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Rhetoric Softening on Iran-U.K. Crisis; U.S. Looks for Answers to Missing American; Students Sickened in Virginia School
Aired April 03, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips, who's on assignment in Iraq.
This hour, new images of the captives in Iran. Will diplomacy prevail as tensions rise? President Bush says no to quid pro quo.
And another recall: what you really need to know about tainted pet food.
LEMON: Plus, a stormy summer and fall. That's a question one of the nation's top hurricane predictors says he will -- we will be learning more names this year.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
They look casual; they act casual. But there's nothing casual about their situation. Fifteen British marines and sailors seen again today and new pictures released by the Iranian news agency.
Iranian forces seized the Brits in the Persian Gulf 12 days ago. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the next two days will be critical.
Let's go straight to CNN's Robin Oakley in London.
What are the chances of a diplomatic solution in all of this, Robin?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, they seem to be looking up a little bit. And probably the less news there is, the better news it is for those captives in Iran, because it means that the backstage diplomacy is working to a degree.
Dr. Ali Larijani, the national security chief in Iran, has been making softer noises about the captives and their chances of being released. That was met today with softer reactions, too, from Tony Blair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: All the way through, we've had, if you like, two very clear tracks on this. One is to try and settle this by way of a peaceful and calm negotiation, to get our people back as quickly as possible. The other is to make it clear that, if that's not possible, then we have to take an increasingly tougher position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: What seems to be happening now is that they're talking much more about the technicalities. Who exactly was in whose waters at what time? And if they can agree to disagree about that, well, there may be some route to the release of the captives, Don.
LEMON: Robin Oakley in London, thank you so much for your report.
KEILAR: Iran's standoff with Britain's, Iran's hostility toward the U.S., Iran's connection with Iraq. Take a closer look now at those tangled relationships with CNN's Michael Ware, who is in Baghdad for us.
Michael, what can you tell us about Iranian detainees that are being held in Iraq and any possible U.S. role here?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we do know for sure is that we are -- there are at least five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force officers still in detention by the U.S.-led coalition here in Iraq.
Now when we say Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, Brianna, think American Green Beret with a mix of American Delta. I mean, this is among the best of their best, some of their most elite intelligence and covert operatives.
And the U.S. has five of them. Originally, America had seven of them, but two were quickly released.
Now we've seen the release of this second secretary from the Iranian embassy here in Baghdad. Now it's long been said by pro- American intelligence agencies in this country that this fellow is one of many in the Iranian embassy who's really working for the Iranian intelligence apparatus. Essentially, he's a spy, or some kind of agent, or operative.
Now what the Iranian foreign ministry is saying us that it was indeed Iraqis acting under U.S. supervision who kidnapped this diplomat in the first place and have now released him.
It's impossible to say if that's true or not. But we do have it from U.S. sources that one of the most unlikely candidates for making the diplomat disappear in the first place was the U.S.-backed Iraqi national intelligence service.
This is a very, very murky world. But there's definitely five elite Iranian officers still in U.S. detention.
KEILAR: Very murky world. Thank you there for clearing it up for us, Michael Ware in Baghdad. Let's go now -- President Bush, the British troops seized by Iran are not detainees; they're hostages. He used that word again this morning at the White House and said Britons shouldn't offer concessions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I support the Blair government's attempts to resolve this issue peacefully. We're in close consultation with the British government. I also strongly support the prime minister declaration that there should be no quid pro quos when it comes to the hostages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, they're not talking directly, but the U.S. is asking Iran for information about a former FBI agent last seen weeks ago on an Iranian resort island.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Zain Verjee. She's at the State Department -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
The U.S. is waiting for Iran to respond. The State Department has sent a letter to Iranians by the Swiss government, basically asking for any information at all about this missing American in Iran.
U.S. officials told us today that Iran could take days, if not weeks, to respond to that letter. At a briefing a short while ago, the State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We don't have any credible information at this point as to his current situation. And that is the reason why we've decided to take this effort of communicating directly with the Iraqi government via the Swiss channel to see if they have any information they can provide about his whereabouts or his particular situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Now, the State Department says that he disappeared several weeks ago. Officials say that the American was on an island called Kish Island, which is off of the coast of southern Iran. They say he was last seen there.
They also insist that he was not working in any way for the U.S. government. Instead, officials are telling us that he was working with an independent author and producer, trying to arrange an interview of some sort. We don't have the details about that.
Now, the FBI has also confirmed to CNN that the missing American was a former FBI official. He retired 10 years ago, and really was an agent that followed organized crime in the United States. They were very clear, though, to make this point that he did not work in any intelligence capacity.
And one more thing, Don, is that the U.S. is saying that there is no indication at all, no evidence, to support the idea that the Iranians may be holding the missing American. There are too many moving parts, and they don't quite know what's going on, which is why they're requesting information.
LEMON: So again, no link, then, between the missing American and those British sailors?
VERJEE: No, the State Department is quite categorical about that. What they've said, basically, is there's no link at all. And the reason that they did is that the British soldiers, rather, this American man was -- went -- disappeared several weeks ago. And the British sailors, excuse me, were taken after that. So they say that there's no link.
LEMON: All right. Zain Verjee, thank you so much.
KEILAR: And with all of this focus on -- or will all of this focus on Iran end up hurting it, or will it end up more powerful than ever? CNN's Aneesh Raman has traveled into the heart of Iran. He joins us now from Amman, Jordan.
And Aneesh, you know, with the language out of London and Tehran turning a little more diplomatic, have the Iranians here gotten exactly what they wanted out of the capture of these British sailors?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And an immediate level, the answer is yes. From the start, Iran wanted this resolution to come -- you know, out of this standoff to come from a bilateral discussion between the British government and the government in Tehran.
Not surprisingly, the British government in the first few days was angered over the situation, especially the release of the videos. And it began in the first week to ratchet up international pressure, via the U.N., via the E.U., via neighbors in the region, especially in Iraq.
Well, that inflamed Iran's resolve. You saw the release of that sole female taken among the group of 15, taken off the table.
So at that level, yes, Iran is now talking to the British government. Tensions publicly, at least in terms of rhetoric, have gone down.
The bigger question, of course, is what is the end game? Iran has said it wants an admission and an apology for British personnel crossing into the Iranian waters. The British government will not admit or apologize, of course, for something it says it never did.
What we're hearing on the ground there, as well as other places, is some sort of face-saving diplomatic language that could emerge. Where Britain says, "Look, we will not cross into Iranian waters again -- not even again, just any time." And that is something that Iran can take to the hard liners within the country and, look, this is a tacit apology.
