duty for U.S. soldiers in Iraq, it is one of the ideas being considered by the Pentagon to keep troop levels high in the war zone. A senior Pentagon official tells CNN the army proposes extending the soldiers' stay from the usual 12 months to 15 months. It is aimed at bringing more predictability to deployments and avoiding unexpected extensions. But no decisions yet.

Also today, the U.S. military again accusing Iran of smuggling weapons into Iraq and training insurgents, a spokesman says detainee debriefs indicate the training has gone on as recently as this past month.

Help wanted. Someone who can oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bush administration says it is looking for a single person to implement and execute strategy in both wars, this person would report directly to President Bush and National Security Director Steven Hadley, the "Washington Post" reports.

Three retired generals have turned the job down and an NSC (ph) spokesman says it has approached people for advice but hasn't offered the position to anyone yet.

COLLINS: Bombs and books. The harsh reality for students at Baghdad University. They are risking their lives to learn. And what a lesson our own Kyra Phillips learned when she sat in on a class.

Kyra joining us now live from Baghdad. Kyra, what did you find?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It was quite a reality check, that's for sure. Heidi, you know how we've been talking a lot in the states about this comparison to Vietnam and to Iraq. And it's been debated in the U.S., and I met this professor at the University of Baghdad. And I said hey, do you ever talk about this in your classroom? He said well, matter of fact I'm going to next week, come and sit in on the class.

So just as that lecture started, we started to hear explosions. As you can imagine, the classroom discussion changed within seconds. And this is how it all happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): "The U.S. military always finds a reason to go to war," Yasser Thar tells me. Just like Vietnam and now Iraq. The U.S. is in a trap again. Vietnam versus Iraq. Can you even compare the two wars? I thought this was today's classroom debate -- until this.

(on camera): Are those bombs? Those are bombs going off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: How does that make you feel when you hear those bombs going off as you sit here in class?

(voice-over): "Fear, anxiety. I wonder if my family is OK," Yasser says, "because we have no idea where those bombs are landing."

These Baghdad University students don't even flinch. The explosions continue as they answer my questions.

"These explosions have united us, as the sectarian violence divides us," Muhklas Ali explains, "whether we are Sunni, Shia or Kurd, we are all targets and that has brought us closer."

In Iraq, if you want a college degree, you risk your life.

NADIA, STUDENT: As a woman or as a girl here, I want to say we suffer in coming to college and going to home, in studying with sounds of bombs.

PHILLIPS (on camera): So why do you do it? Why do you still come to school even with the bombs?

NADIA: This is big challenge for us. I think we are very -- we are brave.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): I realize at this point comparing Vietnam to Iraq is not today's lecture. Living this war, this moment, is the lesson.

ABDUL JABBER AHMED, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: Maybe the situation in Iraq now is not a good situation, but the challenge of the human is how to create the best situation in order to provide future to the society.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Do you feel like you have a future here in Iraq?

(voice-over): "It depends on security and that keeps getting worse," Mohammed Ali says. "Our professors are being killed, departments close down, and that impacts our education and our future." But for their professor, there is hope in this class.

AHMED: For me, the best thing how to keep the unity in this classroom, and when they go out this classroom, their job, how to keep the unity in this (INAUDIBLE) and their families.

PHILLIPS (on camera): So ask your students whether they are Sunni, Shia, Kurd, in this classroom, do they all feel as one -- Iraqi?

Yes? No? Yes, yes? Perhaps.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The first time I have seen true unity in Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So Heidi, as you can see, it was quite a reality check as we sat through that. I actually counted 12 explosions as we sat in that classroom. Yet these students continue to come to school every single day. And just in the 48 -- past 48 hours I learned that exact entrance where we came through at the front of that University there was a car bomb that killed five students and wounded 18 others. COLLINS: Yes, and you know, the risks that they take to get there -- amazing. We have heard quite a bit about students in universities and faculty being targets in all this. But interesting is that one gentleman there said that he talked about the U.S., I mean are they targets from insurgents? Or I mean, obviously not the U.S. or the coalition forces.

PHILLIPS: It's so hard to -- yes. It's the extremists. I mean, the extremists don't want anybody going to school and going on to get degrees and get jobs and live somewhat of a normal life. I mean, they come under attack whether it's car bombs, whether it's mortar attack. I mean, every single day they are concerned about these attacks happening.

