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Firefighters Battle Southern Blazes; Senate Reaches Deal on Immigration Reform; What's Killing Billions of Bees? LAX Terminal Evacuation; Missing Bees Mystery
Aired May 17, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.
A Senate vote confirmed him. Another Senate vote might condemn Alberto Gonzales.
PHILLIPS: Will the attorney general follow those ousted federal prosecutors into the private sector?
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin with what one lawmaker calls a third rail of American politics, immigration reform. Senators in both parties have just reached a wide-ranging and complicated deal. But there's plenty of work still ahead.
The proposed overall would couple a temporary worker program with tough new enforcement techniques. Republican John McCain and Democrat Edward Kennedy helped broker the compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a first step, but an important step, in moving forward with comprehensive overall immigration reform. Not only will this legislation finally accomplish the extraordinary goal of securing our borders, but it will also enhance interior enforcement and put employers on notice that the practice of hiring illegal workers will no longer be tolerated.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, now it's time for action; 2007 is the year we must fix our broken system. We must strike while the iron is hot. I have been around here long enough to know that opportunities like this don't come very often.
The American people are demanding a solution. The president is committed. Senator Reid has made this a priority. Senators from both parties are now determined to solve this crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And we expect to hear from the president, President Bush, in just a few minutes.
But first to the White House and Elaine Quijano.
Hi, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Don.
And, in a sign of just how significant the White House views this immigration deal, as you noted, President Bush set to speak about it in just about 30 minutes from the South Lawn of the White House.
Already, in a written statement, the president making very clear that he is behind this immigration deal, saying in that written statement -- quote -- "The plan would bring undocumented workers already in this country out of the shadows, without amnesty and without animosity."
Now, President Bush has been lobbying for what he's called comprehensive immigration reform for some time. In fact, it was just yesterday he was at a Washington, D.C., hotel talking about interior enforcement. -- the president also looking at a temporary-worker provision as a necessary component of this, as well as addressing border security issues.
Now, remember, it was a year ago when the president, in a prime- time address, appealed for movement on this immigration issue. It was then that Republicans were in charge. And it was then as well that this measure stalled, this issue stalled. Well, now this deal could potentially give President Bush -- Bush -- a much-needed legislative win, with Democrats in charge now, even as they are locked in a battle over war funding. This could be a victory.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today, who has been negotiating and helping to negotiate the deal, talked about it on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This is a bill that is strong on border, tough on enforcement in the interior, fair with respect to those who are here, and realistic. It gives an honest solution to a problem that has bedeviled this country for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: But the bottom line here, Don, this is a difficult and deeply divisive issue for the GOP -- the president anxious to get this issue out of the way, essentially, before the '08 elections.
Even as the president reaches across the aisle to get this deal done, at the same time, he is undoubtedly alienating members of his own party. Conservatives, responsible in large part for stalling this issue in the first place, they simply view any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as amnesty.
You will likely hear the President Bush back against that notion today -- Don.
LEMON: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you.
And, again, at the White House just a little bit later on, on the South Lawn, the president expected to talk about that immigration proposal, 3:30 p.m. Eastern. We will bring it to you live.
PHILLIPS: Like all Cabinet officers, Alberto Gonzales serves at the pleasure of the president. We have heard that phrase heard a lot -- or we have heard that phrase a lot lately, rather.
But, as U.S. attorney general, he also needs the confidence of Congress. And that may be running out. A move is afoot on Capitol Hill to make senators stand -- take a stand for Gonzales or against him.
CNN's Kelli Arena keeping track of some of the fast-moving developments from our D.C. bureau. Now the question is, will he keep his job or not?
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the million-dollar question, isn't it, Kyra?
I mean, we do have the Senate saying that they plan on scheduling a no-confidence vote for next week. So, what does that mean? I mean, officially, it means that they are saying, we think you have got to go. Officially, you need to leave.
But, as you said, Kyra, you know, this man serves at the pleasure of the president. It's got to be the president who decides whether he leaves -- you know, he stays or he goes. But, you know, this may not be worth all the trouble.
The president has shown his support thus far. But, you know, things are getting really dicey. And we just heard a little bit ago from Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been spearheading this effort all along to basically try to get rid of Gonzales.
Listen to what he had to say just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I, too, hoped it wouldn't come to this. The president long ago should have asked the attorney general to step down.
