Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Martha Stewart Returns Home; FBI Offers Reward in Judge Lefkow Case
Aired March 04, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Stories now in the news, kidnapped Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena has been freed in Iraq. The release was confirmed by her newspaper in Rome. Sgrena appeared in video three weeks ago pleading for her life and urging U.S. forces to leave Iraq. She was kidnapped outside a Baghdad mosque on February 4th.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is expected to announce a troop pull-back from Lebanon tomorrow. Officials say the redeployment will fall short of U.S. and Arab demands for a withdrawal. Syria has 15,000 troops in Lebanon.
The government seizes Paxil CR and Avandamet tablets over safety concerns. The seizures are taking place at a GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing plant and distribution centers in Puerto Rico and Knoxville, Tennessee. The Food and Drug Administration says it's concerned about manufacturing quality. Paxil is an antidepressant and Avandamet is used for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
We want to update a story we told you about just a few moments ago, but first, President Bush hits the road pushing his plan to overall Social Security. He told reporters in New Jersey the money going out of the Social Security fund will exceed the money coming in by 2018. Polls show more Americans are opposed to the president's plan to create private Social Security accounts for younger workers.
Now we want to update a story we told you about just couple of moments ago at a gas explosion at a Petco store in New Jersey, Eatontown, New Jersey. Two people we understood were trapped in the building. We know those people have been rescued, that they are safe. Apparently, a construction crew working in the area damaged an unmarked gas line and you can see the kind of damage that it caused. The roof collapsed after an explosion in that building. Two people trapped inside that building have been rescued.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A warning. You're about to see and hear explicit music videos with graphic language and images that some might find offensive but we hope they will enlighten you, too, about the controversy over hip-hop which has sparked a backlash among some African American women. Here is CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over). Hip-hop. The sound of everyday life for millions of Americans. The tough "in your face" beat that sets the tone of what's in. But today's hip-hop video cool has gone somewhere else. Take a look.
This is Nelliy, one of the most popular hip-hop singers throwing money at women's crotches on his video, "Tip Drill."
Sliding a credit card in a woman's bottom and the lyrics?
(MUSIC - "TIP DRILL")
HINOJOSA: Shocked? You're not the only one. Meet Asha Jennings, a tiny one-woman powerhouse who is taking on the $10 billion hip-hop industry.
ASHA JENNINGS, ACTIVIST: I want people to start critically thinking about how these images affect black women today. We're telling people they're bitches and 'hos and sluts and not worthy of respect and that's exactly how society is treating us.
HINOHOSA: Asha is getting in people's faces.
JENNINGS: Can you read the lyrics to them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is a 'ho ...
JENNINGS: Can you be a little louder? Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the guts. Cut you up like you ain't been cut.
HINOJOSA: Forcing the point.
JENNINGS: We're questioning both the men and the women.
HINOJOSA: And dealing with the push-back. These young men go to a prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're young black men. They're easy to target. We've been the target forever so it's not like there's nothing new. There is the black man, get him, he's putting bad lyrics on women.
HINOJOSA: It's not easy for young black women to attack black men but this is a family affair and it started when Asha invited Nelly to a fundraiser at her alma mater, Spelman College, also in Atlanta. She thought it was a good idea because Nelly's sister has leukemia, but then she saw the "Tip Drill" video.
JENNINGS: It's the worst video I've ever seen. It shows men fully dressed, throwing money at women who are in bikinis and the men are touching their body parts and it's complete exploitation in its rarest form.
HINOJOSA: Angered by the video, Spelman women plan to protest and Nelly canceled his appearance. But it doesn't stop there. "Essence" magazine, an influential monthly for African American women started a campaign called "take back the music." Michaela Davis is an editor. MICHAELA DAVIS, "ESSENCE": This is an act of love. We love the music and we love the culture and why we have to step in.
HINOJOSA: The magazine got an unprecedented million hits in just one month on its "take back the music" Web site. And the movement spread from there to newspapers. One African American writer saying what these black women are doing is the "most important cultural movement in the new century."
DAVIS: The crux of it is that we have become out of balance. That it's really slating (ph) towards one image of women which tends to be objectified, degrading, very stripper-like, you know? And it's not that that, in itself, is wrong, but it becomes wrong when there is no other -- there is no other quality or no other image that we have to choose from.
HINOJOSA: Asha Jennings believe these images and lyrics have a direct impact on the lives of all African American women.
JENNINGS: I'm in law school and I have to sit in front of these young men and women every day who buy these CDs who don't look at me as competent and don't look at me as good as them. They look to me as a tip drill so I have to stand up and overexert myself to prove myself and that's not fair.
HINOJOSA: The largest number of consumers of hip-hop aren't black women or even black men.
DAVIS: We have found that in recent research, very, very recent research, that the main consumer of this music is still affluent young white men, 18 to 34, are buying most of this music. So it is -- it's big. You know? It's big. It's like rock 'n' roll was and bigger.
HINOJOSA: So big that Asha fears these images will become mainstream.
JENNINGS: We're not asking for a complete removal of all images. But we are asking for respect. Forty years ago, the way of being was that African Americans couldn't vote. And African Americans had to sit in the back of the bus. If we had sat back and said, well, this is the way it is, then where would we be today? I think it's the same thing with these images. Just because that's the way it is, doesn't mean we have to accept.
HINOJOSA: Nelly told "Essence" magazine in the past that he respects women and exercising his artistic freedom. He defends his videos as entertainment and insists the women are in them by choice. At a recent town hall meeting in Atlanta, Michael Lewellen of BET, the Black Entertainment Network said this is about artists and their freedom of expression but he also said it's about the money.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, BET: If people don't buy the CDs and if people don't watch the shows, we won't show them. And the artist won't make them and the record labels won't produce them if there is a movement afoot that basically says we will no longer spend our money this way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave the guns and the crack and the knives alone.
HINOJOSA: And this is what it's all really about, the money, the supply and demand. As long as people continue to buy it, producers will continue to make it and BET will continue to air it and Asha and the other young black women say they'll continue to protest. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And this note, "Essence" is owned by Time Warner, parent company of CNN and Nelly did not return calls for comment.
Now this news just in to CNN. We've been talking to you about the Italian journalist that had been captured in Iraq. You remember her plea on videotape. Then we heard she was freed. Now we are getting information from her newspaper, the newspaper that Giuliana Sgrena works for. She's a reporter for the communist daily "Il Manifeso" and reports are that a U.S. armored vehicle mistakenly fired on her car after she was released from her captors in Iraq. That is according to the newspaper she works for.
According to the newspaper also, one Italian, possibly a secret service agent, security guard or mediator was killed in that shooting while she was actually injured. We're told that she is now, according to this newspaper, in the hospital with an injured shoulder. She was reporting for the communist daily "Il Manifesto in Iraq and now I'm told, or according to the newspaper we are told she is in the hospital with a shoulder injury. The shooting occurred at a roadblock, according to the newspaper.
Now, there was no immediate reaction from Italian authorities at this point that we can tell you. The Italian government did confirm, though, that she was released, they said that there was a plane waiting to bring her back to Rome. Now we're told the 56-year-old journalist who was abducted back in February by gunmen who blocked her car outside of Baghdad University is in a hospital with an injury, according to her newspaper, after U.S. forces mistakenly fired upon the car that was taking her to a plane that was supposed to take her home.
