Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Small Traces of Radiation Found on Two British Airways Aircraft; Ahmadinejad's Letter to America; President Bush's Mission Clouded; "The Nativity Story" Actress Causes Controversy

Aired November 29, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And we start this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM with some developing news.
Let's go to Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom -- Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, as part of that investigation into the poisoning death of that Russian spy, former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, now British Airways is saying that it has found small traces of radiation on two of its aircraft -- or rather small traces of radiation have been found on two of its aircraft.

Not necessarily B.A., British Airways has found them themselves. A number of forensic tests have been taking place as a result of the U.K. government asking that three of that airway's 767s be part of this investigation into the death of the former spy.

British Airways has released this statement, saying, "British Airways has been advised that the investigation is confined solely to these three B-767 aircraft which will remain out of service until further notice. British Airways understands that from advice it has given, that the risk to public health is low. The airline is in the process of making contact with customers who have traveled on flights operated by these aircraft which operate within Europe."

So that information just in. We continue to do a lot more reporting on this. But so far, two of the aircraft of the three that British Airways has identified as being part of this investigation are showing small traces of radiation. All of this in connection with the investigation of the Russian spy who died, believed to be poisoned to death, Alexander Litvinenko.

LEMON: Yes. And Fredricka, it's just like a mystery that just keeps rolling on and on. So who knows where it's going to take us next.

WHITFIELD: It is indeed. And it's still just the early stages of this mystery unfolding.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A letter from Iran to you. Iran's president issued a five-page "Dear America" memo just a short time ago.

Details from our senior United Nations correspondent, Richard Roth.

What do you make of the letter, Richard?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's an open letter to the American people from the president of Iran. In May he sent an 18-page letter to President Bush. This time, he's critical of President Bush and the policies covering Iraq and the Middle East.

In this open letter, the Iranian leader is calling on the American people to urge the government here in the United States to pull troops out of Iraq and to create a separate state for the Palestinians. The letter is a conciliatory letter in terms of people to people.

One portion of this letter, the Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, writes, "Both our nations are God-fearing... both greatly value and readily embrace the promotion of human ideals such as compassion, empathy, respect for the rights of human beings, securing justice and equity."

Of course, also in this letter, he plays election analyst, calling on the Democrats to change policies of the Bush administration, and that he'll be prepared to call them on it if they don't live up to their promises to the American people before this election.

Also in this letter by the Iranian leader, there's a lot of criticism of internal U.S. policies by the Bush administration. The president of Iran writes, "The U.S. administration's illegal and immoral behavior is not even confined to outside its borders. You are witnessing daily that under the pretext of the war on terror, civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning."

"Judicial due process and fundamental rights are trampled upon. Private phones are tapped. Suspects are arbitrarily arrested, sometimes beaten in the streets or even shot to death."

There was also criticism of policies, prisons in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has only seen some press reporting on this letter, but he has not been shown or been given the document by the Iranians. This was his comment a couple of hours ago about the pursuit of a sanctions resolution on Iran and a comment on the letter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: With respect to President Ahmadinejad's letter, which I understand from press reports is addressed to the American people, this American person hasn't seen it yet. And I know you and the press have it, so maybe that's who he's really addressing the letter to. But I won't comment on it until I see it, although I understand it's only five pages, not 18 pages like the last one, so that's a step ahead. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: That letter was to President Bush, and Ahmadinejad was upset that the U.S. was not agreeing with Iran on its pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy, according to the Iranian leader. It was more of a rambling letter, according to the U.S. This one, a more tighter five pages.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, thanks.

LEMON: President Bush's vision for the Middle East, once crystal clear and laser sharp, now clouded by political turmoil and warped by war. Mr. Bush is still hoping to see eye to eye with the Iraqi prime minister. The two were scheduled to meet this evening in Jordan but that's been delayed until tomorrow.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has more from Amman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It would hardly seem like the best time to visit the region. President Bush's grand ambitions for the Middle East lie in disarray.

In Iraq, what was supposed to be a beacon of democracy has become a black hole of sectarian violence and anarchy. The administration still insists it's not civil war, though what Iraqi officials describe sounds almost as bad.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is a war between the extremists and the moderates in the whole region. And that's why it's concentrating its effort in Iraq. If they lose, they lose in the whole region. If they win, god forbid, they will disrupt the whole region again.

