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Separatists Blamed for Fatal Madrid Bombings, Republicans Demand Kerry Apologize for Remarks; Massachusetts Lawmakers Reconsider Gay Marriage; Buck Keeps Passing as Oil Prices Surge
Aired March 11, 2004 - 13:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Sex and recruiting at the University of Colorado. Today, the U.S. Congress throws a flag on that play.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Up first this hour, terror turns to horror in Madrid. The Spanish ambassador to Washington compares today's rush hour bomb attack on Madrid's rail networks with the 9/11 strikes on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
AT least 190 people are dead, another 1,000 hurt. And while no person or group has claimed responsibility, all eyes are on the separatist terrorist group ETA.
We get the latest now from CNN's Al Goodman. He's in Madrid -- Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, adding to the evidence against that Basque separatist group, ETA, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, terrorist investigators here say that the type of dynamite and explosives used in this attack is the same type that ETA usually uses in its other attacks.
And that this dynamite was stolen in France, just across the border three years ago.
Now, there were a series of attacks against four commuter trains at the peak of the morning rush hour, these crowded trains coming into this Atocha train station behind me and in some other stations just nearby.
The force of the blast, according to witness, Kyra, blew the roof off the roof off of some trains. We've seen pictures. We've seen the scene.
One doctor who upon the scene because he lived right nearby this station, said he didn't see a body -- a full body for ten meters, or about 30 feet. That is to say he saw only body parts -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al, there had been talks in recent months about negotiations between ETA and the government. I have a feeling that is completely off the table now. GOODMAN: Well, let me specify. There were never talks between the conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. And he has come out this day, making an address to the nation, extending his condolences, calling for Spaniards to turn out massively on Friday night, tomorrow, to march against ETA and vowing to crush ETA, and saying there could be no talks with ETA now.
There is an election campaign. And the elections for parliament and the new prime minister are scheduled for Sunday.
One of the key issues has been ETA. They feared there would be an attack.
And in the Barcelona area, the regional government there, a local official there had secret talks with ETA in June. And that created an uproar. It cost this local official his job. And he is linked in a coalition over there with the socialists.
So the conservatives nationally have been hammering away at the socialists, saying no way you can vote for them, because they are dealing with ETA, even though the socialists deny it. It's deadly.
ETA has not come out with a claim of responsibility for these attacks today, and the banned political party, a party banned because of its links to ETA, came out and said no, this couldn't be the work of ETA -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al Goodman, live from Madrid, Spain, thank you.
And the militant group ETA has long been designated a terror organization by the U.S. and European Union. But it's not well known on the side of the Atlantic.
In English, its full name is Basque Homeland and Freedom, and it dates to 1959, the Franco era. It wants independence for the Basque- speaking regions of northern Spain and southwest France, seven provinces in all. It's blamed for and admits terror attacks that have killed 800 people before today.
In the late 1990s, it briefly declared a cease-fire, coinciding with fruitless negotiations with the government.
Sympathy and solidarity. That's the U.S. offer to Spain. President Bush phoned Spain's prime minister to express his sentiments in the aftermath of the attacks.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president in East Meadow, New York -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, before the president even left the White House, he made some comments about this.
He told us that he spoke with the king of Spain and also the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, expressing his condolences and his solidarity on this very tragic day. Of course, as you know, Spain has been a staunch ally in the war on terror with the United State. And President Bush making it known today that the American people are with those in Spain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITD STATES: We weep with the families. We stand strong with the people of Spain. I appreciate so very much the Spanish government's fight against terror, their resolute stand against terrorist organizations like the ETA. The United States stands with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, today, the president spends his day on Long Island. That is where he is attending three events.
The first one, he's going to be speaking about creating jobs, the state of the economy. This, at an auto parts manufacturing plant in Bay Shore.
Then following that, he is going to be attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the Nassau County 9/11 memorial in East Meadow.
Following that, he's going to be attending a fund-raiser, a Bush campaign fund-raiser, about $2,000 a head, l later in the day.
Now, there has been some controversy, Kyra, over his visit here, that because there have been some complaints by the families of 9/11 victims and firefighters, as well as of course his opponent, Senator Kerry, talking about they think that this is exploitative in some way, that these two events are too close together, that they are perhaps capitalizing off of the 9/11 tragedy.
But both organizers of this memorial event, as well as the White House, say that this is something that was planned ahead of time, that the president was holding this fund-raiser and that the organizers found out he was going to be here in town. They decide to extend that invitation.
