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Clinton to Undergo Follow-up Heart Surgery; Chechnya Rebel Leader Killed by Russians; Hezbollah Arranges Massive Demonstration in Lebanon

Aired March 08, 2005 - 13:00   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, CO-HOST: A rebel accused of several terror attacks, brought down by special operations forces. We're live from Moscow with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Crime of the times, caught on tape. Spiraling gas prices inspiring more people to do the old pump and run.

The Iditarod, a grueling 1,100-mile race, no gasoline need there. This woman won't let anything keep her from the finish line, including the fact she's blind.

From the CNN Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

He's busy, obviously, healthy, apparently. But in pain, reportedly. And so Bill Clinton will return to the O.R. a little more than six months after his quadruple coronary bypass for surgery to drain fluid and remove scar tissue from his chest.

CNN's Dr. Gupta joins me now from New York to talk about the problem and the procedure. OK, why's he having it, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, as it turns out, we're hearing that he had significant accumulation of fluid in his chest. Also some scar tissue. That together, sort of cause not only discomfort but also some pressure on the left lower lobe of his lung.

And we're getting more details now, Kyra, working some of our contacts all morning, finding out that he was having some discomfort, some difficulty with his breathing, specifically when he was walking up steep hills. All these things prompted an examination by his doctors.

We're hearing that examination actually took place a couple weeks ago, and he was found to have significant enough fluid and scar tissue to go ahead and schedule an operation.

The operation is called a decortication, Kyra. The name's not that important, but basically, what it is, is an operation under general anesthesia where you put a little catheter into the chest or actually open up the chest and remove some of that scar tissue and some of that fluid. Again, it does require general anesthesia, three to 10 day hospital stay afterwards. And most likely, this is a consequence, although a rare one, an occasional one, I'll say, of his open heart surgery, which was six months ago almost to the day, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So if you don't take care of this, you don't have this procedure, what could happen?

GUPTA: Well, you know, in his case, it was mainly discomfort and a little bit of what we call exercise intolerance. He wasn't able to do the sort of things that he wanted to do.

In a worst case scenario, if this fluid were to continue to accumulate, the scar tissue continue to accumulate, it would probably put more and more pressure on his lungs and, subsequently, his heart.

First, it would just render him where he really couldn't have any activity. And then it might get more threatening in terms of his life after that. He's nowhere near that; that's the good news. The bad news, of course, is that he's going to have another operation to try and fix this.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, live from New York, thank you so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it more.

O'BRIEN: Well, his name is Aslan Maskhadov. If you know the name, you could be a Chechen to whom Maskhadov was a hero. Or if you're a Russian, he was branded an international terrorist, really on par with Osama bin Laden here in the United States.

He was a former Red Army colonel who turned on the Russians over the complicated issue of the breakaway Republic of Chechnya. He fought many bloody battles there. He ultimately became the Chechen president. He was overthrown and thereafter, he was branded one of Russia's most wanted, with an eight-figure price on his head.

Of course, for Russia president Vladimir Putin, the Chechen conflict has been a cornerstone of his presidency in Russia. And the issue today is how he was killed, by Russian soldiers. Aslan Maskhadov reported dead.

We'll have further details on this from CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow very shortly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: War on Terror 101. American security is heightened when terrorists' security is threatened. A lesson from President Bush brought to you live today on CNN from National Defense University in Washington.

Mr. Bush hit familiar themes on Iranian nukes, Syrian troops and the desire for freedom present in every human heart. He had a special message for a Middle Eastern country in transition. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All the world is witnessing your great movement of conscience. Lebanon's future belongs in your hands. And by your courage, Lebanon's future will be in your hands.

The American people are on your side. Millions across the earth are on your side. The momentum of freedom is on your side. And freedom will prevail in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president, again, demanded Lebanon see the end of Syrian occupation, and that's not all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Syria, as well as Iran, has a long history of supporting terrorist groups, determined to sew division and chaos in the Middle East. And there is every possibility they will try this strategy again. The time has come for Syria and Iran to stop using murder as a tool of policy, and to end all support for terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right, back to that story we were telling you about just a few moments ago. Aslan Maskhadov, depending on who you are, viewed as either a hero or wanted terrorist with a eight-figure bounty on his head, killed today.