But in the end, I think Iran sought to and has so far achieved in doing so, remind the world, as pressure builds on the Islamic republic, that it will stand up to whatever pressure comes and that it does have leverage to respond, Brianna.
LEMON: And Aneesh, you know, we've been talking about the detention of Iranians in Iraq. Can you tell us what, if any, role that has played in these latest events?
RAMAN: Well, it's interesting. You know, the first few days, this was a territorial dispute. Where are these military personnel in Iraqi, in Iranian waters?
After a few days, it grew far more complicated. The captured Iranians in coalition custody, certainly from the start added to the overall resolve of the hard liners in Iran to not back down.
You can add up to that list U.N. sanctions. Iran's just gone through another round of them. And also pressure over activities of Iran inside of Iraq.
But the issue of the captured Iranians more and more seems a direct issue. We had the Iranian foreign minister just recently saying that the release of those Iranians in coalition custody would make things better in terms of the situation with the British military personnel.
That's as far as we've gotten in terms of a link between the two out of Tehran. But that they've gone that far clearly shows that Iran wants to get as much as it can, it would seem, out of this standoff.
Now the tit-for-tat exchange seems highly unlikely. It's not on the table from the coalition side. And it could mean that Iran is now shooting too high in terms of what it wants out of this standoff, Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Aneesh Raman live for us from Amman, Jordan. Thanks for that point.
LEMON: Less training, more fighting. President Bush says that's what's facing U.S. troops if Democrats in Congress don't change course. Now as you may have seen live here on CNN, Mr. Bush today vowed once again to veto any war funding bill that sets timetables for U.S. forces to leave Iraq.
And he fired back at threats by Democratic leaders to answer a veto with an even tougher deadline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Members of Congress say they support the troops. Now they need to show that support in deed as well as in word.
Congressmen are entitled to their views and should express them. Yet debating these differences should not come at the expense of funding our troops.
Congress' most basic responsibility is to give our troops the equipment and training they need to fight our enemies and protect our nation. They're now failing in that responsibility. And if they do not change course in the coming weeks, the price of that failure will be paid by our troops and their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The House and Senate have approved bills with separate Iraq withdrawal deadlines. They now have to agree on a compromise.
And the president, of course, talking specifically about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He's the one who's saying he's going to cut funding if the president answers with a veto.
The Senate majority leader is going to speak today at the Air National Guard building in Las Vegas. Those are live pictures you're looking at it now. They're getting ready. It's in Nevada. He's there to reveal the Army Guard's new $27 million readiness center, and he is expected to speak out about the president, about the president's comments today in the Rose Garden.
We're monitoring that for you. And as soon as it happens, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And let's go straight to the NEWSROOM now. T.J. Holmes has details on a developing story out of a school in Richmond, Virginia.
T.J., what do you have?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we're going take you to Tucker High School, where at least 15 students have been taken to the hospital after complaining of problems breathing and eye irritation after a foul odor, a suspicious odor was smelled at that high school.
This is Tucker High School in Richmond, Virginia, where around 10:30 this morning, a teacher picks up on this odor, and then several students start to complain about these issues they were having breathing, irritation of the eyes.
Well, those students taken to the hospital as a precaution. And several other students had to be evacuated from the building.
But still don't know exactly what the odor was. Now we've seen a couple of stories like this, issues like this come up in the past at schools, where oftentimes there's a science lab, a chemistry lab or something in that building and something that's happened in those labs.
Well, the building where this odor was first picked up is a building that did not contain any kind of a science lab or chemistry lab where they might have chemicals and whatnot.
So emergency officials are there and trying to check everything out and just trying to nail down exactly what that odor is and what is making these kids sick.
So something we are keeping an eye on here. Emergency officials trying to solve this mystery. But we'll bring you any updates as we get them -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, T.J., thanks.
LEMON: Pardon us for asking sooner, but what's in your wallet? Barack Obama keeps a lid on his campaign war chest. And Bill Schneider shares his take, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: A storm season ahead? One of the nation's top hurricane predictors says we'll be learning more names this year.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And another day, another recall on the pet food aisle. What's a confused pet food owner to do? Well, stick around in the NEWSROOM. We'll keep you up to date, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: It's 17 after the hour. And here's some of the stories we're working on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New pictures from Iran of the 15 British troops seized in the Persian Gulf 12 days ago. Both nations are speaking in diplomatic tones, but British leader Tony Blair describes the next two days as critical.
And President Bush not budging. He's still vowing to veto any bill Congress sends him that sets a deadline for pulling troops from Iraq. He says Democratic threats to cut war funding would only undermine U.S. forces. Democrats are about to respond, and we'll bring you Senator Harry Reid's comments just ahead.
Also, we know the baby, we know the mama, but who's the daddy? A court in the Bahamas holds a paternity hearing shortly in the Anna Nicole Smith case, and it's not clear when and whether any answers will emerge.
LEMON: Storms -- storms are brewing in the Midwest. And we're keeping an eye on them. But first, Rob Marciano, there's a new forecast for even stormier times ahead. What's going on?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As you know, hurricane season is just around the corner, Don. June 1 is the start of it. And today is when Bill Gray and his team of forecasters out of Colorado State updated their forecast for the 2007 hurricane season. And here it is.
Seventeen named storms expected from Colorado State this hurricane season. Nine of those storms expected to become hurricanes. Five of those hurricanes expected to become major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or higher. And there's a 74 percent chance of seeing a U.S. landfall this year. This is about the same forecast as last year. What happened last year, we really didn't have the big hurricane season, because all of a sudden in August, we flipped to a strong -- a pretty strong El Nino, which puts the kibosh on hurricanes.
This year, we've moved away from El Nino, and there's a forecast for La Nina, which is what happens when the Pacific actually does effect what happens in hurricane season.
So we'll watch for that. Nothing brewing right now. Again, June 1 is when we begin hurricane season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: I love looking at the arch. I lived in St. Louis for a while. And it's just an amazing piece of architecture.
MARCIANO: Yes, you never get tired of that. Beautiful shot.
LEMON: Yes. All right. Thanks, KSCK, and thanks, Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: You bet.
KEILAR: It's a sure sign of spring: the first pitch and the call to play ball. At Yankee Stadium, opening day honors went to Melanie and Christopher Lidle. With mom looking on, the son of Cory Lidle launched a perfect pitch for his dad, the Yankee pitcher who was killed in a plane crash back in October.
Now Cincinnati's mayor should get a few tips from Christopher. The mayor's throw, way off base, so far off base, he was called out.
LEMON: Geez.
KEILAR: Baseball scouts suggest Mark Mallory keep his day job.
LEMON: My God.
