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CNN Live Saturday
Spanish Policeman Dies In Explosion; New Program Shows Cosmotologists How To Spot Domestic Abuse
Aired April 03, 2004 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, welcome to CNN SATURDAY. An intense standoff continues in the suburbs of Madrid. Police are searching for three North African suspects believed to be linked to the detdly March 11 train attack. There has been an explosion killing a policeman and injuring six other policemen and possibly killing two other people. We'll have a live report in just a moment.
Meanwhile, Spain's bullet train is back on track. It resumes service today after Spanish officials found a bomb on one of high- speed rail tracks yesterday. The bomb was the same type as those used in last month's deadly terror attacks, but officials say it's too early to say whether they are connected.
Myanmar's military government is reversing its decision on Aung Suu Kyi (ph). First it said it would release the opposition leader by May 17, then backed off the announcement less than 24 hours later. The pro-democracy Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has been detained for nearly a year.
And in Switzerland, Peter Ustinov was buried today in a cemetery overlooking Lake Geneva in the Alps. The British actor and author who made the world laugh won two Academy Awards and served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for 35 years. He died of heart failure last Sunday. He was 82.
Now back to the fast developing story in Madrid where an intense standoff leads to a confrontation between police and three North African terror suspects. An explosion was heard a short while ago, and we're getting reports of casualties. CNN's Al Goodman joins us via videophone from Madrid for the very latest.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This all going on in the southern madrid suburb of Legonas, south of where we're standing here in central Madrid. This is police searching for three North African suspects who are said to be linked to the March 11 Madrid Commuter Train bombings that killed 190 people and injured more than 1,800.
Now apparently reports say that as police closed in in this suburb of Legonas on the three suspects there was an explosion. We now are hearing there has been a deadly tool, at least one police officer dead. Eight other people injured. There may be more deaths and one of those may be one of the terror suspects, because he was said to be very heavily injured and taken away by ambulance.
Now, all of this part of the ongoing investigation that has been happening since those Madrid commuter train bombings. There have been several prime individuals who are suspects, and there's also a group that is a main suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOODMAN (voice-over): Spanish police now have a prime suspect in the Madrid commuter train bombings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Investigators say the priority is a Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group. They're not ruling out other options but all signs point in that direction.
GOODMAN: The U.S. Government lists the Moroccan Combatant Group as a terrorist organization. Experts say it draws followers from Spain's large population of Moroccan immigrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They basically using the linkage, pre- existing linkage to each other, most of those people either lived with each other or family or childhood friends. And all of them, I guess, organizers of the Madrid bombing.
GOODMAN: Then there was the attempt to blow up a bullet train South of Madrid on Friday. A railway worker discovered the bomb and it was deactivated.
Was it the same Moroccan terrorist group? Some Spanish newspapers say, yes. But the interior minister says that's a premature conclusion even though he revealed the explosives used were exactly the same in both cases.
Eleven of the 15 suspects charged in the commuter train bombings are Moroccan, but there is also a Tunisian, this man, sought by police as a coordinator of the attacks.
Authorities say he helped this Moroccan man who's also wanted on an international arrest want rent a home just east of Madrid. The house is now empty but police found fingerprints, traces of explosives and other evidence they say incriminate several suspects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOODMAN: Now that house is on the eastern side of Madrid, and where this action is on Saturday night is in the southern suburb. One thing we don't know, for instance, is whether the suspects being sought were listed among the six people sought in international arrest warrants issued by the national court handling this case this week, that includes 5 Moroccans and that Tunisian man we just saw.
We're trying to get more details on this, but clearly this is the first time there are reports of major violence as police have moved in to arrest suspects and they have arrested many suspects already in this case. This is the first time we're hearing reports of deadly violence. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: And Al, the explosion in the building that took place this evening, do you know whether that was a residential building or some sort of industrial building in this community?
GOODMAN: We have talked to reporters on the scene and we understand that that was a residential building, a four story building. A reporter on the scene who works for our partner station estimating about 40 apartments in there.
Now, in these suburbs it's not like for instance an American suburb where you have a lot of individual free-standing houses. The typical suburbs here in Madrid are apartment buildings that rise to four, six, eight, ten stories and you have dozens of apartments in each of these buildings.
So it's a very densely populated area typically. And for one of these buildings apparently was populated by Arab immigrants according to a witness on the scene, but we don't know whether that was the particular building where the explosion occurred.