WEDEMAN: Perhaps glimpsing post-pullout reality, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is now rubbing shoulders with the leaders of Iran, who seem as determined as ever, threats of sanctions notwithstanding, to pursue a nuclear option, flushed with growing regional clout.

In Lebanon, the U.S.-backed government is under siege.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that government is being undermined, in my opinion, by -- by extremist forces encouraged out of Syria and Iran. Why? Because a democracy will be a major defeat for those who articulate extremist points of view.

WEDEMAN: Across the region, hopes for a blossoming of democracy have been dashed as almost every experiment in political liberalization in Egypt, in Iraq, in the Palestinian territories has empowered or emboldened Islamic hard-liners.

(on camera): For President Bush, the only bright spot, if you can even call it that, is between the Israelis and the Palestinians, who since Sunday have been holding to a shaky cease-fire. And even in that case, the operative word is "shaky".

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Amman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The sit-down in Jordan is prompting a walkout in Iraq. The so-called Sadrist lawmakers and ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are making good on a threat to boycott the government.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson following developments now from Baghdad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, that threat was made last week. The threat was that if Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, went to Jordan to visit and meet with President Bush, then Muqtada al-Sadr and his political bloc would withdraw from the parliament. They've done that.

They're a very powerful bloc in the parliament. They have 30 seats. They have six ministries.

Nouri al-Maliki wouldn't be prime minister today if it wasn't for the support of Muqtada al-Sadr. So this is a very clear warning for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when he goes -- when he goes to meet President Bush.

What the Sadr bloc is saying at the moment is that Prime Minister Maliki had promised them that he wouldn't ask for a U.N. extension to the mandate here which allows U.S., British and other international troops to be in Iraq. They say that he broke that promise. The U.N. renewed that mandate to allow international troops to remain here another 12 months. They renewed that yesterday.

They're saying that Maliki should be focusing on improving security in Iraq, that going to Jordan is not what the Iraqi people want. That they want to see their basic services improve.

So this really seems to be a power struggle between these two men at this time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just talking about this leaked memo from national security adviser to the president, Stephen Hadley, about his lack of confidence in Maliki and that Maliki could also possibly be contributing to the sectarian violence, what do you make of that, Nic, and how is that playing out where you are?

ROBERTSON: Well, I think what we're seeing is the reaction from the Sadr bloc today, is reaction to the implications of that memo. The memo implies that Maliki isn't strong enough or isn't willing enough to cut loose some of the radicals in his camp. And by that, though he's not named by name, by that it's implied people like Muqtada al-Sadr are holding Maliki back from making the changes in Iraq that are necessary to bring stability, like getting groups like the Mehdi militia that are loyal -- it's a large armed militia that's loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr -- getting them off the streets, replacing them with regular security forces that aren't infiltrated with Shia these militias.

So the report implicitly criticizes Muqtada al-Sadr. And by taking this stance today, essentially withdrawing support, very publicly from Nouri al-Maliki, it's an indication that he's telling Maliki, don't cut any deals with President Bush, don't go down -- don't go down the path that this memo outlines, which is cutting loose people like me, because Sadr's implication: I'm the one with power -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson, thanks.

And we're just getting word that the Iraq Study Group is going to present its report on December 6th. You'll remember -- you see video here of former secretary of state Jim Baker, just -- the main one leading this commission, studying what's going on in Iraq, hopefully putting together recommendations for the Bush administration on what it should do about what's taking place overseas and the increase in sectarian violence and the civilian deaths that rise by the day.

December 6th we'll hear from the Iraq Study Group.

LEMON: And talking about Iraq, you can add Colin Powell to the growing list of interested parties who think Iraq has collapsed into civil war. The former secretary of state says he'd recommend the Bush administration use that term if he were still running the State Department.

Speaking in Dubai, Powell also said he regrets making the case for war at the United nations back in 2003. His outlook for the conflict now, Powell says a political solution cannot be imposed, Iraqis have to forge one on their own.

PHILLIPS: We still don't know his whereabouts or condition, but today we know the name of the U.S. Air Force pilot whose fighter jet crashed this week in Iraq. The Pentagon says he's Major Troy Gilbert, duty status and whereabouts unknown.

Gilbert is stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and assigned to the 309th Fighter Squadron. The Pentagon says that he's deployed to the 332nd Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq.