CNN's Jill Dougherty joining us live now from Moscow, where she is our bureau chief, with more -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Aslan Maskhadov was definitely one of most wanted men in Russia. He had a $10 million bounty on his head. He was actually the former president of that breakaway region of Chechnya and also accused by Russian authorities of being involved, indirectly or directly, as such terrorist activities as the Beslan school massacre.

Tonight, he was described by authorities not only as a rebel leader but as an international terrorist.

This evening, Russian television showing pictures of a body of a man, a bearded man, no shirt, and bearing a definite resemblance to Maskhadov. They said that he had been killed in a special operation, carried out by the FSB. That is the successor agency to the KGB. They apparently had a tip, some operative information and went in.

The one question mark that's hanging over this is, did they actually want to kill him? Because there are some reports coming out, unconfirmed, that his bodyguards may have misfired or in some case misused their weapons and that is how Maskhadov was killed.

In any case, Miles, in this operation they also picked up about three or four associates of Aslan Maskhadov. They are being interrogated.

And the question now is what will this do to that conflict in Chechnya? Some people say that Maskhadov was a moderate. And that would certainly mean that the more radical elements, people like terrorist Shamil Basayev are left, and the question is, what will they do? How will they respond to this -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jill, I guess the question is, and you imply that in the thought that perhaps the security guards did something wrong. Did the Russians want to capture him alive? Was he valuable to them alive, for the information he might have provided?

DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. One would have to think that he'd be very, very valuable. Because after all there are two key people in the rebel movement. The first one, Maskhadov, the second one, Basayev.

If they had a chance to question him, Maskhadov, and find out what he knew, there were all sort of things that they could learn, not only about what is happening in Chechnya and the rebel movement but these alleged connections and, in some cases, apparently real connections, between the rebel movement in Chechnya and international terrorist movements like al Qaeda.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow, thanks much.

Just because the U.S. government doesn't want you boarding airliners doesn't mean you can't buy a gun. That's reportedly the finding of a congressional investigation of anti-terror watch lists versus police or immigration records that are used to screen gun buyers.

"The New York Times" reporting 44 people whom the feds consider terrorists or terror suspects tried to buy guns over a four-month period last year. All but nine succeeded. The FBI points to privacy rights as a major source of the problem.

PHILLIPS: So is al Qaeda trying to get its foot in the door of the CIA? "The L.A. Times" says that's a clear and pressing concern in the intel community, citing an estimated 40 applicants for sensitive jobs who were turned away for suspected ties to terror. The U.S. intelligence network is growing and changing quickly, and "The Times" says many of most-needed, most-qualified job-seekers are also the hardest to vet.

CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security, so stay tuned with us here on CNN for the latest information day and night.

O'BRIEN: The scene in Syria today, quite dramatic. Tens of thousands of people flooding downtown Beirut, answering the call by Hezbollah to answer those anti-Syria demonstrations that started with the killing of Rafik Hariri.

I misspoke at the top. That is the not the scene in Syria. That is the scene in Beirut, Lebanon. CNN's Brent Sadler is there -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.

This was a mass protest by any standard, certainly outnumbering the anti-Syrian pro-democracy marches and demonstrations we've been seeing in this country, in the capital, for the past three weeks.

This was the other side of the Lebanese political system here. This were -- these were supporters of not just Hezbollah but also other political parties in Lebanon, who think in the way that Hezbollah and Syria thinks about the way this country should move forward.

These were not people who were necessarily all against the withdrawal of Syrian troops. These are people that want to see a relationship, a strong relationship, between Syria and Lebanon, under a new relationship in terms of the troops moving out of this country.

Troops have been moving to a line closer to the Lebanese-Syrian border, but still inside this country. They wanted to show the United States and the international community that pro-Syrian forces, political forces in Lebanon, can pull out large numbers of people on the streets, to fly in the face, effectively, of what President Bush has been demanding, which is that complete withdrawal of Syrian troops and the flourishing of democracy inside Lebanon.

Now, many of these people here said that they were quite anti- American policy in the Middle East, that part of this policy that President Bush is promoting in the Middle East could well lead to pushing the various communities here into the kind of hostilities they suffered during the civil war years that lasted some 15 years.

So a lot of concerns here in this country now, particularly after what President Bush said, because it further polarizes the pro and anti-Syrian camps in Lebanon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Brent Sadler in Beirut, thank you very much.

