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Angry Parisians Protesting Olympic Torch on its Relay to China; New Report Card on Airlines Performance Out Today; U.S. and Iraqi Forces Battling Shiite Militias for Control of Baghdad's Sadr City

Aired April 07, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, hello, everybody on this Monday. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And watch events coming to the NEWSROOM live on this Monday, April 7th. Here's what's on the rundown.

NGUYEN: Grumpy on board. New airline ratings, they are out this hour. You're paying more, arriving later and complaining louder.

HARRIS: Yes, bad timing. Fighting flares in Baghdad just a day before top war commanders update Congress.

NGUYEN: And the Olympic torch runs into trouble in Paris. China under fire, in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: At this hour, heavy protests aimed at China snuff out the Olympic torch. It is the second day of demonstrations along the torch's international route this time in Paris.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is there and on the phone with us.

Jim, if you would, tell us about the disruptions.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a couple of them so far, Tony. In fact, we've only got a few hundred yards down the road before things started happening. In fact, twice now the (INAUDIBLE), that includes policemen on rollerblades and motorcycle policemen and Chinese who are there proper protect the flame, their (INAUDIBLE) has had to come to a stop because of protesters blocking the route. And as it has come to a stop, at least twice they've had to take the flame and extinguish the torch as opposed to the flame, extinguish the torch and put it on board the bus where they have the flame from Mount Olympus, that continues to burn in a small lantern.

But in any case, they've had to twice take it off the streets. It's back on the streets now. There have been at least five arrests so far and they're way off schedule. They were supposed to be at city hall about now. In fact, they're way behind schedule. So nothing going according to plan here in Paris.

HARRIS: Hey, Jim, make that distinction a little clearer for us. You mentioned the torch and the flame. Obviously not one and the same.

BITTERMANN: Exactly. I mean the torch is what the runners carry. It is this gas powered thing that they have in their hand as they run through the streets. The flame is what was handed down from Mount Olympus. They lit with the sun's rays, et cetera. That's kept in a small lantern, which is on board the bus where the torch has been taken down twice. It's not like they whipped out a Decker or something like that.

HARRIS: Yes.

BITTERMANN: They really light the torch if they have to turn it off.

HARRIS: And Jim, what is the government going to do about appearing at the Olympics in August? Do we have a decision yet?

BITTERMANN: Well, there has been some confusion about that over the weekend. One of the junior ministers said -- Mr. Sarkozy might stay away, but in fact, the government says now that they are not going to make any decision about staying away from the opening ceremony until much later until it's closer to the day that essentially they don't have to make a decision about it until they see how -- what the situation is then.

It does seem, however, that they have ruled out any kind of boycott of the big games in general as there was against Moscow, that they will continue -- the athletes will continue to take part in the games but there might be a chance that officials might stay away from the opening ceremonies.

HARRIS: CNN's Jim Bittermann for us in Paris.

Jim, thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, the nation's airlines a bad case of attitude sickness. Yes, a new survey shows travelers complaints, they jumped for a staggering 60 percent from last year.

The news conference is just minutes away. But let's get to the details now. CNN's Alina Cho is at New York's La Guardia Airport. Always busy there.

So Alina, as we look at this, give us more detail as to what's in the report.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, good morning to you from La Guardia Airport here in New York. And the headline is complaints are up, way up, by 60 percent. On-time arrivals are down. Those are the headlines. But what it really comes down to are jet fuel prices. If you think about it, just as we are paying more to fill up our cars, on a much larger scale, the airlines are paying much more to fill up their planes.

Jet fuel prices have gone up a whopping 200 percent. And that has affected everyone's bottom line. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice over): Talk about going up, up and away. Jet fuel prices are sky high and climbing, a tough combination especially for low-cost airlines.

GENEVIEVE BROWN, SR. EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: Those low fares are just simply not enough to cover the high cost of fuel.

CHO: Three airlines folded under the pressure in recent weeks. ATA, Aloha, and Skybus, all closed up shop. Leaving passengers holding their bags and looking for a way home.

UNIDENTIFIED TRAVELER: We decided to rent a car. That was our cheapest way to get back.