The attorney general, on his own, if he cared more about justice than his own career, would have stepped down on his own a while back. But he refuses to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: So, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for Alberto Gonzales, it just did, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, and Schumer sounds pretty confident about that no-confidence vote on Gonzales. Why is that?
ARENA: Well, you know, we -- the whole turning point, I think, for -- on Capitol Hill, at least, was that testimony that we heard from James Comey.
And, Kyra, you watched it as well. It was astounding to listen. And, for viewers who may not have seen it or heard about it, which would be amazing, basically, Comey said that, when Gonzales was White House counsel, he went with Andy Card over to a hospital room where the former attorney general, John Ashcroft, lie in a hospital bed, very, very, very sick, to try to pressure him to OK, to give his approval to a very controversial NSA spying program.
And, when -- when senators heard that, when they heard that testimony, when they heard about how these men went to a sick man in a hospital room and tried to pressure him, it really changed the tone here in Washington. It really did.
You had another Republican, Chuck Hagel, jump on board and say, after that, you know, I think Gonzales has to go.
And I think that Schumer believes, after hearing what he has heard from -- from his Republican colleagues as well, that he thinks he's going to get it. They -- they will give him a no-confidence vote, for sure.
PHILLIPS: And that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to lose his job.
ARENA: That's right.
PHILLIPS: It's just getting the word out there that Republicans and...
ARENA: That's right.
PHILLIPS: ... Democrats don't believe in -- in his ability to lead as an A.G.
ARENA: That's right, and put the pressure on the White House. I mean, that's really what this is all about, is either to put enough pressure on Gonzales, so that he tenders his resignation, or put enough pressure on the White House to say, look, we are not going to play ball with you as long as this man stays in this job.
You know, we will see. I mean, stranger things have happened in Washington. You know, the president may just say, that's nice. Tough. He's staying where he is.
And they will go from here. A lot of people are predicting that won't happen, but we will see. But the revelations just keep on coming, Kyra. Of course, today, we found out that the list of those U.S. attorneys that -- you know, that eventually got fired, that list was actually up to 26 at one point, far more than -- than any Justice official had acknowledged previously, just another thing to add to the growing list of complaints against Gonzales and the Department of Justice.
PHILLIPS: My guess is, you are going to have a busy next week, Kelli Arena.
ARENA: Oh. It's been busy for months now.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Kelli.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: We have a developing story to tell you about.
Let's head to the NEWSROOM now. Fredricka Whitfield has all the details for you -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, out of southwest Houston, it's still unclear what caused an explosion involving a transformer at a power substation.
You are looking at the wrong pictures right now of a situation in Miami. When we get information on that, we will be able to bring that to you.
But let's stick with Houston right now. It's unclear what caused that explosion. But I can tell you it was a real inconvenience for folks who were driving along the Southwest Freeway, as well as the Buffalo Speedway, because it meant that a couple of the lanes had to be blocked while hazmat and fire officials were on the scene, trying to get to the bottom of this explosion.
They had to let the fire burn itself out, because that fire was mostly fuelled by the oil in the transformer. Good news is no reported injuries. However, the bad news is, they're still not sure exactly what caused this explosion or why.
And bad news, too, for a number of customers in the area -- we're talking 17,000 people who temporarily lost power because of this explosion -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Fredricka Whitfield, we will check back in if you get new info. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Their trail gets colder by the day, but the campaign to find them is all-out and nonstop. Three of the these four U.S. soldiers are missing for a sixth day. The body of one -- we don't know which -- has been found, but a positive I.D. has not been made.
New video here of American and Iraqi troops, by the thousands, combing the so-called Triangle of Death for physical clues or tips from possible witnesses. A reward is out there, $200,000, for anyone who leads searchers to the missing troops. They haven't been seen since their unit was ambushed last Saturday.
Commanders south of Baghdad say they are acting on dozens of tips, none of which has so far panned out. It's low-tech detective work in very trying conditions.
CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with the search team.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pushing themselves to the limit, some soldiers are collapsing from the oppressive heat. But the hunt continues, defined by long hours and glimmers of hope. They have trudged across miles and miles of fields and farmland, navigated the harsh terrain to avoid the roads and the bombs. They even drained this canal parallel to the attack site to look for clues.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN VALLEDOR, U.S. ARMY: Yesterday, our soldiers, those in the brigade, physically walked the canal, and on both sides, to make sure -- you know, make sure that there isn't anything in here related to our missing soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need your help.
DAMON: They have said the same thing hundreds of times since Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any information will help us.