We are understanding there was an explosion earlier. It had been reported to be a controlled explosion, meaning it was under the control of the police and that people had been cleared out so no one would be injured, that apparently is not the case from the latest reports.
WHITFIELD: Al Goodman. Thank you for that report via videophone. Back here in the U.S., there are new questions about intelligence that led to the war with Iraq. U.S. secretary of State Colin Powell now believes his testimony before the United Nations Security Council last February was based on quote flawed sources by way of the CIA. CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us with more -- Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, that 90 minute presentation by the Secretary of State was really the most high profile and forceful attempt by the Bush administration to try to convince the world that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and that it was time to go to war.
Now one of the many things that Secretary Powell talked about and described as facts was that Saddam Hussein had mobile trailers designed to produce biological weapons. Now since then, mobile trailers have been found in Iraq, but experts say that there is no proof that they were actually meant to make illicit weapons.
So now Secretary Powell told reporters what he called the most dramatic part of his presentation was based on flawed information. He said quote, "now it appears not to be the case that is was not solid, but at the time I was preparing that presentation, it was presented to me as solid,"
Now Powell pointed the blame directly at the intelligence community, saying that he was given multiple sources and that is why he decided to go with it. And he said he wants to be sure that the commission that the president set up, the bipartisan commission, does look into this and figure out exactly what went wrong.
And Fredricka, this is really the latest attempt by Bush officials to try to explain why weapons of mass destruction have not been found, especially since that was really their main case for war in Iraq.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana Bash from the White House. Thanks very much.
Well turning now to homeland security. A government message of concern that terrorists might strike buses and railways in major U.S. cities this summer has the nation's transit systems beefing up security. CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us. She's close to the Washington Union Station, a busy train station there in the nation's capital.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Fredricka. Well, federal law enforcement sources say there is a level of concern, even though though this information that they received late this week has not been corroborated. Meaning, that it came from a single source and has not been matched in the intelligence community.
Nevertheless, the FBI, along with the Department of Homeland Security, sent to police agencies and others nationwide this message of concern, they called it. Basically detailing a possible terror plot targeting buses or rail lines this summer.
Now what does this entail? Possibly, according to this message, it calls for the use of improvised explosive devices, perhaps made of ammonium nitrate or diesel fuel. Also, according to the information, the explosives may be concealed in luggage and carry-on bags. And those might include duffel bags and backpacks.
Now, this information is very general and it was not meant to be a warning to the general public. As for passengers' reaction, well it's been mixed, but many passengers saying that they accept it this is just part of the reality of a post September 11 world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm somewhat concerned about security everywhere I travel, not just on trains. But I'm sure that the Amtrak police are doing their job, and so that's why I'm traveling. If I had any doubt whatsoever that it would be safe, I would not go on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just hoping that the people who do their job in the security, you know, they'll do their job, and hopefully we've learned a lesson from Spain and they'll carry over here. I don't really think about it too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, regarding that message, federal officials included suggestions to mass transit officials on beefing up security at various mass transit stations, things like increasing patrols, using bomb sniffing dogs and removing trash cans. But many of those security measures have already been in place, not only post-September 11, but in the days and weeks after the Madrid train bombings back on March 11. For example, here in the Washington, D.C. Area, recently Metro Subway officials implemented a campaign called Hey is That Your Bag. They're asking passengers to be more vigilant, to keep an eye out for unattended bags or suspicious bags and to reporter them or ask other passengers whether or not it may belong to them.
Again, important to note this information, while somewhat alarming, officials saying, or sources saying that has not been corroborated -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Elaine, this warning was intended for transportation agencies, not necessarily for public dissemination. But now that it is public, are officials in any way expressing concern about whether this has jeopardized their efforts to beef up security?
QUIJANO: Have not really heard that. In fact, if anything, what I believe a lot of these officials are hoping is that the public will take steps to be more vigilant. That they will continue to remain on alert. And if anything, to simply take this information in the perspective of what is happening worldwide. Although, there's no direct connection to this warning and what is happening in Spain, they say it is very important to keep all of this in mind. The possibility is certainly out there -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano from Washington, thanks very much.
Well now to Iraq. Violence has claimed the lives of two Iraqi police chiefs in 24 hours. The head of police in the town south of Baghdad and his driver were killed today. Sources say a man in a police uniform stopped them to ask a question, and then opened fire. The attack happened a day after insurgents killed a provincial police chief and his deputy in Najaf.