CHO: Bigger carriers are also feeling the pain. American, the nation's biggest, has stopped hiring. Delta is looking to cut 2,000 jobs. Continental has hinted it could follow suit. Northwest and United say they'll fly fewer planes.

And then there are the extra fees. Checking more than one bag? Be ready to pay up. An extra 50 bucks on most airlines. Want to talk to a real person on the phone or bring Fido along on your flight? You got it, pay up.

BROWN: Airlines have become more creative about how they make money. We're now paying for things that once were included in the cost of an airline ticket.

CHO: We're paying another price, too. Customer complaints shot up 60 percent last year according to new numbers from the Airline Quality Survey. There were more delays with one out of every four flights showing up late. Airlines trying to fill flights to capacity meant more people got bumped, even though they had tickets.

And luggage? Good luck finding it. The number of bags lost also up for the year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Oh the lost luggage. I personally lost two bags last year, so I can tell you without reservation that everyone is affected by this.

You know, it's important to mention that the airlines as an industry just returned to profitability last year after that rough period following 9/11. Now they've been socked with this which makes it all the more painful, and Betty, you can bet the higher costs that the airlines are paying, those costs are being passed on to the flying public.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. We're already feeling it. It sounds like we're going to continue feeling it. But let me ask you this, in the midst of all of this, are there any deals to be had out there? CHO: Well, there are a couple of them, Betty. I know you and I both search online to find flights. You have to be a savvy shopper is the bottom line. Listen, overall, for example, if you're going to fly to Europe this summer, you're going to pay 10 percent more for your ticket this year than last. But I just spoke to a woman just this morning who paid $137 round trip for her ticket from New York to Fort Myers, Florida. So there are a couple of deals out there. You just have to look very hard.

NGUYEN: $137 round trip? That's with tax and everything?

CHO: Yes, not bad.

NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness.

CHO: That's right.

NGUYEN: That's great. But, OK, on the flip side, though, the airlines are going to really great lengths to try to save some money. So how is that going to continue to affect us? What are they doing?

CHO: Well, you'd have to look at American Airlines as an example. I mean this is really incredible, Betty. Listen to this. They are actually trying to make their planes lighter. For example, they're taking the phones and the accompanying wiring out of the seat backs. They've even replaced the silverware in business and first class to lighter metal. Again, the result is lighter planes. Lighter planes means less fuel. And, in fact, American Airlines, Betty, says they're going to change 111 million gallons in jet fuel just this year because of those changes.

NGUYEN: Really?

CHO: Yes, exactly.

NGUYEN: Taking the phones out, which not many people I don't think use those anyway. I know I haven't.

CHO: No, they don't.

NGUYEN: But, hey, why don't they just forget the silverware and just give them all plastic? That may be an idea.

CHO: (INAUDIBLE) idea, too.

NGUYEN: Those first class passengers may not like that.

Alina, thank you. Tony?

CHO: You bet.

HARRIS: Fierce fighting in Iraq this morning. U.S. and Iraqi forces battling Shiite militias for control of Baghdad's Sadr City. It's happening as General David Petraeus gets ready to brief Congress on progress in the war.

Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon. Nic Robertson is in Baghdad.

First to the violence. Nic, talk to us, if you would, about the fighting in the Shiite slum of Sadr City.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still going on today, Tony. It's been raging really on and off, but pretty much on over this weekend, but on and off for the past couple weeks. We understand from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, nine people have died in the -- as a result of the fighting. 65 wounded. But yesterday we had an exclusive interview with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and that gave us a real idea of why this fighting is continuing.

Sadr City is a haven for militias. It is a haven for the many militia belongings, to the Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr.

The prime minister has been backwards and forwards recently on an aggressive campaign to chase down that militia and over the weekend, he met with senior politicians in the country. He got their support and now he's issued the strongest ultimatum to the cleric Muqtada al- Sadr that he has to disband his militia or get out of politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (Through translator): A decision was taken Saturday that they no longer have the right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mehdi Army. The unanimous decision agreed upon by the political powers today and this is the first time political powers dare say this. The solution comes from the solution, which means solving the problem comes in no other way other than dissolving the Mehdi Army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a spokesman here in Iraq has said that this is not going to stand. The government cannot tell them to disband the Mehdi Army and they're planning a big demonstration in two days on Wednesday -- Tony?

