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State of Emergency: Thousands Arrested in Pakistan; Soldier Stabbed in Head Survives

Aired November 05, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it wouldn't be good news anywhere, but if you had to pick a country where you wouldn't want chaos, the collapse of democracy, violence in the streets, it would be Pakistan.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is a nuclear nation, Afghanistan's neighbor, maybe even the hideout of Osama bin Laden. Today it's in the iron grip of its president, and we'll get the inside story from our Christiane Amanpour live this hour.

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

NGUYEN: Yes, hi, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in today for Kyra Phillips.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, the eyes of the world and especially the U.S. are on Pakistan right now. It is day three of a nationwide state of emergency there, and the man who imposed it, President Pervez Musharraf. He is not backing off.

Thousands of lawyers, opposition leaders and journalists have been hauled off to jail in what critics call a second coup by Musharraf. President Bush has been watching the turmoil and this afternoon we do expect him to talk about it. We're going to bring you his comments from the White House just as soon as we get them.

In the meantime, though, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, a nuclear nation, and a vital route to Afghanistan, Pakistan is all of those things and much more.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour has covered all those angles and more, and she joins us on the phone from London.

As you look at state of emergency, Christiane, give us the latest on what you know about what is happening inside Pakistan.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is, as has been going on all day, the arrests of many, many hundreds of people from all walks of so-called opposition life or independent NGOs. The opposition politicians certainly are being targeted and, indeed, some are in hiding. As you know, Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain and politician now, he has been in hiding, and there are reports that his family has been roughed up and his has been house ransacked. This is what I've been learning from those close to him. And also there have been allegations of human rights violations and a crackdown on lawyers and those who have been holding demonstrations.

Clearly what's happened in Pakistan is this big collision in conflict for the United States between a democratic process and the war on terror. President Musharraf was promising to follow the democratic process, but he's also required for the United States to help them with their war on terror in that region, and he has been their main ally.

So it does pose a big dilemma, and it appears that what the deal, if you like, that was perhaps worked out between Musharraf and the returning politician, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was for Musharraf to try to rule democratically, along with Benazir Bhutto, and get some political legitimacy for his increasingly unpopular military regime. And by getting that political legitimacy from Benazir Bhutto to be able to confront the extremists, that's certainly what the United States was hoping for.

And it looks like the reason martial law was -- and a state of emergency has been declared is because he thought that perhaps the supreme court was going to challenge his right to become president again. And it looks like he's decided to stop that challenge and try to pursue the plan that they had worked out by another means -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, Christiane, people are in the streets. They are protesting as well across the world. In fact, in London they have been waving banners saying, "Go, Musharraf, go! Down with martial law!"

Let me ask you this. If he indeed does go -- let's just talk hypothetically for a second -- what would that mean? Would could possibly be the successor, and what does that mean for the U.S.?

AMANPOUR: Well, right now it doesn't look like he's going to go. In fact, it looks like he has consolidated his position. As you know, his prime minister has said that even the upcoming scheduled parliamentary elections are probably going to be delayed indefinitely, maybe up to about a year from now.

In terms of successors, it's hard to tell because if there was an election, it's hard to tell who would win right now. Obviously Benazir Bhutto hopes that she can translate her former prime ministership into a future prime ministership, and there are other party leaders as well.

What most people don't want to see is someone even further to the right, someone of any kind of Islamic stripe or Islamist party being elected. And again, this does pose a dilemma for the United States and for the West, who have banked just about the whole shop on Musharraf ever since 9/11. Billions of dollars have gone from the United States and from other countries to Pakistan since 9/11, and the general impression is that this is their best bet in continuing to be a staunch western ally and a staunch supporter on the war on terror. But again, it shows that there's no perfect option at all and that this is where a practical, pragmatic desire to have an ally in the war on terror conflicts and comes headlong into confrontation with America's other aim, and that is to be the promoter of the democratic path in that part of the world. Not to mention at the moment Pakistan is looking like it's fairly unstable at the moment with all those demonstrations, arrests and violations of civil liberties, civil rights and human rights.

NGUYEN: You mentioned conflict. I think it is safe to say there's conflicts on many levels here.

Christiane Amanpour joining us live by phone today.

Thank you, Christiane.

