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NBC Pulls Plug on Don Imus Radio Program; Deadly Explosion in Iraq's Green Zone; U.S. Soldiers Staying Longer in War Zone

Aired April 12, 2007 - 08:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.

I'm Heidi Collins.

Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live for Thursday, the 12th day of April.

Here's what's on the rundown.

An explosion ripping a cafeteria inside Iraq's parliament building. Several casualties, including an Iraqi lawmaker. We'll go live to Baghdad shortly.

HARRIS: CBS facing pressure to yank Don Imus off the air after his racial slur. The cable TV simulcast of "Imus in the Morning" already unplugged at NBC.

COLLINS: Prosecutors casting her as the murderous wife. Her husband, the preacher, gunned down in the parsonage. Mary Winkler goes on trial today. Live coverage in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Two major stories breaking this hour. NBC pulls the plug on the Don Imus radio program. And a deadly explosion in Iraq's Green Zone. More on that in a moment.

But first, the hits keep coming for radio shock-jock Don Imus. The latest -- CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is at NBC headquarters in New York.

And Allan, a big decision this morning. What's the latest?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, many people here at NBC were offended by Don Imus's comments, and the president of NBC News, Steve Capus, told me last night he made the decision to take Imus off MSNBC after a series of meetings with NBC employees, particularly one involving several dozen African-American employees that he said was particularly powerful. He discussed that decision last night on MSBNC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE CAPUS, PRESIDENT, NBC NEWS: Within this organization, this had touched a nerve, and the comment that came through to us time and time again was, when is enough going to be enough? And this was the only action we could take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: The question now, will CBS Radio retain Don Imus? Well, this morning on the radio, Don Imus said he did not feel a whole lot of confidence among the people at CBS. He was reflective on his radio show.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DON IMUS, RADIO HOST: As you all know, MSNBC yielding to enormous pressure, which I do understand, canceled the simulcast of this program, and so we move on. Somebody was talking to me about the outrageous level of hypocrisy on everybody who knows better, and I said, "Well, you know, I shouldn't have said it." And then somebody else said, "Well, you got caught in a slow news cycle," and I said, "Sometimes it doesn't snow on Christmas."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: One member of the board at CBS is openly calling for Don Imus to be fired. And the senior vice president of communications at CBS Radio refuses to confirm that Don Imus will go back on the air after his two-week suspension, which begins on Monday -- Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Allan, just a couple quick questions. Did Don Imus apologize again this morning for his remarks, and is there a sense that he is starting to get a bit tired of apologizing?

CHERNOFF: On the air, he actually said that he feels he's apologized enough. He said that he does, though, still want to meet with the women of that Rutgers basketball team. So, he certainly does want to extend that personal apology, but in terms of the public apologies, he did say he's -- is getting a little tired of it all.

HARRIS: Yes.

CNN's Allan Chernoff for us at NBC headquarters in New York City.

Allan, thanks.

A CBS board member, Bruce Gordon, says Imus crossed the line and should be fired. Gordon, a former president of the NAACP, he shared his views about Imus on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE GORDON, CBS BOARD MEMBER: Clearly, I have a reaction and a responsibility as a director of CBS, and I'm carrying that through clear. And I think I've been fairly clear.

As an African-American man in this country, Don Imus violated our community. He attacked beautiful, talented, classy women, and when those women showed themselves to the country a couple of days ago, I think that his words matched -- their images made it clear to America that Don Imus was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Gordon says he is confident CBS management is taking the Imus matter very seriously.

COLLINS: A big explosion inside Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone. Iraq's parliament building is hit. Casualties figures still coming in on this developing story. So we want to get straight to CNN's Kyra Phillips. She's live at the capital now.

Kyra, what can you tell us about what happened?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very rarely do we ever get to take you to the scene, Heidi, and it's right behind my shoulder here, is where the Iraqi parliament is in the fortified Green Zone in that convention center. We can tell you now that sources do believe this was a suicide bomber that made his way inside the convention center and exploded in the cafeteria.

The Iraqi parliament had just been in session. They moved out of session, they were having lunch in the cafeteria when the explosion happened.

We can confirm now two deaths. One Sunni lawmaker has bee killed and one Shiite lawmaker has been killed. Ten people have been injured.

The U.S. Embassy says that no Americans have been hurt at this point. Right now it's just Iraqi lawmakers.