And since they have been going back to school, 100 professors have been killed, either professors or assistant professors, but there is a positive side. And that is when the war happened no one was going to school. Then a year later it was about 40 percent, now it's almost up to 70 percent of those students are going back into the classroom. And I tell you what. I hope that every student in the United States that sees this piece realizes how lucky they are, even to have a chance to go and get a degree and not have to worry about this.

COLLINS: Yes, very true. CNN's Kyra Phillips live from Baghdad. Kyra, thank you.

HARRIS: I want to bring you an update now on a story that is developing in Jefferson, Georgia -- that is in Jackson County, Georgia. An official with the school district there says some 1700 students have been evacuated from Jackson County Comprehensive High School after a male student walked into the school's office this morning carrying a device that he claims is a bomb.

Our law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks is on the line with us. And Mike, I understand you have some information on this story.

VOICE OF MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, Tony. Apparently it is under control at this time from what we're hearing. And I was listening just recently to the radio communication up in Jackson County where the sheriff and fire department and they were having all available units, go to the civic center because that's where they were evacuating all of the students.

But apparently this 15-year-old male came into the principal's office and said he had a bomb strapped to his back. So, add in (ph) a bunch of caution, they were taking him seriously, they evacuated the school, they brought in a police negotiator to talk with the student. And there were no hostages.

But they evacuated all of the children to the Jefferson Civic Center by bus. And they were bringing in the GBI bomb unit. But apparently it is under control at this time.

HARRIS: So much so that we understand that it has ended peacefully, just getting this information, Mike, ended peacefully and that the student in question here has been taken into custody. And we understand this happened, is this correct with the information you have, about 8:30 this morning?

BROOKS: That's about right, Tony. And I was also listening to it, as I said, the radio communication. And it sounds like everything now is under control and they'll be bringing the students back into school after they go ahead and do a sweep of the school to make sure there are no other threats in the school.

HARRIS: That's smart. OK, our law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks on the line with us this morning. Mike, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. The biggest bank in the country is shrinking, deliberately. The specifics about Citigroup's job cuts next on NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Two words workers hate: job cuts but that's all they're talking about today in the nation's largest financial company.

Susan Lisovicz, great to say hello to Susan this morning, is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us just how many people will lose their jobs. Good morning, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Good morning.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: A disturbing discovery by one vacationer in Maine. And now, a bed and breakfast owner is under arrest. Police say they were alerted when a guest saw herself on television. It seems the owner of the inn had a camera hidden in an electric alarm clock in the bathroom. The innkeeper says he was watching for an employee who was breaking things, but others say yes, it's just creepy.

HARRIS: Yes. Living to be 100. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with the next chapter in his Chasing Life series and puts his own mortality to the test. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings from nine to noon Eastern. But did you know you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod? Yes, the wildly popular CNN NEWSROOM podcast, it really is.

HARRIS: No, it is. Yes.

COLLINS: Available 24/7 right on your iPod.

HARRIS: All week our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is reporting on decisions we make every day that may add or subtract healthy years from our lives. It is the focus of his new book "Chasing Life" along with a special this weekend on CNN. He joins us live from New York and looks into the future with the help of an expert on long life.

Sanjay, great to see you. OK, so here's the question. You actually had someone predict how long you're going to live? Seems a bit on the creepy side, Sanjay.

SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Come on, Tony.

HARRIS: I will go boldly, though.

GUPTA: Right, I mean you don't -- glimpsing into a crystal ball can be a little bizarre sometimes but there are some pretty good life expectancy calculators out there to try and give you a good sense of how long you might live and what you can do about it. It's not scientifically perfect but it's -- it does a pretty good job of this.

So I got a sense -- I put myself to the test to get a sense of how long I might live and also, Tony, what I might look like when I get there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): I'm 37. And this forensic age progression by artist Delynn Waldren (ph) shows how I might look if I'm lucky enough to reach the century mark. Handsome, right?

But I wanted to know if I have what it really takes to live to 100. Or even beyond. To see how my life stacks up, I turned to one of the world's leading experts on centenarians, Dr. Thomas Pearls (ph).

Pearls has devised a formula to predict how long you'll live. And he agreed to follow me over the course of a day. At the Gupta home the day starts early.

(on camera): Last night, I didn't get out of the operating room until very late. So this morning (ph), I had about four hours of sleep.

(voice-over): Wrong answer. For most people Pearls says sleeping fewer than eight hours a night will cost you a year and a half of life.

