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Live From...

The Fight For Iraq; Limbaugh in Limbo; Ted Turner Receives Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

Aired April 07, 2004 - 14:30   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, CNN ANCHOR: 'New This Half-Hour' on LIVE FROM... Fallujah firefight. And just moments, an eyewitness to the fighting shares his story. And a former general tells CNN what the coalition needs to do to regain control in Iraq's hot spots.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM...

We're on the fight for Iraq, but first here are some other stories we're following for you.

In a moment of silence in Geneva, Switzerland, as the U.N. marks a grim anniversary of genocide. Ten years ago, Hutu extremists began a murderous rampage in Rwanda, butchering nearly a million people in 100 days. In the capital of Kigali, Rwanda's president, international dignitaries and thousands of Rwandan citizens packed a stadium to pay homage to the victims.

In Washington, a citizens group says too many lawmakers are bringing home the tax bacon and they're naming names in the annual pig book of congressional pork barrel projects.

Senator John McCain was on hand to squeal on his pick of the litter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Last year my favorite I have to revisit was the $2 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I still have not ascertained whether that's a fraternity issue or a felony issue associated with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And it's a day we thought we'd never see, CNN founder Ted Turner allowing people to walk all over him, but it's true. Turner is getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other celebs in his pavement orbit include Jack LaLanne, Cybill Shepherd and curiously, Peter Fonda, his ex-brother-in-law.

An update now on the top story. U.S. troops try and restore order as the fighting in Iraq escalates. U.S. aircraft took out a wall in a mosque compound in Fallujah today. Military officials say insurgents had been using the mosque as a base of operations. The coalition says it is trying to destroy the Mehdi Army. That's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Al-Sadr is in Najaf. Iraq's spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah, Ayatollah, rather, al-Sistani is there as well.

"Los Angeles Times" reporter Tony Perry is imbedded with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine Division on the ground in Fallujah.

CNN's Bill Hemmer spoke to him by phone today on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY PERRY, LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Marines are actively engaged in firefights in at least two locations with insurgents. In the major location, it's a fight that began about 24 hours ago and has been off and on, went on through the night, picked up in the morning. And the Marines are pushing the insurgents out of a neighborhood. They're going door to door, finding insurgent locations. They've engaged them in firefights.

One of the main locations where the insurgents have been firing from is a mosque. The mosque has now been surrounded. The Marines are using tanks, they have infantry and they also have air power overhead, as they did all night.

This all began 24 hours ago when the insurgents attacked a Marine patrol that had only ventured maybe two dozen yards beyond the checkpoint into the city. They were attacked and three Marines were wounded. And the Marines counter attacked very ferociously with tanks and infantry and Cobra helicopters.

And then the battle was on and the insurgents used at least rudimentary strategy. There were platoon-sized groups, they brought in buses, they blocked off streets, they hit the Marines with counter fire. They had some anti-aircraft facilities that were shooting at the helicopters. And the Marines responded. And it took, I think, three additional casualties, but have killed dozens of the insurgents and are pushing them out of this neighborhood.

The plan, I think, was to go much slower, to arrive, to assess. The Marines only took over this Sunni Triangle area, what, maybe 10 days ago. They were going to go slow, they were going to get to know people. They were going to send patrols out, but they were going to sort of slowly move. Then, of course, the vicious events of a week ago where the four Americans were murdered in the SUV. That changed things wholly and that required a vigorous response and now that response is under way.

So, no, the Marines are moving much more quickly than they had planned and that shows to a certain degree. The Iraqi Civil Defense people are helping, but not in the numbers they had hoped. They are just not ready for it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That report from "Los Angeles Times" reporter Tony Perry imbedded with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah. Well last hour I spoke with retired Army General David Grange about the renewed violence in Iraq and what coalition forces need to do to regain control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): There are certain things that the U.S. military and other coalition forces will not do, that insurgents, terrorists use, techniques that they use. Because it's, one, illegal, against the land warfare -- rules of land warfare.

But there are some savvy techniques that Special Operations use and other U.S. forces can use to discredit enemy leaders, to instill fear in the enemy, to trick the enemy on who the friend and foe are. In other words, split factions, different things like that.