There was a show of support for an influential Shiite cleric in Baghdad. About 5,000 members of a self-styled militia marched in a mainly Shiite neighborhood where Maqtada al Sadr has widespread backing. Al Sadr has condemned the United States and its presence in Iraq. Last week, the coalition temporarily shut down a newspaper published by his followers saying it incites violence against U.S. troops.
Military officials tell CNN this week's gruesome attack in Fallujah may have been planned. They say the city's normally busy streets were empty and shops were closed just before the ambush. At the same time, the number of Iraqi media were in the area.
Four U.S. security contractors were killed Wednesday, their bodies mutilated. Investigators are also looking into whether Abu Musaf Zarqawi was involved in the attack. U.S. officials believe he has ties to al Qaeda.
Some U.S. soldiers are leaving the dangers of Iraq behind after more than a year of duty. It's time to come home for members of one national guard unit. CNN's Walter Rogers has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WALTER ROGERS, (voice-over): The 1457th Engineers, Utah National Guard, is going home, after a year in Iraq furling their flag with the passing of the colors. Replacing the Utah Guard, the 458th combat battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Pennsylvania new soldiers in Iraq for at least another year.
The Utah soldiers have given more than a year of their lives here, trying to make good the president's promise to build a democracy in Iraq. No one is sure it will take, but now it is someone else's turn to try.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, this is a living accomodations for the last year.
ROGERS: Captain Jason Reading is going home to a new son he has never seen. You get the impression he'd like to forget about Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really not taking souvenirs home. I'm taking pictures of my company, which is really about the only thing about this place I want to remember.
ROGERS: Sergeant Adam Crenshaw has been marking off the days, so anxious he crossed out tomorrow two days early. His best friend Sergeant Kip Day can smell Utah's Wasatch Mountains from Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you told us we could leave in an hour we'd be gone in a half hour.
ROGERS: Soon to be civilians again there is the universal wish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just love not to have to stand in line anymore. That's all we do is stand in line.
ROGERS: The Utah Guard is an engineering unit that cleared mine fields, blew up unexploded ordnance and built bridges. And they never lost a soldier.
(on camera): These soldiers are leaving believing they performed their jobs well, taking pride in their mission. They do not question the wisdom of those in Washington who sent them here. At least not publicly, but none of these soldiers has any illusions about how long U.S. forces will be required in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be a long-term thing. You look at Germany and all the other places we've been in. I mean we're in for the long haul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say at the minimum three to five years.
ROGERS (voice-over): So on departure day these soldiers were happily up before the sun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; We served our country, we did what we were supposed to come over here and do.
ROGERS: Everyone knows they won't really be safe until their home in the arms of their loved ones, but happiness at least is now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hapiness is Baghdad in the rear view mirror.
ROGERS: Happiness is the order, let's ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Have a good day. I know we will.
ROGERS: 22 hours to Kuwait, back home in Utah May 1. Walter Rogers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: An unusual program to help victims of domestic abuse. We'll tell you how hairdressers and manicurists figure in.
Larry Smith is in San Antonio with the final four. In our last live report before the games begin.
And coming up in less than a half hour, best vacation deals. How do you go to Tahiti or England or any place like that on the cheap? Just e-mail your questions at dollarsigns@cnn.com. Or you can call us at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department says 3 out of 10 American women report physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. In Hollywood, Florida, a sort of neighborhood watch against domestic violence has moved into beauty parlors. CNN's John Zarrella has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their eyes could not hide the pain, the women gathered at Jazz Hair Salon had been watching a film about domestic violence.
ANNOUNCER: You are not willing to get treatment?
ZARRELLA: The film is part of a two-hour training session for a new program in Florida designed to identify and hopefully save victims of domestic violence. The students may surprise you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You keep sugar coating it, this person will never feel like they have to do something about their situation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How important it is.
ZARRELLA: They are hairstylists, cosmotologists and nail technicians whose jobs include a great deal of listening and observing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You may see tenderness in the scalp. There are some physical things that you might see that others may not.
ZARRELLA: Sheryl Schwab is director of training for the organization Women in Distress. Schwab says the beauty professional may be the only person a victim confides in.
SHERYL SCHWAB, TRAINER: After I started thinking about it, and, you know, talking to others about it and realizing the relationship I have had with a hairdresser for a long time, it was like the perfect fit. It made perfect sense.
