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U.S. Officials Claim Old Mustard Gas Shells Found in Iraq; Bryant Defense Team to Question Crime Scene Investigation

Aired May 27, 2004 - 13:58   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: U.S. authorities accuse a British Muslim cleric of trying to set up a jihad training camp on American soil.
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Adrian Baschuk in Eagle, Colorado where Kobe Bryant's defense team is trying to use the Watergate scandal as part of its defense. I'll have that story coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Cosby controversy, did the comedian's tough comments about African-Americans go too far?

PHILLIPS: And reading between the lines. Wait until you hear what someone can now find out about you, just by sending you an e- mail.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

PHILLIPS: He's been maimed in Afghanistan, shamed in the U.K. now Abu Hamza al-Masri is named in a U.S. indictment that could lead to prison or worse. Abu Hamza is a Muslim cleric, an alleged ally of al Qaeda who preached on the sidewalks of London after he was black- listed from his own mosque. He was picked up today by British police just before the attorney general of the United States personally spelled out an 11-count federal indictment. CNN's Deborah Feyerick picks up the story in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Abu Hamza is described by one official as "the read deal," a freelance consultant to terrorists worldwide. The 11-count indictment charges Abu Hamza with hostage- taking for an incident in Yemen about five years ago, also with trying to set up a terror training camp in Bly, Oregon. That was about four years ago.

Abu Hamza accused of helping, among others, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: As today's arrest makes clear, the Department of Justice is bringing the full weight of the criminal law against those who support the activities of terrorists. The United States will use every diplomatic, legal and administrative to pursue and to prosecute those who facilitate terrorist activity. And we will not stop until the war on terrorism is won.

FEYERICK: In the past Abu Hamza has publicly denied being involved in terrorism. He was arrested in London today and appeared at an extradition hearing. He did not stand. His lawyer telling the British magistrate that Abu Hamza would not consent being brought to the United States.

Abu Hamza preached at the London mosque, the same one attended by alleged 9/11 conspirators Zacarias Moussaoui and convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid. Scotland Yard tells CNN that they were at his home in London today. They searched it and confiscated several belongings. Abu Hamza being held without bail in London.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) .

O'BRIEN: Abu Hamza lost and eye and both hands to a land mine while fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But if that lessened his appetite for conflict and controversy, it is not apparent to investigators on two continents.

Our coverage continues now with CNN's Walter Rodgers in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To the U.S. and British governments, and some in the Muslim mainstream, Abu Hamza al-Masri is seen as a dangerous radical whose extreme views nourish hatred mainly among disaffected young Britons.

The Egyptian-born cleric is fighting attempts to strip him of his U.K. citizenship. The British Home Office accuses Hamza of providing support and advice to a number of terrorist groups including al Qaeda.

British government lawyers also allege he's encouraged terrorism and jihad and has offered safe haven for extremists. Hamza was banned from his Finnsbury Park (ph) mosque in London's northern suburbs last year. Undeterred, he has continued to preach on the pavement outside.

Hamza sparked outrage when he added his voice to those claiming the September 11 attacks were a Jewish plot. He also alleges U.S. astronauts killed in the Columbia shuttle tragedy were quote, "punished by Allah."

In his sermons the cleric has castigated Britain and called the invasion of Iraq, quote, "a war against Islam." Recently he had his Web site banned after offering a direct link to online footage of the execution of American hostage Nick Berg in Iraq. But his freedom to air his controversial views could be about to end.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The only U.S. native among the seven people named in the FBI's bolo announcement yesterday, that means be on the lookout, of course, is a young Californian who was raised an goat farm and converted to Islam as a teen. Adam Gadahn, now 25, is also the only one in the group who had not been identified previously as someone the FBI was eager to track down and question. He hasn't been home, the feds believe, since 1998 at the latest. His family says they lost contact in the first half of 2001. As for his choice of religion?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR GADAHN, ADAM GADAHN'S BROTHER: We're not Muslim. He took that on his own. That's what -- our parents let us make our own decisions on all that stuff. And they let him follow what he wanted to believe. So that's what he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The FBI said that Gadahn was an al Qaeda translator and attended al Qaeda training camps.

