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Texas Prison Riot Leaves Inmate Dead, Several Injured; Battles Rage Between Iraqis; Candidates Propose Solutions for Economic Crisis

Aired March 28, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it started as a crackdown: soldiers and police as rogue militias. Now it's a new war in Iraq, what President Bush is calling a defining moment. We are live in Baghdad.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And maximum trouble at a medium security prison. One inmate is dead, many others hurt after two separate brawls. We are live in Three Rivers, Texas.

Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in today for Kyra Phillips at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're going to begin with this morning's uproar at a federal prison in South Texas. One inmate is dead, 22 others are hurt. Fifteen have been taken to hospitals. Authorities with the Three Rivers Prison say everyone else is OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS MOLINA, PRISON SPOKESMAN: It's secure of all inmates and they have been accounted for. There is no threat to the community, and the local FBI has been notified and have begun their investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Three Rivers holds about 1,200 inmates about 80 miles south of San Antonio. We'll have a live report from the prison straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: Pitched battles again today in Iraq. A U.S. helicopter fires a Hellfire missile into a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad. A sharp escalation in the fighting, now four days old.

Iraqi security forces have taken on Shiite militia in Baghdad and other militia strongholds. Insurgents managed to hit the Iraqi vice president's office today. That is inside the high-security international zone in the capital.

And our Kyra Phillips joining us now from Baghdad.

Kyra, I understand there's a curfew there in Baghdad. Is it working?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, just when we thought it was -- this morning it seemed calm, and it was kind of eerie. Crews went out on the streets and said that it was pretty barren and there wasn't anything going on. Well, knock on wood.

You should have seen what happened about an hour after that. We started hearing the explosions, the gunfire, and then learning about these attacks into the International Zone.

Just to bring you up to date on that, U.S. diplomats in Baghdad now being warmed -- warned to stay undercover until further notice. Also, the State Department instructing all U.S. embassy personnel not to leave reinforced structures.

And then you mentioned, just a moment ago, that attack in the IZ, which hit the office of Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi. Two of his guards being killed. You know, he is the direct link to Nuri al- Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq, the one that is coming under fire for this huge campaign that he launched in Basra against those Shiite militias, the Mehdi Army supporting Muqtada al-Sadr, that radical cleric based there.

But, you know, his -- his purpose for that, he says, is because of the lawlessness that was taking place in this oil-rich city and everybody wanting a piece of that pie.

So still, the violence now spreading into other Shia neighborhoods. And we're seeing big protests, huge protests, in support of al-Sadr, in addition to that, these attacks against Nuri al-Maliki and his military action there in Basra.

KEILAR: And Kyra, initially many U.S. government officials were touting this latest offensive as sort of executed -- planned and executed by Iraqi forces. But I'm wondering now, a few days into this, how involved are U.S. forces in these clashes across Iraq?

PHILLIPS: Well, there's a lot that is at stake here. You heard the president speak yesterday. You heard the president of the United States speak today. And he was commending Nuri al-Maliki for this military campaign, saying it was a bold move, that he's proving that he can take control of his country, that he'll be able to secure his country.

But of course the president, this is his war. It was his administration that started Operation Iraqi Freedom, so he wants to come forward with a very positive message. But the reality is, it's still extremely dangerous to live here, and these battles continue to rage on. This is one of the biggest ones we have seen in months.

And Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's reputation is at stake here. Can he secure this country? Can he carry out this campaign and somehow reach a deal with these militias and his Iraqi troops so the violence will settle? There is a lot at stake.

And right now, the U.S. military not getting highly involved. They've been involved in close air support, dropping bombs, a little bit with regard to boots on ground. But overall, this is an Iraqi fight, and it's going to -- and what happens here will truly tell a lot about what Nuri al-Maliki can do with regard to securing his own country.

KEILAR: Yes, that's right. A lot of people, especially in the U.S., dissecting what's going on right now to see what it means for the future of Iraq.

Kyra Phillips keeping an eye on all of it for us there in Baghdad. Thank you.

LEMON: All right. This was our breaking news at the top of the show. Fights at a prison in South Texas turned deadly. They broke out this morning at the federal pen in Three Rivers. That's about 80 miles south of San Antonio.