We're going to follow that story and bring you more information as we get it. Quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, President Bush, assured CIA staffers the agency will still play a vital security role. The U.S. intelligence reorganization created a new national intelligence director post, diminishing the CIA's dominance and leaving its chief a bit unclear on his future role. Why the concern and why now? Well, for some answers, we turn to CNN contributor and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr. Nice to have you with us.
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. First of all, what was your overall impression, just the fact the president went and addressed the CIA?
BARR: Well, it indicates the president is very sensitive to the damage control that he has to engage in now to on the one hand, reaffirm CIA's relevance to the administration and the future administrations, but at the same time walk that fine line by telling them you're important but now there is somebody more important. So it's a very difficult balancing act that the president has here.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, you see the president and you hear from the president. He's telling the CIA everything is going to be okay. Some comments came out. Evidently, an A.P. reporter bought a ticket to a event, a Ronald Reagan Presidential Library event and Porter Goss, head of CIA was there and he came out, not realizing a reporter was in the crowd and said "The jobs I'm being asked to do, the five hats that I wear are too much for this mortal. I'm a little amazed at the workload." And then he went on to talk about the national intelligence director, the new director, if confirmed, of course, will be Ambassador to Iraq Negroponte and he went on to say, "It's got a huge amount of ambiguity in it, I don't know why - I don't know by law what my direct relationship is with John Negroponte."
So it was shocking for people to hear that here is the man on that is the head of the CIA and doesn't know what his relationship will be with the new intelligence director and if indeed, Bush has given him proper orders?
BARR: Well, what's even more amazing is that the head of the CIA would not presume that there is somebody in that audience that was going to report. You always, always, always presume that whatever you say is going to be reported. So that was a mistake number one. Mistake number two was being perhaps overly frank. But it does indicate a very serious problem that the administration is having and that is in the rush to be responsive to public pressure -- Last December, in rushing through this legislation, establishing this new position, they did not, and apparently still, have not thought out the relationship here and that is a recipe for more mistakes.
PHILLIPS: Interesting you said that, not well thought-out. Here is how the president responded when a reporter asked him about those comments.
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT (video clip): The CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency. It's the center of the intelligence community but there is a lot of other intelligence gathering -- operations around government and the job of Ambassador Negroponte is to be to take the information and make sure it is coordinated and it's distribution to not only the White House but to key players in my administration. And so I'm confident the process will work.
PHILLIPS: He still didn't really address what Porter Goss had to say, but he did go on to say that Porter Goss comes every morning with the CIA brief. I mean, who is telling the truth here?
BARR: Well, Porter Goss did not look particularly happy standing there. You could read his body language I think, pretty carefully. Yes, because on the one hand, we're reading many, many reports that it is the new director of national intelligence who will be in charge of the president's daily briefing, which is the key position, the most important position for any intelligence official in Washington is sitting down every day with that face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with the president. And it appears that the director of the CIA will no longer have that so they're trying to put a happy face on that, but you can only, you know, wear that fake smile so long before it starts to wear kind of thin.
PHILLIPS: That fake smile, there is a lot of that going on in Washington.
BARR: There always is.
PHILLIPS: That's our next segment, Bob Barr --Except for you, of course. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
BARR: Sure.
HARRIS: Robert DeNiro is looking out for aspiring filmmakers? Sibila, is that true?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true. I'll tell you how the Oscar winner is making dreams come true. Plus rap star 50 Cent breaks a music record. That and that and more when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And acting heavyweight is trying to help the little guy in Hollywood.
PHILLIPS: And 50 Cent proving why he's worth a lot more than that when it comes to making hit records. Sibila Vargas is in Los Angeles with the entertainment headlines. Hi, Sibila.
VARGAS: I like that! "Fitty Cent."
HARRIS: "Fitty Cent!"
VARGAS: "Fitty Cent!"
HARRIS: It rolled, didn't it?
PHILLIPS: It does. It just totally rolls off the - Just don't get me going and talking about Nelly videos. Don't get me going there.
VARGAS: I know what you mean. I gotcha there. But let's talk about Robert de Niro. Don't you just love him? His passion for his filmmaking continues. First he started the Tribeca Film Festival and now he's hoping to make a new director's dream come true. The two- time Oscar winner has teamed up with amazon.com and American Express to host $50,000 online contest for novice filmmakers. Here's how it works. Filmmakers submit 2 to 7-minute short film to amazon.com by April 13th. Entries will be judged by viewers and the top five will be shown at the film festival. A winner will be announced in June and will be given an AmEx card with, get this, $50,000 towards future filmmaking. Not bad.
Meanwhile, winning top prize and breaking records on the music charts is rap star 50 Cent.
(MUSIC)
VARGAS: That 50 Cent must be a gold piece because he has three of the top five singles on the billboard top 100 chart, a first for any artist. "Candyshop" is number one, while is collaboration with the Game, "How We Do" is number four and "Disco Inferno" came in fifth. 50's latest album, "the Massacre," hit stores yesterday. Tony?
HARRIS: OK. Sibila, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Why don't we update the story of the Italian journalist who we understand is now in a U.S. coalition hospital being treated for a shoulder injury. We're talking about Giuliana Sgrena who was freed by her Iraqi captors. Let's bring in Barbara Starr as I set this story up. That as she was leaving, the car she was traveling in, we're understanding now from military officials, was fired on by coalition forces and, Barbara, that is the outline. Put a little more meat on that, if you would, for us, please, with what you know.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, this story is still unfolding at this hour. Military officials are able to confirm some specific details, however. Yes, Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter for the Italian daily "Il Manifesto" was, she we say, rescued or released today in Iraq after several weeks in captivity and apparently as Italians were driving her away from where she was being held, coalition forces did open fire, according to a military official with direct knowledge of the incident. He says, of course, accidentally opened fire. Did not realize what was going on. Fired at her vehicle.
Now, as we say, al of this is unfolding at this hour, but according to initial reports, one person in her vehicle was killed. There are press reports that that was an Italian security agent. As we understand it, Giuliana Sgrena is now in a coalition hospital in Iraq, believed to be Baghdad. Those details, however, are still being confirmed by military officials. What they do say is that basically the shooting incident did occur, that coalition forces accidentally fired on her vehicle, causing injuries and at least one death.
Ms. Sgrena had been in captivity since early last month when abductors surrounding her car, reportedly outside Baghdad University. She was in custody. She was being held as a hostage by some group of insurgents. She had been seen, of course, on video pleading for her life. Today was out of captivity in some fashion. All of those details still being revealed. But this shooting incident did occur and it remains under urgent investigation, according to authorities.
Tony?
HARRIS: OK. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon following the story for us. Barbara, we appreciate it, as always. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: As we take you to break, a quick check of the Big Board there at the New York Stock Exchange. We're following the numbers. The Dow is up. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Now in the news, scaling back in the search for a missing Florida girl. Authorities say they'll no longer use dogs to help look for Jessica Lunsford. The 9-year-old disappeared from her home a week ago Wednesday. Police say they're pursuing about 1,000 leads.