It is going to be very low key. The president is not going to speak publicly at this memorial service but rather meet with those family members privately -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president, thank you.
And some clarification from Senator Kerry on those off-the-cuff comments. He says he didn't mean all Republicans are crooked, but he says party attack dogs are hard at work in this election.
And by the way, no one's surprised that Kerry now has enough delegates to claim the Democratic nomination. Counting the delegates from Tuesday's primaries and a CNN survey of super delegates, finds the Massachusetts Senator has collected at least 2,162, the number he needs to be tapped as the party's candidate. Our Bob Franken, keeping track of campaign movements in Washington.
Bob, do you think we'll hear from Kerry today?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we're expecting to in about a little over a half hour. But he's done something quite bipartisan, actually, if you think about it. He has managed to throw red meat at both Democrats and Republicans.
We're talking about the comments that he made to a worker in Chicago yesterday that are just causing all sorts of controversy. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep smiling.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, yes, don't worry, man. Thank you. We're going to keep pounding, let me tell you. We're just beginning to fight here. These guys are -- these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group of people I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Well, is he going to backpedal? His spokespeople are saying all he's going to do is say, "Hey, any time that the Republicans attack, he's going to fight back."
However, as he was leaving one of his mini-Democratic unity meetings today, he encountered CNN producer Ted Barrette up on Capitol Hill. And when Barrette asked him if he wished he hadn't said that, Kerry said, "I'm not speaking about all Republicans." -- "I didn't say it about the Republicans. I said it about the attack dogs."
Well, Republicans recognize an opportunity when they see one. And the Republicans are saying, oh, yes he is speaking about Republicans, even the House speaker, usually mild mannered Dennis Hastert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: If you ask me, he's getting off on the wrong foot in this campaign. The name-calling. We're not lying when we start saying that Senator Kerry is the old- time Democrat in tax and spend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: So we'll find out in just a little while, Kyra, whether he is going to say no, he really meant what he said. If he responds to the challenge, the demand, from the Republican leader, the man who is running the Bush campaign, Marc Rasco (ph), to apologize.
Of course, we'll also hear later in the day about another unity meeting with John Edwards where I expect he's going to be somewhat less controversial.
PHILLIPS: So Bob, how exactly would you define attack dog?
FRANKEN: I have a lot of definitions of them, but I suspect you could probably find in the dictionary that it's synonymous with politician.
PHILLIPS: Sort of like journalist, vulture.
FRANKEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Franken, thank you so much.
All right. Moving along to -- where are we going to move along to? OK. Let's move on and talk about Clinton.
Former President Clinton giving Senator Kerry some campaign advice. Mr. Clinton tells CNN that they talked about Kerry's choice for a running mate, and he says that he has some tips for the overall tone of that campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said to me, well, we ought to run against what President Bush -- where he didn't keep his commitments. I said, no we shouldn't. We should run on where he did keep his commitments. And people weren't paying any attention.
I don't like it when we have to demonize people who are different from us. We try to turn three-dimensional human beings into two- dimensional cartoons. It turns the voters off, and helps people that are going to go because they have big financial interests at the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS; The former president says the Bush tax cut killed after-school programs, jobs for police officers and child care for working families. He says those are some of the issues that need to be raised in this election.
Massachusetts again at the epicenter of the heated debate over same-sex marriage. After a one-month recess, lawmakers there reconvene in about an hour to negotiate a possible state ban on gay marriage.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman brings us up to speed on where things stand. It's obviously gotten really busy out there.
Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Hundreds of demonstrator on both side of the gay marriage issue are on the street, outside the Massachusetts state capital, on Boston's Beacon Hill. Legislators reconvene in about 50 minutes to discuss a constitutional measure that could ban gay marriage.
But either way, gay people will start getting married in the state. The supreme judicial court, the highest court in Massachusetts, ruled that as of May 17, they can start getting married.
If they pass legislation today banning gay marriage, and the most likely legislation would then allow civil unions, it wouldn't happen until at least November 2006.
Under state laws, they would have to meet again in the state capital legislature. Legislators would have to approve it next year, and then citizens in the state would have to vote on it in November 2006.
So people will be allow to start getting married in May, at least through November 2006.
You can see signs on both sides of the issue, from people from all over the country, not just from the state of Massachusetts. One man standing here has a sign, "No to gay marriage, no hatred, just loving biblical truth."
