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Fuel and Fury; Privacy Vs. Security; Battle Over Iraq

Aired March 09, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm sitting in today for Tony Harris.

For the next three hours, we're going to bring you all the news as it happens right here on this Friday, March 9th.

In fact, let's do this for you -- let's bring you the rundown.

COLLINS: Cell phone records, e-mails, bank documents -- did the FBI overstep the Patriot Act to get them?

SANCHEZ: Kiss and tell? An alleged Washington madam in court in one hour. Her little black book said to be filled with the names of political big shots. Who are they?

COLLINS: A mentally disabled man beaten, left for dead in a bed of fire ants. Some call it a hate crime. Disturbing case this hour in the NEWSROOM.

Late-breaking this hour, another tragic turn to that horrifying bus crash in Atlanta. A fifth Bluffton University baseball player died this morning at an Atlanta hospital. Zach Aarons (ph) had been in critical condition.

Four other players, the bus driver and his wife, died last Friday when their bus careened off an overpass bridge in Atlanta -- you see it there -- and crashed onto the interstate. An initial investigation indicates the driver was confused, thinking he was still on the interstate when, in fact, he had exited the highway on an HOV exit lane, crossing over the overpass bridge before falling off.

CNN has been investigating what happened when that bus crashed, and our Drew Griffin will joining us a little bit later on to update us here in the NEWSROOM. So stay tuned for that.

Now to gas prices, surging in the United States, casting a shadow all the way to Brazil. President Bush is there this morning to sign a deal on alternative fuels. He hopes it will weaken U.S. dependence on Mideast oil, but his visit is triggering angry protests now, not just in Brazil, but across South America.

CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano traveling with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush wants to talk ethanol with Brazilian president Lula da Silva.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's in our national security interests and our economic security interests and environmental concerns to develop alternatives to gasoline.

QUIJANO: The two are expected to sign a deal encouraging greater ethanol cooperation, yet with much of the U.S.'s ethanol coming from corn, some Republicans say the deal could hurt America's corn growers and ethanol producers.

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: We need to build here in this country, not provide so that we can build in a competing country.

QUIJANO: Experts say the ethanol deal and the focus on Brazil play into a larger unspoken goal for the president's seven-day swing through the region.

PAULO SOTERO, BRAZIL INST. WOODROW WILSON CENTER: By highlighting, for instance, President Lula, by acknowledging Brazil as the largest and most stable democracy in South America, you are in a way countering President Chavez.

QUIJANO: Venezuelan socialist president Hugo Chavez has called President Bush "The Devil" and has sought to tap into anti-American sentiments in the region. With his country awash in oil, Chavez has used that revenue to spread his influence throughout the hemisphere, feeding off what some say has been U.S. neglect of Latin America after September 11th.

SOTERO: The trip was perceived in Brazil and in the other parts of the region as a little bit of too little, too late. But it's -- late is better than never.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Elaine Quijano joining us now live from Sao Paulo.

Elaine, so what has the White House actually said so far about Hugo Chavez?

QUIJANO: Well, you know, the White House is insisting, Heidi, that this tour by President Bush through Central and South America, five nations over the next seven days, is not an anti-Chavez tour. At the same time, though, President Bush is clearly trying to improve the United States' image here in this region, particularly mindful of the fact that Chavez himself is really trying to boost his own influence throughout this hemisphere.

And, in fact, Heidi, it will be interesting later today when President Bush travels to Uruguay, where just across the river, in Argentina, in fact, Hugo Chavez will be leading a rally of thousands of people. It will be interesting to see how the White House responds to that -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, very interesting. In fact, on the ethanol deal, what is the White House's position that it might actually hurt the American farmer?

QUIJANO: Right. Well, they are certainly aware of those concerns that have been voiced as we saw in the piece by members of the president's own party that, in fact, there could be competition between America's farmers and these Brazilian ethanol producers. But the White House position is that the bottom line, they believe that this agreement will actually help the United States.

How? Well, it will bring the United States closer to the goal that President Bush laid out of decreasing Americans' gas usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years. And the president thinks this is the best way to do that.