O'BRIEN: In Iraq, U.S. forces stand down in Najaf after signs of progress in talks with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. military spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt says troops are being ordered away from Najaf's holy shrines but will remain in the city.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT:: Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to withdraw his militia from the holy city of Najaf, and U.S. troops have repositioned themselves, saying that they will suspend their offensive military operations around Najaf.

U.S.-led coalition spokesman Dan Senor gave details of the agreement that was announced today.

DAN SENOR, CPA SPOKESMAN: As soon as the Iraqi security forces have assumed responsibility for public security and re-established law and order, coalition forces will reposition to their bases outside Najaf, while maintaining protective units at the CPA offices and the government building and Iraqi police stations. Until that time, coalition forces will suspend offensive operations but will continue to provide security by carrying out presence patrols. Throughout the process, coalition forces will retain the inherent right of self- defense.

WHITBECK: So Iraqi national police will take up positions inside the city, guarding government buildings. Iraq's national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i, said this would put an end to a quote, "tragic situation." The U.S. has expressed cautious optimism about the cease-fire holding, although U.S. military spokesman Mark Kimmitt said his troops retain the right to defense. And the U.S. still wants Muqtada al-Sadr to face Iraqi justice after the killing of a rival Shiite cleric which occurred after the U.S.-led invasion last year.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

British reinforcements, U.K. defense secretary David Hoon (sic) announced some 370 additional British troops headed for Iraq. Commanders on the ground called for the new troops. They'll join the 7500 or so British troops that are already there.

Controversial cardinal relocating. Pope John Paul II has tapped Cardinal Bernard Law to serve as the head of a basilica in Rome. Law resigned as archbishop of Boston, 2002, to quell public outrage over his handling of a sex abuse scandal.

Searching for survivors. More than 500 confirmed dead, hundreds more missing after flash flooding on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Torrential rains triggered the flooding in border regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti's interim prime minister blames deforestation.

O'BRIEN: Floodwaters are cresting in parts of several Midwestern states. Skies are clear through much of the region. But the forecast calls for more storms in some areas. Rivers and waterways continue to swell following heavy rains over the past week. Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin remain soggy today.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, high speed chase caught on tape. As far as we know, neither Crockett nor Tubbs was involved in this one. We're rocking the boat just ahead on LIVE FROM...

And making his case. Why the Kobe Bryant legal team is copying the O.J. Simpson strategy.

And who would buy this trash? Well, marketing genius figures out a way to get you to go garbage, at $10 a pop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CARMONA, SURGEON GENERAL: First, it affirms that smoking harms nearly every major organ of the body, often in profound ways, causing many diseases and significantly diminishing the health of smokers in general. Second, quitting smokes has immediate as well as long-term effects. Within minutes and hours after the smokers inhale that last cigarette, their bodies begin a series of changes that continues for years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Smoking is now officially as bad as we probably suspected. For the first time ever, the surgeon general links the coffin nails to diseases in nearly every major organ of the body. The diseases include blood cancer, cataracts, cervical, kidney and pancreatic cancers as well as pneumonia and stomach cancer. The report warns smoking shortens life by as much as 14 years. Flip side of this, the report says if you stop by the age of 35, the risk of getting sick from smoking is reduced by 90 percent. Next year the surgeon general promises a report on second hand smoke.

PHILLIPS: In other news across America now, here is one for the little guy. He may only be made of Play-Doh, but Mr. Bill is back with a serious message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Gee, Ken (ph), I'm not sure we can do our show today because it looks like Hurricane Sluggo is headed right for us here in America's wetlands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The claymation character of "Saturday Night Live" fame will be the official spokesman for the America's wetlands campaign to save coastal Louisiana. There is hope that Mr. Bill will raise awareness of the dangers of hurricanes and how storms can erode even more wetlands in the Bayou State.

