Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Bush Makes Argument for Energy Plan; Iraqi Minister Escapes Assassination; Mount St. Helens Spews Ash, Steam
Aired March 09, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Gas prices are high and expected to go higher. Does the president have a solution? Right now, he's in Ohio to tout his energy policies. We're live from Columbus.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Speaking of going high, Mount St. Helens spews a towering plume of steam and ash. Is the volcano ready to rumble some more? Scientists plan a news conference shortly. We're going to bring it to you.
O'BRIEN: Boys and girls for sale. Our CNN cameras capture the ugly reality of human trafficking. And we'll meet a former California socialite who sacrificed everything to try and help the children.
From CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips from the CNN Center in Atlanta. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Three little words that strike fear in the hearts of motorists. And we don't mean "license and registration" or "lanes closed ahead."
If you bought gas lately, you may have had to take a deep breath before you said "fill her up," or thought it, since most of us pump our own, of course.
Self serve regular now averages $2 a gallon nationwide. The government expects it to hit $2.15 this spring. You say there ought to be a law? President Bush agree and says several have been under lawmakers' noses for years. Fueled by the rising cost of fuel, Mr. Bush is dusting off his energy proposals in Columbus Ohio.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is there. Suzanne, what's the latest?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you may have to dust off your bicycle, as well. Because, of course, the president looking at those high gas prices and really hoping to capitalize off the concern here, saying that he has got an energy plan that is going to work.
The president, of course, making his case. He has not been successful with this in the past with Congress. In his slogan that he used for both campaigns one and two, as well as his State of the Union address, but he's trying to put pressure on Congress to pass that energy plan. Today, he will argue that, yes, the economy is strong but that those high gas prices really are a drag on the economy. The only way to deal with this is to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
The president will put forward his energy plan, two parts. He will call for clean coal technology, modernizing the electricity grid. Also, increasing oil production in the United States, including drilling in the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and of course finding alternate sources of energy.
Now, of course, this is a very controversial issue, Miles, as you know, already, the battle lines have been set. Environmentalists calling that drilling in the refuge, the wildlife refuge, as simply a plan that doesn't work, one that will harm the environment.
And also in Washington, what we're expecting, just moments away, Senator Chuck Schumer, as well as nine other senators, are going to be gathering on the Hill. They are going to be talking about their own plan. They have actually -- going to send a letter to President Bush, calling to tap into the strategic oil reserve of the United States, saying that this, of course, would lower those gas prices.
President Bush, not necessarily likely to do that. He's been asked to do that in the past. He says it is only for national emergencies -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne, is the president going to talk at all about nuclear power today?
MALVEAUX: We expect he's going to talk about nuclear power. We expect that he's going to talk about alternative ways, alternative sources of energy.
He's also going to be talking about his Clear Skies Initiative. And that is something that, just earlier today, received a blow from a Senate panel that rejected that. And it simply would put limitations on these power plants, but at the same time, environmentalists and members of Congress say they believe it would simply delay those polluters, give them a free pass, if you will, because it allows them to exchange these emissions credits from one power plant to the next. That is something that he's already facing an uphill battle with.
So we'll see if any of this moves forward. The president certainly hoping to capitalize off the concern, of course, that we all have when we look at those gas prices at the pump.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux, in Columbus, thank you.
PHILLIPS: More clashes, more carnage, more controversy, in the fight for Iraq. A garbage truck became a deadly weapon. A cabinet member barely survived an ambush. Another roadside bombing killed another U.S. soldier, all while authorities investigate two separate discoveries of mass murder.
CNN's Aneesh Raman brings us up to date now, live from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.
A very violent day in Iraq. The latest incident, as you say, the minister of planning here, in the past few hours, surviving an assassination attempt. His convoy, coming under fire, in the upscale area of Monsour (ph). One of his bodyguards was killed. At least two others were wounded.
The day began at around 6:30 a.m. local when, as you say, a suicide bomber, using a garbage truck, detonated outside of the ministry of agriculture. He was driving through the courtyard there when he came under fire by guards. The explosion killed two of those guards, injured at least 22 others.
According to ministry officials, the intended target was the al Sadir (ph) Hotel, adjacent to ministry known to house a large number of westerners.
Also today, in Ramadi, another suicide car bombing taking place at a Military checkpoint. No known numbers of casualties there or the extent of damage, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad. Thank you so much.
