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White House Press Secretary to Undergo Surgery; House Passes Bill Setting Date for Iraq Withdrawal; Recalled Pet Food Tainted with Rat Poison; British Marines Captured by Iranians; Soldier Weighs in on Iraq War Progress; Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Targeted by Suicide Bomber; Pakistan Cricket Coach Murdered at World Cup; Investigators Find Possible Sources of Spinach E. Coli Scare

Aired March 23, 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, I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips, who is on assignment in Iraq.

LEMON: First, we have a developing story for you. We're standing by for a news conference on the pet food scare. The latest bombshell: rodent poison was found in lab tests. Details expected soon from the New York State Department of Agriculture. More on the pet food story as we get it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: First this hour, these major stories. A funding vote in Congress. The House says yes to a September of 2008 pull-out of troops. And we've just learned the president is expected to react this hour. We're going to bring that to you live, right here in the NEWSROOM.

We're also following developments after several British Marines were captured by Iran.

LEMON: And let's get now to that House vote. We're getting news now again that the president is going to speak very shortly. Let's go to our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, standing by -- standing by on the White House lawn.

What have you heard, Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, that announcement made during the White House briefing, that the president in fact is due at 1:45 to comment on this.

But want to tell you about something else that developed at the end of the briefing as well, Don, something unexpected, certainly to reporters in the room.

White House press secretary Tony Snow announcing that he will be going in for surgery for a growth in his abdomen. On Monday he will be going in for that surgery. Let's take a listen to what Tony Snow had to say just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is going to veto this bill, and he's going to veto it because, even though it provides some funding, it also puts handcuffs on generals.

A recent series of CAT scans and PET scans and MRIs we have found a small growth in my lower abdomen. Blood tests are negative. PET scans are negative. But out of an aggressive sense of caution I'm going in for surgery on Monday and have it removed.

I'll be out for a few weeks, because it's still -- you know, they're going to cut me. And it will take me a little while to heal up. So I'll come back here a little lighter and -- I don't know. A few weeks. Maybe three or four weeks. Dana Perino will be handling the responsibilities from behind the podium.

But for those who -- and I appreciate the expressions that I've received from a number of people on this. But please do not lead to conclusions about this, because we don't know what this is. We know it's coming out, and I know I'll be back soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And Don, after that briefing, of course reporters crowding around him to ask him a little bit more. And essentially he reiterated what you heard him say there at the very end, not to jump to any conclusions at this point, because it's just not clear exactly what this growth might be.

But as you know, Tony Snow has a history of health problems that include cancer. And of course, that is something that he is trying to dissuade people from jumping to any kind of conclusion about, but he is a colon cancer survivor.

In fact, that was one of the issues, certainly, as he was preparing to take this job almost a year ago now, in fact. It was April of last year that Tony Snow came on board as the new White House press secretary.

But interesting to note, as well, after his comments, he talked about empathizing certainly with Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards family talking about her courageous fight and the need, certainly, to make the decision to embrace life.

Tony Snow being upbeat, cheerful, certainly, considering the situation, he is a survivor and he wanted people to know we should not be jumping to any conclusions just yet.

LEMON: Yes. And Elaine, you know, yesterday Elizabeth Edwards, as you just noted, and Tony Snow today, certainly two high-profile people who can bring light to cancer and certainly help out. We wish both of them well. Thank you.

Elaine will be standing by for that 1:45 news conference with the president. He's expected to come out and address the press and talk about that House vote that just happened a little while ago. We'll have that for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. KEILAR: Paying for the war, bringing home the troops. Can both be done with one piece of legislation? Probably not. But the first hurdle toward that unlikely scenario has been cleared.

As we reported just minutes ago, the House passed a war funding bill that includes a hard date for the troops to be home. One of the bills' key supporters spoke from the heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: We're going to make a difference with this bill. We're going to bring those troops home. We're going to start changing the direction of this great country!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The bill faces a tougher audience next. Let's go now to CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel with more on that.