DAMON: Information that leads to the missing soldiers is worth $200,000. And they have been receiving tantalizing tips, but none have panned out. It's a hunt for three men in an area about 330 square miles.
COLONEL MIKE KERSHAW, U.S. ARMY: A piece of U.S. equipment which we think could possibly be from the soldiers that were abducted or -- or could have been just equipment abducted from the site.
DAMON: Nothing is taken for granted or left to chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in here almost every day, so that this is -- this is kind of a -- just -- just covering all the bases. We're out of -- we're just making sure. We're checking every -- every house again.
DAMON (on camera): It's day five in the search for the missing soldiers. These men have been out for about seven, eight hours now. They are both physically and mentally exhausted. But no one is even talking about giving up.
(voice-over): These men have been fighting out here in an area better known as the Triangle of Death for nine months now.
KERSHAW: This sector has historically been one of the most lethal in -- in -- in Iraq. And there are some very capable insurgents out there. And we do not underestimate them.
DAMON: The military doesn't underestimate them, but it is determined to defeat them.
CAPTAIN DAN HURD, U.S. ARMY: All the motivation is -- is what they're -- they're going after. You know, we -- we -- we talk about the soldiers. And, you know, they know who -- they know who they're -- they're looking for. They know their names. And that's as -- that's as much motivation as they would ever need. Every time they get tired, they think of that, and -- and then keep going.
DAMON: All these soldiers have sworn to never leave a man behind.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Yusufiyah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Now to the wildfires -- lighter winds make for a better firefighting day along the Georgia-Florida border. But the danger is far from over.
Reporter Laura Mazzeo with our affiliate WJXT is in Lake City, Florida.
And, Laura, what is the very latest?
LAURA MAZZEO, WJXT REPORTER: Well, Don, right now, firefighters are praying for rain. And they think we will get it this afternoon. But that's a mixed blessing.
The worry is that, along with that, will come lightning. And that could cause other fires. Now, the other worry are strong winds that are expected. So, right now, firefighters are out there. And they are actually doing back-burning, where they are setting intentional fires to try to take the fuel away from the massive fire that is headed in their direction.
They are also, of course, dropping water from the air, doing everything that they can before those strong winds are expected. Now, right now, the blaze is about 65 percent contained. But, if those winds picked up, forestry officials fear that that could, of course, get less controlled.
And they do fear that the fire could break their lines. Now, as of now, there are still about 700 people who aren't living at home, and they want to know when they can go back. And this is what a Columbia County official told them this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARVEY CAMPBELL, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: These are our neighbors and our friends. And they are having to put up with a change of routine. Obviously, shelters are not the ideal spot that you want to be in. People are having to spend out of their pockets for hotels.
We -- we started talking as late as yesterday about trying to let people back in, talked about it, hoped we had something to announce this morning. And the feeling was that we still have enough concern about the weather today and tomorrow that we're just not comfortable of -- of saying, go back. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MAZZEO: And what you are looking at right now is the staging area. Firefighters from all across the country go in there, get their assignments, and then head out to protect the structures and to cut those additional fire lines. And these people have come in from across the country, as far as Alaska. Just all over, people are joining the fight, just trying to protect these homes and to really get this massive wildfire under control -- Don.
LEMON: Laura Mazzeo, WJXT, thank you so much for that.
From the farm to your family's dinner table, keeping spinach safe at its source. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story in the NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And we're waiting for President Bush to deliver remarks on that immigration deal just announced this afternoon. We will bring that to you live when it happens.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is 3:18 Eastern. And here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At least six people have been killed and more than 30 others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza, according to Palestinian sources. Israel says the airstrikes are in retaliation for days of Hamas rocket attacks.
One of the six men accused of taking part in a plot against soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, wants to be released on bail. Prosecutors say Agron Abdullahu had the smallest role in the plot, but they say he should remain in detention.
California biologists are hoping that a recording of humpback whale sounds will coax two injured whales back to the Pacific Ocean. The pair showed up in Sacramento, in the Sacramento River, several days ago, apparently sidetracked in their migration north from the Mexican coast.
And, just a short time ago, a press conference was held by Joe Cordero from the National Oceanic Administration -- Atmospheric Administration.
Here's what he had to say about the latest on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE CORDERO, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION: OK.
As you know, we started our operations around 10:00 a.m. this morning. The Coast Guard cutter -- the hydrophones are trailing from the cutter, broadcasting the humpback whale feeding sounds. As you can very well see, the whales haven't moved much since we started this morning. We think there might be a problem with the sounds bouncing off of the -- the container ship and the pilings.