Social insecurity. President Bush is back on the road trying to convince Americans that, despite what his critics say, the program really does need saving. He's winging his way toward Indiana this hour, after stopping in New Jersey.
Drug alert. If you take Paxil CR or Avandamet tablets, government officials suggest you may want to consider another drug, at least temporarily. The Food and Drug Administration is seizing tablets that have just been made because of safety concerns at the manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.
PHILLIPS: We begin this hour with dramatic reports out of Italy on today's release of a journalist held hostage in Iraq.
Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter from the newspaper "Il Manifesto," was shot and wounded by coalition troops, who mistakenly fired on her car at a roadblock. Now, reportedly, an Italian Secret Service agent was killed. Another agent was wounded. A military official tells CNN the incident did occur involving coalition forces. We're going to bring you more information as we get it.
In the meantime, Sgrena is said to be hospitalized in Iraq with a shoulder injury, just one month to the day after she was kidnapped outside Baghdad University. And we're getting word now, according to the Associated Press and Reuters News Agency, that Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is confirming the death of that Italian official. Not quite sure if it was, indeed, a Secret Service agent or not. But he's confirming that death.
He's also called the U.S. ambassador for explanation on the shooting.
Let's bring the Barbara Starr once again live from the Pentagon.
And, Barbara, it's probably very important to point out that, when we talk about coalition forces, it doesn't necessarily mean it was a U.S. soldier that made a mistake.
STARR: Kyra, all of this is under investigation at this hour. You are exactly right.
These are initial first reports. The investigation is continuing. Military officials say they are not sure yet exactly how this incident unfolded. But what they can confirm is that it did take place, that there was a shooting incident involving Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter for the communist daily "Il Manifesto" out of Italy. She had been in custody by insurgents, being held as a hostage since last month, when her car was surrounded outside Baghdad University.
She had been seen on videotape, of course, pleading for her life, another very difficult hostage case. Earlier today in Iraq, apparently she was released by the group that was holding her. And then somehow her car in which she was riding and also Italian security personnel was riding came under fire from coalition forces.
We cannot say at this time whether it was U.S. military personnel or other coalition forces. That is being confirmed. But military officials have told CNN, yes, that one person in that car was killed by the gunfire. They said they do believe it was an Italian security agent. That now apparently being confirmed by the Italian government.
Ms. Sgrena apparently now in a coalition hospital in Baghdad. Now, Kyra, according to press reports, and all of this still being looked at very closely, this incident may have taken place at a roadblock in Iraq. That, frankly, would not be surprising. There are many security roadblocks, as everyone knows across the country, and security personnel watch very carefully. They are always concerned about cars traveling at high speed, about this situation of possible suicide car bombers.
They try and keep everything under control. There have been unfortunate incidents, however, of course, of even Iraqis being killed at these roadblocks in high-speed situations. We must emphasize, these are first reports. We don't know exactly how it all unfolded, how the shooting took place. It did happen, but the incident remains under investigation -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks so much -- Tony.
HARRIS: Out and about, yes, and, well, sort of, to a point. After five months in a federal pen in West Virginia, Martha Stewart is back her natural habitat, a 153-acre, multimillion-dollar spread in Westchester County, New York. She'll soon be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet that will keep her confined to the house more or less for the next five months.
But she hasn't been complaining the numerous times she's come into camera range since her arrival this morning.
CNN's Allan Chernoff is in the mist of the media horde.
Allan, it is all yours.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Tony.
Well, the first range that we had of Martha Stewart actually was 2:30 in the morning. Her entourage drove up the road and entered straight from the airport, the Westchester Airport, where she arrived from West Virginia. But Martha Stewart, in spite of that late arrival, was up early in the morning petting her horses, walking her dogs. And then she came out and chatted up the media. She told a story about, how in prison, she and the other inmates asked the guards for cappuccino every morning as a joke as the guards were walking around with their cups of coffee.
And she said, now that she had arrived at her house, her cappuccino machine was actually broken. So, still no cappuccino for Martha Stewart. Nonetheless, she was kind enough to bring out hot cocoa for the reporters and photographers standing at her fence.
She also showed off some lemons that she had picked from her greenhouse, said these were her first lemons in five months and that she looked forward to having some hot lemonade. She said, "Lemons are one of my favorite things."
Now, there will be a little more serious activity at the Stewart compound as well. Of course, she is there on home confinement for another five months. And that will involve an ankle bracelet being attached to Martha Stewart to monitor her whereabouts. She will be permitted out of the house only 48 hours per week. That will include visits to doctors, grocery shopping, perhaps visiting the church.
But, also, she will be permitted to go into the office for work. And Martha Stewart has plenty of work planned, a couple of television shows in the works, magazine columns and perhaps some more books as well. We know at least of one book, a baking book, is planned for this fall -- Tony.
HARRIS: Good. Can't wait. Allan Chernoff on Martha Stewart watch for us -- Allan, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, coming August, Stewart might be as happy to shed her ankle bracelet as she is now to be out of prison. The Bedford estate is a far cry from incarceration.
But CNN's Mary Snow reports Stewart's style can expect to be a bit cramped.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bedford, New York, estate where Martha Stewart will be staying is bigger than the 95-acre prison grounds at Alderson where she's been held for the past five months.
She's been sharing close quarters with inmates, most of whom are there on drug convictions. Now she's going home to her neighbors like Ralph Lauren, billionaire George Soros and Glenn Close.
Adding Martha Stewart back into the mix in Westchester County doesn't seem to be fazing residents used to fame.
CHERYL FISHER, KATONAH RESIDENT: We expect their privacy. I mean, the Clintons live in Chappaqua, so we're -- I don't think anyone is going to be too star-struck to see her walking down the street or shopping in any of these shops that we go to every today. SNOW: But Stewart isn't allowed to roam free. This gourmet grocery store said to be one of her favorites is one place she could go, since grocery shopping is on the approved list under probation rules.
She's allowed to leave her home for 48 hours a week, to go to work, attend church services, medical appointments and grocery shopping. There will be one day a week of lockdown where she can't leave her home.
When she does go anywhere, it first must be approved by her probation officer. He will be making unscheduled trips to her home and work.
Stewart must wear an electronic ankle bracelet like this one, that cannot be taken off for the next five months. That monitor will let her parole officer know when she enters and leaves her house.
Probation officers who have had to monitor high-profile people like Martha Stewart say home confinement could prove challenging, imposing limits on her marathon work hours.
LISA KUCA, FORMER PROBATION OFFICER: It's not a piece of cake. It's very frustrating. It is not as easy as it's perceived from the common public. And I do think she will have interesting challenges as will the probation officer supervising her with the employment situation.
SNOW: Stewart won't have to be alone. She can have visitors to her home as long as they haven't been convicted of a crime.
Mary snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And news across America now.
Back on the stand, the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser is testifying for a second day in the pop star's child molestation trial. In a videotape shown to jurors today, she and her family can be seen heaping praise on Jackson. The witness says she and her family were told what to say.
The jury in the Robert Blake murder trial could soon get the case. The defense wrapped up its closing arguments a short while ago. Blake is accused of killing his wife as she sat in a car outside a restaurant. The defense calls the prosecution's theory absurd.
