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Intimidating Violence Just Days Before Iraqi Election; Strategic Support; '05 Blizzard

Aired January 24, 2005 - 14:00   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: Intimidating violence just days before the Iraq election. Will the country be secure enough for Iraqis to vote?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Secret mission. The Pentagon drops a bomb about a counterterrorist spy unit, a secret until now.

PHILLIPS: The big dig. Parts of the Northeast still buried under up to three feet of snow. We're live from hard-hit Boston.

HARRIS: And you knew him best as the man you couldn't go to bed without seeing. This hour, Johnny Carson as Hollywood and his home town remember him.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

HARRIS: Six days, 10 proposals, four key arrests, and yet another car bomb. Inside a week before Iraqis elect a constitutional assembly, the sitting prime minister unveiled a 10-point economic revival plan. The alleged king of the car bombs, meanwhile, is behind bars today, along with three other suspected insurgents.

Abu Omar al-Kurdi reportedly confessed to 32 car bombings in Baghdad, including the devastating blast at the U.N. compound in August of 2003. A car bombing today near the prime minister's party headquarters wounded 10 Iraqi cops.

And we get more on that from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) blowing up a checkpoint near offices of the interim Iraqi prime minister's political party. The group led by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, opposed to the election, says it carried out the attack. Iraqi police and civilians were among the casualties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A car bomb targeted policemen in Al Zatun Street (ph). They were unable to protect themselves. How can they protect citizens? There were several people killed or injured. CHANCE: With less than a week before elections are due to take place, intimidation and violence appear to be escalating. Normal campaigning has proved near impossible, even though the Iraqi authorities with U.S. backing have announced sweeping security measures, extending curfews and closing borders for three days.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: No effort is being spared to provide the kind of security conditions that will enable as many people as possible in those areas to vote. This includes extraordinary security measures. It also includes some special voting procedures for people in some of these areas to take into account the particularly difficult security circumstances.

CHANCE: There's been some good news from Baghdad. The Chinese embassy saying eight of its kidnapped nationals were found safe and well, though it's emerged a Brazilian citizen may have been taken hostage. And just how dangerous is the situation for elections was underlined again. Insurgents hitting this school, earmarked for use as a polling center. In the days running up to the vote, most expect the violence to escalate against those who dare take part.

Matthew Chance, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Undercover, but not under wraps any longer as the strategic support branch. The Pentagon's eyes and ears in some of the deepest, darkest corners of the world. It was outed yesterday in "The Washington Post" and described for us now by CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency for more than the last two years, indeed, has been running a clandestine human intelligence-gathering unit, a unit that will allow it to send operatives around the world anywhere they are ordered to go. That word being confirmed to CNN by top defense officials.

How sensitive is this disclosure? Well, apparently very sensitive. When the story broke in "The Washington Post" newspaper, there was what appeared to be a quick denial from the Pentagon. The Pentagon spokesman, Larry Di Rita, saying, "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations."

Well, this clandestine unit does exist. While some officials say it's administrative only, we have spoken to a number of officials with direct knowledge of the unit. And they say it is deploying teams that go into the field in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, that they are deploying with U.S. military Special Forces that conduct some of the most secret military operations the United States undertakes.

Everyone denies it is a turf battle between the Pentagon and the CIA, but it does put Pentagon officials into a new area of more robust operations, according to one official. And that now is the core of the debate, whether Pentagon officials, Pentagon personnel really are equipped to go into these front-line operations with Special Forces and collect that very crucial human-type intelligence.

By all accounts, Special Forces are going to be very queasy about this, officials say. When they go into the field they like to operate in small, deadly units. They don't like to have a lot of people along for the ride.

But this may be just the first of the major efforts by Don Rumsfeld to overhaul military intelligence. Officials confirming there are 60 more initiatives under way in the Pentagon to overhaul those military intelligence programs.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Departing DHS, next stop Little Rock? Well, CNN has learned that Homeland Security undersecretary Asa Hutchinson is the latest top administration official to opt out of a second term. This after being, by his own admission, disappointed twice that he didn't get the secretary's job.