KEILAR: That was -- wow.
LEMON: That was wow? That was bad.
KEILAR: I can do better than that. I'm terrible.
LEMON: All right. Let's see. Let's get our baseball in here -- come on -- before the end of the show. We'll see what kind of...
KEILAR: All right. It's really bad. No, I really don't need it.
LEMON: Throw it.
KEILAR: I'm smart enough to not put it right there on camera.
LEMON: Put it right there. Right in that camera.
KEILAR: I'm going to embarrass myself.
LEMON: All right. Pardon us for asking, senator, but what's in your wallet?
Barack Obama keeps a lid on his campaign war chest, and Bill Schneider shares his take straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And screening for breast cancer, are mammograms still the gold cancer for catching cancer early? And how early should that screening begin? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on new guidelines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, of all the things kids learn in high school, dealing with rejection may be the hardest of all. And that's a painful experience occurring right now because of a record number of college rejections.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain all of this. She's never had to deal with rejection, not even from anything, especially not colleges, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's not quite the case, Don.
It is so different, though, isn't it?
LEMON: Yes, it is.
LISOVICZ: Since we went to college. I mean, it's just a simple case of supply and demand. Colleges are receiving more and more applications but keeping enrollment steady. As a result, many schools are turning down applicants in record numbers, many of them from students with top notch credentials.
For example, the "Wall Street Journal" says Dartmouth College had 14,000 applications this year. That's a record high and up 2 percent from the year before. But the school's acceptance rate dropped to the lowest level in the school's history, just 15 percent.
It's a similar story at the University of Pennsylvania, where applications jumped 11 percent but the acceptance rate also fell to 15 percent.
And it's not just the Ivy League schools that are more selective than ever. The trend is trickling down to state schools, more liberal arts colleges and schools that generally admit most applicants. A lot tougher, Don.
LEMON: so more applications, does that translate into more kids going to college? Is that what that is?
LISOVICZ: It's one of the reasons. An education group says the number of graduating high school students has increased every year for the past 12 years, and that's a trend that's expected to continue. Also, however, there's a growing number of applications from international students. Some schools are actively recruiting them.
And what's known as the common application is also partly to blame. It allows students to fill out a single application and send it to multiple schools, and therefore, you get multiple rejections in some case.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: That's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up, Microsoft Vista was rolled out to great fanfare just a few months ago. But now the company is the subject of a marketing lawsuit.
Brianna and Don, back to you.
LEMON; Thank you, Susan. And with all those kids going to college, Susan, stick around. Because at 3 p.m., we'll talk about the latest crackdown on college loans. We'll tell you which college loans you should stay away from. That is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And another day unfortunately means another recall on the pet food aisle. What's a confused pet owner to do? Well, stick around in the NEWSROOM, and we'll keep you up to date.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips, who's on assignment in Iraq.
This hour, new images of the captives in Iran. Will diplomacy prevail as tensions rise? President Bush says no to quid pro quo.
And another recall: what you really need to know about tainted pet food.
LEMON: Plus, a stormy summer and fall. That's a question one of the nation's top hurricane predictors says he will -- we will be learning more names this year.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
They look casual; they act casual. But there's nothing casual about their situation. Fifteen British marines and sailors seen again today and new pictures released by the Iranian news agency. Iranian forces seized the Brits in the Persian Gulf 12 days ago. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the next two days will be critical.
Let's go straight to CNN's Robin Oakley in London.
What are the chances of a diplomatic solution in all of this, Robin?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, they seem to be looking up a little bit. And probably the less news there is, the better news it is for those captives in Iran, because it means that the backstage diplomacy is working to a degree.
Dr. Ali Larijani, the national security chief in Iran, has been making softer noises about the captives and their chances of being released. That was met today with softer reactions, too, from Tony Blair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: All the way through, we've had, if you like, two very clear tracks on this. One is to try and settle this by way of a peaceful and calm negotiation, to get our people back as quickly as possible. The other is to make it clear that, if that's not possible, then we have to take an increasingly tougher position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: What seems to be happening now is that they're talking much more about the technicalities. Who exactly was in whose waters at what time? And if they can agree to disagree about that, well, there may be some route to the release of the captives, Don.
LEMON: Robin Oakley in London, thank you so much for your report.
KEILAR: Iran's standoff with Britain's, Iran's hostility toward the U.S., Iran's connection with Iraq. Take a closer look now at those tangled relationships with CNN's Michael Ware, who is in Baghdad for us.
Michael, what can you tell us about Iranian detainees that are being held in Iraq and any possible U.S. role here?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we do know for sure is that we are -- there are at least five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force officers still in detention by the U.S.-led coalition here in Iraq.
Now when we say Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, Brianna, think American Green Beret with a mix of American Delta. I mean, this is among the best of their best, some of their most elite intelligence and covert operatives.
And the U.S. has five of them. Originally, America had seven of them, but two were quickly released.
Now we've seen the release of this second secretary from the Iranian embassy here in Baghdad. Now it's long been said by pro- American intelligence agencies in this country that this fellow is one of many in the Iranian embassy who's really working for the Iranian intelligence apparatus. Essentially, he's a spy, or some kind of agent, or operative.
Now what the Iranian foreign ministry is saying us that it was indeed Iraqis acting under U.S. supervision who kidnapped this diplomat in the first place and have now released him.
It's impossible to say if that's true or not. But we do have it from U.S. sources that one of the most unlikely candidates for making the diplomat disappear in the first place was the U.S.-backed Iraqi national intelligence service.
This is a very, very murky world. But there's definitely five elite Iranian officers still in U.S. detention.
KEILAR: Very murky world. Thank you there for clearing it up for us, Michael Ware in Baghdad.
Let's go now -- President Bush, the British troops seized by Iran are not detainees; they're hostages. He used that word again this morning at the White House and said Britons shouldn't offer concessions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I support the Blair government's attempts to resolve this issue peacefully. We're in close consultation with the British government. I also strongly support the prime minister declaration that there should be no quid pro quos when it comes to the hostages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, they're not talking directly, but the U.S. is asking Iran for information about a former FBI agent last seen weeks ago on an Iranian resort island.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Zain Verjee. She's at the State Department -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
The U.S. is waiting for Iran to respond. The State Department has sent a letter to Iranians by the Swiss government, basically asking for any information at all about this missing American in Iran.
U.S. officials told us today that Iran could take days, if not weeks, to respond to that letter. At a briefing a short while ago, the State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We don't have any credible information at this point as to his current situation. And that is the reason why we've decided to take this effort of communicating directly with the Iraqi government via the Swiss channel to see if they have any information they can provide about his whereabouts or his particular situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Now, the State Department says that he disappeared several weeks ago. Officials say that the American was on an island called Kish Island, which is off of the coast of southern Iran. They say he was last seen there.