And, so, the Coast Guard cutter went down the channel a ways to try and see if that would help. They have come back a little bit now. So, we're still in an experimental stage. It's still very early. We're going to keep -- keep this plan going. And we're just going to wait and see how the whales respond.
And this -- this is still going to be our...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And, again, you heard from them. Biologists are trying to lure the pair lost 90 miles north of the river.
These are the actual sounds that they are playing and the sounds you are listening to. And I'm going to shut up in a minute. They are from Wild Sanctuary.
Take a quick listen. Well, there you go. I hope they understand it. It sounds ominous. But, again, that is whale-speak.
And maybe Sanjay Gupta knows what they are saying.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: But, anyway, that's -- they are looking for those -- trying to coax those whales back into the correct waters. And we certainly hope they are successful with that.
PHILLIPS: Well, some of you might want to rethink that big hamburger this weekend. A massive beef recall is under way. Nearly 130,000 pounds of it is being recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. The beef was being sold by Gordon Food Service stores and sent to 15 states. The boxes are labeled Est. 1947A.
The meat was shipped to distribution centers and retailers in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Whew. Hope you got all that.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Well, from today's beef recall to the E. coli outbreak in spinach, just how safe is the food on your plate?
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is covering contamination concerns for his new special. He went straight to the first line of defense, a farmer's fields.
Sanjay joins us now to tell us more about it.
Hey, Sanjay. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's amazing.
You were reading that list there. I think the list is going to grow a little bit as well. It's 15 states right now. But it's amazing how these food outbreaks just sort of spiral. You know, in October, we heard about the spinach outbreak.
And, after we started working on the documentary, started hearing about salmonella in peanut butter, and even more outbreaks. There was botulism in olives. It's just so many outbreaks going on.
We decided to investigate this. We have been working on this documentary for a few months now. It's going to air this weekend. But we really wanted to go to the source to find out exactly where did the spinach become contaminated, and -- and maybe how it could have been prevented as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Rod Braga Farms, this 800-acre ranch in Soledad, California, it's nestled in the Salinas Valley. Since 1995, more than 20 outbreaks stemming from the deadly E. coli 0157:H7 toxin have originated in California, contaminating leafy green crops, most recently, spinach.
(on camera): You take a look at this spinach, which -- which is -- looks -- looks beautiful. What are the particular vulnerable points here?
ROD BRAGA, SPINACH GROWER: Making sure that we don't have any intrusion by -- by animals or people that aren't supposed to be here.
GUPTA (voice over): When you look around here in what's called the world's salad bowl, you realize just how huge, how vast it really is. Keeping an area this big safe seems like an awesome task.
(on camera): You do have a fence here.
BRAGA: Right.
GUPTA: So, this does two things. It keeps, potentially, animals, but, if something did break through, you're going to know about it.
(voice over): Many E. coli outbreaks begin at cow pastures, which, in the Salinas Valley, often neighbor produce fields. Cows carry the deadly strain of E. coli 0157 in their intestinal tract.
MICHAEL DOYLE, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY: And the cattle feces somehow would then have to get into the -- the growing fields.
MANSOUR SAMADPOUR, PRESIDENT, IEH LABORATORIES: You could have, for example, field birds feeding on animal fecal material that has E. coli 0157. They land somewhere in the field. They contaminate a small area.
GUPTA: Only a few E. coli 0157 cells can taint an entire crop. One parcel of spinach tainted by E. coli harvested, processed and mixed with other spinach, then shipped around the country, could potentially poison thousands, even millions of people.
Farmers like Braga are abiding by stricter rules and safety programs to curb the area's sobering track record.
BRAGA: I know that we're doing everything we can, following every food safety and good agricultural practice to make sure everything is safe.
GUPTA: The question this season: Will that be enough?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And that was probably the one question we asked everybody, was, was the food safe, and is it any safer?
We have had about 20 outbreaks over the last decade or so. And, really, they couldn't give me a definitive answer.
Kyra, this was one of the most eye-opening experiences I think I have had as a journalist, really being able to go to all these people for this documentary and -- and be able to ask them these questions. And I have got to tell you, as a father, as a consumer, I'm not sure that I'm -- I'm totally comfortable still with what they are telling me.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: And even as a doctor.