And a bizarre attack at an animal refuge near Bakersfield, California. A pair of chimpanzees brutally mauled a 62-year-old man as he and his wife visited another chimpanzee that used to be their family pet. Doctors say the chimpanzees bit off most of the man's face. He is hospitalized in critical condition. The chimps were shot and killed.
And crews believe they have now rescued everybody from what was a pet store in Eatontown, New Jersey. A natural gas explosion leveled most of the building with five people still inside. Those people have now been taken to an area hospital.
PHILLIPS: A reward offered today in the case of the shocking murders at the home of a federal judge. At a news conference in Chicago, the FBI offered up $50,000 for information that leads to the killer or killers of the husband and mother of Judge Joan Lefkow. Officials now say that Matthew Hale, the well-known white supremacist, remains on their radar, but Hale is not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GRANT, FBI: Obviously, Matt Hale and his prior conviction for threats to Judge Lefkow is an avenue of investigation that we're going to fully explore. But we have from day one determined we are not going to become myopic on this investigation, and everybody agrees with that. We don't know at this time who did this murder. So we are not pigeonholing ourselves or we are not focusing in an avenue at this point in time, but it is a logical avenue to investigate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And from a federal lockup there in Chicago, Matthew Hale tells "TIME" magazine that he wants the perpetrator caught -- quote -- "Only an idiot would think that I would do this." Hale is awaiting sentencing for conspiring with an informant to have Judge Lefkow killed.
Joining me now to talk more about the case, CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.
So, Hale, first of all, isn't totally out of the woods.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, he's not out of the woods.
But just like the SAC of the FBI said, they can't be myopic. They still have to take a look at the husband. He was an attorney. They have to take a look at all of his cases, go back, take a look at all the judge's cases that may have not ended so well with other sentencings.
So, a , they've got a lot to do. They have more leads to run down, interviews to do. Waiting for forensics to come back from the FBI lab. We heard that there was a shard of glass with fingerprints there, some footprints there, bloody footprints on the scene, some other things.
And they said they have gotten over 230 tips and over 100 since they released the two composite pictures of the people that they think may have something to do with it. Now, apparently, these two composites are of two men that were seen in the neighborhood, one possibly in a car and one possibly near the house the day or the morning that the murders took place. So they're waiting to see exactly if they get any more leads from these two composites,because, with the $50,000 reward, there's no honor among thieves. PHILLIPS: You know, Let's talk about that. There's a lot of publicity on this case.
BROOKS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: It involves, of course, Matthew Hale possibly and this judge. And why would they come forward? Why would authorities come forward with this money now? Are they desperate for more leads? Do they think maybe this might get somebody to eventually give some information that might be on the fence?
BROOKS: Well, a lot of times when they offer rewards, some people may say, well, they're offering a reward because their case isn't going anywhere. That's not true.
A lot of people are motivated by money. They throw this money out there. And there may be some people who heard something, who saw something that they really weren't sure of and then go, well, you know, there's $50,000 here. Maybe I can make a little money. And they'll come forward with this.
Snitches are made regularly by federal, state, local law enforcement because of the offer of money. As I said, there's no honor among criminals. Money makes the world go round and it motivates the criminal element as well.
PHILLIPS: Yes. You lay $50,000 out there and, all of a sudden, oh, I do think I remember something.
BROOKS: Absolutely. And somebody could be in a bar, in a restaurant somewhere, and they could overhear two people talking. They're not sure exactly what they heard, but that could also motivate them to come forward with any information they have.
And people don't realize, just the little thing, little tiny thing that they might think is just, you know, ah, it's not much. I'm not going to come forward with it. They should. They should contact the police. And this $50,000 could motivate someone to come forward with just that piece of information that they need.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thanks.
BROOKS: Thanks, Kyra.
HARRIS: An underground discovery raises some big questions for Homeland Security. Just who was using this 200-yard tunnel between the U.S. and Mexican? Details on what investigators dug up ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER UPDATE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We have more information for you now on the story we've been following about the Italian journalist that was released today after being held in Iraq for one month. You'll remember it was a month ago to this day, actually, that Giuliana Sgrena was kidnapped outside of Baghdad University. You remember her plea on videotape and her picture.
She works for the newspaper "Il Manifesto." Well, we reported earlier that she was shot and wounded by coalition troops who mistakenly fired on her car at a roadblock after she was released. Well, now we are getting reports that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said that he has asked the U.S. ambassador for explanations about the shooting death of the Italian intelligence officer in Iraq that was in this car that was fired upon also with this freed hostage, this journalist, Giuliana Sgrena.
Now, here is the quote from Berlusconi. He said: "Given that fire came from an American source, I called in the American ambassador. I believe we must have an explanation for such a serious incident for which someone must take the responsibility."
Well, according to the calls that we've made here at CNN, a military official tells CNN that the incident did occur involving coalition forces, and so we've been trying to work more information out of the Pentagon. We can only tell you that what we know is, this involved coalition forces. Berlusconi coming forward saying that he believes that the shots came from an American source. That right now, we are checking on. These are, obviously, wire reports that are coming across out of Italy.
But we can tell you that Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist, is in a hospital after receiving an injury to the shoulder. And there is an Italian intelligence agent that has been shot dead. We're continuing to investigate this story on whether U.S. forces were involved in this shooting that, according to a military official, was a mistake.
HARRIS: In our continuing look at security, an instructive glimpse today at what the federal government face in the fight against illegal immigration. Just imagine what it took to build this tunnel that you're about to see.
Here's CNN's Zain Verjee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Below ground and below the radar, until now. Border patrol agents have uncovered a 200-yard tunnel connecting a house in East Calexico in the U.S. to a house in Mexicali, Mexico.
Homeland security officials say the tunnel is sophisticated. It's about 20 feet underground and has a cement floor, wood planks on the sides, a ventilation systems, phone cabling, possibly for an intercom system. The tunnel is three feet by five. That's large enough for a person to squeeze through.
Authorities say it's likely the tunnel and ones like it have been used for drug trafficking. Security officials are also not ruling out money or arms being smuggled through.
The Department of Homeland Security says there's no indication terrorists have used the tunnel to enter the U.S., but the possibility of cross-border infiltration has caught the eye of Congress.
REP. SOLOMON ORTIZ (D), TEXAS: The southern border is literally under siege, and there's a real possibility that terrorists, particularly al Qaeda forces, could exploit this series of holes in our law enforcement system along the southern border.
VERJEE: Peter Gadiel, who lost his son on 9/11, says the terrorists responsible for the death of his son, and nearly 3,000 others, took advantage of holes in the system.
PETER GADIEL, 9/11 FAMILIES FOR SECURE AMERICA: Those 19 mass murderers counted on lax scrutiny of their visa applications and overwhelmed inspectors at our ports of entry. Then once here, the terrorists counted on being able to hide in plain sight in an ocean of over 10 million illegal aliens living in the United States.
VERJEE: That's not entirely fair, says Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Immigration does not equate to terrorism. And I say it again: immigration does not equate to terrorism. I hope in the future weeks and months to come, we'll find common ground to address the concerns of Lou Dobbs.
VERJEE (on camera): And on the tunnels, the Department of Homeland Security says no one's been arrested, but the investigation is ongoing.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, we're done, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Time for the weekend, my friend.
HARRIS: Have a great weekend.