We're also following new claims and new questions in the Italian hostage probe. That will take us to CNN's Alessio Vinci in Rome in just about 10 minutes from now.
Introducing the once and future prime minister of Lebanon, Omar Kharami, the pro-Syrian premier who bowed to anti-Syrian demonstrators by stepping down barely a week ago is almost certain to get his job back. Pro-Syrian lawmakers renominated Kharami in parliament today. And the formal offer from Lebanon's president is thought to be, well, a formality. We'll keep you posted.
O'BRIEN: Hiccup or harbinger? Mount St. Helens is once again making its presence felt, spewing ash and steam as far as seven miles up and 90 miles away. This morning, it threw a minor earthquake. We're hearing, just monitoring the U.S. Geological Survey as they offer up the latest news on. Haven't heard anything stunning just yet.
But in the meantime, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano gives us an update on the science, what's going on on Mount St. Helens, some scenarios as well.
Rob, first of all, the one question which comes up time and again when we talk about St. Helens is the area immediately surrounding and the possibility that people there might be affected.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Miles, this mountain is about 50 miles north and east of Portland, Oregon, which the city proper has about half a million people and then in the surrounding suburbs, you get up close to two million people. So a very populated area. But the key is that it's to the north and east of that populated area. What's to the east of Mount St. Helens is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Cascade mountain range, very unpopulated area.
So even when this thing blew, the big time, back in 1980, the ash fell over more rural areas than they would, say, Portland or Seattle.
Interesting to note, when we look at some of this video, is the lack of snowfall any other year this thing would be covered with snow. And it's not -- doesn't have snow because of the heat. It has no snow because it's been an incredibly dry year there. So that's another concern as we get to fire season.
But like you mentioned, the earthquake that happened this morning, very minor and very ordinary since this thing has become active.
Want to show you a keyhole representation of what the terrain looks like, just to give you an idea. There's Portland, Seattle, to north. Columbia River to just to the north of Portland. And then this mountain, which at one point was upwards of around 11,000 feet or so. Now down to about 8,500 feet.
This is the northern view of the mountain. We're looking south, into the crater itself, which now has this lava dome, which has been being built up since last fall when the original -- the latest round of magma build-up. And that lava dome is being built up. And that's where we're seeing the activity nowadays.
But this is the remnants of what happened in 1980. I should point out, Miles, what they've been saying from the USGS is that we don't expect an eruption like what happened in 1980, even though this last round, which happened yesterday afternoon, was worst or bigger than what happened last fall.
Another representation of what happened to the ash when this thing blew, 30,000 feet up into the air, yesterday afternoon. The Portland airport right about there. And the approach typically is right down the Columbia River. So coming from the north and coming from the east, pilots had to navigate around this ash plume, which went up about 36,000 feet.
Typically this time of year you get westerly winds pretty much all levels of the atmosphere so that blew the ash east towards Yakamo (ph), which is just east of the Cascade Mountain Range. And then dissipate quite rapidly.
There was an ash advisory that was in effect until midnight last night. But it's pretty much all but a memory right now, Miles. Earthquake early this morning, no big deal. We'll continue to monitor. I'll be interested to see what they have to say out of this conference that they're having right now.
O'BRIEN: Yes. We should let our viewers know, Rob, that airplanes flying through these plumes of ash, they can literally shut down engines of a jet aircraft. MARCIANO: Yes. Jet aircrafts specifically. You're a pilot, Miles, so you can probably speak more to that. You don't want anything getting into a jet aircraft engine because of the way the compression works and the amount of space that is so small between those turbines.
So any sort of ash, any sort of debris into a jet airplane is going to be bad news. It has since dissipated, even though it's still steaming. And my friends in Portland have said, you know, it's been pretty much steaming on and off since last fall. So it's been a pretty normal thing to see from Portland and places very close to where it's Mount St. Helens.
But it was an impressive sight yesterday. Everybody could see it. And it was a clear day, too, so got a lot of the locals certainly looking up at the sky.