Now, you may ask, how does a suicide bomber make his or her way into the fortified Green Zone? And that's a great question, because there are so many checkpoints. But as you know, this area has been compromised over and over and over again.

Just in the past couple of weeks, they found two suicide vests inside the fortified Green Zone. Also, there have been a number of mortar attacks that have taken place, including on the U.N. secretary- general just a few weeks ago. You may remember when he was with the prime minister, side by side, and those mortar attacks hit the same building not far from where the Iraqi parliament building is.

If we've got that video of the helicopters, this was within the past 40 minutes or so when that explosion happened. About seven helicopters were airborne, dropping warning flares and circling right behind me, right above where the Iraqi parliament meets, trying to put eyes on what had happened and take -- and relay that intelligence from the air to the ground.

So, at this point, the investigation is still continuing. Two confirmed dead, one Sunni lawmaker, one Shiite lawmaker. And they do believe it was a suicide bomber that made his way through those various checkpoints and got into that convention center where the parliament had just met.

It's a huge message, Heidi, a tremendous message that, no matter where you are, even inside the fortified Green Zone now, that extremists are able to operate and carry out such terror.

COLLINS: Well, Kyra, let's talk about that just quickly for a moment. Not really sure when the last time was. I'm remembering a few different incidents here where were terrible situations inside the Green Zone.

What does it say for the security when they can get so close and hit at the very heart of the government in the most heavily protected area of the entire city?

PHILLIPS: Well, Iraqis are sitting back saying, OK, who is going to lead this country? Who is going to secure this country? If a suicide bomber can make his or her way into the fortified Green Zone, where parliament members are meeting to make decisions and talk about how to run this country and how to deal with security, you know, how are we supposed to have faith that this is going to work?

I mean, we all know that these leaders have been targets of assassination. They get death threats. Their families are targeted. So many of them have already been killed. I mean, it is -- it's very courageous to even have to wake up in the morning and try to make your way into the convention center and be a part of session.

Now, I am told, too, that as a message to the Iraqi people while there's this doubt and concern, the head speaker of the parliament has come forward saying, we want to have session tomorrow. Even though this explosion happened today, we still want to meet tomorrow. It's going to be interesting to see what happens and if indeed they all show up.

COLLINS: Yes. They have to do it, though. I understand the decision very well.

All right. Kyra Phillips, live from Baghdad for us.

Thanks, Kyra.

HARRIS: U.S. soldiers get word they will be spending more time in the war zone. Here's CNN's Barbara Starr with details from the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning to you.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, the soldiers who are already doing so much difficult work on the frontlines in Iraq now being asked to do more. About 100,000 soldiers on duty in Iraq, all of them now being notified effective immediately their tours of duty in the combat zone will be extended from 12 months to 15 months. That 15-month tour of duty will affect the soldiers already there and the ones about to go. Here is what Defense Secretary Robert Gates had to say when he made the announcement late yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It represents a fair, predictable and sustainable commitment to our troops that they can use with confidence to understand what the country is asking of them as they deploy. I strongly believe that we owe our troops as much advance notice as possible and clarity on what they and their families can expect. In other words, predictability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Well, the secretary certainly trying to put a very positive face on all of this for the troops. He went on to say that what this really will achieve, however, is the military, the Pentagon, being able to keep that higher level of troops, that so-called surge, in place for at least another year if that is what's required -- Tony.

HARRIS: On the other side of this, Barbara, are decision-makers at the Pentagon concerned about the impact of this news on troop morale?

STARR: Well, certainly. Publicly, they're saying, of course, what you would expect them to say, which is they think it will go over well, it will be fine, that the troops all understand this. But make no mistake, there is very serious concern about what this does mean for morale, both for the young soldiers really fighting on the front lines, but also, you know, interestingly, for the sort of mid-level officer corps that's in Iraq, those who are 30, 40 years old, who now may be facing this extended tour of duty. Are these people all going to start -- all of them going to start voting with their feet -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning.

Barbara, thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Duke lacrosse players, victims of "a tragic rush to accuse." That's according to North Carolina's attorney general.

COLLINS: He has dropped all charges against the three men. Now the case may be building against the prosecutor who first filed the rape charges.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in Durham, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The attorney general's office reviewed the case for three months. Not only did they end up dropping all the charges, the attorney general says Durham's district attorney pushed forward on a case when he should have take an step back.