LEMON: Healing the wounds of war. We're taking you to a place that helps wounded soldiers and their families. Up next in the NEWSROOM, we're visiting the Fisher House.

Stay tuned.

PHILLIPS: Hezbollah equals terrorists as far as the U.S. is concerned. That's why hackles are up over a report that Hezbollah may have trained members of the Shiite militia in Iraq. Unsettling ties straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just want to remind you, we got in just a few minutes ago word that the Iraq Study Group is going to present its report on December 6th. As you know, the Bush administration called for this commission to come together, a nonpartisan commission, led by former secretary of state Jim Baker. Here actually are all the players. A lot of big names, heavy hitters involved in that commission.

Finally, coming together, have that report December 6th. We're going to hear what it recommends to the president on what's taking place in Iraq and how to move forward.

LEMON: And we're going to go now to the newsroom. A story breaking in Miami.

Fredericka Whitfield in the newsroom with all the details.

WHITFIELD: Don, a south Florida high school is on lockdown as officials look for a suspected armed robber.

Now, apparently, just moments ago we understand that police say this suspected armed robber carried out his deed outside of the Nicaraguan Consulate, which is on southwest Eighth Street. And then apparently the suspected armed robber may have walked or ran into the direction of this Coral Park High School, which is on southwest 16th Street. And as a precaution, the school is now on lockdown.

No students or faculty, et cetera, are allowed to leave. It is not clear where the suspected armed robber is, but simply as a precaution, they have this high school on lockdown because officials believe that this suspected armed robber could still be in the vicinity, and that's all we know right now. You're looking at live pictures of the neighborhood, residential community near this Coral Park High School as they continue to look for the suspected armed robber involved in an incident just a few blocks away from that Coral Park High School.

LEMON: It looks like a big area, too, they have cordoned off when they were showing all the dogs and the police looking there.

WHITFIELD: It did look pretty significant...

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ... because we're talking about eight blocks at least between that Nicaraguan Consulate and the high school. So you've got that, plus the kind of perimeter that they're going to seal off here as they continue to conduct their search.

LEMON: OK. Let's hope they find him. Thank you very much, Fredricka Whitfield.

PHILLIPS: Well, earlier this month, U.S. Army Sergeant Bill Fleming was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was on foot, on patrol, when a few yards away a Humvee hit a roadside bomb. Fleming says all he remembers is a flash of light.

The blast punctured his eardrums and embedded shrapnel in the left side of his body. He's now back in the states being treated at Womack Medical Center at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

He's the only son of Rosa Fleming. They join me now live from Fort Bragg.

Good to see you both, Rosa and Bill.

ROSA FLEMING, BILL'S MOTHER: Hi. How are you?

SGT. BILL FLEMING, WOUNDED IN IRAQ: Hello. How are you?

PHILLIPS: Bill, take us back to when you were injured. What do you remember from that day?

B. FLEMING: You pretty much said it all, just a flash of light. And the next thing I remember, I was on the ground, getting worked on by -- by our medics.

PHILLIPS: When you were there in country, as soon as you arrived, you knew what had been taking place in Iraq. Did you have a feeling that eventually you probably would encounter some type of injury or something like that would happen?

B. FLEMING: You always prepare yourself for something like that, but I stayed positive for the most part.

PHILLIPS: And that seems to be amazing as the mental discipline of soldiers, in addition to the mental strength of family.

Rosa, when you got word that Bill had been injured, how did you get the -- how did you get the call, and what do you remember when you first got the word, how it felt?

R. FLEMING: We got a call about 2:00 in the morning. And -- but I always have faith in God that my son will be OK. And like you see, he's here with me, and a priest was by his side. So that's all I needed to know.

PHILLIPS: Wow. A priest was by your side.

Bill, was that in Iraq?

R. FLEMING: His side. His side.

PHILLIPS: Right, in Iraq.

B. FLEMING: Yes. Yes, it was.

PHILLIPS: Really? Tell me about that.

B. FLEMING: Once I arrived at the field hospital, one of the Army chaplains were able to come talk to me while I was getting worked on. PHILLIPS: Did that help? What did he say to you?

B. FLEMING: To be honest, I was kind of out of it at the moment. But it was pretty comforting.

PHILLIPS: Rosa, why did that give you peace of mind, that the priest was there with him?