O'BRIEN: All right. Rob Marciano in the weather center, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Life and death decisions made in a matter of seconds. The shooting death of an Italian agent at an American security checkpoint in Iraq point out the harsh reality of a war zone. We're going to go in depth straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want justice. And what it does to their life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: She's talking about human trafficking, a dirty little secret just south of the border and children who get caught in the trap. We'll tell you about this pretty incredible story, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Italy's prime minister says the U.S. military knew that a newly released hostage would be headed to the Baghdad airport last week. The hostage was wounded and an Italian agent was killed, as you know by now, when U.S. troops fired on their car.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told Italian lawmakers the shooting felt like an injustice beyond any sentiment.
CNN Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci standing by live with details. This story doesn't want to go away, does it, Alessio?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really doesn't, Miles.
Prime Minister Berlusconi addressed the Senate today, here in Rome, and he promised lawmakers that the Italians and the Americans will be working together to find out exactly what happened on Friday in Baghdad. He demanded and obtained a joint investigation because he said only a frank and reciprocal admission of responsible will bring this case to a close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY (through translator): And it is because of our strong and loyal friendship with the people in the government of the United States. We have the duty to expect from them all the cooperation possible to get to the truth of things and to determine the responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VINCI: And this is the kind of language that the Italians have been expecting from the Italian prime minister, who at times has been perceived as being perhaps too close to U.S. President George W. Bush, especially as far as Iraq is concerned. And Italians want to make sure that this investigation is, indeed, credible, because they want to have some answers.
Now, to what extent the Italian military will be able to participate in this investigation is still unclear, whether or not, for example, Italian officials will be given access to the U.S. soldiers who fired on the car.
And as you know there are a lot of discrepancies between what the Italians and the Americans are saying as to what happened on Friday. The Italian prime minister today again saying that the car did stop immediately after it was warned. It was lit with a big flash of light.
And also said, as you mentioned, that the Italian intelligence agents had all the necessary documentation to travel to Baghdad. So a lot of questions there that this investigation will have to answer.
Now, meanwhile, this story has, once again, raised the issue of whether or not the government should negotiate with kidnappers in order to get the release of hostages. The Italians are saying, and the Italian foreign minister just said a moment ago that Italy has not paid but there is widespread consensus, here in Europe anyway, that the Italians are paying. So much in fact, the Italian prime minister today in the Senate had to reiterate, one more time, Italy's official position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERLUSCONI (through translator): All cases in which Italian citizens have been victims of kidnapping, the government acted using two policies. We've always rejected political blackmail, and at the same time, we activated all political, diplomatic and intelligence channels to obtain the liberation of our fellow citizen hostages.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VINCI: And the one thing, Miles, that the Italians -- the Italian government does not want to do at this time is to rethink its commitment in Iraq, where Italy has close to 3,000 troops. And in order to avoid pressure from public opinion, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi must make sure that this investigation will -- will be able to give all the answers necessary without any doubt on who is responsible and, especially if those responsible will be held accountable -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Alessio Vinci in Rome, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: One tragic event, two versions of what happened. To talk about this and other questions out of Iraq, let's bring in retired U.S. Major General James "Spider" Marks, CNN military analyst. He joins us live from Washington.
General, let's talk -- first of all, just about checkpoint coordination. You've done -- you've been on that road many, many a times. Give us sort of a visual of how a check at a checkpoint goes down.
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Kyra, the -- each one of the soldiers or the Marines, depending upon the type of force there, has gone through some very precise and lengthy certification training before they can man those checkpoint.
So it's not, as they would say in the military, a "hey you" list. These are very precisely described tasks that these soldiers have to go through.
And in advance of any vehicle approaching a checkpoint, there will be some forms of recognition that have to be exchanged. And if you do this in the hours of darkness, you can only imagine how much more confusing that would be.
But first and foremost, understand that the purpose of a checkpoint is to facilitate normal traffic, first and foremost, and then secondarily, it's to protect the force.
So what those young soldiers were doing at those checkpoints and routinely have been doing at those checkpoints is they're not picking a fight. If they wanted to pick a fight, they would do that under conditions that were far more favorable than sitting in the middle of the road. So what they're trying to do is facilitate movement and to protect themselves and their buddies.
So when you look at vehicular traffic and something is out of the norm, either the lights are off, the speed is a bit too much, you provide some degree of warning in advance, whether that's lights or shots across the bow, as they say, warning shots.
And then you will apply a collapsing time line. You see that a response has to be made by the vehicle in a very short amount of time, and then a soldier has to make a decision.