PHILLIPS: Shades of "Miami Vice." A high speed boat chase off the Florida coast last night. Check this out. Police seized more than two tons of cocaine, arrested six suspected smugglers. The two boats were seized.

The judge and lawyers in the Scott Peterson murder trial are finalizing jury selection. Shortly after a jury of 12 and six alternates had been seated, the jurors asked to be excused. Well, the court is now deciding how to proceed. Jury selection began nine weeks ago with 1600 potential jurors. Peterson is accused of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn child.

O'BRIEN: Seems everything about Wal-Mart is big, the size of the company, the expanse of its stores and the depth of its discounts. Wherever the company goes, it also seems it finds supercenter-sized controversy as well, as Jonathan Freed explains from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roll through the West Side Chicago neighborhood where Wal-Mart is set to roll back prices, and you'll see the company's new grassroots strategy in action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want this Wal-Mart in our community.

FREED: Having saturated the nation's suburbs, the giant retailer is now after citizen support to open more stores in major cities. Chicagoans spend $500 million a year at the 30 suburban Wal-Marts around here. And that's fired up some big city aldermen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It allows tax revenue to leave the city. They keep taking it outside. We need programs and we need the services. If we're not going to stop shopping at Wal-Mart, then we need to bring Wal-Mart in to us.

FREED: Wednesday, the Chicago City Council okayed a zoning change that would allow for the first of two proposed Wal-Marts within city limits. But the second store still doesn't have enough votes. The split decision stems from controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it has nothing to do with labor relations.

FREED: Unions are complaining that Wal-Mart's workers aren't organized and charge employees are being exploited by the company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can afford health insurance, they can afford to pay a living wage. They don't have to do low-wage, no-road jobs.

FREED: And there are worries Wal-Mart will just squash neighborhood stores., allegations denied by the company. The Chicago victory is lifting up the low-price retailer, after it lost a bid to open a store in a Los Angeles suburb last month.

(on camera): Not long ago, if a company like Wal-Mart wanted to break ground in a community, it was usually welcomed without hesitation. So what's changed? Wal-Mart believes that its size and success have made it an easy target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just by virtue of having 1.5 million people in your ranks and serving about 140 million customers each week around the world, there's a lot of exposure. A lot of risk.

FREED (voice-over): So this abandoned West Side factory will be transformed into the city of Chicago's first Wal-Mart.

: It is going to be hard with no job when I have two kids, even though I trust and believe in God, he'll bring me through, but I need a job.

FREED: She says she'll leave the controversy to others.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're just getting word that the jury has been seated in the Scott Peterson murder trial. We're following that for you. We'll bring you information as it develops.

Meanwhile, if gas prices are driving you to, well, walk, be glad that you don't live in Europe because drivers there have long paid super-premium prices for all grades of petrol. And that's beginning to drive a wedge between our Richard Quest and his significant other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Bessy. My pride and joy. Now Bessy likes a bit of a drink. Truth be told, Bessy's got a bit of a drink problem. And getting just 18 miles a gallon here in central London, well, at today's prices, it is going to cost me a fortune to give Bessy a decent drink.

Now, of course, in Europe, we sell petrol in liters, not gallons. And there are four liters in the American gallon, which means at these prices, it is going to cost about $6.50 per gallon. Look at the speed the thing's going round. It has cost me more than $100 to fill the tank, and unless the oil cartel, OPEC, comes to my rescue pretty soon, which seems unlikely, Bessy, it is time for a divorce.

Delores, we must get to know each other a little bit better. This is more like it. Come on, dear. Let's see what you can do.

So with the smart car getting 60 miles to the gallon and gas at these prices, it's the little car that counts, that's driving circles around the gas guzzlers.

Richard Quest, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: He is for real.

O'BRIEN: He does circles around the competitors, doesn't he?

PHILLIPS: Yes, he does.

O'BRIEN: Yes, he does.

PHILLIPS: Well, New Yorkers produce about 26 million pounds of garbage a day.

O'BRIEN: Mm, can't you just smell it, just thinking about it.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And one guy has figured out how to get them to buy it back at $10 a box.