And I would hope, and I'm pretty sure it's happening, that some of these techniques are being used.

PHILLIPS: Well, take me inside that toolbox. Give me a couple of examples.

GRANGE: Well, for instance, not to be too specific, but let's just say that an enemy leader is taken out by a sniper and it looks like the weaponry was used of a -- another insurgent faction to split those factions. That would be an example. Or to use propaganda, to use disinformation, to make a situation appear other than it is to lose the support of the local people for that particular insurgent stronghold in a particular part of the city.

PHILLIPS: You mentioned weaponry. You've been looking at the video. And we were talking about how we noticed it's completely different with regard to what the insurgents have now, the types of weapons. Let's talk about that and also where you think these weapons are coming from.

GRANGE: Yes, you still see an abundance of some of the old AK- 47s and the other weapons systems. But I've also picked up new weaponry, newer stuff, whether it be sniper rifles or assault rifles, that either were hidden all this time in cache sites or brought in across some of the porous borders from, let's say, Iran or Syria. So the insurgents are armed fairly well.

PHILLIPS: Now, the talk now about more troops coming in to help with this insurgency. Some other generals have said, no, we don't need any more troops going in there; it's just more sitting ducks. There will be more deaths.

But you take a different approach. You say the psychological warfare is far more important, and that's why more troops are needed.

GRANGE: Well, it's no doubt that 110,000 or so American troops and coalition forces that are there can handle the current situation. I truly believe that.

But as the insurgents right now are turning up the heat on the coalition, as the transition to this new government takes place, I think that the coalition should do the same thing. In other words, turn up the thermostat to surge at times so you don't leave other areas in the country uncovered for certain parts of the time as you move more forces to troubled spots.

But give additional forces to reinforce, to give flexibility, to show that you can do it, you will do it, that you have the resolve to reinforce and take this -- crank this up another notch, so there's no perception that you may pull out. Because I think some of the people over there now that want this transition to happen are very nervous of the outcome of these types of operations that are ongoing right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, in order for Iraqi police and Iraqi military to succeed, they have to know that they still have a backup at this point.

GRANGE: They have to have the backup. It's just like, for instance, in the Balkans, the International Police Task Force had to have IFOR, SFOR, NATO troops, to back them up, to back down some of this Genghis Khan-type mentality. Insurgents, they respect power.

And so you have to have the military to back up the police, especially a fledgling police force like they have in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well American troops aren't the only ones in the deadly crosshairs of those confrontations. Renewed violence is erupting across Iraq. It's not surprising the coalition forces.

As CNN's Guy Raz reports, coalition commanders expected it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. forces in central Iraq now face daily battle with insurgents. This fighting, though, isn't taking place in an American-controlled sector but in Diwaniya, where some 1,300 Spanish troops are based. Further south in Basra, where mainly British troops operate, the situation also is deteriorating rapidly.

Britain is the only U.S. ally with more than 10,000 troops in Iraq. Italy, Poland, Ukraine and Spain each have between 1,000 and 3,000 soldiers in country, though Spain has pledged to withdraw its troops by the end of June. The Shiite uprising now materializing was long anticipated by Iraqi analysts. And the major U.S. allies stationed in the Shiite dominated south are bearing the brunt.

PROF. MICHAEL CLARKE, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON: I think the British realize that this is probably the most critical week since the end of the war itself, because there now seems to be a real possibility of a Shi'a dominated civil war across Iraq. And if that is the case, the previous security equation simply won't balance and more forces will have to be put in, greater tactics will have to be thought through and the whole political strategy will have to be re-addressed. And we may be facing those sort of issues really by the end of this week. RAZ: At the end of next week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair can raise those issues with President Bush in Washington. Tuesday, Blair met in London with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and said despite the new violence, there's no need to reassess the security strategy just yet.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And our response to this should not be to run away in fright or hide away or think that we've got it all wrong. Our response, on the contrary, should be to hold firm.

RAZ: But with instability rising to dangerous levels across southern Iraq, other U.S. allies, like Italy, may begin to rethink their role in Iraq after the coalition hands over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.

