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Live From...
4th I.D. Returns Home; How Much Will Iraq War Cost?
Aired April 22, 2004 - 15:00 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, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the third hour of LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the right place at the right time. And we appreciate you being there. I'm Miles O'Brien.
Here's what is making news at this hour.
Home at last, thousands of members of the 4th Infantry Division back from Iraq safe and sound. As you can imagine, they arrived to a heroes welcome at Fort Hood in Texas. We'll go there in just a moment.
Tragedy on the tracks. Two fuel trains collided and exploded at a train station in North Korea. A great many people are said to have been killed or injured. It's not clear what caused the crash, but it appears it was an accident.
Money for a memorial. The Pentagon has launched a $30 million fund-raising drive to build a memorial for those who died there on 9/11. The plan features a grove of trees, reflecting pools, and 184 benches engraved with the names of the victims.
Maurice Clarett's NFL dream denied. The Supreme Court today rejected Clarett's appeal of a lower court ruling. That means he won't be allowed to participate in the NFL draft this weekend. Clarett is fighting the NFL's requirement that players must wait three years after high school before turning pro. An appeals court had stayed a lower court ruling barring the NFL from enforcing the rule.
PHILLIPS: Well, first this hour, Texas-sized homecoming at the nation's biggest Army base. How's that for a grand entrance. The 4th U.S. Infantry Division is stampeding home after a year of war in Iraq. What a year it was.
Based in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, the 4th I.D. and its task force, Ironhorse, battled insurgents, captured fugitives and confiscated weapons in a wide chunk of northern Iraq. Did we say captured fugitives? Topping that list would have to be the scruffy former dictator whom Ironhorse soldiers ratted out of a hole in the ground in December.
Family food, and famous names in that order we expect are highlighting a full day of Fort Hood festivities.
Our own Keith Oppenheim is front and center in the middle of all the action -- Keith. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
You know, this is a really neat event for us to watch because it gives us a chance to see the military families reflect on the past year, but also to celebrate the fact that they are home. So we can see all those mixed emotions. The main stage is behind me. It's a little quiet right now, but they're going to be revving up the music there in about 15 minutes, and it's all part of this major welcome home celebration where soldiers and their loves ones have been separated for a year, can finally get back together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): From pop to hip-hop, music at Fort Hood is varied and nearly nonstop for the reunited military families. But this day, exciting as it is, is an emotional anti-climax to the last few weeks at Fort Hood, where every few days, soldiers burst into this crowded gym, fell in line, and into the arms of their loved ones. These troops know it means something to say they got home safely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There 's a lot of soldiers that can't say that, and my heart and my prayers go out to those soldiers.
OPPENHEIM: Fort Hood is home to the 4th Infantry Division and members of Task Force Ironhorse, all soldiers who have been in Iraq for a year and credited with capturing Saddam Hussein.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They caught Saddam.
OPPENHEIM: The news of that capture raised hopes that Fort Hood's own would be in less danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take cover!
OPPENHEIM: But as insurgents continued attacks, soldiers from this post lost their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was the light of his dad and mom's eyes.
OPPENHEIM: The family of Sergeant Sean Cataudella was one of those in mourning; 79 troops from the 4th Infantry Division have been killed in action in Iraq. So for the 16,000 returning safely, this is a bittersweet time, where sadness, relief and joy come together at one very big party.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: We are back live now. And you can see all the folks that are milling about here at the welcome home concert. These are people who are enjoying the free food as well as the free music.
And I have a program in hand, Kyra, just to tell you what Wayne Newton has in store for the USO variety show. I think you'll appreciate this. Jessica Simpson is on the list, as well as Ludacris, who you interviewed just a little while ago, Drew Carey and Gary Sinise provide some comedy entertainment. And, of course, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Imagine that. And rumor has it that Wayne Newton is one of Tommy Franks' favorites. He's always there mixing with the troops.
OPPENHEIM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right, Keith, I know you'll be there front and center meeting all those people. Thanks so much. It's a great homecoming. We appreciate your report -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In Iraq, the coalition takes steps it hopes will win over the hearts and minds of disaffected Sunnis. The White House says civil administrator Paul Bremer now is ready to modify a policy that denied former Baathists a position in the military and the government.
Now, meanwhile, there's a setback for efforts to repair Iraqi power plants and other infrastructure. Iraq's electricity minister says German engineering company Siemens has temporarily pulled its employees out of Iraq because of security concerns. And American companies Bechtel and General Electric say they too have scaled back operations.
Burying the dead in Basra. One day after a series of suicide bomb attacks, there are funerals today for victims. British military officials who patrol Basra say it's still too early to say who is responsible.