And I can tell you that the United States military will be full and open, as was described in their investigation, and it is a joint investigation. I think that's a wonderful decision.
PHILLIPS: And I know you're furious about the fact that some are coming out and saying, and in particular, the journalist herself, sort of backing away from it, saying it was an intentional -- intentional targeting.
But let's just talk about the coalition coordination. Why didn't they have a U.S. escort? Why wasn't there better coordination? I mean, this was a national -- international story, grabbing all the headlines. You would just assume everybody would know what was going on. Or is it -- was it kept a secret because of covert operations and possibly a payoff to insurgents?
MARKS: Kyra, you and I are in an area of supposition, and it's a great question, so I can't answer it in any detail. But I can tell you that you would assume -- and your question's spot on -- that there would be coordination at all levels, at the very highest levels down to that young private that's manning the checkpoint so that he or she would understand what's approaching.
You're exactly right, I find it immoral that the suggestion is that the United States intentionally targeted that vehicle.
PHILLIPS: Well, now, let's say that money was paid to the insurgents. Would there still be movement clearance, if the U.S. -- let's say the Italians came forward and say, "Look, we are paying them to get our journalist back, no matter what you say. I know it's not your policy, but we're going to do it." Would the U.S. still allow that movement clearance and the operation to go forward, knowing that money was going to insurgents?
MARKS: Absolutely. The U.S. would go out of its way. The coalition forces -- because you don't know how many other forces this vehicle had to pass through, whether there was, as we say, a battle handoff and additional pieces of coordination that had to take place from where the hostage was picked up and where she was ultimately going to be delivered. So there was a lot of coordination that would have taken place.
And I can assure you if the U.S. forces and the other coalition forces knew that a vehicle was approaching and needed special clearance or passage, types of details and coordinations, it would have taken place.
PHILLIPS: Well, if $6 million was indeed paid to the insurgents, it's pretty scary to think of the kind of weaponry that they could buy. General James "Spider" Marks, thanks for your time today.
MARKS: Thanks, Kyra.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, Bloody Sunday, it forever changed the American civil rights movement. Today, the little girl who became known as Martin Luther King's smallest freedom fighter. She's joining us live to share her story. Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't like it. But what can I do? I started this a year ago when I was 17.
PHILLIPS: Tragedy in Tijuana. Buying and selling children for the night. Or for keeps. Their stories and one woman's fight to save them.
Tomorrow on LIVE FROM, former President Clinton: hitting the links today, but he'll go under the knife tomorrow. We'll track his progress on LIVE FROM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: President Clinton is hitting the links on the eve of another operation. He's at a charity golf outing with former President Bush in Florida. Tomorrow, Clinton goes back to the hospital to have fluid and scar tissue removed from his chest, a complication from his quadruple bypass.
So, should a 58-year-old man play golf in the rain the day before surgery? This morning, Clinton said, "Why not?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is my second attempt to play this course. And the first time I went to the hospital, because I fell off Greg's step and tore my quadricep. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm way ahead. At least I get to play before I go to hospital this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Looks like he could use a swing doctor, as well. The tournament's expected to raise $2 million for tsunami victims.
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now.
Park rangers are hiking in to help four young men stranded in the snow along the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee. One of the hikers is showing signs of hypothermia. They started hiking in good weather Sunday but were hit by eight inches of snow yesterday.
The Boston area has been blasted by a late winter snowstorm, leaving hundreds of people without power. It made travel a mess for motorists and stranded hundreds of people at Logan Airport overnight.
In Chicago a lawyer for Matthew Hale reportedly says Hale's mother asked him to relay a coded message to one of Hale's followers. That's according to "The New York Times." Hale is the white supremacist convicted of plotting to murder federal Judge Joan Lefkow. Her husband and mother were found shot to death in the judge's home last week. Anchor aweigh at CBS. Dan Rather wrapping up 24 years as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News." His final broadcast is tonight. Rather says he's not retiring; he's just changing jobs to correspondent on "60 Minutes."
O'BRIEN: The brother of the accuser in the Michael Jackson case back on the stand today as Jackson's attorneys grill him. He'll have the latest from Santa Maria, California, ahead on LIVE FROM.