Where are you from, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Nanuck (ph), Massachusetts.
TUCHMAN: And why did you come out here today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To support all those who believe that marriage is between a man and woman.
TUCHMAN: Why is it so important to you, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's the basis of families, you know. It's the base of families. People cannot reproduce if there are two men or two women. That's not what God intended for -- for a couple.
TUCHMAN: Not everyone agrees with this gentleman. Like this lady here is holding. She's holding a little sign that says, "Straight, but not narrow, all you need is love."
Tell me where you're from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go to MIT, but I'm originally from Kentucky.
TUCHMAN: And why did you come out here today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came out here because I support people's right to get married to someone of the same gender if they want. I don't see the problem, and I'm tired of people being bigoted towards gays. My 14-year-old sister contacted me yesterday and told me that one of her best friends from school is getting threats in his -- left in his locker because they think he's gay. I'm tired of the way people are acting about this.
TUCHMAN: Thank you for talking with us.
One of the most interesting things about this issue is people start getting married in May.
Massachusetts officials just discovered a little known law from 1913, 91 years ago, that says in the state of Massachusetts, you cannot be married if you're from another state and your state won't allow you to be married.
So it will be very confusing, starting in May, if people from outside Massachusetts come here to be married.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gary Tuchman. We'll continue to follow up with you and those protests. Thank you.
Well, it wasn't anything else but wrong, so declares the hockey honcho who today declares Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi will sit out the rest of the season for cold-cocking Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore.
Moore has got a broken neck now. And in tearful remarks last night, Bertuzzi said he's truly sorry.
This morning in Toronto, it was the league's turn to weigh in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN CAMPBELL, NHL VICE PRESIDENT: The league announced that Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi has been suspended for the remainder of the 2003/2004 season, including the final 12 regular season games, plus the entire 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs.
In addition, Mr. Bertuzzi's eligibility for the 2004/2005 NHL season will be determined by the Commissioner Bettman prior to the start of training camp.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bertuzzi stands to forfeit more than half a million dollars in salary. His team, the Canucks, will pay a $250,000 fine. A police investigation continues. And so does our coverage a little later with "Boston Globe" hockey writer Kevin Paul Depont. That's at half past the hour, right here on LIVE FROM.
Straight ahead, using sex to lure college recruits. An embattled college program takes center stage on Capitol Hill. We've got the details.
Bad result. Hundreds of patients at an East Coast hospital may have been given the wrong result from their AIDS test.
And one year ago today, the country was stunned when a missing Utah girl was found. What's life been like for Elizabeth Smart? Hear what her dad had to say, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED SMART, ELIZABETH SMART'S FATHER: It is that important. All of the children out there deserve to come home to their parents, the way -- the way Elizabeth has come back to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A proud and joyous papa speaking last year about the safe return of his daughter, 16-year-old Elizabeth Smart.
Her return after a nine-month abduction grabbed both worldwide attention and plenty of hearts.
One year later, her parents say despite the ordeal, Elizabeth is pretty much like any other kid her age.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMART: I mean, really, she -- she's doing wonderfully. She doesn't just sit there and focus on what happened to her in the past and she is -- I mean, it is really a miracle to see her going forward. She's not crippled by this. She's your typical 16-year-old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The man charged with kidnapping Elizabeth has a competency hearing scheduled in May. If he goes to trial, her parents say they're unsure whether Elizabeth will testify.
Now for a look at other news across America.
Lawyers for Terry Nichols accuse state and federal prosecutors of keeping key information from them. Dozens of FBI documents raising the possibility of additional accomplices in the 1985 Oklahoma City bombing are at issue.
Nichols, who's already in prison for the bombing, now faces state murder charges in Oklahoma.
In Texas, more than 40 people, snared by questionable drugs -- or snared by a questionable drug string, will share a $5 million settlement. The award stems from a string of arrests in Tulia in 1999, targeting mostly African-Americans. Much of the evidence in the sting was found to be unreliable. And in Georgia, a class action federal lawsuit linked to tri- state crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh appears close to an end. All the funeral homes named in the suit say they've reached settlements with the plaintiff.
Marsh is charged with dumping more than 300 bodies and passing off cement dust as ashes.
Straight ahead, paying up to fill it up. Sticker stock at the gas station. Will the pressure of politics bring the prices down?
And news affected your health: a new drug giving women battling breast cancer a fighting chance.