Brazil has been using this ethanol technology for years now, and the United States feels that this is an opportunity. But they are certainly aware of those concerns being expressed -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Elaine Quijano, traveling with the president.

Elaine, thanks so much for that.

Also want to let our viewers know that we will be hearing from President Bush and his Brazilian counterpart. That will be coming up in a joint news conference a little bit later this hour. You see the live shot there. We will bring it to you as it gets under way.

SANCHEZ: Here's another big issue we're following for you today, tough new questions this morning about the personal privacy versus national security debate. There's a report that's being released next hour that shows the FBI tapping into the private records of Americans much more than it has admitted. But did the agency overstep its authority to access financial, phone and Internet records?

Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is joining us now from Washington.

What does the report focus on, Kelli?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, it basically focuses on the FBI's use of what are called national security letters. Now, the FBI can use those like subpoenas, basically, to help them in terrorism investigations, to get records, information very quickly without going to a judge. Instead, those letters are approved by FBI supervisors. But and everything about them, Rick, who gets them, what they're for, is kept secret.

SANCHEZ: What are the highlights as you peruse this, in terms of what they may have done that they shouldn't have done?

ARENA: Well, I haven't seen the report myself, but officials who have seen it say that it's very critical that the FBI, as you said, under-reported, first of all, the use of the national security letters, that it used them incorrectly, in some cases potentially violating the law. And that's exactly, Rick, what critics were afraid of, that these letters would not be properly used, that there would be an improper investigation of privacy.

So we expect those critics to have a field day today.

SANCHEZ: Is there a possibility that somebody may have broken the law here? And could there be an investigation?

ARENA: I'm told by officials who have seen it that there were potential violations, but the inspector general, I'm told, also clearly said there wasn't a blatant violation of the law, that it was -- it was just sort of -- that they didn't understand exactly how they were supposed to be used.

SANCHEZ: What's the FBI saying about this?

ARENA: Well, the FBI hasn't commented yet. We're supposed to hear from Director Mueller about 11:30 this morning. He's going to do a media briefing.

But I'm told that officials have said that the changes are already in place at the FBI to deal with this issue, that the IG report, of course, there's a lag effect there, Rick. It talks about stuff that happened through 2005. So they say, look, we're already on the road to recovery here.

SANCHEZ: You know, Alberto Gonzales has got an interesting role in all of this, because some have accused him in the past of rubberstamping a lot of these abuse allegations, you know, going back to Abu Ghraib and now obviously finishing up with something like this.

Do we expect whether he's going to take a hard line against the FBI on this, or defend it in some way? Do we have any hint of that?

ARENA: Well, I'm told that the attorney general saw this report at least two, maybe three weeks ago, and was absolutely furious. And the DOJ, Rick, who is already ahead of the game, issued a statement even before this report was made public, saying that Attorney General Gonzales told Director Mueller that these past mistakes will not be tolerated, that he's ordered him to restore accountability, to put in place the safeguards to ensure there will be greater oversight.

You know, at least according to the officials we spoke to, he knows. He knows that this is not what this administration needed right now.

They seem to believe, at least, that this is an accountability problem more than a practice problem, that there weren't -- there wasn't the proper oversight, internal oversight within the FBI to make sure that reporting was accurate, to make sure that these things were being issued properly. And so, he has told him, look, tighten it up, guys, tighten up that ship and let's do it right, because as I said before, you know, there's been a lot of critics out there, and from both sides of the aisle. When you get to privacy issues, that's one of those things that -- that crosses over from Democrat to Republican. It doesn't matter -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: It certainly seems like the kind of story that's going to have some legs, as usual.

ARENA: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Kelli Arena, thanks for having a handle on that for us. We certainly appreciate it.

ARENA: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: By the way, she mentioned that Robert Mueller is going to be holding a news conference. When that happens, we'll bring it to you live right here this morning.

By the way, also, who's watching the FBI? Well, a special board is being asked to look into that troubling report about private records.