HARRIS: Nic, I'm a little confused here. You talked about it back and forth. Wasn't it just last week that al-Maliki called for cessation of military action against the Mehdi Army?

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. There was a ceasefire. His offensive against the militias seemed to grind down. Then there was a ceasefire that it seemed to be broken in part by the Iranians. Then Maliki threatened to go on the offensive again. Sadr said, "I'm going to put out a demonstration." Maliki backed down. That was all in the space of 24 hours. Then what Maliki has done is get the backing of the senior political parties, the leading political parties in Iraq. Got their backing and now he's issued this ultimatum and it is the strongest language.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROBERTSON: This is a new face here in the war.

HARRIS: Well, but I have to ask you, to bottom line this for us, in all honesty, is it disbanding the militias, is that realistic?

ROBERTSON: The prime minister is staking his reputation on this. He went into this offensive two weeks ago. He looked like he was going to lose. In Iraq, people respect a strong politician. He cannot back down otherwise he's going last faith and look weak. He knows that his army is not up to the job in some places, but he told me this yesterday that he is counting on the support as he has done all along of the U.S. military and of the British military as well.

HARRIS: Wow. Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad. And Nic, I know we're going to be talking to you a bit later this hour. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Let's take you now to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr.

General David Petraeus, Barbara, is going to be heading to Capitol Hill tomorrow to deliver his war progress report. A lot of people wondering if there's going to be anything new in this. In fact, one senator thinks tomorrow's testimony is going to be like the movie "Groundhog Day."

Do you have any confirmation on that?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, reporters who have been covering this for months, it may well seem like that. But you know, let me follow up on what my colleague Nic Robertson's been reporting this morning because it may wind up being very crucial, of course.

Nic's interview with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, some of my sources here in the Pentagon already seen that interview, watching it go very carefully, and to underscore what Nic is saying, they see these statements from Maliki, but they don't see the Iraqi forces really out there yet backing it up. And that is what General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are going to be dealing with when they walk into the Senate hearing room tomorrow morning.

The status of Iraqi forces, the status of political reconciliation inside Iraq because it's all of that, when that is successful, that it's going to be able to lead to a recommendation to bring more U.S. troops home. General Petraeus is not ready to recommend that. He's going to tell Congress exactly what we expect -- finish the drawdown in the surge forces and then take a pause and see how all of this goes.

But, Betty, when General Petraeus walks into that Senate hearing room tomorrow, he also walks right into presidential politics. Of course, Senators Clinton and McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Obama, a member of foreign relations panel. And "ISSUE #1" for them may be to try and score some political points tomorrow. So we will be watching closely and seeing if it's "Groundhog Day" or just how much razzle-dazzle emerges on Capitol Hill. NGUYEN: Yes. Well, and considering what's happening in Iraq, you know, it may just be a case of bad timing some would say.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: But not really sure about that. Excited to see what he is really going to put on the table tomorrow.

Barbara Starr, joining us live. Thank you, Barbara.

HARRIS: Betty, what do you say we get our first check of weather on this three-hour thrill ride that is CNN NEWSROOM? There he is, Rob Marciano.

NGUYEN: Rob Marciano.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

HARRIS: Good morning, Rob.

NGUYEN: Good morning.

MARCIANO: How long have you been in this business?

NGUYEN: Quite a while.

MARCIANO: Are we going to stand by here like, you know, we're coming to you next.

HARRIS: I remember...

NGUYEN: Why, you didn't get one of those?

MARCIANO: It made -- really makes me look like I'm asleep at the wheel.

HARRIS: No, no, no. It's an action shot of you walking over because you're action figure.

NGUYEN: And I'm totally playing it off.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Action figure you. Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: I'll put the cape on next one.

HARRIS: Come on.

NGUYEN: All right. You be ready for it.

MARCIANO: All right.

NGUYEN: See you around.

OK. Going inside a secretive world. Getting children out of a polygamous compound in west Texas.