They also insist that he was not working in any way for the U.S. government. Instead, officials are telling us that he was working with an independent author and producer, trying to arrange an interview of some sort. We don't have the details about that.
Now, the FBI has also confirmed to CNN that the missing American was a former FBI official. He retired 10 years ago, and really was an agent that followed organized crime in the United States. They were very clear, though, to make this point that he did not work in any intelligence capacity.
And one more thing, Don, is that the U.S. is saying that there is no indication at all, no evidence, to support the idea that the Iranians may be holding the missing American. There are too many moving parts, and they don't quite know what's going on, which is why they're requesting information.
LEMON: So again, no link, then, between the missing American and those British sailors?
VERJEE: No, the State Department is quite categorical about that. What they've said, basically, is there's no link at all. And the reason that they did is that the British soldiers, rather, this American man was -- went -- disappeared several weeks ago. And the British sailors, excuse me, were taken after that. So they say that there's no link.
LEMON: All right. Zain Verjee, thank you so much.
KEILAR: And with all of this focus on -- or will all of this focus on Iran end up hurting it, or will it end up more powerful than ever? CNN's Aneesh Raman has traveled into the heart of Iran. He joins us now from Amman, Jordan.
And Aneesh, you know, with the language out of London and Tehran turning a little more diplomatic, have the Iranians here gotten exactly what they wanted out of the capture of these British sailors?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And an immediate level, the answer is yes. From the start, Iran wanted this resolution to come -- you know, out of this standoff to come from a bilateral discussion between the British government and the government in Tehran. Not surprisingly, the British government in the first few days was angered over the situation, especially the release of the videos. And it began in the first week to ratchet up international pressure, via the U.N., via the E.U., via neighbors in the region, especially in Iraq.
Well, that inflamed Iran's resolve. You saw the release of that sole female taken among the group of 15, taken off the table.
So at that level, yes, Iran is now talking to the British government. Tensions publicly, at least in terms of rhetoric, have gone down.
The bigger question, of course, is what is the end game? Iran has said it wants an admission and an apology for British personnel crossing into the Iranian waters. The British government will not admit or apologize, of course, for something it says it never did.
What we're hearing on the ground there, as well as other places, is some sort of face-saving diplomatic language that could emerge. Where Britain says, "Look, we will not cross into Iranian waters again -- not even again, just any time." And that is something that Iran can take to the hard liners within the country and, look, this is a tacit apology.
But in the end, I think Iran sought to and has so far achieved in doing so, remind the world, as pressure builds on the Islamic republic, that it will stand up to whatever pressure comes and that it does have leverage to respond, Brianna.
LEMON: And Aneesh, you know, we've been talking about the detention of Iranians in Iraq. Can you tell us what, if any, role that has played in these latest events?
RAMAN: Well, it's interesting. You know, the first few days, this was a territorial dispute. Where are these military personnel in Iraqi, in Iranian waters?
After a few days, it grew far more complicated. The captured Iranians in coalition custody, certainly from the start added to the overall resolve of the hard liners in Iran to not back down.
You can add up to that list U.N. sanctions. Iran's just gone through another round of them. And also pressure over activities of Iran inside of Iraq.
But the issue of the captured Iranians more and more seems a direct issue. We had the Iranian foreign minister just recently saying that the release of those Iranians in coalition custody would make things better in terms of the situation with the British military personnel.
That's as far as we've gotten in terms of a link between the two out of Tehran. But that they've gone that far clearly shows that Iran wants to get as much as it can, it would seem, out of this standoff. Now the tit-for-tat exchange seems highly unlikely. It's not on the table from the coalition side. And it could mean that Iran is now shooting too high in terms of what it wants out of this standoff, Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Aneesh Raman live for us from Amman, Jordan. Thanks for that point.
LEMON: Less training, more fighting. President Bush says that's what's facing U.S. troops if Democrats in Congress don't change course. Now as you may have seen live here on CNN, Mr. Bush today vowed once again to veto any war funding bill that sets timetables for U.S. forces to leave Iraq.
And he fired back at threats by Democratic leaders to answer a veto with an even tougher deadline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Members of Congress say they support the troops. Now they need to show that support in deed as well as in word.
Congressmen are entitled to their views and should express them. Yet debating these differences should not come at the expense of funding our troops.
Congress' most basic responsibility is to give our troops the equipment and training they need to fight our enemies and protect our nation. They're now failing in that responsibility. And if they do not change course in the coming weeks, the price of that failure will be paid by our troops and their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The House and Senate have approved bills with separate Iraq withdrawal deadlines. They now have to agree on a compromise.
And the president, of course, talking specifically about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He's the one who's saying he's going to cut funding if the president answers with a veto.
The Senate majority leader is going to speak today at the Air National Guard building in Las Vegas. Those are live pictures you're looking at it now. They're getting ready. It's in Nevada. He's there to reveal the Army Guard's new $27 million readiness center, and he is expected to speak out about the president, about the president's comments today in the Rose Garden.
We're monitoring that for you. And as soon as it happens, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And let's go straight to the NEWSROOM now. T.J. Holmes has details on a developing story out of a school in Richmond, Virginia.
T.J., what do you have? T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we're going take you to Tucker High School, where at least 15 students have been taken to the hospital after complaining of problems breathing and eye irritation after a foul odor, a suspicious odor was smelled at that high school.
This is Tucker High School in Richmond, Virginia, where around 10:30 this morning, a teacher picks up on this odor, and then several students start to complain about these issues they were having breathing, irritation of the eyes.
Well, those students taken to the hospital as a precaution. And several other students had to be evacuated from the building.
But still don't know exactly what the odor was. Now we've seen a couple of stories like this, issues like this come up in the past at schools, where oftentimes there's a science lab, a chemistry lab or something in that building and something that's happened in those labs.
Well, the building where this odor was first picked up is a building that did not contain any kind of a science lab or chemistry lab where they might have chemicals and whatnot.
So emergency officials are there and trying to check everything out and just trying to nail down exactly what that odor is and what is making these kids sick.
So something we are keeping an eye on here. Emergency officials trying to solve this mystery. But we'll bring you any updates as we get them -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, T.J., thanks.