O'BRIEN: Truly only in New York. Right?

PHILLIPS: A trashy story straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: And what's 180 miles long, has 40 holes and takes 11 days to mow? We're hitting the ultimate links later on LIVE FROM...

PHILLIPS: And we want to hear from you. Was Simon right? Was Fantasia the best "American Idol" contestant ever? Or would you pick someone else? E-mail us at livefrom@cnn.com. We'll air some of your comments next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New information now coming out of Washington. Two have already been made public, now we're hearing of more. We're talking about mustard gas found in shells in Iraq. David Ensor, our national security correspondent has been working this story, joins us live from the Pentagon.

What's the latest news, David?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we can now report that U.S. officials believe they may have found a couple more mustard gas shells in Iraq. A couple of shells are being checked for possible trace elements of mustard gas.

Now as you mentioned, this comes in addition to the two other shells that have already been identified. One of them was found to be mustard gas. And the other was found to by Sarin, the nerve gas. That particular one, of course, was found after the shell was used by insurgents as part of a roadside bomb, a kind of improvised explosive device.

These additional shells, we are told, there's reason to suspect that they may have mustard gas in them. But it's still being cross- checked. Now, all of these shells are believed to have been made, to have been armed a long time ago. They're thought to be prior to the Gulf War. So this is old stuff, but it is, technically, weapons of mass destruction -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: David, meanwhile, while I have you, have you heard anything else about the terror threat from yesterday?

ENSOR: Well, yes, officials are telling me that they believe that the FBI and Justice Department were quite correct in warning Americans that there is intelligence out there suggesting that there could be -- that there are people out there, bad guys out there, who want to do harm, who want to commit large terrorism in the United States in the coming months.

However, there's nothing specific as to time, place, method, so it's just really, in the view of these officials I've spoken to, a good, prudent measure to remind Americans that we live in troubling times and there could well be terrorism this summer. There is intelligence suggesting that it could take place, but there's nothing specific at this point -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, national security correspondent David Ensor, thanks -- Miles.

Now to the Kobe Bryant case. Lawyers for the Lakers guard want to call an expert witness who criticized investigators in the O.J. Simpson murder trial nine years ago. CNN's Adrian Baschuk is following proceedings at the Eagle County Courthouse, bringing two celebrated trials together for us -- Adrian.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good afternoon. Now the judge has not yet decided or ruled on whether or not that expert witness will be able to testify at trial, although the prosecution announced this morning that it will not be calling its own expert witnesses to rebut his expert witness testimony. These are the nuts and bolts of the case, but being worked out in the court of law.

We can tell you that today's proceedings are moving along fairly rapidly, at least for this case, and we're already more than halfway through today's docket.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant spends his day split between pivotal court proceedings in Colorado and the basketball playoffs in L.A. Today's hearing begins with debate over defense motion attacking the adequacy of the crime scene investigation conducted at the Cordillera Resort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There argument is, had a good crime scene investigation been done, Kobe Bryant might have been exonerated and never charged.

BASCHUK: Judge Terry Ruckriegle will then address a defense motion asking that that the alleged victim's AT&T text messaging records be released. No such case law in Colorado has ever been established. The hearings will then move behind closed doors. And by day's end, the judge may issue a trial date, something the accuser's mother has demanded. She says she has received hundreds of angry phone calls, including death threats against her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure that this is going to be some, at least, small relief for the victim and her family.

BASCHUK: After the hearing, Bryant flies back to L.A. for game four of the Western Conference Finals. It's now a routine trip for Bryant and a routine success.

On sports radio in Colorado, fans have mixed reactions to the trial, especially since Bryant's basketball performances have been so stellar on days he's been in court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is what he's doing heroic and admirable? I don't know about that. I would tend to say no because he is doing something in the court that he kind of brought on himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: Now just in the last half hour, the judge has, in fact, announced that he will allow those AT&T text message records to be admitted into trial evidence, however on only on an in-camera (ph) basis. He will be the only one screening them and determining their relevancy to this case -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Adrian Baschuk in Colorado, thank you very much.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 27, 2004 - 13:58   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. authorities accuse a British Muslim cleric of trying to set up a jihad training camp on American soil.
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Adrian Baschuk in Eagle, Colorado where Kobe Bryant's defense team is trying to use the Watergate scandal as part of its defense. I'll have that story coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Cosby controversy, did the comedian's tough comments about African-Americans go too far?