Hi, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Brianna.

I'll get to the Senate in one minute. Over here in the House, Democrats needed 218 votes out of the 435 members in order to pass this bill, and they got exactly 218 votes.

There were 212 who voted against it, including 14 Democrats, and one member abstained from voting.

The bottom line here is if this bill had not passed, Brianna, this would have been a big setback to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who invested countless hours behind the scenes in trying to persuade, not Republicans to vote it, to vote for it, but her divided caucus to support this bill.

There were members on the left, antiwar members, who felt that the bill didn't go far enough, who felt that there should be an immediate deadline for troops to get out and said how can we to support to send more money to this war when we didn't support it to begin with?

And then there were conservative members of her caucus who believed that the bill was just too heavy, that there -- it was $124 billion that was involved in this war spending bill.

But at its heart, it does have that deadline for the first time now, binding legislation which sets the date of August 31, 2008, by which all U.S. combat troops have to get out.

Now, as you just mentioned, this still has to get through the Senate. It passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, which means it could get to the Senate floor as soon as next week.

And Brianna, they need to meet a 60-vote threshold over there. And just a couple of weeks ago couldn't even get the vote to pass a non-binding resolution opposing the troop increase. So the idea that it would pass through the Senate and get to the president's desk is highly unlikely -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Andrea, 218 votes, by the skin of their teeth. Andrea Koppel, live for us there on Capitol Hill.

LEMON: All right. We told you about at the top of the hour that pet food recall. A news conference happening right now in New York. Let's get to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... draw undue conclusions from that. However, we feel that it's important to advise the public at this stage of the process. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Dan Rice from the food lab who can take you back through the events of the last few days.

DAN RICE, FOOD LAB: Hello. I'd like to just recognize the tremendous efforts of the laboratory staff. We have an outstanding group of people that really went the extra mile on doing this testing.

Just a little bit of background on our lab. We're kind of in a unique position to do the kind of testing that led to this finding. And we're a member of the food emergency response network. It's a federal program.

And as a member of the program, for sure, we have a number of poison toxin screens up and running that we use on a routine basis. And aminopterin happens to be one of the agents in this screen.

And so when the food samples arrived to our laboratory, we initially did preliminary tests of the most common toxins you might expect, and then over a period of a day or two, we got these samples cued up for this poison toxin screen.

Quick time line I guess for us, we got called by Cornell Tuesday the 13th that they had some samples they wanted us to evaluate. We had some testing capability in our lab that they don't have at Cornell at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center.

On Wednesday the samples arrived to the lab, Wednesday the 14th. And we began preparing to do some testing. But at this time we didn't know that there was a food recall so we didn't have these up on priority status yet.

Then on -- we came to work on Monday after the recall announced by FDA, pretty much primed to make these a high-priority sample. And by -- by Tuesday we had a preliminary result of aminopterin, but we had not confirmed that previously in our laboratory.

Aminopterin is similar to folic acid. It's a derivative of folic acid. And so we wanted to make sure that we ruled out any other possible substances in these samples. And so we did a number of tests that led us up to where we were last night, which was just confirming that this finding of aminopterin was indeed true, which we are confident that this is what we had found.

And relating that back to what diagnostic lab at Cornell had found as far as the disease in cats, this makes sense, that this agent would be responsible for what was being seen in the illnesses of the animals.

So where we are today, anyway, is we're doing more testing. One, we haven't nailed down the quantity in the food sample yet. We have a minimum...

KEILAR: A press conference there on the recalled pet food, that it turns out has rodent poison in it. Of course, a lot of people with cats and dogs very concerned about this. And you've probably got some questions, and he's got some answers to you.

Dr. Jeffrey Werber, known as the veterinarian to the stars' pets. He's going to join us live next hour to answer your concerns about the recall. So e-mail your questions to CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.

LEMON: We'll be following that developing story and also this one: the immediate safe and return of our people and equipment. That is a demand from the British government to Iran after a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf.

Let's get right to CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, who is following the entire situation.