(voice over): After more than a year, the three former Duke University lacrosse players finally heard the North Carolina attorney general echo what they had insisted all along.

ROY COOPER, NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges.

CARROLL: During an emotional news conference, the three players described what it feels like to be publicly vindicated.

DAVE EVANS, FMR. DUKE LACROSSE PLAYER: It's been 395 days since this nightmare began. And finally today, it's come to a closure.

COLLIN FINNERTY, FMR. DUKE LACROSSE PLAYER: Knowing I had the truth on my side was really the most comforting thing of all throughout the past year.

CARROLL: Collin Finnerty, Dave Evans and Reade Seligmann never wavered from their original statement to police, that they had not raped an exotic dancer hired to perform at a team party last spring.

READE SELIGMANN, FMR. DUKE LACROSSE PLAYER: This entire experience has opened my eyes up to a tragic world of injustice I never knew existed.

CARROLL: The rape charges had already been dropped, but in a dramatic news conference, Attorney General Roy Cooper said he was also dismissing the remaining kidnapping and assault charges.

COOPER: We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations.

CARROLL: Cooper called Michael Nifong, the Durham district attorney who originally brought the case, a rogue prosecutor who had overreached his authority.

COOPER: The Durham district attorney pushed forward unchecked. There were many points in this case where caution would have served justice better than bravado. And in the rush to condemn, a community and a state lost the ability to see clearly.

CARROLL: Defense attorneys also criticized how the media initially covered the case.

JIM COONEY, ATTORNEY FOR READE SELIGMANN: If they had done what journalists are supposed to do and spoken truth to power, they could have slowed this train down. CARROLL: But the harshest criticism was leveled against Nifong, who had publicly criticized the players for months, but then when the allegations began unraveling, asked the attorney general to take over the case. Nifong now faces ethics charges on allegations he mishandled the case and kept exculpatory evidence from the defense. Nifong hasn't publicly responded to those allegations.

Reade Seligmann says Nifong didn't do enough to uphold the moral obligations of his office.

SELIGMANN: If police officers and a district attorney can systematically railroad us with absolutely no evidence whatsoever, I can't imagine what they'll do to people who do not have the resources to defend themselves.

CARROLL: Defense attorneys say the final act of justice should be to remove Nifong from office and have him disbarred.

(on camera): Nifong's attorney released a statement where he said that Nifong basically supported the attorney general's decision to drop all the charges. He also said he did not think that decision would affect the state bar's investigation.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Durham, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The pet food recall hits home as Congress gets ready to take it up. We'll look at one family's story ahead.

HARRIS: Making brushing fun for kids. But is it safe? A recall parents need to know about, straight ahead.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ali Velshi, "Minding Your Business". Some growing support for regulating carbon dioxide emissions. Are you getting ready for this? It's coming from big oil.

I'll tell you about it. Stay with us in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: The debate over climate change takes a major shift when a major player in big oil comes out in support of regulating greenhouse gas emissions. What's going on here?

Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning, Ali.

VELSHI: I thought I'd grow hair before I'd see this happen.

HARRIS: You and me both. What gives?

VELSHI: This is crazy. You know, Tony, some folks refuse to make the connection between carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, but oil giant ConocoPhillips has become the first U.S.-based oil company to support national regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. As you said, this is a big step. It's one that two of the biggest U.S. oil companies, ExxonMobil and Chevron, have been fighting.

Now, ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva told reporters that no one event caused the company to change its position, and he didn't endorse any particular kind of regulation of CO2 emissions, but he did commit to increasing ConocoPhillips investments in alternative and renewable energy. They spent $100 million on that last year, they're going to spend $150 million this year. He also warned that alternatives to the old-fashioned drilling, refining and burning of oil are going to cost more, and that cost is going to be passed on to consumers.

Now, the idea of an oil company supporting emission limits is new.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: BP has tried to position itself as a leader in both alternative energy and greenhouse gas. But, you know, BP has had some problems. Its reputation has been tarnished by some safety practices -- that explosion in Texas that killed 15 people, the oil leaks in Alaska.

But now two major oil companies and one big American company on board with the idea that, OK, you know what, there's a link between CO2 emissions and climate change. That's a very, very big development.

