Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

'Wash. Post' Publishes New Abu Ghraib Pictures; SBC Workers Walk Off Job

Aired May 21, 2004 - 12:59   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Prisoners released from the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison on a day when more gruesome details emerge about what happened inside.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: A suicide bomb warning. The FBI puts American law enforcement on alert. What are they being told to watch for?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it this way. Now I know how women feel when their husbands leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Double-duty dad. A Marine becomes "Mr. Mom," or as his kids call him, sir, when his wife gets called off to war.

GRIFFIN: And preparing for Europe's biggest royal wedding since Charles and Diana. The world will be watching Felipe and Letizia.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Drew Griffin.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today. LVIE FROM... starts right now.

Up first this hour, more scenes and new claims from Abu Ghraib. While the Pentagon contemplates whether and how to make its own archive of photos and videos public, another batch has surfaced in "The Washington Oost." And these come with firsthand accounts under oath in vivid detail by some of the alleged victims. Our details come from CNN's Barbara Starr, joining us from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, there is both video and still pictures. And investigators are scouring all of these images, looking for more details, identities of the soldiers that are shown, looking to see who else might be involved in this abuse scandal.

Video, look at this, this is a U.S. soldier there striking an Iraqi detainee. Other soldiers watching. What you will see next is an Iraqi prisoner naked, shackled, being dragged along the floor. And then after that, coming right up you are going to see another Iraqi -- an Iraqi detainee being made, naked, to be on his hands and knees, apparently the beginning of that human pyramid that was shown in still pictures. "The Washington Post," Miles, also publishing about half a dozen additional still pictures, equally disturbing here. U.S. troop kneeling on top of naked Iraqis on the floor of the prison while other soldiers watch. Next, a baton-wielding soldier and an Iraqi man covered in some sort of substance. And additionally, we also see a U.S. soldier with his fist cocked against other Iraqi detainee.

Now, Miles, the Pentagon knows that there are hundred of photos out there. They have been quite concerned about some of them coming to light. Obviously, concerned, worried about world reaction. But General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on Capitol Hill earlier today, talking about the concern that everything be allowed to let the criminal investigation go forward, concern that some of the publicity about these photos may hurt.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHMN., JOINT CHIEFS: I certainly hope they don't hurt the judicial process because it's very important that those -- and I think the world is watching, that those who have been alleged to have committed some of these acts go through the process and those that are guilty appropriately punished. And I would hope that leaks and -- leaks of manuscripts or pictures or whatever don't hurt that process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So General Myers trying to make the case, Miles, for preserving the criminal justice process within the U.S. military. It is unlikely, we are told, that the Pentagon will officially release any of this additional material. There is also concern obviously about the Geneva Conventions, concern that the U.S. not officially be in the position of putting out photographs or other images that would be seen to hold detainees up to public ridicule. So the news media certainly has more to share. The Pentagon bracing for additional reaction across the Arab world -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Barbara, at this juncture, going back to the argument about how this might harm the judicial process, what could be the harm at this point with so many pictures already out?

STARR: Well, it is very similar, actually, to the integrity of the civilian justice process when there is a criminal proceeding. Criminal investigators, when they turn their material over to prosecutors, they want to make sure that evidence has essentially been preserved.

The Army's Criminal Investigative Command, the CID, still has a very active open criminal investigation. They are looking at this material. They are trying to find out who else might be involved. And it was General Abizaid, who on Capitol Hill earlier this week, said beware, those who have faced only administrative punishment, their cases might be reopened if additional evidence come to light. All of this still a very active criminal investigation process -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks much.

Hundreds more Iraqis left Abu Ghraib behind today as we told you a few moments ago, in-line with coalition plans to trim the prison's population by almost a half. From Baghdad, meanwhile, word that four people have been held somewhere and questioned in the decapitation of the American citizen Nicholas Berg. And two of those have been released as well.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More prisoners were released from Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad today. Four hundred and seventy- two prisoners were processed throughout the day. Many of them at one point had been deemed to be security threats, but were later slated for release.

