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Missing Soldiers in Iraq; British Prime Minister in Baghdad; Deadly Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan; Bush Pushing Immigration Reform; Electronic Verification Program not Ready; Humpback Whale Rescue; Autism Walk in Georgia; Honeybees Missing

Aired May 19, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Straight ahead this hour, breaking news out of Iraq, signs those missing soldiers, or at least a couple of them, may still be alive. We've got the very latest.
Also, where are the bees? Billions of the bugs are missing. And there's a lot more than honey at stake.

Plus, wild boars, not what you'd expect to see in the middle of a big city. We'll take you on the hunt.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and you're in the NEWSROOM.

We have some breaking news on fate of those three American soldiers missing in Iraq. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is on phone with the very latest. -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, U.S. military commanders believe at least two and perhaps all three of the missing soldiers are still alive and being held by an al Qaeda affiliate group in Iraq.

According to officials talking to CNN, one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of this matter said that the conclusion that at least two of the soldiers may be alive was based on evidence and clues that have been gathered in the week-long search that has been going on south of Baghdad. That official also said that there was some reason to believe that one of the missing soldiers may have died after capture. But stressed that there was no way to confirm that.

Another senior official said at least two of the suspects detained over the past week, part of the big roundup that's been going on, were believed to be directly responsible for the attack last Saturday and could provide, again, additional intelligence as interrogations continue.

The U.S. Military confirmed on Friday that various military items had been recovered during the search that can provide clues to what happened to the soldiers including one official said parts of a U.S. military uniform. But the military is urging a lot of caution here saying that any potential evidence they found in the field is being tested for connection to the missing soldiers. And when they determined it to be definitely connected, then they say they'll be able to talk about it. But while the search is going on, a lot of this information is extremely sensitive.

But, again, U.S. Military commanders believe that all the evidence points to the fact that at least two and perhaps all three of the soldiers may still be live as the search enters the second week -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Jamie, is it fair enough to explore whether any of the evidence they may have collected may have intentionally be left by any one of those military personnel?

MCINTYRE: Well, that's always a possibility that somebody tried to leave a sign or give some indication of what happened to them. It's also possible that false information or sort of false leads could be put out by people who are trying to mislead the military investigators.

And, of course, you know, in a situation like this, the military has to be extremely careful about what kind of information that they release because they're really in a case against time to try to find the soldiers before it gets to the point where the captors believe that it's too dangerous to keep holding on to them.

So, they're in a situation where they want to show that everything is being done to find them but they don't want the people who are holding them to believe that, you know, they're about to be captured. So it's a very particular situation. But the main thing that we're getting from talking with the people is that there is some reason to be hopeful that the soldiers are still alive. We don't know exactly what that reason is. But we do know that U.S. commanders are operating on that belief and they have some reason to think that.

WHITFIELD: And how about any intelligence from people who live in the vicinity? Are they talking?

MCINTYRE: Well, they have tons of intelligence, tons of tips. Not a lot of them have panned out so far. But we don't know about the ones that maybe providing good information. Because, again, that's not the kind of thing the military is going to talk about.

WHITFIELD: Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much.

And now still in Iraq, a dicey welcome in Baghdad for the British prime minister, Tony Blair. Rockets or mortar rounds exploded in the heavily fortified Green Zone after Blair showed up for talks with Iraqi officials. CNN's Hugh Riminton is there with the very latest -- Hugh.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well indeed, Fredricka, there is no international leader who knows the conditions on the ground in Baghdad as much as Tony Blair. This was his seventh visit as British prime minister. It will doubtless be his last.

He arrived in the Green Zone just three mortar rounds exploded inside the fortified area. No damage or threat directly to Mr. Blair's party, although someone else was wounded in those attacks. Now, Mr. Blair came in, he wanted to meet with President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, this as a Royal Institute of International Affairs report says this country is on the brink of collapse, falling beneath not one but several civil wars with the country really having no effective government. But that's not the message Tony Blair wanted to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I've no doubt at all that Britain will remain steadfast in its support for Iraq for the Iraqi people and for the Iraqi government as it price to make sure that it overcomes the threat of terrorism and continues to make progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIMINTON: Now, Tony Blair has gone on to Basra, the city and the province in the south of Iraq where the British forces are based. Even while he was there, there are reports of more mortar fire in towards the airport there which is the British base. No reports of injuries, 148 British personnel have died in the course of this war and Mr. Blair wanted to go right down to the soldiers on the ground to thank them for what they have done during this 4-1/2 years under his leadership -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Hugh Riminton in Baghdad, thanks so much. Meantime, the battle over funding the Iraq war rages on in this country in Washington. The latest talks on a spending bill between the White House and members of Congress collapsed yesterday. The major issue -- Democrats' demand for timelines for troop withdrawals. The White House dismisses that as nothing more than an announcement of surrender. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats will return to a conference committee of both houses to try to hammer out another compromise.