Former Clinton administration attorney Lanny Davis is on that board, and he's joining us now to talk about this as well. In fact, he'll be joining us in a little bit to discuss this.

I apologize.

Heidi, over to you.

COLLINS: The battle lines are drawn. President Bush vows to veto any bill calling for an end date for U.S. combat troops in Iraq. House and Senate Democrats forging ahead with efforts to bring troops home next year.

Details from CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Setting up a possible showdown with President Bush, House Democratic leaders laid out their plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by summer's end, 2008.

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: This is all about readiness, all about protecting the troops and the families.

KOPPEL: Under the Democrats' timetable, Mr. Bush would be required to certify by mid-summer and then again by mid-fall this year the Iraqi government was making progress towards meeting key political and military benchmarks. If the president could not show progress, then U.S. troops would begin withdrawing immediately. But if Mr. Bush said Iraqis were achieving these goals, that would buy the White House a few more months, but only until March 2008, when Democrats say U.S. combat troops must begin leaving Iraq and be out six months later. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she expected a majority of Democrats, including staunch anti-war members who want to get out now, will support this plan which would be added to a request for about $100 billion in emergency war funding.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe in the end we will be unified on it. Many members of the "Out of Iraq" caucus have committed to this. They understand the wisdom of it. They see that there are dates certain here for the first time in the Congress.

KOPPEL: Before Pelosi unveiled her plan, leaders in the anti-war movement in the House unveiled one of their own, a proposal to withdraw U.S. troops by the end of this year, not next.

REP. JANICE SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: No more chances. No more waivers. No phony certifications. No more spending billions of dollars to send our children into the meat grinder that is Iraq.

KOPPEL: Republican leaders dismiss the plan outright, saying General Petraeus, not Nancy Pelosi, should be the one calling the shots.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: Unfortunately, our Democrat colleagues have put forth a plan that's going to micromanage the war on terror, put strings on the ability of our generals to get the job done.

KOPPEL (on camera): Meanwhile, in the Senate, Democratic leaders, after weeks of trying to reach consensus, announced a possible vote on a new binding resolution as soon as next week, with more modest goals than earlier drafts. This one calling for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by early next year. Remaining troops would have a much more limited mission.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A helicopter tour of the Hawaiian islands has turned deadly minutes before a scheduled landing. This chopper crashed on the island of Kauai.

Now, four people, including the pilot, are dead, three others critically injured. Investigators say moments before the crash the pilot radioed that he was having hydraulic problems. New federal safety rules for tour flights are due to take effect in August.

COLLINS: Chad Myers joining us with a national weather picture.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: There could be a lot of nervous men around the nation's capital this morning. A woman indicted for running a prostitution ring is threatening to sell her phone records to pay her legal bills. And that's just for starters.

Our Brianna Keilar joining us now live from the courthouse.

Brianna, what's going to happen in court today?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, as we understand it from Deborah Jean Palfrey's attorney, she's going to enter a not guilty plea on racketeering charges. Palfrey is accused of running a prostitution ring here in the D.C. area, as you said, from 1993 to 2006.

Her lawyer says that what she was running was a high-end adult fantasy firm and that it was not illegal, that it was all above board. The big deal here, as you said, Ms. Palfrey is allegedly broke, and her attorney says that she wants to use the one asset she does have, since the government seized a lot of her property and her other assets, and that is the phone records of her company.

According to her attorney, this includes 10,000-plus phone numbers, contact information, of, as I said, 10,000-plus customers of Ms. Palfrey's. And "The Washington Times" is saying, Heidi, that federal prosecutors are going to be asking this judge to put a gag order in place so that she can't do this.

COLLINS: A lot of interesting, I'm sure, nerves going on today in the -- inside the beltway. Can't help but think about Heidi Fleiss in all of this either.

The judge, though, expected to grant the prosecutor's motion to stop Palfrey from naming these names? How is that going to work?

KEILAR: Well, it's certainly a possibility. And as we understand it, this shouldn't necessarily have been read into as a signal that there are some big names on this list.