PHILLIPS: You, too.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. I will. I will.
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 March 4, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Stories now in the news, kidnapped Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena has been freed in Iraq. The release was confirmed by her newspaper in Rome. Sgrena appeared in video three weeks ago pleading for her life and urging U.S. forces to leave Iraq. She was kidnapped outside a Baghdad mosque on February 4th.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is expected to announce a troop pull-back from Lebanon tomorrow. Officials say the redeployment will fall short of U.S. and Arab demands for a withdrawal. Syria has 15,000 troops in Lebanon.
The government seizes Paxil CR and Avandamet tablets over safety concerns. The seizures are taking place at a GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing plant and distribution centers in Puerto Rico and Knoxville, Tennessee. The Food and Drug Administration says it's concerned about manufacturing quality. Paxil is an antidepressant and Avandamet is used for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
We want to update a story we told you about just a few moments ago, but first, President Bush hits the road pushing his plan to overall Social Security. He told reporters in New Jersey the money going out of the Social Security fund will exceed the money coming in by 2018. Polls show more Americans are opposed to the president's plan to create private Social Security accounts for younger workers.
Now we want to update a story we told you about just couple of moments ago at a gas explosion at a Petco store in New Jersey, Eatontown, New Jersey. Two people we understood were trapped in the building. We know those people have been rescued, that they are safe. Apparently, a construction crew working in the area damaged an unmarked gas line and you can see the kind of damage that it caused. The roof collapsed after an explosion in that building. Two people trapped inside that building have been rescued.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A warning. You're about to see and hear explicit music videos with graphic language and images that some might find offensive but we hope they will enlighten you, too, about the controversy over hip-hop which has sparked a backlash among some African American women. Here is CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over). Hip-hop. The sound of everyday life for millions of Americans. The tough "in your face" beat that sets the tone of what's in. But today's hip-hop video cool has gone somewhere else. Take a look.
This is Nelliy, one of the most popular hip-hop singers throwing money at women's crotches on his video, "Tip Drill."
Sliding a credit card in a woman's bottom and the lyrics?
(MUSIC - "TIP DRILL")
HINOJOSA: Shocked? You're not the only one. Meet Asha Jennings, a tiny one-woman powerhouse who is taking on the $10 billion hip-hop industry.
ASHA JENNINGS, ACTIVIST: I want people to start critically thinking about how these images affect black women today. We're telling people they're bitches and 'hos and sluts and not worthy of respect and that's exactly how society is treating us.
HINOHOSA: Asha is getting in people's faces.
JENNINGS: Can you read the lyrics to them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is a 'ho ...
JENNINGS: Can you be a little louder? Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the guts. Cut you up like you ain't been cut.
HINOJOSA: Forcing the point.
JENNINGS: We're questioning both the men and the women.
HINOJOSA: And dealing with the push-back. These young men go to a prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're young black men. They're easy to target. We've been the target forever so it's not like there's nothing new. There is the black man, get him, he's putting bad lyrics on women.
HINOJOSA: It's not easy for young black women to attack black men but this is a family affair and it started when Asha invited Nelly to a fundraiser at her alma mater, Spelman College, also in Atlanta. She thought it was a good idea because Nelly's sister has leukemia, but then she saw the "Tip Drill" video.
JENNINGS: It's the worst video I've ever seen. It shows men fully dressed, throwing money at women who are in bikinis and the men are touching their body parts and it's complete exploitation in its rarest form.
HINOJOSA: Angered by the video, Spelman women plan to protest and Nelly canceled his appearance. But it doesn't stop there. "Essence" magazine, an influential monthly for African American women started a campaign called "take back the music." Michaela Davis is an editor. MICHAELA DAVIS, "ESSENCE": This is an act of love. We love the music and we love the culture and why we have to step in.
HINOJOSA: The magazine got an unprecedented million hits in just one month on its "take back the music" Web site. And the movement spread from there to newspapers. One African American writer saying what these black women are doing is the "most important cultural movement in the new century."
DAVIS: The crux of it is that we have become out of balance. That it's really slating (ph) towards one image of women which tends to be objectified, degrading, very stripper-like, you know? And it's not that that, in itself, is wrong, but it becomes wrong when there is no other -- there is no other quality or no other image that we have to choose from.
HINOJOSA: Asha Jennings believe these images and lyrics have a direct impact on the lives of all African American women.
JENNINGS: I'm in law school and I have to sit in front of these young men and women every day who buy these CDs who don't look at me as competent and don't look at me as good as them. They look to me as a tip drill so I have to stand up and overexert myself to prove myself and that's not fair.
HINOJOSA: The largest number of consumers of hip-hop aren't black women or even black men.
DAVIS: We have found that in recent research, very, very recent research, that the main consumer of this music is still affluent young white men, 18 to 34, are buying most of this music. So it is -- it's big. You know? It's big. It's like rock 'n' roll was and bigger.
HINOJOSA: So big that Asha fears these images will become mainstream.
JENNINGS: We're not asking for a complete removal of all images. But we are asking for respect. Forty years ago, the way of being was that African Americans couldn't vote. And African Americans had to sit in the back of the bus. If we had sat back and said, well, this is the way it is, then where would we be today? I think it's the same thing with these images. Just because that's the way it is, doesn't mean we have to accept.
HINOJOSA: Nelly told "Essence" magazine in the past that he respects women and exercising his artistic freedom. He defends his videos as entertainment and insists the women are in them by choice. At a recent town hall meeting in Atlanta, Michael Lewellen of BET, the Black Entertainment Network said this is about artists and their freedom of expression but he also said it's about the money.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, BET: If people don't buy the CDs and if people don't watch the shows, we won't show them. And the artist won't make them and the record labels won't produce them if there is a movement afoot that basically says we will no longer spend our money this way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave the guns and the crack and the knives alone.
HINOJOSA: And this is what it's all really about, the money, the supply and demand. As long as people continue to buy it, producers will continue to make it and BET will continue to air it and Asha and the other young black women say they'll continue to protest. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And this note, "Essence" is owned by Time Warner, parent company of CNN and Nelly did not return calls for comment.
Now this news just in to CNN. We've been talking to you about the Italian journalist that had been captured in Iraq. You remember her plea on videotape. Then we heard she was freed. Now we are getting information from her newspaper, the newspaper that Giuliana Sgrena works for. She's a reporter for the communist daily "Il Manifeso" and reports are that a U.S. armored vehicle mistakenly fired on her car after she was released from her captors in Iraq. That is according to the newspaper she works for.
According to the newspaper also, one Italian, possibly a secret service agent, security guard or mediator was killed in that shooting while she was actually injured. We're told that she is now, according to this newspaper, in the hospital with an injured shoulder. She was reporting for the communist daily "Il Manifesto in Iraq and now I'm told, or according to the newspaper we are told she is in the hospital with a shoulder injury. The shooting occurred at a roadblock, according to the newspaper.
Now, there was no immediate reaction from Italian authorities at this point that we can tell you. The Italian government did confirm, though, that she was released, they said that there was a plane waiting to bring her back to Rome. Now we're told the 56-year-old journalist who was abducted back in February by gunmen who blocked her car outside of Baghdad University is in a hospital with an injury, according to her newspaper, after U.S. forces mistakenly fired upon the car that was taking her to a plane that was supposed to take her home.