Throughout the day, hundreds of people gathered outside of Abu Ghraib Prison for hours to see if their relatives would be among the released. The detainee population at Abu Ghraib now stands at roughly 3000. At some point there were more than 6000 prisoners inside of Abu Ghraib Prison.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Governing Council met in an emergency session to discuss the implication of yesterday's raid on the headquarters of council member Ahmed Chalabi. The raid was conducted yesterday by Iraqi national police who were supported by U.S. troops.

An Iraqi judge said some of Chalabi's associates were targeted in that raid for their alleged involvement in government fraud, kidnapping and other charges. Chalabi says the raid was ordered by the U.S. as retaliation for his showing too much independence from U.S. policy in Iraq.

Meanwhile, U.S. official in Baghdad have said that four people have been detained for questioning in connection with the beheading of U.S. civilian Nicholas Berg. They said that two of those who had been detained have been released and that two others could be released after further questioning.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

GRIFFIN: Elsewhere in Iraq, in Shiite country, the war's the story. Many more members of the Mehdi militia are dead. CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. forces in Najaf.

She filed this report just before the sun went down, that was about an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: U.S. forces in Najaf say they may have killed more than two dozen suspected Mehdi militia members and detained at least two of them. Those two detained while they were in a car, a black sedan, speeding outside of Kufa or Najaf when they hit a U.S. Army checkpoint.

Officials here say they fired at that checkpoint, the military fired back. Senior coalition official says the driver was killed. Two other Mehdi militia members are in custody. And that wasn't the only gun battle in Najaf on this Friday, supposedly, the Muslim holy day of rest.

Gun battles across the city where U.S. forces set up patrols and checkpoints. Mortar fire was exchanged, including mortar fired at the Iraqi police station, the main police station in Najaf, where three U.S. soldiers slightly wounded by shrapnel.

Other mortars were fired at the main U.S. Army base here in Najaf. Rocket propelled grenades fired at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) checkpoints, as well as small arms. The U.S. military responded with cannon fire in some places. An indication that while they are still hoping for a political settlement that would dissolve the militia loyal to Muqtada al Sadr, it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from Najaf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Here in the U.S., new beginnings are President Bush's focus, both today with a graduation speech at LSU, down at Louisiana, and Monday with the prime-time address on the U.S. plan to transfer power in Iraq.

CNN's Dana Bash weighs in with that from the bayou -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, on Iraq, polls of course have been showing recently that there's a steady decline among Americans for the mission in Iraq because of the mounting casualties, and also with the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal continuing.

So the White House decided that they needed the president to be out there to explain, to reassure Americans, about the mission in Iraq, particularly between now and June 30, when the handover for sovereignty, at least for an interim -- or at least modified government by the Iraqis does take hold.

So the White House announced today that the first presidential address in what they call "the way forward" will be in prime time Monday night. They hope here -- the White House hopes to have the biggest audience possible, although they are not asking networks to break in. But certainly, the suggestion is that they hope that they do because they're calling it an important speech.

The president will be making this speech at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. And he will be talking, according to White House spokesman, about sovereignty in Iraq, about security in Iraq, the humanitarian mission, and also just broadly talk about what will happen in the near future in terms of what Americans can expect.

That is something that the White House understands Americans are uncertain about, what exactly the June 30 deadline means, what exactly will happen after that, so the president will be trying to insert his voice in a more aggressive way, according to one senior official, to talk about that.

Now that is, of course, serious. Here at LSU today, the president gave a commencement address that was much more light-hearted than what we'll hear in the future from Mr. Bush. He talked about his own academic record in a self-deprecating way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But you earned your degrees, and you too can leave today with high hopes. I speak with some authority here.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I've seen how things can work out pretty well for a "C" student.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now this is the second presidential commencement address of the graduation and campaign seasons. They are certainly not unrelated. Mr. Bush spoke last week in Wisconsin. That is a state that he lost by a razor thin margin to Al Gore. Louisiana is a state that he won handily, but Senator John Kerry has been campaigning and wants to compete here in the state so the White House and the Bush campaign, they don't want to take anything for granted -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Dana Bash, LIVE FROM.. Louisiana, thank you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Communications breakdown. Thousands of phone workers walked the lines instead of manning them. A look at the impact ahead on LIVE FROM...