Hi, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, this doesn't involve the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf directly, but it does involve one of the members of the coalition that's patrolling the waters of -- the Iraqi waters in the Persian Gulf, providing security for Iraq, and also counter smuggling operations.

The British ship, the HMS Cornwall, was on routine patrol this morning. It had, according to a U.S. military official, spotted a vessel it suspected might be smuggling automobiles, and it stopped that vessel in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. This is right in the area where Iran and Iraq come together near -- north near the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

And they -- British royal marines conducted an inspection of the vessel. And then -- excuse me, then, as they were getting ready to leave in small inflatable hull boats, they were confronted by members of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy -- not the regular Iranian navy -- who claimed that they were in Iranian territorial waters and eventually took them back to an Iranian base.

Now the commander of the operation, the British commander, insists that his forces were in Iraqi territorial waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMODORE NICK LAMBERT, COMMANDING OFFICER, HMS CORNWALL: This was a normal routine boarding. Took place fairly early this morning about 9 a.m. local time, under the auspices of UNSCR 1723 and under the instructions of the Iraqi government to patrol on their behalf their territorial waters.

So we were boarding. It was a vessel that was trading in the area which had passed one or two trip wires that we were concerned about. For example, its flag and its call sign and so forth. So the boarding party went in to carry out a routine boarding operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: The British government has summoned the Iranian ambassador to meet with the British foreign office to lodge a protest. The British Defense Ministry issued a statement that said, quote, "We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest levels. The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."

And again, one of the questions here is what were the Iranians up to? Were the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is not the same as the regular Iranian navy, were they acting with the authority of the central government or were they acting on their own? There's a lot of suspicion that they might be involved in smuggling, as well. And if this was a smuggling operation, might there have been intervention for that reason?

But at this point we've heard no response from the government of Iran as to the fate of these 15 British royal marines -- Don.

LEMON: Jamie, I want to ask you a question. Are you OK? Do you need to get some water or something?

MCINTYRE: No.

LEMON: You can go on? OK.

This is a long disputed waterway, as you said. The Shatt al-Arab waterway, right? So there's been controversy there before. Has this happened before? I think it did, 2004. Right?

MCINTYRE: Well, back in 2004 -- this was actually on the Shatt al-Arab waterway -- there was -- there were six British marines, two sailors taken by the Iranians. They were actually held for several days. They were actually displayed on TV blindfolded before they were released.

And we don't know if this is that sort of incident replayed, where there's just a dispute about whether somebody strayed across the line, or whether there's something else involved here.

For instance, is Iran trying to be a little more provocative, because the United States has been building up forces in the Persian Gulf, sending a second aircraft carrier there? Or could there be any linkage to the detention of Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps members in Iraq by the United States? Could that have provoked this confrontation? We don't know what the motivation is at this point.

LEMON: Jamie McIntyre, thank you so much.

KEILAR: We're told British and Iranian officials at the highest levels are working to resolve things, but not that you'd know that from the news coming out of Tehran.

And CNN's Aneesh Raman is there -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

As you mentioned, no comment yet from the Iranian government on this incident. In fact, as far as we've seen, not even a mention of what happened this morning on Iranian state run television, IRIB, within the country.

What we can expect, if we use the past as a predictor in this case is, as Jamie mentioned, something similar to what happened back in 2004, when a number of British military personnel were seized by the Iranians in that same area.

Iran contended they had passed into Iranian waters. They were shown on television blindfolded. The British contended, of course, that they were in Iraqi waters.

Now, that one little river -- to keep some context to where this took place, it's a river that flows into the northern part of the Persian Gulf. It is called Shatt al-Arab by the Iraqis, Arbun Rud (ph) by the Iranians.

The border between Iraq and Iran is sort of in the middle of that river. So you can get a sense of how difficult it might have been to determine exactly where people are.

And you add into that very high tensions between Iran and those that are in Iraq, the British and U.S. forces. They contend, coalition forces, Iran is smuggling things into Iraq, not just commercial smuggling, but weapons, as well. Iran has denied that.