Plus, making a splash. Will this swimsuit put you in the fast lane this summer?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you've no doubt felt the pinch at the pump lately. The price of gasoline has skyrocketed over the last few months. Is there some relief in sight?
Well, national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gas prices, now averaging $1.73 nationwide for a gallon of regular unleaded, are the highest they've been in years.
President Bush's advisers blame it on Congress.
DON EVANS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: He put a national energy policy together, and present it to American people in the late spring of 2001 and has been waiting on Congress since that time to deliver to him an energy bill.
CANDIOTTI: Rising oil prices facing a president who came from an oil background. So did his vice president.
As Mr. Bush campaigned Wednesday in Ohio, pushing his economic plan, some wonder about the impact on voters this fall.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: I think Democrats will raise it as an issue. They will point to the administration's connection to the oil and gas industry. They've done that in the past. They'll do that again.
The idea that the president has some control over oil and gas prices in the short term, however, is silly.
CANDIOTTI: Californians shelling out as much as $2.17 a gallon. New Yorkers, $1.85. In Florida, $1.74. Ohio, $1.70.
Ask why it's happening and get a standard reply. JAY SAUNDERS, OIL ANALYST, DEUTSCHE BANK: Simply, you could say there's less supply around. And crude oil prices are very high. Demand is recovering. High demand, low supply.
CANDIOTTI: In part, analysts blame the spike on oil producing countries putting out less to make up for a weak U.S. dollar. Add instability in Iraq and Venezuela, as well as seasonal drops in production.
Despite the high prices, consumers are still topping off their tanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing you can do about it. I mean, the president or the Congress, or the oil companies, somebody's getting the money. Not me. I got to get gas.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is relief in sight? Yes. But not for long.
Analysts predict prices will come down some time this spring but then climb again just in time for the usual increased summer-time demand around Memorial Day.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Coming up, Alessio Davinci, live from Madrid. We'll have the latest on the deadly terrorist attacks this morning.
Plus, an update on the Baltimore water taxi accident last week. Authorities say they found something in the harbor.
And more on the penalty handed to Todd Bertuzzi. We'll hear reaction and talk more about that incident. The sports writer all too familiar with the NHL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Demand Kerry Apologize for Remarks; Massachusetts Lawmakers Reconsider Gay Marriage; Buck Keeps Passing as Oil Prices Surge>
Aired March 11, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Sex and recruiting at the University of Colorado. Today, the U.S. Congress throws a flag on that play.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Up first this hour, terror turns to horror in Madrid. The Spanish ambassador to Washington compares today's rush hour bomb attack on Madrid's rail networks with the 9/11 strikes on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
AT least 190 people are dead, another 1,000 hurt. And while no person or group has claimed responsibility, all eyes are on the separatist terrorist group ETA.
We get the latest now from CNN's Al Goodman. He's in Madrid -- Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, adding to the evidence against that Basque separatist group, ETA, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, terrorist investigators here say that the type of dynamite and explosives used in this attack is the same type that ETA usually uses in its other attacks.
And that this dynamite was stolen in France, just across the border three years ago.
Now, there were a series of attacks against four commuter trains at the peak of the morning rush hour, these crowded trains coming into this Atocha train station behind me and in some other stations just nearby.
The force of the blast, according to witness, Kyra, blew the roof off the roof off of some trains. We've seen pictures. We've seen the scene.
One doctor who upon the scene because he lived right nearby this station, said he didn't see a body -- a full body for ten meters, or about 30 feet. That is to say he saw only body parts -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al, there had been talks in recent months about negotiations between ETA and the government. I have a feeling that is completely off the table now. GOODMAN: Well, let me specify. There were never talks between the conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. And he has come out this day, making an address to the nation, extending his condolences, calling for Spaniards to turn out massively on Friday night, tomorrow, to march against ETA and vowing to crush ETA, and saying there could be no talks with ETA now.
There is an election campaign. And the elections for parliament and the new prime minister are scheduled for Sunday.
One of the key issues has been ETA. They feared there would be an attack.
And in the Barcelona area, the regional government there, a local official there had secret talks with ETA in June. And that created an uproar. It cost this local official his job. And he is linked in a coalition over there with the socialists.
So the conservatives nationally have been hammering away at the socialists, saying no way you can vote for them, because they are dealing with ETA, even though the socialists deny it. It's deadly.