And a portrait of courage that you're looking at right now. The little girls in this picture with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. did a very brave thing that changed America. The one on the left is all grown up now, and she will share her story ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 9, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Gas prices are high and expected to go higher. Does the president have a solution? Right now, he's in Ohio to tout his energy policies. We're live from Columbus.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Speaking of going high, Mount St. Helens spews a towering plume of steam and ash. Is the volcano ready to rumble some more? Scientists plan a news conference shortly. We're going to bring it to you.
O'BRIEN: Boys and girls for sale. Our CNN cameras capture the ugly reality of human trafficking. And we'll meet a former California socialite who sacrificed everything to try and help the children.
From CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips from the CNN Center in Atlanta. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Three little words that strike fear in the hearts of motorists. And we don't mean "license and registration" or "lanes closed ahead."
If you bought gas lately, you may have had to take a deep breath before you said "fill her up," or thought it, since most of us pump our own, of course.
Self serve regular now averages $2 a gallon nationwide. The government expects it to hit $2.15 this spring. You say there ought to be a law? President Bush agree and says several have been under lawmakers' noses for years. Fueled by the rising cost of fuel, Mr. Bush is dusting off his energy proposals in Columbus Ohio.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is there. Suzanne, what's the latest?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you may have to dust off your bicycle, as well. Because, of course, the president looking at those high gas prices and really hoping to capitalize off the concern here, saying that he has got an energy plan that is going to work.
The president, of course, making his case. He has not been successful with this in the past with Congress. In his slogan that he used for both campaigns one and two, as well as his State of the Union address, but he's trying to put pressure on Congress to pass that energy plan. Today, he will argue that, yes, the economy is strong but that those high gas prices really are a drag on the economy. The only way to deal with this is to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
The president will put forward his energy plan, two parts. He will call for clean coal technology, modernizing the electricity grid. Also, increasing oil production in the United States, including drilling in the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and of course finding alternate sources of energy.
Now, of course, this is a very controversial issue, Miles, as you know, already, the battle lines have been set. Environmentalists calling that drilling in the refuge, the wildlife refuge, as simply a plan that doesn't work, one that will harm the environment.
And also in Washington, what we're expecting, just moments away, Senator Chuck Schumer, as well as nine other senators, are going to be gathering on the Hill. They are going to be talking about their own plan. They have actually -- going to send a letter to President Bush, calling to tap into the strategic oil reserve of the United States, saying that this, of course, would lower those gas prices.
President Bush, not necessarily likely to do that. He's been asked to do that in the past. He says it is only for national emergencies -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne, is the president going to talk at all about nuclear power today?
MALVEAUX: We expect he's going to talk about nuclear power. We expect that he's going to talk about alternative ways, alternative sources of energy.
He's also going to be talking about his Clear Skies Initiative. And that is something that, just earlier today, received a blow from a Senate panel that rejected that. And it simply would put limitations on these power plants, but at the same time, environmentalists and members of Congress say they believe it would simply delay those polluters, give them a free pass, if you will, because it allows them to exchange these emissions credits from one power plant to the next. That is something that he's already facing an uphill battle with.
So we'll see if any of this moves forward. The president certainly hoping to capitalize off the concern, of course, that we all have when we look at those gas prices at the pump.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux, in Columbus, thank you.
PHILLIPS: More clashes, more carnage, more controversy, in the fight for Iraq. A garbage truck became a deadly weapon. A cabinet member barely survived an ambush. Another roadside bombing killed another U.S. soldier, all while authorities investigate two separate discoveries of mass murder.
CNN's Aneesh Raman brings us up to date now, live from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.
A very violent day in Iraq. The latest incident, as you say, the minister of planning here, in the past few hours, surviving an assassination attempt. His convoy, coming under fire, in the upscale area of Monsour (ph). One of his bodyguards was killed. At least two others were wounded.
The day began at around 6:30 a.m. local when, as you say, a suicide bomber, using a garbage truck, detonated outside of the ministry of agriculture. He was driving through the courtyard there when he came under fire by guards. The explosion killed two of those guards, injured at least 22 others.
According to ministry officials, the intended target was the al Sadir (ph) Hotel, adjacent to ministry known to house a large number of westerners.
Also today, in Ramadi, another suicide car bombing taking place at a Military checkpoint. No known numbers of casualties there or the extent of damage, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad. Thank you so much.