And reaching out to Iraqi citizens. Administrator Bremer met with teachers and administrators today in Baghdad. It's part of an outreach plan to allow Iraqis to voice their concerns.
Some big questions on Capitol Hill this week. What's the war in Iraq actually going to cost and why isn't the president asking for more money? Between increased violence and plans to extend the stays of American troops in Iraq, the bills are in fact mounting.
CNN's Sean Callebs joining us live from Washington with more -- Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, a lot of questions, and some congressional members saying not enough answers.
As you mentioned, the ongoing fighting in Iraq is pushing the cost of the war over budget. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice made a couple of trips to Capitol Hill, the first this morning to brief top Republicans on the war. And the second one should be wrapping up right about now, this one with Democratic leaders on the Hill. It is a somewhat rare appearance for one of the president's closest advisers, will also provide congressional leadership a chance for some give and take as questions mount about the U.S. involvement in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: We spent an hour talking, discussing, with her answering questions. She gave us a political overview of what's happening in Iraq, an overview with the military what's happening in Iraq. Among other things, she stated the importance of sticking to the timetable of June 30 which has been set out in turning the sovereignty over to the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: The decision to extend the stay of some 20,000 U.S. troops will cost roughly an additional $700 million over three months. Congress has been told increased fighting in areas like the city of Fallujah will lead to a projected shortfall of some $4 billion this year. Some Democrats are saying the Bush administration is holding off on asking for more money to pay for the Iraq war for political reasons.
They question whether the White House is deliberately holding off, asking for additional funds until after the November election. Now, many are openly frustrated with the cooperation and information they say they are getting from this administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I think the president has some questions coming from his own Republicans on Iraq. It's time for the administration to get a grip on Iraq. It's a mess. Any policy conceived in secrecy, funded in secrecy, and conducted in secrecy will have these problems. I think it's clear that what the administration is doing is not on the level. It would be political not to point out the shortcomings of the president's policy and ask for an accounting of the money and accountability of the policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Now, separately, Republican Senator John McCain says he thinks the United States needs at least an additional 10,000 troops in Iraq to curb the violence. He says the U.S. must cut its domestic spending to pay for the ongoing operation. McCain says the deteriorating situation is a wakeup call for Washington, calling it the biggest foreign policy test in a generation -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs in Washington, thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Protecting the environment, you'll be hard-pressed to find against it, especially on Earth Day. President Bush spent part of it in the serenity of the Wetlands Reserve in Maine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've come here because this is a great example of people seizing the initiative, a great example of where the government can help, but not stand in the way of commonsense policies that will make a significant difference to the wetlands and the native species. And it sends a clear signal to everybody else around our country that if you want to be a responsible citizen do something about the quality of the life in the community in which you live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Democratic challenger John Kerry is in the president's backyard, the big oil city of Houston. He charges the president's industry-backed environmental policies are contributing to more pollution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The false choice that we've been working on in America these last years is that somehow protecting the environment comes at the expense of jobs and the economy. I don't believe that. I believe that protecting the environment done properly is jobs and it is a strong economy, and it is the future. And it's how we protect ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And for those of you wondering, today marks the 34th Earth Day.
Other news across America. Deja vu, another bird, another power outage at L.A. International Airport. For the second time in less than two weeks, a bird on a power line causes a power outage, this time no flight delays as backup power took over. On Monday, a malfunctioning transformer darkened some airport buildings.
Two small spent nuclear fuel rods are missing from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Employees are searching. Homeland Security is monitoring. An official with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission dismissed worries that the radioactive rods were stolen, saying they were likely misplaced.
And the Queen Mary II arrives in New York from England along with memories of 30-foot seas and gale force winds that gave its inaugural passengers a trip to remember. The worlds' largest ocean liner emerged from the fog this morning under the gaze of onlookers along the New York and Jersey shores; 2,600 people took the six-day luxury voyage. One gushing passenger says essentially you have to see it to believe it.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully, the Queen Mary itself isn't gushing. That would be bad, right?
PHILLIPS: That would not be good.
O'BRIEN: No.
Up next, getting the right and left hand of America's intelligence community to work together, CNN's David Ensor with exclusive access behind closed doors in the world of spooks.
PHILLIPS: And later, a toddler so cute, celebrities can't resist having their picture taken with him. He's an Internet phenomenon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission wants to know why so many warning signs weren't picked up on by the FBI or the CIA.
In a CNN exclusive, national security correspondent David Ensor talks to the man whose job is to fix that problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is an experiment cobbled together a year ago in temporary offices at the CIA. The urgent mission of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center is to make the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies share everything they know about terrorists, a response to the failures to communicate before the 9/11 attacks.
In his first television interview, Director John Brennan told CNN the experiment is working. By comparing FBI and CIA data, he says, TTIC has already identified dangerous terrorists.