STEFANO SILVESTRI, INTL. AFFAIRS INSTITUTE: Are we changing the entire structure of the commands or are those remaining? The thing is not clear. So I suppose that it is part of the reassessment that will have to be made after June 30, hopefully a little before.

RAZ: European analysts are concerned that coalition of the willing could begin to collapse if the United Nations isn't given a stronger role soon.

Guy Raz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hey, parents, if your child won't stop playing video games, don't scold him or her, put the wee one in medical school. The intriguing link between video games and surgery.

Go ahead, sweet mama, indulge your taste for chocolate. Find out why your baby will thank you for it.

And it's a great day in Abba history. No, they're not getting back together. But we can dream about it, right? Core life (ph) from right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking 'Health Headlines' this Wednesday, April 7. Getting ready for microscopic surgery? Well ask your doctor if he's good at Nintendo. Researchers found that doctors who spent three hours a week playing video games made a third fewer mistakes and worked faster.

Talk about true grit, in rural Mexico, a pregnant woman performed a cesarean section on herself with a kitchen knife to save her baby. Before passing out, the determined mom told her other children to call a nurse. Doctors believe it's the first case of a self-cesarean where both the mother and baby survived.

So do you want a happy baby? Scarf down chocolate. Finish researchers studied pregnant women who coped with stress by eating chocolate. They found it had a positive impact on the baby's behavior. The newborns were happier and less fearful of new situations.

Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh wants to keep his medical records sealed. His attorneys are in court today arguing Limbaugh's privacy rights were violated when government seized the records from a doctor's office.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is covering this in West Palm Beach, Florida -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

No decision was expected today. And in fact, Rush Limbaugh wasn't here either. He wasn't expected either.

Keeping in mind that no charges have been filed in this case, this is an unusual legal battle over the method that prosecutors are using to investigate Rush Limbaugh, specifically that they used a search warrant to seize his medical records.

Well today his lawyers tried to convince an appeals court that prosecutors overreached by using a search warrant instead of a subpoena that Limbaugh could have challenged. His attorneys say that it doesn't matter that prosecutors used a search warrant, seized the records and then had them sealed until there was a hearing later to try to determine whether they could open those records later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY BLACK, LIMBAUGH'S ATTORNEY: You cannot seize first and then do it later. This court said, and you cannot have -- you cannot resolve this by some evidentiary hearing afterwards. The invasion is the invasion of the right of privacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, Limbaugh denies that he was doctor shopping. Prosecutors said using a search warrant is simply common sense in any criminal investigation. Arguing that you cannot give a target of your criminal investigation advance notice that you're about to seize evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MARTZ, STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: The investigators fully expected to find in those records a trail. A trail that was evinced by the pattern of conduct here that would likely lead to additional pharmacies, additional doctors and unknown as to how many different overlapping prescriptions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Three judges, a panel of three judges here in the appeals court will decide what to do next. We're not exactly sure how long it will take. Probably, legal experts say, a few weeks. But the question is if prosecutors lose their ability to use the information seized in those medical records will their case against Rush Limbaugh simply evaporate. We do know, we learned just a short time ago, that Mr. Limbaugh plans to say something about what happened here in court on his radio broadcast not long from now.

Back to you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan Candiotti, thank you.

Well 'News Around the World, rather. Poppies aplenty. The State Department estimates that Afghanistan is set to harvest a record opium poppy crop this year. The U.S. and Great Britain are among the nations helping to fund several counter narcotics efforts targeting poppy growers and their supporters. U.S. intelligence shows a link between terrorist groups and Afghanistan's poppy trade.

A royal visit to France takes a sweet turn. Queen Elizabeth II was presented with a chocolate Easter egg during a three-day visit to France. Her trip was designed to celebrate a 100-year-old friendship pact between Britain and France.

And they're still resisting big money offers to reunite, but three of the four members of the Swedish group Abba did gather in London. Yesterday's event marked the 30th anniversary of the group winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the tune "Waterloo." Of course this isn't "Waterloo," this is "Dancing Queen," a song we all continue to love. Abba split in 1981. It was a shame.