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. A warning from the FBI, be on guard as the busy summertime holiday season heats up.

O'BRIEN: And he won't ask for directions and she wants to talk about how she feels. Are men and women wired differently? Of course they are. Exploring the mysteries of the mind ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Be on the lookout. The FBI warning state and local law enforcement to watch for signs of potential suicide bombers in this country. CNN's Sean Callebs is keeping tabs on that story in Washington -- Sean.

CALLEBS: Exactly, Drew. The warning is out. But at the same time, the FBI says no hard intelligence, no specific threat that an attack is imminent. This is a caution the bureau sent out in a regular weekly memo. It goes out to 18,000 agency offices throughout the nation. The concern here, the environment is ripe for a terrorist attack.

Agency officials point to the Middle East, even global outrage over the abuse photos that continue to surface from Abu Ghraib Prison scandal in Baghdad. They say extremist rhetoric is on the rise, and again part of the fallout from those damaging pictures. U.S. officials are trying to make those considered on the front lines in the war on terror to make sure their guard is up in the coming days and weeks ahead -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Sean, I know they keep this pretty close to the vest, but are they saying that the potential is that there are sympathizers in this country or coming in from other countries that may carry out these attacks?

CALLEBS: At this point, they have no information that there could be operatives here already working or people could be coming into the country. Basically what they're saying, there are a number of high-profile events that are coming up in the weeks and months ahead, the kind of very public gatherings that could be vulnerable to a suicide bomber attack.

Now these are such items as the Memorial Day weekend celebration, you'll see people at the beaches, the dedication of the World War II Memorial right here in Washington. That is expected to draw as many as 800,000 people. Patriotic holidays such as July 4 remain big concerns for officials as well.

Now here's what they say to be on the lookout for specifically: people wearing bulky jackets on hot summer days; a strong odor of chemicals; even tightly clenched fists, officials point out, is often very difficult to detect suicide bombers. Rarely is there ever any kind of advanced intelligence. Soft targets, shopping areas, things of that nature, they say, are nearly impossible to protect from such an attack -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Sean, thank you very much.

GRIFFIN: In news around the world now, standing down in Gaza. After a week of deadly clashes there with Palestinians in Rafah, Israeli troops began pulling out of that area today. The Palestinian Health Ministry says 40 Palestinians have died and 107 have been hurt since Tuesday when this crackdown began.

A somber anniversary today in India. But political business keeps Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi from traveling to the southern India town where her husband Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber 13 years ago today. She marked the date with ceremonies in New Delhi before returning to the tasks of putting together the new government there.

And rolling out the red carpeting along with the highest possible security in Madrid. Tomorrow, the royal wedding of the Spain's Crown Prince Felipe to a commoner. But mindful of the recent train bombings, the bride and groom have scaled back on some of the traditional celebrations. In one case a street dance has been canceled and the money will be donated to the victims' charity.

O'BRIEN: Thirty-nine years ago, the late Jack Case (ph) was water-skiing on Colorado's Prospect Lake when he lost his wedding ring. Today, the ring is back in loving hands thanks to a sharp-eyed treasure hunter. You see, when the city started draining Prospect Lake to make some repairs, an army of treasure hunters showed up, their headsets on, metal detectors in hand. Jack's widow, Carolyn Case Greening (ph), heard about this, got in touch with one of the searchers and asked him to look for her husband's ring. A minor miracle later, she has her precious memento back.

