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Bush Speaks Out about Iraq, Immigration Reform; Compromise Reached on War Spending Bill; Search Continues for Missing Soldiers after One Found Dead; Iran's President Refuses to Back Off Nuclear Program Despite New Report; Lawyer's Death Attributed to 9/11 Dust

Aired May 24, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in today for Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

The check's not in the mail yet, but congressional votes on a war funding compromise are just hours away. It's more money with fewer strings than the version the president vetoed.

WHITFIELD: And the true cost of war hits home as the Pentagon confirms a soldier ambushed and kidnapped in Iraq is dead.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: He was impassioned. At times, he was pleading, and he refused to give an inch of issues ranging from the war in Iraq to immigration reform. You saw President Bush's news conference live here on CNN.

And our Ed Henry was there. Ed joins me now from the White House.

Ed, Iraq was the big issue. What did the president have to say?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was striking, Don, how the president so directly was trying to shift this from Iraq back to 9/11, a tactic he used, of course, in the 2004 presidential campaign.

He was speaking in dramatic terms, at one point saying 19 kids hijacked airliners and killed 3,000 people in America. He said to at least two reporters in the Rose Garden, al Qaeda, essentially wants to attack your own children.

And I and others pressed the president on the point and the fact that he was warned before the war that attacking Iraq could possibly embolden al Qaeda, embolden Osama bin Laden. The president responded by saying he's sticking with the decision to take out Saddam Hussein.

But then he warned that it could be a bloody summer in Iraq as extremists try to take advantage of his upcoming September progress report from General Petraeus. And the president acknowledged that this is all very trying to the American psyche.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, this has been a long, difficult experience for the American people. I can assure you al Qaeda, who would like to attack us again, have got plenty of patience and persistence. And the question is, will we?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, it was very interesting, as well, that several times the president kept talking about the Iraq Study Group. You remember that Baker-Hamilton report. It's clear the president is now looking for some sort of a bipartisan solution. He was essentially asked whether there's a Plan B. He said a plan B-H, jokingly, Baker- Hamilton.

But a lot of critics are going to be wondering why was the president so cool to the Baker-Hamilton report when it first came out in December? Now it's taken almost six months for the president to start coming around to some of these key recommendations, Don.

LEMON: And Ed, let's turn now to immigration. The president supports the immigration bill now being considered in Congress. How did he make that argument today?

HENRY: Well, as the clock ticks on his administration, the president is looking for legacy items. A big one would be this immigration reform bill.

But it split the president's party. And you could hear him almost pleading with conservatives, insisting to them that this is not amnesty and insisting that they need to give illegal immigrants a chance in the sense of have them pay penalties but give this bill a chance to show that it can work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: It's easy to find something to be against in this bill. All it takes is to take one little aspect of it and ignore the -- the comprehensive nature and how good it is. I knew this was going to be an explosive issue. It's easy to hold up, you know, somebody who's here and working hard as a political target.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: And so the president is trying to strike that political balance -- it's a tough balance -- by insisting this is a tough bill, that it's not amnesty in his eyes, because illegal immigrants would pay tough penalties.

But at the same time, he's trying to say America is a welcoming nation. It can't be too hard. It's a very tough balance, and so far conservatives in his own party are not buying it, Don.

LEMON: Ed Henry, thank you so much for that.

Capitol Hill is where both chambers will vote in the coming hours on the latest incarnation of a war spending bill, this one after many tweaks and veto threats allocates $120 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And a few things in the home front, as well. Omitted are any troop withdrawal timetables or deadlines -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And we'll hear from the Pentagon's top leadership in just a few minutes. The defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs scheduled to face reporters together.

Let's go now to the Pentagon where our senior correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is.

And so what can we expect, Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there will be a lot of questions, of course, about the plans ahead for Iraq.

CNN has been told that part of the refinement of the strategy is to focus more on creating small pockets of success where power-sharing agreements can be brokered, making small number of cease fires that the U.S. hopes will spread across Iraq. That seems to be the model they're looking at in September.