JOHN BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, TTIC: And so now we have those names on watch lists.
ENSOR (on camera): From its temporary headquarters here at the CIA, TTIC run a government-only top-secret Web site with about 3.5 million terrorism related documents on it. About 2,500 people worldwide have the clearances necessary to log on.
(voice-over): The goal is to make sure the next time an FBI field agent writes a memo like the one from Phoenix in 2001 warning about Middle Eastern men training to fly passenger jets, that memo will get to every U.S. official who should know about it.
BRENNAN: When that agent in the field, whether they're in Phoenix or whether they're overseas, pushes that button and it arrives at their headquarters, we see it at the same time, the same exact time.
ENSOR: But our traditionally turf conscious agencies really sharing everything with TTIC? Do they have the computers to do so? Not all the bosses believe it.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We need to make sure that the domestic data shows up. And we need to keep pressure to make sure that happens. Otherwise, you're going to have a lot of data and no left hand to meet the right hand.
ENSOR: And the staff director of the joint congressional intelligence inquiry says TTIC analysts don't always get the raw intelligence from the CIA and others.
ELEANOR HILL, FORMER STAFF DIRECTOR, 9/11 CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION: We heard that time and again during our inquiry, complaints from analysts that could not do their job without access to that raw intelligence. ENSOR: But Brennan insists, from the interrogation reports on al Qaeda prisoner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, to FBI wiretaps, his people can see the raw material that they need to.
BRENNAN: I and the analysts in TTIC can see whatever we need that is going to shed light into the threat of terrorism.
ENSOR: Right now, TTIC is based at CIA headquarters, but at the end of May, the center plans to move to one of the most secure buildings ever devised.
BRENNAN: It is being built to in far excess of Oklahoma City standards in terms of its durability, its strength.
ENSOR: The new building is the Tyson's Corner, Virginia, area, officials say. Sources say but officials will not confirm that this is the building that will house a state-of-the-art operations center for TTIC, along with the FBI and CIA's counterterrorism staffs.
BRENNAN: There is going to be no dividing walls between TTIC and CIA and FBI officers. There is going to be a free flow of information and exchange so that as information comes in, information can be shared and acted upon.
ENSOR (on camera): Do you think that another September 11 attack could happen?
BRENNAN: I think that we have positioned this country the best way possible to prevent another occurrence. I am not of the mind that another attack is inevitable.
ENSOR (voice-over): Not inevitable, but the possibility, Brennan admits, sometimes keeps him awake at night.
David Ensor, CNN, Langley, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano's mom called. And we have to left everyone know he's coming up next.
O'BRIEN: Roger, can you take a shot.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano's come in the house.
PHILLIPS: Can you take a shot of weather hottie here?
O'BRIEN: And he's been pleading for a tease now.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: There he is.
(CROSSTALK) ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey.
O'BRIEN: Rob in the house.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead.
MARCIANO: We're coming up next. Severe weather season. We'll be right back.
O'BRIEN: All right.
PHILLIPS: Thank you very much, Rob.
Also, move over, Susan Lucci. Omarosa is coming to daytime.
O'BRIEN: Speaking from Rob to Omarosa, no relation, right?
PHILLIPS: I don't think so. I don't know. That would great for the entertainment buzz.
O'BRIEN: All right, and later, say cheese to the toddler stealing the show at celebrity photo-ops. And we'll meet his kinds of pushy dad, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Go, Madison. All right, good job.
Well, we're talking pretty serious stuff in weather, deadly storms and tornadoes tearing through parts of Illinois. It's been our lead story for a couple days.
MARCIANO: Right.
Well, thankfully, yesterday, things were a little bit more quiet, only baseball-size hail.
PHILLIPS: Only.
MARCIANO: So you take one with the other.
But we have the video of some of the damage. It's tremendous stuff. It was two days ago when that storm, an F-3 tornado, touched down in Illinois. F-3 -- and we name things on 0-5, five being the worst. F-3 means that winds could have easily gotten to miles an hour. And the proof is in the pudding right there; 200 miles an hour will take apart a home without any problem.
So there was big-time trouble just to the south and west of Chicago, a much cooler and more quiet day in this area today. But yesterday was a whole 'nother story. Not so much tornadoes. We had one touchdown of a tornado in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. Hail was the big issue. Winds not quite as set up to see the tornadoes, but the hail was unbelievable, and heavy rain as well.
Now, these, golf-ball-sized hail. But look at it just pile up.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
MARCIANO: In several areas. In Oklahoma City and also in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it was enough to stop traffic as it piled up like snow, three, four, five, even six inches at a time. And I'm not sure we have video of that.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Cue video.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Shoveling hail, as opposed to snow. And some of the hailstones were as big as baseballs. So that could do some damage also.