A suicide bombing in a crowded street market in northern Afghanistan kills three German soldiers and at least five civilians. The soldiers had gotten out of their vehicles and were shopping when the bomb exploded. Germany's foreign minister says the attack underscores there is no quiet or safe zone in Afghanistan.

President Bush pushing immigration reform compromise, the bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators would reportedly toughen border security and workplace enforcement while offering a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million people now in the U.S. illegally. It's a tough sell for the president. Conservatives call the plan amnesty. Liberals say it's too harsh on workers. President Bush today tackles the concerns in his weekly radio address.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will improve security at our borders. It will give employers new tools to verify the employment status of workers and hold businesses to account for those they hire. It will create a temporary worker program. It will help us resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants who are here already without animosity and without amnesty. And it will honor the great American tradition of the melting pot by strengthening our efforts to help new arrivals assimilate into our society.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Senate will begin debating the proposal, Monday, and later it will go before the House.

Many employers say they are faced with a problem as well, determining which immigrants can legally work here. And a new government program that's supposed to fix that issue, well, it's not ready. CNN's Jeanne Meserve explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traci Hong was 10 years old when her family emigrated from South Korea. She has been a U.S. Citizen for 15 years. But when a new employer used a government pilot program to check her employment eligibility, they were told she couldn't work in the U.S. legally. Ironically, her new job is with the House of Representatives Immigration Subcommittee.

TRACI HONG, HOUSE IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE: So, I had to take my passport, first go to the House Judiciary Committee's personnel office then to the House personnel office then to the Social Security Administration and then sort of round and round and round again.

MESERVE: Hung's case got straightened out, but critics say the electronic verification program, called Basic Pilot, isn't ready for widespread use. Right now with 16,000 employers signed up to use it, critics say it has an error rate of about 11 percent.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Maybe that doesn't sound like that much. But if it's 11 percent of all the people employed in the United States, it's over 20 million people who are Americans who would be told you're not allowed to work.

MESERVE: A more fundamental flaw, Basic Pilot cannot detect when a worker is using documents and information that belong to someone else. Case in point, although Swift & Company Meat Packing participated in Basic Pilot, recent immigration raids of the plants netted more than 1,000 illegal workers.

The program is being upgraded to give employers photos to help with verification. President Bush got a look this week. But critics are unimpressed. They say Basic Pilot cannot do the job.

JAMES CARAFANO, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: It's just like taking a local baseball team and saying, OK, go to the World Series. It's just not going to work.

MESERVE (on camera): The Department of Homeland Security says Basic Pilots accuracy rate has been improved to about five percent. And they say the program is ready to grow quickly to help insure that people working in the U.S. are doing so legally. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The immigration deal is so touchy, it has two Republican senators shouting at each other. Here's how it went down as the "Washington Post" outlines it.

John McCain, bill supporter, John Cornyn, doubter. McCain called Cornyn's concerns "petty," describing them as chicken manure, so to speak. Cornyn then accuses McCain of parachuting into the negotiations from the presidential campaign trail. Well the "Post" says that caused McCain to blow up and shout the "F" word.

A McCain spokesman concedes the ruckus did go down, but disputes some of those particulars.

President Bush's commerce secretary talking up the immigration deal as well, Carols Gutierrez in the NEWSROOM tonight with Rick Sanchez at 10:00 Easter, only here on CNN.

What's happening to the bee population right here in the U.S.? The mystery that could mean big trouble for our food supply.

And finally, some good news for firefighters battling a massive wildfire against the Georgia Florida state line.