ZARRELLA: During training, students are instructed to say things that will encourage a victim to seek help and they are taught what to look for: bruising on the neck and arms, reluctance to change style or color without partner's permission, signs that hair has been pulled or torn.
Stylists AnnMarie Barthelmay says she has heard stories of abuse and she herself has lived it.
ANNEMARIE BARTHELMAY, STYLIST: It's hard to explain people why you stick around. I stuck in it for 5 years.
ZARRELLA: She believes this program will save lives.
SCHWAB: With this, we are in a position because we have -- I don't want to call it ammunition but, it is ammunition, to give the people to help themselves. Before we clam up ourselves and not say anything.
ZARRELLA: The professionals are told not to counsel or try to rescue victims, their role is to listen and point the victim in the direction of help. John Zarrella, CNN, Hollywood, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHTIFIELD: Checking some other stories across America now. In Edwardsville, Kansas, just outside Kansas city, police have issued a warrant for the ex-husband of a paramedic shot to death along with her co-worker. An apparent ambush early this morning left the man and woman dead at their staging post in a fire station.
A hospital nurse's aide faces charges she kidnapped a baby found unharmed in an alley in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The infant is in fair condition at a hospital in Louisville. And she was missing for five hours yesterday. Police say the suspect had been faking a pregnancy.
Firefighters near Fort Collins, Colorado, welcomed the rain, sleet and snow dampening the state's first major wildfire of the year. The Picnic Rock Fire has scorched nearly 9,000 acres and forced residents of two subdivisions from their homes.
Medical workers shot dead in Kansas, an emergency medical tech -- well we just went over that story.
All right, straight ahead, the madness marches into San Antonio. As college basketball's finest get ready to do some Texas two stepping at the Alamodome.
And coming up at 4:30 Eastern, 1:30 Pacific, best vacation deals. E-mail your questions to dollarsigns@cnn.com, or you can call us at 1- 800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The first two teams in college basketball's final four are set to go head-to-head tonight in Texas. Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State are hoping to walk away with tickets to the last waltz at the big dance. Larry Smith is at the Alamodome in San Antonio and I imagine the stands are now filled, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they will be very shortly. You could say, I guess, March Madness has turned into Awesome April here in Texas. About an hour and a half from tipoff and the fans are making their way into the Alamodome for tonight's national semifinals.
Some a bit lighter in the wallet, face value of tickets anywhere from $130 to $170 each. But local paper here reporting that courtside seats for all three games this weekend going for as much as 14 grand.
Game one tonight pits Oklahoma State versus Georgia Tech. Eddie Sutton is in his third final four and trying to become the oldest coach at age 68 to win an NCAA championship. And Sutton can become the third coach in a row to guide his almamater to the title after Maryland's Gary Williams and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.
Game two pits UConn versus a Duke team that is vying for its fourth ncaa championship, all in the past 13 years under hall of fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. He has led the Blue Devils to six straight wins in the national semifinals. That streak dating back to 1989.
However, Duke has lost its last three meetings with UConn, including the 1999 championship game, the Huskies only NCAA title.
Win or lose tonight or this weekend Georgia Tech has already enriched its coach, Paul Hewitt, the fourth year Yellow Jackets coach has already agreed to a six year contract extension worth more than a million bucks per season. Not too bad. Fredericka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: Not bad at all. Win or lose the Huskies are proud given both the men's team and the women's team are in the final four, period.
SMITH: Absolutely. Two of the power programs, and it's so rare. Actually, UConn and Duke, two of the power programs as far as men and women's. But it could be a lot to celebrate in Connecticut if both teams could get a win in the next several days.
WHITFIELD: No kidding. All right, thanks a lot, Larry.
Another test of skills is set to get under way in Washington. Jeopardy is taping its power players tournament. The celebrity brain fest includes some of the most prestigious names from the worlds of government, entertainment and news. Among the contestants are some of our very own CNN anchors, Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper will be pitting their knowledge against the likes of Tom Clancy and Bill Mahr. More than $175,000 in cash for their favorite charities is up for grabs. The show is scheduled to be broadcast in November. Well, it's almost time for Dollar Signs. Today we're going to talk about the best summer vacation deals. Do you think you're better off packaging your own vacation or booking airfare, hotels and car separately? We'll have travel experts with us for a half hour. Send your questions to us at dollarsigns@cnn.com, or call us at 1-800-807- 2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 3, 2004 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, welcome to CNN SATURDAY. An intense standoff continues in the suburbs of Madrid. Police are searching for three North African suspects believed to be linked to the detdly March 11 train attack. There has been an explosion killing a policeman and injuring six other policemen and possibly killing two other people. We'll have a live report in just a moment.