All right, we'll talk a little bit about the setup, why this is happening. It is severe weather season. Let's go to the graphics and we'll highlight a few things. We have a very slow moving. That boundary, the red and blue line there, that is the boundary between warm and cold air. And that battle zone was here again on Tuesday, was here yesterday, is here again today, and will be here again tomorrow and then again on Saturday.
And the biggest threat for seeing thunderstorms will stretch all the way up towards western Pennsylvania, but the biggest threat for seeing severe thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening would be in the same spots that they saw it yesterday. The eastern parts of Oklahoma and western and northern parts of Arkansas and southern parts of Missouri once again today I think is going to be in the way of a threat for seeing hail.
Here's the latest radar imagery for you, nothing going on in that red box. But this time of year, with this type of setup, if you get sunshine, heat, in that atmosphere, we're going to see thunderstorms pop again. And that red box means that we have a tornado watch out again until 8:00 p.m. tonight. So we'll watch that as it develops.
Tomorrow, not quite as rough, but, on Saturday, as this whole system moves off to the east, we'll look for more storms to develop. And if that's not enough, if that's not crazy enough, Denver, Colorado, will probably wake up to some snowfall tomorrow morning, maybe as much as 10, 15, maybe 20 inches of fresh snow in the mountains to the west of Denver. You know, it's that transition when you go from winter to spring to summer. Mother Nature is doing this battle and we get all sorts of wacky
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: How about that hail? Wow.
O'BRIEN: That is something.
MARCIANO: Yes, 97 reports of hail yesterday. O'BRIEN: OK.
PHILLIPS: Incredible. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
(CROSSTALK)
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: We're going to check entertainment headlines on this April 22.
She incited plenty of passion and plenty of drama on "The Apprentice." So it should come as no surprise that Omarosa is coming to NBC's "Passions." She shot a guest appearance on Tuesday for the soap -- excuse me -- daytime drama. Omarosa plays a woman who shows up looking for a job in the town of Harmony. If she's hired, well, they'll have to change the name of the town. The episode is set to air May 27.
O'BRIEN: Will she work if she gets the job if the question?
PHILLIPS: Probably not.
O'BRIEN: Probably not.
PHILLIPS: This is such a great video. The patriotic passion of singer Toby Keith helped earn him an award from Country Music Television. His video "American Soldier" took home video of the year at CMT's Flameworthy Awards last night.
O'BRIEN: Well, he's just 2 years old, but already he's rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
And, as Jeanne Moos shows us, the New York toddler has the pictures to prove it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may be just learning to talk.
JEREMY ZOREK: Uh-oh. Nice.
MOOS: But somehow he's managed to talk his way into dozens of celebrity photo-ops. From Leno to Billy Crystal to Robin Williams to Halle Berry.
MICHAEL ZOREK, JEREMY'S DAD: It's not the best picture of Jeremy but she looks beautiful.
MOOS: Jeremy's dad posts them all on the Web site whoisthatwithjeremy. com.
J. ZOREK: Who's that? M. ZOREK: That's G. Gordon Liddy.
MOOS: From Watergate to Playboy, sorry, Hef, Jeremy is a boy who plays, not a playboy. Back in the '80s Jeremy's dad was an actor. In a dress, in a mohawk. Now his son's posing with actors like 007, singers like Billy Joel. They run into celebs on the street, go to dozens of book signings. Jeremy's most photographed moment was with none other than Madonna.
(on camera): So are you doing it for fun?
Do you want to have a show biz career?
M. ZOREK: It's for fun. It's for fun. He models. Which is fine. But none of this...
J. ZOREK: Mommy! Mommy!
MOOS (voice-over): We tagged along when Jeremy lined up to meet Danny Aiello signing his new CD.
M. ZOREK: Can you say hi Danny Aiello.
J. ZOREK: Hi Danny Aiello.
M. ZOREK: This is my son Jeremy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jeremy.
M. ZOREK: Can I get a photograph?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
MOOS: A few say no. Among them Mikhail Gorbachev and Paul McCartney. Though Ringo posed.
(on camera): Can you say P. Diddy.
J. ZOREK: P. Diddy.
MOOS (voice-over): From rapper, to former president, there's even a parody Web site now. Who is that eating Jeremy? And someone photo swabbed Jeremy's head onto Michael Jackson's dangling baby. Once in awhile Jeremy fuss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more for the road.
M. ZOREK: He likes -- if you know the ABC song he likes that better.
J. ZOREK: ABCD.
MOOS: This kid's too cool to drool on a celebrity. Makes posing with Santa seem quaint.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: He's a superstar.