PHILLIPS: And reading between the lines. Wait until you hear what someone can now find out about you, just by sending you an e- mail.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

PHILLIPS: He's been maimed in Afghanistan, shamed in the U.K. now Abu Hamza al-Masri is named in a U.S. indictment that could lead to prison or worse. Abu Hamza is a Muslim cleric, an alleged ally of al Qaeda who preached on the sidewalks of London after he was black- listed from his own mosque. He was picked up today by British police just before the attorney general of the United States personally spelled out an 11-count federal indictment. CNN's Deborah Feyerick picks up the story in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Abu Hamza is described by one official as "the read deal," a freelance consultant to terrorists worldwide. The 11-count indictment charges Abu Hamza with hostage- taking for an incident in Yemen about five years ago, also with trying to set up a terror training camp in Bly, Oregon. That was about four years ago.

Abu Hamza accused of helping, among others, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: As today's arrest makes clear, the Department of Justice is bringing the full weight of the criminal law against those who support the activities of terrorists. The United States will use every diplomatic, legal and administrative to pursue and to prosecute those who facilitate terrorist activity. And we will not stop until the war on terrorism is won.

FEYERICK: In the past Abu Hamza has publicly denied being involved in terrorism. He was arrested in London today and appeared at an extradition hearing. He did not stand. His lawyer telling the British magistrate that Abu Hamza would not consent being brought to the United States.

Abu Hamza preached at the London mosque, the same one attended by alleged 9/11 conspirators Zacarias Moussaoui and convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid. Scotland Yard tells CNN that they were at his home in London today. They searched it and confiscated several belongings. Abu Hamza being held without bail in London.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) .

O'BRIEN: Abu Hamza lost and eye and both hands to a land mine while fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But if that lessened his appetite for conflict and controversy, it is not apparent to investigators on two continents.

Our coverage continues now with CNN's Walter Rodgers in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To the U.S. and British governments, and some in the Muslim mainstream, Abu Hamza al-Masri is seen as a dangerous radical whose extreme views nourish hatred mainly among disaffected young Britons.

The Egyptian-born cleric is fighting attempts to strip him of his U.K. citizenship. The British Home Office accuses Hamza of providing support and advice to a number of terrorist groups including al Qaeda.

British government lawyers also allege he's encouraged terrorism and jihad and has offered safe haven for extremists. Hamza was banned from his Finnsbury Park (ph) mosque in London's northern suburbs last year. Undeterred, he has continued to preach on the pavement outside.

Hamza sparked outrage when he added his voice to those claiming the September 11 attacks were a Jewish plot. He also alleges U.S. astronauts killed in the Columbia shuttle tragedy were quote, "punished by Allah."

In his sermons the cleric has castigated Britain and called the invasion of Iraq, quote, "a war against Islam." Recently he had his Web site banned after offering a direct link to online footage of the execution of American hostage Nick Berg in Iraq. But his freedom to air his controversial views could be about to end.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The only U.S. native among the seven people named in the FBI's bolo announcement yesterday, that means be on the lookout, of course, is a young Californian who was raised an goat farm and converted to Islam as a teen. Adam Gadahn, now 25, is also the only one in the group who had not been identified previously as someone the FBI was eager to track down and question. He hasn't been home, the feds believe, since 1998 at the latest. His family says they lost contact in the first half of 2001. As for his choice of religion?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR GADAHN, ADAM GADAHN'S BROTHER: We're not Muslim. He took that on his own. That's what -- our parents let us make our own decisions on all that stuff. And they let him follow what he wanted to believe. So that's what he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The FBI said that Gadahn was an al Qaeda translator and attended al Qaeda training camps.