R. FLEMING: Oh, because this life is very short. And we need to be prepared in the last second. And to me, it means the world.

PHILLIPS: Now, Rosa, this is your only son. But you very much support him going back to Iraq. Why is that?

R. FLEMING: This is a great country. And what makes this country great is not the wealth, but the generosity and the big hart of the citizens. So I am honored that my son is serving, and he can go and stay as many times this country needs him.

PHILLIPS: So there aren't moments where you think, boy, this is my only boy, I don't want him to go?

R. FLEMING: No. Not at all. God gave his only son. So it's not hard at all. Like I say, I wish I had 10 more sons.

PHILLIPS: Bill, do you get a lot of your strength from your mom? This is one strong lady.

B. FLEMING: I'd have to say I do. My dad was in the military, so I spent a lot of time with my mom growing up.

PHILLIPS: It's in your blood.

Well, look, I want to talk a moment about the Fisher House and about the rehabilitation, Bill, that you've received there at Womack Medical Center.

Behind you is CNN's Warrior One. We're going to be auctioning that off, that Humvee that a lot of us rode in during the war to raise money for the Fisher House.

Rosa, tell us how the Fisher House helped you be close to your son. You didn't have to worry about paying for anything. Tell us about how it helped the family.

R. FLEMING: Well, it is wonderful, because we have enough worrying about my son's health that we have -- that we don't have to worry about the expenses of a hotel. And we got a call and had a room for us, and for that I'm very grateful.

And it is a wonderful charitable organization. And what CNN is doing is just amazing.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we're in big support of what Fisher House does because we know how much it helps families like yours.

R. FLEMING: Yes. Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: And Bill, how about the therapy, Bill, and the medical treatment you've received? Are you satisfied? And tell me how that has gone.

B. FLEMING: Oh, it's gone great. Everyone's been very friendly, supportive and patient. So I really couldn't ask for anything more.

PHILLIPS: What kind of therapy do you have to go through right now?

B. FLEMING: Right now I'm just -- just waiting for surgery. That's about it. Everything else has just kind of fallen into place. I've healed pretty quickly.

PHILLIPS: We're seeing your doctor actually examining you right now. What has he told you about your hearing and about your eardrums?

B. FLEMING: I've had about 30 percent loss in both eardrums. And the damage done to my middle ears can be corrected with surgery. So in about three months I'll be as good as new.

PHILLIPS: And I know you're headed back. What will your duties entail once you go back to Iraq?

B. FLEMING: Hopefully I'll go back to my platoon and I'll go back to being a dismount team leader.

PHILLIPS: And tell us what a dismount team leader does.

B. FLEMING: I just lead my guys on the ground, whether it be clearing roads or houses.

PHILLIPS: Listen to you. Just a day's -- just a day's work, right, Bill?

B. FLEMING: That it is.

PHILLIPS: Rosa, a final thought.

R. FLEMING: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Your son's getting ready to go back in just a few months. You OK with that?

R. FLEMING: Oh, yes, yes. My blessings. And I know he has the support of this country and all their prayers. So, either way, we are going to do good.

PHILLIPS: Rosa Fleming, Sergeant Bill Fleming, thanks for talking with us today. Really appreciate it.

R. FLEMING: Thank you. Thank you.

B. FLEMING: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: My pleasure.

We've been talking to families like the Flemings and other families because CNN wants you to know about the Fisher House and the comfort and the shelter that it offers to families of hospitalized veterans. And CNN's Warrior One, the Humvee that you saw behind the Flemings -- and many of us rode it during Operation Iraqi Freedom -- it's going to go to the highest bidder at an auction January 20th.

Proceeds will benefit the Fisher House Foundation. And if you'd like to bid, Barrett Jackson is the auction house. You can get more information at its Web site, barrett-jackson.com.

LEMON: A critical meeting, complicated by a critical memo. A confidential assessment of Iraq's leader leaked at the worst possible time. We've got White House reaction coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Bill Frist, the soon-to-be retired Senate majority leader, has decided not to run for president next time around. The Tennessee Republican didn't run for re-election to the Senate, leaving most friends and foes alike to assume he had higher ambitions. Instead, he says he'll return to medicine. A senior adviser says Frist, who is also a heart-lung transplant surgeon, simply needs a sabbatical from public service.