All right, that wraps up LIVE FROM.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 22, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the third hour of LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the right place at the right time. And we appreciate you being there. I'm Miles O'Brien.
Here's what is making news at this hour.
Home at last, thousands of members of the 4th Infantry Division back from Iraq safe and sound. As you can imagine, they arrived to a heroes welcome at Fort Hood in Texas. We'll go there in just a moment.
Tragedy on the tracks. Two fuel trains collided and exploded at a train station in North Korea. A great many people are said to have been killed or injured. It's not clear what caused the crash, but it appears it was an accident.
Money for a memorial. The Pentagon has launched a $30 million fund-raising drive to build a memorial for those who died there on 9/11. The plan features a grove of trees, reflecting pools, and 184 benches engraved with the names of the victims.
Maurice Clarett's NFL dream denied. The Supreme Court today rejected Clarett's appeal of a lower court ruling. That means he won't be allowed to participate in the NFL draft this weekend. Clarett is fighting the NFL's requirement that players must wait three years after high school before turning pro. An appeals court had stayed a lower court ruling barring the NFL from enforcing the rule.
PHILLIPS: Well, first this hour, Texas-sized homecoming at the nation's biggest Army base. How's that for a grand entrance. The 4th U.S. Infantry Division is stampeding home after a year of war in Iraq. What a year it was.
Based in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, the 4th I.D. and its task force, Ironhorse, battled insurgents, captured fugitives and confiscated weapons in a wide chunk of northern Iraq. Did we say captured fugitives? Topping that list would have to be the scruffy former dictator whom Ironhorse soldiers ratted out of a hole in the ground in December.
Family food, and famous names in that order we expect are highlighting a full day of Fort Hood festivities.
Our own Keith Oppenheim is front and center in the middle of all the action -- Keith. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
You know, this is a really neat event for us to watch because it gives us a chance to see the military families reflect on the past year, but also to celebrate the fact that they are home. So we can see all those mixed emotions. The main stage is behind me. It's a little quiet right now, but they're going to be revving up the music there in about 15 minutes, and it's all part of this major welcome home celebration where soldiers and their loves ones have been separated for a year, can finally get back together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): From pop to hip-hop, music at Fort Hood is varied and nearly nonstop for the reunited military families. But this day, exciting as it is, is an emotional anti-climax to the last few weeks at Fort Hood, where every few days, soldiers burst into this crowded gym, fell in line, and into the arms of their loved ones. These troops know it means something to say they got home safely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There 's a lot of soldiers that can't say that, and my heart and my prayers go out to those soldiers.
OPPENHEIM: Fort Hood is home to the 4th Infantry Division and members of Task Force Ironhorse, all soldiers who have been in Iraq for a year and credited with capturing Saddam Hussein.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They caught Saddam.
OPPENHEIM: The news of that capture raised hopes that Fort Hood's own would be in less danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take cover!
OPPENHEIM: But as insurgents continued attacks, soldiers from this post lost their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was the light of his dad and mom's eyes.
OPPENHEIM: The family of Sergeant Sean Cataudella was one of those in mourning; 79 troops from the 4th Infantry Division have been killed in action in Iraq. So for the 16,000 returning safely, this is a bittersweet time, where sadness, relief and joy come together at one very big party.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: We are back live now. And you can see all the folks that are milling about here at the welcome home concert. These are people who are enjoying the free food as well as the free music.
And I have a program in hand, Kyra, just to tell you what Wayne Newton has in store for the USO variety show. I think you'll appreciate this. Jessica Simpson is on the list, as well as Ludacris, who you interviewed just a little while ago, Drew Carey and Gary Sinise provide some comedy entertainment. And, of course, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Imagine that. And rumor has it that Wayne Newton is one of Tommy Franks' favorites. He's always there mixing with the troops.
OPPENHEIM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right, Keith, I know you'll be there front and center meeting all those people. Thanks so much. It's a great homecoming. We appreciate your report -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In Iraq, the coalition takes steps it hopes will win over the hearts and minds of disaffected Sunnis. The White House says civil administrator Paul Bremer now is ready to modify a policy that denied former Baathists a position in the military and the government.
Now, meanwhile, there's a setback for efforts to repair Iraqi power plants and other infrastructure. Iraq's electricity minister says German engineering company Siemens has temporarily pulled its employees out of Iraq because of security concerns. And American companies Bechtel and General Electric say they too have scaled back operations.
Burying the dead in Basra. One day after a series of suicide bomb attacks, there are funerals today for victims. British military officials who patrol Basra say it's still too early to say who is responsible.
And reaching out to Iraqi citizens. Administrator Bremer met with teachers and administrators today in Baghdad. It's part of an outreach plan to allow Iraqis to voice their concerns.
