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London's Heathrow Airport Opens New Terminal; State Department Issues Warning For U.S. Embassy Workers in Baghdad; Indian Girl Rescued From Well
Aired March 27, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: So, these cars just driving down the interstate, officer Geller, just driving down the interstate, and then someone shoots at them, and that's all the information you have. So far, you have two people who are injured?
VOICE OF CORINNE GELLER, SPOKESPERSON, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: That's right. The -- some time in the overnight hours, around the midnight to shortly after midnight, we began to receive calls from individuals driving westbound on Interstate 64 through the Charlottesville region that their vehicles had been struck by gunfire. Two individuals had some kind of grazing, non-life-threatening injuries, either possibly from the bullets or from shattering glass from the windows being struck.
And we are still pursuing several leads. We do have some good witness information and we're following through on that.
LEMON: So, really, it's just been by luck and by chance that no one has been seriously hurt in all of this or either struck by -- I should say killed by this?
GELLER: Absolutely. Even though two people had non-life- threatening injuries, we still take this very seriously. And we are stepping up our presence as are the local police and sheriff's offices in the region, not only on the interstate, but throughout the Charlottesville region, to make the area as safe as possible for those traveling through the area, as well as for the residents, to prevent this from happening again.
LEMON: My last question for you. Obviously, you drive these interstates. You have family and friends there. What is your advice to people? Because, obviously, you -- really, there is nothing you can do. You're driving down the road and all of a sudden from nowhere.
GELLER: Well, of course, we ask anyone any time they're in a vehicle always remain vigilant and alert, especially if they happen to be traveling this afternoon or this evening or overnight through the Interstate 64-Charlottesville region.
And if anyone should see any kind of suspicious activity, don't be afraid to call 9-1-1 or #77 in Virginia on your cell phone and let authorities know, so that we can follow up on it.
LEMON: Corinne, this is just frightening for me. I was reading about this story and I just can't imagine. OK, Corinne Geller, public relations manager for the Virginia State Police, thank you for joining us today.
GELLER: Thank you.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Now the latest on a developing story from Louisville, Kentucky, where two children have been found dead. The story began unfolding this morning when police at the University of Louisville disarmed a woman.
That woman identified as a student was then taken to a psychiatric ward. University police then asked city officers to check on the well-being of two children inside of this home that you see here. And city police found those kids fatally wounded. Neighbors say they are shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was a single mother raising two children on her own, and I thought doing a very good job. We baby-sat her dog and her cat when she was gone. I don't get it. I don't get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: And a lot of people, of course, don't get what happened here. We're going to continue to follow this story, filling in all of the blanks as quickly as we can.
LEMON: Well, just to be sure everything is OK, that's why a Delta spokeswoman says the airline is reinspecting some of its older planes.
Of course, that's led to a lot of flight cancellations, about 275 through early tomorrow. American Airlines also is dropping flights while it continues to inspect the wiring on certain planes. And, as you can imagine, that's led to a lot of frustration at the airports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG MONTANO, TRAVELER: And there's very little communication with the people upstairs to the to the people at the ticket counter down here on what we should do, where we should go and how this should be processed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Delta predicts it will be business as usual by early tomorrow. American expects to have most of its inspected planes back in service by then.
KEILAR: This is Basra on Iraq's oil-rich Persian Gulf Coast, but similar fighting rages today also in Karbala, in Hillah, in Kut, and in Baghdad. It's the continuation of several days of fighting in Iraq's Shiite-majority cities and towns.
And our own Kyra Phillips is there in Baghdad where U.S. troops were also attacked today.
Kyra, what can you tell us?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Brianna, the question now is, could this be a new phase in the Iraq war? It's already threatening the U.S. surge and the cease-fire called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
And now we have confirmed two people dead within two days after mortar and rocket attacks into the fortified Green Zone, a message military sources tell me directed to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki.
It began in Basra, as you mentioned, an oil-rich city plagued by corruption. And so many people want a piece of that war-torn country and the profits that come from that oil. The Iraqi prime minister is saying that his military campaign will crack down on the lawlessness in Basra. Meanwhile, al-Sadr's Mahdi army says, stay out of our territories.