Of course, curious minds, Heidi, want to know who is on that list. Are there going to be any bombshells? But we're told that we shouldn't read into this, that this could very much be a standard procedure if this goes ahead.

COLLINS: OK. Well, we'll be watching and reading.

Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

SANCHEZ: Each Friday we're going to take a look back at the week and highlight the person who stands out as having made his or her mark. And today we're going to put the spotlight on Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former aide and confidante of Vice President Cheney.

Libby was convicted, as you know, Tuesday of lying and feeding a CIA leak investigation. Libby's attorney is calling for a new trial and plans to appeal if denied, but the verdict is already a political blow to a beleaguered White House. And there's buzz in Washington about the president being asked perhaps to pardon Mr. Libby. No decision made yet.

COLLINS: He's been at the president's side from the beginning, but is Vice President Cheney losing his influence?

CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the moment he took the vice presidency, Dick Cheney brought experience to George Bush that few others could match: a businessman, a veteran of the Nixon and Ford administrations, the architect of the first Gulf War.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: President Bush had never been in Washington. He had never been in Congress. Cheney had been a whip in Congress. He had been a very important figure in the party. He knew the ways of Washington.

FOREMAN: But all that political weight may now be dragging him down. Only two in five voters likes how Mr. Cheney does his job. And his job, by most accounts, touches everything that matters in the White House: domestic and foreign policy, economic matters, the war, and, of course, now the conviction of the vice president's confidant, Scooter Libby.

STEPHEN HESS, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: This vice president has had his finger in everything. He truly is, and has been, the president's chief adviser. That's power.

FOREMAN: Mr. Cheney's personal life has seen ups and downs, too. He has bristled at questions about his accidental shooting of a friend, about his revolving-door hospital visits, and about his daughter, who is a lesbian.

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think, frankly, you're out of line with that question.

J.C. WATTS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Under normal circumstances, politics is hard to navigate. Under these circumstances, going to make it extremely challenging.

FOREMAN (on camera): The vice president has pretty much ignored public opinion throughout his time in the White House. And he can afford to. Unlike almost every other vice president, Dick Cheney says, emphatically, he does not want the presidency.

(voice-over): But other Republicans do want it. They're worried that he's becoming a liability to their party. And, even though the president shows no signs of pushing Mr. Cheney out, for the former Wyoming congressman, it is proving to be a long, cold winter on the vice presidential plains.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Tornado victims may get to move into FEMA trailers that have been sitting empty in Arkansas after all.

COLLINS: And the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" big in Japan. Fans paying big, big bucks to see him. And he didn't even sing.

The story -- I know you're dying for it -- coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Among our top stories this hour, another tragic turn this morning to that horrific bus crash in Atlanta. A fifth Bluffton University baseball player died this morning at an Atlanta hospital. Zach Aarons (ph) had been in critical condition.

Four other players, the bus driver, and his wife died last Friday when their bus careened off an overpass bridge in Atlanta and crashed onto the interstate. An initial investigation indicates the driver was confused, thinking he was still on the interstate, when in fact he had exited the highway on an HOV exit lane, crossing over the overpass bridge before falling off.

CNN has been investigating what happened when that bus crashed. Our Drew Griffin will be joining us a little bit later to update us in the NEWSROOM.

So make sure you stay tuned for that.

SANCHEZ: One of the big developing stories that we're going to be following for you throughout the course of the morning is President Bush in Brazil this morning. And he's been so far drawing a barrage of protests. Demonstrators greeting the president on the first stop of his visit to Latin America. They're denouncing the Iraq war and also the main reason for his vis to Brazil.

President Bush is signing an agreement to promote ethanol as an alternative to Mideast oil. Brazil is the world's leading exporter of ethanol. Protesters say the U.S. and Brazil are secretly plotting a cartel similar to OPEC.

And one oil-rich leader is on his own tour of the region. The mission for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, to stir anti-Bush sentiments that already blanket the region. Well, today he's taking part in a protest that's taking place in Argentina.

COLLINS: "Yankees out!" That's the rallying cry of angry protests in Colombia, and it's the welcome awaiting President Bush on his weekend visit there.