We're going to follow that story and bring you more information as we get it. Quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, President Bush, assured CIA staffers the agency will still play a vital security role. The U.S. intelligence reorganization created a new national intelligence director post, diminishing the CIA's dominance and leaving its chief a bit unclear on his future role. Why the concern and why now? Well, for some answers, we turn to CNN contributor and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr. Nice to have you with us.
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. First of all, what was your overall impression, just the fact the president went and addressed the CIA?
BARR: Well, it indicates the president is very sensitive to the damage control that he has to engage in now to on the one hand, reaffirm CIA's relevance to the administration and the future administrations, but at the same time walk that fine line by telling them you're important but now there is somebody more important. So it's a very difficult balancing act that the president has here.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, you see the president and you hear from the president. He's telling the CIA everything is going to be okay. Some comments came out. Evidently, an A.P. reporter bought a ticket to a event, a Ronald Reagan Presidential Library event and Porter Goss, head of CIA was there and he came out, not realizing a reporter was in the crowd and said "The jobs I'm being asked to do, the five hats that I wear are too much for this mortal. I'm a little amazed at the workload." And then he went on to talk about the national intelligence director, the new director, if confirmed, of course, will be Ambassador to Iraq Negroponte and he went on to say, "It's got a huge amount of ambiguity in it, I don't know why - I don't know by law what my direct relationship is with John Negroponte."
So it was shocking for people to hear that here is the man on that is the head of the CIA and doesn't know what his relationship will be with the new intelligence director and if indeed, Bush has given him proper orders?
BARR: Well, what's even more amazing is that the head of the CIA would not presume that there is somebody in that audience that was going to report. You always, always, always presume that whatever you say is going to be reported. So that was a mistake number one. Mistake number two was being perhaps overly frank. But it does indicate a very serious problem that the administration is having and that is in the rush to be responsive to public pressure -- Last December, in rushing through this legislation, establishing this new position, they did not, and apparently still, have not thought out the relationship here and that is a recipe for more mistakes.
PHILLIPS: Interesting you said that, not well thought-out. Here is how the president responded when a reporter asked him about those comments.
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT (video clip): The CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency. It's the center of the intelligence community but there is a lot of other intelligence gathering -- operations around government and the job of Ambassador Negroponte is to be to take the information and make sure it is coordinated and it's distribution to not only the White House but to key players in my administration. And so I'm confident the process will work.
PHILLIPS: He still didn't really address what Porter Goss had to say, but he did go on to say that Porter Goss comes every morning with the CIA brief. I mean, who is telling the truth here?
BARR: Well, Porter Goss did not look particularly happy standing there. You could read his body language I think, pretty carefully. Yes, because on the one hand, we're reading many, many reports that it is the new director of national intelligence who will be in charge of the president's daily briefing, which is the key position, the most important position for any intelligence official in Washington is sitting down every day with that face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with the president. And it appears that the director of the CIA will no longer have that so they're trying to put a happy face on that, but you can only, you know, wear that fake smile so long before it starts to wear kind of thin.
PHILLIPS: That fake smile, there is a lot of that going on in Washington.
BARR: There always is.
PHILLIPS: That's our next segment, Bob Barr --Except for you, of course. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
BARR: Sure.
HARRIS: Robert DeNiro is looking out for aspiring filmmakers? Sibila, is that true?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true. I'll tell you how the Oscar winner is making dreams come true. Plus rap star 50 Cent breaks a music record. That and that and more when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And acting heavyweight is trying to help the little guy in Hollywood.
PHILLIPS: And 50 Cent proving why he's worth a lot more than that when it comes to making hit records. Sibila Vargas is in Los Angeles with the entertainment headlines. Hi, Sibila.
VARGAS: I like that! "Fitty Cent."
HARRIS: "Fitty Cent!"
VARGAS: "Fitty Cent!"
HARRIS: It rolled, didn't it?
PHILLIPS: It does. It just totally rolls off the - Just don't get me going and talking about Nelly videos. Don't get me going there.
VARGAS: I know what you mean. I gotcha there. But let's talk about Robert de Niro. Don't you just love him? His passion for his filmmaking continues. First he started the Tribeca Film Festival and now he's hoping to make a new director's dream come true. The two- time Oscar winner has teamed up with amazon.com and American Express to host $50,000 online contest for novice filmmakers. Here's how it works. Filmmakers submit 2 to 7-minute short film to amazon.com by April 13th. Entries will be judged by viewers and the top five will be shown at the film festival. A winner will be announced in June and will be given an AmEx card with, get this, $50,000 towards future filmmaking. Not bad.
Meanwhile, winning top prize and breaking records on the music charts is rap star 50 Cent.
(MUSIC)
VARGAS: That 50 Cent must be a gold piece because he has three of the top five singles on the billboard top 100 chart, a first for any artist. "Candyshop" is number one, while is collaboration with the Game, "How We Do" is number four and "Disco Inferno" came in fifth. 50's latest album, "the Massacre," hit stores yesterday. Tony?
HARRIS: OK. Sibila, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Why don't we update the story of the Italian journalist who we understand is now in a U.S. coalition hospital being treated for a shoulder injury. We're talking about Giuliana Sgrena who was freed by her Iraqi captors. Let's bring in Barbara Starr as I set this story up. That as she was leaving, the car she was traveling in, we're understanding now from military officials, was fired on by coalition forces and, Barbara, that is the outline. Put a little more meat on that, if you would, for us, please, with what you know.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, this story is still unfolding at this hour. Military officials are able to confirm some specific details, however. Yes, Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter for the Italian daily "Il Manifesto" was, she we say, rescued or released today in Iraq after several weeks in captivity and apparently as Italians were driving her away from where she was being held, coalition forces did open fire, according to a military official with direct knowledge of the incident. He says, of course, accidentally opened fire. Did not realize what was going on. Fired at her vehicle.
Now, as we say, al of this is unfolding at this hour, but according to initial reports, one person in her vehicle was killed. There are press reports that that was an Italian security agent. As we understand it, Giuliana Sgrena is now in a coalition hospital in Iraq, believed to be Baghdad. Those details, however, are still being confirmed by military officials. What they do say is that basically the shooting incident did occur, that coalition forces accidentally fired on her vehicle, causing injuries and at least one death.
Ms. Sgrena had been in captivity since early last month when abductors surrounding her car, reportedly outside Baghdad University. She was in custody. She was being held as a hostage by some group of insurgents. She had been seen, of course, on video pleading for her life. Today was out of captivity in some fashion. All of those details still being revealed. But this shooting incident did occur and it remains under urgent investigation, according to authorities.
Tony?
HARRIS: OK. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon following the story for us. Barbara, we appreciate it, as always. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: As we take you to break, a quick check of the Big Board there at the New York Stock Exchange. We're following the numbers. The Dow is up. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Now in the news, scaling back in the search for a missing Florida girl. Authorities say they'll no longer use dogs to help look for Jessica Lunsford. The 9-year-old disappeared from her home a week ago Wednesday. Police say they're pursuing about 1,000 leads.
Social insecurity. President Bush is back on the road trying to convince Americans that, despite what his critics say, the program really does need saving. He's winging his way toward Indiana this hour, after stopping in New Jersey.