Hutchinson, in charge of border security and transportation, used to be a congressman and was head of the DEA after that. He may run for governor of his native Arkansas next fall.

The Justice Department is about to host a farewell ceremony for soon to be former Attorney General John Ashcroft. One of the top- tiered figures in President Bush's first-term war on terror was among the first to submit his resignation when Mr. Bush was re-elected. He's expected to address his staff for the last time next hour. You'll see it live right here on CNN.

HARRIS: Freezing temperatures, massive snow drifts and travel delays, lingering effects of a particularly nasty weekend blizzard. From the Midwest to the Northeast, they're digging out today. Our Chris Huntington is in Boston. And CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm's icy grip. Let's begin with Chris.

And Chris, a lot better there today than when we talked yesterday.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, conditions are decidedly improved from yesterday. In fact, it's really turned into a very pleasant afternoon here. Temperature right where we're standing, luckily in the sun, is actually around 30 degrees. A far cry from the four degrees we started off with this morning and the 10 degrees that really was holding throughout much of Saturday and Sunday.

Let's give you a quick update on some of the situations that are still ongoing here in Boston. There's a power outage at Logan Airport. It's not affecting the entire airport. And, of course, air traffic control has its own independent source of power. But it has apparently shut down elevators and escalators around the airport, making it even more difficult for passengers to move around. And, of course, it also affects some of those articulating gate ramps that feed people onto the planes. So the delays continue at Logan Airport, even though it is open. We've seen planes take off and land, but it is by no means back to normal or easygoing.

Snow removal is the priority around here. A state of emergency is still in effect. In the local town of Boston here, as opposed to the surrounding area, Mayor Thomas Menino has asked that only essential personnel come to work today. So a skeleton crew, if you will, on the scene here in Boston.

But let's show you what this storm looked like over the past 24 hours, whipped by hurricane-force winds. In fact, there was a hurricane wind warning in effect for much of Saturday night and Sunday by the Coast Guard extending from as far south as Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, up to the gulf of Maine.

Now, the island of Nantucket had power completely knocked out for Sunday night, which, of course, for folks in this area trying to watch the Patriots game was a double whammy. Cape Cod hit particularly hard. About 30,000 residents totally there without power for a while. Much of the power in that area has been restored.

A little bit north of here in the town of Salem, 38 inches of snow fell. And, of course, the drifting knocked it even higher.

Similar snowfalls in other areas around Boston. In central Boston, 26 inches recorded at Boston Common. That's an inch and a half shy of the all-time record.

There were two fatalities attributed to this storm. A former "Boston Globe" columnist died while shoveling his driveway. And a young boy in the Roxbury section of Boston succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning when he sought refuge in a car that was idling near a snow bank.

And Tone, there is more snow on the way, about six inches expected on Wednesday.

HARRIS: Oh boy. Not what folks there wanted to hear. Chris Huntington in Boston. Chris, thank you.

Let's bring in Jacqui Jeras now.

And Jacqui, as I try to sneak a peek behind you at the map, as I do I see a lot of white. I'm hoping that's cold and not snow, but there you go.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's snow. Yes, it's coming down.

HARRIS: It's snow. All right.

JERAS: It's really very light. In fact, most of this will not be an accumulating snow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: That was a real mess. OK. Jacqui, we appreciate it. Thank you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, tributes are pouring in today as friends and fans reminisce about their favorite memories of late night legend Johnny Carson. He died yesterday of emphysema. And just a few minutes ago, the honorary mayor of Hollywood placed a wreath at Carson's star on the Walk of Fame. Live pictures right now as you see it.

Many people speak of his grace and his Midwest charm and his generosity to his "Tonight Show" guests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RICKLES, COMEDIAN: I say very honestly, he was so special. Because a Midwest guy that -- and I'm a Jewish kid from New York, and when I showed affection it was hard for him to show that. But when I did, I knew he loved me. And he's in heaven now.