We're also following new claims and new questions in the Italian hostage probe. That will take us to CNN's Alessio Vinci in Rome in just about 10 minutes from now.
Introducing the once and future prime minister of Lebanon, Omar Kharami, the pro-Syrian premier who bowed to anti-Syrian demonstrators by stepping down barely a week ago is almost certain to get his job back. Pro-Syrian lawmakers renominated Kharami in parliament today. And the formal offer from Lebanon's president is thought to be, well, a formality. We'll keep you posted.
O'BRIEN: Hiccup or harbinger? Mount St. Helens is once again making its presence felt, spewing ash and steam as far as seven miles up and 90 miles away. This morning, it threw a minor earthquake. We're hearing, just monitoring the U.S. Geological Survey as they offer up the latest news on. Haven't heard anything stunning just yet.
But in the meantime, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano gives us an update on the science, what's going on on Mount St. Helens, some scenarios as well.
Rob, first of all, the one question which comes up time and again when we talk about St. Helens is the area immediately surrounding and the possibility that people there might be affected.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Miles, this mountain is about 50 miles north and east of Portland, Oregon, which the city proper has about half a million people and then in the surrounding suburbs, you get up close to two million people. So a very populated area. But the key is that it's to the north and east of that populated area. What's to the east of Mount St. Helens is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Cascade mountain range, very unpopulated area.
So even when this thing blew, the big time, back in 1980, the ash fell over more rural areas than they would, say, Portland or Seattle.
Interesting to note, when we look at some of this video, is the lack of snowfall any other year this thing would be covered with snow. And it's not -- doesn't have snow because of the heat. It has no snow because it's been an incredibly dry year there. So that's another concern as we get to fire season.
But like you mentioned, the earthquake that happened this morning, very minor and very ordinary since this thing has become active.
Want to show you a keyhole representation of what the terrain looks like, just to give you an idea. There's Portland, Seattle, to north. Columbia River to just to the north of Portland. And then this mountain, which at one point was upwards of around 11,000 feet or so. Now down to about 8,500 feet.
This is the northern view of the mountain. We're looking south, into the crater itself, which now has this lava dome, which has been being built up since last fall when the original -- the latest round of magma build-up. And that lava dome is being built up. And that's where we're seeing the activity nowadays.
But this is the remnants of what happened in 1980. I should point out, Miles, what they've been saying from the USGS is that we don't expect an eruption like what happened in 1980, even though this last round, which happened yesterday afternoon, was worst or bigger than what happened last fall.
Another representation of what happened to the ash when this thing blew, 30,000 feet up into the air, yesterday afternoon. The Portland airport right about there. And the approach typically is right down the Columbia River. So coming from the north and coming from the east, pilots had to navigate around this ash plume, which went up about 36,000 feet.
Typically this time of year you get westerly winds pretty much all levels of the atmosphere so that blew the ash east towards Yakamo (ph), which is just east of the Cascade Mountain Range. And then dissipate quite rapidly.
There was an ash advisory that was in effect until midnight last night. But it's pretty much all but a memory right now, Miles. Earthquake early this morning, no big deal. We'll continue to monitor. I'll be interested to see what they have to say out of this conference that they're having right now.
O'BRIEN: Yes. We should let our viewers know, Rob, that airplanes flying through these plumes of ash, they can literally shut down engines of a jet aircraft. MARCIANO: Yes. Jet aircrafts specifically. You're a pilot, Miles, so you can probably speak more to that. You don't want anything getting into a jet aircraft engine because of the way the compression works and the amount of space that is so small between those turbines.
So any sort of ash, any sort of debris into a jet airplane is going to be bad news. It has since dissipated, even though it's still steaming. And my friends in Portland have said, you know, it's been pretty much steaming on and off since last fall. So it's been a pretty normal thing to see from Portland and places very close to where it's Mount St. Helens.
But it was an impressive sight yesterday. Everybody could see it. And it was a clear day, too, so got a lot of the locals certainly looking up at the sky.