And Iran is on alert, because it fears over this nuclear dispute, it could face a military attack from the west.

So you get a sense of how tense things are. What we are waiting to see is any sort of comment from the Iranian government. Brianna, we don't expect it, honestly, perhaps for day or two. Because of the various power centers in Iran, they'll have to figure out what they'll say.

And also it's new year's in Iran. So all government officials we have tried to contact, all those calls have gone unanswered -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Aneesh, it's going to be especially interesting to see how this plays out, because obviously it's coming on the eve of a U.N. Security Council vote on Iran sanctions.

Thanks very much for your report. Aneesh Raman from Tehran. LEMON: From shock and awe to surge and insurgency. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. Army Colonel David Cotter has seen it all in Iraq. He joins us with more on the constantly evolving war.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips, live from Baghdad. We'll have the latest on the assassination attempt on the deputy prime minister, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: And a reminder: we expect the president to speak live later this hour. Reaction to the House vote on Iraq ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It's 1:20 Eastern Time. And here are a few of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Rat poison is found in some of the pet food blamed for killing at least 16 cats and dogs. New York agriculture officials are releasing their findings in a news conference this hour.

And a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf. Britain's defense ministry says 15 royal marines from the HMS Cornwall were seized today by the Iranian navy. The Iranians claim the British had entered Iranian waters.

And we've just gotten a vote in from the House of Representatives on Iraq funding. The funding is a go, but the bill calls for troops to come home before Labor Day of 2008.

And just a reminder, we do expect the president to speak about this live later this hour, some reaction. And that's ahead here in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Well, four years of war in Iraq, and what a difference four years makes. The American mission there has changed. The American approval of the war has also changed, and no doubt, the men and women who have fought it and survived it are changed, as well.

And one of those people is Colonel David Cotter. Today he is chief of staff at the Army's 13th Sustainment Command, but he was among those first in Iraq back in 2003. And Colonel Cotter is again in the war zone for his third combat tour.

I got to ask you, the news happening here in the U.S. today about the troops being brought home by 2008, a resolution just passing in the House. What do you think of that?

COL. DAVID COTTER, U.S. ARMY, 13TH SUSTAINMENT COMMAND: Well, I heard about the resolution this morning on the news. I can't talk to timelines. I can tell you that we are committed to making sure that the mission is complete before we pull out.

Our new efforts here and the surge, of course, are related to that things, and we do see progress. Our message to -- for you is patience, and we're going to patiently adhere to our mission and do the best we can to make it happen.

LEMON: All right. So again, you -- since you brought up the surge, what do you think of the surge that the administration now adding more troops to the region?

COTTER: What we're seeing here is the ability to apply pressure on the enemy across the battle space. Before we would apply pressure, and then the enemy would sneak out and be able to find safe haven in other places.

What we're seeing now with the addition of the soldiers so far -- and we know there are more coming -- is the ability to apply pressure across the battle space and keep that pressure on unrelentingly.

LEMON: Yes. And I asked you those questions because now we have this news happening. But originally we thought we would talk to you about the so-called anniversary of the war, which is going on five years now.

This is your third tour of duty. How are you feeling about that? Your family, is it a toll on you? Are you happy to go back?

COTTER: It's -- my family believes -- they know I believe in the mission that I'm doing here. We feel like we're making progress here. We are happy with the indicators that we see.

It was different in 2003. In 2003 we came into a country that was essentially ruined. Today we see new cars. We see cell phones everywhere, satellite dishes on every roof. There's significant movement forward for the people of Iraq.

We just need to set the conditions that will allow the violence to end, and that's where we're working toward.

LEMON: New cars and satellite dishes. What about -- what about the quality of life for people in Iraq? I mean new cars and satellite dishes, that's great, one thing. But what about the quality of life there? Have you noticed a difference, because you were there in March in the beginning of the car, and now you're still there, as well.