And can a couple of wayward whales get back to the deep blue sea? Hold your breath. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A whale tale unfolding in California. Rescue efforts are going nowhere, neither are the two hump back whales, apparently, stranded in the Sacramento River. Let's go there live to CNN's Kara Finnstrom.

What is the problem?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: They don't want to move. But what's evolved also into a new part of the story are the crowds out here. The crowds have been growing every day that we've been coming out here. They're bringing out lawn chairs. They're bringing out dogs, their cameras, some of them staying here for hours. If you look up on the levee there, can you see the steady stream coming in.

This is actually light compared to what we saw late yesterday afternoon the crowds really growing by that point and actually cause something concern here for local officials. They say it's not bothering the animals. What is bothering are their resources. It's just an extra strain on them. They've actually had to bring out port- a-potties here today, and their actually having to manage the traffic.

Now we want to go over here, if we can. And let you hear from one of the people who decided to come out here today. Her name is Sundari and she's watching the whales. Officials asked you not to come out, but I know you said you couldn't keep away, huh? They're encouraging most of the public to stay home. Explain to us why you did come out here today and what you're hoping to see?

SUNDARI MACALLISTER, WHALE WATCHER: Well, I like to see because I've been here the other day for five hours and I like to see -- I like to -- my husband see them it's incredible to see them, you know right here in Sacramento. You know, I never expecting that. But before it happened, like two or three months ago I see this happen and it's scared me when something, you know, I just see it in my sight and after all it's reality. It make me -- make me -- what I believe is hard to imagine how this thing happened, you know, because -- make me excited and at the same time I scared.

FINNSTROM: I know that Sundari had said she felt very attached to these whales, which a lot of these people out here are telling us. They feel very attached and they actually want to make sure they get back safely because these whales have become something of local celebrities.

Now efforts to actually get these whales back to the ocean will pick up on Tuesday. That's when they're going to start aggressive herding to try and get these animals back if they don't head back on their own. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much. Look forward to the next live shot because I got lots of questions about how to save those whales out there. Talk to you soon.

All right. Let's talk about Florida, now, where firefighters are make some progress on scores of wildfires there. Officials say the largest fire in the northeast part of that state is now 70 percent contained. Residents are being allowed back home. The blaze which has burned more than 120,000 acres is one of at least 188 wildfires in 48 counties in that state alone.

Hundreds of firefighters also having good luck in northern California -- rather, northern Arizona. Officials say a wildfire there is 60 percent contained. Crews expect to have it fully contained by Tuesday. Evacuees may be able to return to their homes this weekend if the fire doesn't flare up again.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider who is in a lovely outdoors there in Atlanta. Bonnie, the weather is beautiful, here. We've been talking about dry conditions in so many parts of the country where they've been experiencing so many wildfires. Set the scene for us now. Where should we be hopeful in terms of good weather?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are here now with the Autism Walk in Georgia and got news is they've done so well here. We're going to find out how well they've done. We're going to bring Jeff in right now.

Come on in, Jeff. Jeff is the walk director and I understand we had 12,000 people here today.

JEFF CHIUSANO, CHMN 2007 GA WALK FOR AUTISM: Actually, we had more than that we were thinking 12 or 13,000 we wound up with closer to 18,000 people out here.

SCHNEIDER: That is incredible. And this event actually raised money not just here in Atlanta, but across the country.

CHIUSANO: Well, we have walks that take place all over the country, over 60 walks that take place. We have a walk in Canada and also a walk coming up in London. So these are exciting events that help raise money in every single city where they take place.

SCHNEIDER: And if people want more information, they can go right to the Web site to find it, right?

CHIUSANO: Absolutely. It's autismwalk.org to find out about walks in their local city.

SCHNEIDER: That's great. I'm so glad it was such a success. We had beautiful weather here today. I think that helped.

CHIUSANO: Yes, it's a wonderful day and I think the folks really enjoyed it. We raised awareness, we raised funds and we accomplished all of our goals.

SCHNEIDER: And unfortunately, autism is a growing epidemic with 1-150 children being diagnosed with it.

CHIUSANO: That's correct. It's certainly something that is questionable whether or not it's on the rise or not. But it's prevalent enough that we need to act on it and we need to be aware of it and do things about it.