ANNOUNCER: Today's weather update brought to you by...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning, again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

College students partying too hard?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: After that a couple of tear canisters went out. After that you see dumpsters catch on fire, you see bricks thrown, bottles thrown, a couple people get hit in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: What is going on here? Riot police bust up the fun? In the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Stopping for support, John McCain speaking to voters, veterans and potential contributors.

CNN's Mary Snow is in Kansas City this morning.

Mary, good to see you. Tell us about today's event. Is it still a part of John McCain's tour across the country to, in effect, reintroduce himself to America?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, good morning. John McCain is going to be speaking here at a world war one museum. He's going to be speaking to veterans of foreign war. And as you mentioned, he had that biography tour last week and again he will stress the theme of talking to veterans but also the Iraq war. He's going to make the case today that the work is not done in Iraq and that he believes progress is being made. But he's also critical of his Democratic rival, Senators Clinton and Obama, and he's going to be saying that a withdrawal of troops from Iraq without the consequences will amount to what he calls a failure of leadership.

He's also going to reiterate that he detest war. This is a theme that he has struck before in foreign policy addresses, and this comes on the heels of a liberal radio talk show host who stirred controversy late last week when he called Senator McCain a war monger.

Ed Schultz was speaking at an event in North Dakota introducing Senator Obama. It was not an Obama event. It was a Democratic event in North Dakota. And the campaigns have been dealing with this over the weekend. But Ed Schultz was on CNN this morning saying that he is standing by his comment.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED SCHULTZ, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I don't need Barack Obama or any other senator to speak for me and I don't speak for the Obama camp. But I can tell you that there are listeners out there across talk radio in America who are very concerned about John McCain's position and I think I'm getting a lot of blog traffic supporting the fact that somebody's telling it like it is. The man's a war monger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now that was Ed Schultz earlier today on CNN saying that he was speaking for himself and not Senator Obama. But over the weekend, the McCain camp came out saying that when a conservative radio talk show host had made any inappropriate comments targeted at Senator Obama, that McCain condemned them swiftly and took issue with Obama for not doing the same.

And they released a statement that say, "This is a weak response for a man that claims to stand for a new kind of politics. It is increasingly clear that John McCain is someone who stands for a new kind of politics."

The Obama camp came out making clear that this was not their event and also released a statement saying that John McCain is not a war monger and should not be described as such, but also came out to say that Obama is not in favor of this war, and, of course, as Barbara Starr was just pointing out a few minutes ago, Tony, this is certainly going to be highlighted tomorrow when all three...

HARRIS: Yes.

SNOW: ...presidential candidates are in Washington as General Petraeus testifies.

HARRIS: That should be something. Mary Snow in Kansas City for us this morning.

Mary, appreciate it. Thank you.

Presidential politics, war vet to war vet, John McCain's VFW speech live from Kansas City 10:45 Eastern right here in the NEWSROOM.

CNNPolitics.com is your source for everything political from the candidate's movement to the latest delegate counts. Get all that and more at CNN politics.com.

NGUYEN: Right. Here are gas priced pumped up to a record high, a new record high. And I didn't have to tell about that, now did we?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Brace yourself because those gasoline prices, they are up again. A new all-time record.

HARRIS: Oh come on. NGUYEN: Yes, AAA this morning putting the average cost of a gallon of self-serve regular at about $3.34. Premium will cost $3.67 a gallon. And diesel? Four bucks a gallon. Experts say more price hikes, they're on the way as refineries switch over to those spring gas blends. Lucky you.

OK. So tens of thousands of jobs lost. We've been talking about that. But now this from economists that expect more to come. Last month alone, 80,000 of you got pink slips and now analysts are saying a recession may already be under way and it could cost about two million jobs before things turn around. They're looking for unemployment to top out at around 6 percent.

Today in Philadelphia, lawmakers hold a field hearing on the foreclosure crisis of predatory lending and at the White House, President Bush meets with small business owners. He'll be talking about his economic stimulus package.

HARRIS: In west Texas, more than 200 women and children have been taken from that polygamist sex compound. Authorities are looking for victims of possible physical and sexual abuse.