COTTER: Well, the quality of life in March 2003 was not very good. I would tell you that the quality of life here today is improving in very many parts of Iraq.

There are a lot of parts of Iraq where the battle space is still heavily contested, and you're absolutely right. The quality of life for a lot of Iraqis is not good.

But it is improving. We see steady progress forward. And we want to keep -- keep at it so we can create the space and the time that they need to make their government and their country grow.

LEMON: What about fellow soldiers? How -- how are they dealing with it? Do you notice a difference between the beginning of the war and now? Has morale changed at all? COTTER: I wouldn't say morale as much as mindset. There was a feeling of electric excitement during -- in 2003. Very nervous, very anxious, you know, jumping off into the abyss, if you will.

What we see now is a very business-like, a very practical, pragmatic approach to the business of conducting our mission here. It's a very serious business. It can be lethal.

Our soldiers do everything they can to prepare for it to minimize risk and to be able to operate in a manner that -- that allows the Iraqis to grow and the country to develop. But it is a high-risk environment, make no mistake about that.

LEMON: All right, Colonel David Cotter, we certainly thank you for joining us today. We wish you well, as well as all of the troops in Iraq in the area. Thank you so much.

COTTER: Thanks for the opportunity, sir.

LEMON: And we want to remind you at 1:45 today about that resolution that I was speaking to Colonel Cotter about. The president is expected to talk about that. We'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: First, the deaths. Then the recall. Now, the investigation. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, the latest on a massive pet food scare.

And we know that the food recall has many of you worried about your furry friends. The veterinarian to the stars' pets is going to join us live in the 2 p.m. Eastern hour to answer your concerns. So go ahead and e-mail your questions to CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And just moments ago the House passed a war funding bill that includes a hard date, September 2008, for the troops to be home. The president is expected to speak out about that, 1:45 Eastern. Just about 15 minutes here. We'll certainly bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: Well, are you a chocoholic? Many Americans would admit to that addiction, but the habit is going to get more expensive, or it could get more expensive in the coming months.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why.

This, Susan, is very disappointing news.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, but it's all about supply and demand. It's a commodity, after all.

And cocoa prices right now are not so sweet. The price of cocoa at a four-year high after a drought hit the world's key grower, farmers in Africa's Ivory Coast calling it one of the worst dry spells they've ever experienced. Combine that with tight supplies, and many countries are already seeing chocolate prices that are on the rise -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, what about the prices here in the U.S.?

LISOVICZ: That's right. And this is a key season. Right? For chocolate. We're right off Valentine's Day and approaching the Easter holiday.

Prices, the good news is, right now holding steady. Chocolate companies normally buy cocoa several months in advance, keep large inventories for us chocoholics. So they can absorb the added cost for now, but only for a few months.

So if cocoa prices remain high, you may see that translate into higher chocolate prices later this year. And today cocoa prices rose another 1 percent.

The cost of another addiction, by the way, could be going up, too. Just about an hour ago, the Senate voted to raise the federal tobacco tax by 61 cents a pack, bringing the tax to $1. According to some estimates, that could mean an additional $35 billion for the government over five years to fund the state children's health insurance plan.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: That's the latest from Wall Street. Next hour I'll tell you about an agreement that could bring air travelers lower fares and more options. That is good news -- Brianna.

KEILAR: That's always good news. We'll stay tuned for that. Thanks, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Got it.

KEILAR: All right. We are waiting for President Bush to speak, coming up at about 1:45 Eastern. He's going to be responding to a House bill, a House bill that just passed on Iraq war funding which has a hard out on troops coming home. Stay tuned for that in the NEWSROOM.

Also, his team lost a match it was heavily favored to win. And now Pakistan's cricket coach is dead, and police in Jamaica are calling it murder. We'll have the latest on the investigation just ahead.

(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.