The battle rages on. And the violence is now spreading. Thousands of Sadr supporters, as you're seeing, protesting on the streets, calling Nouri al-Maliki the new Iraqi dictator. Meanwhile, al-Maliki is telling Shia militias lay down your weapons tomorrow or pay the price -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And, Kyra, you have this really amazing story to tell us about. It's an exclusive look inside of Saddam Hussein's jail cell. What can you tell us?
PHILLIPS: Well, it was a pretty amazing experience. No one's had a chance to actually shoot video of Saddam's cell to take a look at his journal, read it publicly. And I was able to gain that type of access and put together an inside look to how he lived his final moments.
This is just a little bit about what general major -- or Major General Doug Stone told me. He's the head of all detention operations. He actually took me through the cell and he described Saddam's last moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. DOUG STONE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: So he got up. He was informed that, in fact, today would be the day that he would be going to the execution. He bathed himself here in a very modest manner. It was winter, so it was cold. He then put on his dark suit, the one that I think most people have seen that was laying out here. He put that on. He was all ready to go. It took I think about a ten-minute delay. But as he went out, he said good-bye to the guards and then got in the vehicles and, of course, proceeded on over for the execution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, something, Brianna, that not a lot of people know about Saddam Hussein, he did a lot of writing while he was in jail. He kept just pages and pages of a very in-depth journal. So -- and actually wrote poems as well.
So, we had a chance to look through that, read some of that. At the half-hour, you will see the entire story from inside that jail cell, to where he sat actually in a garden and planted flowers and wrote in this journal. You will hear his words.
KEILAR: All right, looking for that at the half-hour. Kyra Phillips for us in Baghdad, we will check back in with you shortly.
LEMON: Flying to London? Well, the next time you go, getting from the airport into the city may be just a little bit easier, and we will tell you why, if you can afford to fly to London these days.
KEILAR: And when it comes to money, just like anything else, what you don't know, it can hurt you. And our Gerri Willis will be along shortly to answer your questions about your money and how you can hold on to it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: One of the world's busiest airports is getting even busier.
London's Heathrow Airport opened a new fifth terminal this morning. It's capable of handling 30 million passengers a year. And this is just in time, as more U.S. airlines are preparing to begin flying into Heathrow Airport.
And that is where we find CNN's Richard Quest. He is there, having a bit of a look-see.
What's going on, Richard?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, today terminal five, the $8 billion pride of Heathrow Airport and British Airways, substantially came to a halt. The baggage system simply for either -- for what reasons, we don't know, probably because the airline, British Airways, couldn't cope with the bags going into the system.
Basically, British Airways has told all these passengers tonight that they can't check baggage into the hold of the aircraft. You can fly if you want, but not with your bags. This doesn't affect many U.S. flights, because B.A. hasn't transferred New York, Washington, Boston, and many of the U.S. flights into terminal five. But for these passengers tonight, well, basically, where were you hoping to go to today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to Hong Kong.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: You're going to Hong Kong. Are you confident that you will get on the plane?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just told me that we will, once this opens.
QUEST: Once this opens?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
QUEST: Confident?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I hope so. They seem to be very nice, the staff. But there's no announcements. That is what is the bad thing. No, they are not announcing anything.
QUEST: There are -- this line is for Hong Kong. The passengers here are relatively lucky. They have been allowed to get on board the plane with their bags.
But if you come with me to this side of the airport, bear with me, and remember, this terminal cost $8 billion, took five years to build. They have been testing it for months and months and months. And I'm afraid this is the reaction.
Where were you hoping to go to tonight? Oh, so where were you going to tonight? No? You're going to Greece?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm not going.
QUEST: You're not going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's ridiculous.
QUEST: This lady was going to Greece.
Where were you hoping to go to?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hong Kong.
QUEST: You're going to Hong Kong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hong Kong, yes.
QUEST: And what have you been told?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been told waiting here to get the ticket reissued.
QUEST: So you're not going tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure.
QUEST: You're not sure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm hoping I can.
QUEST: But you're not sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure. QUEST: And it just goes on. I mean, it is obviously a public relations disaster for Heathrow Airport and for British Airways, no getting away from that. Niggles and minor problems were always to be expected, but nothing on the scale of this -- back to you.