Here's our Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Dozens of child abuse investigators have been flown in to the El Dorado, Texas area to continue doing one-on-one interviews with the almost 160 children that have been pulled out of a polygamist sect compound over the last four days. Investigators say the interviews are slow and tedious, they're having a hard time figuring out just who is who. Relationships and names are different, so they are trying to sort all of that sought.

At the heart of all of this is the search for a 16-year-old girl that is believed to have been abused, perhaps even impregnated and married by a 50-year-old man by the name of Dale Barlow. Authorities here, law enforcement sources tell us that they do know where Barlow is, that they are talking to him but he has not yet been arrested.

But meanwhile those investigators are just trying to figure out exactly who this 16-year-old girl is. They say -- she might already be if their custody or she still might be inside the compound. So that's why investigators and law enforcement officials are still inside that 1600 acre ranch. The goal is to pull every child out.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: U.S. troops providing backup in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: We provide support, but we need you to action it. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Rules of engagement on the dangerous streets of Sadr City.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Overworked, underpaid, stressed to the max? Is the 24/7 grind of an Internet blogger, a killer job? Well, that's ahead, this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live, breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: On this Monday morning, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. What do you say we get you to the New York Stock Exchange? Where is that opening bell? That's what I want to hear. Let's get the business day started here.

The Dow closed down on Friday, 60 points. So we get started at 12,609. Merger Monday, Betty, perhaps. Yahoo still flirting with Microsoft. Microsoft still flirting with Yahoo. And what is happening with Delta and Northwest? Here's the thing.

The rumblings of mergers could actually move the markets forward. And look at this, right out of the shoot, 87 points to the good. Our Money Team all hands on deck. Susan Lisovicz, watching the markets for us in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, we're watching this because it's happening right now. Angry protests along the route of the Olympic torch relay in Paris. Police, they are out in force. Some on roller blades.

The protests aimed at China's handling of Tibet twice now. Police have extinguished the torch. This procession boarding a bus to make it through the demonstration. Our Jim Bittermann reports at least five people have been arrested so far.

Now, in London yesterday, police arrested about three dozen protesters along the torch relay route.

Air travel. You know, you don't have to fly often to complain a lot. Right now, a new survey of airline quality is being released. The bottom line, passengers are fuming. Consumer complaints suggest carriers jumped 60 percent last year. On-time arrivals dropped for the fifth straight year.

In fact, according to the survey, more than one in every four flights is late. Also on the rise, the rates of passengers bumped from overbooked flights and the number of bags lost, stolen or damaged.

NGUYEN: Let's take you to Iraq now because U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling Shiite militias for control of Baghdad's Sadr City. Our Nic Robertson is on the front lines. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As gun fire erupts, American soldiers take cover.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Is he on the ground or is he on the rooftop? OK.

ROBERTSON: Captain Logan Veath must find the gunman and stop the attack.

CAPT. LOGAN VEATH, U.S. ARMY: We've got one or two shooters located. They PID them or positively identified where they're at. They're being signaled on the rooftops by a couple of guys with flags.

ROBERTSON: For the past ten day, U.S. and Iraqi forces have been trying to take control of these neighborhoods. Neighborhoods, militias have been using to fire rockets with the U.S. embassy in Baghdad's allegedly secured green zone.

Militias turning the people against the U.S. troops.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: They turned us into the guys that move forward in and shot innocent women and children deliberately. And that didn't happen.

ROBERTSON: U.S. forces can patrol barely one-fifth of Sadr City because of Iraqi government restrictions.

(on camera): About 800 yards, about half a mile up the road here is the vast majority of Sadr City where U.S. troops are only allowed to go on very rare occasions. It's become they say an effective safe haven for the militias from where they're able to plan and prepare their attacks.

(voice-over): But there's one more problem here. U.S. troops must let Iraqi soldiers take the lead in fighting the militias. Captain Veath must convince his Iraqi counterpart to go after the gunmen. And it's not going well.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: OK, he told me he have little forces.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Little forces?

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Yes, little forces.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: He's got as many people as on the ground as I did.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: There is no reason that you cannot do this. We are behind you 100 percent, but you need to move forward.

ROBERTSON: The gunmen are still shooting. The Iraqi captain reluctant to lead.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Yes. We can provide support but we need you to action it.

