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Insurgent Leader Capture in Mosul; Credit Protection; Medicare Details

Aired June 16, 2005 - 14:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A violent day in Iraq, but American forces announce the arrest of a major insurgent leader. We'll talk live with an Army colonel about that capture.
A school hostage situation ends in a barrage of bullets, screaming children and scared parents. We're on the story.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Washington. Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, you name it, it's out there. And identity thieves can get it. And now Congress is stepping in.

PHILLIPS: This Florida sheriff says certain people who show up at a hurricane evacuation shelter will be turned away.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

We begin in Iraq. The daily insurgent onslaught continues, and the death toll climbs upward. The latest attack, an Iraqi police patrol targeted on Baghdad's notorious Airport Road.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports the past six weeks has seen a sharp escalation in insurgent attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a spokesman for the multinational forces here in Iraq announced that hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, civilians have died in Iraq since the escalations of insurgent attacks in early May. That's Brigadier General Donald Alston. He said the rise coincides with comments attributed to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month.

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, MULTINATIONAL FORCES SPOKESMAN: With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly se the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing. And that's hundreds or perhaps more than a thousand in just a short amount of time since his proclamation in early May.

ECCLESTON: He also said Iraqi security forces' casualties have grown as their numbers have grown, saying they're confidence and growing capability make them a better target for insurgents. And with that, we saw three separate attacks on security and police today. The deadliest, that car bomb at Baghdad's Airport Road killed three police and wounded 22 others.

This day also brought the announcement that six American troops were killed yesterday, five Marines and one sailor. The Marines and the sailor were killed outside of Ramadi in the restive Anbar province. In the first incident, it involved a roadside bomb, and the sailor died from wounds from small arms fire from the enemy.

Now, we also heard today from the U.S. military that a man described as al Qaeda's leader in Mosul has been captured. He's identified as Mohammed Khalaf Shkarah, known as Abu Talha. He was captured Tuesday, according to Brigadier General Donald Alston.

Alston said that he was a trusted agent of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. And he was found in a quiet neighborhood. There were numerous reports, according to that U.S. official, that he wore a suicide vest 24 hours a day and that he said he would never surrender. But General Alston said he gave up without a fight and that he was arrested because of a tip from an Iraqi civilian.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, we've just learned since Jennifer filed that report that a fourth Iraqi police commando has died in that attack on the Baghdad Airport Road.

Well, within all that chaos comes captures, and a big one, we're told, in Mosul. Joining us from Mosul now, Colonel Robert Brown with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division.

Colonel, good to have you with us.

COL. ROBERT BROWN, U.S. ARMY: Thank you very much. Very good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Well, tell us about the capture of Abu Talha.

BROWN: Well, it's - it was a great -- great capture for the coalition forces, the Iraqi security forces. Over the last several weeks, we've had increased offensive operations, put a lot more pressure on the terrorists.

We were able to do this because the Iraqi security forces are getting better and getting more involved in the fight. And then also, I think it's key that, as you mentioned, Iraqi citizens are stepping up. And despite the -- in the past the fear and intimidation, they are stepping up and realizing how important freedom is, and they've had enough of the terrorists, particularly killing of innocent women and children.

So a great combined operation led to the capture of very evil man right below Zarqawi, the leader in northern Iraq for al Qaeda. And this man, we captured videotapes in November of him, and it shows hundreds of individuals that he had beheaded, brutally murdered, and then also many operations that he was involved in again on this videotape where he would direct a martyr to conduct a suicide bombing, and in many, many cases innocent women and children killed in those bombings.

So this is a very evil individual that was taken off the streets. And I will tell you that people in northern Iraq are extremely happy. The Iraqis are celebrating right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, Colonel, you talk about this videotape and these crimes you've seen committed on behalf of this man, and allegedly he had said that he was wearing a vest, a suicide vest, 24/7, said he wouldn't give up without a fight. Yet, I'm told that he did give in without a fight. Sounds like you netted quite a coward.

BROWN: You're exactly right. He has no problems sending other folks -- in fact, we've caught many of the foreign terrorists that he brings in to be martyrs and suicide bombers.