The House sets a deadline to bring the troops home from Iraq, something the president's dead-set against. We're waiting for Mr. Bush's reaction. He's due to speak here in just a few minutes. We're standing by at the White House. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

As we said, we're waiting here in the NEWSROOM from word, reaction from President Bush. This war funding bill passed the House by 218 votes. That's exactly the number of votes they needed to pass it, so democrats get their way by the skin of their teeth.

And we'll wait and see here in a little under 10 minutes how President Bush reacts to the news.

LEMON: And let's get to the ground now of that war. Explosions rattled Baghdad today. Nothing new about that, but this time a suicide bomber sent a senior Iraqi government official to the hospital.

Straight to Baghdad -- Baghdad now, where Kyra Phillips has an update for us.

Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And once again we heard that explosion pretty much rocking central Baghdad. You always wonder what's going on. It's a typical day. But this time it had an inside track to the deputy prime minister.

We're being told an inside job. Somebody within his inner circle carried out this violence. This is what I can tell you.

The suicide bomber, wearing a suicide vest, made his way through the guns, through the checkpoints, through the blast walls, through the barricades all the way to the deputy prime minister's home.

You can see from the video, we were able to work our way up the steps into the home. You see what the devastation is there inside the compound.

Right now the deputy prime minister in surgery. Getting conflicting reports on whether he's fighting for his life or if, indeed, he has survived this blast.

But this is how -- just to give you an idea of how it happens with these suicide bombers. They wear these vests that have these plastic explosives inside the middle of the vest. And thousands of these little ball bearings are what are inside this vest, Don.

And so when the bomb is detonated, then these thousands of metal ball bearings basically explode from this vest. And you can see, actually the walls inside the compound, you can see where these ball bearings hit.

And right now we're being told nine people were killed, 15 injured.

Who is this suicide bomber? We're hearing a number of things. Possibly the cook, possibly his advisor, possibly his bodyguard, or maybe somebody that knew that bodyguard, and the bodyguard let that man in.

Also, another bomb went off inside the compound, this one a car bomb. So simultaneous attacks on a day of prayer. This is a day that usually everybody is inside. They take the day off. They pray on Fridays. The curfew is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. That is what we are told the deputy prime minister was doing. So this person on the inner circle knew exactly when to come into that home and when the deputy prime minister was going to be there.

Just one more element to show you how this country is not secure, and no matter who you are, whether in the Iraqi government, the U.S. military, a journalist, you never know who you can trust in this country.

LEMON: And Kyra, one of those little ball bearings can do some damage. True enough. But imagine thousands of them. Just unbelievable.

Kyra Phillips in Baghdad, we'll check back. Thank you so much.

KEILAR: Could be a break-through in the pet food scare. Investigators at the New York Department of Agriculture say lab tests on the food in question has turned up rodent poison.

Menu Foods of Canada says it plans to compensate pet owners whose cats and dogs have fallen sick or died. It's urging owners to keep their vet bills.

The company has recalled almost 100 brands of cans and pouches of cuts and gravy-style food for both dogs and cats. It's blamed for kidney failure in scores of animals and the deaths of at least 16 pets. The recall has led to at least three lawsuits against Menu Foods.

And if you want to see a complete list of the recalled pet -- foods, rather, just go to CNN.com. You can see all of the brands and all of the product details, as well.

And perhaps you've got some questions. We have a guy who's got answers. Dr. Jeffery Werber, known as the veterinarian to the stars' pets, is going to join us live next hour to answer your concerns about this recall. So go ahead and e-mail your questions to CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.

LEMON: Well, a sport that calls a break for afternoon tea might be considered genteel, but beyond all the civility, cricket arouses serious passion.

At the World Cricket Cup in Jamaica, perennial powerhouse Pakistan lost to underdog Ireland on Saturday. On Sunday Pakistan's coach was found dead. Last night Jamaican investigators called it murder.

With the latest, live from Kingston, CNN's Morgan Neill -- Morgan. MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, that's right. This story becomes more and more compelling as more details emerge. It's gone from being a cricket story to being an international whodunit.