Meanwhile, Spain's bullet train is back on track. It resumes service today after Spanish officials found a bomb on one of high- speed rail tracks yesterday. The bomb was the same type as those used in last month's deadly terror attacks, but officials say it's too early to say whether they are connected.
Myanmar's military government is reversing its decision on Aung Suu Kyi (ph). First it said it would release the opposition leader by May 17, then backed off the announcement less than 24 hours later. The pro-democracy Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has been detained for nearly a year.
And in Switzerland, Peter Ustinov was buried today in a cemetery overlooking Lake Geneva in the Alps. The British actor and author who made the world laugh won two Academy Awards and served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for 35 years. He died of heart failure last Sunday. He was 82.
Now back to the fast developing story in Madrid where an intense standoff leads to a confrontation between police and three North African terror suspects. An explosion was heard a short while ago, and we're getting reports of casualties. CNN's Al Goodman joins us via videophone from Madrid for the very latest.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This all going on in the southern madrid suburb of Legonas, south of where we're standing here in central Madrid. This is police searching for three North African suspects who are said to be linked to the March 11 Madrid Commuter Train bombings that killed 190 people and injured more than 1,800.
Now apparently reports say that as police closed in in this suburb of Legonas on the three suspects there was an explosion. We now are hearing there has been a deadly tool, at least one police officer dead. Eight other people injured. There may be more deaths and one of those may be one of the terror suspects, because he was said to be very heavily injured and taken away by ambulance.
Now, all of this part of the ongoing investigation that has been happening since those Madrid commuter train bombings. There have been several prime individuals who are suspects, and there's also a group that is a main suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOODMAN (voice-over): Spanish police now have a prime suspect in the Madrid commuter train bombings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Investigators say the priority is a Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group. They're not ruling out other options but all signs point in that direction.
GOODMAN: The U.S. Government lists the Moroccan Combatant Group as a terrorist organization. Experts say it draws followers from Spain's large population of Moroccan immigrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They basically using the linkage, pre- existing linkage to each other, most of those people either lived with each other or family or childhood friends. And all of them, I guess, organizers of the Madrid bombing.
GOODMAN: Then there was the attempt to blow up a bullet train South of Madrid on Friday. A railway worker discovered the bomb and it was deactivated.
Was it the same Moroccan terrorist group? Some Spanish newspapers say, yes. But the interior minister says that's a premature conclusion even though he revealed the explosives used were exactly the same in both cases.
Eleven of the 15 suspects charged in the commuter train bombings are Moroccan, but there is also a Tunisian, this man, sought by police as a coordinator of the attacks.
Authorities say he helped this Moroccan man who's also wanted on an international arrest want rent a home just east of Madrid. The house is now empty but police found fingerprints, traces of explosives and other evidence they say incriminate several suspects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOODMAN: Now that house is on the eastern side of Madrid, and where this action is on Saturday night is in the southern suburb. One thing we don't know, for instance, is whether the suspects being sought were listed among the six people sought in international arrest warrants issued by the national court handling this case this week, that includes 5 Moroccans and that Tunisian man we just saw.
We're trying to get more details on this, but clearly this is the first time there are reports of major violence as police have moved in to arrest suspects and they have arrested many suspects already in this case. This is the first time we're hearing reports of deadly violence. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: And Al, the explosion in the building that took place this evening, do you know whether that was a residential building or some sort of industrial building in this community?
GOODMAN: We have talked to reporters on the scene and we understand that that was a residential building, a four story building. A reporter on the scene who works for our partner station estimating about 40 apartments in there.
Now, in these suburbs it's not like for instance an American suburb where you have a lot of individual free-standing houses. The typical suburbs here in Madrid are apartment buildings that rise to four, six, eight, ten stories and you have dozens of apartments in each of these buildings.
So it's a very densely populated area typically. And for one of these buildings apparently was populated by Arab immigrants according to a witness on the scene, but we don't know whether that was the particular building where the explosion occurred.
We are understanding there was an explosion earlier. It had been reported to be a controlled explosion, meaning it was under the control of the police and that people had been cleared out so no one would be injured, that apparently is not the case from the latest reports.