KEILAR: Yes, certainly, it's supposed to be a big unveiling and it just becomes kind of a big inconvenience there.
Richard Quest following that -- tell all those passengers to hang in there, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you.
KEILAR: And this is no presidential palace, but it was the last place that Saddam Hussein lived before his death by hanging. CNN got a look inside. We're going to show you some video here in a second. This is part of an exclusive look that CNN got inside. We're going to show you some more -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, breaking news in to the CNN NEWSROOM. Look at that. This is in Buckhead, which is just on the outskirts, the next town over from Atlanta, from downtown Atlanta, I should say. And this school bus is on fire. You see that.
So far, we have no reports of injuries, no reports of injuries, but you can see, I mean, this school bus has just gone up in flames. And really it looks like the flames sort of blew it to smithereens. These pictures courtesy of our affiliate, and we appreciate it, WXIA, here in Atlanta.
Again, this is Buckhead. If you know anything about Atlanta, you know where Buckhead is. And these pictures really are just amazing, amazing coming in. We're going to continue to follow that one, Brianna.
In the meantime, as we try to work on more information about this story, we want to talk now about issue number one. They don't call it issue number one for nothing. Everybody frets about finances, even in good times, and nobody has all the answers. Nobody has all the answers.
Well, Gerri, I thought you had all the answers to most of this today, our personal finance...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I do what I can, Don.
LEMON: Well, but you're answering some e-mails. You have the help desk there.
WILLIS: Right. Yes.
LEMON: It's kind of like customer service. You go over, you e- mail Gerri Willis, and she answers all of it for you.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: People have questions. People have very serious questions right now.
LEMON: Yes.
WILLIS: It's a tough time out there for folks.
LEMON: OK. So, what are the questions? What are they asking you, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well, Don, they sent us lots of e-mails. I was sort of hoping that you had the e-mails, Don.
LEMON: You do? I don't have the e-mails. But you know what? We will figure it out.
WILLIS: There we are. Here's one.
LEMON: I'm going to read it right off the screen. I don't, but let's read it. Let's read it, Gerri, and then we can ask you.
"How is it that someone like myself, who has perfect credit, can only get a credit score of 825? And why is it that if I want to cancel a credit card that I no longer use, I will never lower my credit score?" "Will I?" I guess that would mean. "What is going on here? Is there some sort of backroom deal between the banks and the credit companies to keep people from canceling their credit cards?"
There you go. That's from Mark from Oregon, Gerri.
WILLIS: Well, you know, Mark, look, 825 is a great credit score. This is not something to be worried about right now. You should be proud.
But to go to your question of this sort of conspiracy that you're suggesting, I don't think that's what's going on here. Look, you just get big points from the credit scores if you have had credit for a long amount of time. So, if you go in and cancel a lot of credit cards, then suddenly you disappear. Part of your history goes away. So, keep those credit cards, even if you are not using them.
LEMON: OK. And does that -- it hurts the score? I think he said something about hurting or helping or hurting the score.
WILLIS: It does hurt the score if you close your credit cards. What we always advise, of course, is make sure that you are using them responsibly when you do use them.
LEMON: OK. And now I have another for you, Gerri. It's from Rick.
He says: "All the talk of mortgage meltdown and falling home values, one wonders whether the bottom has hit yet. Would we be better off renting for a year, rather than buying a home right now?"
That's a very topical question right now, Gerri.
WILLIS: Boy, I tell you, Rick, that is a tough question. It really depends on where you are. You need to get in touch with what's going on locally in your marketplace right now.
Some markets seem to be hitting bottom. Others seem to be trending upward. My suggestion is, you're not going to be able to absolutely time this market, I don't think. Now is a good time, because prices have come down. Mortgage rates are low, low, low, well under six percent right now. If you have found the right place and you're eager to go, that's what I would do. I would buy.
LEMON: OK, I think we have one more question, Gerri. And let's see. I'm not sure, exactly sure. It's from Denny, I'm being told.
And Denny is asking: "Why doesn't the Federal Reserve bring down the mortgage rate to 4.75 percent to help homeowners?"
WILLIS: Well, that's a great idea, Denny, but I have to tell you, you know, the Federal Reserve doesn't control mortgage rates. They control rates that the bankers use. But it doesn't always filter down to individual consumers.