Well like the old perfume ad said, women can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. And it looks like finally more women are bringing home a lot more bacon these days. We'll sizzle it up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So it's been called Ted Turner Day in Hollywood. Live pictures now. Yes, it's true, he's getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As soon as it's unveiled, we'll go back and check it out and see who he's next to. He's thanking mom and dad.

Big Blue's box is still crunching numbers as it hits the big 40. Believe it or not, those huge freezer-sized IBM mainframes are still on the market. Their computing power is used by the likes of NASA. Some say our fascination with PCs signals the death of the mainframe. But with current sales of 4.5 billion, it got a mighty expensive tombstone.

Let's go back to the -- we've been told this is a day that we thought we'd never see, CNN founder Ted Turner allowing people to walk all over him now.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Ted Turner about to unveil his own personal star on the Walk of Fame. He's been sort of checking out who is going to be around him. We're told that celebs there that will be next to him, not, you know, physically. You know what we mean, there on the pavement orbit, Jack LaLanne, Cybill Shepherd, and get this, Peter Fonda, his ex-brother-in-law. He's got a lot of his supporters out there talking about how he's been called a renegade, a maverick and now a star.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly welcome to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ted turner. Ted, there it is.

(APPLAUSE)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: Thank you very much. Well, thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ted, we would like to have you here all the time, but we know your schedule will not allow that. So we would like to present you with a replica of your star for the office.

TURNER: That's great. Well, thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

(APPLAUSE)

TURNER: All right.

QUESTION: Ted?

QUESTION: Can you reach down and touch the star, Mr. Turner.

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: Wow, now if I can just get back up. You need a hand?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I got my hand (ph). Thank you.

TURNER: OK, here we go.

PHILLIPS: It's official. Ted Turner now with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now, as you know, back in June, 1st of June, actually, 1980, turner inaugurated CNN, the world's first live, in-depth, around the clock news television network that you are watching now. Congratulations, Ted.

Well six figures and counting, when it comes to paychecks, more women are raking in the big bucks.

Susan Lisovicz crunching the numbers. Maybe she'll have her own star on the Walk of Fame.

Hi -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM... right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 7, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: 'New This Half-Hour' on LIVE FROM... Fallujah firefight. And just moments, an eyewitness to the fighting shares his story. And a former general tells CNN what the coalition needs to do to regain control in Iraq's hot spots.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM...

We're on the fight for Iraq, but first here are some other stories we're following for you.

In a moment of silence in Geneva, Switzerland, as the U.N. marks a grim anniversary of genocide. Ten years ago, Hutu extremists began a murderous rampage in Rwanda, butchering nearly a million people in 100 days. In the capital of Kigali, Rwanda's president, international dignitaries and thousands of Rwandan citizens packed a stadium to pay homage to the victims.

In Washington, a citizens group says too many lawmakers are bringing home the tax bacon and they're naming names in the annual pig book of congressional pork barrel projects.

Senator John McCain was on hand to squeal on his pick of the litter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Last year my favorite I have to revisit was the $2 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I still have not ascertained whether that's a fraternity issue or a felony issue associated with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And it's a day we thought we'd never see, CNN founder Ted Turner allowing people to walk all over him, but it's true. Turner is getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other celebs in his pavement orbit include Jack LaLanne, Cybill Shepherd and curiously, Peter Fonda, his ex-brother-in-law.

An update now on the top story. U.S. troops try and restore order as the fighting in Iraq escalates. U.S. aircraft took out a wall in a mosque compound in Fallujah today. Military officials say insurgents had been using the mosque as a base of operations. The coalition says it is trying to destroy the Mehdi Army. That's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Al-Sadr is in Najaf. Iraq's spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah, Ayatollah, rather, al-Sistani is there as well.

"Los Angeles Times" reporter Tony Perry is imbedded with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine Division on the ground in Fallujah.

CNN's Bill Hemmer spoke to him by phone today on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY PERRY, LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Marines are actively engaged in firefights in at least two locations with insurgents. In the major location, it's a fight that began about 24 hours ago and has been off and on, went on through the night, picked up in the morning. And the Marines are pushing the insurgents out of a neighborhood. They're going door to door, finding insurgent locations. They've engaged them in firefights.