O'BRIEN: Well, togetherness is a beautiful thing until you get in the car that is. No matter how rational, liberated, or considerate the couple, it is a documented fact they will lose it on a road trip. Science has proven this. That's because women insist on the entirely unnecessary step of stopping to ask for directions, Sandy (ph). Now, if it helps you to know this, the whole thing may have something to do with the difference between men's and women's brain. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer on the pink and the blue of gray matter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For thousands of year, men and women have baffled each other by their differences, differences that are the results of the hard wiring of our brains.

DR. REUBEN GUR, UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA: We are still the same animals. We haven't changed physically since we were roaming the savannahs. We haven't really changed in our brain.

FIRFER: Dr. Reuben Gur has been studying the brain for more than 25 years. He says while men's brains can be 10 to 15 percent larger in size, women have more fibers that connect the two sides of the brain together. That would mean...

GUR: There is more tissue available for transferring information between the two sides of the brain. That's why we think that women have better inter-hemispheric communication.

FIRFER: Anthropologist Helen Fisher says there's a reason.

HELEN FISHER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: I think that women's ability at communication evolved million of years ago on the grasslands of Africa as women held that baby in front of their face, cajoling it, reprimanding it, educating it with words.

FIRFER: As caregivers, researchers say women's brains were also wired to give them stronger senses, to smell if food is bad, to taste if it may be poisonous, and to hear when that baby is crying. What about men who refuse to ask for directions? Researchers say men have more white matter which moves information more easily to the back of the brain where the visual cortex lies, a sort of internal compass if you will.

FISHER: For millions of years, they set out just about every morning to go out, to surround, and track and follow and kill.

FIRFER: And if they didn't make it home, their family would starve. So why do we have these biological differences? Well, many say they allow us to work together to survive.

Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Well you can watch more of the series, "Unlocking the Secrets of the Brain," tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

Freedom for a man accused of a terror connection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to thank my family and friends who were supporting me through this, what I'll call a harrowing ordeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: What's the next move for the American lawyer who was held for alleged ties to the Madrid train bombings?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS SR. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Allan Chernoff in Meriden, Connecticut, where there is a classic standoff between striking telephone workers and SBC Communication. We'll have detail of the strike.

O'BRIEN: And an abandoned girl's mystery may now be solved. Family members come forward to claim her. The rest of the story ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: From manning the phone lines to walking the picket lines. Tens of thousands of SBC Communications workers are making that transition today. Their hang-ups over management's latest contract offer have prompted a four-day strike that began just after midnight. The striking union, representing nearly 100,000 SBC workers in 13 states, including Connecticut.

CNN's financial unit, Allan Chernoff joining us live from the Nutmeg State with more on that. Hello, Allan.

CHERNOFF: Hello, Miles. And the strikers are extending all the way from Connecticut to California, 13 states that SBC Communication provides phone service. It has been a long job here, because they have been negotiating for three months and still have been unable to reach a new contract. The issues, very familiar here, we're talking about wages, health care benefits, and also job security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HONGO, PRESIDENT, CWA LOCAL 1298: We're here today because we want to try to force SBC back to the table. Contract negotiations have broken down and it's one of those things where you want to do whatever you have to do to get the other side back to the table so we can negotiate a fair contract.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Well, SBC Communications is in a declining business. In fact, its revenue has been declining for 2 1/2 years. It's been losing local phone customers to upstart phone companies, and now to cable television companies, which are providing phone service. The company, SBC, has offered six different contracts and it says it has gone as far as it can go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEVERLY LEVY, SBC SPOKESWOMAN: The union has to understand the telecommunications industry has changed. Our business has changed. We're in a very competitive business. We appreciate our employees. We value them. And that's why we have such a good offer on the table. The first year, there's a 4 percent lump sum payment that's very generous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Regular phone operations, though, are pretty much unaffected because they're all automated now. The network operations that we visited in the building right behind me, they seem to be running just fine. Managers filling in for the strikers right now. But people who want to get repair or installation, they will probably experience some delays.

Now, there is a negotiation scheduled here in Connecticut this afternoon, a regional negotiation, to focus on job security and perhaps they can make some progress on that very important issue.