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: And even as a doctor. I mean, can you be 100 percent sure? Lots of interesting information this weekend. I hope -- I hope you get a chance to see it. It was fascinating to put together.
PHILLIPS: Well, we have all been talking about it, of course.
For more information, of course, you can go to CNN.com/poisonedfood. And, then, of course, the special airs Saturday, Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
Now we're going to get to the president. And he is actually going to reach the mike and talk about this immigration deal.
Apologize, Sanjay. We had to step away.
But, as you know, Democrats, Republicans had been debating all day, finally came to a deal on immigration -- the -- Bush responding now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Secretary Chertoff have just briefed me about the negotiations on the comprehensive immigration bill that just concluded in the Senate.
I want to thank, first of all, my secretaries for being involved in the process, being engaged in this important issue, and helping move the process forward.
I congratulate members of the Senate in both political parties who decided it was time to work together to come up with a comprehensive immigration bill that -- that addresses a major problem facing our country.
After weeks of long work, these negotiations came to a successful conclusion.
I want to thank the members of the Senate who worked hard. I appreciate the leadership shown on both sides of the aisle.
You know, as I reflect upon this important accomplishment, important first step toward a comprehensive immigration bill, it reminds me of how much the Americans appreciate the fact that we can work together, and, when we work together, that they see positive things.
Immigration is a tough issue for a lot of Americans. It's a -- the agreement reached today is one that will help enforce our borders, but, equally importantly, it will treat people with respect.
This is a bill where people who live here in our country will be treated without amnesty, but without animosity.
And, so, I want to thank you all very much for representing the White House, thank the senators for working hard.
I look forward to, you know, a good vote out of the United States Senate, as quickly as Leader Reid can get the bill moving. And then, of course, we look forward to working with the House of Representatives to take this first step and convert it into a successful second step.
I -- I really am anxious to sign a comprehensive immigration bill as soon as I possibly can. Today, we took a good step toward that direction.
Thank you.
LEMON: President Bush there with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and the secretary of the department of commerce, Carlos Gutierrez -- the president upbeat and optimistic about getting this into law, this immigration reform proposal. He wants to work with the House and the Senate, he says, to move quickly to get this done.
Let's bring in our Ed Henry, who is standing by now for us at the White House. Ed, what did you take away from this?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the president raring to go there.
This is a topic he wants to discuss. The bottom line is, he's been dealing with Iraq and other thorny issues that he doesn't want to talk about quite so much. This -- especially on the Iraq funding bill, he's been divided with Democrats. This is one where he can try to show bipartisanship, that he's reaching across the aisle, talking about what he believes is an historic bill, and saying he wants to sign this into law as soon as he possibly can.
What's interesting there, obviously, this is a president who is desperate for legislative victories, especially on the domestic side. Much of his legislative agenda right now is stalled on Capitol Hill. So, any sort of a breakthrough is something he's obviously going to try to trumpet.
But let's not forget, this is a tough political balancing act for this president. On one hand, he can try to again show he's reaching across the aisle, try to achieve what Karl Rove, his top political strategist, has been trying to do, show compassion, reach across the aisle, maybe reach out to more Latino voters.
But the flip side of that coin, obviously, is the fact that -- that this deal is going to upset a lot of conservatives who think that it is amnesty, that think that illegal immigrants, the 12 million illegal immigrants here already, are basically getting off the hook and being rewarded for bad behavior.
You heard what the president is going to say, those two sound bites. And this is how he's going to push back. Number one, he's insisting that this will enforce our borders, but treat people with respect, and, also, no amnesty, but also do this with animosity -- the president there trying to strike that political balancing act -- Don.
LEMON: CNN's Ed Henry -- thank you, Ed.
And -- and more in-depth coverage coming up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern and then again at 7:00 p.m. on CNN, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
PHILLIPS: It's a case worthy of "CSI" -- millions and millions of missing honey bees, no bodies, no clues, a growing headache -- straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is about half past the hour, 3:32 Eastern. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At least six people have been killed and more than 30 others wounded in Israeli air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza. That's according to Palestinian sources.
Israel says the air strikes are in retaliation for days of Hamas rocket attacks.
One of the six men accused of taking part in a plot against soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, wants to be released on bail. Police say Agron Abdullahu had the smallest role in the plot, but they say he should remain in detention.
California biologists are hoping that a recording of humpback whale sounds will coax two injured whales back to the Pacific Ocean. The pair showed up in the Sacramento River several days ago, apparently sidetracked in their migration north from the Mexican coast.