Details from CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A homemade explosive rocks a police riot truck. Hundreds of masked students run for cover as water cannons douse them. The chant is, "Yankees, out." These running battles lasted through the afternoon in protest of U.S. President George Bush's planned visit to Colombia on Sunday.

"FERMIN", STUDENT PROTESTER: So, we are fight not only for the Bush visit, it's also because we believe that a new Columbia is possible, that a new Latin America is possible.

PENHAUL: The interview abruptly ends as tear gas fired by the police, rains down on campers.

"FERMIN": We're fighting men.

PENHAUL: Radical students of Bogota's biggest public university normally reject contact with the media. But months ago, I met some of their leaders, and on this rare occasion, they agreed to show me the protests from their perspective.

Despite that acceptance, it's a chaotic scene, making it impossible to do an on-camera stand up.

"He's coming to sell us out. We're fighting against Bush's visit," this student says.

A team of his masked comrades launch fireworks through pipes. Another group takes aim by the wall, where I am taking cover, too. Police and the government accuse Communist rebels of infiltrating Colombia's university campuses. The students, though, reject the terrorist tag. They describe themselves as a mixture of Communist sympathizers, anarchists, leftists, and nationalists. Today, they united with one aim.

"This is a demonstration of Colombian dignity. We will not become the slaves of U.S. imperialism," he says.

Washington fights Colombia's war on drugs and against Communist guerrillas with around $700 million a year. Critics, like these students, say that's meddling. Police battle through the afternoon to contain the riot to the campus. Violence flared on nearby street corners. The tear gas began to clear, the riot trucks pulled back, leaving the students to chant victory. Karl Penhaul, CNN, Bogota, Colombia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, some help and some hope for women affected by the Iraq war. You'll meet a U.S. Army major who's helping empower Iraqi woman. Her story, and theirs, is coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(BELL CLANGING)

COLLINS: The opening bell at the end of a volatile week. Boy, that's for sure. A lot of people saying TGIF. The Dow Jones industrial averages went up about 68 points yesterday to close the day at 12,260. Interesting day, certainly, a most anticipated economic data today, coming out, the February employment report came out about an hour ago. We'll tell you about it could mean for interest rates. Coming up in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Wanted to go ahead and bring you this live shot now and listen in for a moment as President Bush is in Brazil, talking about ethanol. Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED, IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Therefore, diversification away from oil product is in the economic interests of our respective countries. And finally, as the president noted, it is -- we all feel incumbent to be good stewards of the environment. And it just so happens that ethanol and bio-diesel will help improve the quality of the environment in our respective countries.

And so, I'm very much in favor of promoting the technologies that will enable ethanol and bio-diesel to remain competitive. And, therefore, affordable to the people in our respective countries and around our neighborhoods. One of the things I like as the president noted is that a good ethanol policy and good alternative fuel policy actually leads to more jobs, not less.

In other words, at this plant, there are jobs. But as the president noted, when you're growing your way out of dependence on oil, you're dependent upon people who work the land, and the distribution of wealth, the distribution of opportunity to farmers, particularly the smaller farmers in our respective countries, will enable the economy to be more on firm foundation.

And so, Mr. President, your vision is absolutely correct. I appreciate so very much the fact that here much of your energy is driven by sugarcane. It frankly gives Brazil a tremendous advantage in the world markets. Sugarcane is by far the most efficient raw material for the production of ethanol.

The president has wisely invested in technologies that will increase your yields per acre, and that makes a lot of sense.

In America, we've got a little different issue. We don't have a lot of sugarcane. And so, our stock material, our base material for ethanol thus far has been corn. I appreciate very much the innovation that's taking place here in Brazil. I mean, if you're the leader in ethanol, I believe you'll continue to come up with technologies that should be available for others. Your H-bio process, for refining bio- diesel from soy and other agricultural products is such an example.

In other words, you'll be able to use regular refinery as a result of the technological developments that you've done here. And that makes a lot of sense. And I congratulate you, Mr. President, and Petrobas for staying on the leading edge of technological change.