LEMON: And it's its biggest profits come from gas-guzzling SUVs, but the chief executive of General Motors says the company is going green. Now, how has that happened?

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Susan.

Well, he may be no fan of the American way but he's down with the truth and justice part. Iran's President Ahmadinejad sends an open letter to noble Americans. We're reading between the lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Put off but not put down. President Bush was supposed to meet in Jordan tonight with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but that's been delayed till tomorrow. The White House insists Mr. Bush is not snubbing the troubled Iraqi leader whose troubles and possible shortcomings are spelled out in a leaked West Wing memo.

Meantime, word of the meeting is already causing trouble in Iraq, and let's get some insight from Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. He joins us now from Washington.

The top of this memo says that following a trip there -- from Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser and his aides, the National Security Council -- they wanted to know if prime minister al- Maliki was up to the job. Do you agree with that? Is that the assessment from this memo?

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I think that's a big part of what's going on here. But there's another message that the "New York Times" headline didn't totally convey, I don't think, which is that as much as we have concerns about al-Maliki, we've probably got even more concerns about virtually every other politician in Iraq.

In other words, there isn't much of a choice here. Even if we had the power to convince Iraqis to change prime ministers -- and we don't have that power since they choose their own -- it's not clear who we'd want instead of al-Maliki. Maybe former Prime Minister Allawi.

But for the most part, we recognize al-Maliki has a dilemma because he's contending with some very difficult actors inside that Green Zone in Baghdad, everybody from Muqtada al-Sadr to many of the Sunni leaders and even the Kurds.

So, yes, we are frustrated a bit with al-Maliki, but we're probably even more frustrated with others in the government and aware of the challenges the current prime minister faces.

LEMON: And here's a question, though, because it says at the top of the memo "whether Mr. al-Maliki is willing and able to rise above the sectarian agendas being promoted by others." But the president has been steadfast in his support, even recently, of the prime minister.

O'HANLON: Well, the president's taken a very specific approach here. We all know that there's been a certain political rationale at home, wanting to just be steadfast and unflinching and portray his opposition as wavering or weak. That's been part of his strategy.

But overseas in Iraq, he's wanted the Iraqi resistance to know it cannot easily intimidate the United States or create a Vietnam syndrome effect where we get tired of the casualties or tired of the difficulty and pack up our bags and go home.

So I think he's decided that's the main sort of concern. He said it in Vietnam just recently. He said the only way we'll lose is if we quit. Now, many of us would disagree with that way of looking at things, but it is clearly the way President Bush views the matter.

LEMON: And we know over the past several months there have been several phone calls between the president and Prime Minister al-Maliki talking -- concerning whether or not he had support or whether or not the president was going to pull the troops out.

And let's stick with this for a minute. There's a quote from this text that says "His intentions seem to be good when he talks about Americans and sensitive reporting suggests he is trying to stand up to the Shia hierarchy and force positive change, but the reality on the streets of Baghdad suggests that Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action."

That is very critical. It doesn't sound like support, even though the president may be saying that.

O'HANLON: You're right. That was pretty critical. It also is very unfocused. We have no idea if he's simply too weak to be effective or if he has the wrong goals and aspirations. That's a pretty broad range of possibilities, because you would take very different strategies depending on which diagnosis you wound up with.

But I think clearly what we're seeing from the overall memo is an effort to try to strengthen al-Maliki and assume that he wants to do the right thing, but simply hasn't figured out how and is facing this formidable past of other actors inside of Iraq that don't necessarily want the right thing.

So even though the memo admits some uncertainty about what's really going on, the whole strategy here is to try to help al-Maliki even as we express worry about whether he's really doing a good job.

LEMON: Exactly, because there are suggestions in here of suggested actions which he could take which include "compel his minister to take small steps," it says, "bring the political strategy with Muqtada al-Sadr to a closure." And here's the one that is getting the most attention, "consider monetary support to moderate groups that have been seeking to break with larger, more sectarian parties."

What does that mean? Is that support for people who possibly we don't want to be in power?

O'HANLON: Well, it means, in some sense, you know, finding the least objectionable characters but also trying to break off some moderates from the more extreme movements. As you know, some of the Sunni and Shia movements are very polarized and they're going after each other. There's a lot more violence on the street. I think there is a civil war in Iraq.