O'BRIEN: In Iraq, U.S. forces stand down in Najaf after signs of progress in talks with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. military spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt says troops are being ordered away from Najaf's holy shrines but will remain in the city.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT:: Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to withdraw his militia from the holy city of Najaf, and U.S. troops have repositioned themselves, saying that they will suspend their offensive military operations around Najaf.

U.S.-led coalition spokesman Dan Senor gave details of the agreement that was announced today.

DAN SENOR, CPA SPOKESMAN: As soon as the Iraqi security forces have assumed responsibility for public security and re-established law and order, coalition forces will reposition to their bases outside Najaf, while maintaining protective units at the CPA offices and the government building and Iraqi police stations. Until that time, coalition forces will suspend offensive operations but will continue to provide security by carrying out presence patrols. Throughout the process, coalition forces will retain the inherent right of self- defense.

WHITBECK: So Iraqi national police will take up positions inside the city, guarding government buildings. Iraq's national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i, said this would put an end to a quote, "tragic situation." The U.S. has expressed cautious optimism about the cease-fire holding, although U.S. military spokesman Mark Kimmitt said his troops retain the right to defense. And the U.S. still wants Muqtada al-Sadr to face Iraqi justice after the killing of a rival Shiite cleric which occurred after the U.S.-led invasion last year.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

British reinforcements, U.K. defense secretary David Hoon (sic) announced some 370 additional British troops headed for Iraq. Commanders on the ground called for the new troops. They'll join the 7500 or so British troops that are already there.

Controversial cardinal relocating. Pope John Paul II has tapped Cardinal Bernard Law to serve as the head of a basilica in Rome. Law resigned as archbishop of Boston, 2002, to quell public outrage over his handling of a sex abuse scandal.

Searching for survivors. More than 500 confirmed dead, hundreds more missing after flash flooding on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Torrential rains triggered the flooding in border regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti's interim prime minister blames deforestation.

O'BRIEN: Floodwaters are cresting in parts of several Midwestern states. Skies are clear through much of the region. But the forecast calls for more storms in some areas. Rivers and waterways continue to swell following heavy rains over the past week. Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin remain soggy today.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, high speed chase caught on tape. As far as we know, neither Crockett nor Tubbs was involved in this one. We're rocking the boat just ahead on LIVE FROM...

And making his case. Why the Kobe Bryant legal team is copying the O.J. Simpson strategy.

And who would buy this trash? Well, marketing genius figures out a way to get you to go garbage, at $10 a pop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CARMONA, SURGEON GENERAL: First, it affirms that smoking harms nearly every major organ of the body, often in profound ways, causing many diseases and significantly diminishing the health of smokers in general. Second, quitting smokes has immediate as well as long-term effects. Within minutes and hours after the smokers inhale that last cigarette, their bodies begin a series of changes that continues for years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Smoking is now officially as bad as we probably suspected. For the first time ever, the surgeon general links the coffin nails to diseases in nearly every major organ of the body. The diseases include blood cancer, cataracts, cervical, kidney and pancreatic cancers as well as pneumonia and stomach cancer. The report warns smoking shortens life by as much as 14 years. Flip side of this, the report says if you stop by the age of 35, the risk of getting sick from smoking is reduced by 90 percent. Next year the surgeon general promises a report on second hand smoke.

PHILLIPS: In other news across America now, here is one for the little guy. He may only be made of Play-Doh, but Mr. Bill is back with a serious message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Gee, Ken (ph), I'm not sure we can do our show today because it looks like Hurricane Sluggo is headed right for us here in America's wetlands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The claymation character of "Saturday Night Live" fame will be the official spokesman for the America's wetlands campaign to save coastal Louisiana. There is hope that Mr. Bill will raise awareness of the dangers of hurricanes and how storms can erode even more wetlands in the Bayou State.

PHILLIPS: Shades of "Miami Vice." A high speed boat chase off the Florida coast last night. Check this out. Police seized more than two tons of cocaine, arrested six suspected smugglers. The two boats were seized.