WHITFIELD: Al Goodman. Thank you for that report via videophone. Back here in the U.S., there are new questions about intelligence that led to the war with Iraq. U.S. secretary of State Colin Powell now believes his testimony before the United Nations Security Council last February was based on quote flawed sources by way of the CIA. CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us with more -- Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, that 90 minute presentation by the Secretary of State was really the most high profile and forceful attempt by the Bush administration to try to convince the world that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and that it was time to go to war.
Now one of the many things that Secretary Powell talked about and described as facts was that Saddam Hussein had mobile trailers designed to produce biological weapons. Now since then, mobile trailers have been found in Iraq, but experts say that there is no proof that they were actually meant to make illicit weapons.
So now Secretary Powell told reporters what he called the most dramatic part of his presentation was based on flawed information. He said quote, "now it appears not to be the case that is was not solid, but at the time I was preparing that presentation, it was presented to me as solid,"
Now Powell pointed the blame directly at the intelligence community, saying that he was given multiple sources and that is why he decided to go with it. And he said he wants to be sure that the commission that the president set up, the bipartisan commission, does look into this and figure out exactly what went wrong.
And Fredricka, this is really the latest attempt by Bush officials to try to explain why weapons of mass destruction have not been found, especially since that was really their main case for war in Iraq.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana Bash from the White House. Thanks very much.
Well turning now to homeland security. A government message of concern that terrorists might strike buses and railways in major U.S. cities this summer has the nation's transit systems beefing up security. CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us. She's close to the Washington Union Station, a busy train station there in the nation's capital.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Fredricka. Well, federal law enforcement sources say there is a level of concern, even though though this information that they received late this week has not been corroborated. Meaning, that it came from a single source and has not been matched in the intelligence community.
Nevertheless, the FBI, along with the Department of Homeland Security, sent to police agencies and others nationwide this message of concern, they called it. Basically detailing a possible terror plot targeting buses or rail lines this summer.
Now what does this entail? Possibly, according to this message, it calls for the use of improvised explosive devices, perhaps made of ammonium nitrate or diesel fuel. Also, according to the information, the explosives may be concealed in luggage and carry-on bags. And those might include duffel bags and backpacks.
Now, this information is very general and it was not meant to be a warning to the general public. As for passengers' reaction, well it's been mixed, but many passengers saying that they accept it this is just part of the reality of a post September 11 world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm somewhat concerned about security everywhere I travel, not just on trains. But I'm sure that the Amtrak police are doing their job, and so that's why I'm traveling. If I had any doubt whatsoever that it would be safe, I would not go on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just hoping that the people who do their job in the security, you know, they'll do their job, and hopefully we've learned a lesson from Spain and they'll carry over here. I don't really think about it too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, regarding that message, federal officials included suggestions to mass transit officials on beefing up security at various mass transit stations, things like increasing patrols, using bomb sniffing dogs and removing trash cans. But many of those security measures have already been in place, not only post-September 11, but in the days and weeks after the Madrid train bombings back on March 11. For example, here in the Washington, D.C. Area, recently Metro Subway officials implemented a campaign called Hey is That Your Bag. They're asking passengers to be more vigilant, to keep an eye out for unattended bags or suspicious bags and to reporter them or ask other passengers whether or not it may belong to them.
Again, important to note this information, while somewhat alarming, officials saying, or sources saying that has not been corroborated -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Elaine, this warning was intended for transportation agencies, not necessarily for public dissemination. But now that it is public, are officials in any way expressing concern about whether this has jeopardized their efforts to beef up security?
QUIJANO: Have not really heard that. In fact, if anything, what I believe a lot of these officials are hoping is that the public will take steps to be more vigilant. That they will continue to remain on alert. And if anything, to simply take this information in the perspective of what is happening worldwide. Although, there's no direct connection to this warning and what is happening in Spain, they say it is very important to keep all of this in mind. The possibility is certainly out there -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano from Washington, thanks very much.
Well now to Iraq. Violence has claimed the lives of two Iraqi police chiefs in 24 hours. The head of police in the town south of Baghdad and his driver were killed today. Sources say a man in a police uniform stopped them to ask a question, and then opened fire. The attack happened a day after insurgents killed a provincial police chief and his deputy in Najaf.