Some big questions on Capitol Hill this week. What's the war in Iraq actually going to cost and why isn't the president asking for more money? Between increased violence and plans to extend the stays of American troops in Iraq, the bills are in fact mounting.
CNN's Sean Callebs joining us live from Washington with more -- Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, a lot of questions, and some congressional members saying not enough answers.
As you mentioned, the ongoing fighting in Iraq is pushing the cost of the war over budget. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice made a couple of trips to Capitol Hill, the first this morning to brief top Republicans on the war. And the second one should be wrapping up right about now, this one with Democratic leaders on the Hill. It is a somewhat rare appearance for one of the president's closest advisers, will also provide congressional leadership a chance for some give and take as questions mount about the U.S. involvement in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: We spent an hour talking, discussing, with her answering questions. She gave us a political overview of what's happening in Iraq, an overview with the military what's happening in Iraq. Among other things, she stated the importance of sticking to the timetable of June 30 which has been set out in turning the sovereignty over to the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: The decision to extend the stay of some 20,000 U.S. troops will cost roughly an additional $700 million over three months. Congress has been told increased fighting in areas like the city of Fallujah will lead to a projected shortfall of some $4 billion this year. Some Democrats are saying the Bush administration is holding off on asking for more money to pay for the Iraq war for political reasons.
They question whether the White House is deliberately holding off, asking for additional funds until after the November election. Now, many are openly frustrated with the cooperation and information they say they are getting from this administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I think the president has some questions coming from his own Republicans on Iraq. It's time for the administration to get a grip on Iraq. It's a mess. Any policy conceived in secrecy, funded in secrecy, and conducted in secrecy will have these problems. I think it's clear that what the administration is doing is not on the level. It would be political not to point out the shortcomings of the president's policy and ask for an accounting of the money and accountability of the policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Now, separately, Republican Senator John McCain says he thinks the United States needs at least an additional 10,000 troops in Iraq to curb the violence. He says the U.S. must cut its domestic spending to pay for the ongoing operation. McCain says the deteriorating situation is a wakeup call for Washington, calling it the biggest foreign policy test in a generation -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs in Washington, thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Protecting the environment, you'll be hard-pressed to find against it, especially on Earth Day. President Bush spent part of it in the serenity of the Wetlands Reserve in Maine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've come here because this is a great example of people seizing the initiative, a great example of where the government can help, but not stand in the way of commonsense policies that will make a significant difference to the wetlands and the native species. And it sends a clear signal to everybody else around our country that if you want to be a responsible citizen do something about the quality of the life in the community in which you live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Democratic challenger John Kerry is in the president's backyard, the big oil city of Houston. He charges the president's industry-backed environmental policies are contributing to more pollution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The false choice that we've been working on in America these last years is that somehow protecting the environment comes at the expense of jobs and the economy. I don't believe that. I believe that protecting the environment done properly is jobs and it is a strong economy, and it is the future. And it's how we protect ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And for those of you wondering, today marks the 34th Earth Day.
Other news across America. Deja vu, another bird, another power outage at L.A. International Airport. For the second time in less than two weeks, a bird on a power line causes a power outage, this time no flight delays as backup power took over. On Monday, a malfunctioning transformer darkened some airport buildings.
Two small spent nuclear fuel rods are missing from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Employees are searching. Homeland Security is monitoring. An official with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission dismissed worries that the radioactive rods were stolen, saying they were likely misplaced.
And the Queen Mary II arrives in New York from England along with memories of 30-foot seas and gale force winds that gave its inaugural passengers a trip to remember. The worlds' largest ocean liner emerged from the fog this morning under the gaze of onlookers along the New York and Jersey shores; 2,600 people took the six-day luxury voyage. One gushing passenger says essentially you have to see it to believe it.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully, the Queen Mary itself isn't gushing. That would be bad, right?
PHILLIPS: That would not be good.
O'BRIEN: No.
Up next, getting the right and left hand of America's intelligence community to work together, CNN's David Ensor with exclusive access behind closed doors in the world of spooks.
PHILLIPS: And later, a toddler so cute, celebrities can't resist having their picture taken with him. He's an Internet phenomenon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission wants to know why so many warning signs weren't picked up on by the FBI or the CIA.
In a CNN exclusive, national security correspondent David Ensor talks to the man whose job is to fix that problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is an experiment cobbled together a year ago in temporary offices at the CIA. The urgent mission of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center is to make the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies share everything they know about terrorists, a response to the failures to communicate before the 9/11 attacks.
In his first television interview, Director John Brennan told CNN the experiment is working. By comparing FBI and CIA data, he says, TTIC has already identified dangerous terrorists.