If you're going to drop a dime, I've got more than a million reasons why you don't want it to be this one. Details on the dandy of a dime, later on LIVE FROM.

And traveling to the heart of the tsunami zone. Musician and radio host John Tesh joins us to talk about why his family spent their vacation there.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeff Koinange in Ghana. Coming up on LIVE FROM, they're one of the most ferocious creatures on the planet. But in this remote part of Africa, crocodiles living side by side with man. That's all coming up on LIVE FROM.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Welcome back to LIVE FROM.

The Vatican says Pope John Paul II will not preside over holy week services. However, a spokesman says the pontiff should be home from the hospital by then and plans to deliver his Easter blessing. The spokesman says the pope continues to improve following that tracheotomy.

PHILLIPS: On International Women's Day, focusing attention on the rights for -- the fight for equal rights, rather. It was marked with several events, including a forum at the U.N. Speakers said that women still lag behind economically and violence and AIDS are rising among women.

At the State Department, first lady Laura Bush noted that women in Afghanistan have made great strides since the Taliban were removed. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed women elsewhere seeking human rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We meet here today to send a clear message to the women of the world who are not yet free. As you stand for your right and for your liberty, America stands with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: A rally drawing thousands of women in Pakistan kicks off our news around the world today. The demonstrators called for justice for a woman who said she'd been gang raped at the order of a village council. Six attackers were originally sentenced to death, but five were released on appeal. The sentence for the sixth attacker was reduced.

Britain's Prince Charles gets an eyeful in New Zealand's capital. A woman bared her breasts in an apparent protest against the monarchy. Another bare-breasted woman was removed shortly before the prince arrived. Both were charged with disorderly behavior.

And shedding new light on the 3,300-year-old mystery. Was Egypt's King Tut murdered? Doctors who recently performed a CAT scan on his remains say there is no evidence of foul play. The doctors say the 19-year-old monarch may have had a broken leg, which got infected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, pay close attention. You're seeing a crime being committed. No, it's not the highway robbery of high gas prices. It's people filling up and driving off, a growing crime of the times.

Later on LIVE FROM, from music to a mission in the tsunami zone. Musician and radio host John Tesh on LIVE FROM to talk about how you can help. Tomorrow, the horrific episode in America's civil rights movement, Bloody Sunday. The little girl who ran for her life that day, 40 years ago, joins us live to tell her story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News across America now, see that coin? Originally worth 10 cents. Well, it went for a record $1.3 million at auction. It was one of only 24 dimes made in 1894 at the San Francisco mint, and it's believed that only 10 still exist. Well, the dimes were originally made as gifts for visitors.

Gas prices on the rise. And drivers aren't the only ones who are paying. When prices go up, so do gas thefts.

CNN's Dan Lothian told us about this last summer, but we never got to show you that report, so we're going to take a look at it now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an old crime pumped to new levels, hitting the Tiger Mart in Salisbury, Maryland, the BP Amoco station in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and this Mobil station in Brookline, Massachusetts.

ELIAS AUDY, MOBIL STATION OWNER: A customer took off with $36 of gasoline. Once the light came green, flew out of here like you wouldn't believe.

LOTHIAN: Soaring gas prices that have frustrated some drivers...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been upset about it.

LOTHIAN: ... and spawned this boycott gas web site by this angry real estate broker...

JOHN TYLER, BOYCOTTGASOLINE.COM: This one just did it. They're into my wallet. I didn't like it.

LOTHIAN: ... have been driving up so-called gas and dash incidents, costing some retailers as much as $800 in losses a month.

JEFF LENARD, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES: It's gone from a teen who might be doing it for the thrill as much as the $5 or $10 stolen, to all demographics, including late model SUVs pulling out with upwards of $50 or even $60 worth of gas.

LOTHIAN: In surveillance tape obtained by CNN from the Maryland mart, a driver pulled in, fills up, replaces the gas cap while appearing to look around, makes an odd maneuver, then, according to management, drives off without paying a dime.

The same, they allege, for this woman, who casually cleans her windshield before taking off. And one more flies an American flag while allegedly pumping and running.

(on camera) If this is such a big problem, then why don't all retailers require everyone to prepay? Experts say that's because, given the option, some customers will go to a station that allows them to pump first and pay later.

(voice-over) And there's the issue of profits.