HARRIS: That is such a big development. I'm wondering if we might see -- what did you mention, Chevron and...

VELSHI: Chevron and ExxonMobil, the two big ones.

HARRIS: Might they follow suit?

VELSHI: I didn't think this would happen, so, you know...

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: One of the things that the CEO of this company, ConocoPhillips, said, is that he really reflected on this personally. And, you know, it's been something they've been discussing for a long time, so maybe this spurs the others to think about it. If the big oil companies get behind the idea of, you know, dealing with this, they can profit from it.

HARRIS: A shifting corporate culture, perhaps?

VELSHI: Yes, why not?

HARRIS: Ali Velshi, "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Ali, appreciate it. Thank you.

VELSHI: See you.

COLLINS: Unplugged on TV, still outspoken on radio. Don Imus has more to say. A live report from New York ahead -- in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: A suicide bomber striking at the heart of Iraq's government, in the most secure area of Baghdad. Attack in parliament -- in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Her husband the preacher shot in the back. Prosecutors say the wife pulled the trigger. A closely-watched murder trial getting under way -- in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's take you up to the New York Stock Exchange. Take a look at the Big Board.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Keeping an eye on the March sales reports from major retailers. Ali Velshi telling us a little earlier this morning that the March sales numbers for Target are up. And Susan Lisovicz will pick up the torch with the business headlines, keeping an eye on all of that for us right here in the NEWSROOM.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Among our top stories this hour, the hits keep coming for radio shock jock Don Imus. The latest, MSNBC pulling the plug on the simulcast of his morning radio show for his racially charged remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Imus responded just this morning during his annual on-air charity fund-raiser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON IMUS: As you all know, MSNBC, yielding to enormous pressure, which I do understand, canceled the simulcast of this program and so we move on. Somebody was talking to me about the outrageous level of hypocrisy among everybody who knows better and I said well, you know, I shouldn't have said it. And then somebody else said, well you got caught in a slow news cycle. I said sometimes it doesn't snow on Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: CBS radio has suspended Imus for two weeks starting on Monday. Civil rights leaders say he should be dismissed permanently.

HARRIS: Two big explosions rock Baghdad, one in a heavily fortified green zone. A suicide bomber detonated inside a cafeteria in the parliament building. An official says the blast killed two lawmakers and injured at least 10 other people. The U.S. embassy is located inside that green zone. A spokesman for the embassy says no Americans were injured. The other big explosion happened on a major bridge and an Iraqi interior ministry official says a suicide truck bomber killed at least 10 people and wounded 26. Chunks of the steel structure collapsed causing several cars to plunge into the Tigris River.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice now. Let's hear her comments on this morning's explosions in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The commanders are carrying out their responsibilities and working to try to make the population more secure. We're really at the beginning of this, not at the end of it. But there will be good days and bad days.

QUESTION: (OFF MIKE)

RICE: We've known that there's a security problem in Baghdad, which is why the president has structured the new strategy and by General Petraeus and his commanders are carrying it out. But this is still early in the process and I don't think anybody expected that there would not be counter efforts by terrorists to undermine the security progress that we're trying to make.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R) ARIZONA: Hang on a second. We're just getting the third of the five brigades over to Baghdad. This is early in the strategy being implemented. I fully expect the enemy to try to orchestrate more spectacular attacks, such as rocketing the green zone and other acts which would understandably grab the attention and the headlines in the United States of America. Because they realize that if they can erode American public's will, then they will be able to achieve success. This is a very tough incident and it's very -- makes it -- all of us sad for those public servants who have been injured or killed. But I don't think that that should change the larger picture, which means that we are achieving some small successes already in the strategy being employed by General Petraeus and General Odinero (ph). So, it's tragic and yet it's not unexpected that spectacular attacks would continue to try to be orchestrated by al Qaeda and other elements within Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You have just heard from Senator John McCain and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responding and reacting to the news this morning of an explosion, huge explosion in the heavily fortified green zone. A suicide bomber there detonating inside a cafeteria there, killing two Iraqi lawmakers. We will continue to follow developments on this story.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, 100,000 U.S. soldiers are preparing to spend more time in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the military stretched thin, the Pentagon has announced all active duty soldiers will serve 15 months' rotation. That's three months longer than before. Previously, the army was extending tours on a unit by unit basis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Is it an additional strain to go from 12 months to 15 months? Of course it is. Is it in combat and therefore even more difficult? Of course it is. That's why the entire nation should be thankful that we have such incredible young men and women who, knowing that, volunteer to serve this nation in a time of great need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the extended tour. She called them a, quote, unacceptable price for troops and their families.