Well, the state of emergency getting around-the-clock coverage from Arab networks across the region and beyond. We're watching them all, and our own international desk is all over this breaking news story.

Here's a live look. Octavia Nasr is monitoring all the different networks. That being GoTV, the Pakistan state-run television, many others. We also have a journalist in town from Pakistan who is following this coverage as well and providing some insight.

Of course, we are going to have much, much on this situation throughout the day, so you'll want to stay with CNN.

Also, a little bit later today a CNN exclusive. Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto has made her feelings very clear about this state of emergency. And she's going to talk to our Wolf Blitzer. That is today at 5:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. And that is in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Don't miss it.

LEMON: Striking TV and film writers are already having an impact on what you watch. Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are expected to start airing reruns tonight. This comes as thousands of writers walk (ph) overpayment from DVDs and Internet sales.

In the last hour, our Jim Acosta spoke to strikers. One says they are preparing for a very long haul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, WRITER/ACTRESS: As much as we hate stopping production of our show to do this, we hate to do that to our crew, we hate to do that to our actors, but our production will stop within the next couple of days because we have stopped writing. JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we haven't seen one of these since 1988, and it lasted a long time. Is this going to be the same thing all over again?

FEY: It lasted five months last time, and from what I talked to the people who are more experienced than me, this could be that long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The last writers' strike in 1988 cost the industry about $500 million.

NGUYEN: Well, Noel is gone but not forgotten. The one-time hurricane brought down trees and power lines from Massachusetts to Maine. The cleanup is well under way along the coast, and by the end of the day the light should be back on for everyone.

It will take though a bit longer to repair this mess on the south shore of Nova Scotia. Look at that. A beach road buckled after being pound by the storm's heavy surf.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: In a race against time, aid workers are desperately trying to reach flood victims along Mexico's Gulf Coast. Days of drenching rains have left entire towns underwater, cut off from the rest of the world. Tens of thousands of people are finding little food left, no drinkable water and no electricity. All they can do is wait for rescue.

NGUYEN: Well, the only thing more shocking than the pictures is the fact that a U.S. soldier survived this. Look at what is sticking out of his head.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. DAN POWERS, 118TH MILITARY POLICE COMPANY: I'm just very lucky to be alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's a nine-inch knife, folks. Look at that. It just gives you chills.

We're going to tell you that story coming up. You don't want to miss it.

It's almost 2:15 Eastern. So, let me ask you this: Do you know where your gas prices are? Good bet they are way up.

LEMON: Plus, some people call Joe Osteen a spiritual rock star> Now he's preaching the power of living at your full potential.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Thirteen past the hour. Three of the stories we're working for you in the CNN NEWSROOM, and the most popular stories right from dot-com.

Topping the list, an amazing survival story from the streets of Iraq. A U.S. soldier stabbed in the head with a nine-inch knife, and he makes a full recovery. More on that in minutes from our very own Elizabeth Cohen.

Also, a very trying time for Oprah Winfrey. She is praising the girls who blew the whistle on an alleged abuser at her school in South Africa. The talk show host says they represent a new generation of youth there who are taking back their voices.

And a Transformer star has been arrested in Chicago. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing after refusing to leave a Walgreen's drug store. The security guard says the actor seemed drunk.

NGUYEN: And that's what you're clicking on on our Web site, CNN.com. Much more on those stories, including an interview with a close friend of Oprah's, Dr. Bruce Perry. Now, he is a regular guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" who has been to that school in South Africa. We'll get you much more on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it's 15 past the hour on this Monday. Here are three of the stories that we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

"Devastating," that is how Oprah Winfrey describes abuse allegations at the girls school she opened in South Africa. She's praising though the courage of the students who reported the alleged abuse blamed on a matron who's now facing charges.

Passionate protests and violent clashes in Pakistan now in day three of a nationwide state of emergency. Thousands of opposition leaders, lawyers, even journalists are being hauled off to jail in what critics say is a last-ditch attempt by Pervez Musharraf to hold on to his presidency.

And putting down the pencils, picking up the picket signs. Some of your favorite late-night talk shows and other programs may be about to go into reruns. TV and movie writers are on strike pushing for a bigger share of DVD and Internet profits.