One of the main locations where the insurgents have been firing from is a mosque. The mosque has now been surrounded. The Marines are using tanks, they have infantry and they also have air power overhead, as they did all night.

This all began 24 hours ago when the insurgents attacked a Marine patrol that had only ventured maybe two dozen yards beyond the checkpoint into the city. They were attacked and three Marines were wounded. And the Marines counter attacked very ferociously with tanks and infantry and Cobra helicopters.

And then the battle was on and the insurgents used at least rudimentary strategy. There were platoon-sized groups, they brought in buses, they blocked off streets, they hit the Marines with counter fire. They had some anti-aircraft facilities that were shooting at the helicopters. And the Marines responded. And it took, I think, three additional casualties, but have killed dozens of the insurgents and are pushing them out of this neighborhood.

The plan, I think, was to go much slower, to arrive, to assess. The Marines only took over this Sunni Triangle area, what, maybe 10 days ago. They were going to go slow, they were going to get to know people. They were going to send patrols out, but they were going to sort of slowly move. Then, of course, the vicious events of a week ago where the four Americans were murdered in the SUV. That changed things wholly and that required a vigorous response and now that response is under way.

So, no, the Marines are moving much more quickly than they had planned and that shows to a certain degree. The Iraqi Civil Defense people are helping, but not in the numbers they had hoped. They are just not ready for it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That report from "Los Angeles Times" reporter Tony Perry imbedded with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah. Well last hour I spoke with retired Army General David Grange about the renewed violence in Iraq and what coalition forces need to do to regain control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): There are certain things that the U.S. military and other coalition forces will not do, that insurgents, terrorists use, techniques that they use. Because it's, one, illegal, against the land warfare -- rules of land warfare.

But there are some savvy techniques that Special Operations use and other U.S. forces can use to discredit enemy leaders, to instill fear in the enemy, to trick the enemy on who the friend and foe are. In other words, split factions, different things like that.

And I would hope, and I'm pretty sure it's happening, that some of these techniques are being used.

PHILLIPS: Well, take me inside that toolbox. Give me a couple of examples.

GRANGE: Well, for instance, not to be too specific, but let's just say that an enemy leader is taken out by a sniper and it looks like the weaponry was used of a -- another insurgent faction to split those factions. That would be an example. Or to use propaganda, to use disinformation, to make a situation appear other than it is to lose the support of the local people for that particular insurgent stronghold in a particular part of the city.

PHILLIPS: You mentioned weaponry. You've been looking at the video. And we were talking about how we noticed it's completely different with regard to what the insurgents have now, the types of weapons. Let's talk about that and also where you think these weapons are coming from.

GRANGE: Yes, you still see an abundance of some of the old AK- 47s and the other weapons systems. But I've also picked up new weaponry, newer stuff, whether it be sniper rifles or assault rifles, that either were hidden all this time in cache sites or brought in across some of the porous borders from, let's say, Iran or Syria. So the insurgents are armed fairly well.

PHILLIPS: Now, the talk now about more troops coming in to help with this insurgency. Some other generals have said, no, we don't need any more troops going in there; it's just more sitting ducks. There will be more deaths.

But you take a different approach. You say the psychological warfare is far more important, and that's why more troops are needed.

GRANGE: Well, it's no doubt that 110,000 or so American troops and coalition forces that are there can handle the current situation. I truly believe that.

But as the insurgents right now are turning up the heat on the coalition, as the transition to this new government takes place, I think that the coalition should do the same thing. In other words, turn up the thermostat to surge at times so you don't leave other areas in the country uncovered for certain parts of the time as you move more forces to troubled spots.

But give additional forces to reinforce, to give flexibility, to show that you can do it, you will do it, that you have the resolve to reinforce and take this -- crank this up another notch, so there's no perception that you may pull out. Because I think some of the people over there now that want this transition to happen are very nervous of the outcome of these types of operations that are ongoing right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, in order for Iraqi police and Iraqi military to succeed, they have to know that they still have a backup at this point.