LENARD: They also are less likely to go inside the store and buy other items, where margins are much healthier.

LOTHIAN: So surveillance cameras, like this one in Wisconsin, help retailers track the license plate numbers of offenders. And in some 25 states, punishment could include the temporary loss of a driver's license.

In Brookline, Elias Audy hopes to install security cameras at his station so the next time someone drives off with his gas, he'll have the evidence on tape.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: More news now on that scandal at that giant data broker, ChoicePoint. The company which keeps so many of our secrets is now trying to repair its image after 145,000 consumers' personal data was hacked and in many cases abused.

Now, one man partially behind the fraud has been sentenced. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with that and more for us.

Hello, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Some breaking news coming into us now, live pictures, courtesy of our affiliate, KCAL, obviously aerial pictures of a train wreck. Happened about 10 a.m. local time. Train derailment outside of L.A. in the place called City of Industry, about five to seven cars off the track, as you can clearly see. Not a commuter train, a freight train.

No injuries are reported. However, some evacuations have occurred, because there is some concern about a chemical leak from that freight train. Hazardous material experts from the fire department are on the way, if not on the scene already.

We're tracking it for you. Small area around there may be evacuated. But as we said, as a result of that train derailment, 10 a.m. local time, just a little while ago Eastern, the situation there is a small evacuation, no injuries reported. Also, on the west coast, Hollywood mourning the loss of Academy Award winning actress Teresa Wright. Wright died of a heart attack Sunday. The actress starred opposite Gary cooper and Marlon Brando in the '40s and '50s. In 1942, she won the best supporting actress for "Mrs. Miniver." Wright was 86 years old.

The body of the photographer boyfriend of the supermodel Petra Nemcova has been found in tsunami-ravaged Thailand. Simon Atlee was vacationing with Nemcova when the tsunami struck late last year. Nemcova suffered serious injuries. Thai officials say they're working on sending Atlee's remains to his family in Britain.

Back from their tour of tsunami-devastated Asia, former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, now in Washington. In about 15 minutes there to meet with President Bush.

Within the past couple of hours, we've learned that Clinton is to undergo corrective heart surgery to remove scar tissue Thursday in New York. We expect Clinton to take questions on the matter a little later this afternoon.

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 8, 2005 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A rebel accused of several terror attacks, brought down by special operations forces. We're live from Moscow with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Crime of the times, caught on tape. Spiraling gas prices inspiring more people to do the old pump and run.

The Iditarod, a grueling 1,100-mile race, no gasoline need there. This woman won't let anything keep her from the finish line, including the fact she's blind.

From the CNN Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

He's busy, obviously, healthy, apparently. But in pain, reportedly. And so Bill Clinton will return to the O.R. a little more than six months after his quadruple coronary bypass for surgery to drain fluid and remove scar tissue from his chest.

CNN's Dr. Gupta joins me now from New York to talk about the problem and the procedure. OK, why's he having it, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, as it turns out, we're hearing that he had significant accumulation of fluid in his chest. Also some scar tissue. That together, sort of cause not only discomfort but also some pressure on the left lower lobe of his lung.

And we're getting more details now, Kyra, working some of our contacts all morning, finding out that he was having some discomfort, some difficulty with his breathing, specifically when he was walking up steep hills. All these things prompted an examination by his doctors.

We're hearing that examination actually took place a couple weeks ago, and he was found to have significant enough fluid and scar tissue to go ahead and schedule an operation.

The operation is called a decortication, Kyra. The name's not that important, but basically, what it is, is an operation under general anesthesia where you put a little catheter into the chest or actually open up the chest and remove some of that scar tissue and some of that fluid. Again, it does require general anesthesia, three to 10 day hospital stay afterwards. And most likely, this is a consequence, although a rare one, an occasional one, I'll say, of his open heart surgery, which was six months ago almost to the day, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So if you don't take care of this, you don't have this procedure, what could happen?

GUPTA: Well, you know, in his case, it was mainly discomfort and a little bit of what we call exercise intolerance. He wasn't able to do the sort of things that he wanted to do.

In a worst case scenario, if this fluid were to continue to accumulate, the scar tissue continue to accumulate, it would probably put more and more pressure on his lungs and, subsequently, his heart.