LEMON: Pardon us for asking sooner, but what's in your wallet? Barack Obama keeps a lid on his campaign war chest. And Bill Schneider shares his take, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: A storm season ahead? One of the nation's top hurricane predictors says we'll be learning more names this year.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And another day, another recall on the pet food aisle. What's a confused pet food owner to do? Well, stick around in the NEWSROOM. We'll keep you up to date, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: It's 17 after the hour. And here's some of the stories we're working on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New pictures from Iran of the 15 British troops seized in the Persian Gulf 12 days ago. Both nations are speaking in diplomatic tones, but British leader Tony Blair describes the next two days as critical. And President Bush not budging. He's still vowing to veto any bill Congress sends him that sets a deadline for pulling troops from Iraq. He says Democratic threats to cut war funding would only undermine U.S. forces. Democrats are about to respond, and we'll bring you Senator Harry Reid's comments just ahead.
Also, we know the baby, we know the mama, but who's the daddy? A court in the Bahamas holds a paternity hearing shortly in the Anna Nicole Smith case, and it's not clear when and whether any answers will emerge.
LEMON: Storms -- storms are brewing in the Midwest. And we're keeping an eye on them. But first, Rob Marciano, there's a new forecast for even stormier times ahead. What's going on?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As you know, hurricane season is just around the corner, Don. June 1 is the start of it. And today is when Bill Gray and his team of forecasters out of Colorado State updated their forecast for the 2007 hurricane season. And here it is.
Seventeen named storms expected from Colorado State this hurricane season. Nine of those storms expected to become hurricanes. Five of those hurricanes expected to become major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or higher. And there's a 74 percent chance of seeing a U.S. landfall this year.
This is about the same forecast as last year. What happened last year, we really didn't have the big hurricane season, because all of a sudden in August, we flipped to a strong -- a pretty strong El Nino, which puts the kibosh on hurricanes.
This year, we've moved away from El Nino, and there's a forecast for La Nina, which is what happens when the Pacific actually does effect what happens in hurricane season.
So we'll watch for that. Nothing brewing right now. Again, June 1 is when we begin hurricane season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: I love looking at the arch. I lived in St. Louis for a while. And it's just an amazing piece of architecture.
MARCIANO: Yes, you never get tired of that. Beautiful shot.
LEMON: Yes. All right. Thanks, KSCK, and thanks, Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: You bet.
KEILAR: It's a sure sign of spring: the first pitch and the call to play ball. At Yankee Stadium, opening day honors went to Melanie and Christopher Lidle. With mom looking on, the son of Cory Lidle launched a perfect pitch for his dad, the Yankee pitcher who was killed in a plane crash back in October.
Now Cincinnati's mayor should get a few tips from Christopher. The mayor's throw, way off base, so far off base, he was called out.
LEMON: Geez.
KEILAR: Baseball scouts suggest Mark Mallory keep his day job.
LEMON: My God.
KEILAR: That was -- wow.
LEMON: That was wow? That was bad.
KEILAR: I can do better than that. I'm terrible.
LEMON: All right. Let's see. Let's get our baseball in here -- come on -- before the end of the show. We'll see what kind of...
KEILAR: All right. It's really bad. No, I really don't need it.
LEMON: Throw it.
KEILAR: I'm smart enough to not put it right there on camera.
LEMON: Put it right there. Right in that camera.
KEILAR: I'm going to embarrass myself.
LEMON: All right. Pardon us for asking, senator, but what's in your wallet?
Barack Obama keeps a lid on his campaign war chest, and Bill Schneider shares his take straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And screening for breast cancer, are mammograms still the gold cancer for catching cancer early? And how early should that screening begin? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on new guidelines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, of all the things kids learn in high school, dealing with rejection may be the hardest of all. And that's a painful experience occurring right now because of a record number of college rejections.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain all of this. She's never had to deal with rejection, not even from anything, especially not colleges, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's not quite the case, Don.
It is so different, though, isn't it?
LEMON: Yes, it is. LISOVICZ: Since we went to college. I mean, it's just a simple case of supply and demand. Colleges are receiving more and more applications but keeping enrollment steady. As a result, many schools are turning down applicants in record numbers, many of them from students with top notch credentials.
For example, the "Wall Street Journal" says Dartmouth College had 14,000 applications this year. That's a record high and up 2 percent from the year before. But the school's acceptance rate dropped to the lowest level in the school's history, just 15 percent.
It's a similar story at the University of Pennsylvania, where applications jumped 11 percent but the acceptance rate also fell to 15 percent.
And it's not just the Ivy League schools that are more selective than ever. The trend is trickling down to state schools, more liberal arts colleges and schools that generally admit most applicants. A lot tougher, Don.
LEMON: so more applications, does that translate into more kids going to college? Is that what that is?
LISOVICZ: It's one of the reasons. An education group says the number of graduating high school students has increased every year for the past 12 years, and that's a trend that's expected to continue.
Also, however, there's a growing number of applications from international students. Some schools are actively recruiting them.
And what's known as the common application is also partly to blame. It allows students to fill out a single application and send it to multiple schools, and therefore, you get multiple rejections in some case.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: That's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up, Microsoft Vista was rolled out to great fanfare just a few months ago. But now the company is the subject of a marketing lawsuit.
Brianna and Don, back to you.
LEMON; Thank you, Susan. And with all those kids going to college, Susan, stick around. Because at 3 p.m., we'll talk about the latest crackdown on college loans. We'll tell you which college loans you should stay away from. That is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And another day unfortunately means another recall on the pet food aisle. What's a confused pet owner to do? Well, stick around in the NEWSROOM, and we'll keep you up to date.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips. This hour a whole lot of donated dollars. Will it help voters make sense of the 2008 presidential race? We're taking a closer look at the fundraising numbers so far. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And we start with all of that money. If money talks, then Barack Obama's presidential campaign is pretty chatty these days. Candidates are releasing their first-quarter fundraising calls. And so far, Hillary Clinton has bagged the most, a record $26 million.
But unofficially, Obama is hot on her heels, according to The New York Times, aides say his campaign raised more than $20 million in the past 12 weeks. Our senior bean counter, we can call him, Bill Schneider joins us now with more on all of this money.
So, Bill, this money puts the senator among the campaign elite. I guess we can say that. So should all of this cash so quickly make some of the other candidates nervous? I would imagine it would.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it will make Senator Clinton pretty nervous. He is in the -- if Barack Obama does in fact report over $20 million, that puts him in a very elite club. You could call it the $20 million club. There are three candidates who report raising at least that much.
Hillary Clinton is one, he is another one, and there is a Republican. Mitt Romney surprised everyone by raising a little over $20 million in the first quarter. Three candidates, all very well- funded, all very competitive. And, of course, Hillary Clinton sees Barack Obama breathing down her neck and she has got reason to be concerned if he can raise that big money.