SCHNEIDER: Jeff, thank you so much. And I'm so glad to hear the walk was such a success. We're signing off here in Atlanta. And if you'd like more information, again that, Web site is autismwalk.org -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bonnie, we'll I'm glad, too, it was a great success. And I'm also glad that Jeff is a good driver because that was a close call.

(LAUGHTER)

All right.

SCHNEIDER: We practiced.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, OK, good. Good on rehearsals. Thanks a lot, Bonnie.

Let's talk about the pet refoo -- pet food recall again expanding once again. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And it's a case worthy of "CSI." Millions of missing honeybees. What's going on? No clues as to what happened either? And it's a big problem for our food supply, that's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We can now add a ferret to this picture. A brand of ferret food is the latest to be recalled in the pet food scare. Melamine contamination is suspected again. The company Chenango Valley Pet Foods also recalling some dog and cat foods.

Meanwhile, the FDA says some 80,000 chickens exposed to the tainted feed are actually safe for humans to eat. The same goes for farm-raised fish that may have eaten the same tainted feed.

Well, millions of honeybees have disappeared and no one knows why and the empty hives can cause a lot of problems for our food supply. Here's our Randi Kaye.

(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: Yep, empty box. No bees.

KAYE (voice-over): They're gone and presumed dead. But no corpses, no clues.

(on camera): The buzz began with these 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 (voice-over): Billions of honeybees 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 winter. 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 honeybee simply vanish without a trace?

HACKENBERG: That's a good question, 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 honeybee 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's 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.

Honeybee 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, CNN, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, this Saturday afternoon, from bees to boars. Boars in the park? Wild ones. How the Big Easy is dealing with an unexpected Hurricane Katrina fallout.

And preying upon the faithful, an attack inside a church and it's caught on video. The outcome straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's now been one week since those soldiers in Iraq were ambushed. And we learn that at least three U.S. soldiers were missing and now new information coming from the U.S. military indicating that they have evidence that possibly two out of those three missing soldiers may indeed be alive.

Our Arwa Damon has been in Baghdad (ph) with the army's tenth mountain division. She joins us on the phone right now.

Arwa, what more are you able to learn and tell us about, this evidence that they have uncovered?

VOICE OF ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the evidence links (ph) is saying that the two soldiers may in fact, still be alive and that's coming from General Petraeus. He's given interview (ph) to the army times ph) since yesterday, saying that they believe that two of the three soldiers could still be alive.

However, there is still a possibility that all three of them could still be alive. In fact, I just spoke with the battalion commander for the battalion's 31st infantry regimen, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Infanti (ph). He told me that he, in fact, did believe that all of his men, all three soldiers were still alive.

He is basing this information on the fact that he has not heard anything to indicate that they have been killed. That is coming from information that he has obtained from informants. A number of sources as well as detainees saying that the way the enemy operates in this area should those soldiers have been killed, the information would have somehow leaked out to the various circles here.

Now, he also did say that he believes that the attack was not executed by al Qaeda, meaning that al Qaeda elements planned the attack. However, the individuals that were actually involved in the ambush on the U.S. soldiers were probably hired locally, and then the three soldiers were handed over to al Qaeda or elements of al Qaeda.

He also said that part of U.S. uniforms were found close to the site of the attack. They were found actually a week ago, the day of the attack last Saturday. They have sent those pieces of uniforms to be tested, but they don't have the results back yet.

And Fredricka, I can tell that you the search is still ongoing and all of it intends to be (ph) and the conditions out there the soldiers are facing every day are incredibly brutal.

WHITFIELD: So Arwa, if the -- those details you were telling us about, the actual ambush being carried out by locals who then later could have handed over these U.S. military personnel, then that means the cooperation on the ground in terms of intelligence gathering from any of the residents in the area is going to be particularly difficult given that U.S. military is not quite sure whose side everyone is on in that neighborhood.

DAMON: Well, Fredricka, that is in fact it. And here's the conditions on the ground as they exist. This is an area that is a known safe haven for al Qaeda. This unit has been here for nine months now and has been involved in an ongoing battle against these al Qaeda elements. This is where the attacks took place, the Karbuli (ph) village, a known al Qaeda stronghold.