ETA has not come out with a claim of responsibility for these attacks today, and the banned political party, a party banned because of its links to ETA, came out and said no, this couldn't be the work of ETA -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al Goodman, live from Madrid, Spain, thank you.
And the militant group ETA has long been designated a terror organization by the U.S. and European Union. But it's not well known on the side of the Atlantic.
In English, its full name is Basque Homeland and Freedom, and it dates to 1959, the Franco era. It wants independence for the Basque- speaking regions of northern Spain and southwest France, seven provinces in all. It's blamed for and admits terror attacks that have killed 800 people before today.
In the late 1990s, it briefly declared a cease-fire, coinciding with fruitless negotiations with the government.
Sympathy and solidarity. That's the U.S. offer to Spain. President Bush phoned Spain's prime minister to express his sentiments in the aftermath of the attacks.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president in East Meadow, New York -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, before the president even left the White House, he made some comments about this.
He told us that he spoke with the king of Spain and also the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, expressing his condolences and his solidarity on this very tragic day. Of course, as you know, Spain has been a staunch ally in the war on terror with the United State. And President Bush making it known today that the American people are with those in Spain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITD STATES: We weep with the families. We stand strong with the people of Spain. I appreciate so very much the Spanish government's fight against terror, their resolute stand against terrorist organizations like the ETA. The United States stands with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, today, the president spends his day on Long Island. That is where he is attending three events.
The first one, he's going to be speaking about creating jobs, the state of the economy. This, at an auto parts manufacturing plant in Bay Shore.
Then following that, he is going to be attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the Nassau County 9/11 memorial in East Meadow.
Following that, he's going to be attending a fund-raiser, a Bush campaign fund-raiser, about $2,000 a head, l later in the day.
Now, there has been some controversy, Kyra, over his visit here, that because there have been some complaints by the families of 9/11 victims and firefighters, as well as of course his opponent, Senator Kerry, talking about they think that this is exploitative in some way, that these two events are too close together, that they are perhaps capitalizing off of the 9/11 tragedy.
But both organizers of this memorial event, as well as the White House, say that this is something that was planned ahead of time, that the president was holding this fund-raiser and that the organizers found out he was going to be here in town. They decide to extend that invitation.
It is going to be very low key. The president is not going to speak publicly at this memorial service but rather meet with those family members privately -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president, thank you.
And some clarification from Senator Kerry on those off-the-cuff comments. He says he didn't mean all Republicans are crooked, but he says party attack dogs are hard at work in this election.
And by the way, no one's surprised that Kerry now has enough delegates to claim the Democratic nomination. Counting the delegates from Tuesday's primaries and a CNN survey of super delegates, finds the Massachusetts Senator has collected at least 2,162, the number he needs to be tapped as the party's candidate. Our Bob Franken, keeping track of campaign movements in Washington.
Bob, do you think we'll hear from Kerry today?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we're expecting to in about a little over a half hour. But he's done something quite bipartisan, actually, if you think about it. He has managed to throw red meat at both Democrats and Republicans.
We're talking about the comments that he made to a worker in Chicago yesterday that are just causing all sorts of controversy. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep smiling.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, yes, don't worry, man. Thank you. We're going to keep pounding, let me tell you. We're just beginning to fight here. These guys are -- these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group of people I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Well, is he going to backpedal? His spokespeople are saying all he's going to do is say, "Hey, any time that the Republicans attack, he's going to fight back."
However, as he was leaving one of his mini-Democratic unity meetings today, he encountered CNN producer Ted Barrette up on Capitol Hill. And when Barrette asked him if he wished he hadn't said that, Kerry said, "I'm not speaking about all Republicans." -- "I didn't say it about the Republicans. I said it about the attack dogs."
Well, Republicans recognize an opportunity when they see one. And the Republicans are saying, oh, yes he is speaking about Republicans, even the House speaker, usually mild mannered Dennis Hastert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: If you ask me, he's getting off on the wrong foot in this campaign. The name-calling. We're not lying when we start saying that Senator Kerry is the old- time Democrat in tax and spend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: So we'll find out in just a little while, Kyra, whether he is going to say no, he really meant what he said. If he responds to the challenge, the demand, from the Republican leader, the man who is running the Bush campaign, Marc Rasco (ph), to apologize.
Of course, we'll also hear later in the day about another unity meeting with John Edwards where I expect he's going to be somewhat less controversial.
PHILLIPS: So Bob, how exactly would you define attack dog?