It's not an all-out civil war, but there's a lot of fighting by these different militias. And sometimes the politicians are tolerating it, or they're hedging their bets. They try to work for an integrated Iraq inside the Green Zone, but they maintain allegiance and support for the militias in their other life.

LEMON: Michael O'Hanlon, we've got just about 10 seconds left, but if you can give us -- in this short amount of time, tell us what basically will be the text? What will they talk about today that's going to be most important or at least tomorrow?

O'HANLON: Two-prong message. One, we have to keep putting pressure on al-Maliki because he hasn't necessarily faced the gravity of the crisis. But, two, we also have to strengthen him and give him some of these tools that Stephen Hadley wrote about. I hope we also give him the sense, we can't stay forever, and 2007 is make or break time.

LEMON: All right. Michael O'Hanlon from the Brookings Institution, thank you so much.

O'HANLON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Keeping the Christ in Christmas? No room at the end as far as a Chicago festival is concerned. Yes, it's time to dust off the Chrismahanukwaanzika (ph) guide again. NEWSROOM hates to offend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Don't rush out to your mailbox, but the hard-line president of Iran has written a letter to the American people. It's lengthy, five pages. It was released today at the United Nations. In it, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls on the U.S. to pull out of Iraq and accuses the Bush Administration of coercion, force, and injustice. This isn't the first time Ahmadinejad has engaged in postal diplomacy. Last May, he wrote President Bush an 18-page epistle to which Mr. Bush never responded.

LEMON: And we have been following the story of the death of that ex-Russian spy. Apparently, at least common knowledge is that it may be by poisoning. Let's head to CNN's Matthew Chance in London. He's got some new details for us. What are you working on, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don indeed, Alexander Litvinenko, that Russian agent, died of what is believed to have been Polonium 210 poisoning, which is a very highly radioactive substance. It's now emerged that British Airways, the British flag carrier, has grounded three of its aircraft, so they can have forensic tests carried out on them because on at least two of those aircraft, according to the airline, traces of that highly toxic radioactive material have been detected.

Those two aircraft are on the ground at London's Heathrow airport. Another one is on the tarmac in Moscow and hasn't yet been tested properly yet. But, obviously, this is a very, you know, kind of worrying development in this investigation. What British Airways say is that there is no immediate public safety problems coming from this, that they think that it could just be on the aircraft in a way that wouldn't contaminate passengers.

At the same time, they say they're taking the precaution of contacting all of the many passengers that may have flown on those aircraft in the weeks since November the 1st when Alexander Litvinenko was actually poisoned. So it looks like there really is a really big development in this investigation, Don.

LEMON: They say it's a low chance, they're saying that anyone would be affected by this, but they're taking all those precautions as you said. And then people, if you may be concerned, you can go to the British Airways Web site and they have the information on that.

I don't know if you know this, because this is breaking now, but also several hospital workers, or at least possibly about 160 have been assessed for possible exposure as well?

CHANCE: That's right. What the police have been doing is trying to retrace the steps of Alexander Litvinenko on the day when he was poisoned and the days subsequent to that. They've been testing a lot of people who he may have come into contact with.

As you mentioned, that's right, people at the hospital where he was treated, where he first fell sick, dozens of them, I haven't got the exact figure, have been tested as well for possible contamination.

What we know at this stage is that of all the more than 1,000 people that have been tested who may have come into contact or been into the same places as Alexander Litvinenko since he was poisoned, at least eight of them have been referred to a specialist London clinic for further forensic tests so they can have radiological tests to see whether they have radiation sickness as well.

LEMON: All right. Matthew Chance, and, of course, the biggest news coming out of this would be those two British Airways flights they are concerned about. Again, they say low risk, as you said, but they are taking every precaution. Matthew Chance in London, thank you so much for updating us on that story.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, entertainment news with Sibila Vargas of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Sibila, what's on tap?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The greatest story ever told Kyra, but now the 16-year-old star of "The Nativity Story" has added a twist to the tale. Her shocking confession of life imitating art straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pregnant, unwed teenage girl. She play a starring role, as you know, in "The Nativity Story" and in the new movie by the same name. Now the film's leading lady is getting even more attention for her real-life role as a pregnant unwed teenage girl. Sibila Vargas joins us with that. There's always got to be a little controversy, right?