And, of course, the question is, as they implement this strategy of trying to put more emphasis on political reconciliation, how will that affect General David Petraeus' recommendation on troop levels?

U.S. commanders say they can maintain the current plus-up or build-up of troops through March of next year. And hand their -- excuse me -- there's any indication at this point that the U.S. military is going to want to maintain some of those troops to help implement the new strategy.

And then the real question is, when will there be significant troop withdrawals? And we're being told that that might not happen until 2009. But you can expect Secretary Gates and General Pace to be taking a lot of questions on Iraq and the strategy today.

WHITFIELD: And the likelihood, the emphasis, as they talk about the Iraq strategy, to be the redesign plans that were announced yesterday in part?

MCINTYRE: Well, that's a -- that's a process that's brought forward. What happened was a lot of people got together to think about how to refine the strategy. Now they're working on implementing a plan for that strategy. That will go to General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who will decide whether to sign off on it. And that will probably be part of General Petraeus' recommendations in September.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jamie McIntyre in the Pentagon. Thanks so much for that update.

And stay with CNN. Later on this hour, we will go live to the Pentagon to join the defense secretary and the joint chief in that press conferences. And that briefing before reporters scheduled -- to face all of the reporters and the public at 1:45 Eastern. LEMON: Well, now we know. A body found yesterday in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad is that of a U.S. soldier missing for almost two weeks, Army Private First Class Joseph Anzack.

His family in Torrance, California, got the news first. This is how Anzack's friends and classmates are remembering him today, with a very personal memorial to the 20-year-old graduate of South High School in Torrance.

Anzack was one of three U.S. troops accounted -- unaccounted for since a deadly ambush on their unit on May 12.

It's now been 12 days since anyone has seen or heard from Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty. Commanders are -- commanders say the search is still as intense as it was the first day.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Baghdad with the very latest for us -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, don.

Well, as the body of one of the three missing soldiers has been found, as you say, pulled out of the Euphrates River on Wednesday morning. Thursday morning, he was identified, and also the family was told. And we understand forensic testing on his body was undergone, as well.

But of course, this search is by no means over. There are two more of the three missing U.S. soldiers that 4,000 U.S. troops and 2,000 Iraqi troops are determined to find. Now, this search is ongoing in a very difficult area. The particular area, south of Baghdad, is being nicknamed the Triangle of Death. It's a combination of many different canals feeding into the Euphrates River and also a lot of high brush. Very difficult for the troops to remain secure as they try to comb through that evidence.

But they say they have found an awful lot of evidence. They're sending this back to H.Q. to be forensic-tested, as well.

And we're hearing from the U.S. military that the more they're finding and narrowing down exactly who to talk to, the more detainees they're talking to. They say they have at least four that they believe are directly involved with this particular attack. Then the more they're understanding why and how this ambush took place.

And also more significantly, they think they're narrowing down exactly who they think was responsible, and learning more about the insurgent group that they believe was responsible. But of course, it is incredibly difficult terrain for them to search, and it's also very difficult for them to know who to trust, who to believe.

Now you know, two weeks ago, they dropped fliers in the area, saying there would be a $200,000 reward to anybody who gave credible evidence which would actually lead to the recovery of these three soldiers. So as you can imagine, thousands of tips are coming in. And they have to go through every single one of these. They have to follow every single lead to try and find out where the other two soldiers are -- Don.

LEMON: CNN's Paula Hancocks in Baghdad. Thank you for your report.

And joining us shortly, a man who's seen most of Iraq and shared his view with us through his camera lens. "New York Times" photographer Michael Kamber, he's embedded with the American search party. We'll talk to him live in just a little bit.

WHITFIELD: And right now, want to take you straight to Beverly Hills, California, where for a moment, pretty tense moments for a man that you see now on the stretcher. But just moments ago, he was actually stuck in a trench, waist deep in dirt at that construction site right there in Beverly Hills.

The construction site taking place right near Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive. Firefighters and other rescue workers were able to extricate him from that trench.

Here are the pictures taken just moments ago as they tried to pull him from that hole. And you see successfully they did.