Reporter Venema of -- Paula Venema, I should say. Excuse me for that, Paul. He joins us now from KSAT. He is at the prison.

And what is the situation now, Paul?

PAUL VENEMA, KSAT REPORTER: Well, at this point we're told that everything is under control. It began with a fight, we're told, between two groups of inmates in two separate housing units at this federal prison just outside Three Rivers, Texas, which is in Deep South Texas. The facility itself houses 1,500 medium security inmates.

Now the information we have at this point is that one of those inmates was killed during this riot. At least 15 others were injured. The injured were airlifted to area hospitals in San Antonio, a little -- about 80 miles away, as well as Victoria, Texas, where they're being treated. As well, inmates, we're told, were treated by prison officials here at the institution itself. A total, we understand, of 15 were evacuated from here.

We don't know how many are being treated at the facility itself, nor do we know what sparked this, aside from the fact that it involved two separate groups of -- of inmates housed here.

The bulk of the inmates here at this institution are serving some type of drug-related sentence. This is considered a medium security federal prison. The FBI, as well as prison officials, have begun their investigation and have promised additional information later on this afternoon.

Once again, though, it began, we're told, as a fight between two separate factions here, housed in two separate areas at the institution, just before -- just before 8 a.m. Eastern Time.

The investigation continues, and of course, we'll have more information as that becomes available.

For now, live in South Texas, I'm Paul Venema.

LEMON: Paul Venema, reporting from Three Rivers, Texas. We appreciate that, Paul. Thank you.

KEILAR: People in Virginia might be able to drive a little easier today, because authorities there have a teen in custody who they think could be the gunman who took shots yesterday at drivers on Interstate 64.

Nineteen-year-old Slade Allen Woodson was arrested this morning at a farm near Charlottesville. Right now, he's charged only with shooting into a house and a credit union in Waynesboro, but authorities are trying to tie him to six confirmed shootings on a 20- mile stretch of I-64.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLONEL STEVEN FLAHERTY, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: Woodson is considered a suspect in the Interstate 64 shootings that took place during the overnight hours of March 27. We are still awaiting ATF results of the analysis of the ballistic evidence that was collected at each of the scenes along I-64.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Two people were hurt in those interstate shootings, but they're both going to be OK, only minor injuries. Police think more than one person was involved.

LEMON: It's time now to talk politics. And the White House hopefuls looking ahead to the next big showdown. Barack Obama kicks off a week-long bus tour of Pennsylvania with a new endorsement. Hillary Clinton lays the groundwork for the Indiana primary in May. She's there all day, with four stops planned around the state.

And Republican John McCain heads west. He's gone to where the money is, and that's Las Vegas, meeting voters, raising cash and waiting on Democrats to decide whom he'll be running against.

Well, Democratic indecision seems to be causing some party faithful to lose faith. A CNN/Opinion Research poll finds 1 in 6 Obama supporters won't bother voting in November if their candidate doesn't win the nomination. An equal number of Clinton supporters say they won't go to the polls either if their candidate doesn't head the ticket.

KEILAR: A big endorsement in the next big Democratic primary. We kick off our Friday political ticker with word that Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey is endorsing Barack Obama.

Now this is a bit of a surprise, because Casey had said that he would stay neutral until after the state's April 22 primary. Meantime, Hillary Clinton still has her own big roster of big-name supporters in Pennsylvania, including Governor Ed Rendell and the mayors of both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

More questions for Barack Obama about his former pastor, this time on the morning talk show "The View." In an interview airing today, Obama tells the show that controversial comments by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright could have forced him to leave his long-time church.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Had the Reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The controversy exploded when clips from some of Wright's past sermons hit the Internet.

LEMON: Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean says he wants his party's nomination settled before the convention. He also wants the candidates to focus on the issues. Today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," Dean said the sometimes-heated rhetoric between the Clinton and Obama camps is not good for the party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Personal attacks demoralize the base. We need to focus on Iraq. We need to focus on gas prices, on mortgages. We need to focus on the economy. Those are the things that people care about. They don't care about bickering over pastors and who said what in Bosnia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Dean also said his party's primary system is not, in his words, "a mess." Instead, he said the primaries, quote, "have done much better than in the past."