Drew, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Allan Chernoff.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 May 21, 2004 - 12:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Prisoners released from the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison on a day when more gruesome details emerge about what happened inside.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: A suicide bomb warning. The FBI puts American law enforcement on alert. What are they being told to watch for?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it this way. Now I know how women feel when their husbands leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Double-duty dad. A Marine becomes "Mr. Mom," or as his kids call him, sir, when his wife gets called off to war.

GRIFFIN: And preparing for Europe's biggest royal wedding since Charles and Diana. The world will be watching Felipe and Letizia.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Drew Griffin.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today. LVIE FROM... starts right now.

Up first this hour, more scenes and new claims from Abu Ghraib. While the Pentagon contemplates whether and how to make its own archive of photos and videos public, another batch has surfaced in "The Washington Oost." And these come with firsthand accounts under oath in vivid detail by some of the alleged victims. Our details come from CNN's Barbara Starr, joining us from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, there is both video and still pictures. And investigators are scouring all of these images, looking for more details, identities of the soldiers that are shown, looking to see who else might be involved in this abuse scandal.

Video, look at this, this is a U.S. soldier there striking an Iraqi detainee. Other soldiers watching. What you will see next is an Iraqi prisoner naked, shackled, being dragged along the floor. And then after that, coming right up you are going to see another Iraqi -- an Iraqi detainee being made, naked, to be on his hands and knees, apparently the beginning of that human pyramid that was shown in still pictures. "The Washington Post," Miles, also publishing about half a dozen additional still pictures, equally disturbing here. U.S. troop kneeling on top of naked Iraqis on the floor of the prison while other soldiers watch. Next, a baton-wielding soldier and an Iraqi man covered in some sort of substance. And additionally, we also see a U.S. soldier with his fist cocked against other Iraqi detainee.

Now, Miles, the Pentagon knows that there are hundred of photos out there. They have been quite concerned about some of them coming to light. Obviously, concerned, worried about world reaction. But General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on Capitol Hill earlier today, talking about the concern that everything be allowed to let the criminal investigation go forward, concern that some of the publicity about these photos may hurt.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHMN., JOINT CHIEFS: I certainly hope they don't hurt the judicial process because it's very important that those -- and I think the world is watching, that those who have been alleged to have committed some of these acts go through the process and those that are guilty appropriately punished. And I would hope that leaks and -- leaks of manuscripts or pictures or whatever don't hurt that process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So General Myers trying to make the case, Miles, for preserving the criminal justice process within the U.S. military. It is unlikely, we are told, that the Pentagon will officially release any of this additional material. There is also concern obviously about the Geneva Conventions, concern that the U.S. not officially be in the position of putting out photographs or other images that would be seen to hold detainees up to public ridicule. So the news media certainly has more to share. The Pentagon bracing for additional reaction across the Arab world -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Barbara, at this juncture, going back to the argument about how this might harm the judicial process, what could be the harm at this point with so many pictures already out?

STARR: Well, it is very similar, actually, to the integrity of the civilian justice process when there is a criminal proceeding. Criminal investigators, when they turn their material over to prosecutors, they want to make sure that evidence has essentially been preserved.

The Army's Criminal Investigative Command, the CID, still has a very active open criminal investigation. They are looking at this material. They are trying to find out who else might be involved. And it was General Abizaid, who on Capitol Hill earlier this week, said beware, those who have faced only administrative punishment, their cases might be reopened if additional evidence come to light. All of this still a very active criminal investigation process -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks much.

Hundreds more Iraqis left Abu Ghraib behind today as we told you a few moments ago, in-line with coalition plans to trim the prison's population by almost a half. From Baghdad, meanwhile, word that four people have been held somewhere and questioned in the decapitation of the American citizen Nicholas Berg. And two of those have been released as well.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More prisoners were released from Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad today. Four hundred and seventy- two prisoners were processed throughout the day. Many of them at one point had been deemed to be security threats, but were later slated for release.