Last night police ended days of speculation over what had happened to Pakistan cricket team coach Bob Woolmer when they issued a stunning statement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEILL (voice-over): Five days after the mysterious death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in Jamaica, police walked to the table and dropped this bomb on the cricket world.

KARL ANGELL, JAMAICAN POLICE SPOKESMAN: Pathologist's report states that Mr. Woolmer's death was due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr. Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder.

NEILL: Police say they found no signs of robbery or forced entry. Puzzling, considering the nature of the crime.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shield was asked what it would have taken to commit the murder.

MARK SHIELD, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: It would take some -- some force, because Bob was a large man and, therefore, it would have taken some significant force in which to subdue him and cause strangulation.

NEILL: Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room Sunday morning, the day after his team suffered a shocking loss to prohibitive underdog Ireland in the first round of the world cup.

The chief of the International Cricket Counsel was asked if match fixing could have been the motive for the killing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a problem with corruption.

NEILL: With huge money at stake, match-fixing has plagued cricket in recent years. Authorities aren't singling out match fixing as a motive in Woolmer's death, but they're not ruling it out either.

Bob Woolmer has made a stamp on cricket since the mid-1970s when he played for the English team. After his playing days, he quickly established himself as a coach, first with the South African team, then with Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEILL: One puzzling element to this case that really stands out is that someone was able to get into Coach Woolmer's room, apparently without forcing entry, strangle him, which police say would have taken considerable force, Woolmer being a large man. And they did so without any of the people in the adjoining rooms above or below being aware, or at least letting authorities know they were aware of it.

But police now are talking to everybody who was nearby, but that's a long list, Don, because as the cricket world cup was going on here, you had a lot of media, a lot of players passing in and out of that hotel.

LEMON: CNN's Morgan Neill reporting to us from Kingston. Thank you so much, sir.

And back here in the United States, we want to remind you that the president is expected to speak in just a few minutes about the Iraq war resolution that just passed the House just a little bit ago. That's expected in about a minute or two. We'll bring it to you live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The news keeps coming; we'll keep bringing it to you. You're watching CNN.

KEILAR: Tainted spinach sickened almost 200 people last fall as you probably recall. And it also killed at least three people. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, the feds leaving no leaf unturned in the search for what went wrong.

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LEMON: There it is. There's the White House. And the House of Representatives set a deadline to bring the troops home from Iraq, something the president is dead-set against.

We're watching and waiting for reaction, especially from Mr. Bush, President Bush, happening at any moment now. As soon as that happens, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And a day after John Edwards' wife, Elizabeth Edwards, announced that her cancer is back, similarly unfortunate news today from White House press secretary Tony Snow.

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SNOW: In a recent series of CAT scans and PET scans and MRIs, we have found a small growth in my lower abdomen. Blood tests are negative. CAT scans are negative. But out of an aggressive sense of caution, I'm going to go in for surgery on Monday and have it removed.

I'll be out for a few weeks, because it's still -- you know, they're going to cut me, and it will take me a little while to heal up. So I'll come back here a little lighter in, I don't know. A few weeks, maybe three or four weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

Bad news yesterday from Elizabeth Edwards. This is bad news today from Tony Snow. What can you tell us? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is actually a little bit different from Elizabeth Edwards, because what she came out and said is that her cancer had recurred.

What Tony Snow has told us is that he's a cancer survivor, two years out from his diagnosis, and that they found a growth in his abdomen. PET scans show that, from what he's told us, that it's negative, that it's not cancer.

But they still want to go in there and get it, because PET scans are not definitive. They want to get it. They want to send it to a pathologist, and they want to see what it is.

Now, certainly, they keep a close eye on people who are just two years out from their diagnosis. So for him it's really a wait-and-see situation what that growth is.

KEILAR: So it doesn't necessarily mean that it's cancer?

COHEN: Correct, this does not necessarily mean that it's cancer.

KEILAR: OK. Well, that's definitely good news.

Now let's now turn now, Elizabeth, to the spinach scare. What can you tell us about this?