JOHN BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, TTIC: And so now we have those names on watch lists.
ENSOR (on camera): From its temporary headquarters here at the CIA, TTIC run a government-only top-secret Web site with about 3.5 million terrorism related documents on it. About 2,500 people worldwide have the clearances necessary to log on.
(voice-over): The goal is to make sure the next time an FBI field agent writes a memo like the one from Phoenix in 2001 warning about Middle Eastern men training to fly passenger jets, that memo will get to every U.S. official who should know about it.
BRENNAN: When that agent in the field, whether they're in Phoenix or whether they're overseas, pushes that button and it arrives at their headquarters, we see it at the same time, the same exact time.
ENSOR: But our traditionally turf conscious agencies really sharing everything with TTIC? Do they have the computers to do so? Not all the bosses believe it.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We need to make sure that the domestic data shows up. And we need to keep pressure to make sure that happens. Otherwise, you're going to have a lot of data and no left hand to meet the right hand.
ENSOR: And the staff director of the joint congressional intelligence inquiry says TTIC analysts don't always get the raw intelligence from the CIA and others.
ELEANOR HILL, FORMER STAFF DIRECTOR, 9/11 CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION: We heard that time and again during our inquiry, complaints from analysts that could not do their job without access to that raw intelligence. ENSOR: But Brennan insists, from the interrogation reports on al Qaeda prisoner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, to FBI wiretaps, his people can see the raw material that they need to.
BRENNAN: I and the analysts in TTIC can see whatever we need that is going to shed light into the threat of terrorism.
ENSOR: Right now, TTIC is based at CIA headquarters, but at the end of May, the center plans to move to one of the most secure buildings ever devised.
BRENNAN: It is being built to in far excess of Oklahoma City standards in terms of its durability, its strength.
ENSOR: The new building is the Tyson's Corner, Virginia, area, officials say. Sources say but officials will not confirm that this is the building that will house a state-of-the-art operations center for TTIC, along with the FBI and CIA's counterterrorism staffs.
BRENNAN: There is going to be no dividing walls between TTIC and CIA and FBI officers. There is going to be a free flow of information and exchange so that as information comes in, information can be shared and acted upon.
ENSOR (on camera): Do you think that another September 11 attack could happen?
BRENNAN: I think that we have positioned this country the best way possible to prevent another occurrence. I am not of the mind that another attack is inevitable.
ENSOR (voice-over): Not inevitable, but the possibility, Brennan admits, sometimes keeps him awake at night.
David Ensor, CNN, Langley, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano's mom called. And we have to left everyone know he's coming up next.
O'BRIEN: Roger, can you take a shot.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano's come in the house.
PHILLIPS: Can you take a shot of weather hottie here?
O'BRIEN: And he's been pleading for a tease now.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: There he is.
(CROSSTALK) ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey.
O'BRIEN: Rob in the house.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead.
MARCIANO: We're coming up next. Severe weather season. We'll be right back.
O'BRIEN: All right.
PHILLIPS: Thank you very much, Rob.
Also, move over, Susan Lucci. Omarosa is coming to daytime.
O'BRIEN: Speaking from Rob to Omarosa, no relation, right?
PHILLIPS: I don't think so. I don't know. That would great for the entertainment buzz.
O'BRIEN: All right, and later, say cheese to the toddler stealing the show at celebrity photo-ops. And we'll meet his kinds of pushy dad, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Go, Madison. All right, good job.
Well, we're talking pretty serious stuff in weather, deadly storms and tornadoes tearing through parts of Illinois. It's been our lead story for a couple days.
MARCIANO: Right.
Well, thankfully, yesterday, things were a little bit more quiet, only baseball-size hail.
PHILLIPS: Only.
MARCIANO: So you take one with the other.
But we have the video of some of the damage. It's tremendous stuff. It was two days ago when that storm, an F-3 tornado, touched down in Illinois. F-3 -- and we name things on 0-5, five being the worst. F-3 means that winds could have easily gotten to miles an hour. And the proof is in the pudding right there; 200 miles an hour will take apart a home without any problem.
So there was big-time trouble just to the south and west of Chicago, a much cooler and more quiet day in this area today. But yesterday was a whole 'nother story. Not so much tornadoes. We had one touchdown of a tornado in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. Hail was the big issue. Winds not quite as set up to see the tornadoes, but the hail was unbelievable, and heavy rain as well.
Now, these, golf-ball-sized hail. But look at it just pile up.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
MARCIANO: In several areas. In Oklahoma City and also in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it was enough to stop traffic as it piled up like snow, three, four, five, even six inches at a time. And I'm not sure we have video of that.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Cue video.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Shoveling hail, as opposed to snow. And some of the hailstones were as big as baseballs. So that could do some damage also.