HARRIS: What's the strongest air power in the Middle East? Iraq is now trying to rebuild its air force. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJ. MATT VINCENT, U.S. AIR FORCE: I want you to grab your cushion cough (ph) in chamber one, go in my chamber one. We're going to run away from the airplane. I'm going to grab my radio. We're going to start talking. You and I are a team.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Air Force Major Matt Vincent explains emergency procedures to the Iraqi air force pilot he will be flying with this day. We cannot show the Iraqi's face because he and his colleagues are targets for insurgents. This is part of the effort to rebuild Iraq's air force. The two men will fly an Iraqi air force mission in an Iraqi air force plane.

VINCENT: We go out and see if checkpoints are manned, if at night how to do search and destroy checkpoints. We take real-time photos and give that back to Iraqi intel saying they're able to use these photos to repair barriers.

PLEITGEN: This small propeller-driven plane is one of those patrolling the skies over Baghdad as part of a new security plan to reduce violence. It's one of the few missions Iraqi aircraft can currently handle. Iraq was once the strongest air power in the Middle East. But in the Gulf war of 1999 and the Iraq war four years ago, coalition forces destroyed Saddam Hussein's once formidable air armada. In its prime, the Iraqi air force had more than 900 aircraft. Today, there are just 28. Rebuilding Iraqi airpower means starting from zero.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: What do you do?

PLEITGEN: Recruits at the base need to learn English for several weeks before U.S. forces can even think about teaching them to fly. Just one of the problems the Iraqi commander faces.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: It's very hard because we -- you know, Iraq during last 75 years (ph) severely damaged in all parts, in everything. And we start from (INAUDIBLE). PLEITGEN: Major Amar (ph) flew cargo planes in Saddam Hussein's air force. Now he flies for the new Iraqi air force. We cannot show Major Amar's face. Like all the pilots, he fears insurgents would kill him if they found out he's with the air force. And Amar says his patriotism helps him brave the danger.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: The most important thing for me to do is to fight my enemy and to (INAUDIBLE) my country.

PLEITGEN: Late in the afternoon, the reconnaissance plane returns from its mission. The pictures the pilots have taken will play only a small role combating the insurgency, but one the pilots say they hope will evolve and grow fast. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Rough landings at two Midwestern airports. In Traverse City, Michigan, a jet overruns the runway. The plane took a long skid in snowy weather. As you can see, it finally came to rest about 300 feet beyond the end of the runway. The airport says none of the 53 passengers and crew members were hurt. The accident is under investigation, but it appears the landing gear collapsed. And in Wheeling, Illinois, a similar incident involving a private plane. Five people aboard the plane, the FAA saying it has received no reports of injuries. No word on what caused this incident, but I don't know. I guess you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see all of the snow.

HARRIS: Yeah.

COLLINS: Yikes. Hi, Chad. It's snowing.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is snowing. Winter storm warnings in Denver now. They're going to get hit. And this is part of a second storm, the one that's bringing the snow, it did bring all that snow yesterday, still spinning around Michigan, taking rain all the way to the east, too, into Syracuse and New York City, some heavy, heavy rainfall there. Here's a live look here from New York City south, we're running down to Atlantic City. We have a tower cam on top of one of our buildings there in New York City. You look right down there and it is just a wet mess, puddling going on. You see that cab there not even getting into the curb lane because it's just splashing through that water there, water coming down at a pretty good rate. And some people are not getting out of the way very well. This is definitely a train day, not a plane day if you're trying to get out of New York City.

The rain continues all the way down south into Delaware, also into Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula, a lot of New Jersey getting wet. Another big area of rain and thunderstorm activity, kind of the tail, way down south tail of this thing all the way down into the Miami metro area, metro Dade County, Miami-Dade getting hit now, 1,218 lightning strikes in the past hour. Most of them, though, in Florida Bay, not really on land just yet, but obviously that weather is moving to the north and to the northeast and will eventually move right into the Keys through the middle Keys, across Florida Bay and right across to Fish Creek as well. So if you're out there, if you're planning on doing boating in the bay today or even oceanside, cancel it for a while. As you look, some windy weather, Boston, New York City and DC. Airports are not doing very well this morning. Many of them are already an hour and an hour and a half behind. We'll get to Denver's snowfall in the next half hour. Back to you.