O'BRIEN: All right. Rob Marciano in the weather center, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Life and death decisions made in a matter of seconds. The shooting death of an Italian agent at an American security checkpoint in Iraq point out the harsh reality of a war zone. We're going to go in depth straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want justice. And what it does to their life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: She's talking about human trafficking, a dirty little secret just south of the border and children who get caught in the trap. We'll tell you about this pretty incredible story, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Italy's prime minister says the U.S. military knew that a newly released hostage would be headed to the Baghdad airport last week. The hostage was wounded and an Italian agent was killed, as you know by now, when U.S. troops fired on their car.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told Italian lawmakers the shooting felt like an injustice beyond any sentiment.
CNN Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci standing by live with details. This story doesn't want to go away, does it, Alessio?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really doesn't, Miles.
Prime Minister Berlusconi addressed the Senate today, here in Rome, and he promised lawmakers that the Italians and the Americans will be working together to find out exactly what happened on Friday in Baghdad. He demanded and obtained a joint investigation because he said only a frank and reciprocal admission of responsible will bring this case to a close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY (through translator): And it is because of our strong and loyal friendship with the people in the government of the United States. We have the duty to expect from them all the cooperation possible to get to the truth of things and to determine the responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VINCI: And this is the kind of language that the Italians have been expecting from the Italian prime minister, who at times has been perceived as being perhaps too close to U.S. President George W. Bush, especially as far as Iraq is concerned. And Italians want to make sure that this investigation is, indeed, credible, because they want to have some answers.
Now, to what extent the Italian military will be able to participate in this investigation is still unclear, whether or not, for example, Italian officials will be given access to the U.S. soldiers who fired on the car.
And as you know there are a lot of discrepancies between what the Italians and the Americans are saying as to what happened on Friday. The Italian prime minister today again saying that the car did stop immediately after it was warned. It was lit with a big flash of light.
And also said, as you mentioned, that the Italian intelligence agents had all the necessary documentation to travel to Baghdad. So a lot of questions there that this investigation will have to answer.
Now, meanwhile, this story has, once again, raised the issue of whether or not the government should negotiate with kidnappers in order to get the release of hostages. The Italians are saying, and the Italian foreign minister just said a moment ago that Italy has not paid but there is widespread consensus, here in Europe anyway, that the Italians are paying. So much in fact, the Italian prime minister today in the Senate had to reiterate, one more time, Italy's official position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERLUSCONI (through translator): All cases in which Italian citizens have been victims of kidnapping, the government acted using two policies. We've always rejected political blackmail, and at the same time, we activated all political, diplomatic and intelligence channels to obtain the liberation of our fellow citizen hostages.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VINCI: And the one thing, Miles, that the Italians -- the Italian government does not want to do at this time is to rethink its commitment in Iraq, where Italy has close to 3,000 troops. And in order to avoid pressure from public opinion, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi must make sure that this investigation will -- will be able to give all the answers necessary without any doubt on who is responsible and, especially if those responsible will be held accountable -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Alessio Vinci in Rome, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: One tragic event, two versions of what happened. To talk about this and other questions out of Iraq, let's bring in retired U.S. Major General James "Spider" Marks, CNN military analyst. He joins us live from Washington.
General, let's talk -- first of all, just about checkpoint coordination. You've done -- you've been on that road many, many a times. Give us sort of a visual of how a check at a checkpoint goes down.
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Kyra, the -- each one of the soldiers or the Marines, depending upon the type of force there, has gone through some very precise and lengthy certification training before they can man those checkpoint.
So it's not, as they would say in the military, a "hey you" list. These are very precisely described tasks that these soldiers have to go through.
And in advance of any vehicle approaching a checkpoint, there will be some forms of recognition that have to be exchanged. And if you do this in the hours of darkness, you can only imagine how much more confusing that would be.
But first and foremost, understand that the purpose of a checkpoint is to facilitate normal traffic, first and foremost, and then secondarily, it's to protect the force.
So what those young soldiers were doing at those checkpoints and routinely have been doing at those checkpoints is they're not picking a fight. If they wanted to pick a fight, they would do that under conditions that were far more favorable than sitting in the middle of the road. So what they're trying to do is facilitate movement and to protect themselves and their buddies.
So when you look at vehicular traffic and something is out of the norm, either the lights are off, the speed is a bit too much, you provide some degree of warning in advance, whether that's lights or shots across the bow, as they say, warning shots.
And then you will apply a collapsing time line. You see that a response has to be made by the vehicle in a very short amount of time, and then a soldier has to make a decision.