PHILLIPS: Well, when the chairman of the fed speaks, people listen. And today he spoke about the crisis in the nation's subprime mortgage market. There's a little tongue twister.
Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us more.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LEMON: All right. This just in to CNN. We have been talking about that no-confidence vote that Dianne Feinstein wants to take in the Senate, she and Chuck Schumer are talking about. Well, another GOP senator has come forward.
Norm Coleman from Minnesota saying that he has lost confidence in Alberto Gonzales, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' ability to do his job. And he wants him to resign. So that is a GOP senator.
We're going to talk about this, because clearly this is going to have political ramifications with all of this.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer, of course, on top of this. He's the anchor of "THE SITUATION ROOM". He's going to join us in a bit to talk about all of that.
But first, a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
We have some news just in to CNN. Part of a terminal at LAX has been evacuated. We're just getting this news in. And let me read you what it says here.
It says authorities were prompted to send a bomb squad to terminal one at LAX, and they did that because they found a checked luggage -- there was something in a checked luggage, or something suspicious about something found, a prohibited item, according to this wire that we're just getting here.
Checked luggage has prompted authorities to send a bomb squad to terminal one in the airport. People are being kept away from the upstairs ticketing counter area in the terminal, and traffic is also being diverted away from the upper level roadway around terminal one. However, the lower level roadway is unaffected. So, a partial evacuation of terminal one because of a suspicious item in a piece of checked baggage at LAX airport. As soon as we get any more details on this, we'll bring them to you.
PHILLIPS: So, do you ever eat apples, broccoli, almonds? Don't even get us started on the honey. None of those things would exist without bees. And bees, as you may have heard, are dying off for reasons unknown, at a breathtaking rate. I should say apparently dying off, because billions of them in the U.S. and Canada have simply disappeared.
CNN's Randi Kaye investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the scene of the crime. But where are the bodies?
DAVE HACKENBERG, BEEKEEPER: The bees are gone.
KAYE (on camera): so this is what you call a dead hive?
HACKENBERG: Yes. Empty box, no bees.
KAYE (voice-over): They're gone and presumed dead. But no corpses, no clues.
(on camera) The buzz began with Dave's bees at Dave Hackenberg's bee farm, ground zero for the mystery of the missing bees. Hackenberg believes he's lost more than 2,000 hives. With about 40,000 bees per hive, that's 80 million bees gone.
HACKENBERG: I mean, boxes are empty. There's just, you know, nothing here. No dead bees on the ground, no bees anywhere.
KAYE (voice-over): The Pennsylvania beekeeper now finds himself in the unlikely role of investigator, collecting evidence.
(on camera): So this is a healthy hive.
HACKENBERG: This is a little fresh honey they have made here in the last...
KAYE: Yes. We haven't seen that anywhere.
HACKENBERG: No, no. The other bees don't have any fresh honey. You know, they're...
KAYE: They're dying.
HACKENBERG: They're dying.
KAYE: Billions of honey bees in more than 25 states and five Canadian provinces have simply vanished.
And there's more than just honey at stake for all of us. The USDA estimates bees contribute $15 billion to U.S. agriculture each year. We get an astonishing 30 percent of our food from plants pollinated by honeybees. Crops like almonds, apples, blueberries and broccoli wouldn't grow without them.
HACKENBERG: Somewhere between a quarter and a third of all the bees in the United States disappeared last year. You know, we're talking about a serious situation.
KAYE: Serious enough for scientists to give this bizarre syndrome a name: colony collapse disorder.
(on camera): How does a honey bee simply vanish without a trace?
HACKENBERG: That's a good question, a real good question.
KAYE (voice-over): Colony collapse disorder appears to throw off the bees' homing skills. They can't find their way home, so they die. Without them, the queen and babies die, too.
Most of Hackenberg's hives, if not already dead, are in the midst of collapse.
Meanwhile, the search for clues has moved to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's lab in Beltsville, Maryland, which is responsible for honey bee health. Investigators here are painstakingly conducting bee autopsies.
(on camera): I would imagine doing an autopsy on a bee is a bit challenging, given their size.
JAY EVANS, USDA RESEARCH GENETICIST: Yes. But if you do enough of them, it gets easy after a while.
On the left is a viral disease.
KAYE: The USDA research geneticist, Jay Evans, is doing his own detective work.
EVANS: So what we're doing now is devise experiments where we can inject them or expose bees to those pathogens and see if the symptoms after that are similar to what's been observed in the field.