A lot of people wonder whether or not it makes sense to develop an alternative fuel infrastructure if the automobile doesn't stay up with it. Well, most people in America don't know that there are millions of flex-fuel vehicles on our streets today. Just people don't know it. In other words, we have now got the capacity to manufacture automobiles in a way that meets the demands for ethanol. Flex fuel means you can either use gasoline or alternative fuels -- your choice. And in America, that technology is available, so my fellow citizens shouldn't fear the development of an alternative source of energy industry because the consumer -- the consumer's got the capacity to buy an automobile that will meet those new productions.

I'm very optimistic that America can, you know, benefit from --

(END LIVE FEED, IN PROGRESS)

SANCHEZ: We're going to continue to follow what the president is saying on his Latin American tour, but we have developing news from south Florida. This is a story that's coming in to us right now.

We understand the Broward sheriff's office, there in Pompano Beach, Florida, is now investigating what's being described to us as a workplace shooting. And this is what they're saying.

They say that someone, possibly a former employee, entered a business there at Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, and then just opened fire. At least one victim, a female, has been reportedly injured, unknown at this time what her condition is as we look at some of the pictures coming in.

Now, police did respond to the scene, but apparently the suspect has gotten away. They say he took off in a four-door silver Honda model 2005. There's a BOLO that's been issued, that's police jargon for, "be on the lookout". They're looking for the suspect.

Deputies say local law enforcement has been involved, the local media has been informed, but apparently police have arrived after the shooting has taken place. This is certainly a story we'll develop for you.

As we know it right now, there was only one person affected by this, certainly only one person. The building, by the way, now we're getting this information, was the Florida Builders Appliances; Florida Builders Appliances is where this shooting took place. As we get more information, we'll share it with you.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: From Florida to Iraq now, and women helping women. In this case, the woman leading the charge is a major in the U.S. Army Reserves. And the women she's helping are Iraqis.

Major Michele Spencer has organized a program to empower Iraqi women. Major Spencer is joining us now from Baghdad to talk about the program and to help mark Women's History Month.

Major Spencer, thanks for being with us.

You know, it's a topic we don't get to hear a whole lot about. Iraqi women and how they're doing now in the country. Tell us a little bit about this. I know the program is called Women With Voices.

MAJ. MICHELE SPENCER, U.S. ARMY: Yes. Heidi, thank you. Welcome.

Well, you know, International Women's Day was yesterday, and it's held all over the world. They've been celebrating it for over 95 years. But our program, here, in Iraq yesterday was women with voices. And, of course, collectively our voices, military women, civilian women, Iraqi women, we can help change the world, making hopefully a world that works for everyone.

Our program centered around inspiring women, educating them, and empowering them. And just knowing that we can make a difference. We are the balance. Women are the balance.

COLLINS: Give me some insight if you could about what that relationship is between some of the female members of the United States military and the Iraqi civilian women on a day-to-day basis. Is there really a relationship there?

SPENCER: Yes, there is a relationship. And yesterday, we were able to make a tie that, as far as I know, hasn't been done before. About three months ago, I helped mentor Iraqi women and talk about leadership and values. And Heidi, they are just as motivated and educated and intelligent. And they want to help their country and the world.

And they are very, very excited about what we're doing. So, there's -- so, some women, the military women here -- that we get to work with civilian women that come from the red zone to the green zone, so we have a different relationship. But there's only a few Iraqi military women.

COLLINS: Understood. What areas do they need help with the most? What are they really reaching out for?

SPENCER: What do Iraqis need?

COLLINS: Yes.

SPENCER: I believe just more belief in themselves. I mean, they definitely have a lot of hope for their country, but they want to have their voices heard. And that was why we used the theme Women With Voices. Though oppressed, there is so much power in them. And so, if they continue to shine their light, all over the world, then we can see it and continue to inspire them and help them.

COLLINS: Quickly, I want to make sure that we get this in because I know it has really seemed to have helped a lot of people. You're involved in a different kind of work that does help U.S. troops -- and that's yoga. Tell us about it.