FRANKEN: I have a lot of definitions of them, but I suspect you could probably find in the dictionary that it's synonymous with politician.
PHILLIPS: Sort of like journalist, vulture.
FRANKEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Franken, thank you so much.
All right. Moving along to -- where are we going to move along to? OK. Let's move on and talk about Clinton.
Former President Clinton giving Senator Kerry some campaign advice. Mr. Clinton tells CNN that they talked about Kerry's choice for a running mate, and he says that he has some tips for the overall tone of that campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said to me, well, we ought to run against what President Bush -- where he didn't keep his commitments. I said, no we shouldn't. We should run on where he did keep his commitments. And people weren't paying any attention.
I don't like it when we have to demonize people who are different from us. We try to turn three-dimensional human beings into two- dimensional cartoons. It turns the voters off, and helps people that are going to go because they have big financial interests at the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS; The former president says the Bush tax cut killed after-school programs, jobs for police officers and child care for working families. He says those are some of the issues that need to be raised in this election.
Massachusetts again at the epicenter of the heated debate over same-sex marriage. After a one-month recess, lawmakers there reconvene in about an hour to negotiate a possible state ban on gay marriage.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman brings us up to speed on where things stand. It's obviously gotten really busy out there.
Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Hundreds of demonstrator on both side of the gay marriage issue are on the street, outside the Massachusetts state capital, on Boston's Beacon Hill. Legislators reconvene in about 50 minutes to discuss a constitutional measure that could ban gay marriage.
But either way, gay people will start getting married in the state. The supreme judicial court, the highest court in Massachusetts, ruled that as of May 17, they can start getting married.
If they pass legislation today banning gay marriage, and the most likely legislation would then allow civil unions, it wouldn't happen until at least November 2006.
Under state laws, they would have to meet again in the state capital legislature. Legislators would have to approve it next year, and then citizens in the state would have to vote on it in November 2006.
So people will be allow to start getting married in May, at least through November 2006.
You can see signs on both sides of the issue, from people from all over the country, not just from the state of Massachusetts. One man standing here has a sign, "No to gay marriage, no hatred, just loving biblical truth."
Where are you from, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Nanuck (ph), Massachusetts.
TUCHMAN: And why did you come out here today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To support all those who believe that marriage is between a man and woman.
TUCHMAN: Why is it so important to you, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's the basis of families, you know. It's the base of families. People cannot reproduce if there are two men or two women. That's not what God intended for -- for a couple.
TUCHMAN: Not everyone agrees with this gentleman. Like this lady here is holding. She's holding a little sign that says, "Straight, but not narrow, all you need is love."
Tell me where you're from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go to MIT, but I'm originally from Kentucky.
TUCHMAN: And why did you come out here today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came out here because I support people's right to get married to someone of the same gender if they want. I don't see the problem, and I'm tired of people being bigoted towards gays. My 14-year-old sister contacted me yesterday and told me that one of her best friends from school is getting threats in his -- left in his locker because they think he's gay. I'm tired of the way people are acting about this.
TUCHMAN: Thank you for talking with us.
One of the most interesting things about this issue is people start getting married in May.
Massachusetts officials just discovered a little known law from 1913, 91 years ago, that says in the state of Massachusetts, you cannot be married if you're from another state and your state won't allow you to be married.
So it will be very confusing, starting in May, if people from outside Massachusetts come here to be married.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gary Tuchman. We'll continue to follow up with you and those protests. Thank you.
Well, it wasn't anything else but wrong, so declares the hockey honcho who today declares Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi will sit out the rest of the season for cold-cocking Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore.
Moore has got a broken neck now. And in tearful remarks last night, Bertuzzi said he's truly sorry.
This morning in Toronto, it was the league's turn to weigh in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN CAMPBELL, NHL VICE PRESIDENT: The league announced that Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi has been suspended for the remainder of the 2003/2004 season, including the final 12 regular season games, plus the entire 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs.
In addition, Mr. Bertuzzi's eligibility for the 2004/2005 NHL season will be determined by the Commissioner Bettman prior to the start of training camp.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bertuzzi stands to forfeit more than half a million dollars in salary. His team, the Canucks, will pay a $250,000 fine. A police investigation continues. And so does our coverage a little later with "Boston Globe" hockey writer Kevin Paul Depont. That's at half past the hour, right here on LIVE FROM.
Straight ahead, using sex to lure college recruits. An embattled college program takes center stage on Capitol Hill. We've got the details.