And I know he loves me and my family. And I love him. And may god be good to this man. He was the best.

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIENNE: It's an icon that's passed. He gave all of us our starts. My life changed.

I went on the show the first time, seven years of struggling, coming out of "Second City." And on the air he said, "You're going to be a star." And the next day, my life was different.

I'm terribly sad. The man was the best straight man ever, ever, ever. He knew how to feed a line to you. And he did one other thing that I think people have forgotten.

He was generous. He wanted you to come on his show and be better than him and be funnier than him. And he was delighted when someone got their laugh. And that's a very rare thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Larry King has an exclusive interview with Carson's longtime sidekick, Ed McMahon, tonight. It's sure to be a very special show. It begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

And the people in Carson's boyhood hometown surely won't forget him.

HARRIS: That's because he never forgot them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was always -- always looking out for us. And he always kept in touch with what was going on in town, despite his celebrity. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Later this hour, we'll take you to Norfolk, Nebraska, where Johnny's legacy lives large.

PHILLIPS: And just ahead, religious or secular? How the outcome of Iraqi elections could affect that country's future.

HARRIS: And later, paper or plastic? The answer to that question could end up costing you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, they're extending the deadline for Iraqi expatriates to register to vote. Any Iraqi exile in the U.S. who wishes to participate in Iraq's upcoming national election has until Tuesday to sign up.

Polling stations are set up in Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago and Washington. About 240,000 Iraqis in the U.S. are eligible to vote. So far, about 7 percent have registered.

High stakes are riding on the outcome of Sunday's elections in Iraq. Many expect that when the votes are counted, a Shiite government will be in power. Will it be like the religiously-influenced regime in Iran? And what could that mean for the U.S.?

Serious topics. Let's talk with CNN analyst Ken Pollack. He's the director of research at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Ken, good to see you.

KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Thanks, Tony. Good to be here.

HARRIS: Let's talk about turnout. I've heard a lot of discussion about turnout. You think it's very important.

POLLACK: Yes, absolutely. But unfortunately, I think it's important only in the negative sense.

Right now, it looks like we're going to have a pretty good turnout. If turnout is high, that's certainly a positive. But honestly, this election is not going to be decided if it's a big turnout.

The problem is if the turnout turns out to be very low, in which case that would be disastrous for the Bush administration, it would disastrous for the new Iraqi government. It would make political reconstruction in Iraq that much harder.

HARRIS: We'll get to that in just a second as-- going into these elections, is this one of those cases where we know it's going to happen? There's little chance of this thing not moving forward. Is it one of those cases where we're just going to have to take a big step back and look at this election from a distance because if you look close, even closer, you may not like what you see?

POLLACK: Yes, to some extent, the medium is the message. The importance of these elections is that they're taking place. And the hope is that they will be fair, free, that most Iraqis will be able to participate and will want to take part in them. And that this will get something of a push for political reconstruction that the Iraqis will be able to carry into the creation of a new constitution.

But as you're pointing out, Tony, there are going to be a lot of things about this election that are going to look less than perfect. Of course, we found out that our own elections are less than perfect. So maybe we should expect that from a country like Iraq that's having them for the first time, too.

HARRIS: Do the Iraqis care about these parties that are running, these individuals that are running, or are they more concerned with their daily lives and getting electricity on?

POLLACK: It's a great question. And it gets to the heart of exactly the problem in Iraq.

These political parties don't really represent anyone in Iraq. Most of the political parties represent groups of exiles or other groups of people in Iraq who just kind of put themselves together. And most of them are kind of unknown to the Iraqis.

What the Iraqis are going to look for is, once the election is over and these parties are in power, they're going to want to see who, if any among them, can actually deliver. What they care about is security, jobs, electricity and water. And if this new government can deliver on that, they'll be happy. If not, they will dismiss it.

HARRIS: Ken, have you seen anything in the "campaigning" that suggests that any of these groups, the Kurds, the Sunnis, to the extent that they're represented at all, the Shia, that they can sit down at a table after this election and work out the issues you sort of listed there?