There was a show of support for an influential Shiite cleric in Baghdad. About 5,000 members of a self-styled militia marched in a mainly Shiite neighborhood where Maqtada al Sadr has widespread backing. Al Sadr has condemned the United States and its presence in Iraq. Last week, the coalition temporarily shut down a newspaper published by his followers saying it incites violence against U.S. troops.
Military officials tell CNN this week's gruesome attack in Fallujah may have been planned. They say the city's normally busy streets were empty and shops were closed just before the ambush. At the same time, the number of Iraqi media were in the area.
Four U.S. security contractors were killed Wednesday, their bodies mutilated. Investigators are also looking into whether Abu Musaf Zarqawi was involved in the attack. U.S. officials believe he has ties to al Qaeda.
Some U.S. soldiers are leaving the dangers of Iraq behind after more than a year of duty. It's time to come home for members of one national guard unit. CNN's Walter Rogers has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WALTER ROGERS, (voice-over): The 1457th Engineers, Utah National Guard, is going home, after a year in Iraq furling their flag with the passing of the colors. Replacing the Utah Guard, the 458th combat battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Pennsylvania new soldiers in Iraq for at least another year.
The Utah soldiers have given more than a year of their lives here, trying to make good the president's promise to build a democracy in Iraq. No one is sure it will take, but now it is someone else's turn to try.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, this is a living accomodations for the last year.
ROGERS: Captain Jason Reading is going home to a new son he has never seen. You get the impression he'd like to forget about Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really not taking souvenirs home. I'm taking pictures of my company, which is really about the only thing about this place I want to remember.
ROGERS: Sergeant Adam Crenshaw has been marking off the days, so anxious he crossed out tomorrow two days early. His best friend Sergeant Kip Day can smell Utah's Wasatch Mountains from Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you told us we could leave in an hour we'd be gone in a half hour.
ROGERS: Soon to be civilians again there is the universal wish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just love not to have to stand in line anymore. That's all we do is stand in line.
ROGERS: The Utah Guard is an engineering unit that cleared mine fields, blew up unexploded ordnance and built bridges. And they never lost a soldier.
(on camera): These soldiers are leaving believing they performed their jobs well, taking pride in their mission. They do not question the wisdom of those in Washington who sent them here. At least not publicly, but none of these soldiers has any illusions about how long U.S. forces will be required in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be a long-term thing. You look at Germany and all the other places we've been in. I mean we're in for the long haul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say at the minimum three to five years.
ROGERS (voice-over): So on departure day these soldiers were happily up before the sun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; We served our country, we did what we were supposed to come over here and do.
ROGERS: Everyone knows they won't really be safe until their home in the arms of their loved ones, but happiness at least is now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hapiness is Baghdad in the rear view mirror.
ROGERS: Happiness is the order, let's ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Have a good day. I know we will.
ROGERS: 22 hours to Kuwait, back home in Utah May 1. Walter Rogers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: An unusual program to help victims of domestic abuse. We'll tell you how hairdressers and manicurists figure in.
Larry Smith is in San Antonio with the final four. In our last live report before the games begin.
And coming up in less than a half hour, best vacation deals. How do you go to Tahiti or England or any place like that on the cheap? Just e-mail your questions at dollarsigns@cnn.com. Or you can call us at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department says 3 out of 10 American women report physical or sexual abuse by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. In Hollywood, Florida, a sort of neighborhood watch against domestic violence has moved into beauty parlors. CNN's John Zarrella has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their eyes could not hide the pain, the women gathered at Jazz Hair Salon had been watching a film about domestic violence.
ANNOUNCER: You are not willing to get treatment?
ZARRELLA: The film is part of a two-hour training session for a new program in Florida designed to identify and hopefully save victims of domestic violence. The students may surprise you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You keep sugar coating it, this person will never feel like they have to do something about their situation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How important it is.
ZARRELLA: They are hairstylists, cosmotologists and nail technicians whose jobs include a great deal of listening and observing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You may see tenderness in the scalp. There are some physical things that you might see that others may not.
ZARRELLA: Sheryl Schwab is director of training for the organization Women in Distress. Schwab says the beauty professional may be the only person a victim confides in.
SHERYL SCHWAB, TRAINER: After I started thinking about it, and, you know, talking to others about it and realizing the relationship I have had with a hairdresser for a long time, it was like the perfect fit. It made perfect sense.