LEMON: Yes. And you know, he raised a lot of money as senator when he ran for senator in Illinois. Most people said, how is he going to raise his money? But he had some people in his inner circle who are very wealthy, among them some wealthy African-Americans. So how was he able to raise so much money so early when it comes to this presidential campaign? Did he build off of that same support?
SCHNEIDER: He did. In Chicago, he has got a real base. The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton did not even have a fundraiser in Chicago because he has kind of locked up the Chicago political money, which is a lot of Democratic money.
But he also has strong support on Wall Street, in Boston, where he went to law school at Harvard. And in Hollywood, he has got a lot of very important sources of political contributions. You know, he's running as the anti-establishment candidate, the outsider. And he may be doing very, very well among grassroots supporters in small amounts.
But these fundraising figures indicate that he is also doing very well among Democratic establishment sources of money. That he has been able to raise a lot of money from important sources of support. And he is now -- he has to be considered a real contender and a real threat to Senator Clinton for this nomination. LEMON: Yes. And I want to ask you, you said he's raising all of this money, is he cutting in? She has got $26 million, which is a lot of money, plus the $10 million from her Senate race. Is he cutting into her campaign efforts or fundraising efforts at all with this?
SCHNEIDER: That I can't tell you that. She is doing obviously very well. They are both doing very well. Both have shattered all records. No one has every raised as much as $10 million in the first quarter of the so-called "invisible primary" the year before the election. So they're both doing extremely well.
LEMON: Well, it would appear he is not since she has raised so much money. But we -- not for sure. On the Republican side, Bill, let's talk about that. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney surprised a lot of people, announcing he also got $20 million. I imagine this is going to give him a boost. This is a real surprise here because he is sort of a -- was a sleeper, don't you think?
SCHNEIDER: Well, he was running third in the polls. You know, who is the Republican frontrunner now? It has been John McCain who has made peace with a lot of conservatives, cultivated a lot of people in the George Bush organization. But he's now -- he had a disappointing result in his fundraising, $12.5 million. He's no longer first in the polls. The frontrunner the polls is Rudy Giuliani who raised $15 million. But here comes Mitt Romney with over $20 million. Pick your frontrunner. Any of them could be called that.
And you've got people looking at Fred Thompson, who's not even running yet, as a person who could possibly come in and rally conservatives in the Republican Party.
LEMON: Yes. And Giuliani is admitting his fundraising efforts have not -- he hasn't done very well. He says he has got to ramp it up, doesn't he?
SCHNEIDER: Well, McCain has certainly said that. I don't know about Giuliani. McCain has said that the results were not as good as he anticipated, $12.5 billion is not exactly anything to sneeze at. But it certainly doesn't compare with Romney's more than $20 million.
LEMON: Bill Schneider, always a pleasure, sir, thank you so much.
SCHNEIDER: OK.
KEILAR: Well, can you believe it? There is another pet food recall. This one, though, doesn't have to do with wheat gluten or melamine, this time it's salmonella. Apparently Dingo brand chicken jerky treats sold at Target, Petsmart, and other stores may endanger cats, dogs, ferrets, and even humans who handle the stuff. By now, of course, most pet owners are not sure which products to trust.
CNN consumer reporter Greg Hunter has some answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at Petco in Manhattan, they have a whole floor dedicated to dog and cat food. As a matter of fact, they boast one of the biggest selections in the city. Now, when it comes to this recall, that has made for a lot of work for the folks here. They say they've been working day and night trying to keep the bad stuff off of the shelves.
And hey, it has not been easy for consumers either. Just by the time you think, hey, I can go out and buy my favorite pet food, bam, another recall happens. So how can you be empowered to protect your dog or cat no matter what? Listen up. Here it is
(voice-over): This is how pet store owner and dog boarder Marcia Habib starts her day, checking the Internet for both recalls for wet and dry pet food.
(on camera): So you have got to research this every day.
MARCIA HABIB, PET STORE OWNER: We have to do it every day. That's the first thing we do every day.
HUNTER (voice-over): The list on the original recall Web site, menufoods.com is daunting. There can be dozens of products from each manufacturer on the list. Making things more complicated, there are now at least three more Web sites to check for recalled pet food.
Experts like Dr. Ann Hohenhaus of New York's Animal Medical Center still do not know exactly what's poisoning pets in the tainted food.
DR. ANN HOHENHAUS, VETERINARIAN: I don't think we know what it is. The story is really confusing. So how the rat poison and the melamine both fit into this story is really perplexing and unclear.
HUNTER (on camera): Still a mystery.
HOHENHAUS: Mystery.
HUNTER (voice-over): So what should concerned pet parents do? Well, you can check the many Web sites every day for recalled food, or when all else fails, you can look for one ingredient that seems to be the string that ties all recalled pet food together.
(on camera): The big headline here for consumers is, if you're worried at all, and you don't know if it's on the recall list or not, the main ingredient to look for, for a pet owner, is?
HOHENHAUS: Wheat gluten.
HUNTER: Number one?
HOHENHAUS: Yes. That has been the offending ingredient that has been common in all of these recalled foods.
HUNTER (voice-over): And each and every product is required to list the ingredients. (on camera): You can check for wheat gluten right here on the ingredients section of your favorite pet food. It is required to be on each and every bag whether it's dog or cat food. Now just because you find wheat gluten doesn't necessarily mean it's tainted, doesn't necessarily mean it's recalled.
But according to Dr. Hohenhaus, she says, listen, that's the one string through this entire recall, if you want to totally protect your pets and not have to worry about checking the Web site every day, just check for wheat gluten and don't feed it to your dog or cat right now.
Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(INTERRUPTED FOR BREAKING NEWS)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go live now to T.J. Holmes, standing by in the NEWSROOM, something going on right here at CNN Center in Atlanta.
Right, T.J.?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Brianna. This one is hitting awfully close to home for us here. Let's explain what we do have here. Apparently a shooting has taken place here in our spot, at the CNN Center which is attached to the Omni Hotel. The Omni Hotel is attached to where we are here, reporting at the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta.
Well, a word we have now from witnesses is that at least one woman has been shot and a suspect is in custody. You're looking at a live picture of that atrium. A busy spot down there. There are restaurants. The CNN Center, you see the offices of our center here to the left and right of that picture. But in the distance there, you see the Omni Hotel is what you're seeing.
And you can walk from the atrium of the CNN Center over to the Omni Hotel. So we are attached. Apparently what we have here from witnesses is that there was a black male who was actually dragging a woman by the hair up the escalator at that Omni Hotel. There was some kind of confrontation. And, in fact, the woman was shot, apparently had been shot in the face.