POLLACK: Boy, one of the big unknowns out there, Tony. No one knows the answer to that.

HARRIS: Yes.

POLLACK: It's a critical question because this transitional government has got to create a constitution. And that constitution has to work out power-sharing arrangements.

The current one that they have, pretty much no one except the Kurds like. And if they reopen it, the Kurds have basically threatened to walk away from the government. It is one of the many challenges that a new Iraqi government is going to have to face.

HARRIS: Ken Pollack, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

POLLACK: Thank you, Tony. HARRIS: Thanks for the insights -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The story behind the cover story. A family finds a surprise on the magazine stand. A face they had not seen in a year.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. President Bush is making a big push for Social Security reform, but findings from a powerful lobby could hurt his efforts. I'll have that story coming up on LIVE FROM. So stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A new study casts more doubt about whether Americans actually want the Social Security reform outlined by the president.

PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange for more on that story --Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Checking stories "Now in the News," stay off the streets and stay home. That's the order from Boston's mayor following a blizzard that socked the Northeast. There's 26 inches of snow on Boston Common. Meanwhile, Boston's Logan International Airport has finally reopened after a 24-hour-plus closure.

In Iraq , a notorious suspected bomber is among several suspected insurgent leaders under arrest. The government says Abu Omar al-Kurdi he was responsible for the 2003 attacks on the Jordanian embassy at a U.N. compound in Baghdad. He's also blamed for some 32 car bombs since March of 2003.

Stepping down after being passed over. Sources tell CNN Asa Hutchinson is resigning from his post at the Homeland Security Department. He's currently the undersecretary for border and transportation security issues. Hutchinson was passed over twice by the Bush administration to head the agency.

And John Ashcroft is in his final days as attorney general. You're looking at preparations for his farewell ceremony live. It's set to get under way soon at the Justice Department. Ashcroft is expected to officially leave on Friday. His apparent successor, Alberto Gonzales, is still awaiting Senate confirmation.

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 January 24, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Intimidating violence just days before the Iraq election. Will the country be secure enough for Iraqis to vote?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Secret mission. The Pentagon drops a bomb about a counterterrorist spy unit, a secret until now.

PHILLIPS: The big dig. Parts of the Northeast still buried under up to three feet of snow. We're live from hard-hit Boston.

HARRIS: And you knew him best as the man you couldn't go to bed without seeing. This hour, Johnny Carson as Hollywood and his home town remember him.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

HARRIS: Six days, 10 proposals, four key arrests, and yet another car bomb. Inside a week before Iraqis elect a constitutional assembly, the sitting prime minister unveiled a 10-point economic revival plan. The alleged king of the car bombs, meanwhile, is behind bars today, along with three other suspected insurgents.

Abu Omar al-Kurdi reportedly confessed to 32 car bombings in Baghdad, including the devastating blast at the U.N. compound in August of 2003. A car bombing today near the prime minister's party headquarters wounded 10 Iraqi cops.

And we get more on that from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) blowing up a checkpoint near offices of the interim Iraqi prime minister's political party. The group led by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, opposed to the election, says it carried out the attack. Iraqi police and civilians were among the casualties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A car bomb targeted policemen in Al Zatun Street (ph). They were unable to protect themselves. How can they protect citizens? There were several people killed or injured. CHANCE: With less than a week before elections are due to take place, intimidation and violence appear to be escalating. Normal campaigning has proved near impossible, even though the Iraqi authorities with U.S. backing have announced sweeping security measures, extending curfews and closing borders for three days.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: No effort is being spared to provide the kind of security conditions that will enable as many people as possible in those areas to vote. This includes extraordinary security measures. It also includes some special voting procedures for people in some of these areas to take into account the particularly difficult security circumstances.