First, it would just render him where he really couldn't have any activity. And then it might get more threatening in terms of his life after that. He's nowhere near that; that's the good news. The bad news, of course, is that he's going to have another operation to try and fix this.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, live from New York, thank you so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it more.

O'BRIEN: Well, his name is Aslan Maskhadov. If you know the name, you could be a Chechen to whom Maskhadov was a hero. Or if you're a Russian, he was branded an international terrorist, really on par with Osama bin Laden here in the United States.

He was a former Red Army colonel who turned on the Russians over the complicated issue of the breakaway Republic of Chechnya. He fought many bloody battles there. He ultimately became the Chechen president. He was overthrown and thereafter, he was branded one of Russia's most wanted, with an eight-figure price on his head.

Of course, for Russia president Vladimir Putin, the Chechen conflict has been a cornerstone of his presidency in Russia. And the issue today is how he was killed, by Russian soldiers. Aslan Maskhadov reported dead.

We'll have further details on this from CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow very shortly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: War on Terror 101. American security is heightened when terrorists' security is threatened. A lesson from President Bush brought to you live today on CNN from National Defense University in Washington.

Mr. Bush hit familiar themes on Iranian nukes, Syrian troops and the desire for freedom present in every human heart. He had a special message for a Middle Eastern country in transition. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All the world is witnessing your great movement of conscience. Lebanon's future belongs in your hands. And by your courage, Lebanon's future will be in your hands.

The American people are on your side. Millions across the earth are on your side. The momentum of freedom is on your side. And freedom will prevail in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president, again, demanded Lebanon see the end of Syrian occupation, and that's not all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Syria, as well as Iran, has a long history of supporting terrorist groups, determined to sew division and chaos in the Middle East. And there is every possibility they will try this strategy again. The time has come for Syria and Iran to stop using murder as a tool of policy, and to end all support for terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right, back to that story we were telling you about just a few moments ago. Aslan Maskhadov, depending on who you are, viewed as either a hero or wanted terrorist with a eight-figure bounty on his head, killed today.

CNN's Jill Dougherty joining us live now from Moscow, where she is our bureau chief, with more -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Aslan Maskhadov was definitely one of most wanted men in Russia. He had a $10 million bounty on his head. He was actually the former president of that breakaway region of Chechnya and also accused by Russian authorities of being involved, indirectly or directly, as such terrorist activities as the Beslan school massacre.

Tonight, he was described by authorities not only as a rebel leader but as an international terrorist.

This evening, Russian television showing pictures of a body of a man, a bearded man, no shirt, and bearing a definite resemblance to Maskhadov. They said that he had been killed in a special operation, carried out by the FSB. That is the successor agency to the KGB. They apparently had a tip, some operative information and went in.

The one question mark that's hanging over this is, did they actually want to kill him? Because there are some reports coming out, unconfirmed, that his bodyguards may have misfired or in some case misused their weapons and that is how Maskhadov was killed.

In any case, Miles, in this operation they also picked up about three or four associates of Aslan Maskhadov. They are being interrogated.

And the question now is what will this do to that conflict in Chechnya? Some people say that Maskhadov was a moderate. And that would certainly mean that the more radical elements, people like terrorist Shamil Basayev are left, and the question is, what will they do? How will they respond to this -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jill, I guess the question is, and you imply that in the thought that perhaps the security guards did something wrong. Did the Russians want to capture him alive? Was he valuable to them alive, for the information he might have provided?

DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. One would have to think that he'd be very, very valuable. Because after all there are two key people in the rebel movement. The first one, Maskhadov, the second one, Basayev.

If they had a chance to question him, Maskhadov, and find out what he knew, there were all sort of things that they could learn, not only about what is happening in Chechnya and the rebel movement but these alleged connections and, in some cases, apparently real connections, between the rebel movement in Chechnya and international terrorist movements like al Qaeda.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow, thanks much.

Just because the U.S. government doesn't want you boarding airliners doesn't mean you can't buy a gun. That's reportedly the finding of a congressional investigation of anti-terror watch lists versus police or immigration records that are used to screen gun buyers.

"The New York Times" reporting 44 people whom the feds consider terrorists or terror suspects tried to buy guns over a four-month period last year. All but nine succeeded. The FBI points to privacy rights as a major source of the problem.