Drug alert. If you take Paxil CR or Avandamet tablets, government officials suggest you may want to consider another drug, at least temporarily. The Food and Drug Administration is seizing tablets that have just been made because of safety concerns at the manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.
PHILLIPS: We begin this hour with dramatic reports out of Italy on today's release of a journalist held hostage in Iraq.
Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter from the newspaper "Il Manifesto," was shot and wounded by coalition troops, who mistakenly fired on her car at a roadblock. Now, reportedly, an Italian Secret Service agent was killed. Another agent was wounded. A military official tells CNN the incident did occur involving coalition forces. We're going to bring you more information as we get it.
In the meantime, Sgrena is said to be hospitalized in Iraq with a shoulder injury, just one month to the day after she was kidnapped outside Baghdad University. And we're getting word now, according to the Associated Press and Reuters News Agency, that Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is confirming the death of that Italian official. Not quite sure if it was, indeed, a Secret Service agent or not. But he's confirming that death.
He's also called the U.S. ambassador for explanation on the shooting.
Let's bring the Barbara Starr once again live from the Pentagon.
And, Barbara, it's probably very important to point out that, when we talk about coalition forces, it doesn't necessarily mean it was a U.S. soldier that made a mistake.
STARR: Kyra, all of this is under investigation at this hour. You are exactly right.
These are initial first reports. The investigation is continuing. Military officials say they are not sure yet exactly how this incident unfolded. But what they can confirm is that it did take place, that there was a shooting incident involving Giuliana Sgrena, the reporter for the communist daily "Il Manifesto" out of Italy. She had been in custody by insurgents, being held as a hostage since last month, when her car was surrounded outside Baghdad University.
She had been seen on videotape, of course, pleading for her life, another very difficult hostage case. Earlier today in Iraq, apparently she was released by the group that was holding her. And then somehow her car in which she was riding and also Italian security personnel was riding came under fire from coalition forces.
We cannot say at this time whether it was U.S. military personnel or other coalition forces. That is being confirmed. But military officials have told CNN, yes, that one person in that car was killed by the gunfire. They said they do believe it was an Italian security agent. That now apparently being confirmed by the Italian government.
Ms. Sgrena apparently now in a coalition hospital in Baghdad. Now, Kyra, according to press reports, and all of this still being looked at very closely, this incident may have taken place at a roadblock in Iraq. That, frankly, would not be surprising. There are many security roadblocks, as everyone knows across the country, and security personnel watch very carefully. They are always concerned about cars traveling at high speed, about this situation of possible suicide car bombers.
They try and keep everything under control. There have been unfortunate incidents, however, of course, of even Iraqis being killed at these roadblocks in high-speed situations. We must emphasize, these are first reports. We don't know exactly how it all unfolded, how the shooting took place. It did happen, but the incident remains under investigation -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks so much -- Tony.
HARRIS: Out and about, yes, and, well, sort of, to a point. After five months in a federal pen in West Virginia, Martha Stewart is back her natural habitat, a 153-acre, multimillion-dollar spread in Westchester County, New York. She'll soon be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet that will keep her confined to the house more or less for the next five months.
But she hasn't been complaining the numerous times she's come into camera range since her arrival this morning.
CNN's Allan Chernoff is in the mist of the media horde.
Allan, it is all yours.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Tony.
Well, the first range that we had of Martha Stewart actually was 2:30 in the morning. Her entourage drove up the road and entered straight from the airport, the Westchester Airport, where she arrived from West Virginia. But Martha Stewart, in spite of that late arrival, was up early in the morning petting her horses, walking her dogs. And then she came out and chatted up the media. She told a story about, how in prison, she and the other inmates asked the guards for cappuccino every morning as a joke as the guards were walking around with their cups of coffee.
And she said, now that she had arrived at her house, her cappuccino machine was actually broken. So, still no cappuccino for Martha Stewart. Nonetheless, she was kind enough to bring out hot cocoa for the reporters and photographers standing at her fence.
She also showed off some lemons that she had picked from her greenhouse, said these were her first lemons in five months and that she looked forward to having some hot lemonade. She said, "Lemons are one of my favorite things."
Now, there will be a little more serious activity at the Stewart compound as well. Of course, she is there on home confinement for another five months. And that will involve an ankle bracelet being attached to Martha Stewart to monitor her whereabouts. She will be permitted out of the house only 48 hours per week. That will include visits to doctors, grocery shopping, perhaps visiting the church.
But, also, she will be permitted to go into the office for work. And Martha Stewart has plenty of work planned, a couple of television shows in the works, magazine columns and perhaps some more books as well. We know at least of one book, a baking book, is planned for this fall -- Tony.
HARRIS: Good. Can't wait. Allan Chernoff on Martha Stewart watch for us -- Allan, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, coming August, Stewart might be as happy to shed her ankle bracelet as she is now to be out of prison. The Bedford estate is a far cry from incarceration.
But CNN's Mary Snow reports Stewart's style can expect to be a bit cramped.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bedford, New York, estate where Martha Stewart will be staying is bigger than the 95-acre prison grounds at Alderson where she's been held for the past five months.
She's been sharing close quarters with inmates, most of whom are there on drug convictions. Now she's going home to her neighbors like Ralph Lauren, billionaire George Soros and Glenn Close.
Adding Martha Stewart back into the mix in Westchester County doesn't seem to be fazing residents used to fame.
CHERYL FISHER, KATONAH RESIDENT: We expect their privacy. I mean, the Clintons live in Chappaqua, so we're -- I don't think anyone is going to be too star-struck to see her walking down the street or shopping in any of these shops that we go to every today. SNOW: But Stewart isn't allowed to roam free. This gourmet grocery store said to be one of her favorites is one place she could go, since grocery shopping is on the approved list under probation rules.
She's allowed to leave her home for 48 hours a week, to go to work, attend church services, medical appointments and grocery shopping. There will be one day a week of lockdown where she can't leave her home.
When she does go anywhere, it first must be approved by her probation officer. He will be making unscheduled trips to her home and work.
Stewart must wear an electronic ankle bracelet like this one, that cannot be taken off for the next five months. That monitor will let her parole officer know when she enters and leaves her house.
Probation officers who have had to monitor high-profile people like Martha Stewart say home confinement could prove challenging, imposing limits on her marathon work hours.
LISA KUCA, FORMER PROBATION OFFICER: It's not a piece of cake. It's very frustrating. It is not as easy as it's perceived from the common public. And I do think she will have interesting challenges as will the probation officer supervising her with the employment situation.
SNOW: Stewart won't have to be alone. She can have visitors to her home as long as they haven't been convicted of a crime.
Mary snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And news across America now.
Back on the stand, the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser is testifying for a second day in the pop star's child molestation trial. In a videotape shown to jurors today, she and her family can be seen heaping praise on Jackson. The witness says she and her family were told what to say.
The jury in the Robert Blake murder trial could soon get the case. The defense wrapped up its closing arguments a short while ago. Blake is accused of killing his wife as she sat in a car outside a restaurant. The defense calls the prosecution's theory absurd.