In many cases, he's the lead person that's brainwashing them of what's actually happening in Iraq. And many of those folks, when they find out what's really happening, they feel - they know they've been lied to. And this individual, Abu Talha, of course, tried to tell everybody, hey, I will never be taken alive. But despite the fact he had a weapon right next to him, he was very quick to give up and be extremely cowardly, and also talk and give us quite a bit of information.

PHILLIPS: So Colonel -- well, that was my next question. If he was quick to give up, he's giving a lot of information, he's said to be the al Qaeda leader in Mosul, could he give up information that could lead you to Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, other key leaders in the terrorist factions?

BROWN: Well, of course you never know. We worked that very hard. And he did meet frequently with Zarqawi. And, of course, we're acting on all the information that he gives us.

And I would just say, if I were Zarqawi I would be very nervous, because the Iraqi security forces, coalition forces, are relentlessly looking for him. And events like this, the capture of Talha, certainly lead us closer to that.

PHILLIPS: Has it led you closer to anymore underground bunkers, where operations were taking place among insurgents? We've been talking a lot about the bunkers that have been discovered with weapons and cons (ph) and maps and laptops.

BROWN: Yes. We haven't found a bunker per se, but we found many -- today, for example, we found a very large cache. And it was indirectly related to this capture.

Another individual we captured with him led us to the cache. But we found many of their underground caches. And they're very deceptive. They'll put caches in homes behind hidden walls and so forth.

And the Iraqi soldiers are fantastic at being able to tell where there's false walls, and our soldiers have learned quite well. So we have not found any bunkers in northern Iraq, but we have found plenty of caches. And his capture led to several caches, a big one today as well.

PHILLIPS: Colonel Robert Brown, commander, 1st Stryker Brigade there in Mosul. Sir, it's great to have some good news coming out of Iraq today. Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well, even as news comes today that a major U.S. wholesaler has settled charges over alleged credit card security lapses with the FTC, Capitol Hill lawmakers are taking a closer look at how to protect U.S. consumers against data breaches and identity theft.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has more now -- Kimberly.

OSIAS: Well, Kyra, it's really the perfect setting to a major identity theft bill. But before we get to that, an announcement today from the FTC.

The Federal Trade Commission issued sanctions against a wholesale club with millions of consumers. BJ's Wholesale Inc. has agreed to settle charges that it failed to take appropriate security measures to protect thousands of its consumers.

The regulatory agency said it was, "an unfair practice, violated federal law," and went on to say, "This case demonstrates our intention to challenge companies that fail to protect adequately consumers' sensitive information."

Somehow, someone got ahold of credit card numbers. Then charged millions. According to the FTC, BJ's just didn't have the safeguards in place to keep its customers safe.

Penalties against BJ's include requiring a third-party audit every other year for the next 20 years and the implementation of a comprehensive security program. BJ's Wholesale Club is a major player with about 150 stores and 78 gas stations in about 16 states across the country.

Well, now on to the Hill. Some senators are taking measures to protect you and your privacy, which can take moments to breach and months and money to undue. It's the first reform of its kind, tightening current federal and state laws to prevent theft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: What bank robbery was to the depression era identity theft is to the information age. But in a sense, identity thieves are even worse than bank robbers, because they not only steal your money, they steal your time, your sense of security and your peace of mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP) OSIAS: What the bill calls for is the creation of an office of identity theft within the FTC. That office would have the infusion of some $60 million a year for the next five years.

Merchants would be required to register with the agency. Consumers could access their reports on the Internet, and there'd be a so-called disclosure box where in plain simple English consumers would know when their information was being sold to a third party. Also, a cyber security secretary under the Department of Homeland Security -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kimberly Osias, live from D.C. Thank you so much.

Also today on Capitol Hill, Iraq is high on the agenda. In the House, a bipartisan effort to put a timetable on withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Three of the representatives pushing the resolution voted against sending soldiers to Iraq in the first player, but one sponsor is North Carolina Republican Walter Jones, who strongly supported going to Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. WALTER JONES (R), NORTH CAROLINA: After 1,700 deaths, over 12,000 wounded, and $200 billion spent, we believe it is time to have this debate and this discussion on this resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, congressional Democrats, led by Michigan's John Conyers, are holding a forum about the so-called Downing Street Memo. That memo, which surfaced from inside the British government, indicates prewar intelligence was fixed to justify going to war against Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials and British Prime Minister Tony Blair deny that claim.