KAYE: Think of it this way, recreating a murder to catch the killer. Already, some popular theories have been ruled out, like cell phone radiation interfering with the bees' natural ability to navigate.
(on camera): Do you buy that this could be a Russian plot?
HACKENBERG: Not really.
KAYE: The rapture, God calling all the bees back to heaven?
HACKENBERG: I don't think he needs them up there.
KAYE (voice-over): When Hackenberg first called for help in November, Penn State entomologist Diana Cox Foster, who studied bees for 20 years, got involved in the case.
Since last fall, she's heard all kinds of crazy ideas.
DIANA COX FOSTER, ENTOMOLOGIST, PENN STATE: We don't think this is a terrorist event triggered by Osama bin Laden.
KAYE: Cox Foster's suspicions are now focused on an insecticide farmers started using a few years ago.
(on camera): What alarms you most about this?
FOSTER: The impact and how quickly the colonies are dying. And there's some evidence, very good evidence to suggest that there is a pathogen involved.
KAYE (voice-over): A pathogen or disease, but which one?
FOSTER: We did sort of do our own little CSI, if you will.
KAYE: In the lab, they grind up dead honeybees to extract genetic material, then place it on these gels, which communicate to a computer.
(on camera): That might mean that the bee that was tested there...
FOSTER: Is negative.
KAYE: Is negative?
FOSTER: Exactly.
KAYE (voice-over): In some bees at least five different diseases have been discovered, which suggests...
FOSTER: Their immune system has broken down completely, gone haywire.
KAYE: Something similar to what happens in humans who have AIDS.
Honey bee specialist Maryann Frazier says even trace amounts of an insecticide could be lethal.
MARYANN FRAZIER, ENTOMOLOGIST, PENN STATE: It could interfere with their ability to learn or to navigate. This is well documented that pesticides can have these kind of effects.
KAYE: Whatever it is, more bees are disappearing every month. Dave Hackenberg's hives tell him there isn't much time left.
(on camera): How do you feel when you look at something like this? I mean, this is your livelihood?
HACKENBERG: I feel pretty empty.
KAYE (voice-over): For the bees and for the rest of us, it's time to figure out how this mystery ends.
Randi Kaye, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We want to update you on a developing story we just told you about moments ago. That is LAX. Those folks are waiting outside.
This is an update, just information now from a spokesperson there, tells us at 11:30 a.m. Pacific, 2:30 Eastern, just about 45 minutes ago, that LAX airport police were notified of a suspicious item found in the checked luggage of a passenger. And that is what's calling all -- causing all of this chaos here.
Airport police currently searching for the owner of that bag, and ticketing counter lobby -- the ticketing counter lobby has been cleared, resulting in passengers and airline employees being moved outside to the curb. And there they are right there.
Two arriving Southwest flights are being held at the end of the airfield instead of docking at the terminal until this matter is resolved. They want folks to know that the traffic on the upper level departure area is being diverted before terminal one, but lower levels are moving. So there's a partial evacuation of terminal one, suspicious device -- or suspicious, I should say, item -- clarification, suspicious item, found in a checked bag.
They're searching for the owner of that bag. And also, it caused a ticket counter there to be close down.
As soon as we get any more information on this, we're going to bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But that is the situation happening at LAX airport right now.
We're going to take a quick break, update you on this story on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Live to Los Angeles International Airport right now. These live pictures actually coming to us from our affiliate, KTLA, out of L.A. You can see all the police activity.
This is what we know right now, that police were notified of a suspicious item that was found in a checked bag of a passenger. The airport police now, along with the LAPD, they're currently searching for that owner of that bag. And the ticketing counter lobby has also been cleared, resulting in passengers and airline employees being moved outside to the curb.
We're told that two arriving Southwest flights are being held at the end of the airfield instead of docking at the terminal until this matter is resolved. You can see here the traffic on the upper level is being diverted before terminal one. The lower levels are moving pretty well, though, as you can see. You can see the standstill up top, but moving down below. Now, what's interesting is that yesterday the upper level of the terminal two, right there next to terminal one at LAX, had been evacuated after police said they found mortar shells at a security checkpoint. Now, the LAPD Bomb Squad responded to the scene, and they determined that it was an inert round and that no explosives were found. Police say there were no arrests.
They're still investigating the incident. Don't know if the two were related, but obviously it created quite a stir there at LAX.
Now live, you can see the passengers here that are being kept at the curb. A pretty busy travel day there.