While he was in that trench, it was believed that he was conscious and breathing, and we've seen him on the stretcher, actually signaling, maybe even waving to a couple of folks. We'll find out a little bit more about his situation, how he got to that point, and what his condition is now.

And there are the live pictures right there as they take him to an ambulance and then likely to a hospital to get checked out.

Meantime, a sobering assessment from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran could have a nuclear bomb in as little as three years. That warning comes on the heels of news that Iran has imprisoned a fourth Iranian-American.

CNN Middle East correspondent Aneesh Raman reports from Tehran on the deepening tensions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No surprises out of the IAEA report yesterday and no surprises today in the Iranian reaction.

Earlier, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke to thousands in the ancient capital of Isban (ph), saying Iran would not retreat a single step in its nuclear program. He also said western powers have been defeated and warned them to, quote, "stop your mischievous deeds as Iran now has obtained industrial level enrichment."

The images out of this speech as the crowds chanted, "Nuclear energy, we are not tired," sent a clear message, Iran will not blink first.

A big reason for that is April last year, when Iran announced it had on its own figured out how to enrich uranium. Iranian officials since then, and up to and including today, has said that sanctions or limits on the kind of equipment that Iran can get could only slow down the process, but Iran cannot be stopped.

Now amid this nuclear standoff are growing fears within the country of the threat of regime change from the United States. Ever since President Bush put Iran in the axis of evil, next to Iraq, and subsequently led an invasion into Iraq, Iranians have felt their country was next.

Over the past year, though, those tensions have come down as the E.U. was talking to Iran on the nuclear front and as Iran and the U.S. are set to talk about Iraq next Monday.

But with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, with signs and reports that the U.S. could be looking to destabilize the regime, more and more people are worried about regime change. And more and more Iranian officials are growing resolute in the position on the nuclear front. They feel if they give an inch on what they say is their right to nuclear energy, that will just be the beginning.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Armed with a camera instead of a gun, Michael Kamber takes us inside the increasingly desperate manhunt for missing soldiers in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: And she was killed by the collapse of the Twin Towers, but it took months to happen and years to prove.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Fifteen past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The fight over the Iraq war spending bill appears to be near an end. The bill heading for passage later today in the House does not include a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops.

The eldest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. was remembered today in a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Yolanda King died last week in California. She was 51 years old.

And scientists have decided to back off in their efforts to persuade those two wayward whales to return to the Pacific Ocean. The two humpbacks have spent days far upstream on California's Sacramento River.

WHITFIELD: And take a look at this image. U.S. soldiers in the war zone on the hunt for two of their own. It is south of Baghdad, where American and Iraqi troops are combing towns, fields, and river banks for the 12th straight day. Traveling with them, the man who took this photograph, "New York Times" photojournalist Michael Kamber. He is on the phone with me now.

So Michael, give me an idea how this duty, of being in bed with these soldiers who are searching for their comrades, is very different from being in bed with soldiers who are on strictly a military fighting mission.

MICHAEL KAMBER, "NEW YORK TIMES": Well, generally, we spend a lot of time when we're in Baghdad or when we're on other mission, generally in Bradleys or in big armored vehicles driving around, doing city missions, you know.

And here they're out in the countryside, walking through fields, sometimes through grass that's even, you know, over their heads. Climbing through mud over dikes, et cetera. So it's very difficult terrain, sort of going house to house through the countryside is what they're doing.

WHITFIELD: And in fact we're looking at those images right now of the high grass. And then one of the images on yesterday's front page of the "New York Times" showing a number of the soldiers who are kind of crouching down, covering an injured soldier, someone who has been injured during this search.

Give me an idea of what the challenges have been like for you while you're watching these soldiers, who certainly have a very personal admission of finding one of their own. At the same time, they're doing all they can to protect their own lives, and you're doing the same thing, trying to protect your own life.

KAMBER: Right, well, you know, obviously we're all out there together. We take the same route when you're embedded. And out in the field.