It is known that the Karbuli (ph) tribe sympathizes with elements of al Qaeda, and the U.S. military strongly believes that residents in that area, if they do not know of the attack, they knew that something was going to be happening. These farmhouses are not far from the site of the attack. And this is a road where the attacks took place, a road where the U.S. military is constantly being hit by roadside bombs. So, there is a certain level of if not cooperation, at least compliance amongst the Iraqi population here and al Qaeda in Iraq.

However, the U.S. military does say that they have made positive steps and that the residents are growing increasingly tired with al Qaeda's methods of operations. So, they do they say that they are receiving tips, and they do have reliable informants on the ground and they are actually receiving a majority of their tips that are leading to the intelligence-driven (INAUDIBLE) to find the soldiers, some individuals that they have brought into their custody.

But that being said, every single time the U.S. military does receive a tip or certain piece of intelligence, they have to plan their operation incredibly carefully because they never know if that is going to deliberately lead them into an ambush. So, this is a very complex environment to be operating in. And the U.S. military is definitely up against a very complex enemy, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you so much for joining us on the phone.

Meantime, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, well he arrived in Baghdad today on what may be his last visit to Iraq as the prime minister. Blair held a round of talks in the fortified Green Zone and then shortly thereafter, several rockets or mortar rounds exploded in the zone, at least one person was wounded. Blair spoke optimistically about continued British support for the Iraqi government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I have no doubt at all that Britain will remain steadfast in its support for Iraq, for the Iraqi people and for the Iraqi government as it tries to make sure that it overcomes the threat of terrorism and continues to make progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Blair's visit comes just days after his announcement that he will step down as prime minister next month.

Immigration overhaul, on shaky ground. President Bush is pushing hard for the new bipartisan immigration deal which faces a big bipartisan battle. Senators who will announce the compromise bill say it would toughen border security and workplace enforcement and offer a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million people now in the U.S. illegally.

Conservatives call the plan "amnesty." Liberals say it's too harsh on workers. Senators begin debating the bill on Monday. And we'll be following that.

Poisoned food? We've seen several E. coli outbreaks linked to meat and vegetables recently. Well, it's got CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the case. I spoke to him earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The cattle industry was able to shape up. A lot of people say the produce industry has been slow to respond.

You know, I was sort of curious to hear about the triple washing of spinach, for example. How effective is that? Does it really work? We talked a lot about that in the special coming up this weekend. I want to give you a little bit of a sense of what we found.

(voice-over): It takes only a pinpoint's worth of E. coli 0157- h-7 to make you sick, as few as 100 cells. Young children and the very old are the most vulnerable to its toxin. E. coli 0157 is also extremely hardy. It's resistant to cold, and in one test, it survived on a leaf of lettuce for 77 days.

Mansour Samadpour knows all about deadly bacteria. He's president of IEH Laboratories, a Seattle-based company that tests salad greens for E. coli and other pathogens.

MANSOUR SAMADPOUR, PRESIDENT, IEH LABORATORIES: So, every 15 minutes they can double in numbers. So, you could have one cell going again (ph) and after 24 hours, you can have billions of them. It's toxin is released, it's absorbed and starts killing the intestinal cells and makes its way throughout the body.

GUPTA (voice-over): We asked Samadpour to contaminate spinach leaves with E. coli 0157, and then use various methods to remove the bacteria. Washing it off in water, 50 parts per million of chlorine bleach in water, the same as the commercial processors use. And then, two commercially available vegetable washes.

SAMADPOUR: This product you have to -- to spray. After that, you mix.

GUPTA: Finally, bleach and the vegetable washes.

SAMADPOUR: We are measuring the amount of bacteria that's there on these leaves before the treatment and after the treatment. And we can determine what the impact of the treatment was.

GUPTA: Now, the unwashed spinach had 11,700 bacterial colonies, each is one or two organisms, more than enough to make you sick.

(on camera): So how many people are really going to do all that to their spinach before they eat it at home? You know, it's pretty amazing.

But you know, on an optimistic note, talking about the cattle industry, they were able to fix the problem. So I think that this is a fixable problem. But with the produce industry, this has largely been voluntary. There's no mandatory regulations. The USDA, the FDA still can't even pull product off the shelves. That all has to be done on a voluntary basis.