CHANCE: There's been some good news from Baghdad. The Chinese embassy saying eight of its kidnapped nationals were found safe and well, though it's emerged a Brazilian citizen may have been taken hostage. And just how dangerous is the situation for elections was underlined again. Insurgents hitting this school, earmarked for use as a polling center. In the days running up to the vote, most expect the violence to escalate against those who dare take part.

Matthew Chance, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Undercover, but not under wraps any longer as the strategic support branch. The Pentagon's eyes and ears in some of the deepest, darkest corners of the world. It was outed yesterday in "The Washington Post" and described for us now by CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency for more than the last two years, indeed, has been running a clandestine human intelligence-gathering unit, a unit that will allow it to send operatives around the world anywhere they are ordered to go. That word being confirmed to CNN by top defense officials.

How sensitive is this disclosure? Well, apparently very sensitive. When the story broke in "The Washington Post" newspaper, there was what appeared to be a quick denial from the Pentagon. The Pentagon spokesman, Larry Di Rita, saying, "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations."

Well, this clandestine unit does exist. While some officials say it's administrative only, we have spoken to a number of officials with direct knowledge of the unit. And they say it is deploying teams that go into the field in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, that they are deploying with U.S. military Special Forces that conduct some of the most secret military operations the United States undertakes.

Everyone denies it is a turf battle between the Pentagon and the CIA, but it does put Pentagon officials into a new area of more robust operations, according to one official. And that now is the core of the debate, whether Pentagon officials, Pentagon personnel really are equipped to go into these front-line operations with Special Forces and collect that very crucial human-type intelligence.

By all accounts, Special Forces are going to be very queasy about this, officials say. When they go into the field they like to operate in small, deadly units. They don't like to have a lot of people along for the ride.

But this may be just the first of the major efforts by Don Rumsfeld to overhaul military intelligence. Officials confirming there are 60 more initiatives under way in the Pentagon to overhaul those military intelligence programs.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Departing DHS, next stop Little Rock? Well, CNN has learned that Homeland Security undersecretary Asa Hutchinson is the latest top administration official to opt out of a second term. This after being, by his own admission, disappointed twice that he didn't get the secretary's job.

Hutchinson, in charge of border security and transportation, used to be a congressman and was head of the DEA after that. He may run for governor of his native Arkansas next fall.

The Justice Department is about to host a farewell ceremony for soon to be former Attorney General John Ashcroft. One of the top- tiered figures in President Bush's first-term war on terror was among the first to submit his resignation when Mr. Bush was re-elected. He's expected to address his staff for the last time next hour. You'll see it live right here on CNN.

HARRIS: Freezing temperatures, massive snow drifts and travel delays, lingering effects of a particularly nasty weekend blizzard. From the Midwest to the Northeast, they're digging out today. Our Chris Huntington is in Boston. And CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm's icy grip. Let's begin with Chris.

And Chris, a lot better there today than when we talked yesterday.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, conditions are decidedly improved from yesterday. In fact, it's really turned into a very pleasant afternoon here. Temperature right where we're standing, luckily in the sun, is actually around 30 degrees. A far cry from the four degrees we started off with this morning and the 10 degrees that really was holding throughout much of Saturday and Sunday.

Let's give you a quick update on some of the situations that are still ongoing here in Boston. There's a power outage at Logan Airport. It's not affecting the entire airport. And, of course, air traffic control has its own independent source of power. But it has apparently shut down elevators and escalators around the airport, making it even more difficult for passengers to move around. And, of course, it also affects some of those articulating gate ramps that feed people onto the planes. So the delays continue at Logan Airport, even though it is open. We've seen planes take off and land, but it is by no means back to normal or easygoing.

Snow removal is the priority around here. A state of emergency is still in effect. In the local town of Boston here, as opposed to the surrounding area, Mayor Thomas Menino has asked that only essential personnel come to work today. So a skeleton crew, if you will, on the scene here in Boston.

But let's show you what this storm looked like over the past 24 hours, whipped by hurricane-force winds. In fact, there was a hurricane wind warning in effect for much of Saturday night and Sunday by the Coast Guard extending from as far south as Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, up to the gulf of Maine.