Throughout the day, hundreds of people gathered outside of Abu Ghraib Prison for hours to see if their relatives would be among the released. The detainee population at Abu Ghraib now stands at roughly 3000. At some point there were more than 6000 prisoners inside of Abu Ghraib Prison.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Governing Council met in an emergency session to discuss the implication of yesterday's raid on the headquarters of council member Ahmed Chalabi. The raid was conducted yesterday by Iraqi national police who were supported by U.S. troops.

An Iraqi judge said some of Chalabi's associates were targeted in that raid for their alleged involvement in government fraud, kidnapping and other charges. Chalabi says the raid was ordered by the U.S. as retaliation for his showing too much independence from U.S. policy in Iraq.

Meanwhile, U.S. official in Baghdad have said that four people have been detained for questioning in connection with the beheading of U.S. civilian Nicholas Berg. They said that two of those who had been detained have been released and that two others could be released after further questioning.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

GRIFFIN: Elsewhere in Iraq, in Shiite country, the war's the story. Many more members of the Mehdi militia are dead. CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. forces in Najaf.

She filed this report just before the sun went down, that was about an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: U.S. forces in Najaf say they may have killed more than two dozen suspected Mehdi militia members and detained at least two of them. Those two detained while they were in a car, a black sedan, speeding outside of Kufa or Najaf when they hit a U.S. Army checkpoint.

Officials here say they fired at that checkpoint, the military fired back. Senior coalition official says the driver was killed. Two other Mehdi militia members are in custody. And that wasn't the only gun battle in Najaf on this Friday, supposedly, the Muslim holy day of rest.

Gun battles across the city where U.S. forces set up patrols and checkpoints. Mortar fire was exchanged, including mortar fired at the Iraqi police station, the main police station in Najaf, where three U.S. soldiers slightly wounded by shrapnel.

Other mortars were fired at the main U.S. Army base here in Najaf. Rocket propelled grenades fired at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) checkpoints, as well as small arms. The U.S. military responded with cannon fire in some places. An indication that while they are still hoping for a political settlement that would dissolve the militia loyal to Muqtada al Sadr, it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from Najaf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Here in the U.S., new beginnings are President Bush's focus, both today with a graduation speech at LSU, down at Louisiana, and Monday with the prime-time address on the U.S. plan to transfer power in Iraq.

CNN's Dana Bash weighs in with that from the bayou -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, on Iraq, polls of course have been showing recently that there's a steady decline among Americans for the mission in Iraq because of the mounting casualties, and also with the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal continuing.

So the White House decided that they needed the president to be out there to explain, to reassure Americans, about the mission in Iraq, particularly between now and June 30, when the handover for sovereignty, at least for an interim -- or at least modified government by the Iraqis does take hold.

So the White House announced today that the first presidential address in what they call "the way forward" will be in prime time Monday night. They hope here -- the White House hopes to have the biggest audience possible, although they are not asking networks to break in. But certainly, the suggestion is that they hope that they do because they're calling it an important speech.

The president will be making this speech at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. And he will be talking, according to White House spokesman, about sovereignty in Iraq, about security in Iraq, the humanitarian mission, and also just broadly talk about what will happen in the near future in terms of what Americans can expect.

That is something that the White House understands Americans are uncertain about, what exactly the June 30 deadline means, what exactly will happen after that, so the president will be trying to insert his voice in a more aggressive way, according to one senior official, to talk about that.

Now that is, of course, serious. Here at LSU today, the president gave a commencement address that was much more light-hearted than what we'll hear in the future from Mr. Bush. He talked about his own academic record in a self-deprecating way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But you earned your degrees, and you too can leave today with high hopes. I speak with some authority here.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I've seen how things can work out pretty well for a "C" student.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now this is the second presidential commencement address of the graduation and campaign seasons. They are certainly not unrelated. Mr. Bush spoke last week in Wisconsin. That is a state that he lost by a razor thin margin to Al Gore. Louisiana is a state that he won handily, but Senator John Kerry has been campaigning and wants to compete here in the state so the White House and the Bush campaign, they don't want to take anything for granted -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Dana Bash, LIVE FROM.. Louisiana, thank you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Communications breakdown. Thousands of phone workers walked the lines instead of manning them. A look at the impact ahead on LIVE FROM...