Again, we're getting this from eyewitnesses who were down there. This is a very, very busy place as that camera zooms in there. If you just look down at the very bottom, you see that Turner sign, that is the Turner Store. If you go beyond there, and that's really the entrance where you go over to the Omni Hotel.
But apparently what we have here is that there has been some kind of an argument between a man and a woman. And witnesses actually saw the woman being dragged up the escalator at that Omni Hotel, and she had been shot in the face.
Police -- or what we're hearing now is that the suspect is in fact in custody. But don't exactly know what was going down and why he felt he needed to shoot this woman. There's a lot going down, down there. You see a lot of people, a lot of activity. This is a very busy spot. And it has certainly been busy the past couple of days with the NCAA Final Four just wrapping up last night. So a lot of people still around, still in the area.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and T.J., it is a huge tourist attraction that we have here.
HOLMES: It absolutely is. And the word we're getting now as well, Don, is that the cnn.com, one of our -- a big newsroom we have down that is closer to that end, has been evacuated at this point. Again, we are told that the suspect is in custody. But again, a lot of uncertainty about exactly what's going on and such a busy area down there.
A lot of people running around. A lot of people down there and certainly caused a lot of panic when people heard the shots. But to recap for folks here, and -- is that a woman in fact has been shot over at the Omni Hotel, which is attached to the CNN Center which is exactly where we are here, Don.
LEMON: And, T.J., you were saying that one of our newsrooms, the cnn.com newsroom, which is on the lower level, that has been evacuated. But we can see people milling about there in our plaza. And just so you know, T.J., so stick with me here just, wanted to jump in.
Just so you know, you know that we have excellent security here in the CNN Center. And so they're on top of it. As a matter of fact, you can see some of them there. But it is also very disturbing and concerning when we have something like this happen right here in an area that's so secure.
Now you're saying that the man is in custody, right? We don't know the condition of the woman?
HOLMES: That 's the word we are getting, is that the man is in fact in custody, and the report is -- and we are getting a lot of this from eyewitnesses, some of our employees here were certainly down in that area, down in a restaurant that is right there, it is just a -- and as you know, I'm trying to give -- I know you know, Don, I'm trying to give folks -- other folks out there a better perspective here of what goes on down there.
But this is a very busy area. People are free to come in and out, come and go, a bunch of restaurants down there. And a very popular restaurant down there, McCormick & Schmick's is at the corner there, which is very close to where this shooting allegedly happened.
People there, witnesses, heard those shots and what we hear now is that again, the woman has been shot in the face. Again, this is a black male and a black female.
LEMON: That's according to the witnesses here, T.J. We're not exactly sure of their ethnicity. But I want to say -- I want to elaborate on what you were saying. Conventions and stuff, anything that comes to town, people come to the CNN Center. It is a tourist attraction. I would imagine that hundreds of thousands of people weekly go through this building. T
.J., we have got a Wendy's down there. We've Chick-fil-A. We've got other restaurants, a post office. You can see the Turner Store in the building as well. And then right next door, the Philips Arena, just across the way there, we've got the Georgia Dome where we had the Final Four just this weekend.
Folks are still -- some may be still milling about from that. And then most have gone home, though.
HOLMES: And you certainly do, you still see that. We were all down -- several of us have been down there today. You still see those Ohio State and Florida jerseys and T-shirts. So a lot of people still around, still in this area. And it's certainly -- it can give you pause when -- I mean, just a short time ago, we were all told to stay away from the windows because there was so much uncertainty about exactly what was happening down there. And that's such a busy, bustling spot.
You can see even from just those pictures there, it looks like still people being moved around, people trying to figure out exactly what's going on.
LEMON: And, T.J., people are probably wondering why are people milling about? That's the upper level. And once these people that you see are moving across the walk, you're in the CNN Center. So everyone who's coming into this area, they've already been checked and have shown their CNN IDs. So that is why they are there. But the folks on the lower level where the shooting happened in the atrium, that's where the concern is, correct?
HOLMES: That's the lower -- yes. The lower level, and again, for folks down there, that's the area where the public can pretty much come and go. All right, you said that upstairs area, that's where all of us have to show our IDs. You have to have security buzz you in to get you to that level, just right above.
But that very lower atrium level anybody can come and go. And again, the Omni, you can see it straight ahead in that shot right there, that is the Omni Hotel which is linked to us right here at the CNN Center, which is apparently where this shooting took place.
And again, witnesses -- a lot of this is where we're getting from is eyewitnesses, is there was in fact an argument between this man and this woman. And, in fact, yes, she was being pulled by the hair up an escalator and was shot.
And again, we're getting all of this right now from eyewitnesses. And like you said, Don, we have security here and the Atlanta P.D. is on the scene. But just a chaotic scene right now trying to figure out exactly what's going on.
LEMON: And that escalator -- I mean, we have escalators going into the building. That didn't happen on our particular escalator. I would imagine it would happen on -- there's one which is supposedly the tallest or the longest escalator in the world -- or in the U.S. which goes up to a visitors center here.
So, T.J., again, looking at that atrium, these are the folks who are from the CNN Center. And then you can see that right, that's obviously maybe a police officer on the scene. T.J., go ahead.
HOLMES: And yes, of course, a lot of us are always down there as well. So naturally we have got CNN employees who are always down in the atrium. We have one on the phone with us right now, Laura Bernardini, who was down in McCormick & Schmick's, that restaurant which is right there next to the Omni where it appears this shooting took place.
And, Laura, tell us what you were able to see and hear and what witnesses are telling you now.
LAURA BERNARDINI, CNN PRODUCER: We actually were having lunch in the McCormick & Schmick's and all of a sudden, we had -- we heard screaming and people diving for cover. And we could see people were running from the front of the entrance of the CNN Center.
We ended up -- I ended up, you know, running towards the front of the restaurant and at that point, people were saying, we've heard gunshots, we've heard gunshots. As I was moving, Atlanta police were showing up at the same time. They had closed down the -- there is a very large hallway, an entryway that leads between the Omni Hotel, the CNN Center, the CNN Turner Store, and the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant.
They had closed down that area. They -- we were able to come around the (INAUDIBLE) that you are seeing, we were able to come around into one of the newsrooms and look back as they had -- they were working on two individuals who were down. All we have heard from people who were there were that it was some sort of argument between a male and a female.
Right now, someone saw a guy coming down the escalator with a woman in front of her and they heard shots and then chaos ensued.
HOLMES: And, Laura, I guess you're seeing the video now, but help us understand -- this is new video we are just seeing here for the first time, please help us understand exactly where that is and what we're seeing?