So the good news here is that mortgage rates have come down, well below six percent, as I was saying before. And, so, that's really good news. Lenders out there are starting to get with the program and lend money. I know it's a real concern for people out there who have adjustable-rate mortgages. But, as these rates come down, your rates will fall, too -- Don.
LEMON: OK. So, what's coming up "ISSUE #1" tomorrow at noon?
WILLIS: Well, we have got an interesting package I was involved with on predatory lending. It's a big issue for people out there, very frightening stuff. Some lenders taking advantage of people in the marketplace.
I actually interviewed someone who talks about the practices of predatory lenders from the inside.
LEMON: Wow.
WILLIS: You will definitely want to tune in at noon Eastern. It's a fascinating story of the kinds of things these folks did to regular investors, regular consumers, to get them to buy products that they really couldn't afford.
LEMON: Every day, it seems like another hit comes. I thought it was going to be one of the moments for us on TV, Gerri, where's it's, OK, back to you, no, back to you, but we figured it all out.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIS: Thank you so much, Don.
LEMON: All right, thank you. We will see you tomorrow at noon Eastern, "ISSUE #1," only Here on CNN. Thanks, Gerri Willis.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
KEILAR: Breaking news coming in to the NEWSROOM from Iraq. Word from the Associated Press that the State Department is instructing all personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad not to leave reinforced structures.
Now, this is because of incoming insurgent fire that has killed two American government workers this week. There was a memo, this according to the "AP," that was sent to embassy staff. And it says that all employees have to be wearing helmets and other protective gear if they're going to venture outside and also advising them to sleep in blast-resistant locations.
This was sent after a second American citizen was killed by a rocket attack in the Green Zone. That happened today, according to the Associated Press. You may recall that, on Monday, a U.S. citizen died of his wounds after being severely injured in another attack, this coming in Iraq during violence that has flared in Shiite regions of the country, in Baghdad, also in other areas of the country. We're going to continue to follow this for you and bring you more here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: OK, remember, yesterday, the president had a phone call with the Chinese prime minister and was talking about the mistakes that were made with sending out that -- the weapons-nuclear-related material by accident to Taiwan, sent to Taiwan?
Well, we're getting word -- this is just in to CNN -- it's from the Defense Department. And the U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, has ordered an inventory of all nuclear weapon and related material in the wake of mistaken shipments to Taiwan. That's in the wake. It happened earlier this week.
But, again, and this according to the Associated Press, and we also have our folks there at the Pentagon checking on this story trying to get more information. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered an inventory of all nuclear weapons and related material in the wake of that mistaken shipment to Taiwan. We will continue to follow this developing story for you.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: All right, hey, take a look at this video, Brianna. This is by no means a presidential palace, but it was the last place Saddam Hussein lived before his death by hanging. CNN got a look inside, and so will you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can hide, but you can't run from the flu. Masks may trap the virus, but they won't kill it, until now, thanks to some secret sauce. STEPHEN MICHIELSEN, PROFESSOR, NCSU COLLEGE OF TEXTILES: This fabric, for example, has been tested against influenza, and it kills over 99 percent of the influenza virus in just a few minutes.
O'BRIEN: Stephen Michielsen is the co-creator of a killer mask. The secret is in the coating, a type of blue dye that kicks into gear when exposed to light, sparking a chemical reaction with air that is harmless to humans, but kills all kinds of nasty microbes, viral and bacterial.
MICHIELSEN: It kills the virus on the surface, so that, when you take it off, you no longer are contaminating yourself. And so you won't transfer it back to your face.
O'BRIEN: The idea came out of the blue here at North Carolina State University and now a small startup company is trying to bring it to market.
MICHIELSEN: The next step is, we have to go to FDA for approval because it's considered a medical textile. We hope to be in front of them this summer and we hope to be on the shelves this fall.
O'BRIEN: Just in time for the next flu season. But researchers aren't stopping there. They hope to add this bug-killing coating to furnace and A.C. filters, airplane air circulation systems, and maybe other fabrics. Blue may one day be the color for all seasons.
Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: And then there's this one from California, where a 41- year-old woman -- that's the video we were showing you earlier -- faces charges of theft and contributing to the delinquency of minors after she's caught on camera taking herself and her three kids on an alleged shoplifting spree at a Sears store. We'll try to get that other video we promised you just a little bit later on here in THE NEWSROOM.
Meantime, we move half a world away. There's elation in the shadow of the Taj Mahal today. Just about two hours ago, a two-year- old girl was rescued after more than a day at the bottom of a narrow well outside of New Delhi, India. The big moment aired live on our sister network, CNN IBN.
The child, named Vandana, seems relatively unhurt. Rescue workers had lowered food and water to her while they dug a hole parallel to the well and they tunneled across to reach her. The girl's parents are with her at the hospital where she's being checked out right now. And we wish her the very best.
Those images are eerily, eerily similar to -- remember this -- Baby Jessica's rescue back in 1987? Jessica McClure was the 18-month- old toddler who fell down a well in Midland, Texas, Jessica McClure and for the next 58 hours, her rescue transfixed a nation. Jessica survived, but lost a toe and had to undergo more than a dozen operations afterwards. She is now 22-years-old and says she can't remember anything about that ordeal.
When Baby Jessica fell into that abandoned well in Midland, Texas, for days she was everybody's baby.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The year was 1987. Eighteen- month old Jessica McClure fell into an open pipe just eight inches wide in her aunt's yard -- slipping far out of reach, more than 20 feet underground. Hundreds of volunteers struggled to free her. Crews dug a parallel shaft near the pipe, then a horizontal tunnel through the Texas bedrock, using heavy drilling equipment.
After two-and-a-half days they brought her up to the surface. She suffered cuts and scratches and doctors were forced to amputate a toe that was injured when her right foot was jammed against the pipe at an awkward angle. Well wishers celebrated, sending their support and their cash -- establishing a $1 million trust fund she's to receive on her 25th birthday.
Now married and a mom herself, Jessica has no memory of the frightening hours she spent underground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Wow! Twenty years ago. It hardly seems like that long.
OK, doctors in Houston ever so slowly raised the body temperature of Emilio Navairo overnight after dramatically lowering it. The Grammy winning Tejano singer has been under since Sunday, when he suffered a severe head injury in a bus crash.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, himself a neurosurgeon, looks at efforts to Navairo's life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it may seem counterintuitive to actually lower someone's body temperature -- make them hypothermic -- to try to treat this sort of injury, this sort of brain injury. That's what they're trying to do to here -- in fact, lower the body temperature to about 91.5 degrees. So it's pretty cool there -- at least seven degrees cooler than normal.
Now there's a lot of risks to hypothermia, which is the big concern. It can cause blood clotting problems. It can cause cardiac arrhythmias. These are difficult things to treat in anybody, but especially in a patient who has just endured this sort of trauma.
But the hope is here that they actually take this vest and they put it on the patient to cool the skin down and it goes over the chest, it goes over the thighs and lowers the body temperature down pretty significantly. The hope is that ultimately it sort of puts the brain to sleep, makes the brain demand less from the rest of the body in terms of blood flow. And that can do a few things -- first of all, reduce swelling, for example, which is very critically important; also, prevent cells from dying in the crucial time period.
You've got to do this within the first couple of hours after the injury to the prevent those cells from dying. And also restoring communication between the active areas of the brain.
Now, we have heard about hypothermia pretty recently, as you may remember, with Kevin Everett, the football player. He had a spinal cord injury of his cervical spin in the neck area and he had hypothermic therapy. He is walking today. It is unclear how much hypothermia actually led to his ability to walk, but this is something that researchers are starting to study more and more.
With regard to this particular patient, it's unclear how he's going to do. Doctors have put a number on it. They say a 65 to 75 percent chance of survival. But the biggest predictor, really, here is to making sure those pressures inside the head -- what are called the intracranial pressures inside the head -- remain low, remain normal. That's what's going to give him his best chance of survival.
We'll keep tabs on it and bring it to you as the details come forward. Back to you for now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Sanjay. Thank you for that.
Doctors say if Emilio Navairo survives this initial treatment, he still faces some long odds.