COLLINS: I can't wait. I know it's not easy for them there.

HARRIS: I'll make travel plans for you.

COLLINS: It's exciting.

MYERS: You know, when you get this kind of spring, it's gone in a couple days.

COLLINS: I got to be fast. Chad, thank you.

MYERS: Sure.

COLLINS: More news to tell you about the Duke lacrosse (INAUDIBLE) now. The accused pronounced innocent, the local prosecutor now facing legal problems of his own. We'll have more details coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: The pet food recall hits home as Congress gets ready to take it up. We will look at one family's story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The Duke lacrosse case, all charges dropped against three former players. The bombshell, 13 months after the men were first accused of sexually assaulting a stripper, North Carolina's attorney general says an investigation showed no evidence that an attack ever occurred. Roy Cooper says the players were victims of a, quote, tragic rush to accuse. That focuses even more scrutiny on the local prosecutor who first filed the charges. The state attorney general blasted Mike Nifong as a rogue prosecutor. Nifong faces ethics violations charges and could be disbarred.

COLLINS: She was a teacher, a minister's wife, a mother of three. This morning Mary Winkler is on trial in Selmer (ph), Tennessee for first-degree murder. Opening statements expected next hour. Winkler has admitted killing her husband, shooting him in the back with a shotgun. The jury will be asked to consider how and why it happened and if she should be punished. The trial could reveal family secrets hidden behind what church members viewed as a perfect marriage. We'll have live reports from outside the courtroom throughout the morning.

HARRIS: A Senate panel this afternoon will focus on the massive pet food recall. While the investigation gets under way in Washington, for some families, it is too late. Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With so much tainted food taken off the shelf, the Nevada animal disease and food safety lab says the worst is over for thousands of pet owners.

DR. ANETTE RINK, NEV. ANIMAL DISEASE LABORATORY: If they're not sick yet, they're probably not going to get sick.

LAWRENCE: But just this week, the FDA added 12 new brands of cat food to the recall and pets like Lisha (ph) are still wasting away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got less than two weeks to live.

LAWRENCE: Bernie Huber (ph) says his cat dropped a third of her body weight and barely moved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether she ate this nasty stuff or not, she was a playful cat.

LAWRENCE: Huber says the vet discovered damage to her kidneys and liver.

Ultimately, who do you hold responsible? Where does the buck stop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My biggest blame right now is just twofold, one with the FDA and (INAUDIBLE) nutra.

LAWRENCE: The FDA discovered the chemical melamine in wheat gluten used to make the pet food. Huber believes they should have caught it sooner. Menu foods bought the wheat gluten from Chem Nutra, which imported it from China. So we tried to get answers at the supplier's headquarters in Los Vegas. My name's Chris Lawrence from CNN. I was hoping to speak to someone from Chem Nutra. A spokesman told me Chem Nutra immediately stopped shipping the wheat gluten when the problem was discovered. They're cooperating with the FDA, conducting their own internal test. But Dr. Annette Ring doubts melamine is the answer everyone's been looking for.

RINK: We don't really know what the toxic component is in any of the recalled pet food.

LAWRENCE: She says some owners may be attributing natural deaths to the pet food scare. Bernie Huber looks at his once healthy cat and can't help but disagree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK.

LAWRENCE: Chris Lawrence, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Saying farewell to a literary legend. Kurt Vonnegut has died. He was regarded by many critics as a key influence in shaping 20th century American literature. Vonnegut penned 19 novels including "Cat's Cradle" and the classic "Slaughterhouse Five." His web site today shows an open bird cage. Vonnegut's wife says he suffered brain injuries after a recent fall. He was 84.

HARRIS: A frantic call for help, a failed response from police, outrage. And an investigation is now under way. We'll explain why in the NEWSROOM.

Globetrotting to find the fountain of youth. Researchers head to blue zones to unlock the secret of a long and healthy life. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take a look coming up in the NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: A chilling 911 call and an emergency supervisor accused of giving the cold shoulder to a dying woman. You need to hear this for yourself. The story from reporter Anna Setaris (ph). She's with CNN affiliate bay news 9 in Tampa, Florida.