And you know, basically the negative to war is that, you know, as I've experienced it, you can be hit at any time. The casualties that we suffered were from a land mine. They know that the troops are leaving their vehicles, and they know that the troops are starting to walk into the countryside. So they've begun to plant mines and IEDs in the soft dirt, you know, in the pathways where these troops will be walking.

So, we're constantly trying to be alert for that threat, looking for trip wires and, you know, any type -- any type of telltale signs out there.

And there's also snipers. That's another big problem in this area.

WHITFIELD: And we're looking at a picture right now of you and what it's like for you to be -- to try to do your job, try to be conscientious of the dangers around you, and at the same time, trying to capture the images. There are lots of distractions for you, obviously, while you're trying to do your job. Well, tell me about how you manage to try and get these images of what it's like for these soldiers who are on this personal mission to find one of their own. Yet, at the same time, you know, it is business as usual, like we saw in those images earlier of a lot of injured soldiers during this search.

KAMBER: Right, well, I think for the soldiers themselves, you know, they -- they have this credo that you never leave a soldier behind. So they're completely committed to this.

And at the same time, you know, they're out there taking casualties as they're searching. So, it's extremely difficult for them.

And as for myself, I tried to, you know, I tried to work with them and position myself -- I try to stay safe, you know, obviously. You're looking around all the time, looking at tree lines and roof tops and any place where there might be a sniper or somebody who's, you know, going to attack us.

And you know, you're constantly trying to take up a position to get the photograph, not interfere in their operations, you know, not getting into their field of fire if they have to shoot back. So it's a balancing act.

WHITFIELD: We've learned over the 12-day period of this search alone that sometimes the traversing and walking through the high grass means dangerous terrain for six hours at a time.

Obviously, very exhausting. We saw one of the images of a number of your troops that you're with taking rest in what looked like a kind of bombed out building. Give me an idea of how those soldiers that you're embed with are holding up?

KAMBER: I would say, you know, as I said earlier, it's an extremely difficult, physically exhausting search. They're walking for hour after hour out in these conditions. And you know, when I said, it's high, I mean, 115 degrees. It's really unbearable.

And, of course, we have to carry our own water and our own food with us. So some soldiers are carrying 70 or 80 pounds worth of gear through this terrain. Extremely, extremely difficult.

And sometimes they have to be given solutions IVs when we stop to rest. They'll be given saline solution intravenously to keep them going. That's how tough it is for them.

And anytime that we find some shelter, of course, they immediately just, you know, almost collapse and try to get whatever brief rest they can before they go on.

WHITFIELD: OK. All that. And Michael Kamber, I understand, along with that credo, is they're going to continue searching until they find those two missing soldiers.

Thanks so much for your time and continue to be safe.

And stay with CNN. Later on this hour, we'll go live to the Pentagon to join Defense Secretary Robert Gates and joint chiefs chairman General Pace. They are scheduled to face reporters at 1:45 Eastern.

LEMON: Here's a question for you: an aspirin a day keeps colon cancer away? Hmm.

WHITFIELD: It's always something with that aspirin.

LEMON: Doctors should know that, shouldn't they? And our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta will talk about that new study straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz in the New York Stock Exchange. Twelve days of record high gas prices and one energy bill that would prohibit price gouging. Why this legislation might not pass, next on NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

LEMON: There's my music.

WHITFIELD: Favorite tune.

LEMON: It is. With gas prices hitting records on a daily basis, Congress is taking action to discourage gas stations from profiting on the pain being felt by drivers.

But Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange, and she tells us not everyone is happy with this, Susan? Why would that be?

LISOVICZ: I think, by the way, Don, you should bring a drum set.

LEMON: I know. I feel like I should, like, be doing some sort of, you know, dance or something with that.

LISOVICZ: The dance of pain. Well, Don, there -- well, Congress -- some members of Congress say that help is on the way. This would be the first federal law against gas price gouging. Lots of states, more than half of the states in the union, have state statutes.

The Democratic controlled House yesterday passed a bill meant to prevent gas stations from gouging consumers when prices are racing higher, as they are now.