COHEN: Well, there's a report out today from the California Health Department. And we remember that spinach scare last summer in which 200 people were sickened and about three people died. And now they're saying, "Gee, what caused that?" And this report helps explain it.

They don't have a definitive answer about what caused it, but the report basically outlines three possibilities, three things that might have caused it.

First of all, wild pigs. They found footprints from wild pigs in the spinach fields. They found marks where the pigs had burrowed under fences. And then when they examined those pigs, they found that they carried the same strain of E. coli that made people sick.

They also found cow feces nearby, again carrying that same strain. They also found contaminated water, river water nearby, again carrying that same strain.

Now, they don't know which of these was the culprit, or maybe it was more than those. In fact, when they went into those fields they found so much E. coli that it's a strong possibility that there was more than one cause for this outbreak.

KEILAR: And the main concern now being let's stop this from happening again. Did they learn anything that can help them make sure that this isn't a repeat thing?

COHEN: Yes, they certainly did learn something from this outbreak, Brianna. And in fact, experts are now urging that the industry make certain changes. So let's look at those.

For example, they say that when you're growing salad greens in a field -- because salad greens aren't cooked later, so you can't get rid of the E. coli so easily -- separate the cattle from the greens.

In this case there were cattle fields adjacent to the greens crops. And experts are saying that's not a good idea. Separate them so that they're not next to each other.

Also they're urging that the government start testing produce, which is not something they do on a routine basis right now, that produce ought to be tested for E. coli and other similar pathogens.

Also, to test water sources. If a water source gets near that spinach or gets near those greens and is used to irrigate those greens, you can actually have E. coli, then, as part of the green, not just on the surface. But it's a part of that green, and it's very hard to get rid of it.

KEILAR: And some people still wary of the spinach, still wary even, you know, salad in general when they go to get their greens at the market. But what can we do as consumers?

COHEN: There are some things that you can do. And a lot of it depends on how big of a risk taker you are.

For example, if you have a compromised immune system and you don't want to take any risks, you just want to be risk-free or as risk-free as you can get, here are some hints.

You can cook produce. Obviously, you're not going to cook iceberg lettuce, but you can cook spinach. And that's going to help you out.

Also, use single heads of lettuce. You know those bags that have lots of greens all mixed in? Those are a bit riskier, because you have greens from several different places. So if any one of them is contaminated, it can contaminate all of them.

Also, remove outer leaves from lettuce head. If those outer leaves have been exposed to, let's say, cow feces that have E. coli on them, if you remove those outer leaves, you have lessened your risk.

However, it is important to say that the risk of getting E. coli from produce in this country still is very, very small.

And it's also important to say you can't get rid of risk. We all eat food. Food sometimes is contaminated. What you can do is try to minimize it as much as you can.

KEILAR: That is a good way to think about it, I think. Elizabeth Cohen...

COHEN: Thanks.

KEILAR: ... our medical correspondent, thank you. Don, back to you.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Brianna and Elizabeth.

All eyes on Washington today. The president expected to speak out in just a short while about the Iraq war resolution. A sharply divided House voted to order the president to bring combat troops home by September 2008, defying a veto threat by the president. He's going to talk about that in just a few minutes. We'll bring it to you live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The news just keeps coming, and we'll keep bringing it to you. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. You're looking live at the Capitol and the White House there in Washington, D.C. We're expecting the president to speak out very shortly about the Iraq war resolution. He has threatened to veto any such resolution. And we're going to hear what he has to say about that just as soon as it happens right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: It's Friday, get-away day. How is it looking where you're going? Let's take a look with Bonnie Schneider.

Hey, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KEILAR: All right. Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Again we're waiting for a press conference to happen from the White House. The president is expected to speak out about that Iraq war resolution that passed just a little while ago. We'll bring it to you live right here in the NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: And more on our other top story: disputed waters, diplomatic trouble. Iran's navy seizes 15 British marines, and no one knows where they've been taken. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM. The latest from Tehran, 10 Downing Street and the Pentagon.

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