Now, the island of Nantucket had power completely knocked out for Sunday night, which, of course, for folks in this area trying to watch the Patriots game was a double whammy. Cape Cod hit particularly hard. About 30,000 residents totally there without power for a while. Much of the power in that area has been restored.

A little bit north of here in the town of Salem, 38 inches of snow fell. And, of course, the drifting knocked it even higher.

Similar snowfalls in other areas around Boston. In central Boston, 26 inches recorded at Boston Common. That's an inch and a half shy of the all-time record.

There were two fatalities attributed to this storm. A former "Boston Globe" columnist died while shoveling his driveway. And a young boy in the Roxbury section of Boston succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning when he sought refuge in a car that was idling near a snow bank.

And Tone, there is more snow on the way, about six inches expected on Wednesday.

HARRIS: Oh boy. Not what folks there wanted to hear. Chris Huntington in Boston. Chris, thank you.

Let's bring in Jacqui Jeras now.

And Jacqui, as I try to sneak a peek behind you at the map, as I do I see a lot of white. I'm hoping that's cold and not snow, but there you go.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's snow. Yes, it's coming down.

HARRIS: It's snow. All right.

JERAS: It's really very light. In fact, most of this will not be an accumulating snow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: That was a real mess. OK. Jacqui, we appreciate it. Thank you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, tributes are pouring in today as friends and fans reminisce about their favorite memories of late night legend Johnny Carson. He died yesterday of emphysema. And just a few minutes ago, the honorary mayor of Hollywood placed a wreath at Carson's star on the Walk of Fame. Live pictures right now as you see it.

Many people speak of his grace and his Midwest charm and his generosity to his "Tonight Show" guests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RICKLES, COMEDIAN: I say very honestly, he was so special. Because a Midwest guy that -- and I'm a Jewish kid from New York, and when I showed affection it was hard for him to show that. But when I did, I knew he loved me. And he's in heaven now.

And I know he loves me and my family. And I love him. And may god be good to this man. He was the best.

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIENNE: It's an icon that's passed. He gave all of us our starts. My life changed.

I went on the show the first time, seven years of struggling, coming out of "Second City." And on the air he said, "You're going to be a star." And the next day, my life was different.

I'm terribly sad. The man was the best straight man ever, ever, ever. He knew how to feed a line to you. And he did one other thing that I think people have forgotten.

He was generous. He wanted you to come on his show and be better than him and be funnier than him. And he was delighted when someone got their laugh. And that's a very rare thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Larry King has an exclusive interview with Carson's longtime sidekick, Ed McMahon, tonight. It's sure to be a very special show. It begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

And the people in Carson's boyhood hometown surely won't forget him.

HARRIS: That's because he never forgot them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was always -- always looking out for us. And he always kept in touch with what was going on in town, despite his celebrity. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Later this hour, we'll take you to Norfolk, Nebraska, where Johnny's legacy lives large.

PHILLIPS: And just ahead, religious or secular? How the outcome of Iraqi elections could affect that country's future.

HARRIS: And later, paper or plastic? The answer to that question could end up costing you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, they're extending the deadline for Iraqi expatriates to register to vote. Any Iraqi exile in the U.S. who wishes to participate in Iraq's upcoming national election has until Tuesday to sign up.

Polling stations are set up in Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago and Washington. About 240,000 Iraqis in the U.S. are eligible to vote. So far, about 7 percent have registered.

High stakes are riding on the outcome of Sunday's elections in Iraq. Many expect that when the votes are counted, a Shiite government will be in power. Will it be like the religiously-influenced regime in Iran? And what could that mean for the U.S.?

Serious topics. Let's talk with CNN analyst Ken Pollack. He's the director of research at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Ken, good to see you.

KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Thanks, Tony. Good to be here.

HARRIS: Let's talk about turnout. I've heard a lot of discussion about turnout. You think it's very important.

POLLACK: Yes, absolutely. But unfortunately, I think it's important only in the negative sense.