President Bush talks Medicare, specifically prescription drug benefits for the elderly. He's been outlining details at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.

Our Elaine Quijano is covering the event and joins us live with the latest -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

That's right, the White House is calling this the Medicare Covers America Campaign. And today, as you mentioned, President Bush officially kicked off this push to educate seniors and get them enrolled in the new prescription drug benefit program.

Now, this is all part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, but the plans have generated some controversy because of the cost. First forecast to be around $400 billion, now, by some estimates, predicted to be several hundred billion dollars more than that.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration believes the government can afford it and that America's seniors cannot afford to be without it. And today, the president said in his travels across the country he encountered seniors who had to choose between buying food and getting prescription drugs. Under this benefit program, he says that should no longer be the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new benefit will help every senior, as well as Americans with developmental and physical disabilities and mental illnesses and HIV-AIDS. Congress scheduled the prescription drug benefit to start in January of 2006. Thanks to the leadership of Secretary Leavitt and Mark McClellan, we are on track to deliver prescription drug coverage on time to every American senior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president says that this effort will last for the next 11 months or so. First, the education portion telling people about the benefits. Then, come this fall, there will be a more specific push, specifically sending out booklets more tailored to individuals' own situations.

Now, in the short term, President Bush will be traveling to Minnesota tomorrow to talk about Medicare. He'll be making two stops in Maple Grove, visiting first a senior center and then holding what the White House is calling a conversation on Medicare -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano, thank you so much.

Straight ahead, powerful testimony in a Mississippi courtroom, but the man on trial didn't hear it. We've got the latest from a murder trial reopening old wounds.

Leave your loose change at home thanks to a new service coming to your cell phone. We'll dial that one up.

And memories of champ Payne Stewart as the U.S. Open gets under way. We're live from Pinehurst right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News "Across America" now.

The man on trial for instigating the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers was removed from court on a stretcher and taken to the hospital for treatment for his high blood pressure. Testimony had just begun in the 80-year-old former Klansman's trial, which is in recessed until tomorrow morning.

Registered sex offenders and predators in Hillsboro County, Florida, will be turned away at public shelters during a hurricane. The ban was unanimously approved by county commissioners. Sheriff David Gee (ph) says that sex offenders ought to fend for themselves.

A Native-American tribe files a lawsuit claiming ownership of 3,600 acres of the Hamptons (AUDIO GAP) Shinnecock hills golf course and Southampton College. The lawsuit is the largest ever filed by a tribe. It seeks compensation for the tribe's ancestral land worth almost $2 billion plus 150 years in back rent and interest.

Well, in sports, the U.S. Open is under way in Pinehurst, North Carolina, but it's a bittersweet return to that course. Pinehurst is where the late Payne Stewart last won that open, and now he's being honored there.

CNN's Mark McKay joins us live with more.

And it's great, Mark, to hear about Lee Janzen playing with Hicks (ph), Payne Stewart's caddie from when he won the open.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Great story. You touched on it last hour, that's for sure, Kyra, and it's really been a great week of celebration of the life of not only a husband, a father, but a great golfing champion.

As you referred, six years ago, Pinehurst Number 2, this very course, was the scene of a memorable U.S. Open finish as Payne Stewart holed off a 15-foot par putt to win the 1999 championship by a single stroke. Just four months later Stewart was gone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKAY (voice-over): Stewart was a passenger on a charter jet flight from Orlando to Dallas in October 1999. Shortly after takeoff, the cabin lost air pressure, and its presumed all six people onboard died within minutes. The jet, set on autopilot, then made an eerie cross- country journey before running out of fuel and crashing into a South Dakota pasture.