ROBERTSON: Just when it's all agreed.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Now is not the time...

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: To support...

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: OK, it is -- to move out.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I need you to get your forces over to the mosque and to isolate it.

ROBERTSON: They discover the Iraqi troops have gone to lunch. Fortified with food, they head off around the corner to take on the gunmen. The shooting intensifies. Captain Veath follows.

VEATH: Let's go men, let's go.

ROBERTSON: Ready for backup. Raging into a store for cover, he loses contact with the Iraqi captain.

VEATH: We're here and a lot of volume of fire. I've got to figure out what's going on. If they're taking it or if they're giving or receiving.

ROBERTSON: Ten minutes later, the Iraqi troops returned. Three soldiers are injured. They say they killed one of the gunmen.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I'm proud of your men after what they (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I swear you have my (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: OK, OK, thank you so much. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And Nic Robertson joins us now live from Baghdad. Wow. Looking at that, do you get a sense that this fighting is far from over?

ROBERTSON: Far from over. When we pulled back from that intersection which was an intersection right where missiles had been fired from into Baghdad's secured green zone killing at least two embassy officials the weekend before last. The fighting was right on that corner.

As we pulled away, the fighting was continuing. And it's very clear, it's street by street fighting. It's difficult. It's an urban environment. There are civilians living in that. The militias are hiding in with the civilians. It makes it very difficult to fight. NGUYEN: In looking at your piece, too, when you had the American forces really trying to convince the Iraqi forces to move forward, what does this say about the readiness of Iraqi security forces especially ahead of what General Petraeus is going to be recommending to Congress regarding U.S. troops in Iraq this week?

ROBERTSON: Well, I think a very clear picture has emerged over the past few weeks. Not just in Sadr City where the Iraqi troops are still expect the lead and support from the U.S. troops. And we've seen it in the south in Basra, as well, when Iraqi troops sort of got into a stalemate situation. They had to call on U.S. troops for air support. It's the same here in Baghdad.

They can only do so much. They're not fully ready to take on. The prime minister admits they're not ready to take on the job by themselves. They rely heavily on the U.S. troops. The U.S. troops rely heavily on Iraqis. There aren't enough U.S. army soldiers on the ground to advance the way they would like to through Sadr City.

They rely on the Iraqi Army. So it's a joint process of getting the Iraqi army ready. And you can equip them and you seem them with good equipment, good helmets, good flak jackets, good armored protection, good armored vehicles, but you can't just make a soldier by giving him all those things.

You have to give them confidence and the way to get confidence is to get in the battle. Win some of those engagements. They realize they can do it and the U.S. Army captain -- Captain Veath, who I was with said he was confident in the Iraqi army soldiers.

But they're not, at that point, where they can do it by themselves. And it still relies on a lot of times on air support from U.S. Army helicopters pinpointing a precise attack on some of those militia gunmen and rocket hits.

NGUYEN: Yes, it does come down to experience as we're saying that, you know, again this is a game where that can be very deadly. All right. CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live from Baghdad. Thank you, Nic.

HARRIS: We are also watching the water levels and the levies. Army Corps of Engineers ramping up their monitoring in Louisiana. Heavy rain is swelling Mississippi River water levels right now.

The water is at its highest point in a decade. The river is expected to crest in New Orleans next week at 17 feet. Here's the thing. The levies are built to handle 20 feet. A core commander says no problems are expected, but some Louisiana parishes have already declared a state of emergency.

NGUYEN: All right. Let's get the latest on the severe weather. Rob Marciano is up on deck.

What do you have, Rob?

(WEATHER REPORT) NGUYEN: Well, a nation has voted. Now a nation waits. There is outrage, though, in Africa as a presidential election hangs in limbo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK, so your money or your life insurance? You can protect your wallet and your family. Christine Romans helps you make a decision that is "Right on Your Money."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buying life insurance can be confusing. Some policies have fixed terms and others can be adjusted each year. "Money Magazine" Walter Updegrave suggests a bare bones approach.

WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, MONEY MAGAZINE: For most people, the answer is a term policy and that provides basic insurance protection. There's no investment component to it. And the nice thing about this sort of policy is that you get -- for a relatively small premium, you got a pretty large death benefit.