Right now, it looks like we're going to have a pretty good turnout. If turnout is high, that's certainly a positive. But honestly, this election is not going to be decided if it's a big turnout.

The problem is if the turnout turns out to be very low, in which case that would be disastrous for the Bush administration, it would disastrous for the new Iraqi government. It would make political reconstruction in Iraq that much harder.

HARRIS: We'll get to that in just a second as-- going into these elections, is this one of those cases where we know it's going to happen? There's little chance of this thing not moving forward. Is it one of those cases where we're just going to have to take a big step back and look at this election from a distance because if you look close, even closer, you may not like what you see?

POLLACK: Yes, to some extent, the medium is the message. The importance of these elections is that they're taking place. And the hope is that they will be fair, free, that most Iraqis will be able to participate and will want to take part in them. And that this will get something of a push for political reconstruction that the Iraqis will be able to carry into the creation of a new constitution.

But as you're pointing out, Tony, there are going to be a lot of things about this election that are going to look less than perfect. Of course, we found out that our own elections are less than perfect. So maybe we should expect that from a country like Iraq that's having them for the first time, too.

HARRIS: Do the Iraqis care about these parties that are running, these individuals that are running, or are they more concerned with their daily lives and getting electricity on?

POLLACK: It's a great question. And it gets to the heart of exactly the problem in Iraq.

These political parties don't really represent anyone in Iraq. Most of the political parties represent groups of exiles or other groups of people in Iraq who just kind of put themselves together. And most of them are kind of unknown to the Iraqis.

What the Iraqis are going to look for is, once the election is over and these parties are in power, they're going to want to see who, if any among them, can actually deliver. What they care about is security, jobs, electricity and water. And if this new government can deliver on that, they'll be happy. If not, they will dismiss it.

HARRIS: Ken, have you seen anything in the "campaigning" that suggests that any of these groups, the Kurds, the Sunnis, to the extent that they're represented at all, the Shia, that they can sit down at a table after this election and work out the issues you sort of listed there?

POLLACK: Boy, one of the big unknowns out there, Tony. No one knows the answer to that.

HARRIS: Yes.

POLLACK: It's a critical question because this transitional government has got to create a constitution. And that constitution has to work out power-sharing arrangements.

The current one that they have, pretty much no one except the Kurds like. And if they reopen it, the Kurds have basically threatened to walk away from the government. It is one of the many challenges that a new Iraqi government is going to have to face.

HARRIS: Ken Pollack, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

POLLACK: Thank you, Tony. HARRIS: Thanks for the insights -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The story behind the cover story. A family finds a surprise on the magazine stand. A face they had not seen in a year.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. President Bush is making a big push for Social Security reform, but findings from a powerful lobby could hurt his efforts. I'll have that story coming up on LIVE FROM. So stay tuned.

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HARRIS: A new study casts more doubt about whether Americans actually want the Social Security reform outlined by the president.

PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange for more on that story --Susan.

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HARRIS: Checking stories "Now in the News," stay off the streets and stay home. That's the order from Boston's mayor following a blizzard that socked the Northeast. There's 26 inches of snow on Boston Common. Meanwhile, Boston's Logan International Airport has finally reopened after a 24-hour-plus closure.

In Iraq , a notorious suspected bomber is among several suspected insurgent leaders under arrest. The government says Abu Omar al-Kurdi he was responsible for the 2003 attacks on the Jordanian embassy at a U.N. compound in Baghdad. He's also blamed for some 32 car bombs since March of 2003.

Stepping down after being passed over. Sources tell CNN Asa Hutchinson is resigning from his post at the Homeland Security Department. He's currently the undersecretary for border and transportation security issues. Hutchinson was passed over twice by the Bush administration to head the agency.

And John Ashcroft is in his final days as attorney general. You're looking at preparations for his farewell ceremony live. It's set to get under way soon at the Justice Department. Ashcroft is expected to officially leave on Friday. His apparent successor, Alberto Gonzales, is still awaiting Senate confirmation.

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