On Tuesday, just off the 18th green, where Stewart sank his improbable putt, a short, yet poignant ceremony held to honor the memory of a great champion, husband and father. Phil Mickelson was the golfer who finished runner-up to Stewart in '99. He played a prominent role in Tuesday's ceremony, and told us earlier in the day that returning to Pinehurst has been a moving experience.

PHIL MICKELSON, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: It's a very emotional place. It has a lot of sadness for me, in that a lot of my memories of Payne took place here.

A lot of the things I remember that were so great about Payne took place here, and I know we started talking a lot about Payne Stewart stories last week; I heard a lot. And everybody has got their own personal experience with the man, and I think that for me personally watching him win our national championship with the class that he did it in is something that I'll always remember.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKAY: Now, Pinehurst considers Stewart their champion, and his image is immortalized through a statue that sits alongside the 18th green where Stewart pulled of his magic six years ago. This coming Sunday, Stewart's memorable victory pose will be evident by weigh of a special flag that will be flying on the 18th green, Kyra. It will also be on lapel pins that will be given to each and every spectator that pass through these gates.

PHILLIPS: No pressure, Mark. Bring me back a lapel pin, OK?

MCKAY: I'll do it.

PHILLIPS: Mark McKay. Thanks so much.

Well, as one of those Pruett brothers told CNN, "We're a very patriotic family." Four brothers all fighting together in Iraq. We're following them in the war zone just ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, book deals are inked for two people recently in the news. And we might also see movies about their lives.

A book about Mark Felt is due out next spring. Two weeks ago, he revealed he was "The Washington Post" key Watergate source. Universal Pictures has optioned Felt's life story for a movie to be developed by Tom Hanks' company. No word on how much Felt and his family received for those deals.

But we do know a New York agent has bought the rights to the life stories of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks and her fiance. The $500,000 deal includes an unusual twist: the couple's first TV news interview. It's with NBC.

The network insists that it did not and never does pay for an interview. Wilbanks' agent is also shopping around. Yes, I did say "agent" shopping around for a possible Wilbanks TV movie.

Well, if you ever found yourself scrambling for change in the car seat while trying to feed a parking meter, you're going to want to hear this story.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 16, 2005 - 14:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A violent day in Iraq, but American forces announce the arrest of a major insurgent leader. We'll talk live with an Army colonel about that capture.
A school hostage situation ends in a barrage of bullets, screaming children and scared parents. We're on the story.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Washington. Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, you name it, it's out there. And identity thieves can get it. And now Congress is stepping in.

PHILLIPS: This Florida sheriff says certain people who show up at a hurricane evacuation shelter will be turned away.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

We begin in Iraq. The daily insurgent onslaught continues, and the death toll climbs upward. The latest attack, an Iraqi police patrol targeted on Baghdad's notorious Airport Road.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports the past six weeks has seen a sharp escalation in insurgent attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a spokesman for the multinational forces here in Iraq announced that hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, civilians have died in Iraq since the escalations of insurgent attacks in early May. That's Brigadier General Donald Alston. He said the rise coincides with comments attributed to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month.

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, MULTINATIONAL FORCES SPOKESMAN: With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly se the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing. And that's hundreds or perhaps more than a thousand in just a short amount of time since his proclamation in early May.

ECCLESTON: He also said Iraqi security forces' casualties have grown as their numbers have grown, saying they're confidence and growing capability make them a better target for insurgents. And with that, we saw three separate attacks on security and police today. The deadliest, that car bomb at Baghdad's Airport Road killed three police and wounded 22 others.

This day also brought the announcement that six American troops were killed yesterday, five Marines and one sailor. The Marines and the sailor were killed outside of Ramadi in the restive Anbar province. In the first incident, it involved a roadside bomb, and the sailor died from wounds from small arms fire from the enemy.

Now, we also heard today from the U.S. military that a man described as al Qaeda's leader in Mosul has been captured. He's identified as Mohammed Khalaf Shkarah, known as Abu Talha. He was captured Tuesday, according to Brigadier General Donald Alston.