BERNARDINI: Right now this is looking back at this entryway that goes between the escalators that lead into the Omni Hotel and the area that leads into the Turner Store, which is sort of the entryway from the main portal into -- from Marietta Street (ph) on into CNN.
And there is a -- that area where they come down the escalators, supposedly what eyewitnesses have told us is where an argument was going on. The two victims had been transported now. And I'm looking at the area where, you know, there's no one left and it's still closed off by security, by both Turner security and also Atlanta P.D. HOLMES: And again, you're telling me now there are two victims that have been taken to the hospital, not just the one woman that we were hearing in the first place, that he was in an argument with.
BERNARDINI: There are two victims that were transported. Yes. There were two stretchers that were moved. They had multiple paramedics working on them. I do not know their conditions. We could see the area where they were working on them.
HOLMES: From what you can see, we saw the video there of the suspect still -- I assume that is the suspect, guns drawn on that individual. Can you still see that area? Is that suspect still there?
BERNARDINI: No, no. Both of the individuals have been transported via stretcher.
HOLMES: OK. And I'm trying to just make sure I'm clear here, the two -- one of the people that was injured, you're telling me, was the suspect?
BERNARDINI: I do not know who was in which situation. I don't know who was the victim and who was the suspect, I don't know, because I was not an eyewitness to that. But from what I've seen, the two individuals who the paramedics were working on have been treated and have been cleared from the area where you saw the video showed them working on them.
HOLMES: OK. Is there still a sense of -- still a bit of panic and confusion down there, everybody trying to figure out what's going on? And what are police and security telling people to do right now?
BERNARDINI: Right now, the whole area is closed off. We have both Turner security and also Atlanta security. They let us out through the restaurant because I had showed my ID, but that entrance had been closed. And they're keeping people back. But we're sort of in a -- we're in a hold in one of our newsrooms down here.
HOLMES: OK. Laura Bernadini for us, it is a scary situation. You just went to -- down like we do so often to have lunch. And this happened. Laura Bernardini, thank you so much for your time and that eyewitness account.
So again -- and again, some dramatic video. We are looking at live -- I don't think that picture is live anymore. But from our local affiliate helicopter on the left there, at least showing the -- it is a live picture here, showing at least -- I don't know who that is --who that victim is. But certainly being transported at this point. But it appears that at least there are two victims in this shooting today, and it appears that the suspect is in police custody after what eyewitnesses tell us started as an argument and ended up as a shooting.
So, Don, again, a very scary situation for us here.
LEMON: T.J., do you see between those doors. This is new video from downstairs that apparently is a suspect on the ground there. And according at least to police that one of these persons is a suspect. Then you saw earlier, as you were talking to the person, the eyewitness there, there was some live pictures, T.J., of a person who was injured being taken to the hospital. And we had that there as you were getting that great information from the person you were talking to.
But this is a person who is down in the ground and then earlier you can see is OK. But it appeared that police officers were over him with their guns, at least you can see it, there you go.
HOLMES: Yes. Don't know if -- I mean, it is certainly a possibility that the suspect was injured in some way. Don't know if -- and not getting that word that he was injured by police, but it's possible he could have been injured -- or the suspect could have been injured. But it's clear by that picture, that is someone that the police certainly are concerned with and can draw a conclusion that this was -- this is a suspect that we're talking about in this situation on the ground there.
But, man, a scary situation that hits us right in our back yard and so close to home for a lot of folks who are down there going about their day. And it has been spring break for a lot of folks. Very busy there, and like you mentioned, Don, everybody knows the Final Four was just here. And a lot of those people still around.
LEMON: And, T.J., that is the video we are talking about, this person being taken into the ambulance. We are going to let you get some more information, and then Brianna is going to talk to someone, I believe it was an eyewitness -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And actually, we're joined now by Matt Sloan (ph), a CNN medical producer.
You actually shot that video we were seeing there. Can you describe to us what happened. It looks like we could see a broken window. It looked like someone who was motionless and then someone who you could tell their face was bloodied and a police officer holding a gun to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, really I was sitting at my desk doing work. And everybody started screaming, go along the back wall, go along the back wall. And I'm actually an EMT. So my first thought was, is somebody hurt, I can go help them.
I looked over and everybody was running and we're yelling, what's going on? And they said, get out, get out. So I grabbed my camera, I went down there and started shooting. And all we could see from that vantage point was the Turner security officers seemed to have some folks at gunpoint. They did appear to be injured.
KEILAR: Now these were Turner security officers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. The officer you can see right there on the video is a Turner security officer. There were other police officers there as well. And you could see a bullet hole in the glass, and two people lying down on the ground it looked like. One looked injured. Can't say whether it was a gunshot or not. But...
KEILAR: But we are looking -- we are seeing this man here. He has got his hand up in the air. Now he has had -- he had a gun drawn. Is it -- could you make out -- was it a male? Was it female? Could you make out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appeared to be a black male. That's all really I could tell from where we were. And then right after we shot this, they made us leave the scene. So but you could see the gentleman in the blue uniform there is a Turner security officer holding him at gunpoint.
KEILAR: OK. And we are going to have more on this, more with you, Matt Sloan, CNN medical producer who actually shot this video coming up here in just a moment. Stay with us. We'll have more from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following developing news happening right here at the CNN Center. Two people apparently injured from a shooting inside of the building, a video just moments ago showed one of those injured being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
This is live pictures now inside the CNN Center. You are looking away from the CNN NEWSROOM into the Omni Hotel. This happened less than 15, 20 minutes ago. Reports that a man had an argument with a woman and then shot her in the face and then was dragging her up the escalator when witnesses saw that and then security here at the CNN Center jumped in. This is new video coming in now.
KEILAR: And is was -- is this video also shot by one of the CNN producers, is that right?
LEMON: Photographers.
KEILAR: This is video shot by one of our photographers here at CNN. We spoke a short while ago with a medical producer who had shot some video earlier and seen this. And he said it appeared that there were two people wounded, which we have heard two were being treated. One appeared to be motionless. We saw another one.
LEMON: And according to Atlanta Police Department, the two people injured in critical condition, one of them believed to be a suspect. The suspect in critical condition also injured as well. Details on this story coming up straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking news right here at the CNN Center. A shooting which has now two people in critical condition. This happening moments ago right here at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Now according to witnesses, some of those witnesses CNN employees, one man was arguing with a woman, and then shot her. She is believed to be in critical condition, and also the suspect at this hour.
KEILAR: Let's go now to T.J. Holmes, he is standing by live in the CNN NEWSROOM with the latest -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Tell folks -- setting the scene here and letting folks know what we are looking at here. The pictures there on the left, of course, on your screen
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