WHITFIELD: So it's voluntary, that means there's really no penalty, no real incentive for any of these companies to do something about it. It's up to you, the consumer?

GUPTA: Well yes, in part, you know, I mean and that's part of what we wanted to really talk about in the special coming up this weekend. There are steps that can be taken between the farm and the fork. A lot of those steps are not being taken with produce as of yet.

What's interesting with all these different washes and stuff as well, some of them, you know, take some of the E. coli off. We started about -- with about 12,000 E. coli organisms and like, just vigorously washing them in tap water takes it down to about 3,000. The commercial washes really weren't that effective at all. Triple washing probably doesn't make that huge an impact. And remember, the most important thing, it only takes about 100 organisms to get you sick. That's nothing.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and so we're not going to do chlorine washes at home, is there really anything we can do to try to make sure what we consume is somewhat more safe?

GUPTA: I think there are a few things. One thing is to think about produce the same way you think about raw meat. People put those in different categories. Remember with raw meat, you have a kill step. You cook it. That gets rid of the organisms. With produce, you don't have that, so use different cutting boards, for example, wash your hands before and after so you don't spread the E. coli if it's there to other foods. And use different cutting boards, things like that really make sure you're treating it the same way you treat raw meat. WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, good advice. Wash those cutting boards.

GUPTA: Wash the cutting boards as well ...

WHITFIELD: So important.

GUPTA: And don't forget refrigerators, especially in the hotter weather. It can double every few minutes the number of bacteria, so use the refrigerator as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: I'm still afraid of eating now. You didn't comfort me any.

GUPTA: Watch the special. I hope you feel better after that.

WHITFIELD: All right, I'll be watching. Thanks a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, so here's your chance to watch Sanjay's special investigation, "Danger: Poisoned Food," that's tonight, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Preying upon the prayerful. An attack in a church of all places! And guess what -- it's captured on videotape. That is straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And, a mother goes on trial for sending her children to the wrong public school, meaning not in her district of address. The verdict coming up.

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NILOU MOTAMED, TRAVEL + LEISURE: The most important things that you can do to lessen the impact of jet lag is things you can do as soon as you board the plane.

First of all, you have to make sure to set your watch to the time of your destination as soon as you board. Don't wait for the plane to take off. Another important tip is to avoid alcohol and caffeine when you're on a plane. A lot of people drink when they're on planes, and it's a big mistake. Not only does it dehydrate you, but it affects your sleep pattern. So, avoid it.

This seems like an obvious one, but sleep on the plane. Don't get distracted by movies or doing your work. That can be tough on planes, but make sure to pack a pillow or maybe even earplugs or an eye mask. It makes a big difference.

And when you get to your destination, sunlight is so important. Get outside, get some fresh air, get some light on you. It'll help you adjust really quickly. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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WHITFIELD: So a huge sigh of relief for a suburban Atlanta mother who is now off the hook, and now questions are being aimed at county officials who tried to throw her in prison. A Cobb County jury acquitted Janine (ph) Echols. Prosecutors say she lied about her address to get her kids into better public schools. Echols faced 16 felony counts and the possibility of prison. It's a case some say, went too far.

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VIC REYNOLDS, ECHOLS' ATTORNEY: I think it was a school board that -- or school system that probably does have a problem with some folks who may live out of district. They don't know -- didn't know how to handle it at that time period. This was a circumstance that had went on for a number of years without any problem whatsoever. The D.A.'s office took the stand that there is a right way and a wrong way. But as we emphasized to the jury, there was a right way and a wrong way to handle this particular set of facts. And thankfully in the end, the jury handled it the right way.

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WHITFIELD: So prosecutors tell our affiliate WSVTV it was clear Janine (ph) Echols broke the law, but say they were expecting the case to be settled out of court.

Investigating a fatal flight. Canadian air safety officials scheduled to arrive in Great Falls, Montana. They'll try to determine why a Canadian force's Snowbird crashed during rehearsals for an air show. The pilot died on impact. The team performs high speed, low altitude maneuvers. It is suspending operations briefly.

Attacked now in a church! Check out this surveillance video from Middletown, New York. A man approaching a woman there in a pew, grabbing her chest. Well, she fights back. In fact, she used a pen to stab him. The woman runs for the alarm. The man runs for the door. He's captured on another surveillance camera as he flees. Police have now charged a former psychiatric patient with attempted sexual assault.