Alston said that he was a trusted agent of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. And he was found in a quiet neighborhood. There were numerous reports, according to that U.S. official, that he wore a suicide vest 24 hours a day and that he said he would never surrender. But General Alston said he gave up without a fight and that he was arrested because of a tip from an Iraqi civilian.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, we've just learned since Jennifer filed that report that a fourth Iraqi police commando has died in that attack on the Baghdad Airport Road.

Well, within all that chaos comes captures, and a big one, we're told, in Mosul. Joining us from Mosul now, Colonel Robert Brown with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division.

Colonel, good to have you with us.

COL. ROBERT BROWN, U.S. ARMY: Thank you very much. Very good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Well, tell us about the capture of Abu Talha.

BROWN: Well, it's - it was a great -- great capture for the coalition forces, the Iraqi security forces. Over the last several weeks, we've had increased offensive operations, put a lot more pressure on the terrorists.

We were able to do this because the Iraqi security forces are getting better and getting more involved in the fight. And then also, I think it's key that, as you mentioned, Iraqi citizens are stepping up. And despite the -- in the past the fear and intimidation, they are stepping up and realizing how important freedom is, and they've had enough of the terrorists, particularly killing of innocent women and children.

So a great combined operation led to the capture of very evil man right below Zarqawi, the leader in northern Iraq for al Qaeda. And this man, we captured videotapes in November of him, and it shows hundreds of individuals that he had beheaded, brutally murdered, and then also many operations that he was involved in again on this videotape where he would direct a martyr to conduct a suicide bombing, and in many, many cases innocent women and children killed in those bombings.

So this is a very evil individual that was taken off the streets. And I will tell you that people in northern Iraq are extremely happy. The Iraqis are celebrating right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, Colonel, you talk about this videotape and these crimes you've seen committed on behalf of this man, and allegedly he had said that he was wearing a vest, a suicide vest, 24/7, said he wouldn't give up without a fight. Yet, I'm told that he did give in without a fight. Sounds like you netted quite a coward.

BROWN: You're exactly right. He has no problems sending other folks -- in fact, we've caught many of the foreign terrorists that he brings in to be martyrs and suicide bombers.

In many cases, he's the lead person that's brainwashing them of what's actually happening in Iraq. And many of those folks, when they find out what's really happening, they feel - they know they've been lied to. And this individual, Abu Talha, of course, tried to tell everybody, hey, I will never be taken alive. But despite the fact he had a weapon right next to him, he was very quick to give up and be extremely cowardly, and also talk and give us quite a bit of information.

PHILLIPS: So Colonel -- well, that was my next question. If he was quick to give up, he's giving a lot of information, he's said to be the al Qaeda leader in Mosul, could he give up information that could lead you to Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, other key leaders in the terrorist factions?

BROWN: Well, of course you never know. We worked that very hard. And he did meet frequently with Zarqawi. And, of course, we're acting on all the information that he gives us.

And I would just say, if I were Zarqawi I would be very nervous, because the Iraqi security forces, coalition forces, are relentlessly looking for him. And events like this, the capture of Talha, certainly lead us closer to that.

PHILLIPS: Has it led you closer to anymore underground bunkers, where operations were taking place among insurgents? We've been talking a lot about the bunkers that have been discovered with weapons and cons (ph) and maps and laptops.

BROWN: Yes. We haven't found a bunker per se, but we found many -- today, for example, we found a very large cache. And it was indirectly related to this capture.

Another individual we captured with him led us to the cache. But we found many of their underground caches. And they're very deceptive. They'll put caches in homes behind hidden walls and so forth.

And the Iraqi soldiers are fantastic at being able to tell where there's false walls, and our soldiers have learned quite well. So we have not found any bunkers in northern Iraq, but we have found plenty of caches. And his capture led to several caches, a big one today as well.

PHILLIPS: Colonel Robert Brown, commander, 1st Stryker Brigade there in Mosul. Sir, it's great to have some good news coming out of Iraq today. Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well, even as news comes today that a major U.S. wholesaler has settled charges over alleged credit card security lapses with the FTC, Capitol Hill lawmakers are taking a closer look at how to protect U.S. consumers against data breaches and identity theft.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has more now -- Kimberly.