The House bill would boost the FTC's power to probe gas stations it thinks are charging excessive amounts. It also triples the penalties. Offenders could be required to pay up to $3 million for charging what the bill calls unconscionable prices. But there are critics, and they say the bill is too vague, because it doesn't define what constitutes an unconscionable price. The White House has threatened to veto the bill if it passes in the Senate -- Don.

LEMON: And you know what, Susan? If you're -- whenever you stop to fill up, all you have to do is look around. And someone is going to be, even if you don't solicit it, they'll be like, "Oh, my God, what is that? I can't believe it's this much." And the pump goes up.

LISOVICZ: Sticker shock. We're not talking about the price of the automobile.

LEMON: And up. Yes. And even if the stations aren't gouging, it's still pain for drivers, right?

LISOVICZ: That's right. And it's just -- this is just a tick- tock, tick-tock, every day, the saga, or the mantra in this case continues.

The national average for self-serve regular hit a 12th straight record today, now at nearly $3.22 a gallon. AAA says that's up 37 cents from just last month.

A new congressional study argues that raising fuel economy standards could bring big savings to Americans. The joint economic committee says boosting the standards to 35 miles per gallon could save families with children $3,500 over five years and even more, if gas prices continue to climb.

And having more fuel efficient vehicles on the road could help reduce the demand for gasoline. And supply and demand after all.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: Coming up, the government is trying to stop credit card companies from pulling a fast one on you. In the next hour of NEWSROOM, I'll tell you about the latest effort to protect consumers. Yet another consumer story for you.

Don and Fred, back to you.

LEMON: You got to watch those credit card companies, huh? Shh.

LISOVICZ: Yes, read the fine print.

LEMON: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Pull out the reading glasses.

LEMON: Absolutely. Susan, we'll see you soon. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

WHITFIELD: Death and the 9/11 dust cloud. The city of New York is linking the two for the first time. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: It costs less in gasoline, but is it better? Filling up with ethanol. That's a question: is that better? The low-down straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A landmark case with far-reaching consequences. New York medical examiner links a lawyer's death to the collapse of the twin towers.

LEMON: How many others have died or will die as a result of those billowing toxic clouds on 9/11? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: One more name is being added to the 9/11 death toll in New York. Felicia Dunn-Jones, a government lawyer who died in 2002 has just been declared a casualty of dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center. CNN's Randi Kaye is in New York with more on this. Why did it take so long to bridge these two?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have to tell you, Fred, this is really an important day for so many who say working on the pile at ground zero or simply running from the massive cloud of dust as the towers fell made them gravely ill. For the first time as you mentioned a New York City medical examiner has directly linked a person's death to exposure to World Trade Center toxins. Her name as we just saw is Felicia Dunn-Jones. She was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education. She was 42 years old and died five months after she had been trapped in dust caused by the collapse of the first tower. The city medical examiner, Dr. Charles Hirsh has ruled her death a homicide and her name has been added to the official list of World Trade Center victims.

Dr. Hirsh wrote this in a letter to the family. Accumulating evidence indicates that some person's exposure to WTC dust has caused sarcoidosis or inflammatory reaction indistinguishable from sarcoidosis. It is likely with certainty beyond a reasonable doubt, that exposure to WTC dust was contributory to Dunn-Jones' death. Sarcoidosis is a rare and debilitating disease which causes lesions most often appearing on the liver, the lungs, the skin and oftentimes the lymph nodes. Before this, only Ocean County, New Jersey had tied a death to exposure to World Trade Center dust. A pathologist there concluded in April last year that the death of retired NYPD detective James Adroga who was just 34 years old was directly linked to 9/11 recovery operations. He had spent close to 500 hours sifting through debris and came down with brain and respiratory ailments. He died in January 2006.