All the latest campaign news is available right at your fingertips. Just go to CNNpolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television. That and more at CNNpolitics.com.

KEILAR: Soggy Arkansas and its swollen rivers. It seemed they took a step forward this week as they dry out from spring flooding. But now it looks like they could go a couple of steps backwards. The weather refusing to be part of the solution here.

LEMON: Plus, is the factory worker in America an endangered species? Well, some say the assembly line is about to stop permanently.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There you go. You see Chad Myers in the snow in the northeast. Midwest flooding continues. That's what's over your head, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

LEMON: Record flooding, I'm told, in parts of Arkansas. MYERS: Unbelievable.

LEMON: One river still rising.

MYERS: Yes.

LEMON: Any relief for those folks?

MYERS: Well, sure. As all this bubble of water, all this water eventually gets into Mississippi, it's going to end up in the Gulf of Mexico, and that will be great news. But here's what the forecast is and what the computers say for the next couple of days.

And there will be rain across Arkansas, but the heaviest will be south of there into Louisiana. Now, you think that's great news, except that's where the water is running, down here to Louisiana. And we're going to get more rain on top of that water, where the bubble is at this point in time, before it gets to the Gulf of Mexico, and then more showers on up toward about Charlotte. Most of Little Rock -- this is the blue, coming across here. That's about a half an inch. So a half an inch of rain. You'll be able to deal with that. Not too bad.

Here's what some of the pictures looks like, though, still, from Arkansas today. And water is going down in many areas. Trust me, it is. But not going down in others. This is Clarendon.

Thirty-five Arkansas counties are now disaster areas because of the flooding that happened over the past couple weeks. It really almost was about a week ago when this really started, the flooding here.

But the water is coming down in Ohio and Illinois, Indiana. But still coming up in other areas, as you said.

Here are all of the areas that are still out of the banks, from Dezark (ph) right here to Clarendon. We can click right here on this Clarendon and show you when it's actually going to come down. It's still at flood stage. And it's going to be a little -- here we go, coming on up. We're going to bring this up. And then see that we're still above major flood stage for the next few days. This is all the way to Wednesday. And so we're still above flood stage. A very slow, slow go down on the White River there at Clarendon.

So we'll go back to the map, show you where the river is now, show you where the water is now. But it's just going to be in that area over the general southeast for most of the day today and for tomorrow, and then it's gone. Gone, because we don't want rain in Washington, D.C., where the cherry blossoms are out, believe it or not. But they are, a little early. But a sign of spring. The Cherry Blossom Festival running next week. Look at that!

I remember being there last year. I was there for the Cherry Blossom Festival live on "AMERICAN MORNING," and it was a blast. Everybody will enjoy that.

LEMON: It's gorgeous. And when you showed that, you should see Brianna's face just lit up.

KEILAR: Because guess where I'm flying to.

LEMON: You're going home this weekend.

KEILAR: For the weekend.

LEMON: Yes.

KEILAR: Beautiful. I keep missing it. I'm normally working somewhere else.

LEMON: So you're going to get to see it.

KEILAR: Yes. Nice to look forward to. Thank you, Chad.

LEMON: And Chad, what was that -- what was that, a technical term, "Whoa"?

MYERS: My producer clicks on it. And it's supposed to be a little map and there it came up to be a real giant map. So, oh, well.

LEMON: All right. We'll try again next time. Thank you, sir.

MYERS: All right.

KEILAR: Well, it was a rough arrival in Houston for the 118 people on board this Continental jet. Four of its tires blew out upon landing. Now, no one was hurt. Just inconvenienced, thankfully. Passengers had to wait for a bus to take them to the gate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES LESTER, PASSENGER: The plane caught a crosswind or something, they came down really hard and started bouncing around. Everything started falling out of the ceilings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The tires were changed and the plane pulled to an airport hangar. Now, inspectors are trying to figure out how four tires could blow at the same time.

Back in the air and back on schedule, or at least as close as they can get. Two major air carriers, Delta and American, say they're more or less flying normal schedules today. Yesterday, well, not so much.

This was Atlanta International Airport. Just a mess of long lines and would-be passengers surprised to hear that their flights were canceled or long delayed. Both airlines called a day of snap safety inspections, grounding hundreds of planes for most of the day. And an American spokesman says many aircraft were found to need modifications. So good for them to do inspections, it appears.