SPENCER: Yeah. BaghdadYoga.com. You know, if you're not reflective about what you can do here, wherever that you are, and help out, you know, you're missing a great opportunity. So, I teach three times a week at the Liberty Pool in the international zone, on my off time. Because I want to share and help our troops, and there's a lot of civilian people, contractors and State are here also.

COLLINS: Right.

SPENCER: But together we breathe together, so that the energy can definitely change. And collectively there's so much power that we can do energetically.

COLLINS: Major Michele Spencer of the United States Army, thanks so much for your time today and the work that you're doing as well. We appreciate it.

SPENCER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We're talking about this developing story taking place in Pompano Beach, Florida, we now have Sandra King on the line for us. She's joining us from there. She's a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire & Rescue.

The short story that we got, Sandra, was someone, possibly a former employee, walked into this place of business and started shooting and apparently he shot one person. Let's start with the condition of that person. What do we know?

SANDRA KING, PAMPANO BEACH FIRE & RESCUE: The condition of the person is not very good. We trauma alerted, which is a very serious situation, we trauma alerted that female to North Broward Medical Center in critical condition.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you. This is apparently where? At the Florida Builders Appliances. She was an employee there, and did he specifically just target her, or did he try and shoot at other people? In other words, was this a random shooting?

KING: We're obviously trying to sort all that out right now. We do know we have one victim, a female in her late 20s, to early 30s. It appears she was an intended victim, but obviously, that's going to be something there's going to have to be investigated.

SANCHEZ: You said "intended," right?

KING: It would appear so. There were no other victims, no one else was hurt or shot. And we certainly have a lot of upset and shaken-up co-workers.

SANCHEZ: Did anybody recognize him? Did it appear she recognized him when he walked in?

KING: At this point, no, we do not know who that person is. They are still at large, however, so we have a serious situation out here.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's an important part of the story. Let's talk about that. What are you doing to try and catch this guy?

KING: That would be up to the Broward sheriff's office. Obviously, they're exhausting every resource to make sure they get this dangerous person into custody. SANCHEZ: And as far as the work scene there, what have you guys done to stabilize it?

KING: Well, obviously, there's people very shaken up. When you're in our workplace, someone comes in with a gun and shoots your co-worker -- and that co-worker's in very serious condition. They're pretty upset. So we're obviously trying to calm people down and get the situation under control.

SANCHEZ: Now, we have been seeing some people that have been taken out. We saw one woman taken out on a stretcher. Is that the victim that we saw taken out on the stretcher earlier?

KING: To be honest, I don't know. I don't know what you're seeing, but we did get that person immediately out to North Broward Medical Center, the person that was shot.

SANCHEZ: You said she's not in good condition.

KING: No. She's in critical condition.

SANCHEZ: That must be another person we're looking at right there who's being put into a fire rescue truck, maybe someone who was just dealing with the shock of it all. I imagine it must have been extremely difficult for these people to suddenly be confronted with something like this.

KING: Yes, indeed. The person you're looking at is not the shooting victim, so that must be a co-worker who is shaken up.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, I would imagine. Sandra King, Pompano Beach, Florida. We thank you for bringing us up to date on this developing story.

Once again, for those of you who are just are catching up on this. Someone has been shot there at Pompano Beach at the Florida Builders Appliances. Man walked in with a gun and shot someone. Apparently he had an intended target, but it still has to be flushed out a little bit. As we get more information we'll going to be sharing it with you.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Shot through the heart and living to tell the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hit right here. And I dropped the gun. And looked down and I could see the head of it, because it stuck on the outside of my shirt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Not hit by a bullet but a nail. How a construction worker survived. Tell you the story, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The victim of an accidental shooting -- his own. A nail pierced the heart of a construction worker, and what he didn't do, saved his life. C.J. Cassidy (ph) of our affiliate KFVX explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT ROBINSON, SHOT IN THE HEART WITH NAIL: I thought I was going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would, too, if you shot a nail through your heart. Matt Robinson calls it an accident he'll never forget.