GRANGE: They have to have the backup. It's just like, for instance, in the Balkans, the International Police Task Force had to have IFOR, SFOR, NATO troops, to back them up, to back down some of this Genghis Khan-type mentality. Insurgents, they respect power.

And so you have to have the military to back up the police, especially a fledgling police force like they have in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well American troops aren't the only ones in the deadly crosshairs of those confrontations. Renewed violence is erupting across Iraq. It's not surprising the coalition forces.

As CNN's Guy Raz reports, coalition commanders expected it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. forces in central Iraq now face daily battle with insurgents. This fighting, though, isn't taking place in an American-controlled sector but in Diwaniya, where some 1,300 Spanish troops are based. Further south in Basra, where mainly British troops operate, the situation also is deteriorating rapidly.

Britain is the only U.S. ally with more than 10,000 troops in Iraq. Italy, Poland, Ukraine and Spain each have between 1,000 and 3,000 soldiers in country, though Spain has pledged to withdraw its troops by the end of June. The Shiite uprising now materializing was long anticipated by Iraqi analysts. And the major U.S. allies stationed in the Shiite dominated south are bearing the brunt.

PROF. MICHAEL CLARKE, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON: I think the British realize that this is probably the most critical week since the end of the war itself, because there now seems to be a real possibility of a Shi'a dominated civil war across Iraq. And if that is the case, the previous security equation simply won't balance and more forces will have to be put in, greater tactics will have to be thought through and the whole political strategy will have to be re-addressed. And we may be facing those sort of issues really by the end of this week. RAZ: At the end of next week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair can raise those issues with President Bush in Washington. Tuesday, Blair met in London with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and said despite the new violence, there's no need to reassess the security strategy just yet.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And our response to this should not be to run away in fright or hide away or think that we've got it all wrong. Our response, on the contrary, should be to hold firm.

RAZ: But with instability rising to dangerous levels across southern Iraq, other U.S. allies, like Italy, may begin to rethink their role in Iraq after the coalition hands over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.

STEFANO SILVESTRI, INTL. AFFAIRS INSTITUTE: Are we changing the entire structure of the commands or are those remaining? The thing is not clear. So I suppose that it is part of the reassessment that will have to be made after June 30, hopefully a little before.

RAZ: European analysts are concerned that coalition of the willing could begin to collapse if the United Nations isn't given a stronger role soon.

Guy Raz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hey, parents, if your child won't stop playing video games, don't scold him or her, put the wee one in medical school. The intriguing link between video games and surgery.

Go ahead, sweet mama, indulge your taste for chocolate. Find out why your baby will thank you for it.

And it's a great day in Abba history. No, they're not getting back together. But we can dream about it, right? Core life (ph) from right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking 'Health Headlines' this Wednesday, April 7. Getting ready for microscopic surgery? Well ask your doctor if he's good at Nintendo. Researchers found that doctors who spent three hours a week playing video games made a third fewer mistakes and worked faster.

Talk about true grit, in rural Mexico, a pregnant woman performed a cesarean section on herself with a kitchen knife to save her baby. Before passing out, the determined mom told her other children to call a nurse. Doctors believe it's the first case of a self-cesarean where both the mother and baby survived.

So do you want a happy baby? Scarf down chocolate. Finish researchers studied pregnant women who coped with stress by eating chocolate. They found it had a positive impact on the baby's behavior. The newborns were happier and less fearful of new situations.

Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh wants to keep his medical records sealed. His attorneys are in court today arguing Limbaugh's privacy rights were violated when government seized the records from a doctor's office.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is covering this in West Palm Beach, Florida -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

No decision was expected today. And in fact, Rush Limbaugh wasn't here either. He wasn't expected either.

Keeping in mind that no charges have been filed in this case, this is an unusual legal battle over the method that prosecutors are using to investigate Rush Limbaugh, specifically that they used a search warrant to seize his medical records.