LEMON: Good for them. And we're going to have more politics for you at the bottom of the hour, including new evidence that the Clinton and Obama rivalry could have an impact on the Democratic votes in November. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has some very new information for you. And it involves polls. You might be surprised by it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Well, the next chapter in the economic downturn will likely be written by the American consumer. And so far the early drafts, well, they just aren't looking too good.

Stephanie Elam is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and she joins us now with details on that.

How are you doing, Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good, Don. You know, have you been spending, buying more ties? I know you have a -- quite a tie collection.

LEMON: I've been actually -- do you really want to know this? I have.

ELAM: I actually do.

LEMON: Vintage ties. They're cheaper, and they're back in. That's my secret.

ELAM: So that's your secret.

So the thing is, consumers have really not been spending. And so I'm just trying to see if you were doing your part.

LEMON: OK.

ELAM: Because we're now seeing consumer spending at a 17-month low. That's a big, because, well, the economy is driven -- two-thirds of it comes from the fact that consumers spend. That's part of our engine here in the United States. So that's a big deal.

Consumer Department -- actually, I'm sorry, the Commerce Department says that spending rose but just barely, inching ahead by 0.1 percent. Now, adjusting for inflation, spending was actually flat. And it's important, since spending is such a big deal of our economy. So that's why we care so much about this.

Now analysts say this consumer caution is another sign that the economy is slipping into or already in a recession. Obviously, we're still speculating on that one right now.

But one thing that we should note, is that disposable income here was actually up. So that means people are making more money. They're just being more cautious about where they spend it, how they spend it, and all those other aspects that come in with people being weird or freaked out a little bit about what's going on in the marketplace, Don.

LEMON: That's what they mean by consumer confidence, right?

ELAM: Right. Exactly.

LEMON: OK. Buying vintage, right, cheaper, not full retail. And what you just said, that's not good news for retailers.

ELAM: Not at all. And so of course, we're seeing retail stocks are taking a little bit of a hit here today, as you might expect.

But the other thing is take a look at JCPenney. That's a store we all know. It's spread out across the country. Well, they came out today saying first quarter sales and earnings were actually going to miss their previous expectations. The CEO says more than half of American families are among its customers, and those customers are under increasing economic strain. So that is not helping out JCPenney. That stock is down.

He says the stimulus package that's coming out in May, it could help out, but he expects this weakness to continue into 2008.

Also we have some news here from the Fed. The Fed saying that Wall Street firms are not showing much demand for direct loans from the central bank, so it could be a sign -- it could be a sign here -- that perhaps we're seeing the end of this credit crunch. Of course, we'll just have to wait and see if another, you know, fireball lands on our laps here.

Taking a look at the numbers on Wall Street, the Dow barely above the flat line: 12,303. NASDAQ up about three at 2,284. So we've been up all day. Don, we're going to have to see if we can hold onto our gains.

But coming up in the next hour, some banks are paying people to move out of their homes that have already been foreclosed on. You may be wondering why they are doing that. I will explain it to you in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Stephanie, that's what I call a tease. I can't wait to figure out what that one is.

ELAM: Journalism 101. I try to remember.

LEMON: Thank you. See you in a bit.

ELAM: All right.

KEILAR: When it comes to the economy, there are three kinds of problems: imminent disasters, sudden emergencies, and chronic predicaments. The housing meltdown and credit crunch fall under sudden emergencies. The chronic list is usually forgotten, so long as nothing seems close to imminent disaster.

So how would the presidential candidates handle all of this? CNN's Allan Chernoff takes a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time one of the presidential candidates becomes the 44th president of the United States, the worst of the housing crisis may have passed. But the funding problems confronting Social Security and Medicare will still be around and growing in urgency, particularly for Medicare.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our real challenge is in Medicare, which is much more in crisis and deserves closer attention.

CHERNOFF: The Medicare trustees reported this week that in 2010, less than two years from now, spending on Medicare hospital insurance will exceed the program's income. And by 2019, 11 years away, the trust fund will be depleted.

The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2041, according to the program's board of trustees.