And I can tell you that the United States military will be full and open, as was described in their investigation, and it is a joint investigation. I think that's a wonderful decision.
PHILLIPS: And I know you're furious about the fact that some are coming out and saying, and in particular, the journalist herself, sort of backing away from it, saying it was an intentional -- intentional targeting.
But let's just talk about the coalition coordination. Why didn't they have a U.S. escort? Why wasn't there better coordination? I mean, this was a national -- international story, grabbing all the headlines. You would just assume everybody would know what was going on. Or is it -- was it kept a secret because of covert operations and possibly a payoff to insurgents?
MARKS: Kyra, you and I are in an area of supposition, and it's a great question, so I can't answer it in any detail. But I can tell you that you would assume -- and your question's spot on -- that there would be coordination at all levels, at the very highest levels down to that young private that's manning the checkpoint so that he or she would understand what's approaching.
You're exactly right, I find it immoral that the suggestion is that the United States intentionally targeted that vehicle.
PHILLIPS: Well, now, let's say that money was paid to the insurgents. Would there still be movement clearance, if the U.S. -- let's say the Italians came forward and say, "Look, we are paying them to get our journalist back, no matter what you say. I know it's not your policy, but we're going to do it." Would the U.S. still allow that movement clearance and the operation to go forward, knowing that money was going to insurgents?
MARKS: Absolutely. The U.S. would go out of its way. The coalition forces -- because you don't know how many other forces this vehicle had to pass through, whether there was, as we say, a battle handoff and additional pieces of coordination that had to take place from where the hostage was picked up and where she was ultimately going to be delivered. So there was a lot of coordination that would have taken place.
And I can assure you if the U.S. forces and the other coalition forces knew that a vehicle was approaching and needed special clearance or passage, types of details and coordinations, it would have taken place.
PHILLIPS: Well, if $6 million was indeed paid to the insurgents, it's pretty scary to think of the kind of weaponry that they could buy. General James "Spider" Marks, thanks for your time today.
MARKS: Thanks, Kyra.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, Bloody Sunday, it forever changed the American civil rights movement. Today, the little girl who became known as Martin Luther King's smallest freedom fighter. She's joining us live to share her story. Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't like it. But what can I do? I started this a year ago when I was 17.
PHILLIPS: Tragedy in Tijuana. Buying and selling children for the night. Or for keeps. Their stories and one woman's fight to save them.
Tomorrow on LIVE FROM, former President Clinton: hitting the links today, but he'll go under the knife tomorrow. We'll track his progress on LIVE FROM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: President Clinton is hitting the links on the eve of another operation. He's at a charity golf outing with former President Bush in Florida. Tomorrow, Clinton goes back to the hospital to have fluid and scar tissue removed from his chest, a complication from his quadruple bypass.
So, should a 58-year-old man play golf in the rain the day before surgery? This morning, Clinton said, "Why not?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is my second attempt to play this course. And the first time I went to the hospital, because I fell off Greg's step and tore my quadricep. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm way ahead. At least I get to play before I go to hospital this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Looks like he could use a swing doctor, as well. The tournament's expected to raise $2 million for tsunami victims.
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now.
Park rangers are hiking in to help four young men stranded in the snow along the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee. One of the hikers is showing signs of hypothermia. They started hiking in good weather Sunday but were hit by eight inches of snow yesterday.
The Boston area has been blasted by a late winter snowstorm, leaving hundreds of people without power. It made travel a mess for motorists and stranded hundreds of people at Logan Airport overnight.
In Chicago a lawyer for Matthew Hale reportedly says Hale's mother asked him to relay a coded message to one of Hale's followers. That's according to "The New York Times." Hale is the white supremacist convicted of plotting to murder federal Judge Joan Lefkow. Her husband and mother were found shot to death in the judge's home last week. Anchor aweigh at CBS. Dan Rather wrapping up 24 years as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News." His final broadcast is tonight. Rather says he's not retiring; he's just changing jobs to correspondent on "60 Minutes."
O'BRIEN: The brother of the accuser in the Michael Jackson case back on the stand today as Jackson's attorneys grill him. He'll have the latest from Santa Maria, California, ahead on LIVE FROM.
And a portrait of courage that you're looking at right now. The little girls in this picture with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. did a very brave thing that changed America. The one on the left is all grown up now, and she will share her story ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