Well today his lawyers tried to convince an appeals court that prosecutors overreached by using a search warrant instead of a subpoena that Limbaugh could have challenged. His attorneys say that it doesn't matter that prosecutors used a search warrant, seized the records and then had them sealed until there was a hearing later to try to determine whether they could open those records later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY BLACK, LIMBAUGH'S ATTORNEY: You cannot seize first and then do it later. This court said, and you cannot have -- you cannot resolve this by some evidentiary hearing afterwards. The invasion is the invasion of the right of privacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, Limbaugh denies that he was doctor shopping. Prosecutors said using a search warrant is simply common sense in any criminal investigation. Arguing that you cannot give a target of your criminal investigation advance notice that you're about to seize evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MARTZ, STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: The investigators fully expected to find in those records a trail. A trail that was evinced by the pattern of conduct here that would likely lead to additional pharmacies, additional doctors and unknown as to how many different overlapping prescriptions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Three judges, a panel of three judges here in the appeals court will decide what to do next. We're not exactly sure how long it will take. Probably, legal experts say, a few weeks. But the question is if prosecutors lose their ability to use the information seized in those medical records will their case against Rush Limbaugh simply evaporate. We do know, we learned just a short time ago, that Mr. Limbaugh plans to say something about what happened here in court on his radio broadcast not long from now.

Back to you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan Candiotti, thank you.

Well 'News Around the World, rather. Poppies aplenty. The State Department estimates that Afghanistan is set to harvest a record opium poppy crop this year. The U.S. and Great Britain are among the nations helping to fund several counter narcotics efforts targeting poppy growers and their supporters. U.S. intelligence shows a link between terrorist groups and Afghanistan's poppy trade.

A royal visit to France takes a sweet turn. Queen Elizabeth II was presented with a chocolate Easter egg during a three-day visit to France. Her trip was designed to celebrate a 100-year-old friendship pact between Britain and France.

And they're still resisting big money offers to reunite, but three of the four members of the Swedish group Abba did gather in London. Yesterday's event marked the 30th anniversary of the group winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the tune "Waterloo." Of course this isn't "Waterloo," this is "Dancing Queen," a song we all continue to love. Abba split in 1981. It was a shame.

Well like the old perfume ad said, women can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. And it looks like finally more women are bringing home a lot more bacon these days. We'll sizzle it up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So it's been called Ted Turner Day in Hollywood. Live pictures now. Yes, it's true, he's getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As soon as it's unveiled, we'll go back and check it out and see who he's next to. He's thanking mom and dad.

Big Blue's box is still crunching numbers as it hits the big 40. Believe it or not, those huge freezer-sized IBM mainframes are still on the market. Their computing power is used by the likes of NASA. Some say our fascination with PCs signals the death of the mainframe. But with current sales of 4.5 billion, it got a mighty expensive tombstone.

Let's go back to the -- we've been told this is a day that we thought we'd never see, CNN founder Ted Turner allowing people to walk all over him now.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Ted Turner about to unveil his own personal star on the Walk of Fame. He's been sort of checking out who is going to be around him. We're told that celebs there that will be next to him, not, you know, physically. You know what we mean, there on the pavement orbit, Jack LaLanne, Cybill Shepherd, and get this, Peter Fonda, his ex-brother-in-law. He's got a lot of his supporters out there talking about how he's been called a renegade, a maverick and now a star.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly welcome to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ted turner. Ted, there it is.

(APPLAUSE)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: Thank you very much. Well, thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ted, we would like to have you here all the time, but we know your schedule will not allow that. So we would like to present you with a replica of your star for the office.

TURNER: That's great. Well, thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

(APPLAUSE)

TURNER: All right.

QUESTION: Ted?

QUESTION: Can you reach down and touch the star, Mr. Turner.

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: Wow, now if I can just get back up. You need a hand?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I got my hand (ph). Thank you.

TURNER: OK, here we go.

PHILLIPS: It's official. Ted Turner now with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now, as you know, back in June, 1st of June, actually, 1980, turner inaugurated CNN, the world's first live, in-depth, around the clock news television network that you are watching now. Congratulations, Ted.

Well six figures and counting, when it comes to paychecks, more women are raking in the big bucks.

Susan Lisovicz crunching the numbers. Maybe she'll have her own star on the Walk of Fame.

Hi -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM... right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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