Senators McCain, Obama and Clinton say they'd avoid politically unpopular benefit cuts. The answer, they say, is controlling health care spending. The Democratic candidates claim they can save billions by improving efficiency and relying more on high technology.

EUGENE STUERLE, URBAN INSTITUTE: None of the candidates have really proposed solutions for these problems. They've recognize the problem to some extent, but none have come close to proposing an adequate or meaningful solution.

CHERNOFF: John McCain supports partial privatization of Social Security, the plan President Bush proposed but failed to gain congressional approval.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't have time to waste. We don't have eight years. We don't have eight years to fix Social Security or Medicare.

CHERNOFF: Senators Clinton and Obama are against partial privatization. Clinton proposes new retirement accounts to supplement Social Security, while Senator Obama says the answer is to increase Social Security taxes on the wealthy and the super rich like Warren Buffett.

OBAMA: He's paying payroll tax on less than -- on a fraction of 1 percent of his income. Now that is not fair.

CHERNOFF (on camera): The money has to come from somewhere, either raising taxes for millions of Americans, not just the Warren Buffetts of the nation, or cutting benefits. But trying to make Americans swallow that pill is no way to get elected.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Remember when factory jobs used to be the backbone of our society? Guess what? Factory jobs are disappearing, and the question is, are they ever coming back? We'll meet American workers facing the end of the road.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A couple stories we're working on for you today here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Two prison fights today at the Three Rivers Federal Correctional Institution in South Texas. One inmate is dead, 22 are hurt.

A 19-year-old Virginia man is under arrest in connection with a series of shootings along Interstate 64. Gunfire hit several vehicles early Thursday, but there were no major injuries.

A 22-year-old Florida arms dealer is under fire. His company supplied the Afghanistan army, but he's been accused of breaking U.S. law of providing ammunition made in China. The man's grandfather blames the accusations on competitors.

Let's talk now about the economy. It is "Issue #1." Consumer spending is flat and a lot of money that is being spent is going into the gas tank. The Commerce Department says personal spending rose just one tenth of a percentage point last month, that's the smallest increase in almost a year and a half.

At the same time, AAA says gasoline prices are up another penny. It's only a penny, but when they're high that's a lot of money. The average price for a gallon of regular is $3.27 and a half cents. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently up six -- 6.35? I can barely see that.

KEILAR: 12,308, up six points.

LEMON: Look at you, Brianna. You have those young eyes. Thank you for helping me out.

Find a long line when you went to get your taxes done, well we'll tell you why many more Americans are expected to file this year to qualify for those stimulus rebates. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the IRS is taking steps to cope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: You need to file a tax return to get the rebate check. 20 million Americans normally don't file a rebate check -- excuse me, file a tax return, they're going to need to do so. We're doing everything we can to help them. Many of them have already received letters. As you said, the IRS is going to be opening up all of their regional offices on Saturday.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: 320 IRS offices will be open from 9:00 a.m. until at least 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. Several other organizations will be helping, too. You can get a list from them by going to IRS, their hotline is 1-800-906-9887. Or by going to the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov.

KEILAR: New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but experts still think unemployment will rise this year. Some of the job losses will be temporary but for factory workers job losses are a long and perhaps irreversible trend.

CNN's Jim Acosta reports from Middlefield, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many, the lifeblood of blue-collar America is fading away. And nobody knows that better than Wally, Gene and Mary, all soon to be laid off from the Johnson Rubber Company.

GENE WEAVER, JOHNSON RUBBER CO. EMPLOYEE: People are angry, upset, frustrated. I mean what do you do? We got guys in here that been here 50 years. Guys with a lot of seniority here.

ACOSTA: Johnson has called Middlefield, Ohio its home for over 100 years but their doors will close at the end of April, putting 500 people on the street.

WALLY EVANS, JOHNSON RUBBER CO. EMPLOYEE: Northeast Ohio is a tough place to work, it's a tough place to be out of a job right now.

MARY FOOR, JOHNSON RUBBER CO. EMPLOYEE: We didn't get rich but we made a living here.

ACOSTA: Company officials say they simply could not keep up with rising energy and health care costs, making it impossible to complete with cheap labor overseas.