DR. THOMAS PEARLS: No coffee in the morning?

GUPTA (on camera): No, not a coffee drinker.

(voice-over): Bingo. Much better. Pearls says more than two cups a day will trim life expectancy by a year or more. As we drove to work, something else had him worried.

PEARLS: So you're a neurosurgeon who decides to take on another full-time job. So two full-time jobs. And then two babies. So, automatically on the calculator, in terms of stresses you would be off the charts. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the 8:40 hit, nothing about their brains.

PEARLS: In terms of the number of hours, how many a week would you say you're working?

GUPTA (on camera): Well over 80.

(voice-over): Pearls tells most people to work less. Fewer than 40 hours a week if they can.

PEARLS: How many days a week do you exercise?

GUPTA (on camera): I try to do at least three or four.

(voice-over): This interview was a real work-out. Regular family time? Yes. Add years. Blood pressure, good. Cholesterol, not so good.

(on camera): My cholesterol is not great. It's 209.

PEARLS: We'll punch your numbers in and see what comes out.

GUPTA (voice-over): Could I look forward to 100 candles on my birthday cake, or was I headed to an early grave?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (on camera): So I spent the entire day with Dr. Pearls and went through that whole life expectancy thing. And to find out how long I'm going to live you got to watch the special, Tony, this weekend, 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., "Chasing Life." Yes, I know, that's a tease.

HARRIS: Oh no! That's a heck of a tease. Good stuff, good stuff.

GUPTA: I'll give you a little clue, though. I was a little surprised at the results. Not quite what I expected. I won't tell you what they were but they're not quite what I expected.

But you yourself at home can take the quiz if you would like. Go to chasinglife.com and here's a good thing. We actually did this for Tony already.

Tony?

HARRIS: Yes?

GUPTA: You were just talking about how bizarre it is to look into a crystal ball. You want to hazard a guess? How long do you think?

HARRIS: I don't want 100 so I want something less than that, so ...

GUPTA: You don't know that Tony is actually already 75. He just looks young.

HARRIS: Why is the whole room laughing at that? Why is that so funny to the room?

GUPTA: So what do you think, what do you think?

HARRIS: What is that about?

I'm thinking -- I will go, let's see, my dad was 59. I got to get past that. So I'm going to go, let's go 75, let's go 75.

GUPTA: Give you 81, Tony.

HARRIS: Eighty-one? Eighty-one?

GUPTA: Eighty-one. Congratulations to you on that. Yes, that's pretty good.

HARRIS: It's my birthday, I'm 81. Eighty-one, huh?

GUPTA: Yes, one of the things the calculator does as well in addition to giving you life expectancy tells you some things you can do to add on even a few more years.

So for you Tony, you identify and reduce stress, adding a couple years. Easier said than done for everybody. Apparently you're a fast food eater, Tony. Cut out some of that fast food, you can add four years to your life, that's important. And here's one that you can start doing tomorrow. Take a daily aspirin. That's what they recommend. Take a daily aspirin, add about a year to your life. A baby aspirin, 81 milligrams, that could add some time as well, Tony.

HARRIS: Wow, thank you, sir. Thank you.

GUPTA: Your welcome, I want you around for a long time.

HARRIS: Thank you sir, thank you. But I got to ask you, I mean, just very quickly, this is -- what were you going to say about the aspirin?

COLLINS: No, I was just going to say it's good. Yes, anti- collagulates (ph).

HARRIS: Sanjay, that was terrific. Thank you so much.

GUPTA: Any time. I'm here for you guys.

HARRIS: Sanjay.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bob. Bob Barker, thank you.

GUPTA: Yes, she thinks I look like Bob Barker -- my -- my ears.

COLLINS: I don't think you do now and I'm not so sure about the depiction of you later in life but the general consensus is -- it's Bob Barker. GUPTA: I can host a game show.

COLLINS: Yes. Neurosurgeon, you know.

HARRIS: In your spare time, yes. OK, thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thanks guys, appreciate it.

HARRIS: And of course you can catch all of Sanjay's CNN special "Chasing Life" this Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Sanjay's book "Chasing Life," is on sale now. And to win a free autographed copy of Sanjay's book, go to CNN.com/chasing life.

COLLINS: Case dropped. That major development could come today in the Duke Lacrosse case. An announcement out of North Carolina coming at 2:30 Eastern, we'll have it. Coming up later in the NEWSROOM.

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