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. A warning from the FBI, be on guard as the busy summertime holiday season heats up.

O'BRIEN: And he won't ask for directions and she wants to talk about how she feels. Are men and women wired differently? Of course they are. Exploring the mysteries of the mind ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Be on the lookout. The FBI warning state and local law enforcement to watch for signs of potential suicide bombers in this country. CNN's Sean Callebs is keeping tabs on that story in Washington -- Sean.

CALLEBS: Exactly, Drew. The warning is out. But at the same time, the FBI says no hard intelligence, no specific threat that an attack is imminent. This is a caution the bureau sent out in a regular weekly memo. It goes out to 18,000 agency offices throughout the nation. The concern here, the environment is ripe for a terrorist attack.

Agency officials point to the Middle East, even global outrage over the abuse photos that continue to surface from Abu Ghraib Prison scandal in Baghdad. They say extremist rhetoric is on the rise, and again part of the fallout from those damaging pictures. U.S. officials are trying to make those considered on the front lines in the war on terror to make sure their guard is up in the coming days and weeks ahead -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Sean, I know they keep this pretty close to the vest, but are they saying that the potential is that there are sympathizers in this country or coming in from other countries that may carry out these attacks?

CALLEBS: At this point, they have no information that there could be operatives here already working or people could be coming into the country. Basically what they're saying, there are a number of high-profile events that are coming up in the weeks and months ahead, the kind of very public gatherings that could be vulnerable to a suicide bomber attack.

Now these are such items as the Memorial Day weekend celebration, you'll see people at the beaches, the dedication of the World War II Memorial right here in Washington. That is expected to draw as many as 800,000 people. Patriotic holidays such as July 4 remain big concerns for officials as well.

Now here's what they say to be on the lookout for specifically: people wearing bulky jackets on hot summer days; a strong odor of chemicals; even tightly clenched fists, officials point out, is often very difficult to detect suicide bombers. Rarely is there ever any kind of advanced intelligence. Soft targets, shopping areas, things of that nature, they say, are nearly impossible to protect from such an attack -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Sean, thank you very much.

GRIFFIN: In news around the world now, standing down in Gaza. After a week of deadly clashes there with Palestinians in Rafah, Israeli troops began pulling out of that area today. The Palestinian Health Ministry says 40 Palestinians have died and 107 have been hurt since Tuesday when this crackdown began.

A somber anniversary today in India. But political business keeps Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi from traveling to the southern India town where her husband Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber 13 years ago today. She marked the date with ceremonies in New Delhi before returning to the tasks of putting together the new government there.

And rolling out the red carpeting along with the highest possible security in Madrid. Tomorrow, the royal wedding of the Spain's Crown Prince Felipe to a commoner. But mindful of the recent train bombings, the bride and groom have scaled back on some of the traditional celebrations. In one case a street dance has been canceled and the money will be donated to the victims' charity.

O'BRIEN: Thirty-nine years ago, the late Jack Case (ph) was water-skiing on Colorado's Prospect Lake when he lost his wedding ring. Today, the ring is back in loving hands thanks to a sharp-eyed treasure hunter. You see, when the city started draining Prospect Lake to make some repairs, an army of treasure hunters showed up, their headsets on, metal detectors in hand. Jack's widow, Carolyn Case Greening (ph), heard about this, got in touch with one of the searchers and asked him to look for her husband's ring. A minor miracle later, she has her precious memento back.