LEMON: OK. This next story sounds like the stuff of horror movies. It really does.

A U.S. soldier in Iraq stabbed in the skull with a nine-inch knife. And I want to warn you, the pictures are not for the feint of heart. But the real shocker is this: he lived to tell the tale to our very own Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If there are average days in Iraq, July 2nd of this year started out as one for the 118th Military Police Company. Sergeant Dan Powers led his squad of 13 men to the scene of yet another explosion on the streets of Baghdad. They finished questioning the Iraqi police and were walking back to their trucks, when all of a sudden...

POWERS: It was like, "bam!" It was really loud, and I had blood all over my armor.

COHEN: At first Powers thought he'd been shot, but it was no bullet. It was this -- a nine-inch knife had gone halfway through his head. Another MP wrestled down the attacker and Powers kept doing his job.

(on camera): So you have a knife sticking out of your head and you're watching this guy who stabbed you.

POWERS: I was covering him with my M-4.

COHEN: You have a knife sticking out of your head, and yet you have got your gun aimed at this prisoner?

POWERS: Mm-hmm.

COHEN (voice over): Powers said he had no idea he had a knife in his head until his buddies pointed it out. After bandaging the wound, they whisked him to the Green Zone and then rushed him by helicopter to a state-of-the-art military hospital 50 miles north of Baghdad. They called ahead, warning a stabbing victim was on the way.

LT. COL. DR. RICHARD TEFF, NEUROSURGEON: We had no idea that it was going to be such a big, shiny German knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our neurosurgeon is on his way down. OK?

COHEN: Lieutenant Colonel Richards Teff was one of the neurosurgeons in the operating room, and you're getting a first-hand look.

Here is Powers just as he arrived in the O.R. Amazingly, he chatted with his doctors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's very lucky to be alive. I know that.

COHEN: But an extra x-ray revealed his situation was really quite dire. The knife had miraculously just missed his brain, settling in his sinus cavity. But the tip of the knife nicked his carotid artery, and it was like a finger in a dike. Remove it and he could bleed to death.

The surgeon's only option was to slowly pull the knife out and see what happened.

TEFF: We just prayed and pulled it out. And frankly, I was a little surprised. I didn't think it was going to bleed the way it did, but when it started bleeding, we had to act quickly.

COHEN: Powers lost 40 percent of the blood in his body.

TEFF: That was the moment when I -- they call that a heart attack moment, when I was concerned that he might die right there on the table in front of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: My goodness.

COHEN: Isn't that amazing?

LEMON: It is. It's a heart attack moment. I mean, just to hear about the story.

How did they save him?

COHEN: Teamwork. Really, what it came down to was teamwork, because first you had the medic on the ground who had the good sense not to pull that knife out. If he had pulled that knife out right there on the scene, Sergeant Powers would have bled to death.

And secondly, you saw the doctor, you met the neurosurgeon. Well, the neurosurgeon in the operating room said, I need help from a vascular surgeon, I don't have one here. So he e-mailed the images that he needed the vascular surgeon to see to a guy in Washington. This guy was driving on the Beltway in traffic, he pulls over to the side of the road, opens up his laptop, gets the images, and on his cell phone he directs the neurosurgeon what to do in the operating room.

And if you want to read more about the incredible teamwork it took to save Sergeant Powers, go to CNN.com/health.

LEMON: Oh my goodness.

COHEN: There's that incredible x-ray. And we have all the details about this amazing man and the team that saved him.

LEMON: It's hard to look at, right?

So he lost 40 percent of the blood in his body, and it was right in he said his carotid artery, right?

COHEN: Right.

LEMON: Is he going to be OK? Is he all OK now?

COHEN: He has a couple more steps to get through.

In January, he's going to have surgery. You'll notice he has almost like an indentation on the side of his head. They removed 10 centimeters of bone so they could get at the things they needed to get at. They're going to put that back in his head January 10th. And doctors have warned him that in general he may have seizures as time goes on, that he shouldn't expect everything to be 100 percent. But so far it actually has been 100 percent. It's been great.

LEMON: OK. All right. We're running out of time, but just real quickly, if you can tell me in two seconds, what happened to the guy? Prosecuted, caught?

COHEN: Arrested. Yes, arrested, trial, found guilty. They don't know what they have done with him but it's in the Iraqis' hands.