MARK WELCH, CRO, JOHNSON RUBBER CO.: The company ran out of money basically.

ACOSTA: Mark Welch is what the industry calls a chief restructuring officer. He was brought in to try to save Johnson Rubber.

WELCH: In looking forward there was no saving this place. So far, no. No, there is no saving this place, unfortunately.

ACOSTA (on camera): It's not just the Johnson Rubber Company. This state has hemorrhaged 236,000 manufacturing jobs over the last seven years, a staggering number not seen in Ohio since the great depression.

AUGGIE TANTILLO, AMERICAN MANUFACTURING TRADE ACTION COALITION: As manufacturing has gone through this serious decline, the pain is wide and deep in Ohio.

ACOSTA: To make matters worse, Johnson Rubber stopped payments to its health care provider in July of 2007 before signing with a new provider in August. That lapse left unwitting workers like A.J. Johnson with hefty unresolved medical bills. What kind of bills are we talking about?

A.J. JOHNSON, JOHNSON RUBBER CO. EMPLOYEE: The biggest one I've got is $22,156.

ACOSTA: $22,000.

JOHNSON: Correct. Correct.

ACOSTA: How are you going to pay that?

JOHNSON: Oh, I don't have the money to pay that.

ACOSTA: Company executives say they have a plan to make sure their employees' medical bills are paid. For now, the factory is still humming with busy workers, but not for much longer.

FOOR: I put two children through college working here. To find a job at my pay rate now, I'm not going to find one in the area.

ACOSTA: The question these blue-collar workers face is where they go from here.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Middlefield, Ohio.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And President Bush is expected to talk about the housing crisis today after he visits the credit counseling service in New Jersey. We'll bring you his remarks live. He's scheduled to talk at about 3:45 eastern.

KEILAR: The presidential race has been tough, bitter, almost nasty at times. That's just among the democrats. Can the Clinton and Obama camps put their differences and disappointment aside come November? A new CNN opinion research poll finds that 1 in 6 Obama supporters and an equal number of Clinton backers won't bother voting if their candidate doesn't win the nomination.

Let's head now to Philadelphia and ask our senior political analyst Bill Schneider what to make of this.

Hi, Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Brianna.

This is getting risky, dangerous, Howard Dean the party chairman has warned that it could be a division in the party that will be difficult to heal. He claims it can be healed and it usually is when there is a division.

But the real risk is this -- if the losing candidate can make the argument that he or she was cheated out of the nomination, that the process was unfair, then the difference between the candidates reconciling their supporters to the nominee could be very, very difficult. That's what happened to the Democratic Party in 1968. Hubert Humphrey didn't run in any primaries, but yet he won the nomination because the party establishment chose him and there was rioting at the Chicago convention that year. Well that's the risk that superdelegates are worrying a great deal about, will the loser be able to argue that the process was unfair and that he or she was cheated.

KEILAR: Bill, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean weighed in on this, this morning. Tell us what he said and tell us if he should be worried about this whole thing tearing the Democratic Party apart.

SCHNEIDER: Well, he expressed optimism that this division could be healed. But I think he is worried and many superdelegates are worried. Barack Obama argues if the superdelegates reverse the will of the voters, that is if the primary voters and the pledged delegates go for Obama and the superdelegates pick Clinton, then he can make the argument the process is unfair, the party establishment cheated me out of the nomination.

Hillary Clinton can argue if the Florida and Michigan delegates are not seated two contests, they were then beauty contests but she won them overwhelmingly. If they're not seated, then I've been cheated out of the nomination. Her fundraising letters are saying "they're" trying to force me out of the race.

Who are "they"? That would be the party establishment which is trying to say well if she can't win maybe she should drop out of the race. So there are sinister conspiracy theories being conjured up by partisans on both sides of this split. It's getting dangerous.

KEILAR: This democratic primary season just seeming like a never-ending story. Bill Schneider breaking it down for us, thank you.

LEMON: Singulair, millions of Americans with asthma and allergies they take it but what does it do to their minds? Wow. The FDA is looking into that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here it is. It is from this morning. If you know someone who takes Singulair for asthma or allergies, millions of people do, here's a development you might want to keep an eye on. The federal government is looking into a possible link -- a possible link between Singulair and suicides.