This landmark decision could of course have a major impact on so many other outstanding cases. I interviewed two former NYPD detectives last year who are also sick. They are represented by a New York lawyer who says he has 10,000 other clients in a class action lawsuit. Attorney David Warby (ph) says 500 of his clients have cancer, 120 of those blood cell cancers similar to leukemia. Already he says, more than 100 of his clients have died, several from sarcoidosis. The two NYPD detectives, Rich Volpe and John Walcott, they worked for months together on the pile down at ground zero. Volpe's kidney function is now down he says to 35 percent. Walcott has leukemia which luckily for now is in remission. Both blame their illnesses on exposure to toxins like benzene, dioxin and asbestos. This is what Wolcott told us during our interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALCOTT, FMR NYPD DETECTIVE: You would take a shower and my shower would look like a barbecue grill, solid black. And you wake up in the middle of the night with in the corner of your eyes and the drip on your pillow would be black liquid. And, you know, same thing -- you clean your ears out and chunks and chunks of black would come out. I mean, your teeth -- when you scrub your teeth, you spit in the sink and it would just be literally like a barbecue grill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, it's worth noting here that in this latest case, Mrs. Dunn-Jones, she died after exposure on just one day. So imagine the impact on those like Walcott and Volpe and the others who worked down there Fred months on end.

WHITFIELD: And they really are living testimony to what they went through. What about all of the others or many other post-9/11 death cases like Dunn's?

KAYE: There are a lot of people involve in these studies here in New York. I can tell you about one of those. Overall, 20,000 people around the U.S., actually have been screened as part of the World Trade Center monitoring program. We visited the treatment center at Mt. Sinai Hospital here in New York where 4800 people are in treatment. There are probably about 1,000 more in treatment at some other facilities. So we're looking at about 6,000 being treated. Mt. Sinai can't tell us how many people have died in their program. But here's the problem, Fred. The program received more Federal funding last fall, but they anticipate running out of that money this fall. They're certainly hoping to get some answers about some all of these other people and their illnesses that they claim are related to ground zero before that money runs out.

WHITFIELD: A lot of families, a lot of victims want some answers too. All right, Randi Kaye, thanks so much.

LEMON: America's rushing help to Lebanon. Senior officials tell CNN that as many as six U.S. military cargo flights will be leading -- landing in Lebanon over the next two days. They'll be carrying ammunition for Lebanese government troops, fighting Islamic militants near Tripoli. It's described as Lebanon's worst internal violence since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990. Now despite the U.S. supply effort, Pentagon officials say U.S. troops will not get involved in the fighting.

WHITFIELD: It cost less than gasoline but is it better filling up with ethanol? The low down straight ahead.

LEMON: And we're standing by for a live news conference at the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace is scheduled to face reporters. That's at about 1:45 Eastern. We'll bring it to you live right here at the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, yeah, pain to the pump. Right?

WHITFIELD: What that oh yeah to the tune?

LEMON: Oh yeah to the tune. Oh, my gosh.

WHITFIELD: That hurts doesn't it?

LEMON: A gallon of unleaded now, a gallon of unleaded, $3 22 according to AAA.

WHITFIELD: That's the average. That's what you get.

LEMON: How much have you spent at the pump?

WHITFIELD: You know what? I filled up last week. And I've just been real conservative about where I've been going. So while it costs me almost $35 or so to fill up, I'm still hanging on to that tank of gas.

WHITFIELD: Wasn't quite empty -- $56. How much did it cost you?

LEMON: $56.

WHITFIELD: That' must be one big tank.

LEMON: No.

WHITFIELD: Mine is like 13 gallon.

LEMON: Very high gas prices, very high gas prices and they may go up. Yeah, a 21st straight day that they've gone up. High gas prices fuel more and more buzz as we've been talking about it, bio-fuels, especially ethanol. People been talking about that. It may be better for the environment but is ethanol the cure to America's gas pains? Our Greg Hunter, we hit the road to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT I'm at Campus Mobile in Albany, one of the few places that sells E-85 fuel in New York. Now proponents say it cuts our energy dependence. It burns cleaner and hey, it's cheaper than gasoline. But to consumers, the question is, is it worth it?

(voice-over): As gas prices keep climbing, should you be looking at a flex fuel vehicle that can run on a blend of ethanol and gasoline? It's called E-85, a bio fuel produced in the U.S. from corn. Some consider it one of the most promising alternatives to petroleum, but will you actually save money?