LEMON: Oh. Thank you.

NGUYEN: All right. Here's a question for you. Were they kidnapped or were they rescued? African children caught up in an international adoption scandal.

We'll explain ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Let's get you some campaign news just into CNN.

A friend and adviser to Fred Thompson has resigned today. He made headlines after it was discovered that he pleaded guilty to drug charges more than 20 years ago.

Well, he has resigned his position with the Thompson campaign. That person is Philip Martin. And in a statement he says, "I have decided to resign my position as chair of First Day Founders of The Friends of Fred Thompson. The focus of this campaign should be on Fred Thompson's positions on the issues and his outstanding leadership ability, not mistakes I made some 24 years ago. I deeply regret any embarrassment this has caused."

Again, Philip Martin, a campaign adviser to Fred Thompson, has stepped down after it was discovered that he pled guilty to drugs charges some 20 years ago -- Don.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, speaking of things coming down, Discovery is homeward bound. We're going to give you a shot now at a parting shuttle there, the shuttle as it breaks away from the International Space Station today after a risky spacewalk to fix a damaged solar panel on the outpost.

The crew is looking forward to the pull of gravity, no doubt. NASA used a camera on the shuttle's robotic arm to conduct one more inspection of Discovery's heat shield for dings or possible trouble spots.

Discovery is scheduled to land on Wednesday.

LEMON: So, Betty, were they kidnapped or were they rescued? African children caught up in an international adoption scandal

We'll explain straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're talking about a state of emergency in Pakistan. Let me just show you this. This is the world resources of CNN. This is our entire international section, the International Desk here in Atlanta. And, of course, we have bureaus and working stations all over the world, but watching this for us, here, at the International Desk, here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta is our Pakistan Desk, and Octavia Nasr, who is our senior editor of Arab affairs, joins us with Mr. Siddiqui, who is from Geo TV, he is a Pakistani journalist.

You guys have been monitoring the situation, the wires, as well as the feeds, and all of the broadcasts coming out of Pakistan and from that region. Talk to me, Octavia, about what you're seeing. You're saying many folks there don't know what's going on because they can't get it.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: That's right. As a matter of fact, our colleague there, Marian Faruque (ph) has been calling people in Pakistan to ask them what they can see on their television screens. The only channel they can see is Pakistan TV. That is this channel, which is the government-owned, government-operated channel.

We have a section from earlier, from their newscast, the top of the newscast, basically shows President Musharraf business as usual. We were sitting here with our colleague from GEO TV, discussing that. As a matter of fact he thought that was pretty strange that they would show him business as usual.

MAJID SIDDIQUI, GEO TV PRODUCER: Oh, yes. It certainly suggests earlier, just two or three minutes ago, PTV was fed (ph), trying to present the scenario that everything is fine here. They invited one of their major brokers Pakistan (ph) markets, on PTV. And there's a historical decline on Karachi's stock center today. There is a 635 minus today. But he tried to give the feel that everything is fine, there's nothing because of imposition of emergency in Pakistan.

LEMON: Yes, but everyone thinks, and this is some of the latest news that you're getting, that we talked about just now. Everyone is thinking, you know, the lawyers are just involved in the protests and a few others, the journalists, too, are in damage danger there, as well as many other people who are being targeted, you say?

SIDDIQUI: Yes, the journalists are one of the targets of the emergency in Pakistan. And as you know that the channels are not able to get their transmission in the country. And the journalists have a greater threat (ph) in Pakistan, especially foreign journalists.

LEMON: As you continue to watch this, and continue to talk to your colleagues in Pakistan.

SIDDIQUI: Yes. LEMON: What is the concern? Obviously, it has spiraled out of control now. Is it more chaos as a concern there? Or is it in fact that Musharraf might get his way and continue with this emergency state? What's the concern now?

SIDDIQUI: Basically -- actually they are worried about the rules and regulations and the code of conduct which the government is trying to impose on the Pakistani media.

LEMON: Right.

SIDDIQUI: They have a fear that they might block many news channels in Pakistan, forever. So, the journalists are afraid that -- in fact, they want to communicate to the Pakistani markets through these TV channel.

LEMON: But they are not able to.