OSIAS: Well, Kyra, it's really the perfect setting to a major identity theft bill. But before we get to that, an announcement today from the FTC.

The Federal Trade Commission issued sanctions against a wholesale club with millions of consumers. BJ's Wholesale Inc. has agreed to settle charges that it failed to take appropriate security measures to protect thousands of its consumers.

The regulatory agency said it was, "an unfair practice, violated federal law," and went on to say, "This case demonstrates our intention to challenge companies that fail to protect adequately consumers' sensitive information."

Somehow, someone got ahold of credit card numbers. Then charged millions. According to the FTC, BJ's just didn't have the safeguards in place to keep its customers safe.

Penalties against BJ's include requiring a third-party audit every other year for the next 20 years and the implementation of a comprehensive security program. BJ's Wholesale Club is a major player with about 150 stores and 78 gas stations in about 16 states across the country.

Well, now on to the Hill. Some senators are taking measures to protect you and your privacy, which can take moments to breach and months and money to undue. It's the first reform of its kind, tightening current federal and state laws to prevent theft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: What bank robbery was to the depression era identity theft is to the information age. But in a sense, identity thieves are even worse than bank robbers, because they not only steal your money, they steal your time, your sense of security and your peace of mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP) OSIAS: What the bill calls for is the creation of an office of identity theft within the FTC. That office would have the infusion of some $60 million a year for the next five years.

Merchants would be required to register with the agency. Consumers could access their reports on the Internet, and there'd be a so-called disclosure box where in plain simple English consumers would know when their information was being sold to a third party. Also, a cyber security secretary under the Department of Homeland Security -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kimberly Osias, live from D.C. Thank you so much.

Also today on Capitol Hill, Iraq is high on the agenda. In the House, a bipartisan effort to put a timetable on withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Three of the representatives pushing the resolution voted against sending soldiers to Iraq in the first player, but one sponsor is North Carolina Republican Walter Jones, who strongly supported going to Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. WALTER JONES (R), NORTH CAROLINA: After 1,700 deaths, over 12,000 wounded, and $200 billion spent, we believe it is time to have this debate and this discussion on this resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, congressional Democrats, led by Michigan's John Conyers, are holding a forum about the so-called Downing Street Memo. That memo, which surfaced from inside the British government, indicates prewar intelligence was fixed to justify going to war against Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials and British Prime Minister Tony Blair deny that claim.

President Bush talks Medicare, specifically prescription drug benefits for the elderly. He's been outlining details at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.

Our Elaine Quijano is covering the event and joins us live with the latest -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

That's right, the White House is calling this the Medicare Covers America Campaign. And today, as you mentioned, President Bush officially kicked off this push to educate seniors and get them enrolled in the new prescription drug benefit program.

Now, this is all part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, but the plans have generated some controversy because of the cost. First forecast to be around $400 billion, now, by some estimates, predicted to be several hundred billion dollars more than that.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration believes the government can afford it and that America's seniors cannot afford to be without it. And today, the president said in his travels across the country he encountered seniors who had to choose between buying food and getting prescription drugs. Under this benefit program, he says that should no longer be the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new benefit will help every senior, as well as Americans with developmental and physical disabilities and mental illnesses and HIV-AIDS. Congress scheduled the prescription drug benefit to start in January of 2006. Thanks to the leadership of Secretary Leavitt and Mark McClellan, we are on track to deliver prescription drug coverage on time to every American senior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president says that this effort will last for the next 11 months or so. First, the education portion telling people about the benefits. Then, come this fall, there will be a more specific push, specifically sending out booklets more tailored to individuals' own situations.

Now, in the short term, President Bush will be traveling to Minnesota tomorrow to talk about Medicare. He'll be making two stops in Maple Grove, visiting first a senior center and then holding what the White House is calling a conversation on Medicare -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano, thank you so much.

Straight ahead, powerful testimony in a Mississippi courtroom, but the man on trial didn't hear it. We've got the latest from a murder trial reopening old wounds.

Leave your loose change at home thanks to a new service coming to your cell phone. We'll dial that one up.

And memories of champ Payne Stewart as the U.S. Open gets under way. We're live from Pinehurst right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News "Across America" now.