Boars in the city. It's a close encounter of the wild kind.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he was to bite you, if he didn't break the bone, too, he would at least pull all the meat off the bone. And you just have -- if he got you by the hand, you'd have bones.

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WHITFIELD: Yes, what's he talking about? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, tracking and trapping New Orleans wild boars. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So wild boars may not be something new in Louisiana, but roaming the downtown area of New Orleans? Well, that's something different. Apparently blame Hurricane Katrina for bringing a number of wild boars right into the city.

Susan Roesgen reports.

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SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Say wild animals in the same breath as New Orleans, and most people think of drunk college kids on Bourbon Street. But the wild animal we found is real. You're looking at a wild boar. All 150 snorting, smelly pounds of him, and he is not alone.

To find a boar, you have to sneak up on him. And that's exactly what we did with a man named trapper John.

TRAPPER JOHN SCHMIDT, HUNTER: They kind of pick up on us. They're not going to come out.

ROESGEN: Trapper John loves to hunt, and he can hunt and catch anything.

SCHMIDT: (INAUDIBLE), beavers, coyotes, birds.

ROESGEN: To catch the boar, Trapper John baited his traps with corn soaked in molasses, and then we watched and waited.

(on camera): I'm really more afraid of the bugs than the boar.

(voice-over): With night vision goggles, we spotted them in the distance: a momma boar and three little babies.

Wild boar were first brought to Louisiana from Europe 100 years ago to be hunted for sport. Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters forced these boar into civilization.

LISA LARRAWAY, CITY PARK COORDINATOR: I'll tell you, we do have snakes, we do have alligators and we probably do have pigs.

ROESGEN: Wild boar.

LARRAWAY: Wild boar, well, wild boar, pigs, you know.

ROESGEN: Lisa Larraway doesn't even like to say wild boar because she is the park's volunteer coordinator and she doesn't want to scare anyone away. City Park is a 1300 acre oasis in the heart of the city. But the heart of the park is a jungle. City Park hired Trapper John to get the boar out.

SCHMIDT: If he tortures you with his teeth, your skin will cut like wet paper, and your meat -- the meat on your bones is nothing. It'll just cut right with it. And if he was to bite you, if he didn't break the bone, too, he would at least pull all the meat off the bone. And you'd just have -- if he got you by the hand, you'd have bones.

ROESGEN: In the past six weeks, Trapper John has caught 13 wild boar: four little ones and nine big ones.

SCHMIDT: She looks friendly enough.

ROESGEN: Like the rest, this one will be released in a wilder area about an hour north of the city. Trapper John doesn't think there are any more to catch in this park, but if there are, he'll be back, carting away a strange reminder of Hurricane Katrina.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, perhaps these days you're looking for a new ride. We've got a new convertible that tops all others. You want to stick around for this test drive.

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BONNIE SCHNEIDER, METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your allergy report for Saturday. Looking across the country, we have moderate conditions really from coast to coast with one exception, areas in the Rockies are reporting high to very high conditions in terms of pollen. Also, you'll have poor air quality where we have the fires burning across Florida and Georgia. And you are looking at some better conditions in terms of allergies for the northern plains, including North and South Dakota.

That's a look at your allergy forecast for today. I'm Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

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WHITFIELD: All you car lovers out there, listen up. If you're in the market for a new car, you may want to check out the new Rolls- Royce Convertible. Chances are, that's all you're going to do, though, just check it out. The Phantom Drophead Coup (ph), that's what they call it. It's on sale for a cool $600,000. Well, it comes with loads of extras, including a teak deck around the back seat, leather made from hides of 17 free-range bulls, oo-la-la, and a roof that is lined with cashmere. And there's lots of other stuff too, because it's $600,000 people. But namely, it's just beautiful to look at and a beautiful ride.

A look at the top stories straight ahead. "IN THE MONEY" is next, here's a preview.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, coming up on "IN THE MONEY," find out if you're getting the quality of healthcare you're paying for.

Also ahead, the best and worst out of Detroit, and what it might mean for the future of American cars.

And how Generation Y could transform the businesses you deal with. All that and a lot more, after a quick check of these headlines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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