And, you, as someone, Octavia, who covers this all the time also of concern, of course, the elections that had been planned, and our government is concerned about that as well saying that those elections shall move forward in January. That has a lot to do with our relationship with them.

NASR: Right. And you know, apparently the media, the independent media are very concerned as well. The only people who are not worried are the Musharraf people. They seem to be wanting to show that everything is all right, and another important point, I think -- and this is something that Marian Faruque (ph), my colleague here, dealt with.

You know, we're calling Pakistan to confirm information. We get wires that someone was arrested, or was harassed or something like that. She calls to find out. And people say they haven't heard about it, so communication is very important now and it sees that that is cut off.

LEMON: Communication and information, especially, when it comes to the Pakistani people because they should know what's going on and they're not being told.

SIDDIQUI: And that is a basic right, to know what is happening in your country.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Majid Siddiqui. Of course, Marian (ph), who works here with us, an Octavia Nasr. Thank you very much for that. We're going to let you get back to work, because this is a very important story.

Again, we have a Pakistan Desk, that we're check on the state of emergency. It is housed within our International Desk here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, on top of this story -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, we're following it and all over it today.

Also following this six members of a French charity remain in jail in the African country of Chad, over an adoption controversy. They say they were on a humanitarian mission. But they now face kidnapping charges for trying to take more than 100 African children to Europe. What went wrong here? CNN's Jim Bittermann talks to a French journalist, who was there as it went all down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There were smiles and relief of as French President Nicolas Sarkozy brought home three French journalists and four Spanish flight attendants from Chad. But while their ordeal is over it's just beginning for those they were linked with, the organizers of the Zoe's Ark charity.

They were, once again, in Chad court for questioning by an investigating judge. And while their lawyer says the kidnapping accusations against them are not valid, the description of what they did is becoming more clear.

As he was welcomed back by his colleagues, Marc Garmarian, one of the journalists who was freed, said the further he investigated Zoe's Ark, the more he was surprised at the way it was operating in Chad, without fully checking out the identity of the children.

MARC GARMARIAN, CAPA PRESSE TV: We were wondering how they can -- how they would manage to do what they want. At the beginning it was 300 orphan children from Darfur that they wanted to bring in France. We were wondering how they can do that.

BITTERMANN: In the end, Zoe's Ark gathered 103 children and tried to fly them to France, but later investigations determined that most were neither orphans, nor from the Darfur region of Sudan.

Chadian officials also claimed that members of Zoe's Ark faked bandages and IV drips to make it look as if the children were being evacuated for medical reasons. Something those who have seen Garmarian's video say it clearly documents. And the Chadians working for the charity saw for themselves as the Zoe's Ark convoy headed for the airport.

GARMARIAN: Well, I know the Chadian people were very hurt, that by what they saw. And I can understand that. You know, 10 Lincolns (ph) with 15 children, at 6:00 in the morning, in the field, going like this, it looks like children traffic.

BITTERMANN: A Zoe's Ark spokesman in Paris refused to comment on the content of Garmarian's video.

Since the operation was stopped by authorities, some of the children gathered up by the charity are being taken back to their native villages, a process that may never be complete because some of the children are too young to say where they come from.

Imagine, a Chad official told the freed journalist, what would have happened if an African charity would have gone to France, gathered up 100 children and tried to take them back to Africa. (On camera): While he was in Chad, the French President Sarkozy made a request to the Chadian President Deby to transfer the trial of the six French citizens to here, to their homeland. While Chad has not officially responded, Deby has been quoted as saying he wants to see them tried in Chad first. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Water up to the windshield and thousands of people waiting for rescue. More misery Mexico's Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: What a mess. Look at shattered glass, smashed furniture, just everywhere. Right in the middle, that thing right there, a huge rock. It crashed through a home just outside Waikiki earlier yesterday. The homeowner says that if he had been sitting five feet over the boulder would have rolled right on top of him. The ground there is just soaked after four days of drenching rain and in some places the flood waters are knee deep.

LEMON: In southeastern Mexico it's still not safe for some people to go back to their flooded out homes, but they are going anywhere to fight off the looters. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A boat is launched into newly formed river on what was once a busy street in downtown Villahermosa. It's filled with neighborhood residents and rescue workers. These days boats are the best way to get around parts of the capital of Tabasco. After a week of rains the city landscape is more of a seascape.