Well, mark your calendars. A week from today is World Autism Awareness Day. CNN will bring you a special report on autism at 12:00 Eastern on April 2. And this weekend, CNN's "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta is also exploring the issue. He goes one-on-one with the CDC and asks whether childhood vaccines are safe. That is Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
In his very first movie, he pushed an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. Actor Richard Widmark is dead at the age of 93 after a long illness. He was nominated for an Oscar for his first movie performance as a giggling psychotic killer in the 1947 film noir classic, "Kiss of Death". Over the next half century, Widmark's movies included "Judgment At Nuremberg," "How the West Was Won" and "The Alamo". He also starred in the 1972-73 detective series, "Madigan".
Richard Widmark died at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He will be missed.
Unprotected flights -- CNN Special Investigations Unit looks at the federal air marshal program. You may be surprised by what we found.
And Hillary Clinton is getting a little help in her campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LA PEQUENA, PERFORMANCE ARTIST: Yo soy la pequena Hillary Clinton.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Translation...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm the small Hillary Clinton.
MOOS: Having a big impact on the Web.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: (LAUGHTER)
OK. Our Jeanne Moos checks out the campaign music video hits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Guarding the skies is partly the job of federal air marshals, but are they really on board? Ninety-nine percent of the time, the answer is no.
We get an exclusive report from CNN's Special Investigations Unit correspondent Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there is one place Americans should feel safe after 9/11, it should be here, at Washington's Ronald Reagan Airport. Certainly, any attempt to take over the plane would be thwarted by federal air marshals. But that is only if federal air marshals are on board.
CNN is being told by air marshals themselves that on 99 flights out of 100, they're not.
(on-camera): If I would say one percent, less than 1 percent, would I be far from the mark?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. I don't think you'd be far from the mark.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): These two federal air marshals told us on camera what at least a dozen of their colleagues and pilots have told CNN off camera. Afraid to be identified for fear of retribution, they say the Department of Homeland Security hides behind national security laws because making the facts public would be a P.R. Disaster.
(on-camera): Are the numbers classified because the numbers are embarrassing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would be very embarrassed by them if they were to get out. GRIFFIN (voice-over): Keeping them honest, we spoke directly with numerous air marshals. They all tell us about one percent of the 28,000 flights that take off or land in the U.S. each day are protected. One pilot who crisscrosses the U.S. and flies internationally says he hasn't seen an air marshal on board in six months.
A federal law enforcement officer who travels to Washington every week says he can go months without seeing a marshal. And another pilot, who wanted to protect his identity because he carries a weapon on flights, flies in and out of New York's airports and says the marshals are almost nonexistent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having to guess, without a doubt, it's fewer than one percent of all my flights.
GRIFFIN: The Transportation Security Administration, the TSA, runs the air marshal service, which has refused an on-camera interview. Assistant Special Agent Greg Alter wrote to us that the figures we've been given are incorrect.
Alter won't divulge his figures but says, "While the exactly number of flights that air marshals protect is classified because we don't want terrorists to play a mathematical guessing game based on percentages, the actual number of flights that air marshals cover is thousands per day. This represents exponentially more than one percent and is well into double digits." And adds, "The Federal Air Marshal Service employs an intelligence-driven and risk-based approach to covering flights."
Covering flights is a deliberate choice of words, we're told. Air marshals tell us the administration internally says at least five percent of flights are covered.
(on-camera): A spokesman for the Air Marshals Service says when the service says a flight is covered, it means a federal air marshal is on the plane. But the federal air marshals themselves and armed pilots say that's not exactly the whole story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've specifically told us that we're a covered flight, when we're -- when we're -- when there's an armed -- a trained armed person on the plane, then that's a covered flight.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Even if that person is not an actual air marshal, but some other kind of law enforcement officer, who could even be on vacation.
As for any claim five percent of flights are covered, Dave Mackett with the Airline Pilots Security Alliance just doesn't believe it.
CAPTAIN DAVE MACKETT, AIRLINE PILOTS SECURITY ALLIANCE: We are not seeing anywhere near the coverage that they are asserting they have. It's -- I think they are whistling past the graveyard, hoping against hope that this house of cards that they call airline security doesn't come crashing down around them. GRIFFIN (on-camera): What's happening here? We're told federal air marshals are leaving in droves, some for better jobs -- and they're not being replaced. The TSA says the number leaving has remained a constant 6.5 percent a year since 2001. Numerous sources are telling CNN so many federal air marshals have transferred to other jobs or left the service that staffing at field offices has nearly been cut in half.