PHILLIPS: So is al Qaeda trying to get its foot in the door of the CIA? "The L.A. Times" says that's a clear and pressing concern in the intel community, citing an estimated 40 applicants for sensitive jobs who were turned away for suspected ties to terror. The U.S. intelligence network is growing and changing quickly, and "The Times" says many of most-needed, most-qualified job-seekers are also the hardest to vet.

CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security, so stay tuned with us here on CNN for the latest information day and night.

O'BRIEN: The scene in Syria today, quite dramatic. Tens of thousands of people flooding downtown Beirut, answering the call by Hezbollah to answer those anti-Syria demonstrations that started with the killing of Rafik Hariri.

I misspoke at the top. That is the not the scene in Syria. That is the scene in Beirut, Lebanon. CNN's Brent Sadler is there -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.

This was a mass protest by any standard, certainly outnumbering the anti-Syrian pro-democracy marches and demonstrations we've been seeing in this country, in the capital, for the past three weeks.

This was the other side of the Lebanese political system here. This were -- these were supporters of not just Hezbollah but also other political parties in Lebanon, who think in the way that Hezbollah and Syria thinks about the way this country should move forward.

These were not people who were necessarily all against the withdrawal of Syrian troops. These are people that want to see a relationship, a strong relationship, between Syria and Lebanon, under a new relationship in terms of the troops moving out of this country.

Troops have been moving to a line closer to the Lebanese-Syrian border, but still inside this country. They wanted to show the United States and the international community that pro-Syrian forces, political forces in Lebanon, can pull out large numbers of people on the streets, to fly in the face, effectively, of what President Bush has been demanding, which is that complete withdrawal of Syrian troops and the flourishing of democracy inside Lebanon.

Now, many of these people here said that they were quite anti- American policy in the Middle East, that part of this policy that President Bush is promoting in the Middle East could well lead to pushing the various communities here into the kind of hostilities they suffered during the civil war years that lasted some 15 years.

So a lot of concerns here in this country now, particularly after what President Bush said, because it further polarizes the pro and anti-Syrian camps in Lebanon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Brent Sadler in Beirut, thank you very much.

If you're going to drop a dime, I've got more than a million reasons why you don't want it to be this one. Details on the dandy of a dime, later on LIVE FROM.

And traveling to the heart of the tsunami zone. Musician and radio host John Tesh joins us to talk about why his family spent their vacation there.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeff Koinange in Ghana. Coming up on LIVE FROM, they're one of the most ferocious creatures on the planet. But in this remote part of Africa, crocodiles living side by side with man. That's all coming up on LIVE FROM.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Welcome back to LIVE FROM.

The Vatican says Pope John Paul II will not preside over holy week services. However, a spokesman says the pontiff should be home from the hospital by then and plans to deliver his Easter blessing. The spokesman says the pope continues to improve following that tracheotomy.

PHILLIPS: On International Women's Day, focusing attention on the rights for -- the fight for equal rights, rather. It was marked with several events, including a forum at the U.N. Speakers said that women still lag behind economically and violence and AIDS are rising among women.

At the State Department, first lady Laura Bush noted that women in Afghanistan have made great strides since the Taliban were removed. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed women elsewhere seeking human rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We meet here today to send a clear message to the women of the world who are not yet free. As you stand for your right and for your liberty, America stands with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: A rally drawing thousands of women in Pakistan kicks off our news around the world today. The demonstrators called for justice for a woman who said she'd been gang raped at the order of a village council. Six attackers were originally sentenced to death, but five were released on appeal. The sentence for the sixth attacker was reduced.

Britain's Prince Charles gets an eyeful in New Zealand's capital. A woman bared her breasts in an apparent protest against the monarchy. Another bare-breasted woman was removed shortly before the prince arrived. Both were charged with disorderly behavior.

And shedding new light on the 3,300-year-old mystery. Was Egypt's King Tut murdered? Doctors who recently performed a CAT scan on his remains say there is no evidence of foul play. The doctors say the 19-year-old monarch may have had a broken leg, which got infected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, pay close attention. You're seeing a crime being committed. No, it's not the highway robbery of high gas prices. It's people filling up and driving off, a growing crime of the times.

Later on LIVE FROM, from music to a mission in the tsunami zone. Musician and radio host John Tesh on LIVE FROM to talk about how you can help. Tomorrow, the horrific episode in America's civil rights movement, Bloody Sunday. The little girl who ran for her life that day, 40 years ago, joins us live to tell her story.