(On camera): Water levels are still high and they are expected to remain so for several days. But many residents of these neighborhoods have decided to come back and to stay in their homes to protect them from looters.

(Voice over): The Hernandez family, brothers and cousins, are armed with nothing more than their bare hands. They say they are ready to fend off anyone who might try to invade their home.

"It is the thieves they fear the most," says Ricardo. "We don't want them to steal what little we have."

The occasional military boat drifts by, the calling of birds, one of the few signs of life. A few blocks away on higher ground much of the neighborhood has taken up residence in the parking garage of a shopping mall.

"We found a spot and our neighbor suggested we come here," says Sonya Lopez (ph). She and her husband hope to return home in a couple of days. Meanwhile hundreds in the shelter pass the time catching up on schoolwork, watching television, or just wondering when things will get back to normal. Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Villahermosa, Mexico. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, the woman at heart of Dog, The Bounty Hunter's controversial comments, she is biting back. We'll show you her words ahead.

LEMON: And in the ring or out of it. This is one fabulous gal. Coming up a tribute to wrestler pioneer, the fabulous Moolah.

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York. It's official. The writers strike is here as well as the first casualties in entertainment. I'll tell you which shows are already going to be in reruns when NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The woman at the center of the Dog, The Bounty Hunter controversy is speaking out. Monique Shinnery, who is black, is the girlfriend of Tucker Chapman, he's Dog's son. In a taped conversation the Bounty Hunter was heard using the "N" word in reference to Shinnery. He also told his son to break up with her. If you heard our reports last week, you know Dog, AKA Duane Chapman, issued a statement apologizing and saying he was taken out of context. But Shinnery says things are far from resolved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONIQUE SHINNERY, TUCKER CHAPMAN'S GIRLFRIEND: I think Duane's apology was pathetic because it was not directed towards -- he did not personally call Tucker, or me, to apologize. His attorney, Brooke Hart, did. So I don't accept it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A&E has pulled "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" from its schedule and suspended production pending investigation.

NGUYEN: Well, it's the day the world of showbiz has been dreading. The writers strike is here -- Hollywood at a loss for words. Entertainment Correspondent A.J. Hammer joins me now with the latest. We've been watching this all day long and folks are on the picket lines.

HAMMER: Yes, they are, Betty. And as Hollywood's writers exchange their pens for those picket signs many of your favorite television shows are already in jeopardy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: It could mean all your favorite television shows will go away, and they may not come back, and so what I'm trying to say is this could be your last look at me and Paul.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: What was once a joke for David Letterman is now a reality. The writers strike is here and the first casualties are the late night laughers like "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and likewise, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Craig Ferguson's, "The Late, Late Show", "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", and "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central have all been forced into reruns until further notice, because the writing staffs are out on the streets with their picket signs.

Also, we've confirmed that the new "Saturday Night Live" which was planned for a this coming weekend is out, and depending on the length of the strikes fans could see their favorite scripted TV sitcoms and dramas be the next to go into reruns. And finally, if it turns into a long strike the motion pictures would be the last to go.

So, Betty, this is indeed far-reaching.

NGUYEN: Definitely, OK, so we're looking at New York and Los Angeles. How many folks are really out there on the streets, though, picketing?

HAMMER: Oh, there are quite a few. In fact, I believe, we have live pictures we can take of Burbank right now, at NBC studios. This is via broadband. It's really quite a site. There's two guilds involved, you have the Writers Guild of America East, and the Writer's Guild of America West. And they are comprised of about 12,000 members.

Now, after last night's last-ditch, 11-hour meeting between the Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed, the strike officially went into effect at midnight. Then immediately, this morning, picketers took to NBC studios at Rockefeller Center in New York, including some very well known writer/actors, like Tina Fey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, "30 ROCK": What's at stake is the residuals off that Internet stuff, and you know, the big producing companies they know that, that is going to be going to be a big source of their revenues, because you can tell, they're already trying to circle the wagons and lay claim to all of it. And we're just asking for a reasonable share of that so we can keep our pension plan going, keep our health fund going, otherwise our union will just disappear in the next 20 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: In Los Angeles, as you can well, imagine, the scene is even more dramatic. There strikers are walking in front of 14 different studio locations, that includes Paramount Studios, where these images are coming from. Strikers there will march in two, four- hour shifts from 9:00 to 5:00 until they can settle up on a new deal.