(voice-over) For instance, Las Vegas, which had as many as 245 federal air marshals, checked in last month with only 47. This year, the TSA is advertising to hire 50 new federal air marshals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Special Investigations Unit correspondent Drew Griffin.
For more on this story, go to CNN.com, where you will see TSA's response -- their to the findings of Drew's report.
Hillary Clinton is getting a little help in her campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LA PEQUENA: Yo soy la pequena Hillary Clinton.
MOOS (voice-over): Translation...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm the small Hillary Clinton.
MOOS: Having a big impact on the Web.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. Our Jeanne Moos checks out the campaign music video hits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right.
So what did we do before YouTube? Do you ever wonder how we managed to have a presidential race without YouTube?
Well, our Jeanne Moos takes a look at the very latest -- we'll call them hits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOOS (voice-over): Every so often...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The beat of my heart...
MOOS: It is simply irresistible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama disco! MOOS: We can't help presenting the latest campaign hit parade.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The campaign is rising. Obama's getting low.
MOOS: Who could forget...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's raining men...
MOOS: Well, now there's the McCain version.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's raining McCain, hallelujah. It's raining McCain, amen.
MOOS: Whoever imagined splashing a little John McCain...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain.
MOOS: ...on their face?
(on-camera): The funny thing about these political YouTube videos is that sometimes it's hard to tell whether they're actually for a candidate or making fun of a candidate.
(voice-over): Unless, of course, it's the latest "Obama girl" video.
AMBER LEE ETTINGER, OBAMA GIRL: I know Obama's going to win it, but you're sort of kind to stay in it (ph).
MOOS: OK, so model Amber Lee Ettinger never quite made it to vote for her guy in the primary. But she still manages to lip sync convincingly.
LEE ETTINGER: But he's got the superpowers to change the world and he's ready at 3:00 a.m. Steady.
MOOS: In case Hillary is feeling left out, a band called The Clintons recorded this for Senator Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Hill, if you ever dump Bill, come date me.
MOOS: But the Hillary hit that towers above all others...
LA PEQUENA: To the beat of my heart, thinking about letting it out. I want to give in...
MOOS: She's said to be a performance artist from Chile.
LA PEQUENA: Yo soy la pequena Hillary Clinton.
MOOS: Translation --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm the small Hillary Clinton.
MOOS: Having a big impact on the Web.
LA PEQUENA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I finally found...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I already gave my husband.
MOOS: Forgive, but you may never forget this.
LA PEQUENA: You teared us apart, the beat of my heart.
MOOS: La Pequena is already famous in certain circles for her Amy Winehouse performance.
LA PEQUENA: They tried to make me go to rehab. I said no, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my goodness.
LA PEQUENA: I dream about the time...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She seems like a he.
MOOS: Some quibbled about the outfit. La Pequena gets a few points off for not wearing a pants suit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, I'm going to have this in my dreams now.
MOOS (on-camera): I know you are.
(voice-over): As one person posted: "Some things once seen cannot be unseen."
LA PEQUENA: (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: If this is politics, maybe it needs to go to rehab.
LA PEQUENA: No, no, no.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: (LAUGHTER)
OK. That was weird and creepy and funny at the same time.
OK. Its creator says the online game is just good fun. Critics say it sends the wrong message to young girls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LINDA PAPADOPOULOS, PSYCHOLOGIST: The message is clear and simple -- a girl's value is in her looks and if you're not happy with it, then fix the way you look and that's the only the way you'll be happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All about Miss Bimbo in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is about that time, to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, standing by to see what's coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SIT ROOM" -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Don.
Who's -- what's the best way to decide the Democratic nominee? Tennessee's governor says he has an idea -- bring all the superdelegates, about 800 of them, together for a mini convention in June. Governor Phil Bredesen live here in "THE SITUATION ROOM". That story coming up. We'll talk about why his suggestion just might fly.
And Hillary Clinton and her husband both coming out very strong today with statements saying she's in this race to win it. You're going to hear why she's not ready to give up by any means.
And could it be proof of the deep division in the Democratic Party -- why a big block of Democrats now say that they may actually vote Republican. What's going on?