O'BRIEN: Well, togetherness is a beautiful thing until you get in the car that is. No matter how rational, liberated, or considerate the couple, it is a documented fact they will lose it on a road trip. Science has proven this. That's because women insist on the entirely unnecessary step of stopping to ask for directions, Sandy (ph). Now, if it helps you to know this, the whole thing may have something to do with the difference between men's and women's brain. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer on the pink and the blue of gray matter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For thousands of year, men and women have baffled each other by their differences, differences that are the results of the hard wiring of our brains.

DR. REUBEN GUR, UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA: We are still the same animals. We haven't changed physically since we were roaming the savannahs. We haven't really changed in our brain.

FIRFER: Dr. Reuben Gur has been studying the brain for more than 25 years. He says while men's brains can be 10 to 15 percent larger in size, women have more fibers that connect the two sides of the brain together. That would mean...

GUR: There is more tissue available for transferring information between the two sides of the brain. That's why we think that women have better inter-hemispheric communication.

FIRFER: Anthropologist Helen Fisher says there's a reason.

HELEN FISHER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: I think that women's ability at communication evolved million of years ago on the grasslands of Africa as women held that baby in front of their face, cajoling it, reprimanding it, educating it with words.

FIRFER: As caregivers, researchers say women's brains were also wired to give them stronger senses, to smell if food is bad, to taste if it may be poisonous, and to hear when that baby is crying. What about men who refuse to ask for directions? Researchers say men have more white matter which moves information more easily to the back of the brain where the visual cortex lies, a sort of internal compass if you will.

FISHER: For millions of years, they set out just about every morning to go out, to surround, and track and follow and kill.

FIRFER: And if they didn't make it home, their family would starve. So why do we have these biological differences? Well, many say they allow us to work together to survive.

Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Well you can watch more of the series, "Unlocking the Secrets of the Brain," tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

Freedom for a man accused of a terror connection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to thank my family and friends who were supporting me through this, what I'll call a harrowing ordeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: What's the next move for the American lawyer who was held for alleged ties to the Madrid train bombings?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS SR. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Allan Chernoff in Meriden, Connecticut, where there is a classic standoff between striking telephone workers and SBC Communication. We'll have detail of the strike.

O'BRIEN: And an abandoned girl's mystery may now be solved. Family members come forward to claim her. The rest of the story ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: From manning the phone lines to walking the picket lines. Tens of thousands of SBC Communications workers are making that transition today. Their hang-ups over management's latest contract offer have prompted a four-day strike that began just after midnight. The striking union, representing nearly 100,000 SBC workers in 13 states, including Connecticut.

CNN's financial unit, Allan Chernoff joining us live from the Nutmeg State with more on that. Hello, Allan.

CHERNOFF: Hello, Miles. And the strikers are extending all the way from Connecticut to California, 13 states that SBC Communication provides phone service. It has been a long job here, because they have been negotiating for three months and still have been unable to reach a new contract. The issues, very familiar here, we're talking about wages, health care benefits, and also job security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HONGO, PRESIDENT, CWA LOCAL 1298: We're here today because we want to try to force SBC back to the table. Contract negotiations have broken down and it's one of those things where you want to do whatever you have to do to get the other side back to the table so we can negotiate a fair contract.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Well, SBC Communications is in a declining business. In fact, its revenue has been declining for 2 1/2 years. It's been losing local phone customers to upstart phone companies, and now to cable television companies, which are providing phone service. The company, SBC, has offered six different contracts and it says it has gone as far as it can go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEVERLY LEVY, SBC SPOKESWOMAN: The union has to understand the telecommunications industry has changed. Our business has changed. We're in a very competitive business. We appreciate our employees. We value them. And that's why we have such a good offer on the table. The first year, there's a 4 percent lump sum payment that's very generous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Regular phone operations, though, are pretty much unaffected because they're all automated now. The network operations that we visited in the building right behind me, they seem to be running just fine. Managers filling in for the strikers right now. But people who want to get repair or installation, they will probably experience some delays.

Now, there is a negotiation scheduled here in Connecticut this afternoon, a regional negotiation, to focus on job security and perhaps they can make some progress on that very important issue.

Drew, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Allan Chernoff.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com