Here's our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about one of the most prescribed allergy asthma medications in the country, Singulair, it's been around for about 10 years. Now the FDA is going to do some investigating into these suicides.

Now to be fair, we're talking about four suicides as far as our homework has told us. That's out of about 32,000 suicides on average every year. Small number here but the way a medical investigation like this takes place is they try and find similarities and Singulair emerged as a concern. Again, no one is saying there is any kind of definitive link here but they're going to look into this a little bit further.

Singulair is a medication that can be prescribed for children as young as 6 months obviously into adulthood, so children and adults maybe getting a good looking at here with regard to this medication. Singulair is what is known as leukotriene antagonist, the name doesn't matter.

But basically what that means is it stops a lot of those inflammatory cells from causing the awful symptoms of asthma and allergies. The chest tightness, the sinus problems and the runny nose. It's pretty effective for a lot of people but a lot of people are obviously looking into this are going to be concerned about what the FDA's investigation now.

We have talked to Merck and they say there have been a lot of studies, take a look at the numbers there, about 11,000 patients were studied in 40 different clinical trials and they found no evidence of suicide links.

We also found that there have been four updates in their labeling. Take a look at some of the less common side effects, you can never read those little labeling things. We're reading it for you. Read that, take a look. Behavior and mood related changes, aggressive behavior, bad, vivid dreams. If you keep reading, suicidal thoughts and actions are on the list.

This is not the first time that a medication that would seemingly have no effect on one's mood or behavior has been looked at by the FDA. Chantix which is a smoking medication is another one that's being looked at. Also Accutane, a medication commonly used for skin problems, also had some links with suicide as well. Antidepressants, we've talked a lot about that.

A prevailing message here, an important one, don't stop this asthma medication if you've been taking it for some time. A bad asthma attack can certainly be riskier than the possible chance of what we're talking about here. If you've had some problems with depression or if you had some problems with anxiety, you think it might be related to Singulair, talk to your doctor about this. This investigation continues on. We'll keep tabs on it.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Sanjay, thank you very much for that.

Actor Dennis Quaid is still considering suing a Los Angeles hospital over how they treated his babies. Quaid tells the "Los Angeles Times" he wants Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to take the lead in improving patient safety by bar coding all medications given to patients. He says the hospital has been reluctant to do so. Quaid and his wife's newborn twins were given a thousand times of a normal dose of the blood thinner heparin at the hospital. They have since recovered.

KEILAR: Mark your calendars next Wednesday is world autism awareness day. CNN bringing you a special report on autism that's at noon eastern April 2nd.

Then, this weekend CNN's "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta is also exploring the issue. He's going to go one-on-one with the CDC asking whether childhood vaccines are safe. That is Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

LEMON: Drug violence in the United States, right at the back door. What's Mexico doing to fight drug traffickers who have turned a border city into a killing ground?

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LEMON: All right, it's kind of hard to read this next story. You never knew her name but you definitely know her work. Bev Brodman's work was CNN and Bev was a CNN original. She helped invent this place and gather news that informed and transformed the world. Our friend and colleague died last night and the loss extends far beyond the news room that she thought of as her home.

CNN's Chuck Roberts has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUCK ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's some sad news to report from the CNN family. Our dear friend and long-time colleague Beverly Brodman has died after a battle with cancer.

Bev, as she was known in the news room was a CNN original, joining the network in 1980 one month before CNN actually went on the air. She had many important jobs here, she began her career at CNN sports, later she became a news manager on our domestic assignment desk and for the past several years, as an editor on our news planning desk.

She was always here for the big stories. The 1986 "Challenger" explosion and the day America came under attack, September 11, 2001, right in the thick of things. Bev was always taking care of her field crews and always on the phone. That's how most of us saw her doing her job, a job she loved.

And to our benefit, she also loved sharing her passion with young journalists.

BEV BRODMAN: It's teamwork. It's not being a prima donna. Being ready to pick up and do anything from coffee to interviews to editing.