The man on trial for instigating the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers was removed from court on a stretcher and taken to the hospital for treatment for his high blood pressure. Testimony had just begun in the 80-year-old former Klansman's trial, which is in recessed until tomorrow morning.

Registered sex offenders and predators in Hillsboro County, Florida, will be turned away at public shelters during a hurricane. The ban was unanimously approved by county commissioners. Sheriff David Gee (ph) says that sex offenders ought to fend for themselves.

A Native-American tribe files a lawsuit claiming ownership of 3,600 acres of the Hamptons (AUDIO GAP) Shinnecock hills golf course and Southampton College. The lawsuit is the largest ever filed by a tribe. It seeks compensation for the tribe's ancestral land worth almost $2 billion plus 150 years in back rent and interest.

Well, in sports, the U.S. Open is under way in Pinehurst, North Carolina, but it's a bittersweet return to that course. Pinehurst is where the late Payne Stewart last won that open, and now he's being honored there.

CNN's Mark McKay joins us live with more.

And it's great, Mark, to hear about Lee Janzen playing with Hicks (ph), Payne Stewart's caddie from when he won the open.

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Great story. You touched on it last hour, that's for sure, Kyra, and it's really been a great week of celebration of the life of not only a husband, a father, but a great golfing champion.

As you referred, six years ago, Pinehurst Number 2, this very course, was the scene of a memorable U.S. Open finish as Payne Stewart holed off a 15-foot par putt to win the 1999 championship by a single stroke. Just four months later Stewart was gone.

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MCKAY (voice-over): Stewart was a passenger on a charter jet flight from Orlando to Dallas in October 1999. Shortly after takeoff, the cabin lost air pressure, and its presumed all six people onboard died within minutes. The jet, set on autopilot, then made an eerie cross- country journey before running out of fuel and crashing into a South Dakota pasture.

On Tuesday, just off the 18th green, where Stewart sank his improbable putt, a short, yet poignant ceremony held to honor the memory of a great champion, husband and father. Phil Mickelson was the golfer who finished runner-up to Stewart in '99. He played a prominent role in Tuesday's ceremony, and told us earlier in the day that returning to Pinehurst has been a moving experience.

PHIL MICKELSON, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: It's a very emotional place. It has a lot of sadness for me, in that a lot of my memories of Payne took place here.

A lot of the things I remember that were so great about Payne took place here, and I know we started talking a lot about Payne Stewart stories last week; I heard a lot. And everybody has got their own personal experience with the man, and I think that for me personally watching him win our national championship with the class that he did it in is something that I'll always remember.

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MCKAY: Now, Pinehurst considers Stewart their champion, and his image is immortalized through a statue that sits alongside the 18th green where Stewart pulled of his magic six years ago. This coming Sunday, Stewart's memorable victory pose will be evident by weigh of a special flag that will be flying on the 18th green, Kyra. It will also be on lapel pins that will be given to each and every spectator that pass through these gates.

PHILLIPS: No pressure, Mark. Bring me back a lapel pin, OK?

MCKAY: I'll do it.

PHILLIPS: Mark McKay. Thanks so much.

Well, as one of those Pruett brothers told CNN, "We're a very patriotic family." Four brothers all fighting together in Iraq. We're following them in the war zone just ahead on LIVE FROM.

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PHILLIPS: Well, book deals are inked for two people recently in the news. And we might also see movies about their lives.

A book about Mark Felt is due out next spring. Two weeks ago, he revealed he was "The Washington Post" key Watergate source. Universal Pictures has optioned Felt's life story for a movie to be developed by Tom Hanks' company. No word on how much Felt and his family received for those deals.

But we do know a New York agent has bought the rights to the life stories of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks and her fiance. The $500,000 deal includes an unusual twist: the couple's first TV news interview. It's with NBC.

The network insists that it did not and never does pay for an interview. Wilbanks' agent is also shopping around. Yes, I did say "agent" shopping around for a possible Wilbanks TV movie.

Well, if you ever found yourself scrambling for change in the car seat while trying to feed a parking meter, you're going to want to hear this story.

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