ROMANS: And when deciding what amount of life insurance to get, Updegrave says Web sites like lifeline.org, intelliqoute.com, and insure.com can help.

UPDEGRAVE: You go to one of the sites that allow you to comparison shop for policies. You put in your age, the type of policy you're interested in, and it will give you listing of policies with different premiums.

ROMANS: Keep your budget and your priorities in check.

UPDEGRAVE: The idea with insurance isn't to try to create a wind fall should somebody die. It's really to provide just enough protection so that your family can go on and maintain something close to its current lifestyle.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And we want to let you know this. We are just learning that President Bush will be speaking from the White House in the Rose Garden at 11:45 or 11:35, I should say, this morning, Eastern Time.

He's going to be talking about the Colombia Free Trade Agreement that the president is trying to push through Congress. And, of course, we will monitor that for you and I'll bring you the latest news. 11:35 from the Rose Garden. President Bush will be speaking about the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

HARRIS: Outrage in Africa. A presidential election bugs down a legal limbo again. Some says Zimbabwe's democracy itself is at stake. Zimbabwe's government has officially banned CNN from reporting from inside the country. So CNN's Jim Clancy joins us now from Zimbabwe South Africa border.

Jim, good to see you. We understand the high court met today. What came of that meeting?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you're right. I'd like to be in there reporting on this high court meeting. It's the first glimmer of hope that Zimbabweans have seen. All 13 million of them. In their struggle for democracy and in their struggle to survive.

The high court says tomorrow, Tuesday, it will rule on whether it will force the election commission to release the results of that vote on March the 29th. And get this straight. All they're going to do is release the election results from ten days ago and it's going to take a high court ruling in order to do that.

Because the government doesn't want to release the results, because the government knows the President Robert Mugabe lost the presidential vote. And that's where the matter stands right now.

It is a situation where many of Zimbabweans that were once buoyed thought that their country had a future again. I've been coming through here and talking with us about how today their crest fallen. They feel that in many ways this is a vote that's been taken away for them. They would rather know that their candidate lost than know nothing at all. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, less than anything. Because even the people here in South Africa, we intended to go home to celebrate. Now I'm not going back again because they're not showing us what's going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Yes, the results should have been out probably at this time. Everyone's got an impression that (INAUDIBLE) are going to stay, come what may. People (INAUDIBLE). People (INAUDIBLE) are pretty optimistic. Talking to same people (INAUDIBLE), they are very pessimistic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know why that happened.

CLANCY: Does that make people afraid or worried about this one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, we're afraid. That's why we are accompanying this up and down, because they don't know. We just don't know why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: What they're afraid of is this, Tony. They're afraid that President Mugabe will polarize the nation black against white, opposition against ruling party, and create violence out of that. Their future, very uncertain right now. At the same time, they suffer through more than 200 percent inflation. A new $50 million note will only buy a few loaves of bread. Tony?

HARRIS: Jim, just a couple of quick questions. The law says if there is to be a presidential runoff, they should happen. And I guess, in the next couple weeks. What are the chances for runoff?

CLANCY: Well, we're not sure what's going happen in any runoff vote. The big fear is that the President Robert Mugabe has already started it on a very divisive note.

One that says it will never allow whites to come back to the farms that we took away from them, which was land. That they took away from us. Raising that spectrum. And more importantly, bringing out the so-called war veterans who are responsible for much of the political violence over the course of the last five years.

A lot of concerns about that by the opposition. They don't know if they can win a race under these circumstances. Very interesting for a U.S. viewers to know. How do they wage an election in there? You know, I have a very credible source who was talking to me this morning about how U.S. A.I.D., food aid sent by the United States, was handed out by the ruling party as if it were a gift from them.

They gave the keys to new cars to some of the tribal chiefs. But you know what was really significant here, Tony? The people didn't vote for them anyway. That's why President Robert Mugabe is so surprised. And that's why the results of the vote haven't been released. Back to you.