ZARRELLA: During training, students are instructed to say things that will encourage a victim to seek help and they are taught what to look for: bruising on the neck and arms, reluctance to change style or color without partner's permission, signs that hair has been pulled or torn.
Stylists AnnMarie Barthelmay says she has heard stories of abuse and she herself has lived it.
ANNEMARIE BARTHELMAY, STYLIST: It's hard to explain people why you stick around. I stuck in it for 5 years.
ZARRELLA: She believes this program will save lives.
SCHWAB: With this, we are in a position because we have -- I don't want to call it ammunition but, it is ammunition, to give the people to help themselves. Before we clam up ourselves and not say anything.
ZARRELLA: The professionals are told not to counsel or try to rescue victims, their role is to listen and point the victim in the direction of help. John Zarrella, CNN, Hollywood, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHTIFIELD: Checking some other stories across America now. In Edwardsville, Kansas, just outside Kansas city, police have issued a warrant for the ex-husband of a paramedic shot to death along with her co-worker. An apparent ambush early this morning left the man and woman dead at their staging post in a fire station.
A hospital nurse's aide faces charges she kidnapped a baby found unharmed in an alley in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The infant is in fair condition at a hospital in Louisville. And she was missing for five hours yesterday. Police say the suspect had been faking a pregnancy.
Firefighters near Fort Collins, Colorado, welcomed the rain, sleet and snow dampening the state's first major wildfire of the year. The Picnic Rock Fire has scorched nearly 9,000 acres and forced residents of two subdivisions from their homes.
Medical workers shot dead in Kansas, an emergency medical tech -- well we just went over that story.
All right, straight ahead, the madness marches into San Antonio. As college basketball's finest get ready to do some Texas two stepping at the Alamodome.
And coming up at 4:30 Eastern, 1:30 Pacific, best vacation deals. E-mail your questions to dollarsigns@cnn.com, or you can call us at 1- 800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
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WHITFIELD: The first two teams in college basketball's final four are set to go head-to-head tonight in Texas. Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State are hoping to walk away with tickets to the last waltz at the big dance. Larry Smith is at the Alamodome in San Antonio and I imagine the stands are now filled, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they will be very shortly. You could say, I guess, March Madness has turned into Awesome April here in Texas. About an hour and a half from tipoff and the fans are making their way into the Alamodome for tonight's national semifinals.
Some a bit lighter in the wallet, face value of tickets anywhere from $130 to $170 each. But local paper here reporting that courtside seats for all three games this weekend going for as much as 14 grand.
Game one tonight pits Oklahoma State versus Georgia Tech. Eddie Sutton is in his third final four and trying to become the oldest coach at age 68 to win an NCAA championship. And Sutton can become the third coach in a row to guide his almamater to the title after Maryland's Gary Williams and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.
Game two pits UConn versus a Duke team that is vying for its fourth ncaa championship, all in the past 13 years under hall of fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. He has led the Blue Devils to six straight wins in the national semifinals. That streak dating back to 1989.
However, Duke has lost its last three meetings with UConn, including the 1999 championship game, the Huskies only NCAA title.
Win or lose tonight or this weekend Georgia Tech has already enriched its coach, Paul Hewitt, the fourth year Yellow Jackets coach has already agreed to a six year contract extension worth more than a million bucks per season. Not too bad. Fredericka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: Not bad at all. Win or lose the Huskies are proud given both the men's team and the women's team are in the final four, period.
SMITH: Absolutely. Two of the power programs, and it's so rare. Actually, UConn and Duke, two of the power programs as far as men and women's. But it could be a lot to celebrate in Connecticut if both teams could get a win in the next several days.
WHITFIELD: No kidding. All right, thanks a lot, Larry.
Another test of skills is set to get under way in Washington. Jeopardy is taping its power players tournament. The celebrity brain fest includes some of the most prestigious names from the worlds of government, entertainment and news. Among the contestants are some of our very own CNN anchors, Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper will be pitting their knowledge against the likes of Tom Clancy and Bill Mahr. More than $175,000 in cash for their favorite charities is up for grabs. The show is scheduled to be broadcast in November. Well, it's almost time for Dollar Signs. Today we're going to talk about the best summer vacation deals. Do you think you're better off packaging your own vacation or booking airfare, hotels and car separately? We'll have travel experts with us for a half hour. Send your questions to us at dollarsigns@cnn.com, or call us at 1-800-807- 2620. We'll be right back.
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