The judge and lawyers in the Scott Peterson murder trial are finalizing jury selection. Shortly after a jury of 12 and six alternates had been seated, the jurors asked to be excused. Well, the court is now deciding how to proceed. Jury selection began nine weeks ago with 1600 potential jurors. Peterson is accused of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn child.

O'BRIEN: Seems everything about Wal-Mart is big, the size of the company, the expanse of its stores and the depth of its discounts. Wherever the company goes, it also seems it finds supercenter-sized controversy as well, as Jonathan Freed explains from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roll through the West Side Chicago neighborhood where Wal-Mart is set to roll back prices, and you'll see the company's new grassroots strategy in action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want this Wal-Mart in our community.

FREED: Having saturated the nation's suburbs, the giant retailer is now after citizen support to open more stores in major cities. Chicagoans spend $500 million a year at the 30 suburban Wal-Marts around here. And that's fired up some big city aldermen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It allows tax revenue to leave the city. They keep taking it outside. We need programs and we need the services. If we're not going to stop shopping at Wal-Mart, then we need to bring Wal-Mart in to us.

FREED: Wednesday, the Chicago City Council okayed a zoning change that would allow for the first of two proposed Wal-Marts within city limits. But the second store still doesn't have enough votes. The split decision stems from controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it has nothing to do with labor relations.

FREED: Unions are complaining that Wal-Mart's workers aren't organized and charge employees are being exploited by the company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can afford health insurance, they can afford to pay a living wage. They don't have to do low-wage, no-road jobs.

FREED: And there are worries Wal-Mart will just squash neighborhood stores., allegations denied by the company. The Chicago victory is lifting up the low-price retailer, after it lost a bid to open a store in a Los Angeles suburb last month.

(on camera): Not long ago, if a company like Wal-Mart wanted to break ground in a community, it was usually welcomed without hesitation. So what's changed? Wal-Mart believes that its size and success have made it an easy target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just by virtue of having 1.5 million people in your ranks and serving about 140 million customers each week around the world, there's a lot of exposure. A lot of risk.

FREED (voice-over): So this abandoned West Side factory will be transformed into the city of Chicago's first Wal-Mart.

: It is going to be hard with no job when I have two kids, even though I trust and believe in God, he'll bring me through, but I need a job.

FREED: She says she'll leave the controversy to others.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're just getting word that the jury has been seated in the Scott Peterson murder trial. We're following that for you. We'll bring you information as it develops.

Meanwhile, if gas prices are driving you to, well, walk, be glad that you don't live in Europe because drivers there have long paid super-premium prices for all grades of petrol. And that's beginning to drive a wedge between our Richard Quest and his significant other.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Bessy. My pride and joy. Now Bessy likes a bit of a drink. Truth be told, Bessy's got a bit of a drink problem. And getting just 18 miles a gallon here in central London, well, at today's prices, it is going to cost me a fortune to give Bessy a decent drink.

Now, of course, in Europe, we sell petrol in liters, not gallons. And there are four liters in the American gallon, which means at these prices, it is going to cost about $6.50 per gallon. Look at the speed the thing's going round. It has cost me more than $100 to fill the tank, and unless the oil cartel, OPEC, comes to my rescue pretty soon, which seems unlikely, Bessy, it is time for a divorce.

Delores, we must get to know each other a little bit better. This is more like it. Come on, dear. Let's see what you can do.

So with the smart car getting 60 miles to the gallon and gas at these prices, it's the little car that counts, that's driving circles around the gas guzzlers.

Richard Quest, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: He is for real.

O'BRIEN: He does circles around the competitors, doesn't he?

PHILLIPS: Yes, he does.

O'BRIEN: Yes, he does.

PHILLIPS: Well, New Yorkers produce about 26 million pounds of garbage a day.

O'BRIEN: Mm, can't you just smell it, just thinking about it.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And one guy has figured out how to get them to buy it back at $10 a box.

O'BRIEN: Truly only in New York. Right?