ROBERTS: CNN wasn't her first job in national journalism. Bev first began at CBS News in 1970 and worked her way up fairly quickly to join the staff of the CBS morning news. She joined CNN after a 10- year career at CBS News. Bev was far too young. Only 60 when she died.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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KEILAR: Time now to check what's clicking on cnn.com today. A toddler in Weldon, Iowa, sticking a bit closer to home after falling into a neighbor's old well. His dad saved him literally diving through the hole and into 10 feet of water.

You want to beware if you have to gas up in Santa Fe or Albuquerque because diesel fuel was accidentally mixed in with gasoline at a pipeline terminal and delivered to dozens of gas stations in that area.

And also a story that you first heard here in the NEWSROOM, a judge in Pennsylvania giving three defendants who speak only Spanish a choice, learn English within a year or go to jail. Latino community leaders are praising the judge for his creative sentencing. These stories and much more on cnn.com.

LEMON: Travel trouble in Texas. A woman with nipple piercings told to take her rings off in order to get on a flight.

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KEILAR: British reserve gave way to French allure as France's new first lady stole the show and the headlines on a state visit to London.

CNN's Jeanne Moos uncovers the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She came, she saw, she curtsied and rarely has a curtsy looked quite so chic. Dressed in Dior, at least she was dressed. A 15-year-old nude art photo of former model Carla Bruni circulated just as the French president and his new wife began their state visit to Britain.

What a state it left the media in. Ah shante (ph), ooh-la-la. One paper described her as Jackie O. dressed as a nun. She's been romantically linked in the past to men ranging from Nick Jagger to Donald Trump. She does have Jackie O's breathy voice.

CARLA BRUNI-SARKOZY, FRENCH FIRST LADY: In the face of all these, you're the hope. Thank you.

MOOS: As her husband addressed parliament, she perched elegantly. She did everything elegantly. From eating, eating off a speck of something, she even wiped her nose elegantly. The media obsessed on her accessories, for instance her purse. Classier than the one displayed by a guest attending a charity luncheon for Madam Sarkozy. Her Dior flats merited a close up, one paper pointed out her heels were lower than her husband's. Perhaps to minimize the fact that she's taller than he is, by the final gala any nun looked had pretty much disappeared.

Earlier at a press conference, a French reporter asked President Sarkozy about his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't you think she's kind of stolen your show? Isn't it a bit too much?

MOOS: The president bitingly replied that by asking such a question the reporter showed he must have had an unfortunate experience with marriage. Of his wife, he said ...

NICOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: I am proud that people have seen her for what she really is.

MOOS: A humanitarian. The public has seen a lot of her, albeit partially obscured by stars, a black bar, a pink bar, notation "NS4W" "not suitable for work." And best of all, the flag of France.

(On camera): Remember back when some Americans were mad at France over the Iraq War and there was all that talk about naming French fries freedom fries? That prompted this post commenting on Carla's nude photo -- here in America we call those freedom thighs.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Freedom thighs. Only Jeanne Moos, OK.

All decked out in white and ready to meet her fans, this popular bear taking her first tentative steps into the open air. Look how cute. Zoo goers in Nuremberg, Germany will be able to see her in person for the first time in early April. She's three months old. One of the recent string of captive polar bear births in Germany. Zoo officials are bracing for 25,000 visitors a day when the bear makes her long-awaited debut.

KEILAR: That is a meow of relief from Arizona and you'd meow, too, if you'd spent the last few weeks stuck in a wall of a neighbor's new house. The owner thinks he could have been trapped in there for a couple of months even. Workers drilled some holes in the drywall to give the cat an escape route but he apparently wasn't curious enough to go through them. He finally came out yesterday through a hole in the master bedroom.

LEMON: You've heard of the worm in the tequila? Look at that. Behold, we've got the rattlesnake in the vodka for you. A Texas man was selling this stuff for $23 a bottle mostly to people in an Asian community. Snakes there are used in traditional medicines and as aphrodisiacs. Authorities busted the guy for selling liquor without a license apparently putting the 10-inch rattlers in there was not a problem. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

KEILAR: He slammed the sermon, condemned the contempt and bared his soul to the nation. So why can't Barack Obama just get past his pastor? We'll look at the quest for political redemption.

LEMON: Code red in the Green Zone. The resurgent war in Iraq hits home for Iraq's most powerful leaders. Our Zain Verjee is watching from the State Department.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in today for Kyra Phillips. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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