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ANNA SETARIS, BAY NEWS 9 CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a frantic 911 call from this Landville (ph) Lakes home. Chris Cooper needed the help of dispatchers to save his girlfriend, 37-year-old Nancy McGee, who was choking on a piece of steak. But the dispatcher on the other end of the line wasn't trained to give him emergency medical instructions. The dispatcher doesn't answer his repeated question of how to perform the Heimlich. We requested public documents that show the dispatcher repeatedly asked for the assistance of her supervisor, David Cook, who was allegedly chatting on his phone at a desk nearby and didn't want to help the frantic caller. After minutes, he got on the line, but then turned around and gave the call back over to the original dispatcher. When help arrived, 13 minutes later, McGee was dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was a horrible death.

SETARIS: We spoke with McGee's pastor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My reaction was when you call 911 you're most always in a panic or you wouldn't be calling 911. And if you're calling 911 in a panic, they should help you.

SETARIS: Records also show supervisor David Cook had notes in his file about previously sleeping on the job. He has since taken early retirement. And now another supervisor who was in the room is also under investigation. But what makes this story even worse is supervisor David Cook allegedly commented to his colleagues about this call saying, "I guess she bit off more than she could chew." We weren't able to reach David Cook for a comment, but we did reach the Pasco (ph) County supervisor of personnel. She would not go on camera to talk about this story. We also contacted the Pasco county administrator, and he did not call us back. In Pasco County, Anna Setaris, Bay news 9.

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HARRIS: Isn't that something?

COLLINS: Unbelievable.

HARRIS: Everyone knows the steps you take now may prevent serious health problems later in life, but how do you know what to do and at what age? Elizabeth Cohen takes a look at health tests women should get in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a massage therapist, Linda Taylor spends a lot of time devoted to other people's health. But she's not always so smart about her own. You're supposed to be tested for diabetes beginning at age 45. She didn't get tested until she was 54.

LINDA TAYLOR, MASSAGE THERAPIST: Diabetes runs in my family. When it was diagnosed, it was almost a relief. Now I absolutely had to take care of myself, no fooling.

COHEN: Linda's now on medication, has changed her diet and is exercising.

TAYLOR: And I do feel better. I really do feel better.

COHEN: The screening test for diabetes is just one of the many recommended as we grow older. Starting in your 30s, you need to have regular heart health tests, thyroid tests and skin tests for abnormal moles. Some tests are just for women. In your 30s, you need to have regular breast exams by your health care provider as well as regular pelvic exams and pap smears. How often depends on each woman. Some women need it every year. Others who are at lower risk need paps only once every three years.

DR. THERESA ROHR-KIRCHGRABER, EMORY HEALTHCARE: If you have had three normal pap smears three years in a row, you don't smoke, you don't have a history of sexually transmitted diseases and you are in a monogamous relationship.

COHEN: Then at 40, in addition to all these tests, women need to start having mammograms every year. At 45, women need to start having regular diabetes tests. Women in their 50s add in some new tests, colorectal cancer screening and a colonoscopy every 10 years. And don't get caught off guard like Linda did. For screening tests in general, you may need them earlier and more often based on family history and your own personal health. And while all these tests may seem time consuming, it was one simple test that changed Linda Taylor's life.

TAYLOR: I'm glad that I'm diagnosed because it's not hanging over my head anymore. It's arrived.

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HARRIS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon Eastern right here in the NEWSROOM, but now you can take us anywhere on your iPod. Heidi, you know how popular that podcast is?

COLLINS: Wildly. Wildly popular they're saying.

HARRIS. You know that Anderson Cooper on our network is starting up a little podcast now probably based on the success of our little podcast, huh?

COLLINS: Copycat.

HARRIS: It's available to you 24/7 right there on your iPod there.

COLLINS: OK. So, Don Imus, clearly most people have heard about this story by now, canceled by NBC, getting static at CBS, a racial remark threatening a long career in radio coming unplugged in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: A suicide bomber striking at the heart of Iraq's government in the most secure area of Baghdad. Attack in parliament in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The death of a preacher rattles a small southern town. His wife on trial for murder. Live updates coming your way next in the NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: Good morning everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown. A small town preacher shot dead in his bed, the suspect, his wife. Mary Winkler goes on trial this hour.

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