PHILLIPS: A trashy story straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: And what's 180 miles long, has 40 holes and takes 11 days to mow? We're hitting the ultimate links later on LIVE FROM...

PHILLIPS: And we want to hear from you. Was Simon right? Was Fantasia the best "American Idol" contestant ever? Or would you pick someone else? E-mail us at livefrom@cnn.com. We'll air some of your comments next hour.

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PHILLIPS: New information now coming out of Washington. Two have already been made public, now we're hearing of more. We're talking about mustard gas found in shells in Iraq. David Ensor, our national security correspondent has been working this story, joins us live from the Pentagon.

What's the latest news, David?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we can now report that U.S. officials believe they may have found a couple more mustard gas shells in Iraq. A couple of shells are being checked for possible trace elements of mustard gas.

Now as you mentioned, this comes in addition to the two other shells that have already been identified. One of them was found to be mustard gas. And the other was found to by Sarin, the nerve gas. That particular one, of course, was found after the shell was used by insurgents as part of a roadside bomb, a kind of improvised explosive device.

These additional shells, we are told, there's reason to suspect that they may have mustard gas in them. But it's still being cross- checked. Now, all of these shells are believed to have been made, to have been armed a long time ago. They're thought to be prior to the Gulf War. So this is old stuff, but it is, technically, weapons of mass destruction -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: David, meanwhile, while I have you, have you heard anything else about the terror threat from yesterday?

ENSOR: Well, yes, officials are telling me that they believe that the FBI and Justice Department were quite correct in warning Americans that there is intelligence out there suggesting that there could be -- that there are people out there, bad guys out there, who want to do harm, who want to commit large terrorism in the United States in the coming months.

However, there's nothing specific as to time, place, method, so it's just really, in the view of these officials I've spoken to, a good, prudent measure to remind Americans that we live in troubling times and there could well be terrorism this summer. There is intelligence suggesting that it could take place, but there's nothing specific at this point -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, national security correspondent David Ensor, thanks -- Miles.

Now to the Kobe Bryant case. Lawyers for the Lakers guard want to call an expert witness who criticized investigators in the O.J. Simpson murder trial nine years ago. CNN's Adrian Baschuk is following proceedings at the Eagle County Courthouse, bringing two celebrated trials together for us -- Adrian.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good afternoon. Now the judge has not yet decided or ruled on whether or not that expert witness will be able to testify at trial, although the prosecution announced this morning that it will not be calling its own expert witnesses to rebut his expert witness testimony. These are the nuts and bolts of the case, but being worked out in the court of law.

We can tell you that today's proceedings are moving along fairly rapidly, at least for this case, and we're already more than halfway through today's docket.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant spends his day split between pivotal court proceedings in Colorado and the basketball playoffs in L.A. Today's hearing begins with debate over defense motion attacking the adequacy of the crime scene investigation conducted at the Cordillera Resort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There argument is, had a good crime scene investigation been done, Kobe Bryant might have been exonerated and never charged.

BASCHUK: Judge Terry Ruckriegle will then address a defense motion asking that that the alleged victim's AT&T text messaging records be released. No such case law in Colorado has ever been established. The hearings will then move behind closed doors. And by day's end, the judge may issue a trial date, something the accuser's mother has demanded. She says she has received hundreds of angry phone calls, including death threats against her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure that this is going to be some, at least, small relief for the victim and her family.

BASCHUK: After the hearing, Bryant flies back to L.A. for game four of the Western Conference Finals. It's now a routine trip for Bryant and a routine success.

On sports radio in Colorado, fans have mixed reactions to the trial, especially since Bryant's basketball performances have been so stellar on days he's been in court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is what he's doing heroic and admirable? I don't know about that. I would tend to say no because he is doing something in the court that he kind of brought on himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: Now just in the last half hour, the judge has, in fact, announced that he will allow those AT&T text message records to be admitted into trial evidence, however on only on an in-camera (ph) basis. He will be the only one screening them and determining their relevancy to this case -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Adrian Baschuk in Colorado, thank you very much.

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