Not able to go inside, check in as police are trying to find the owner of this bag where they found a suspicious item in a checked luggage. In checked luggage, rather.
The ticket counter at the lobby there at terminal one has been cleared. Also, resulting in all these passengers having to be moved outside to the curb. Not sure if they're going to be able to fly out or not.
And now the other piece of information that we got, that two arriving Southwest flights are being held at the end of the airfield instead of docking at the terminal until this matter is resolved. Don't know where that individual is that had checked that luggage that caused a concern. We're working more details.
We'll bring it to you as soon as we have it.
LEMON: Working on that developing story, as well as this one, the trials of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Just when it seemed the uproar had passed, or at least subsided over the federal prosecutor purge, an uproar from the past comes back louder than ever.
Let's go to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who can offer us a unique perspective on this.
Because you've been interviewing a lot of folks about this matter. The White House has been standing behind him. Now, even GOP senators coming out now, Wolf, and saying, you know what? We don't have confidence in him.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and influential members of the Republican Party in the Senate. Norm Coleman only a little while ago making it clear he no longer has a great deal of confidence in Alberto Gonzales. Pat Roberts, a conservative Republican senator from Kansas, echoing that, as well as Chuck Hagel, among others.
They are very upset, as you know, Don, about this report. The former deputy attorney general, James Comey, the other day testified before Congress that he had to rush to a local hospital, George Washington University Hospital, to stop what he thought was inappropriate behavior by Gonzales and then White House chief of staff Andy Card to try to force the attorney general, John Ashcroft, to sign a paper that would allow the warrantless wiretaps to go forward. He was literally very, very sick. He was suffering from some severe medical ailments. He didn't sign it, but it was clear that there was a huge to-do, and there was almost, as he testified, Comey, the other day, almost a mass resignation on the part of Ashcroft, the FBI director, Robert Mueller, himself, and other officials if the White House would have gotten their way.
In the end, they didn't because the president had a change of heart and went in a different direction. But it underscored one of the most sensitive aspects of this, whether or not the attorney general, who was then the White House counsel, has the -- has the -- I guess the credibility to go forward right now. Not only Democrats, but even an increasing chorus of Republicans are saying it would be better for him to step down.
LEMON: Yes. Just the beginning, Wolf, I'm sure you'll attest, and not the end of this story. We would love to -- love having your perspective on this, because again, as you have a unique perspective because you interview all these folks every day in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
We have to get on now to breaking news. We're going to see you at the top of the hour for more details on this story in "THE SITUATION ROOM," also at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Don.
PHILLIPS: Good news. We're getting the all clear at Los Angeles International Airport.
There was concern about a possible -- something suspicious, actually, in a piece of luggage. But we're now getting word the all clear.
Nancy Castle, spokesperson for LAX on the phone.
Nancy, do we know what the deal was?
NANCY CASTLE, LAX SPOKESWOMAN: Yes. The incident was just secured. It's the -- after identifying or finding the owner of the luggage in the terminal, the item was identified as a pipe that belonged to one of the products of this managing partner of a sprinkler company. He had one of his products in his checked luggage.
PHILLIPS: Well, good. It ends up -- I mean, obviously, it's good to see that systems are in place here. You are able to respond and get passengers outside that terminal in case anything was to -- or were to go wrong. Good news. It's just a sprinkler pipe.
But let me ask you, will they be able to -- how will this delay flights, Nancy? Do you know?
CASTLE: We're getting an assessment right now. But we do know that at least two arriving Southwest airlines flights were -- that had landed were held at the west end of the airfield instead of docking at the terminal itself. We do know there are some departing flights that have been delayed at terminal one. And -- but other airline operations in the other terminals were unaffected.
PHILLIPS: OK. That's good news.
So, Nancy, I'm curious, did anybody tell this passenger not to travel with sprinkler pipes anymore?
CASTLE: I don't know if that was advised, but he is entitled to bring his products with him when he travels.
PHILLIPS: All right. Lessons learned. He'll identify them.
Nancy Castle, spokesperson for LAX, thanks so much.
An all-clear now at LAX. What they thought was a suspicious package, possibly a threat of terrorism is not, as you just heard. So flights will get going within the next couple of hours. Hopefully not too much of a jam there at LAX.
LEMON: That is good news, right, Kyra?
The closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Closing bell about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LEMON: Now it's time for "THE SITUATION ROOM".
PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer taking it from here.
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