Bad result. Hundreds of patients at an East Coast hospital may have been given the wrong result from their AIDS test.
And one year ago today, the country was stunned when a missing Utah girl was found. What's life been like for Elizabeth Smart? Hear what her dad had to say, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED SMART, ELIZABETH SMART'S FATHER: It is that important. All of the children out there deserve to come home to their parents, the way -- the way Elizabeth has come back to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A proud and joyous papa speaking last year about the safe return of his daughter, 16-year-old Elizabeth Smart.
Her return after a nine-month abduction grabbed both worldwide attention and plenty of hearts.
One year later, her parents say despite the ordeal, Elizabeth is pretty much like any other kid her age.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMART: I mean, really, she -- she's doing wonderfully. She doesn't just sit there and focus on what happened to her in the past and she is -- I mean, it is really a miracle to see her going forward. She's not crippled by this. She's your typical 16-year-old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The man charged with kidnapping Elizabeth has a competency hearing scheduled in May. If he goes to trial, her parents say they're unsure whether Elizabeth will testify.
Now for a look at other news across America.
Lawyers for Terry Nichols accuse state and federal prosecutors of keeping key information from them. Dozens of FBI documents raising the possibility of additional accomplices in the 1985 Oklahoma City bombing are at issue.
Nichols, who's already in prison for the bombing, now faces state murder charges in Oklahoma.
In Texas, more than 40 people, snared by questionable drugs -- or snared by a questionable drug string, will share a $5 million settlement. The award stems from a string of arrests in Tulia in 1999, targeting mostly African-Americans. Much of the evidence in the sting was found to be unreliable. And in Georgia, a class action federal lawsuit linked to tri- state crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh appears close to an end. All the funeral homes named in the suit say they've reached settlements with the plaintiff.
Marsh is charged with dumping more than 300 bodies and passing off cement dust as ashes.
Straight ahead, paying up to fill it up. Sticker stock at the gas station. Will the pressure of politics bring the prices down?
And news affected your health: a new drug giving women battling breast cancer a fighting chance.
Plus, making a splash. Will this swimsuit put you in the fast lane this summer?
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PHILLIPS: Well, you've no doubt felt the pinch at the pump lately. The price of gasoline has skyrocketed over the last few months. Is there some relief in sight?
Well, national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gas prices, now averaging $1.73 nationwide for a gallon of regular unleaded, are the highest they've been in years.
President Bush's advisers blame it on Congress.
DON EVANS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: He put a national energy policy together, and present it to American people in the late spring of 2001 and has been waiting on Congress since that time to deliver to him an energy bill.
CANDIOTTI: Rising oil prices facing a president who came from an oil background. So did his vice president.
As Mr. Bush campaigned Wednesday in Ohio, pushing his economic plan, some wonder about the impact on voters this fall.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: I think Democrats will raise it as an issue. They will point to the administration's connection to the oil and gas industry. They've done that in the past. They'll do that again.
The idea that the president has some control over oil and gas prices in the short term, however, is silly.
CANDIOTTI: Californians shelling out as much as $2.17 a gallon. New Yorkers, $1.85. In Florida, $1.74. Ohio, $1.70.
Ask why it's happening and get a standard reply. JAY SAUNDERS, OIL ANALYST, DEUTSCHE BANK: Simply, you could say there's less supply around. And crude oil prices are very high. Demand is recovering. High demand, low supply.
CANDIOTTI: In part, analysts blame the spike on oil producing countries putting out less to make up for a weak U.S. dollar. Add instability in Iraq and Venezuela, as well as seasonal drops in production.
Despite the high prices, consumers are still topping off their tanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing you can do about it. I mean, the president or the Congress, or the oil companies, somebody's getting the money. Not me. I got to get gas.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is relief in sight? Yes. But not for long.
Analysts predict prices will come down some time this spring but then climb again just in time for the usual increased summer-time demand around Memorial Day.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Coming up, Alessio Davinci, live from Madrid. We'll have the latest on the deadly terrorist attacks this morning.
Plus, an update on the Baltimore water taxi accident last week. Authorities say they found something in the harbor.
And more on the penalty handed to Todd Bertuzzi. We'll hear reaction and talk more about that incident. The sports writer all too familiar with the NHL.
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Demand Kerry Apologize for Remarks; Massachusetts Lawmakers Reconsider Gay Marriage; Buck Keeps Passing as Oil Prices Surge>