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PHILLIPS: News across America now, see that coin? Originally worth 10 cents. Well, it went for a record $1.3 million at auction. It was one of only 24 dimes made in 1894 at the San Francisco mint, and it's believed that only 10 still exist. Well, the dimes were originally made as gifts for visitors.

Gas prices on the rise. And drivers aren't the only ones who are paying. When prices go up, so do gas thefts.

CNN's Dan Lothian told us about this last summer, but we never got to show you that report, so we're going to take a look at it now.

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DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an old crime pumped to new levels, hitting the Tiger Mart in Salisbury, Maryland, the BP Amoco station in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and this Mobil station in Brookline, Massachusetts.

ELIAS AUDY, MOBIL STATION OWNER: A customer took off with $36 of gasoline. Once the light came green, flew out of here like you wouldn't believe.

LOTHIAN: Soaring gas prices that have frustrated some drivers...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been upset about it.

LOTHIAN: ... and spawned this boycott gas web site by this angry real estate broker...

JOHN TYLER, BOYCOTTGASOLINE.COM: This one just did it. They're into my wallet. I didn't like it.

LOTHIAN: ... have been driving up so-called gas and dash incidents, costing some retailers as much as $800 in losses a month.

JEFF LENARD, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES: It's gone from a teen who might be doing it for the thrill as much as the $5 or $10 stolen, to all demographics, including late model SUVs pulling out with upwards of $50 or even $60 worth of gas.

LOTHIAN: In surveillance tape obtained by CNN from the Maryland mart, a driver pulled in, fills up, replaces the gas cap while appearing to look around, makes an odd maneuver, then, according to management, drives off without paying a dime.

The same, they allege, for this woman, who casually cleans her windshield before taking off. And one more flies an American flag while allegedly pumping and running.

(on camera) If this is such a big problem, then why don't all retailers require everyone to prepay? Experts say that's because, given the option, some customers will go to a station that allows them to pump first and pay later.

(voice-over) And there's the issue of profits.

LENARD: They also are less likely to go inside the store and buy other items, where margins are much healthier.

LOTHIAN: So surveillance cameras, like this one in Wisconsin, help retailers track the license plate numbers of offenders. And in some 25 states, punishment could include the temporary loss of a driver's license.

In Brookline, Elias Audy hopes to install security cameras at his station so the next time someone drives off with his gas, he'll have the evidence on tape.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

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O'BRIEN: More news now on that scandal at that giant data broker, ChoicePoint. The company which keeps so many of our secrets is now trying to repair its image after 145,000 consumers' personal data was hacked and in many cases abused.

Now, one man partially behind the fraud has been sentenced. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with that and more for us.

Hello, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

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O'BRIEN: Some breaking news coming into us now, live pictures, courtesy of our affiliate, KCAL, obviously aerial pictures of a train wreck. Happened about 10 a.m. local time. Train derailment outside of L.A. in the place called City of Industry, about five to seven cars off the track, as you can clearly see. Not a commuter train, a freight train.

No injuries are reported. However, some evacuations have occurred, because there is some concern about a chemical leak from that freight train. Hazardous material experts from the fire department are on the way, if not on the scene already.

We're tracking it for you. Small area around there may be evacuated. But as we said, as a result of that train derailment, 10 a.m. local time, just a little while ago Eastern, the situation there is a small evacuation, no injuries reported. Also, on the west coast, Hollywood mourning the loss of Academy Award winning actress Teresa Wright. Wright died of a heart attack Sunday. The actress starred opposite Gary cooper and Marlon Brando in the '40s and '50s. In 1942, she won the best supporting actress for "Mrs. Miniver." Wright was 86 years old.

The body of the photographer boyfriend of the supermodel Petra Nemcova has been found in tsunami-ravaged Thailand. Simon Atlee was vacationing with Nemcova when the tsunami struck late last year. Nemcova suffered serious injuries. Thai officials say they're working on sending Atlee's remains to his family in Britain.

Back from their tour of tsunami-devastated Asia, former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, now in Washington. In about 15 minutes there to meet with President Bush.

Within the past couple of hours, we've learned that Clinton is to undergo corrective heart surgery to remove scar tissue Thursday in New York. We expect Clinton to take questions on the matter a little later this afternoon.

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