DAVID CHAMPION, SR. DIR., AUTOMOTIVE TESTING: You can just watch the gas gauge go down.

HUNTER: David Champion of "Consumer Reports" oversaw a flex fuel vehicle test last fall. They used a new Chevy Tahoe fuelled with E- 85. They tested it the same way they do all vehicles, using special meters on a predetermined track. Their findings, a whopping 27 percent reduction in fuel economy with E-85. In other words, you get fewer miles on the same amount of fuel.

CHAMPION: The amount of energy in a gallon of E-85 is substantially less than the energy in a gallon of gasoline. It's just sheer chemistry.

HUNTER: So you get less gas mileage.

CHAMPION: You get less gas mileage.

HUNTER: The Environmental Protection Agency's numbers almost mirror the "Consumer Report's" findings. It shows an average 26 percent drop for vehicles fueled with E-85. The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition estimates that fuel economy loss is closer to 15 to 70 percent and says, this loss depends on many factors. Aggressive driving habits can result in a 20 percent loss and low tire pressure can reduce mileage by 6 percent. General Motors, a major manufacturer of flex fueled vehicles also weighed in and says, producing E-85 flex fuel vehicles is one part of GM's strategy to help reduce the use of petroleum and also reduce vehicle emissions. Even though it does burn cleaner and can be almost 60 cents a gallon cheaper than gasoline, Champion says it is just not a good deal for the consumer.

CHAMPION: Your gas mileage is going to drop by a third. So it's still going to cost you more.

HUNTER: (INAUDIBLE) ethanol. Proponents of E-85 say in the future, ethanol will likely get cheaper, which will make it more attractive to consumers. Also, the "Consumer Reports" people say there was no drop-off in power between gasoline and E-85, but one caveat -- you can't come to the gas station and say, listen, wow, I'm going to save money. This is $2.59 a gallon. This is a lot cheaper than $3.17. I'm going to put this right in my car. You can't. You have to have a flex fuel vehicle. How do you know you have one? You simply open the gas tank and usually you'll see a yellow cap -- same color as corn. That's how you know you have a flex fuel vehicle. If you use E-85 in your regular car, it's not a flex fuel vehicle, you could damage it. Back to you guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thanks, Greg. May not be a great deal for drivers, but ethanol is a hit with Congress. One bill under consideration would require that 35 billion gallons of ethanol be sold as a gas substitute by 2022. You can get more on oil and gas price trends on cnnmoney.com. Get in depth analysis of what's happening and why, and find out what you can do. Go to cnnmoney.com.

WHITFIELD: And a short time from now, we'll be getting a briefing from the Defense secretary as well as the joint chiefs. We're going to show you a live picture right now of the Pentagon. While they get ready for that, we're expecting to hear a little bit more about the strategy, the war strategy in Iraq as well as anymore details possibly on the redesign, meaning how the U.S. will approach this war diplomatically, politically, as well as militarily.

LEMON: But first, Fredricka, as we go to break, a look at the big board, the news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. The Dow is down 21 points, almost -- well, there you go, 22 points. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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LEMON: Straight to Washington and the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Bob Gates holding a press conference.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And I think we've seen some of the benefit of that in al-Anbar province where the locals have assumed considerable responsibility and we're working with the same goals in mind rather than at cross purposes as in the past. So I think you -- there's a place where I think you can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think you can work to strengthen central governments and also work to strengthen local leaders.

QUESTION: How about addressing and what that means for the legislation?

GATES: I think, too, and I talked about this a little bit at the -- at the appropriations -- the defense appropriations subcommittee, I think that we still want to see progress on legislation. I said then that I didn't believe that passing the legislation would fix any of these problems if that's going to take a while. But I think passing the legislation sends a signal to the Iraqi people that the different factions are preparing to work together to try and move the country forward.

What I also said in that testimony was that I think it's also important to pay attention to other steps that are being taken that suggests that the different factions are working together better. The -- the prime minister reaching out to Vice President Hashami (ph) and taking his counsel, the presidential counsel and the prime minister working closely, working together more. So I think that there are various aspects of the reconciliation, each of which has some importance. Does that diminish the importance of getting some of this legislation passed this summer? No. But I think we also have to pay attention to some other factors.

GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHMN: The -- the military leaders need to be attentive to and sensitive to leadership decisions both nationally and locally. And as the secretary pointed out, it was local leaders in al-Anbar who made a decision that they were tired of al Qaeda, that they wanted to partner with coalition forces in getting rid of al Qaeda. And to the extent that the local leadership had wanted to do that, our military has been able to do that. Together they've been able to change the atmosphere in al Anbar significantly. So the military leadership should be paying attention to the political leadership's decisions in being ready to reinforce and help them as best they can.

GATES: I would just add one more sense and that is I think the same thing holds true in Afghanistan where the importance of the village elders and others and the provincial governors is clearly important in progress. And when these guys decide, get impatient with the Taliban and others trying to muscle their way around their villages and begin to work more closely with ISAF (ph) and with -- with the Afghan national army, then I think you begin to see real progress.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, the president earlier today said that he would like to see the United States in a different configuration in Iraq at some point.

LEMON: OK, we're going to get back to this -- I'm sure they're going to talk about missing soldiers there and also about this new redirection as they call it with the war. As soon as they start talking about that, we'll bring it to you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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LEMON: Aspirin, a small pill, a big punch. Studies show it can have big impact for strokes, heart attack and colon cancer. Now, why aspirin works. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been talking a lot about aspirin and just how much of a wonder drug it possibly could be. We know that it can ward off stroke and heart disease and for a long time, we know that it could reduce your risk of colon cancer. What's particularly exciting today, though, is researchers have stumbled onto why, how this might actually work, why aspirin can reduce your risk of colon cancer.

It turns out that there are a couple of different types of colon cancer. There are cancers that produce a molecule known as Cox-2 and colon cancers that don't. If you're at risk of producing this Cox-2 colon cancer, aspirin could be a significant benefit and this is where it gets pretty exciting. A study found that a lot of people who have these tumors that produce the Cox-2 molecule have a significant improvement, reduction and risk of developing colon cancer later on.

Now a couple things to keep in mind, for a long time, people who took aspirin, they still got colon cancer, doctors didn't know why. Now they know that the colon cancers that don't produce the Cox-2 don't seem to have any benefit of taking aspirin. But, in the particular type of colon cancer that has this molecule, they have significant benefit, 36 percent reduction in the risk of colon cancer from simply taking aspirin.

What's particularly interesting here to me was that you can have a colonoscopy, they can have a polyp, they can test it. If it is this Cox-2 molecule, they say to you literally, take two aspirins and that's going to treat your potential risk of colon cancer, very interesting. Now people may say, well, how much aspirin should I be taking? The answer truly seems to be that more is better. Taking two or fewer a week really didn't seem to have any benefit. But taking more than two, up to 14 a week seemed to have significant benefit, up to two a day. By the way, these are the adult aspirin, 325 milligrams.

A lot of people say, aspirin, what's the big deal? It's just an aspirin. Remember, there are risks and benefits to taking aspirin. The potential benefits we just talked about. But don't forget the risks as well. It can potentially cause bleeding in the brain, potentially cause kidney failure. And the big one is it can potentially cause intestinal bleeding. That's the one that a lot of people worry about as well. Colon cancer is a highly preventable cancer. Remember, you got to start getting your colonoscopies when you turn 50 and you have a good chance of never having problems with this in the first place. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

Well, first pet food, now tooth paste. The Food and Drug Administration isn't allowing any more tooth paste imported from China into the country. They want to test it first. There have been some problems reported in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama. Tooth paste shipped to those countries from China have been found to contain a potentially deadly chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid. Federal officials aren't naming specific brands yet, but China is second only to Canada in the amount of tooth paste it exports to the U.S. The next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.

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

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in today for Kyra Phillips. Ready for some unconventional wisdom on gas prices? One expert predicts a downhill slide through the summer. We'll gauge the prospects in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: We're also on the story of a modern-day alleged slave drivers, revolting allegations of depravity and cruelty on Long Island. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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