ROBINSON: I was helping frame up a barn, and a guy was lowering a gun down the ladder to me, the nail gun. And it swung. I guess my finger hit the trigger and it hit me in the chest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 3 1/4-inch nail, much like this one, went through Matt's right ventricle and came out the other side.

ROBINSON: It hit right here and I dropped the gun and looked down and I could see the head of it because it stuck on the outside of my shirt. I wanted to take it out but then again, I was scared. I didn't know what to think really.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had Matt pulled the nail out, the St. Louis doctor who performed heart surgery on him says, he would have died. Dr. Henrik Barner (ph) pulled the nail out about four hours after the accident. While inside, the nail acted like a plug, leaving no space for blood to seep out. Still, these computer-generated 3D images leave even technicians in shock.

DEBBIE LASKY, RADIOLOGY TECHNICIAN: This is the first time I've seen it going right through the heart, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could someone survive that?

LASKY: Yeah, and actually was talking and everything. So, it was just really surprising to us.

BRITTANY MORGAN, MATT'S GIRLFRIEND: It was bad timing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Matt's girlfriend can joke about the scare now. She's pregnant with his twins, and at the time the episode with the nail gun terrified her.

MORGAN: Everybody told me if it goes through your heart, you die. So, I was just really scared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As for Matt, he's not giving up on his construction job just yet.

ROBINSON: Construction is just something I like to do. I mean, it's -- you get to do different stuff.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: The construction worker had his accident on a Monday and was up and walking two days later.

SANCHEZ: A tourist ride through paradise, seemingly, suddenly turns deadly. It's a helicopter crash. We'll bring it to you in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's do this for you now, we are going to catch you up on a story from Pompano Beach, Florida. This is coming in from one of our affiliates, there, WSVN.

And it's a person who walked into a business and shot somebody. That person is not doing very well. And the guy who shot her apparently has gotten away as well. So there's a BOLO out for him. It's a developing story. As we get more information, from Pompano Beach, we will be bringing it to you -- Heidi?

COLLINS: This summer filming is set to begin on the fourth Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford reprising his role as the Nazi fighting treasure hunter. But you may not realize there were some real-life Indiana Joneses who helped reclaim treasure looted by the Nazis. We introduce you to one man who discovered the work of these little known treasure hunters and is bringing their story to life. Here's Randi Kaye with today's "Life After Work."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vermeer, these masterpieces grace the walls of museums today, but might have been lost forever if not for the work of a group nicknamed monuments men.

ROBERT EDSEL, AUTHOR, RESCUING DA VINCI: The monuments men and women are my heroes. It's a group of men and women, about 350 or so, museum directors, curators, artists, historians, that volunteered for service during World War II and ultimately were involved in the leadership of what I refer to as the greatest treasure hunt in history, trying to find the great works of art throughout Europe, hidden in more than 1,000 hiding places.

KAYE: Robert Edsel uncovered the story in a crossroads in his own life. In the late 1990s Edsel sold the oil and gas company he built in Texas and decided to take a break from work. He moved his family to Italy to renovate a villa, study art, and discover his next passion. Little did he know it would find him on a bridge in Florence.

EDSEL: I stood on the Punta Vecchio (ph) Bridge in Florence, the only one of the bridges that wasn't destroyed and blown up by the Nazis when they fled Florence in 1944. And thought to myself, how did all this stuff survive World War II? In fact, who were the people that saved it?

KAYE: So, Edsel discovered the story of the monument men and his new passion is sharing their story. Through a book he's authored, a documentary he helped produce, and speeches he gives.

EDSEL: Literally tens of thousands of paintings, hundreds of thousands of cultural items hidden in more than 1,000 caves, salt mines, and other places by Hitler and the Nazis, was a circumstance no one contemplated, and resulted in an extraordinary effort on the part of this special group, these monuments men, and women, to try and find these things and ultimately restitute them to the countries from which they were stolen.

It's such a privilege for me to be able to go now and see these things and understand the labor of love and the sacrifice, in some cases loss of life, to make them available so we can all enjoy them.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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