And a bizarre attack at an animal refuge near Bakersfield, California. A pair of chimpanzees brutally mauled a 62-year-old man as he and his wife visited another chimpanzee that used to be their family pet. Doctors say the chimpanzees bit off most of the man's face. He is hospitalized in critical condition. The chimps were shot and killed.
And crews believe they have now rescued everybody from what was a pet store in Eatontown, New Jersey. A natural gas explosion leveled most of the building with five people still inside. Those people have now been taken to an area hospital.
PHILLIPS: A reward offered today in the case of the shocking murders at the home of a federal judge. At a news conference in Chicago, the FBI offered up $50,000 for information that leads to the killer or killers of the husband and mother of Judge Joan Lefkow. Officials now say that Matthew Hale, the well-known white supremacist, remains on their radar, but Hale is not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GRANT, FBI: Obviously, Matt Hale and his prior conviction for threats to Judge Lefkow is an avenue of investigation that we're going to fully explore. But we have from day one determined we are not going to become myopic on this investigation, and everybody agrees with that. We don't know at this time who did this murder. So we are not pigeonholing ourselves or we are not focusing in an avenue at this point in time, but it is a logical avenue to investigate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And from a federal lockup there in Chicago, Matthew Hale tells "TIME" magazine that he wants the perpetrator caught -- quote -- "Only an idiot would think that I would do this." Hale is awaiting sentencing for conspiring with an informant to have Judge Lefkow killed.
Joining me now to talk more about the case, CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.
So, Hale, first of all, isn't totally out of the woods.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, he's not out of the woods.
But just like the SAC of the FBI said, they can't be myopic. They still have to take a look at the husband. He was an attorney. They have to take a look at all of his cases, go back, take a look at all the judge's cases that may have not ended so well with other sentencings.
So, a , they've got a lot to do. They have more leads to run down, interviews to do. Waiting for forensics to come back from the FBI lab. We heard that there was a shard of glass with fingerprints there, some footprints there, bloody footprints on the scene, some other things.
And they said they have gotten over 230 tips and over 100 since they released the two composite pictures of the people that they think may have something to do with it. Now, apparently, these two composites are of two men that were seen in the neighborhood, one possibly in a car and one possibly near the house the day or the morning that the murders took place. So they're waiting to see exactly if they get any more leads from these two composites,because, with the $50,000 reward, there's no honor among thieves. PHILLIPS: You know, Let's talk about that. There's a lot of publicity on this case.
BROOKS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: It involves, of course, Matthew Hale possibly and this judge. And why would they come forward? Why would authorities come forward with this money now? Are they desperate for more leads? Do they think maybe this might get somebody to eventually give some information that might be on the fence?
BROOKS: Well, a lot of times when they offer rewards, some people may say, well, they're offering a reward because their case isn't going anywhere. That's not true.
A lot of people are motivated by money. They throw this money out there. And there may be some people who heard something, who saw something that they really weren't sure of and then go, well, you know, there's $50,000 here. Maybe I can make a little money. And they'll come forward with this.
Snitches are made regularly by federal, state, local law enforcement because of the offer of money. As I said, there's no honor among criminals. Money makes the world go round and it motivates the criminal element as well.
PHILLIPS: Yes. You lay $50,000 out there and, all of a sudden, oh, I do think I remember something.
BROOKS: Absolutely. And somebody could be in a bar, in a restaurant somewhere, and they could overhear two people talking. They're not sure exactly what they heard, but that could also motivate them to come forward with any information they have.
And people don't realize, just the little thing, little tiny thing that they might think is just, you know, ah, it's not much. I'm not going to come forward with it. They should. They should contact the police. And this $50,000 could motivate someone to come forward with just that piece of information that they need.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thanks.
BROOKS: Thanks, Kyra.
HARRIS: An underground discovery raises some big questions for Homeland Security. Just who was using this 200-yard tunnel between the U.S. and Mexican? Details on what investigators dug up ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER UPDATE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We have more information for you now on the story we've been following about the Italian journalist that was released today after being held in Iraq for one month. You'll remember it was a month ago to this day, actually, that Giuliana Sgrena was kidnapped outside of Baghdad University. You remember her plea on videotape and her picture.
She works for the newspaper "Il Manifesto." Well, we reported earlier that she was shot and wounded by coalition troops who mistakenly fired on her car at a roadblock after she was released. Well, now we are getting reports that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said that he has asked the U.S. ambassador for explanations about the shooting death of the Italian intelligence officer in Iraq that was in this car that was fired upon also with this freed hostage, this journalist, Giuliana Sgrena.
Now, here is the quote from Berlusconi. He said: "Given that fire came from an American source, I called in the American ambassador. I believe we must have an explanation for such a serious incident for which someone must take the responsibility."
Well, according to the calls that we've made here at CNN, a military official tells CNN that the incident did occur involving coalition forces, and so we've been trying to work more information out of the Pentagon. We can only tell you that what we know is, this involved coalition forces. Berlusconi coming forward saying that he believes that the shots came from an American source. That right now, we are checking on. These are, obviously, wire reports that are coming across out of Italy.
But we can tell you that Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist, is in a hospital after receiving an injury to the shoulder. And there is an Italian intelligence agent that has been shot dead. We're continuing to investigate this story on whether U.S. forces were involved in this shooting that, according to a military official, was a mistake.
HARRIS: In our continuing look at security, an instructive glimpse today at what the federal government face in the fight against illegal immigration. Just imagine what it took to build this tunnel that you're about to see.
Here's CNN's Zain Verjee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Below ground and below the radar, until now. Border patrol agents have uncovered a 200-yard tunnel connecting a house in East Calexico in the U.S. to a house in Mexicali, Mexico.
Homeland security officials say the tunnel is sophisticated. It's about 20 feet underground and has a cement floor, wood planks on the sides, a ventilation systems, phone cabling, possibly for an intercom system. The tunnel is three feet by five. That's large enough for a person to squeeze through.
Authorities say it's likely the tunnel and ones like it have been used for drug trafficking. Security officials are also not ruling out money or arms being smuggled through.
The Department of Homeland Security says there's no indication terrorists have used the tunnel to enter the U.S., but the possibility of cross-border infiltration has caught the eye of Congress.
REP. SOLOMON ORTIZ (D), TEXAS: The southern border is literally under siege, and there's a real possibility that terrorists, particularly al Qaeda forces, could exploit this series of holes in our law enforcement system along the southern border.
VERJEE: Peter Gadiel, who lost his son on 9/11, says the terrorists responsible for the death of his son, and nearly 3,000 others, took advantage of holes in the system.
PETER GADIEL, 9/11 FAMILIES FOR SECURE AMERICA: Those 19 mass murderers counted on lax scrutiny of their visa applications and overwhelmed inspectors at our ports of entry. Then once here, the terrorists counted on being able to hide in plain sight in an ocean of over 10 million illegal aliens living in the United States.
VERJEE: That's not entirely fair, says Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Immigration does not equate to terrorism. And I say it again: immigration does not equate to terrorism. I hope in the future weeks and months to come, we'll find common ground to address the concerns of Lou Dobbs.
VERJEE (on camera): And on the tunnels, the Department of Homeland Security says no one's been arrested, but the investigation is ongoing.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, we're done, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Time for the weekend, my friend.
HARRIS: Have a great weekend.
PHILLIPS: You, too.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. I will. I will.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