HARRIS: All right, Jim. Jim Clancy on the Zimbabwe South Africa border for us. Jim, thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, back here at home. Overworked, underpaid, stressed to the max? Is the 24/7 grind of an Internet blogger, a killer job?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The blogosphere is buzzing this morning about a "New York Times" story. Now, here's the title. "In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog until They Drop." So can blogging really kill you?

Veronica De La Cruz is here to talk about this.

Wow, I mean, when you think about it, they are always updating those blogs.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, you're right about that. But what can I say? The topic has definitely been a big subject of a lot of debate this morning, Betty. "The New York Times" writing this article suggesting that some bloggers are so stressed out that they're dropping dead.

And in it, they call the world of blogging, Betty, the new digital air of sweat shop where writers get paid by the article instead of by the piece. So the article is definitely raising a lot of eyebrows.

NGUYEN: Yes, it is. And when you think about it, you kind of wonder what prompted this. I mean, did something happen?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, the whole thing kind of stems from two TV net bloggers who did die in the last few months. We're going to take a look at a couple of the images. Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant -- here they are pictured in photos from zdnet.com.

Now, Shaw, died at age 60. Has massive heart attack there. And then Orchant had a massive coronary and died. He was 50. A third popular blogger from a different side, 41 years old, Om Malik. He is recovering from a heart attack he suffers late last year. But the big question is, you know, what type of lifestyles were they leading outside of work.

NGUYEN: Yes. Did it have anything to do with their occupation as a blogger. I mean, what's the connection there, if there is one? What else are you seeing on line?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, that's where all the controversy kind of stems. You know, there's been outrage from the on-line community saying, you know, how much merit this article really holds.

Blogger, Larry, Z-DNet who was actually interviewed for this article. He was never quoted in it. He said this. "The story was straightforward. "Three makes a trend" journalism. Yes, blogging is stressful. Yes, it can be insane, but is it any worse than being a corporate lawyer?"

And then blogger, Mark O'Neal, from betterthantherapy.net says that he is absolutely infuriated with the article, Betty. He writes "Suddenly, with the untimely tragic death of two bloggers we've suddenly got to write death by blogging on death certificates? Come on, give me a break."

And although bloggers who agreed with this article were hard to come by, Ed Sutherland from problognews says this. "Just as there were laws, regulations, and prohibitions against slave-labor, we must enforce the same protections for the heart of blogging, its writers."

He suggests the industry needs to get rid of dangerous trend towards advances and bonuses and pay writers what they're worth. And earlier this morning, Betty, celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, he spoke to CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" via (INAUDIBLE). He actually took the time to make this distinction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ HILTON, BLOGGER: Some of the people in this "New York Times" article that ran this past weekend, that passed away, fell into that other category where they were working for other people. So they were bloggers for hire. And I think that can maybe add a little extra layer of stress. You know, I feel really lucky that I'm my own boss and I work so hard because I want to work so hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: Now, the author of "The New York Times" article does note that there is no certainty that the stress of the blogging contributed to the deaths of any of these men I've mentioned. But he does say that those who knew them are thinking about the dangers of their own work style. So, again, Betty, something to think about. But you know, some people in the blogosphere this morning saying that the article is rather far reaching.

NGUYEN: Well, I mean, you think about it. We all have stress. All of our jobs are stressful to some extent. So how can you make that direct connection?

DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: Definitely, something worth debating I'm sure within the blog world. All right.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes. You and Tony are pretty stress out, right?

NGUYEN: All the time.

HARRIS: You have no idea how stressful it is working with this lady. I just want you to know, Veronica.

NGUYEN: No, Veronica, you know that's not true.

DE LA CRUZ: I know, I know.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Veronica.

HARRIS: And still to come, a birthday party in Fort Worth opening with smiles and laughter but ending in tragedy and death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, hello, everybody. On this Monday, I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.

Just out. A new report card on the airlines performance. Later arrivals, longer delays.

NGUYEN: John McCain speaking to war veterans. Hillary Clinton hoping to quite talk of a campaign in turmoil. We have live coverage this hour.

HARRIS: Angry Parisians protesting the Olympic torch on its relay to China. Trouble in the Eiffel Tower, today, Monday, April 7th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Campaign shakeup. Hillary Clinton's top strategist now stepping down.

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