Now according to the experts, there is no end in sight for this thing. The last writers strike happened back in 1988. That lasted five months and back in 1988, that's a long time ago, almost 20 years, it cost the industry an estimated $500 million. This time there's just as much as stake, a whole lot more money for both sides. And included in that, how are they going to restructure the residual profits from booming DVD and Internet sales, which is really at center of the controversy here.

Now, coming up tonight on "Showbiz Tonight," we move on to Oprah's heartache as Oprah Winfrey speaks out for the very first time about the abuse scandal at her all-girl's school. How devastating has this been to her, personally, plus, the powerful message Oprah is sending to all child abusers. We have complete coverage of Oprah's extraordinary day, tonight, on TV's most provocative entertainment news show. That's "Showbiz Tonight", we'll see you at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime.

NGUYEN: Yes, Oprah is breaking her silence. And we're looking forward to seeing your report there. Thank you, A.J.

HAMMER: You got it, Betty.

LEMON: Well, many women wrestle with family versus career, Lillian Ellison, well she just wrestled. That's Lilly, better known as the Fabulous Moolah.

NGUYEN: Moolah!

LEMON: Yes, she was on the wrong end of a toe-hold, right there, in 1976. It was at MSG, Madison Square Garden. By the way, Fabulous Moolah, bounced back to win this match, and she was 53 at the time.

NGUYEN: Really?

LEMON: Why aren't we working out? Well, Miss Moolah, native of Tookido (ph), South Carolina. Well, she was certainly a legend and the first woman inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. She died on Friday. She was 84 years old. The nickname, by the way, came from her comment that she wrestled for the money, for, of course, the moolah. She will be missed. Feisty lady, there.

NGUYEN: No doubt. Well, have you ever been stuck next to a person talking really loud on a cell phone? I mean, who hasn't. Well, a new gadget could make that person shut up. We'll give you those details in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Can you hear me now?

NGUYEN: Can you hear me now?

LEMON: Can you hear me?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, it is 2:57 Eastern, almost 3 o'clock. Here's a look at the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

"Transformers" star Shia Lebeouf has been arrested in Chicago. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing after refusing to leave a Walgreen's drug store. A security guard says the actor seemed drunk.

An amazing survival story from the streets of Iraq. A U.S. soldier -- check that out, you'll see the video -- stabbed in the head. That's the X-ray, with a nine-inch knife, and he makes a full recovery.

And forget Hollywood. Julia Roberts says her dream is to be fulfilled as a stay-at-home mom. That would fulfill her dream. Roberts and her husband, Danny Moder, have three kids all under age three. And she says she thinks she will stop there.

LEMON: All right, Don, don't you just cringe when someone is talking really loud on their cell phone. Some people are actually using high-tech phone jamming devices to help silence their pet peeves but AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin says there is a big problem with them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They are illegal. If you're on a bus or on a train, it's a public space, so you are not allowed to do this. The jammers basically interfere with the cell phone carrier signals. People pay, The FCC gives the cell phone carriers these signals and it's akin to property theft if you are jamming those signals.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: They also cite the fact that it could disrupt potentially emergency responders like police and fire.

HOSTIN: No question. Did I some research, and interestingly enough, 100,000 emergency calls are placed from cell phones every day. I've given my son a cell phone. What is really, really scary to me is the bus driver jamming the kids' cell phones. What if there's an emergency? What if mom needs to reach the child?

What if there is a criminal that gets a hold of this and the criminal knocks out all the phones in someone's home, so that that person can't make a 911 call. This is very, very dangerous and it should be punished. The problem with it is, it is difficult to know whether or not you've been jammed or you just don't have signal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, that is a good point, but listen to this. Anyone caught using a cell phone jammer could face an $11,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

LEMON: Don't mess with Oprah. Possibly the one person who did know that was in a South African courtroom today. While Oprah Winfrey was promising a new beginning at her school for South African girls. Ahead, we'll hear from the child psychiatrist Oprah turned to in a crisis.

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