All right, we'll talk a little bit about the setup, why this is happening. It is severe weather season. Let's go to the graphics and we'll highlight a few things. We have a very slow moving. That boundary, the red and blue line there, that is the boundary between warm and cold air. And that battle zone was here again on Tuesday, was here yesterday, is here again today, and will be here again tomorrow and then again on Saturday.
And the biggest threat for seeing thunderstorms will stretch all the way up towards western Pennsylvania, but the biggest threat for seeing severe thunderstorms later this afternoon and evening would be in the same spots that they saw it yesterday. The eastern parts of Oklahoma and western and northern parts of Arkansas and southern parts of Missouri once again today I think is going to be in the way of a threat for seeing hail.
Here's the latest radar imagery for you, nothing going on in that red box. But this time of year, with this type of setup, if you get sunshine, heat, in that atmosphere, we're going to see thunderstorms pop again. And that red box means that we have a tornado watch out again until 8:00 p.m. tonight. So we'll watch that as it develops.
Tomorrow, not quite as rough, but, on Saturday, as this whole system moves off to the east, we'll look for more storms to develop. And if that's not enough, if that's not crazy enough, Denver, Colorado, will probably wake up to some snowfall tomorrow morning, maybe as much as 10, 15, maybe 20 inches of fresh snow in the mountains to the west of Denver. You know, it's that transition when you go from winter to spring to summer. Mother Nature is doing this battle and we get all sorts of wacky
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: How about that hail? Wow.
O'BRIEN: That is something.
MARCIANO: Yes, 97 reports of hail yesterday. O'BRIEN: OK.
PHILLIPS: Incredible. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
(CROSSTALK)
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: We're going to check entertainment headlines on this April 22.
She incited plenty of passion and plenty of drama on "The Apprentice." So it should come as no surprise that Omarosa is coming to NBC's "Passions." She shot a guest appearance on Tuesday for the soap -- excuse me -- daytime drama. Omarosa plays a woman who shows up looking for a job in the town of Harmony. If she's hired, well, they'll have to change the name of the town. The episode is set to air May 27.
O'BRIEN: Will she work if she gets the job if the question?
PHILLIPS: Probably not.
O'BRIEN: Probably not.
PHILLIPS: This is such a great video. The patriotic passion of singer Toby Keith helped earn him an award from Country Music Television. His video "American Soldier" took home video of the year at CMT's Flameworthy Awards last night.
O'BRIEN: Well, he's just 2 years old, but already he's rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
And, as Jeanne Moos shows us, the New York toddler has the pictures to prove it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may be just learning to talk.
JEREMY ZOREK: Uh-oh. Nice.
MOOS: But somehow he's managed to talk his way into dozens of celebrity photo-ops. From Leno to Billy Crystal to Robin Williams to Halle Berry.
MICHAEL ZOREK, JEREMY'S DAD: It's not the best picture of Jeremy but she looks beautiful.
MOOS: Jeremy's dad posts them all on the Web site whoisthatwithjeremy. com.
J. ZOREK: Who's that? M. ZOREK: That's G. Gordon Liddy.
MOOS: From Watergate to Playboy, sorry, Hef, Jeremy is a boy who plays, not a playboy. Back in the '80s Jeremy's dad was an actor. In a dress, in a mohawk. Now his son's posing with actors like 007, singers like Billy Joel. They run into celebs on the street, go to dozens of book signings. Jeremy's most photographed moment was with none other than Madonna.
(on camera): So are you doing it for fun?
Do you want to have a show biz career?
M. ZOREK: It's for fun. It's for fun. He models. Which is fine. But none of this...
J. ZOREK: Mommy! Mommy!
MOOS (voice-over): We tagged along when Jeremy lined up to meet Danny Aiello signing his new CD.
M. ZOREK: Can you say hi Danny Aiello.
J. ZOREK: Hi Danny Aiello.
M. ZOREK: This is my son Jeremy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jeremy.
M. ZOREK: Can I get a photograph?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
MOOS: A few say no. Among them Mikhail Gorbachev and Paul McCartney. Though Ringo posed.
(on camera): Can you say P. Diddy.
J. ZOREK: P. Diddy.
MOOS (voice-over): From rapper, to former president, there's even a parody Web site now. Who is that eating Jeremy? And someone photo swabbed Jeremy's head onto Michael Jackson's dangling baby. Once in awhile Jeremy fuss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more for the road.
M. ZOREK: He likes -- if you know the ABC song he likes that better.
J. ZOREK: ABCD.
MOOS: This kid's too cool to drool on a celebrity. Makes posing with Santa seem quaint.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: He's a superstar.
All right, that wraps up LIVE FROM.
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