All that, Don, and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
LEMON: Nobody going down in this race, Wolf, without a fight, that's for sure.
All right, thank you very much, sir. We'll be watching at the top of the hour.
Be the best bimbo you can be -- that's the goal of the online game that you wish your teen or 'tween daughter didn't know about -- but she probably does.
CNN's Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nicholas Jacquart has created a Web site for young girls that is hugely successful in his native France and is now causing outrage in Britain.
(on-camera): Nicholas, this is your bimbo. NICHOLAS JACQUART, "MISS BIMBO" CREATOR: Yes, it's my bimbo.
BLACK (voice-over): It's called Miss Bimbo and in it, players get their own female character to look after.
JACQUART: I can have a t-shirt like this one. (INAUDIBLE).
BLACK: Dressing, feeding, keeping her happy are the innocent basics of the game. To win, you much do so much more. You're encouraged to choose sexy lingerie; keep her waif thin -- with diet pills, if necessary; make her more attractive -- even with cosmetic surgery; and find a rich boyfriend to look after her. You can also play a game called "French Kiss," where your lips must catch as many boys' in a nightclub as possible.
This site has more than a million members in France, 200,000 in Britain. It's just good fun, says its creator.
(on-camera): What is the goal of the game? What are the girls -- what are the bimbos trying to do?
JACQUART: To be the most famous bimbo with the most -- the more bimbo attitude.
BLACK (voice-over): But others describe it as frightening and dangerous.
PAPADOPOULOS: The message is clear and simple -- a girl's value is in her looks. And if you're not happy with it, then fix the way you look and that's the only way you'll be happy.
DR. DEE DAWSON, EATING DISORDER EXPERT: It tells you that a balanced diet is a plate of vegetables, which is clearly nonsense. And it tells you that cereal bars make you fat. They are not messages that we should be giving to young children.
BLACK: And then there's the name.
(on-camera): How would you feel if someone called your little sister a bimbo?
JACQUART: I wouldn't like. No, no. I don't like it, of course. No one wants to be a bimbo. But it's not their life. It's a game, so, why not be a bimbo in a game?
BLACK: Despite some similarities in appearance, Jacquart says Miss Bimbo is not modeled on any one celebrity.
TAYLOR RAE, GLAMOUR MODEL: Within December, I had an operation -- a breast enlargement to pursue a career.
BLACK: Glamour model Taylor Rae lives the Miss Bimbo lifestyle. She lives off her looks and she's proud of it. Rae doesn't object to the Web site, but believes young girls are increasingly too worried about their appearance.
RAE: It can be a bad thing because they start to get addicted to it.
BLACK: This Web site has triggered a loud public debate in Britain and the people who run Miss Bimbo admit the numbers using the site here have soared because of that debate.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Not much needs to be said after that.
The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final...
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bimbo-free zone.
LEMON: It's sad, isn't it?
A final look at the trading day.
Who would aspire to that?
LISOVICZ: Well, I will tell you, there are other forms of entertainment and I'm going to tell you about one upscale, sophisticated form -- for a price. The company called Village Road Show Gold Class Cinema is going to road test two upscale cinemas outside of Chicago and in Redmond, Washington it lather year. And if you can check out the arrangements, we've got a comfy easy chair.
Yes, only about 40 seats allowed. You can press a button, Mr. Lemon, and a waiter will come and serve you fine wine and gourmet food. That is, of course, a la carte. And there should be 40 locations tried out by the next year.
LEMON: OK.
LISOVICZ: Thirty-five dollars per...
LEMON: I was going to say, there you go.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: And that does include the amenities.
LEMON: How do you get people to leave after that? I mean you get them all, you know, hopped up on beer --
LISOVICZ: Well, the have a lounge. They actually -- well, they have a cocktail lounge.
LEMON: OK.
LISOVICZ: So you can spend more money for beer and for dessert and appetizers before or after. You know, but I suspect that you have a beautiful media room and don't need any of that. LEMON: You suspect wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I'm not saying, but that gives new meaning to tonight let is be Lowenbrau.
LISOVICZ: OK. All right. Well, you're always entertaining.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LEMON: All right. Thanks, Susan.
KEILAR: And let's head to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
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