VARGAS: Always a little controversy. And it doesn't hurt sometimes. But this time it's not the subject matter like "Passion of the Christ," it's actually the teenage girl from the movie that's actually causing the stir. Instead, again, it's her and she's raising a few eyebrows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will give birth do a son.

VARGAS (voice-over): When Hollywood decreed it would take on "The Nativity Story," Catholics the world over heralded its 21st century arrival.

KIERA MCCAFFREY, THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE: This is a film explicitly about the birth of Christ. So we don't see very many of those these days. VARGAS: A major studio backed the movie, New Line Cinema, a sister company to CNN, and enlisted director Catherine Hardwicke, and Oscar-nominated star Keisha Castle-Hughes as the Virgin mother. Filmmakers even got approval from on high -- the Vatican would host the movie's world premiere, a first for the holy see.

But, then, this fall, after filming wrapped, Keisha Castle-Hughes had some news. The 16-year-old actress announced she and her boyfriend were expecting a baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know how much disgrace you have brought upon yourself?

VARGAS: The parallels were striking. Unwed teenaged actress gets pregnant deciding to keep the baby -- that alone is unusual. The fact that she also happens to be the actress playing the most famous unwed teenage mother of all time -- what are the odds.

CATHERINE HARDWICKE, DIRECTOR, "THE NATIVITY STORY": Life imitating art.

VARGAS (on camera): That's kind of interesting. You must have, at some point -- you know, it has to cross your mind that, you know -- it just crossed all of our minds, it's like this is amazing.

HARDWICKE: I know. And her boyfriend is in construction, too. He's a carpenter too, but he's not named Joseph.

VARGAS: Castle-Hughes was a no-show at the L.A. premiere and has been absent from all of the film's publicity events including the press junket. The filmmakers say that's only because she's busy shooting another movie in Australia and not because they feared religious fallout as had been speculated.

(voice-over): On Sunday, one important world premiere put the religious fallout rumors to rest. Seven thousand gathered and cheered at the Vatican's screening, including a number of high-ranking Cardinals.

MCCAFFREY: She isn't the blessed mother. Although she's portraying her. She did a job. She did a very good job in this film acting. Now she finds herself in this spot. It's something that people understand.

VARGAS: And it certainly adds an unusual twist to the story of the nativity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And the film opens nationwide Friday, and despite the growing controversy, it is expected to fare well with audiences.

Now, initially there was gossip that the pope himself was not attending the Vatican premiere because he was boycotting the film. But according to officials there, his absence was only because of his trip to Turkey this week. Well, tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," shifting gears, the gloves are off. Tonight as Britney Spears is spotted partying, her soon to be ex-husband Kevin Federline says he wants the kids. The battle over Britney on TV's most provocative entertainment news program, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline Prime.

PHILLIPS: All right, Sibila, thanks.

Well, there was no room at the inn for Mary and Joseph, and they can forget Chicago's City Hall Plaza too. The studio that made "The Nativity Story" wanted to help sponsor Chicago's German Christmas Festival, but the city worried that non-Christians might be offended. Season's greetings, everyone.

LEMON: A secret CIA flight to secret CIA prisons, but how secret were they if almost a dozen European governments knew about them? A new E.U. report could mean trouble for some U.S. allies. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: How much is too much? When World Cup skiers head for the lodge, it's time to pay attention. The latest on a major snowstorm that walloped the West.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN ANCHOR: "Time" magazine's person of the year. It's an honor held by the greats from Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. So who's next? Well, go to CNN.com and tell us what you think.

Since 1927, "Time" gives the title to the person or the people who, for better or worse, the magazine's editors believe had the greatest impact on the year's events. You can go back in time and see every cover to date. Some have been pretty controversial like Stalin and Hitler, while others less so. Like last year's cover featured Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono as the good Samaritans of the year.

And then you can test your person of the year knowledge. Who was the person on the cover the most "Times"? FDR wins that one with three times on the cover, 1932, '34 and '41.

And vote on who you think should be on the cover this year. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il? Speaker of the House-Elect Nancy Pelosi? The YouTube guys? Did you not see the person who you'd pick on the list? Well, don't worry, there's a write-in section and you can even nominate yourself. It's all there for you at CNN.com/personoftheyear.

For the .com desk, I'm Nicole Lapin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com